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Everything depends on the state of mind. Action without selfish motive purifies the mind: the doer is less likely to be ego-driven later.
I appreciate this message, because it allows you to see the benefits strictly from a mindset, for example doing the dishes could be this with the right mindset.
Perform work in this world, Arjuna, as a man established within himself – without selfish attachments, and alike in success and defeat. For yoga is perfect evenness of mind. (2:47–48)
“Fruits,” of course, means the outcome. What Krishna means is to give up attachment to the results of what you do: that is, to give your best to every undertaking without insisting that the results work out the way you want, or even whether what you do is pleasant or unpleasant.
This is very much what I would like to do with education, what does this look like and how do you make it look positive, even when you renounce the results?
“Yoga is skill in action” (2:50).
Do it, that is, not for personal reward but out of love for the Lord, present in every creature. “Whatever you eat, whatever worship you perform, whatever you give, whatever you suffer”: everything is to be done and given and endured and enjoyed for the sake of the Lord in all, not for ourselves.
This idea transcends each thing we do and puts it into perspective.
Thus we arrive at the idea of “actionless action”: of persons so established in identification with the Self that in the midst of tireless service of those around them, they remain in inner peace, the still witness of action.
The Gita’s goal is to harness this activity in selfless service, removing the poisonous agency of the ego:
Krishna delivers a surprise: the surest sign is that they have banished all selfish desires. Their senses and mind are completely trained, so they are free from sensory cravings and self-will. Identified completely with the Self, not with body or mind, they realize their immortality here on earth.
Since the Self is the core of every personality, no one needs to acquire goodness or compassion; they are already there. All that is necessary is to remove the selfish habits that hide them.
One person believes she will succeed in life and overcomes great obstacles; another, who believes she can do nothing, may be more gifted and face fewer difficulties but accomplish very little.
The power of faith truly!
As the Buddha puts it, “All that we are is the result of what we have thought. We are made of our thoughts; we are molded by our thoughts.”
“Right shraddha,” according to the Gita, is faith in spiritual laws: in the unity of life, the presence of divinity in every person, the essentially spiritual nature of the human being.
Everyone who has accepted this challenge, I think, will testify that life offers no fiercer battle than this war within. We have no choice about the fighting; it is built into human nature.
Does he have a soul? Does it survive death? Is there a deeper reality than we perceive in the world around us? If so, is it possible to know it directly, and (for Arjuna is always practical) what effect does such knowing have in everyday life?
Sri Krishna begins by reminding Arjuna of his immortal nature: his real Self, the Atman, never dies, for it is never born; it is eternal.
This is so important to give us confidence in times of darkness.
In the allegorical sense, Krishna is a symbol of the Atman, Arjuna’s deepest Self.
Just as death is certain for the living, rebirth is certain for the dead.
Again, another wonderful message of our lived reality that we have to accept in faith.
It teaches a basic detachment from pleasure and pain, as this chapter says more than once. Only in this way can an individual rise above the conditioning of life’s dualities and identify with the Atman, the immortal Self.
What a powerful message of acceptance. It is at the heart of all great learning.
“Yoga is evenness of mind”: detachment from the dualities of pain and pleasure, success and failure. Therefore “yoga is skill in action,” because this kind of detachment is required if one is to act in freedom, rather than merely react to events compelled by conditioning.
This is how we should always speak of yoga, because it is much more of a spiritual practice and not an exercise.
His judgment will be better and his vision clear if he is not emotionally entangled in the outcome of what he does.
Yes, I get this but how do you get around all of the preconditioned responses that are so well established in my mind and heart?
Those who are established in wisdom (sthita-prajna) live in continuous, unbroken awareness that they are not the perishable body but the Atman. Further, they see the same Self in everyone, for the Atman is universally present in all.
What a beautiful statement of why we shouldn’t fear death, but rather embrace the power to transform as it draws near.
Those established in Self-realization control their senses instead of letting their senses control them. If the senses are not controlled, Krishna warns, the mind (or emotions) will follow wherever they lead.
This is certainly a big part of my own journey and where it is to take me. I am hopeful for a more enlightened pathway.
Yet the Gita does not recommend asceticism. It is more a matter of training the body, mind, and senses.
What a beautiful path, total devotion toward self betterment and release from ego born desires.
As the same person inhabits the body through childhood, youth, and old age, so too at the time of death he attains another body. The wise are not deluded by these changes.
Those who are unaffected by these changes, who are the same in pleasure and pain, are truly wise and fit for immortality.
The body is mortal, but that which dwells in the body is immortal and immeasurable. Therefore, Arjuna, fight in this battle.
Every creature is unmanifested at first and then attains manifestation. When its end has come, it once again becomes unmanifested. What is there to lament in this?
How do we live this attitude completely, without doubt or sorrow? I feel like grief is natural, but the thought of rebirth is beautiful to continuing living even in Samsara.
But if you do not participate in this battle against evil, you will incur sin, violating your dharma and your honor.
What a wonderful way to live your life, that of a battle of goodness, but I would say more skillful ness, because judgement of good and bad, can be dangerous.
You have the right to work, but never to the fruit of work. You should never engage in action for the sake of reward, nor should you long for inaction. 48 Perform work in this world, Arjuna, as a man established within himself – without selfish attachments, and alike in success and defeat. For yoga is perfect evenness of mind.
What an intriguing idea. You have the right to work, but not of the fruits of work. Do work, for the sake of it only.
Seek refuge in the attitude of detachment and you will amass the wealth of spiritual awareness.
When consciousness is unified, however, all vain anxiety is left behind. There is no cause for worry, whether things go well or ill.
Neither agitated by grief nor hankering after pleasure, they live free from lust and fear and anger. Established in meditation, they are truly wise.
But when you move amidst the world of sense, free from attachment and aversion alike, 65 there comes the peace in which all sorrows end, and you live in the wisdom of the Self.
I am really enjoying this statement because it explains very clearly what causes us pain and suffering.
Use all your power to free the senses from attachment and aversion alike, and live in the full wisdom of the Self.
I love this statement, however, it isn’t easy and our habitual mind really wants to keep going down the same pathways.
Each being must do its part in the grand scheme of things, and there is no way to avoid this obligation – except perhaps by the complete enlightenment which loosens all the old bonds of karma.
What a relief to know that being of service will benefit all of us. What volunteer work can Ife and I do together?
Only when he is free from every bond of karma – every consequence of past action – can he achieve life’s ultimate goal.
Wow, a noble cause, but is it possible?
We must act in a selfless spirit, Krishna says, without ego-involvement and without getting entangled in whether things work out the way we want; only then will we not fall into the terrible net of karma.
The danger, of course, of a life of active engagement in the world is that Arjuna will get caught up in his actions and begin to act out of selfish motives. If this were to happen, he would be doomed to spiritual failure.
What an interesting comment and one that I want to remember. It almost sounds like it could be a mantra.
Krishna replies that anger and selfish desire are our greatest enemies.
Yes, if you think about the motivation behind each one. Anger is this feeling that we are not getting what we want and selfish behavior is clinging to what we want and demanding more of it.
If he cannot reach this detachment, he will be always caught in the emotional storms of passion (rajas) or the quagmires of inertia (tamas) which alternate in dominating the mind and body.
6 Those who abstain from action while allowing the mind to dwell on sensual pleasure cannot be called sincere spiritual aspirants. 7 But they excel who control their senses through the mind, using them for selfless service.
Act selflessly, without any thought of personal profit.
But anyone who enjoys the things given by the devas without offering selfless acts in return is a thief.
Every selfless act, Arjuna, is born from Brahman, the eternal, infinite Godhead. Brahman is present in every act of service. 16 All life turns on this law, O Arjuna. Those who violate it, indulging the senses for their own pleasure and ignoring the needs of others, have wasted their life.
What does it look like to be in service? How does this play out?
There is nothing in the three worlds for me to gain, Arjuna, nor is there anything I do not have; I continue to act, but I am not driven by any need of my own.
It is so empowering to release your ego connection with work. Just do it for service.
By abstaining from work you will confuse the ignorant, who are engrossed in their actions. Perform all work carefully, guided by compassion.
I love this idea of being guided by compassion, is this connected to my why?
The senses have been conditioned by attraction to the pleasant and aversion to the unpleasant. Do not be ruled by them; they are obstacles in your path.
Thus, knowing that which is supreme, let the Atman rule the ego. Use your mighty arms to slay the fierce enemy that is selfish desire.
Avatara literally means descent: Vishnu is believed to descend and incarnate himself on earth from age to age to reestablish divine law (dharma).
This seems true of all deities, right?
