Vol 01.029 | Pre-SaraNAgati Issues |
9 December, 1996
|
In this Issue:
1. Note from the Editor 2. From Chapter 16 of "Hinduism Rediscovered"- Karma Yoga |
Dear Bhagavatas,
We present below excerpts from Chapter 17 of "Hinduism Rediscovered"
in the series on ' Yoga '. In this issue we cover Karma Yoga. Postings
on Gnana Yoga and Bhakti yoga will follow.
Hope you enjoy the postings and as usual, we request your valued opinions and constructive criticisms to weed out errors and present a flawless publication. Thank you.
Dasoham
Anbil Ramaswamy
2. From Cahpter 16 of "Hunduism Rediscovered"
SECTION 3
KARMA - YOGA (THE WAY OF ACTION OR UNION THROUGH ACTION)
Lord Krishna devotes the whole of Chapter 3 to `Karmayoga' in BHAGAVAD GITA. He emphasizes how action is inevitable, and in Chapter 5 `Karma Sannyasa Yoga' he explains how action is binding, and how the effects of this binding can be neutralized.
Earlier in Chapter 2, Lord Krishna extolled the efficacy of Gnana Yoga as preferable to Karma Yoga. ARJUNA enquires if this were so why Krishna should advise him to follow Karma Yoga. Lord Krishna replies that the various paths of Yogas enunciated by him viz. Gnana, Karma and Bhakti are not mutually exclusive and the essentials of each yoga could be traced in the others. In Karma yoga, action is predominant, in Gnana yoga knowledge and in Bhakti yoga devotion is predominant.
Not acting or abandoning all actions altogether is inconceivable. Seeing, hearing, speaking, eating, drinking, walking and other routine activities constitute action; the movement of the limbs, the perambulations of the mind and even breathing all involve action of one kind or another. For example, without food there can be no nourishment. Without nourishment body cannot function; without body function mental process will get stultified. When this happens, how could one practice `Gnana Yoga'?
The eye blinks, the tympanum vibrates, the nose twitches without your volition and you have no control over them. Where you have control also non- action is discouraged because it amounts to laziness, another variety of selfishness that will recoil on the Non-doer as much as any wrong action does.
Whereas this action is inevitable, what one can do is to divert action on right channels as an indispensable first step in advancement towards Gnana Yoga and ultimately to Bhakti Yoga.
Lord Krishna says that even he himself does not give up action. "Even though I am omnipotent and there is nothing for me to obtain by action, nothing which I do not already have or can have, I still perform my duties in all my Avatars as if I am one bound by action like others".8
"This is because, if I do not carry out my duties with sincerity and devotion, others would follow me by giving up their duties because ORDINARY FOLK LIKE TO FOLLOW THEIR LEADER NOT SO MUCH IN PERFORMING AS IN ABANDONING THEIR DUTIES.
That action is inevitable is explained by the renowned physician HUBERT
BENOIT of New York who observes -
"The human machine seems indeed to be made for action. Forced to be
idle, most persons become irritable, forced to retire they decline"9.
Action is more than physical movement; it entails emotions as well. Every moment of physical existence in this world, the individual is generating Karma both physical and psychic. And, we know that every action has its reaction that good and bad actions result in similar consequences and that only when one is devoid of the effects of both types of karma one can achieve Moksha. Hinduism teaches us how `Karma' and `Phala' can be divorced so that one can engage in action which, however, does not entail any reaction. While evil deeds known as such have to be eschewed to avert `Papa' even the Punya Karmas have to be made sterile. Bad action cannot be obliterated while good ones can be neutralized. It follows that one should not only not desist from committing sins but also scrupulously perform Punyakarmas. What constitute `Punyakarmas' should first be understood before attempting to neutralize their effects.
BG stipulates specific actions that constitute `Punyakarmas'10
It should be noted that these are only general directions and not mutually exclusive; nor demanding attention to all of them at the same time or by all categories of persons. One can choose anyone or more of these for practice depending upon one's capacities.
But, there are certain basic duties which must be strictly observed. They are called Nitya Karmas (Obligatory) and Naimittika Karmas.( the conditional) Nityakarmas are those activities which have to be done necessarily and without fail under all circumstances. By not doing, one incurs sins. (e.g.) Sandhya vandanam. Sastras place great emphasis on the performance of the daily rituals at sunrise, noon and at sunset and declare it as indispensable in unambiguous terms. :
DAKSHA SMRITI states clearly-
"The person who does not perform Sandhya vandana is positively unclean
and is totally unfit to do any other Karma"11.
Thus, one cannot skip Sandhyavandana and resort to other Karmas even though the latter are approved by Sastras. Naimittika Karmas : are those which have to be observed on particular occasions like `Tarpana' (Offering Ablutions) on Amavasya (new moon) Mahalaya Paksha, Month beginnings and eclipses besides `Shraddha' the annual ceremonies in honor of the dead ancestors. These also cannot be skipped. While no `Punya' accrues when done skipping any of the Nitya and Naimittika Karmas will entail `Papa'. These duties have been categorized in another way based on the nature of service viz., Ajna kainkaryas and Anujna kainkaryas: the compulsory duties of Nitya and Naimittika.
A third category of Karma called Kamya Karmas (Optional) are also done for achieving some desired objects. These are not compulsory. When one does not do these, no sin accrues. As Kainkarya, they include going to temple, weaving garlands for the deities, cleaning the temple premises etc. Such acts are desirable and will result in Punya. By not doing, no sin is incurred.
These `Karmas' and `Kainkaryas' involve a lot of `sacraments' shaped mainly by human encounters with `nature'. The divine presence is sensed through symbols, sacrifices etc in relation to the natural environment (e.g.) The rituals of Prokshana (sprinkling of water ) Prachana (sipping of water) Punyavachana (purification through water). Such purification with the natural element of water is found in many other religious practices also (e.g.) the sacrament of baptism.
WATER IS ONE OF THE MOST NATURAL ELEMENTS AND SYMBOLIZES THE POWER OF SANCTITY INHERENT IN NATURE CAPABLE OF ENSURING A SPIRITUAL UPSURGE. THE HUMAN BEING IS A BODILY NATURAL ONE; NATURALLY, RELIGION HOOKS THE PHYSICAL ASPECTS OF NATURE LIKE WATER WITH THOSE OF THE HUMANEMBODIMENT, SYNCHRONIZING DRAMATICALLY THE INTERACTION BETWEEN THE TWO SANCTIFYING EACH OTHER WITHIN THE ENVIRONMENT OF THE SACRED WORLD. HERE, A MEANINGFUL MEETING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN THE MACROCOSM AND THE MICROCOSM.
Recognizing the importance and sanctity of waters, twelve rivers in India have been identified as specially sacred and every year when Jupiter ( Guru ) enters each Rasi, Pushkaram or Kumbhamela or Mahamakam is celebrated for one particular river as per the following table:
Mesha: Ganges;According to Hindu belief, Ocean is the Lord and the rivers are his consorts.
Vrishaba: Narmada;
Mithuna: Saraswati;
Kataka: Yamuna
Simha Godavari;
Kanya: Krishna;
Tula : Kavery;
Vrichikam : Bheema
Danus :Tapati;
Makara: Tungabadra;
Kumba: Sindhu and
Meenam: Praneeta.
The human organism has several similarities with the other world 'cosmos'-the
body to earth, speech to fire, breath to air etc (e.g.) earth. The white
clay (Tiruman ) powdered saffron (Srichurnam ), the saffron red powder
prepared from turmeric roots (Kunkumam) (i.e. crosus sativus) worn by Hindu
womenfolk as an auspicious index and ash (vibuthi) worn daily on the forehead
especially and over several places on the body by some devout Hindus are
CONSTANT REMINDERS THAT THEY CAME
FROM DUST AND WOULD ULTIMATELY BE RETURNING TO DUST. THIS REMINDER
IS MEANT TO CHASTEN THE MIND BY HIGHLIGHTING THE IMPERMANENCE AND PERISHABILITY
OF THIS EXISTENCE AND THUS TO INSTILL A SENSE OF HUMILITY AND TO DISPEL
EGO INHERENT IN HUMANITY.
THESE `CASTEMARKS' AS THEY ARE CALLED ALSO SERVE THE PURPOSE IN RELIGION AKIN TO THE PURPOSE SERVED BY BADGES, MEDALS, STRIPES ETC IN DEFENCE AND POLICE ESTABLISHMENTS. THEY CONSTITUTE WHAT WE NOW KNOW OF AS `ID' CARDS THAT INDICATE THE STATUS AND THE CLASS OF THE WEARER AND THE FUNCTIONS WHICH THEY BELONG TO. THEY ARE LIKE THE `FORMAL' DRESS INSISTED UPON DURING PARTIES AND SPECIAL GATHERINGS TO DIFFERENTIATE THE PARTICIPANTS FROM OTHER `LAY' AND 'MERE MORTALS'!.
The principles underlying what we now know as 'acupuncture' and 'accupressure' were developed by our ancestors as 'accutouch' dispensing with the painful `puncture' and `pressure'. By mere `accutouch' of the various parts of the body the same effects could be secured, though our ancestors did not spell them out in a way understandable to the so called modern scientific mind.
Modern Computer is activated by soft feather touch of the keys in the keyboard. Similarly, our physical body with the nerve endings would respond to mere soft 'accutouch" provided the touch is administered in conjunction with the appropriate 'Mantras". No puncture or pressure would be needed to activate these nerve endings and the mere touch would do the magic.
Our body is held together by Pranas or life-force which moves through meridians,- a kind of electrical pathways. These connect various organs and glands with endings in our hands, chest, neck, forehead, stomach, back of neck as also feet, knee joints etc. Just as the arteries carry blood, these meridians carry the life-force energy throughout the body. This system has switches and junction points which could be activated to regulate supply of life- force to the various parts of the body.
When the flow is interrupted for any reason, disease sets in. The remedy lies in switching on the current by applying a stimulant by a gentle touch at the appropriate end points as aforesaid. This releases muscular tension, promotes blood circulation and ensures flow of life force energy to the affected parts by releasing pain killers like ENDORPHINES, NEURO CHEMICALS ETC AND THEY STIMULATE AN ALPHA WAVE RESPONSE in the brain and pituitary glands thus increasing our energy stock and facilitates diaphragmatic breathing and relieves knuckles all without our ever noticing it. During Sandya Vandana, we sprinkle water on these nerve endings and touch them with appropriate `Mantras' and earlier to that we apply the `Caste marks' with white clay (Tiruman ) and powdered saffron (Srichurnam) at the appropriate places which suck the impurities invisibly. These have been integrated in our daily chores as an in built discipline.
Again, these `Karmas' and `Kainkaryas' involve effort and action The Panchamaha Yagnas prescribed for the householder to be observed as Nitya Karmas are packed with action and activity.
It may be questioned, not without justification, how such actions will not entail `Punya' and if it does, whether it will not also constitute impediment to the Moksha ideal.
In Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 5, Lord Krishna spells out the magic formula by which even virtuous action can be stripped of their effects on the performer. This magic formula is defined by him as `Nish kaamya karma'. Now, what is this which effaces the effects of all action and how does it work?.
"BE IN IT and YET BE OUT OF IT" at the same time. Gita says - "ACT IN THE LIVING WORLD BY STANDING APART FROM IT". If you have possessions, by all means do have them but be not attached to them. Physical possession is not wrong; the culprit is the sense of attachment to them.
Very difficult? Not that difficult, consider these :
1.Supposing you are an actor in a drama. You act precisely as instructed by the Director. You act as efficiently as you can as if you are the personality of the character you represent on the stage, though in reality you are NOT that personality. The greater the dedication to your histrionic talents, the more natural you would appear for the audience. You may be a good person but when you act as a villain, the measure of your success in acting will be measured by the feeling of revulsion you arouse against that character among the spectators. Under the mask of a villain may lie a pure, serene, loveable you. Life is also a drama as Shakespeare puts it and we are all players. Play your part well.
AN ANGRY ACTOR IS NOT ANGRY PERSON EVEN WHILE ON THE STAGE. WHEN YOU QUIT THE SCENE EVEN THE ANGRY CHARACTER DOES NOT CLING ON TO YOU.
In fact, the word "personality" is derived from the Latin `persona' which originally meant mask. The mask through (per) which the action sounded (sonat) the part assigned. The mask is only an appearance; the actor behind it stands aloof from the emotions portrayed.
A question was asked how Rama could be so irrational, irresponsible and selfish when he challenged Sugriva and Samudra Raja who procrastinated in helping Rama in his search for his wife. His behavior, it was argued, was much more despicable than a low bred common man in the street. He got angry because they did not help him in his search for his wife, Does it not betray his ego? Does it not sound unfair to Sugriva and Samudraraja for after all their only `crime', if at all, was procrastination in an effort that was somebody else's affair?
It should be remembered that Rama was an Avatar of God, who is omniscient. He had no need to `miss' his wife, no need to seek anybody's help (much less of Sugriva and Samudraraja), no need to go about asking every tree and plant with grief whether they had seen `Sita' etc. Yet, if he did all these, it was only to show how a human being surrounded by misery in this world would react, how `an ordinary man in the street' would behave in such circumstances. The feeling of revulsion aroused by SRI RAMA in this case, is the measure of his success in `ACTING LIKE A HUMAN BEING'. The questioner did not know the other side of the picture (i.e.) how he CONTROLLED his `anger'- thus showing how one should control anger in such circumstances.
Further, in Rama's days breaking a promise was deemed a very heinous crime and not rushing to help one to whom help had earlier been promised much worse. Rama was one who would never break his plighted word and was known for hastening to protect those who took refuge in him. Naturally, it was ' human' for him to expect Sugriva and Samudraraja to act similarly especially when he had prayed for their help and they had in turn promised to do the needful.
2. Or, take the example of any game of sports. You definitely play your part in winning the game for your side. The game can be won or lost, but the player remains the same. The thrill of the game lies not so much in `winning' as in `playing'; if you play well, your facilities develop. Sometimes even losing a game than winning would seem to be profitable from the point of view of gaining experience.
The attitude of the `Karma Yogi' is akin to that of the player in the drama and in the game mentioned above. He never gets discouraged because he does not ask to win though he puts out all efforts most sincerely. ALL THAT HE SEEKS IS TO BE ON THE SIDE WHERE HE BELONGS.
The `Karma yogi' attends to each duty as and when it comes up and discharges it as if it were the ONLY thing for him to do. When he has done that or is required to leave it, for whatever reason, to take up another duty, he again addresses himself to that other duty with the same measure of wholehearted concentration and intensity of application. Even when being hyperactive, he gives an appearance of being at rest. The hub of a rotating wheel seems to stand still though it is at the vortex of great commotion. So also the mind of the `karma yogi' will remain still in the midst of incessant activity.
This stillness in the midst of constant motion is the result of a mental attitude called `Stitha Pragnatvam' an attitude that is not afflicted by joy or sorrow, success or failure, weal or woe, an equilibrium of attitude which does not allow the mind to be swayed by the vicissitudes of fortune. The mind is fixated on the one constant supreme having realized that the intermittent spells of fortunes and misfortunes are but transient and evanescent, incidents viewed in the backdrop of the totality of existence.
Yoga Vasishta describes a Stitaprajna thus "For a Yogi who has found the treasure of eternal happiness and whose intellect has stopped running after the objects of enjoyment, even the greatest empire on the earth is nothing more valuable than a dry leaf that is to be shed" 12.
This Stitapragnatvam (firmness of wisdom) is nothing but a spirit of detachment. What is detachment? Detachment is Non-attachment to things that are not permanent. What is impermanent? Anything that can be perceived by the senses is. The only thing that is not amenable to sense perception is the SUPREME REALITY OF BRAHMAN.
To put it differently, detachment is cessation of attachment to anything that is not `you'. What is not you? Anything that you call YOUR'S IS NOT YOU. When you say `This is my book, 'This is my mind' or 'This is my body', implicit in the claim is the fact that they are `yours' and not `you' (e.g.) your body is not `you'; it is only your's. You never change but your body is subject to constant changes. Your body of today is not what it was when you were born. New formation of cells have replaced the old ones. Anything that undergoes changes is not YOU. When you say `I slept well' - it is not the body nor your mind because they were unaware of the sleep, having been laid to rest. The `I' here refers to your Atma which is immutable, indestructible and imperishable.
This sense of detachment is generally developed consciously over a period of time but in individual cases, it can also dawn as a result of sudden jolts in experiences. By this, it should not be concluded that a person running away from home or his surroundings due to some temporary setback which he feels he cannot face is detached. It is not detachment; it is escapism; it is the act of a fugitive coward because it is not born of real VIVEKA (Discretion) or real VIRAKTI (Detachment) And, such a person will soon be back to square one when the poignancy of feeling withers by sheer efflux of time, if for no other extenuating circumstances.
VIVEKA (DISCRETION) IS THAT HELPS TO CUT ASUNDER THE PATENTLY TEMPORAL FROM THE LATENTLY ETERNAL; THAT WHICH BESTOWS THE POWER OFDISCRIMINATING BETWEEN WHAT IS MERELY EPHEMERAL FROM WHAT IS ENDURING.
Detachment is then-not escapism, not running away from responsibilities, not cowardice. Detachment again is not being ineffective. On the other hand, only when one is detached one can act effectively and dispassionately because one will be free from confusion and excitement inherent in involvement and distraction from effective functioning.
A physical running away to a hermitage is not a proof of detachment, for even a hermit might all the time be pandering to his cravings in his heart and dwell in his imaginations deep in the very cravings he had `DESIRED TO DESPISE'. On the other hand, a person can well be neck-deep involved in the activities of the world, holding immense responsibilities which would render even the act of worrying about a luxury since decisions may have to be taken from moment to moment. One has to develop an attitude like the proverbial lotus leaf which being in water, not a drop of water sticks to it. In Hinduism, Lotus ( a member of the water lily family) is a sacred symbol of non - attachment.
In Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna advises "Action is thy duty; fruit is not thy concern. Never desire the fruits and never desire inaction"13
This advice to Arjuna to act without concern for fruits might seem odd and out of context in the modern world. Modern management concepts emphasize that only result oriented action can provide the motivation required for human action to be functioning. Without orientation to goals, objectives and results there can be no effective functioning. To act without an eye on the results would seem impossible and even foolish.
But, as JOHN HAUGHT puts it -
"And yet Krishna's advice epitomizes Hindu religious wisdom by setting
forth a path to freedom that carries us beyond the requirements of a purely
pragmatic existence. If we could undertake our work without worrying excessively
about whether it leads to goals we prefer, we might experience the beginnings
of liberation. Krishna's advice is not entirely different from what Biblical
religion refers to as following the `Will of God'. For Jews, Muslims and
Christians, this imperative also initially seemed burdensome but the religiously
wise testify to its ultimately liberating consequences"14.
If all this appears like quibbling, impractical, if not impossible - Let us consider how practically one could build up the right attitude described above. Let us take the example of a mother and son :
A widowed aged mother toils day and night in a remote village. With her meager earnings, she sends her beloved son to a far off town-school where he stays in a hostel. The boy is a brilliant student. He justifiably aspires for the highest grades. There is nothing wrong about it. If he desires the grades all for his own satisfaction, it is just normal like any average person. What elevates the desire to the level of Nishkamya karma would be if he dedicates his efforts to his doting beloved mother. If he says to himself "I am studying well because that will please my mother. If I get good grades, it is my mother who will be happy and whatever happiness I get is but a spark of the happiness my mother would feel in her heart".
This attitude of dedication would enthuse him to maximum concentration in his studies more in the efficient discharge of his duties to his mother than in his own personal satisfaction. Here, you find an example of `attachment' and `detachment a kind of `two-in-one'.
What Hinduism advises is, slowly you substitute in the place of the
mother, any figure that you love, father, spouse or whatever. Slowly, you
will feel transformed. When you substitute God in the place of this figure
and dedicate all your thoughts, words and deeds - you can achieve the `ATTACHMENT
TO ACTION' AND 'DETACHMENT FROM THE FRUITS OF ACTION'
because the fruits of your Karmas then would not stick to you.
A lingering doubt might arise still: Can Nish kaamya karma (desireless
action) go without yielding its appropriate fruits irrespective of whether
we desire the fruits or not? Because, the fruits indeed do not depend upon
our desire or the absence of it. `As you sow, so you reap', and the reaping
will not stop merely because you don't desire the yield. Similarly, no
action goes without its effects. This is a very pertinent and relevant
question.
The solution to this paradox is as follows :
The difference between Kaamya karma and Nish kaamya Karma is that whereas the former is done for your own pleasure, the latter is performed only as a dedication to God and the desire is `pleasure of God' and not your personal gratification. `Bhagavat Preethyartham' for the pleasure of the Lord is the fruit desired in Nish Kaamya Karma. In fact, the invocation (Sankalpa) before any action is undertaken is: - "Svasmai Svapreethaye Svayameva Karayathi" for his own pleasure. He Himself does it" and at the conclusion, instead of Karayathi, we say Karithavan meaning he has done it. And, this desire is fulfilled and the fruit of the pleasure of the Lord is realized. So, any action results in effects. The effect of Nish kaamya karma accrues to the Lord and not to you even though you are actually a puppet performing the action.
In Bhagavad Gita Lord Krishna says,
Whatever you do, whatever you take, Whatever you offer, whatever you
give and whatever penance you perform -Dedicate every thing to me, Arjuna"15.