Sharing Sanjivani (Sanjivani - Life Saving Herb)

Chapter (52)What is the real 'Abandoning'?

(52) What is the real ‘Abandoning’?

What is the real abandoning of physical and mental illusive worldly entertainments?

Lord Krishna says Arjun that he is a pure hearted person then why should he have doubts about actions and duty, kriya and karma? This type of doubts would be no longer nurtured by his temperament. The meaning of Arjun is pure. Hence he should try to control his senses by his mind. Lord Krishna says,”You are intelligent hence you should consider and accept the truth that your mind and your senses are not connected automatically.”It means that  if you want to apply your mind in swimming your physical organs and senses would be prepared to swim. If you think about reading your eyes would follow the words and your hand would hold the book to read which shows that senses are not naturally connected with mind. Our mind orders our senses to do kriya –karma-action .If you can control your mind you can engage your mind in any work or you can remain inactive and indifferent to any work. Hence you have to control your mind.

Moreover, our senses could be controlled only when we remain detached from those things or abandon attachment to relations. When our senses are under our control they follow the instructions. Further senses could be controlled by practice and they could be controlled by force. An obstinate yogi tries to control his senses forcefully but if our mind is not under our control, we could not abandon attachment to that things .We strictly observe the fast on a particular day or for a week or for a month but it does not mean that we have abandoned the desire to eat tasty food. The attachment to those delicious dishes and their taste remain as usual.

Attachment is formed in two ways .We are attached to our karma-deeds and we are attached to the fruits, result, reward and consequences of those karma -deeds. Hence it is understood that all the vices are connected to the attachment and not to the karma or the fruit. When a person is attached to worldly things, he could not accomplish yoga. If a person abandons attachment, he could be yogi. Hence Lord Krishna insists Arjun on abandoning attachment to his karma and not to abandon the karma itself.

A Sadhak should do karma with ‘no attachment’ to his karma. It does not mean that he should do his karma without care. A sadhak does every karma not for him but for the welfare of the world and all livings. Hence he should do his karma with due care and eagerness. A Sadhak should divert his intellect thinking in such a way  that he is not doing this karma for himself but he is doing every karma for the welfare of others. When a Sadhak does karma for the welfare of others, he could learn to remain detached from his karma and fruit of his karma.

As we accept that our senses that do routine kriya-action and perform duties towards the welfare of family, friend, nation and universe on a wider sense has no relation with our original self ’soul’. But our physical body and our attachment creates pride and ego of possessing our body and physical properties. When a Sadhak accepts ‘No relation’ of his ‘soul’ with these physical properties or even his own body and senses, he becomes pride less. His ego is abolished and he could learn to remain detached from his karma and its fruit. And when a Sadhak could be detached from his karma and its fruits, he could achieve ‘yoga’ in his karma.

A common man does everything to fulfill his desires but a Sadhak does everything, every karma to fulfill the intention of welfare of others. Hence a common man remains attached with his karma and its fruits but a Sadhak could be free from both, his karma and fruits of his karma. A ‘Gyanyogi’ and a ‘Karmayogo’ both could abandon the desire of getting fruit from their karma but it would become easy to follow karmayoga compared to ‘Gyanyoga’ on the way controlling our mind and senses, desire of fruits of karma ,karma yogi do not need anything as an instrument to attain salvation but Gyanyogi should need instruments to abandon his pride and ego, his attachment to his body and desires of getting fruits of his karma. Hence karma yoga insists on abandoning attachment to things and relation. When a karma yogi abandons attachment, he could have ‘balanced intellect’ and sthitapragnata-steadiness  in gain and pain, joy and sorrow. Hence Lord Krishna insists Arjun on not to abandon karma but to abandon the desire of getting fruits of (war) karma.

Every karma is done by mind, thoughts and our senses inwardly and outwardly by our organs as hands or legs. Hence both senses and organs are considered as karmendriya. When a Sadhak does karma for the welfare of others it becomes ‘yoga’- karmayoga and when a person does karma for himself with ‘desired fruits’ or getting anything his karma gets attached to the consequences of fruits of karma .Hence Lord insists on abandoning the desire of fruits of karma and not karma itself.

Then how to be a’ karmayogi’ from a common man performing duties for his existence?

Let’s learn from Lord Krishna…