Bhagavagd Gita - Session 10- Track 1014

That is why Sri Krishna says, “As far the fruits of action are concerned, you have to have a different attitude towards the fruits of action”. Not that you should have no fruits of action, every action is turned to a fruit of action, but let not the desire for fruit of action be a motive of action. Motive of action should be Ananda, not desire. You should arrive at a point where you become like Varuna, in which everything is present.

Where everything is present in you, the fruit that you are seeking is also present there. Having it, do you want to possess it now anymore that it is always there with you? When you act with the knowledge that whatever you want is already attained by you, then, what will be the motive of your action? Not, “a-karmanaḥ”, not “inaction”, but manifestation of Ananda. When you have, in your consciousness, something that you already possess, then, the only thing that you can do is to give. Therefore, until you reach the point, where you don’t try to possess, but to give, when you reach that stage of giving, then, you are free from action. Then whether you give or not give, it doesn’t make any difference, you have everything in you: that is to become like the Divine.

That is the real secret of Karmayoga that to attain a state of consciousness in which you really know that there is nothing, which is not attained by you: what you are trying to achieve is already attained by you. And yet, do not have inaction. When you already possess everything, then that motive of possessing is no more there, then the motive is different. What is that motive? To give, to manifest what you already have, in which whether you manifest or not manifest make no difference to you: this is the real freedom. The real freedom of man’s action is: when you do action or you don’t do action makes no difference to you, and yet you act. That is the action of freedom.

Till that time you are bandhana; your real mukti comes, you are really free, when you reach a stage, when it makes no difference to you whether you act or do not act and yet you act. Not because of any compulsion, simply out of joy, joy of action. That is why Sri Krishna says, that you have a right only to action, not to the fruit of action. Therefore, for plucking at the fruit of action, do not be motivated by it; at the same time do not therefore enter into inaction. That is the real starting point of Karmayoga. Everything is not told here, this is only the starting point.

Comment: The example is so beautiful to understand this.

Ch II, Verse 48

yoga-sthaḥ kuru karmāṇi saṅgaṁ tyaktvā dhanañjaya |
siddhy-asiddhyoḥ samo bhūtvā samatvaṁ yoga ucyate ||48|| (II)

When you will have that consciousness, where you know that only to action you have a right, then what will happen, you will be yoga-sthaḥ, you will be sthira: yoga-sthaḥ kuru karmāṇi, then you do action being very stable; saṅgaṁ tyaktvā, having no desire; become equal to siddhy-asiddhy, whether it is achieved or not achieved become equal to it. When you attain to that stage, then you realise that you are karmayogi: samatvaṁ yoga ucyate.

This sentence is one of the most famous sentences of the Bhagavad Gita: samatvaṁ yoga ucyate. When you become completely equal minded, then you are said to be a Karmayogi. When you do action or don’t do any action, and yet you act, then there will be always samatvaṁ.

This sentence is based upon the next one:

dūreṇa hy avaraṁ karma buddhi-yogād dhanañjaya |
buddhau śaraṇam anviccha kṛpaṇāḥ phala-hetavaḥ ||49|| (II)

He says: jñāna buddhi, is much superior to karma, to action. Action is only subordinate, secondary activity. Primary is Buddhi and yoga, and Knowledge, therefore buddhau śaraṇam anviccha: go to the resort of buddhi, make your buddhi stable. Karma automatically will be free, once you do this.

He says karma is only secondary, buddhi is far superior to it; therefore, go to the resort of buddhi and then act. Those who are not stable in their buddhi, they are kṛpaṇāḥ phala-hetavaḥ. They become miserly seekers of phala-hetu, of the desire for the fruits: they are only misers; they are poor, miserable, pitiable people in this world, all the time trying to clutch at the fruits of action.

Next one, II, 50:

buddhi-yukto jahātīha ubhe sukṛta-duṣkṛte |
tasmād yogāya yujyasva yogaḥ karmasu kauśalam ||50|| (II)

When you are fully stable in intelligence, then right or wrong, both will be transcended; therefore you become fixed in yoga. And normal tendency is that you become very negligent about action. When you have neither desire for this, nor desire for that, then, normally the human motivation becomes so weak, that even if you are asked to do something, we do like clerks today in the government. All actions are done leisurely, whether the file moves or does not moves, does not matter at all; as a result there is no kauśalam: there is no proficiency in action. In order to avoid it, Sri Krishna says: “yogaḥ karmasu kauśalam”. Whether you are yogi or not will be known only when you do the action most proficiently. That is called Yogi.

We have three criteria for becoming a Karmayogi: the buddhi should be established in the permanent: stable. Secondly, you will be equal minded siddhy-asiddhi. And thirdly, you will still be not negligent to work that will be proficient. When these three conditions are fulfilled, you have just started on the path of Karmayoga.

Question: Is there any relation between this samatvaṁ yoga and samatvaṁ yoga coming in 13th chapter?

Answer: No this is development, here samatvaṁ is only when you are just free from clutches of desire; that one is when you have seen the divine, full of love, that element of love is present in that samatvaṁ, much more enriched.