Bhagavad Gita gives reference to "karma" - action, aligned with "dharma" - the laws of nature, at multiple places. The idea of "action" and then the "right action" as postulated in the Bhagavad Gita is pretty interesting and profound. In this article I discuss different dimensions of this philosophy.
A) Action without attachment to the Goal.
In this Krishna says, "You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of actions. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty"
In simple terms it means: Keep on performing your duties without expecting any reward in return, leading a selfless life.
Most of us today have forgotten about this part and always take things as business deals. Be it friendship, love or even marriage. We always impose conditions before doing anything so that we benefit from it in the end. Here the suggestion is to do away with the greed of the result of any action.
In this level, one can logically arrive to the efficacy of this formulation. Obviously, when you are not distracted by the future result that your action will take you to, and focus all your energy and attention to your task at hand, you would be able to be more organized and efficient at your task. This will by itself lead you to successful result.
B) Action - the only path to true wisdom.
In the next level, we are told that "the path of knowledge is the same as the path of action." What this means is that "the path of action," i.e, of what is called Right Action, when it is attained, merges with the path of knowledge. At this point, they become one and the same; but this is because that action is no longer action, as we normally understand it, but something quite different: it is wisdom in activity and, ultimately, just wisdom. So we can see that in order to reach this path of wisdom, a man cannot be bound to the action he is carrying out, but must be immersed in the Law, and act from there. Right action is not an attitude of giving in order to receive, of sowing in order to reap. To understand this we have to break down our mental structure which is unable to conceive the reality of something for that "something" in it. If we take a certain path, we feel we have to get somewhere; if we make a sacrifice, we have to gain a reward; it we give, we feel that sooner or later we must receive something in return. This is the way we tend to think. But the Bhagavad Gita has totally a different formulation. It says that right action would put an end to the chain of exchanges, with cause and effect. It leads one to a kind of freedom, where one is closer to the truth, to the wisdom. There is nothing that action shall take to, which is any way near to the profundity of wisdom that action itself nurtures the person. It is the journey the person undertakes doing an action that beautifies his character with added insights and wisdom. The result of the action is just another outcome - a bonus, if you would. There many grander aspects of entering into an action per se. Attaining knowledge, wisdom, understanding, maturity, insight, etc are various other dimensions that linger from the process of entering into a right action. It is further said that without action, no wisdom is possible.
To explain this tenet, let me take up a small example. If I am to explain to my daughter what love is, I might explain all the definitions, theoretical frameworks, aspects, nature and ramification of this word. My child might be able to get a fair idea of the concept in a mental level. But it will be still be in the superficial level of just another intellectual concept, a shallow mental picture. It is only through her personal experience of what is love, by entering into an activity engaging her entire personality, experiencing the bliss of being in love in relating to it, or experiencing the pain of not in love, from the level of mind, heart, body and soul, she will be able to for the first time taste what real love is all about. You might agree that this voluntary or involuntary engagement into an activity to really experience love is a necessity in the part of my daughter to really understand what love is, in its totality. Not just a partial understanding in the level of mental models. Same thing holds good in any aspect of life. An understanding which is based on borrowed ideas, without entering into self-action, remains superficial in the level of just mental models. That is just a partial view. That is by itself powerless and sterile. There is no potency, vitality or life in it. Life has to be lived, entering into activity, to experience and understand life, in its various aspects. One who has not seen, felt and trekked the Himalayas, will never even come close to what is known as the grandeur of the Himalayas.
In today's world of rampant commoditization, people think that they can buy anything and everything off the shelf. If one wants to have a good dinner, one immediately buys oneself an expensive dinner in a restaurant. But the person totally misses out the pleasure of growing the vegetables, washing and cutting them, cooking them, and really cherishes the profundity of the pleasure of eating and sharing the food, after ente ring into all these activities. One would be able to appreciate the difference in the quality of pleasure one derives in the second way, when compared to the first.
One has to really understand that even in the realm of interpersonal relationships this holds good. If one does not take deep interest into the other, and really enter into an internal activity to understand a person, his point of view, his pains and fears, his personality needs, his background, his interests, one will never even be able to relate to what the other is even trying to say. Most of the way we relate to others is very superficial. We never feel for the other. We relate to the other just in the mental and logical level, most of the times superimposing our own autobiography on the other person. Relating to another person in such superficial realm, we end up either loving, or hating him. One has to understand that such a stance is just an illusion. By this, one has to understand that he is not dealing with another individual, but just a projection of one's own self.
C) Being-ness over Having-ness -
In the journey from "action" to the "right action", Krishna proposes the aspect of Being over Having. The state of being is prescribed to search for the "right action" for one own self. This right action for an individual is suited to the uniqueness of the individual. It helps the individual to express himself fully and bring the full expression of his unique individuality. In Sanskrit, the term used to denote this is "Swadharma". In the state of being, which precedes the state of doing, a person is asked to contemplate on his self, and use his reason, experience, understanding and other human faculties to break through the illusions both within and outside, and search for himself the right action - the right way of being. Only after this phase, one is asked to venture into the world of action. This phase of being-ness does not end when a person is in the domain of doing. He continues in this state, being centered in his "Swadharma", and keeps taking action. He is always centered and grounded.
The state of Being has two fold purpose. One is it allows the person to select which action to take, and which not to. This is a sense of discrimination one develops within. The second is that the person grounded in the state of being, even when performing the action, does not get distracted by the storm of the distractions of "having" from all the directions of the material world. He is tuned to the internal compass of "Swadharma".
This can be appreciated in the way Mother Earth manifests herself. Mother Earth or as she is known by the ancient Greeks as Gaia, is always in a state of tranquil inaction, in an outward realm. But she is always quietly serving thousands of seeds to nourish them in her womb, holding in her immense embrace the sparkle of the diamonds, the sheen of gold, the passion of throbbing geysers and hot springs, and innumerable life forms. Mother Earth does not enter into these activities to "have" something. She even does not proclaim for her actions to the universe. Please note that the state of being-ness as is not about lethargy, in-action, and a dejected state of hopelessness. Rather it is a state of immense internal activity. The activity might not be visible to the material world. But there are lots of upheavals being crossed, battles being won, obstacles being overcome, in the is-ness of one's own inner self. This builds up the psychological capital which provides the strength and direction to oneself to relate to the world outside. Mother Earth in this case, always is in a state of "is-ness". This state of "is-ness" from outside looks like a life-less inertia. But in reality, from within, she is in endless activity grounded deep into love, concern and compassion. She does not have anything. She is just "IS". This awareness and appreciation of "Being-ness" brings into one's consciousness new depth of being alive, which would have otherwise fizzled out when man is vexed in the race of having and having. A person will be able to see the hidden beauty of life, which is camouflaged by the apparent commotion, dis-integration, contradictions and ugliness all prevalent on surface. This opens up avenues to appreciate and observe divinity from the everyday chores of one's existence. Being-ness attaches meaning to an action. This meaning crops from one's capacity of love, concern, passion, vitality and potency. In the state of "Being", one starts to recognize that, in spite of abominable ugliness of the world around, there is an undercurrent of beauty and melody and a serene composure joyously gurgling. The more he recognizes the harmony in which the life is woven, more he goes deeper - between the ridges of the tapestry and dives into the beauty gushing out from each deep pore of the fabric of life. He realizes that the true bliss is not having something or somebody. That pleasure of having is just momentarily. Eventually what one has, rusts, decays and die. Only what stays is what "is"
A) Action without attachment to the Goal.
In this Krishna says, "You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of actions. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty"
In simple terms it means: Keep on performing your duties without expecting any reward in return, leading a selfless life.
Most of us today have forgotten about this part and always take things as business deals. Be it friendship, love or even marriage. We always impose conditions before doing anything so that we benefit from it in the end. Here the suggestion is to do away with the greed of the result of any action.
In this level, one can logically arrive to the efficacy of this formulation. Obviously, when you are not distracted by the future result that your action will take you to, and focus all your energy and attention to your task at hand, you would be able to be more organized and efficient at your task. This will by itself lead you to successful result.
B) Action - the only path to true wisdom.
In the next level, we are told that "the path of knowledge is the same as the path of action." What this means is that "the path of action," i.e, of what is called Right Action, when it is attained, merges with the path of knowledge. At this point, they become one and the same; but this is because that action is no longer action, as we normally understand it, but something quite different: it is wisdom in activity and, ultimately, just wisdom. So we can see that in order to reach this path of wisdom, a man cannot be bound to the action he is carrying out, but must be immersed in the Law, and act from there. Right action is not an attitude of giving in order to receive, of sowing in order to reap. To understand this we have to break down our mental structure which is unable to conceive the reality of something for that "something" in it. If we take a certain path, we feel we have to get somewhere; if we make a sacrifice, we have to gain a reward; it we give, we feel that sooner or later we must receive something in return. This is the way we tend to think. But the Bhagavad Gita has totally a different formulation. It says that right action would put an end to the chain of exchanges, with cause and effect. It leads one to a kind of freedom, where one is closer to the truth, to the wisdom. There is nothing that action shall take to, which is any way near to the profundity of wisdom that action itself nurtures the person. It is the journey the person undertakes doing an action that beautifies his character with added insights and wisdom. The result of the action is just another outcome - a bonus, if you would. There many grander aspects of entering into an action per se. Attaining knowledge, wisdom, understanding, maturity, insight, etc are various other dimensions that linger from the process of entering into a right action. It is further said that without action, no wisdom is possible.
To explain this tenet, let me take up a small example. If I am to explain to my daughter what love is, I might explain all the definitions, theoretical frameworks, aspects, nature and ramification of this word. My child might be able to get a fair idea of the concept in a mental level. But it will be still be in the superficial level of just another intellectual concept, a shallow mental picture. It is only through her personal experience of what is love, by entering into an activity engaging her entire personality, experiencing the bliss of being in love in relating to it, or experiencing the pain of not in love, from the level of mind, heart, body and soul, she will be able to for the first time taste what real love is all about. You might agree that this voluntary or involuntary engagement into an activity to really experience love is a necessity in the part of my daughter to really understand what love is, in its totality. Not just a partial understanding in the level of mental models. Same thing holds good in any aspect of life. An understanding which is based on borrowed ideas, without entering into self-action, remains superficial in the level of just mental models. That is just a partial view. That is by itself powerless and sterile. There is no potency, vitality or life in it. Life has to be lived, entering into activity, to experience and understand life, in its various aspects. One who has not seen, felt and trekked the Himalayas, will never even come close to what is known as the grandeur of the Himalayas.
In today's world of rampant commoditization, people think that they can buy anything and everything off the shelf. If one wants to have a good dinner, one immediately buys oneself an expensive dinner in a restaurant. But the person totally misses out the pleasure of growing the vegetables, washing and cutting them, cooking them, and really cherishes the profundity of the pleasure of eating and sharing the food, after ente ring into all these activities. One would be able to appreciate the difference in the quality of pleasure one derives in the second way, when compared to the first.
One has to really understand that even in the realm of interpersonal relationships this holds good. If one does not take deep interest into the other, and really enter into an internal activity to understand a person, his point of view, his pains and fears, his personality needs, his background, his interests, one will never even be able to relate to what the other is even trying to say. Most of the way we relate to others is very superficial. We never feel for the other. We relate to the other just in the mental and logical level, most of the times superimposing our own autobiography on the other person. Relating to another person in such superficial realm, we end up either loving, or hating him. One has to understand that such a stance is just an illusion. By this, one has to understand that he is not dealing with another individual, but just a projection of one's own self.
C) Being-ness over Having-ness -
In the journey from "action" to the "right action", Krishna proposes the aspect of Being over Having. The state of being is prescribed to search for the "right action" for one own self. This right action for an individual is suited to the uniqueness of the individual. It helps the individual to express himself fully and bring the full expression of his unique individuality. In Sanskrit, the term used to denote this is "Swadharma". In the state of being, which precedes the state of doing, a person is asked to contemplate on his self, and use his reason, experience, understanding and other human faculties to break through the illusions both within and outside, and search for himself the right action - the right way of being. Only after this phase, one is asked to venture into the world of action. This phase of being-ness does not end when a person is in the domain of doing. He continues in this state, being centered in his "Swadharma", and keeps taking action. He is always centered and grounded.
The state of Being has two fold purpose. One is it allows the person to select which action to take, and which not to. This is a sense of discrimination one develops within. The second is that the person grounded in the state of being, even when performing the action, does not get distracted by the storm of the distractions of "having" from all the directions of the material world. He is tuned to the internal compass of "Swadharma".
This can be appreciated in the way Mother Earth manifests herself. Mother Earth or as she is known by the ancient Greeks as Gaia, is always in a state of tranquil inaction, in an outward realm. But she is always quietly serving thousands of seeds to nourish them in her womb, holding in her immense embrace the sparkle of the diamonds, the sheen of gold, the passion of throbbing geysers and hot springs, and innumerable life forms. Mother Earth does not enter into these activities to "have" something. She even does not proclaim for her actions to the universe. Please note that the state of being-ness as is not about lethargy, in-action, and a dejected state of hopelessness. Rather it is a state of immense internal activity. The activity might not be visible to the material world. But there are lots of upheavals being crossed, battles being won, obstacles being overcome, in the is-ness of one's own inner self. This builds up the psychological capital which provides the strength and direction to oneself to relate to the world outside. Mother Earth in this case, always is in a state of "is-ness". This state of "is-ness" from outside looks like a life-less inertia. But in reality, from within, she is in endless activity grounded deep into love, concern and compassion. She does not have anything. She is just "IS". This awareness and appreciation of "Being-ness" brings into one's consciousness new depth of being alive, which would have otherwise fizzled out when man is vexed in the race of having and having. A person will be able to see the hidden beauty of life, which is camouflaged by the apparent commotion, dis-integration, contradictions and ugliness all prevalent on surface. This opens up avenues to appreciate and observe divinity from the everyday chores of one's existence. Being-ness attaches meaning to an action. This meaning crops from one's capacity of love, concern, passion, vitality and potency. In the state of "Being", one starts to recognize that, in spite of abominable ugliness of the world around, there is an undercurrent of beauty and melody and a serene composure joyously gurgling. The more he recognizes the harmony in which the life is woven, more he goes deeper - between the ridges of the tapestry and dives into the beauty gushing out from each deep pore of the fabric of life. He realizes that the true bliss is not having something or somebody. That pleasure of having is just momentarily. Eventually what one has, rusts, decays and die. Only what stays is what "is"
______________________________________________
Copy Right © All rights reserved - Samrat Kar
Copy Right © All rights reserved - Samrat Kar
No comments:
Post a Comment