20. ROLE OF KARMA

D: What is the role of karma (action) in spiritual life?

A: If actions are done for the sake of Īśvara, without attachment to the fruits of actions, mental purity is attained.

D: Will not one act inefficiently if there is no attachment to the results?

A: No.

D: When one is not interested in success or failure, one cannot put forth one’s best. Is this not a logical conclusion?

A: Only the opposite of this is true. An aspirant who does not have attachment at all will perform actions properly, as he does his duty as an offering to the Lord. Would any devotee like to offer to the Lord that which is improper? He will not. He who practises karma-yoga will not indulge in a bad deed. Further, he will offer all actions to the Lord. On account of devotion to Īśvara, he will strive to act to the best of his ability. As against this, he who has attachment to the fruits of actions will be bogged down by longings.

D: Has this been spoken of in the śāstra-s also?

A: Yes. Lord Kṛṣṇa says:

(BG, XVIII.26)

(He who is without attachment, without ego, endowed with firmness and enthusiasm and unaffected by success and failure – such a one is termed as a sāttvika (pure) doer.)

D: Suppose a person acts with an idea that dedication of the results to Īśvara will ensure success in endeavours. Is he a practitioner of karma-yoga?

A: No. This is because he has not truly renounced attachment to the fruit of action.

D: What makes practice of karma-yoga difficult?

A: Attachment to objects and lack of devotion towards Īśvara. A man having attachment may say that he has dedicated everything to Īśvara, but, actually, will not have been able to do so. In the absence of staunch devotion to the Lord, the ideas, “Everything should be dedicated. It is my duty to do so” will not be there. This again makes whole-hearted practice of karma-yoga difficult.

D: Is it enough if one is unattached to the results or should everything be positively dedicated to the Lord?

A: If it is to be karma-yoga, one must dedicate everything to Him.

D: Will Acharyal kindly give an illustration to show that one who practises karma-yoga will perform one’s duty in a befitting manner?

A: Let us suppose that a student takes an examination and that he is very much desirous of success. What happens if he does not fare well in a particular subject? He becomes worried. He may then not perform well even in the next day’s examination. This is because of the persistent worry that he had not fared well in the previous examination. On the contrary, he who is unattached, prepares whole-heartedly. As he reads without worry, he will act better. Further, he will not be troubled by lack of interest. He will feel, “I do this for the sake of Īśvara. Therefore, at least considering it as my bounden duty, I should be sincere.”

D: Who is competent to practise karma-yoga?

A: Anybody can practise karma-yoga. By the practice of karma-yoga, the mind becomes very pure. Devotion towards Īśvara deepens. Realisation of the Truth dawns only in a pure mind. Hence, everyone should constantly resort to karma-yoga. All can derive benefit from it.

D: Is it sufficient to dedicate merely the fruits of actions to Īśvara or should one dedicate the actions themselves?

A: It is extremely good to dedicate the actions themselves. If that is not possible, at least the results should be dedicated. In the Bhagavadgītā, Lord Kṛṣṇa has spelt out a sequence of increasingly simpler practices. He has said:

(BG, XII.8)

(Fix your mind on Me. Concentrate your intellect on Me. You shall dwell in Me alone. There is no doubt about this.)

(BG, XII.9)

(If you are incapable of fixing your mind firmly on Me, endeavour to reach Me by repeated practice.)

(BG, XII.10)

(If you are not capable of even repeated practice, perform actions for My sake. Even by performing actions for My sake, you shall attain perfection.)

(BG, XII.11)

(If you are unable to do even this, then, seeking refuge in Me alone, dedicate the fruits of all actions to Me, with a disciplined mind.)

D: If one is engaged in karma-yoga, will one perform many actions?

A: One need not. Actions may be classified into six categories. They are: (1) nitya-karma, (2) naimittika-karma, (3) kāmya-karma, (4) niṣiddha-karma, (5) upāsanā-karma, and (6) prāyaścitta-karma. Nitya-karma is that which has to be done regularly at the scheduled time. Sandhyāvandana is an example of this. Naimittika-karma is not governed by a recurring time restriction. Some of the karma-s to be done during eclipses can be cited as instances of this. Nitya and naimittika karma-s are ordained by the śāstra-s. Their non-performance leads to sin. That karma which one does with a desire for some achievement is called kāmya-karma. The śāstra-s do not ordain these karma-s as obligatory. One does these only because of one’s desire. Niṣiddha-karma is that which the śāstra-s prohibit. Karma-s connected with contemplation constitute upāsanā-karma. Finally, that action by which sin is expiated is prāyaścitta-karma. These six types can be simplified by considering only four categories, namely nitya, naimittika, kāmya and niṣiddha karma-s. One should not indulge in niṣiddha-karma. Kāmya-karma could be given up. However, one must perform nitya and naimittika karma-s. He who practises karma-yoga will not get involved in all sorts of actions. Whichever act is necessary, he will do without attachment. Basically, he will be concerned with nitya and naimittika karma-s.

D: One dedicates one's actions to Īśvara to obtain His grace. In such a situation, how can it be said that one does not have attachment to the grace of Īśvara? Does one not perform actions with the target of securing it?

A: From one viewpoint, what you say is correct. However, if, instead of being attached to material benefits, one is attached to Īśvara, no bondage will be produced. On the other hand, we will thereby become free from bondage. However, in ideal karma-yoga, dedication is done without even the desire for the grace of Īśvara. There should only be the idea, “It is my duty to offer this to Īśvara.” Śaṅkarabhagavatpāda says in the Gītā-bhāṣya:

Also, do not act even with the attachment:

In karma-s like sandhyāvandana, we say

Nonetheless, this is quite appropriate. This is because the wording has come down to us by tradition. Moreover, we can have the notion that we do the karma just for the sake of Īśvara.

D: In practising karma-yoga, how can one ascertain whether one has made progress or not?

A: I said that there should be no attachment to the fruit of action. Is one unattached when one desires to know whether or not one has made progress in the path of karma-yoga? However, if one has a doubt about one’s progress in the spiritual path, one can introspect, “Is my mind pure? Am I peaceful? Am I carrying out all actions without any worry and for the sake of Īśvara?” This self-analysis will show whether one is following karma-yoga properly or not.

❑ Parables of Acharyal

Devotion and karma-yoga are inseparable twins. The ideal karma-yogin endeavours to bring out his best performance in order to be able to make the best offering to Īśvara. This attitude is evident in all the actions performed by him, be it spiritual or secular.

When such a person transforms into a jñānin, the traits that he had developed and mastered earlier will not leave him. It would be extremely beneficial to appreciate this characteristic in our Acharyal. Whatever He did contained great lessons for the observer. Acharyal has taught on many occasions the value and the method of performing karma-yoga. His parables drive home the efficacy of karma-yoga.

The Lord has explained how a person may perform actions but avoid being bound by them. A person should dedicate all his actions and their fruits to God and discharge his duties without hankering for the results. This means of performing actions but escaping bondage is called karma-yoga. The performer of karma-yoga protects himself by dedicating his actions and their fruits to God.

A person had the practice of performing pūjā to God and offering Him fruits and other eatables. After his worship, he used to partake of an offered fruit as God’s prasāda. An agnostic friend of his mockingly told him, “Your practice of performing naivedya is silly. The fruit that you place before your God remains exactly at the same spot where it was kept. It undergoes no physical change either. Further, it is not the God you worship but you who consumes it.”

The devotee responded with a smile, “I submit a fruit to God with the firm conviction that, in keeping with His statement in the Bhagavadgītā, He will accept it. Having received it, He is free to do whatever He pleases with it. Since He is omnipotent, He is perfectly capable of making it vanish or leaving it behind in its entirety after having consumed it. I believe that it is He who leaves behind the fruit for me after partaking of it in a humanly-inconceivable way. As far as I am concerned, what I consume after naivedya is the remnant of what God has eaten.”

“Recently, when your political leader came to your town, you and numerous others received him and offered him garlands. He certainly did not and could not wear all of them. He then gave you one of the garlands that he had received and you accepted it joyfully. As he walked through the large crowd of his supporters, he tossed some garlands to them and the crowd cheered. It is possible that a supporter got back the very garland that he had given. Just because your leader does not retain the garlands presented to him, you people do not abstain from the practice of garlanding him; you derive joy in honouring him and do not tell him what he should do with the garlands that you give him. Why then are you uncomfortable with my sincerely offering God fruits and feeling happy? When your leader can return a garland to you, why should God not be free to give me back the submitted fruits with His blessings? A karma-yogin, in fact, offers to God not just eatables but all his thoughts, words and deeds.”

A man had two servants. One of them was particular about eulogising his employer but not in executing his master’s instructions. The other sincerely carried out the tasks assigned to him; he also held his master in high esteem. The employer obviously preferred the second servant to the first. A devotee who, like the second servant, sincerely performs the duties ordained for him by God and specified in the scriptures and, further, does so in a spirit of dedication, pleases God greatly and receives His grace in abundance. By the Lord’s grace, his mind becomes very pure. In due course, he realises the Truth and gets liberated.

A woman doted on her young son and took great care of him. One day, she woke up with an intense headache, fever and nausea. Nevertheless, she attended to the child’s morning requirements without any laxity. That day, she found the rice prepared by her to be slightly overcooked. Promptly, she started to cook some more. Her husband noticed this and told her, “You are sick and in pain. Why do you want to strain yourself? The rice that is ready is quite eatable.” “I want to give my son only the kind of rice that he is used to and likes. As for the overcooked rice, I shall consume it,” replied the wife. Out of deep love for her child, the woman did her very best for him. Likewise, a karma-yogin, by virtue of his devotion to God, performs his duties to the very best of his ability and refrains from adharma.

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