THE HOLY GITA
CHAPTER TWO
SAMKHYA YOGA OR THE YOGA OF KNOWLEDGE
VERSE NUMBER 50
Text in Transliteration:
Buddhiyukto jahaatee ‘ha ubhe sukrta duskrte
Tasmaad yogaaya yujyasva yogah karmasu kausalam
Text in English:
The one fixed in equanimity of mind frees oneself in this
life from vice and virtue alike; therefore devote yourself to yoga; work done
to perfection is verily yoga.
COMMENTARY BY SWAMI CHIDBHAVANANDA:
Karma is
classified as good or bad based on the result it produces. Good karma is as
much the cause as the bad one, for the continuity of the wheel of birth and
death. But the karma-yogi is not affected by karma of any kind. This is due to
his being fixed in equanimity—the state free from likes and dislikes,
attachment and aversion. A surgeon cuts and operates on the body of a patient. The
sick man’s surviving the surgery or succumbing to it, does not make the doctor
virtuous or vicious. He does his duty very well for duty’s sake. If the patient
dies while being operated on, the doctor does not feel guilty of murder. He goes
through the series of operations calmly because of his equanimity of mind. But this
very doctor dare not operate on his own ailing son; he seeks the help of
another surgeon. This diffidence is born of attachment leading to in-equanimity
of mind. Detached performance of duty adds to efficiency and the required
equilibrium is maintained perfectly.
This principle applies
to all activities in life. It is yoga to maintain equilibrium in the midst of
all of them. Work is executed very
efficiently in poise only. Attachment and aversion take away the efficiency
from man. Bhisma fought for the wicked to the best of his ability, but because
of his complete detachment he was not ainted by his action. As the Mahabharata
has it, a woman that served her husband dispassionately rose in yoga superior
to an ascetic who gained by austerity, the psychic power to burn an intruding
bird to ashes. A butcher also, in his turn, became a greater hogi than this
ascetic by discharging his seemingly ugly duty without attachment and aversion.
Equanimity of mind comes to one free from likes and dislikes,
attachment and aversion. He is a yogi. No new karma accrues to him. the
momentum of the old karma wanes away. He gains in perfecting the mind.
SWAMI VIVEKANANDA AS QUATED BY SWAMI CHIDBHAVANANDA:
A yogi seated in a
Himalayan cave allows his mind to wander on unwanted things. A cobbler in a
corner at the crossing of several busy roads of a city, is absorbed in mending
a shoe, as an act of service. Of these two, the latter is a better yogi than
the former.
COMMENTARY BY DR.S. RADHAKRISHNAN:
He rises to a status higher than the ethical with its
distinction of good and evil. He is rid of selfishness and therefore is
incapable of evil. According to Shankara Yoga is evenness of mind in success or
failure, possessed by one who is engaged in the performance of his proper
duties, while his mind rests in God.
COMMENTARY BY SWAMI SIVANANDA:
Work performed with motive towards fruits only can bind a
man. It will bring the fruits and the performer of the action will have to take
birth again in this mortal world to enjoy them. If work is performed with
evenness of mind (the yoga of wisdom, i.e., united to pure Buddhi, intelligence
or reason) with the mind resting in the Lord, it will not bind him; it will not
bring any fruit; it is no work at all. Actions which are of a binding nature
lose that nature when performed with equanimity of mind, or poised reason. The yogi
of poised reason attributes all actions to the Divine Actor within (Ishvara or
God)
Comments by the blogger:
It all depends upon
the grade or level of maturity in spirituality we individually have come here
with at this innings—in this re-birth. In the same family of five children, all
are different in how they look at material things and they have also different
level of spiritual leanings or some one of them none at all. If father is
highly materialistic, the mother has no time to share with his activities and
is steeped in spiritual matters.
If some of are, as is sure to be, are poised with perfect
equanimity that even birds and beasts don’t feel threatened if they go within
the dangerous zone, they are like Arjuna, who can become food for thought of
this world temporarily; those great souls are highly evolved; and they should
try their level best to shed the body-soul union which is nothing but a
bondage.
But most of us are at the varied and varying stages of
spiritual level. We should stick to Gita as dear life. That’s one thing. And the
next thing is to form an ardent desire to shed desires of all types. This will
stimulate the evolutionary process.
Man cannot cause increase or decrease in the five elements. The
three guna of the prakirity cannot be caused to lose volume or increase
likewise. We can, at best, turn one thing into another or joine several
ingredients and make an amalgamation thereof. And SAMSAARA is filled with
illusion, desire and action. We are action-oriented. Even the little ants are
as active as a young sportsman and sportswoman or sportsperson! We cannot elect
inaction like Arjuna does. But the moment action starts, its fruits and the
expectation also starts. And the SAMSKAARA , the basic Brahmic unit of
measurement measures automatically the good or bad fruits of the actions and we
can never gain that kind of mental equanimity like the King Janaka, whose
kingly splendour did not weigh down his soul.
So what is the best thing for us. We can easily shun evil
actions and kill the evil in us by entertaining always goodness and good
thoughts. By the good we can first modestly attempt to shun all evil mentations
in us and by gradation, give up authorship for the good actions too. Let it
take its own time. But we can easily shun from indulgences and become simple in
food, clothes and activities and the way we treat others. We can take time off
for the scrupulous study of Gita. And leave the rest to the scheme of the
universe.
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