2018-July-22

Topics for today:

1. Opening prayers and Gita Dhyanam
2. Chapter 2 verse 47-48

 Highlights of today’s class:

Verse 2.47 (continued from last class)

karmanyevadhikaraste ma phalesu kadacana | ma karmaphalaheturbhurma te sango’stvakarmani ||

Ragas and Dveshas – Binding vs Non-binding:

• Ragas/Likes and Dveshas/Dislikes are behind every action we perform.
• Raga-dveshas could be grouped into two categories – binding and non-binding. Binding likes and dislikes are those whose fulfillment is a must, without which one feels like a loser, a struggler and all empty inside. Non-binding ones are what we can describe as preferences. They don’t agitate a person if they don’t get fulfilled.
• The aim of a karma-yogi is to get out of clutches of binding raga-dveshas by adopting the attitude of karma yoga.

Prasada-buddhi:

• We saw that Karma Yoga is to do with attitude one has towards results of action one performs.  A Karma Yogi knows that results of actions are given by Isvara who is the karma-phala-daata, through laws of karma.
• By this appreciation of Isvara, a Karma Yogi accepts all types of karma phalas just as a devotee accepts any type of prasada given in a temple by the priest.
• In a temple, the prasada coming from the altar of Isvara could be anything – dry fruits, banana, apple, a leaf, a flower, cloth, vibhuti, kumkum, turmeric, sandal paste, any variety of food items like laddu, etc. Regardless of what is given, we accept it without complaining because it came from the Lord as his prasada.
• This attitude is called “prasada-buddhi“.
• A Karma Yogi has this same prasada buddhi towards the results of actions. He/she recognizes, “This result of my action has come from Isvara, therefore I accept it as his prasada.”

Verse 2.48

yogasthah kuru karmani sangam tyaktva dhananjaya | siddhyasiddhyoh samo bhutva samatvam yoga ucyate ||

Two definitions of Karma Yoga:

• In Gita, there are three definitions given of the word “Yoga“. Two of those directly define Karma Yoga and come in this chapter in verses 48 and 50.
• The first definition which appears in this verse is “samatvam yogah uchyate” meaning, “sameness with regard to karma phalas is called yoga“.
• The second definition is “yogah karmasu kausalam” meaning, “Yoga is kausalam or discretion in doing action”. kaulasam means ability to interpret dharma and ascertain appropriate action to be performed.
• Thus one definition defines attitude towards results of actions and the other defines the type of actions to be engaged in.

om tat sat