2018-July-22
Topics for today:
- Opening prayers and Gita Dhyanam
- 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
