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Karma Yoga in the Gita |
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Karma Yoga in the GitaThe Mahabharata war was inevitable because all attempts at resolving arriving at a negotiated settlement by Sri Krishna were in vain. The two armies of the Pandava and Kauravas assembled on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. There Arjuna went through a terrible time of remorse and melancholy. Sri Krishna told him a lot of things to allay his fears and worries. This is compiled as a book of teachings called the Bhagavad Gita. It enumerates a number of paths, including Karma and worldly duties. The goal is to attain to the highest Truth. What starts out as a friendly dialogue between the two, turns into a spiritual discourse between Guru and disciple. It was as if Sri Krishna was waiting for the opportune moment to impart real spiritual knowledge for the welfare of humankind.
Whether Arjuna’s feelings of remorse and melancholia arose from a sense of real pity, concern, and compassion, or whether they were the outcome of fear and cowardice nobody knows. However, Sri Krishna was aware that such fear and remorse did not augur well for the war; or for progress of seekers of Truth. It, therefore, became necessary to elucidate to Arjuna path to realization of the soul. The impact of the philosophy of Jnana Yoga, in those times, had created a wave of blind followers of false knowledge. However, since most seekers did not have the required qualification to undertake the study of Jnana Yoga, it resulted in an escapist trend in the social behavior. This took the form of fleeing from the obligatory responsibilities and duties so necessary for individual and collective growth.
Therefore, Sri Krishna told Arjuna: 'Your only duty is to act. That is your right to work, not to go after the fruits of action.' (Gita Chapter II: 47) Karma Yoga according to the Gita is not to be beguiled by the purpose of one’s actions, not to let the work bind and blind the individual. Work is to worship; and to work with total detachment and an attitude of selflessness, forgoing all the idea of 'doership' in favour of the bigger picture is the real reward in itself. Sri Krishna exhorts Arjuna to do it with full concentration, to get engaged in the work at hand, i.e. the battle against the enemy. This is true Karma Yoga according to the Gita. |
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