A series of talks of
The Bhagavad Gita
by His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Chapter 3. Karma Yoga
August 15th 2007 Los Angeles, USA
Life is both simple and complex at the same time. It is silence and activity at the same time. Take for an example a simple thing, you take a fruit, you eat a banana or an apple. Eating a piece of fruit and digesting it is so simple. But at the same time it is such a complex phenomenon. You ask an EGI, doctor. He will say how the food goes in and then the acid in the stomach and then the pancreas, liver and enzymes... you don’t know how many enzymes the brain gets the signals go and those many enzymes are released. If you just listen to the procedure of digestion, you will feel baffled and say “Oh! My god, so much work!” just to digest a piece of banana, it takes so much work and so many things are happening, so complex. At the same time, it is the simplest thing.
Life is an expression... a dynamic expression of cause and effect. Any particular thing you do, it has a particular impact, effect. The universe is governed by a law. And the law is of the cause and effect. The universe is virtually like a computer.
But the delusion... where does the delusion come? Where you get confused? When you think you have a right on the effect and forget the cause of it. You think you can over eat and go without having a stomachache. You think you can do whatever you want but not face the consequence of it. That is where our peace is disturbed, our mind is disturbed because we want to change the effect without attending to the cause of it. You know, even in the medical science, you only treat the symptoms many times. Now, of course, medical science is looking at the holistic way of treating and its effect. When you are just treating the symptom, you are not eliminating the symptom, (not) eliminating the effect, the impact will remain and it will change and become something else.
Sri Krishna gives a beautiful sutra which is very common, very popular, everybody talks about it. karmany evadhikaras te ma phalesu kadacana 2.47
Every Indian will speak about it. If they know nothing other than... even if they know (nothing) anything else, this, they definitely know. It is so commonly used. You have no control over the impact, effect, the fruit of action but you have control over the action.
It is not fatalistic. Fatalistic means you have no control over action at all. That is only for animals. Animal’s body is designed in such a way that they have no freedom, no freewill. They just follow the nature so they don’t get any karma at all. Animals do not accumulate any karma because they just follow their nature, their instincts. Human beings are not following just their instinct, what comes in the mind. The mind is where you have freedom. You have freewill and so you get karma. If you have no freewill, there is no way you will have any karma. Karma means an impression of an action.
The other day, a Yogi Raji was saying “If you throw some sweets and some grains, a pigeon will come and only pick up the grains because they don’t have any impression of the sweets that you thrown. They will not go to it.” Human beings are not that way. They will take the grains and sweets also. (laughter)
A child has less sense than an animal to what to eat and what not to eat because he has a freedom. That’s why children eat mud, not other animals eat mud. (laughter) You have a right in your action, what you do because you have the intellect, you have the discriminating power within you. You know what... you can judge what is right, what is wrong, what you want, what you don’t want.
Lord Krishna gives a beautiful sutra:
karmany evadhikaras te ma phalesu kadacana ma karma-phala-hetur bhur ma te sango ’stv akarmani 2.47
“Arjun, come on, wake up! You have a right to act, don’t worry about the fruit of the action.”
You will not act without expecting the fruit of action. You know, when you are cooking dhal, you know it is going to be cooked. That’s why you put the dhal and the water and put it on the fire because you know it is going to give result. Results are for sure going to come. But the result depends on the action and action is in your control. You can only make an impact on the result indirectly not directly. Do you see what I am saying? But this creates an illusion as though “See, I could cook the rice, I could cook the dhal because I did it. I put it on the fire so it cooked.” No! The rice simply follows the law. The dhal simply follows its law. Whether it is you or somebody or anybody, anywhere... when they put the dhal in the water and put it on the fire, it will cook. It is not that you did it! (laughter) But you think you have done it, you couldn’t do anything that is not within the law. By law it happens. But we get an impression “Oh! I did it.” Are you getting what I am saying?
You sow a seed or you put a sapling of rose and you put water, you put manure which is needed and it blossoms. But that flower just follows its law, its dharma. If it were your action, you should be able to get an apple out of a banana tree. (laughter) That is not the law. An apple will never come out from a banana tree because that is not the law. If it comes, there is something wrong. (laughter)
karmany evadhikaras te ma phalesu kadacana 2.47
Every action has an effect, every cause has an effect. And you have no control over the effect, my dear Arjuna! But you can have all control over the action that you do or the act that you will do. So, when an action has happened, an act has happened, don’t sit and regret. You have the freedom whether to regret or not regret. Regreting makes another regretful effect only. Do you get it? Regret is not a right action. A regret will only bring about another regret, regretful effect. And this is the beauty of yoga.
siddhy-asiddhyoh samo bhutva samatvam yoga ucyate 2.48
Whatever the impact is, impact of the action is law, is governed by the nature, you have no control over it. Whatever happens, you step back and you relax. The only way you can control your action is when you go beyond the 3 gunas. And then you see, sattwa, rajas and tamas, the 3 gunas are, you know, the inertia – tamas; restlessness, activity – rajas and sattwa – harmony. When you step beyond the 3 gunas, then you know you can make an impact on it. That is yoga, uniting with your Self. And this is the whole secret of action, skill in action.
Yoga is not just doing execises, asana, breathing and meditation.
yogah karmasu kausalam 2.50
That skill in action is yoga. While you are acting, yet you are not caught up with the feeling of you have done, you are doing or you have an impact on the effect. Skill in action. Any action you do, yoga brings up the skill in you. Wherein you are not feverish, like what we said yesterday in the 2nd chapter, what is it? f-f-f : Freedom from fear, feverishness and foolishness. One big F from 3 fs (laughter) Freedom from foolishness, feverishness and fear.
samatvam yoga ucyate 2.48
The equanimous... the equanimity in you is what yoga is. So He gives 3 definitions to yoga:
1st yogah karmasu kausalam 2.50 : yoga is skill in action.
How skillfully you act. When everything is falling apart that’s when you need to act. When everything falls apart and if you also fall apart, you have no skill to handle it, correct? When do you need an expert? When thing goes wrong. You know, when there is a mistake in the circuit, or if there is something wrong in your computer or if your television needs servicing, that’s when you need an expert. And an expert’s thing is - do not get messed up himself or herself. (laughter) If they are in a mess by themselves, what... how they can repair anything?
siddhy-asiddhyoh samo bhutva samatvam yoga ucyate 2.48
Whether something happens or not happen, at least not lose one’s equanimity. If you don’t lose your equanimity, you’ll be fit to act and correct or repair whatever needs to be done. When it is most needed, that is when you lose your calmness. When everything is calm, everything is peaceful, you being peaceful – there is no meaning. Then, you being peaceful when everything is peaceful is so dull and boring. (laughter) You should create some troubles. (laughter) You should have some fun, should have some mischief. (laughter) Everything is absolutely fine and peaceful, quite, you being peaceful have no meaning. But when everything is falling apart and you being quiet and peaceful... that peace has value. You know, a bottle of water is more worth in a desert than when you are surrounded by water all around. You are sitting in a spring, a bottle of water doesn’t matter to you. One handful in the spring is good enough to quench your thrist.
Calmness is most needed, wisdom is most needed when there is chaos, when there is confusion, when there is problem all around you. When life is a challenge - that’s when all the skill is needed from within you. When people blame you, when people don’t understand you, that’s when you need the inner strength to smile. When things don’t go the way you want them to be, that’s when you need the endurance, the strength and courage to face it. What bring you that courage? It’s exactly what Sri Krishna said
Yogah samatvam yoga ucyate 2.48
That equanimity there, that is the test of your yoga. As I was mentioning yesterday an instance about our guruji with Mahamat Ghandhi. Mahamat Ghandhi’s life companion, Kasturi Bhar Ghandhi was on her death bed. Doctors had given up hope... they said just hours or minutes... that’s it for her to live. So, at that time, Mahamat Ghandhi came out of his kutir and told our guruji, Pandit Sudakar Chaturvedi, “Read me that verse from Bhagavad Gita.” When he was reading Bhagavad Gita, he said “Today is your babus test.” “Today the test day, my examination, I will know whether will I be able to handle the loss of Kasturi.” As he was saying, tears rolled down from his eyes. Whether I am equanimous or not, today is the testing day.
Yoga brings the balance. It does not make you like yoyo, yoyo, yoyo... (laughter) Just observe how your mind goes... flares up for nothing and creates a mess all around. One moment it’s high, another it’s down. What do we call that? Bipolar (laughter)...in some way or other... bipolar... that is a extreme case. But those who are not yogis, those who are not doing yoga, they all in some manner I feel are in a bipolar state... somewhere border line case. (laughter) Yoga is the answer for these psychological illnesses.
Yogah samatvam yoga ucyate 2.48
Yoga is the equanimity that wells up in you, that comes up in you, stabilize your consciousness.
yogah karmasu kausalam 2.50
The 2nd thing he says is yoga is the skill in action. 2nd benefit of yoga.
3rd benefit of yoga is - it units with your Self. It brings the fulfillment, makes you realise you are fulfillment atma-vasyair vidheyatma 2.64 It brings you to your Self. It completes your life.
Then, the next question comes: how can I have it now? “Yes, I want to! What do I do?” “Asana, pranayama, meditation, what do I do to get it?”
He says “No, relax! (laughter) Relax.” That’s the beauty of Sankhya Yoga. He says “Relax! Nothing to do, just relax.”
Now this gives rise to the confusion. A person who is already confused... (laughter) this is a good excuse to get even more confused. Someone asks what is philosophy? It says “If you can’t convince somebody, confuse them.” (laughter) Because if they are convinced, they will just go away. They will have no question. If they are confused, then they also go away (laughter) because they can’t understand anything, the question disappears then also.
By now, Arjuna is even more confused. So the 3rd chapter begins with confusion. He says “Oh, my dear Krishna! You say drop everything, don’t do anything. And at the same time, you say do. (laughter) Tell me one thing first, definite one thing. You said this, that, perhaps, you keep me in a limbo. What is that I should do? You said action, you glorify that, you should do act. Then, you said “No, like a turtle you take everything inside and then get focus on your Self and meditate, be silent, quiet, take refuge in yoga, be equanimous. And then next moment you said “What would people think about you? They will think you are such a coward. You are running away from the battle field. You are not doing your duty. Come on! Wake up and do your duty.” Another time, you said “Relax! (laughter) You have no control over the action, cause and effect. Everything happens by itself.”
He (Arjuna) says “I am so confused, please tell me one right thing what I should do. (laughter) When you say that you are satisfaction, in your depth is all joy, why are you asking me to fight this war? Why you put me in this horrible fight? In this complicated world to deal with it? I am ready to leave everything today and go into Himalaya and sit there, meditate the way you say the whole time. I don’t want anything. I can eat thing from the trees. I want nothing. But you are saying completely opposite things. I am already confused and you are confusing me even more. I have come to you, not to get more confused, I want some clarity but where you are leading me is even more confusion.”
A couple went to a guru, (laughter) I think you have heard this story before. (Audience says “No!”) “No.” A couple went to a guru and said we had 2 questions to ask. Usually those day questions were not answered immediately if you wanted 2 questions to be answered. Not like what we do, “Guruji, I have question...” one after another, after another, after another (laughter) a chain of questions go. It starts with “Can I ask you a question?” You already asked one question. (laughter) “I say your quota is finished!” (laughter) then come another question, another question. Finally, you want to get what you wanted from the guru’s mouth right from the horse mouth, what do you call that? Horse mouth? (reply) Horses’s mouth. So you make guru a horse. (laughter)
Those day it was not like that... followed. They said we had 2 questions to ask. Then, the guru said 2 years you had to do seva here, service. (laughter) Each answer goes with some price... you know, each answer comes with some price. So, 2 questions, you have 2 years of seva. So the husband and wife were doing seva, bringing water from the well and taking it up to the hill, taking care of the plants in the ashram... doing all the works, cooking, taking care of the cows and sheep... whatever, buffalos. They did all the works. At the end of the 2nd year, they came to the guru. Today we completed 2 years but we have the questions. “I said... (applause) the guru said...” The guru said“What is the question?” The couple said “What is god? And what is life?” The guru said “God is confusion and life is problem.” (laughter) They said “This is where we were 2 years ago but today it doesn’t look that way.”
So, confusion comes whenever a concept breaks down. God is a confusion, why? Everytime you are in a concept and the concept breaks down, you are open to a new arena, a new avenue and you grow.
So, when Arjuna was so thoroughly confused, by confusion. God himself confused him. He says “Tell me one thing which is good for me, which is beneficial for me, not that which pleases me, which is yena sreyo ’ham apnuyam 3.2 which is evolutionary for me, which would uplift me. Tell me that one thing.” Then, the Karma Yoga begins.
Sri Krishna talks about karma. What is karma? Karma is the most misunderstood principle in the world today. Karma, many people think it’s fate. Karma is not just the fate. Karma has 3 components. Literal meaning of karma is action. Action in seed form is impression. Action... the present current action, the action which has happened, which is there, as an impression and action which would come in the future because the seed is already present... is also called karma. The impact or effect of an action is also called karma because every effect becomes cause in itself. Every cause becomes an effect and every effect becomes a cause. Life is spherical. It’s a circle that’s why. So, impression in the consciousness will bring similar situation in front of you, that’s why you call – “This is my karma”. Because what is happening to you now is not what is happening just now, it has its root, impression in your own consciousness and that drew that sort of situation around you. That’s why you say “There... this is my karma!”
So, Lord Krishna says:
kim karma kim akarmeti kavayo ’py atra mohitah tat te karma pravaksyami 4.16
“My dear Arjuna, it’s not just your confusion, even great scholars, seers, prophets are confused by what to do and what not to do; what is right, what is wrong. I am going to tell that secret of karma now.” What is karma? Doing which you will evolve, you will find eternal peace within you.
He says “Who is the intelligent among them? One who sees action in inaction and inaction in action. He is the intelligent in all men.” Here, Krishna gives a technique to you. When do you see that you are not doing anything? When you are doing a lot of things. You see there is a part inside you that’s really not doing anything, that’s really not involved. As I say life is a complex phenomenon. In action, you see inaction. Inaction, in silence, you see action; and action in silence. Then, you are the intelligent one.
You just sit meditation, quiet, what do you see? There are so many activities happening within you. The breath is slowing down, your heart is beating, thoughts are coming and going, some energy movements are happening, jerks are happening in the body. Are you observing these? When you are quiet, do you see there are so many activities are happening inside you. When you see the prana is acting within you in so many ways, prana is moving through so many channels. Just observing your own body, you can know what is happening in the whole universe. You sit here and when you are observing deep in meditation and your attention – Japan, and your prana moves in particular manner and you know what is happening in Japan. Your this body is such a precious instrument. When an earthquake is happening in Indonesia, you can feel that in your own body. When a close friend or relative of yours is not well or unhappy somewhere, don’t you feel this? How many have this experience? How? Because you all are connected, the whole universe is connected. Every single individual is connected. Because you feel connection with some people when some things happen to them, it affects your body. When you are connected with the entire universe, anything happens to anybody, you can observe it right here. Your body is nothing but the mirror of the whole universe. Whatever is in the universe is present in this body; whatever is in this body is in this universe. Our body is a miniature universe.
You can talk to any scientist, they would agree. In one human DNA chain, they say that you can make elephant, dog, camel, cat, parrot, amoeba everything. One human DNA contains the entire cosmos, all the animals. This is not present in all other animals or other species. Speciality of human species is human species contains all other chains of DNA in it. That’s what scientists say. And the rishi had said it long ago – You are a miniature universe.
When you observe here, in silent, you observe the activity, he is a very intelligent person. You sit and somebody is coming to the door and they are agitated or they are happy and what they are going to come to you, you can feel it. You do it, uh? But if you are in a mess, if you are so confused, if you are in a emotional turmoil, you are upside down, then you can’t feel those things. So when you are quiet, when you become silent, you can see the activity. And when you are acting, notice that there is something in you that is very quiet and silent inside you.
You ask any genius in any field or any great criminal in the planet, go to jail and ask them, they will say “I don’t know, it just happened. I didn’t do!” A criminal will say “I didn’t do the crime! Because it just happened through me.” He feels deep inside that there is something that is completely away from it, no connection with that. Similarly someone who has great success you ask them, “Did you really do it?” “Well, no, I didn’t do it. It all happened.” When can you say “It all happened, I didn’t do it!”? When you are busy, when you are acting. Someone who is lying on the couch the whole day and says I didn’t do anything (laughter) has no meaning. He can’t even see that silence.
One who sees silence in activity. In order to see silence, you have to be in activity. And to be able to see silence in activity is a sign of intelligence. sa buddhiman manusyesu 4.18 Doing everything... still know that I didn’t do, I am not doing, I have a quiet silent corner within me so peaceful - is a sign of intelligence. And at the same time, being not doing anything, sitting in a place, then also you are doing, you are seeing the activity happening all around. tat te karma pravaksyami 4.16 It’s an amazing secret. It’s amazing. If you have to catch it, you have to be sensitive. And this most sensitive knowledge, Sri Krishna is giving at the most chaotic place, amidst the war field.
So, any great achiever always feels “I didn’t do it, it happened!” And any worst criminal, big criminal in the planet will always say that “I didn’t do it, it just happened!” They are able to see inaction in action and action in silence, in inaction. Now, how to deal with? So, He says “You have to act, my dear. Even to maintain your body you have to act.” You have to feed yourself. You can’t say – “I am not going to act.” You have to work, you have to earn money, you have to take care of your body. Action is essential. How do you act? You act knowing the depth of silence within you.
yoga-sthah kuru karmani sangam tyaktva dhananjaya 2.48
Being established in yoga, in the union, being united with your being itself, engage yourself in the action. It’s a very vital message. People who are engaging in meditation, they don’t act. And those who are acting, they don’t engage in yoga, meditation. And that is the reason why the world is in a mess. (laughter) If sense has to prevail on the planet, we have to do yoga-sthah kuru karmani 2.48 we have to teach this way to establish in yoga, unit with one’s being and be in action in the world, bring the balance in life. That’s the way for happiness. Simple sutra.
There are many types of actions. One is worldly action by which you gain things for your material comfort, physical comfort. Then, you do things for your mental or emotional comfort. You watch movie, you go to shopping though you have all things at home still you go and shop something. (laughter) You know when people are upset, they go to shop at least. In India we call it window shopping, they just go and look at all the things and come back home. So, these are all mental, emotional ways of engaging yourself. And then there are spiritual activity too. That’s what is called yagna.
Yagna means what? Uniting. Uniting the fragmented consciousness, mind, its faculties. Uniting... bringing everything together in life. As I said, life is so complex. It has many aspects to it. The physical, mental and interior. Discomfort happens in 3 levels. Physical, mental and interior level – body, mind and soul. And yagna is that which takes you out of all the 3 discomforts. Bring you comfort on 3 levels – physical, mental and spiritual levels.
So, when you honour the divine qualities, when you do some good actions, when you chant, when you sing, don’t think you are only doing it for your own comfort. It is also creating ripples in the subtle atmosphere. The angels are happy. Everytime we sit, meditate, chant and... with all love and joy, we sing, we are giving food to the angels. All those moments of devotion in your life has enriched the subtle universe immensly. It has brought food to that plane of existence, abundance of that plane of existence. In return, you got lots of blessings from there.
When you do charity to somebody, when you help someone who is really in need, you know, that soul on the physical level feels a sigh of relief. And that sigh of relief from that soul brings a positive vibration towards you. That’s what is merit. So, yagna has 3 aspects: Deva Puja, Sangatikarana and Dana (wk-8oct97). (Deva Puja) Honouring the divinity, honouring the subtle existence. Sangatikarana – bringing everyone together, taking everyone along with you. It has other meaning. Sangatikarana, among the different faculties of yours bringing a harmony among them – the body, mind, breath... that is also Sangatikarana. And Dana – giving, gift.
In the mythology, it’s said there is one rishi, he has 2 wives. And the children of those 2 wives became gods and demons; angels and demons. The progeny from one wife became demons, the progeny from another wife became devas. But the father is only one. They both have one father. Both kids came to the father and said “Give us some advice. We are going into the world, give us some advice.” The father said “Da da da.” 3 times. And both side of the children interpreted it differently. The demonic kid said it is mercy; so torture somebody if they ask mercy, give them mercy. And control, dama means to control. And similarly to the other children, they interpreted it very differently. They said Dana - to give; Dharma - righteousness. One said control; the same “Da”, the another interpreted it as righteousness.
So, karma is the same; the law of karma is the same but when you are united with the being, you have a choice. You have the choice to choose which karma. gahana karmano gatih 4.17 He says “It is unfathomable the depth of karma.” You can not fathom it. From what action brings what fruit along with it is unfathomable. You can not understand it 100%. You can not comprehend. That’s why karma always gives you a question mark, it leaves you with the question mark.
When people are misable, they ask “Why this trouble to me? Why me?” There is no answer for “Why me?” You have to look back and see really what you did. “Why did that karma come to you? How did you attract that in your life?” We are seeing life in fragments, we are not taking life as eternal, as holistic, in its entirity. Then, you see the law of karma is unfathomable. It has no beginning and no end.
karma brahmodbhavam viddhi brahmakshara-samudbhavam 3.15
In the infinite being, karma is present. In this universe, action is present throughout. You take a particular segment, you say – “past, present, future”. In fact there is no past, no present no future, just the universe and the actions. If you take a picture of a highway from the satellite, the whole highway exists in one go. But when you are driving, you only see “Oh, I pass this much and I am going to do that much.”
Similarly, He says karma is present in the universe. But wake up and see that you are beyond that. Now, He puts on another thing here about knowledge. How knowledge, awakeness is more important than karma. Then, He moves on and that is the 4th chapter, so He glorified karma so much. Now, He is going to glorify knowledge and tells him “Come on, drop the karma.” (laughter) be prepared for the confusion if you are not yet already. (laughter)
That much is enough for today.
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