64. Always Do Your Best

Krishna says, “Perform your obligatory actions, as action is superior to inaction; and even the maintenance of your body would not be possible by inaction’’ (3.8).

Actions like gathering and consuming food are essential for the survival of our physical body. Further, the human body consists of many organs, systems and chemicals which perform thousands of internal actions on a regular basis. Even if a couple of them are missing harmony would be lost, and the body would suffer or perish. In that sense, maintenance of the body wouldn’t be possible by inaction.

Krishna speaks of performing obligatory actions which is an intricate concept. Rituals prescribed by sacred texts or duties cast on us by society are usually taken to be obligatory actions. But both fall short of defining what Krishna intends to convey.

For example, a seedcoat’s obligatory action is to protect the seed and at an appropriate time, it should destroy itself to give way to the sprout. This implies that nature of obligatory action changes with time.

Our obligation is to attain our highest potential in the physical world, which is like a seed manifesting into a mighty tree; like a single cell developing into a complex human body by executing instructions contained in genes. This implies that karma for each one of us has already been chosen by our gunas, like instructions in genes for cells. Hence, what is left is carrying out the instructions or ‘doing’, which includes growing, healing and protecting ourselves. It is like performing in a drama to the best of our abilities.

It’s ‘doing our best’ to the fullest of our abilities. It’s not about ‘what’ we are doing, but how best we are doing it without attachment (3.7).  Of course, the best may vary for each of us depending on our ability, experience, time etc. The best can simply be presence, silence or empathetic listening. This will take us to that eternal state of moksha (transcending gunas) which is obligatory for us. It’s about ‘doing’ but not choosing -as our birth, the biggest event in our lives, is not of our choosing.