VERSE NUMBER 8 OF KARMA YOGA OR THE YOGA OF ACTION OR THE METHOD OF ACTION

THE HOLY GITA

CHAPTER THREE

KARMA YOGA OR THE YOGA OF ACTION OR THE METHOD OF WORK

VERSE NUMBER 8

Text in Transliteration:

niyatam kuru karma tvam karma jyaayo hy akarmanah

sareerayaatraa ‘pi cha ten a prasiddyed akarmanah

Text in English:

Engage yourself in obligatory work; for action is superior to inaction, and if inactive , even the mere maintenance of your body would not be possible.

COMMENTARY BY SWAMI CHIDBHAVANANDA:

Bathing, eating, sleeping—activities such as these are classified as nitya karma or obligatory work; but if any one fails to perform it, then one incurs demerit. Eating, for example is an obligatory work; but if any one fails to perform it, then one incurs demerit. Eating, for example is an obligatory work. By regularly nourishing oneself, one does not emerge as a better person, but if one neglects one’s nourishment one become weak and emaciated, which is a demerit.

Bodily existence is required to achieve the several ideals in life. Keeping the body fit is therefore accepted as an aid in making the pilgrimage of life. If the body be not perfect, life gets frustrated. Action is the means to maintain it well. Those who desire an abundant life ought to be fully engaged in activities.

 One ought not to be satisfied with discharging the obligatory duties alone. For, they can only maintain man in the excellences he has so far acquired. But there are yet other excellences to acquire. New endeavours are the sure means to it. Crawling is a necessary step in a baby’s life. But in remaining satisfied with it, the baby cannot evolve. He has further to stand, walk and run. Even so man progresses through new enterprises. There are those who hold that doing any new karma amounts to the creation of an additional bondage. The seeming progress on one side is nothing but bondage to karma on the other; is the view of these people. They advocate the avoidance of the chimera of slavery to action. But this negative position is untenable. Man can make endless ethical and spiritual progress in life and at the same time remain untethered to karma.

COMMENTARY BY SWAMI SIVANANDA:

Niyatam Karma is an obligatory duty which one is bound to perform. The non-performance of the bounden duties causes demerit. The performance of the obligatory duties is not a means for the attainment of a specific result. The performance does not cause any merit.

Living itself involves several natural and unavoidable actions which have to be performed by all. It is ignorance to say, “I can live doing nothing”.

Comments by the blogger:

Here, in this sloka, the refrain, “Therefore Arjuna indulge in war” occurs only indirectly. The Lord argues in favour of carrying out the fundamentally basic actions like drinking, eating, sleeping and bathing as nitya karma or ordained duty. By bathing or eating no new merit incurs, but if one becomes indifferent to even these basic karma then high demerit would ensue. Thus the Lord argues that whether one is willing to act or not, the very fact of subsisting, if not high spiritual living, would become impossible for human beings. Thus, calling them as ‘niyatam karma’ the Lord argues in favour of karma as the very foundation of the bondage of the living human beings, and thus leading up to the carrying out of Arjuna’s swatharma or the self-ordained duties as a kshatria or warrior king!

Samsaara means the constituents of illusion or maya, desire of kama and action or karma. None can, even for a minute remain actionless or free from the bondage of action. The trick is turning the self-ordained duties into self-realising tool by carrying out them without expectation of the fruits. A person must be like a public prosecutor. His duty is not somehow fetch sentence of jail and punishment to the accused person, but to stack all the points relevant and in his provice so and let in evidence, so that the court can decide whether the accused is an innocent or a criminal needed to be punished. In this province, the public prosecutor could not be said to be having any iota of interest. His duty ends collecting all the evidence relevant to the charges and accused persons and let in evidecnce. His arguments also need not necessarily be in favour of arguing punishment somehow or other to be given to the accused. He sits down completely satisfied after letting in evidence and arguing the evidentiary points, leaving the judgment of the accused in the safe hands of the Judge. If a criminal is punished, that should not be seen as a win for the PP or when the criminal is set out as innocent or the alleged crime against him having not been proved sufficiently beyond any reasonable doubt, it could not be seen as a failure for the PP. The right kind of PP, indeed, does not hesitate in letting in evidence that is, in his judgment, basically in favour of the accused. The PP’ duty ends after letting in evidence with regard to all the relevant facts and circumstances. Arjuna must not judge the dos and don’ts of the matter. He must give battle as it has come unsought to him who is a proven kshatria.

When even nitya karma could not be disregarded, the swadharmic or self-ordained duties could never be ignored without incurring sin.