VERSE NUMBER 17 OF KARMA YOGA OR THE YOGA OF ACTION OF THE METHOD OF ACTION

THE HOLY GITA

CHAPTER THREE

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

VERSE NUMBER 17

Text in Transliteration:

yas tv aatmaratir eva syaad aatmatrptas cha maanavah

aatmany eva cha samtushtas tasya kaaryam na vidyate

Text in English:

But the man who rejoices in the Self, is satisfied with the Self, and is centred in the Self, for him verily there is no obligatory duty. 

COMMENTARY BY SWAMI CHIDBHAVANANDA:

Prakriti or Nature is constituted of karma. But there is no karma whatsoever in Atman. Actionlessness and Atman are one and the same. Mind is in fact a phase of prakriti. Karma is therefore going on constantly in it. But there ios a speciality in the functioning of the mind. When it impinges on the external world with the aid of the senses or even without their aid, its activities are on the increase. But when it revolves back on the self or Atman, ist activities is to get established in /atman. The river is active until it reaches the ocean. On merging in it, its functioning is over. Likewise the functioning of the mind is over in its being resoved in Atman. Bliss is the characteristic of Atman. That mind which is set in the self is therefore ever satisfied, pacified and blissful. The finale of all activities is for the mind ro rest in Arman.

All being are tending towards this goal consciously  or unconsciously. To the mind merged in Atman, there is no duty.

SRI RAMAKRISHNA AS QUOTED BY SWAMI CHIDBHAVANANDA:

The minute hand and the hour hand in a clock are interrelated. Though they appear separate, they get united also hourly. The jivatman and the Paramatman seem separate. In time they get united.

COMMENTARY BY DR.S.RADHKRISHNAN:

He is freed from a sense of duty. He works not out of a sense of duty or for the progressive transformation of his being but because his perfected nature issues spontaneously in action.

COMMENTARY BY SWAMI SIVANANDA:

The sage does not depend on external objection for his happiness. He is quite satisfied with the Self. He finds his joy, bliss and contentment within his own Self. For such a sage who has knowledge of the Self, there is nothing to do. He has already done all actions. He has satisfied all his desires. He has complete satisfaction. (Cf. II . 55)

Comments of the blogger:

Verses 14 and 15 deal with the wheel set in motion by the Lord Krishna and verse 16 says man’s duty to give shoulder to the wheel set in motion for the publice wheal and how man can only improve by gradation by giving shoulder to the wheel. Now in this verse the Lord says that there are persons who need not indulge in any action and they are thus not duty-bound. They are in  blissful condition and feeling and sensing and enjoying the and live in self are not belonging to the mechanism of this world. The universe is not dependent on them and they are not, like us, dependent on the Universe. Lord says this only to highlight the point to Arjuna that such blessed souls attained such blessed state only by carrying out their duty and always giving shoulder to the wheel set in motion by the Lord! Thus Arjuna has a chance through this unsaught war, he being a kshatriya, to give his shoulder to the wheel and thus obtain immortal bliss.

We have already seen elsewhere the quantification of the bliss. How one Brahmic bliss is a mammoth and undying bliss of all blisses. That is the nature of the bliss the realized souls get to experience for ever. And they are for ever free from worldly duties. So engage your enemies in battle, O Arjuna! Life in this world is a war at kurukchetra. We all have our own individual battle to indulge in unflinchingly. Then by gradation we can attaine the actionlessness. Till then we are bound by this world. Proper action without any expectation of the fruits is the only key.