The Philosophy of the Bhagavadgita - 7.4. Swami Krishnananda.

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Sunday, March 26,  2023. 08:20.

Chapter 7: The Nature of Right Understanding - 4.

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The fruit, the result, the consequence of an action is decided by factors beyond the comprehension of the human individual and, therefore, to expect a particular fruit would be the height of ignorance on the part of any person. We suffer because we expect a particular consequence to follow from a set of actions that we perform, and those results we expect do not follow on account of the simple reason that there are other conditions to be fulfilled for the production of the result than merely the initiative taken by the so-called agent of action. I as an agent, the so-called initiator of the action, may be one of the factors. Yes, accepted. But I am not the only factor, and to consider myself as the sole conditioning principle behind the production of the result of an action would be ignorance, and that would be the absence of samkhya, knowledge.

Hence, we are told again and again, throughout the teaching, that it is highly improper to expect a fruit. All that goes to constitute the universe in its entirety has something to say in the production of the result of even the least of actions, and we are not the only deciding factor. There is a ‘bench of judges', as it were, and it is not only one judge that decides the case, here the ‘bench' being a very large one constituted of innumerable judges.

This wondrous knowledge becomes a source of great solace and peace to the mind, and it remains equally rooted in success as well as failure. The words ‘success' and ‘failure' are applied by us as a kind of judgement upon the nature of the results of action. But we are not supposed to pass such judgements. Success and failure are not to be regarded as the criterion of the correctness of an action, because success and failure are our valuations, from our own standpoints, and not necessarily from the total standpoint of the purpose of the universe. Again, there can be a so-called failure in spite of all the efforts that we have put forth, and that should not be a source of dejection of our mind, provided we have done our best. Nor should there be any kind of unnecessary exultation on account of a so-called success, merely because it is in consonance with our pleasures and predilections. ‘Sukha' and ‘dukha', pleasure and pain, should not be the judging factors in the performance of an action. We have to be cautious in seeing that the action is performed in as impersonal a manner as possible, freeing it from the intrusion of individual agency or doership as much as possible. All actions, finally, are cosmic actions, and they appear to be our actions on account of a misunderstanding of the causative factors of any action.

Yoga is the balance of attitude which consciousness maintains on account of the presence of the samkhya buddhi, or knowledge behind the performance of duty—“samatvam yoga uchyate.” And this equanimity, or poised attitude of consciousness in the performance of a duty or action, accelerates the process of the action, and one becomes dexterous due to the element of impersonality that is present there. The more are you unselfish, the more are you capable of executing a deed in the proper manner. Dexterousness or adroitness in action is Yoga: ‘yogah karmasu kausalam'. An expertness in action is Yoga, an expertness that follows from the equanimity that is behind the performance of an action. Thus, Yoga has been defined in a novel manner in the Second Chapter of the Bhagavadgita, not necessarily in the way in which we people take it, usually. Yoga is impersonality of approach, and not merely the isolated hermit life of an individual performing breathing exercises or sitting in postures of the body, etc. Such is not the Yoga which the Bhagavadgita emphasises, though the importance of this aspect of Yoga also will be touched upon in one of the chapters that is going to be explained later. The Yoga of the Bhagavadgita is very comprehensive. It regards life itself as Yoga. The way in which we have to live in this world is Yoga. And this way or manner of living may involve various requisites or preparations. They may all be necessary conditions in the fulfilment of the vast achievement called duty in life.


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To be continued


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