143. When Work becomes Worship



In the context of knowing Him at the time of death, Krishna says, “Therefore, remember Me all times (Sarveshu-kaleshu-maam-anusmara) and fight. With mind and intellect absorbed in Me you shall without doubt come unto Me” (8.7).

We ‘remember God’ by worshipping Him for some time during the day or by occasionally going to a place of worship or otherwise. Names of Gods and rituals performed might vary with different belief systems. Remembering God is usually for removing our difficulties or to attain possessions, power or fame. But here Krishna says ‘remember Me all the times’, which seems impossible, as we are not aware of how to pray continuously throughout the day.

The clue to this riddle comes from the foundation of bhakti yoga which says, ‘to see all beings in the self; self in all beings; and see Him everywhere’ (6.29 & 6.30). When this existential truth is realised, one beholds Paramatma everywhere which is nothing but ‘remembering Him at all times’. Whatever we see whether it is beautiful or violent; whatever we hear whether it is praise or criticism, is nothing but the Paramatma.

Once this understanding is inculcated, Krishna’s advice to fight the battle can be easily understood. Krishna is for doing the ‘work in hand’ which happens to be fighting in the context of the Kurukshetra battle. Surely, it is a tough test for Arjuna to see the Paramatma in the present moment of war and we are no different.

One practical way to reach this stage is to try to understand the other person’s point of view patiently in our professional or personal lives. This will help us realise that we too would have behaved similarly in the given circumstances. This process will help us drop judgements as well as differences to attain oneness and perform every work like a prayer. Krishna says that the best yogi is he who feels for others, whether in grief or pleasure, even as he feels for himself (6.32).


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

261. Shed the Ahankaar

Image
  K rishna says, “Abandon all dharmas and take refuge in Me alone. I will liberate you from all sins, grieve not” (18.66). While verse 2.14 can be taken as the beginning of the Bhagavad Gita where Krishna advises us to ignore the transient pleasure-pain polarities which are caused when senses meet sense-objects, the verse 18.66 can be considered as the end of the Gita. Krishna uses the word ‘ dharma’ , and he is certainly not referring to religion, faith, or righteousness, as each of these carries different meanings for different people. Bhagavad Gita is not a book of religion but of natural principles that govern our lives. On the other hand, a lot of clarity comes if we take the paradigm or subjective reality as the meaning of dharma . Paradigm is the combination of our opinions, imaginations and understandings about the things around us or the way things are from our point of view. It is like the partial understanding formed about an elephant by a blind person by touching only ...
Read more

258. Sins and Suffering

Image
  O ne of the common fears of humanity is about committing sins ( paap ). Every culture has evolved around the concept of sin, and the common belief is that all our suffering is due to sins committed in this life or previous ones. Religions thrive on our guilt of committing sins. Even Arjuna’s despondency is because of his belief that he will incur sin by slaying his elders, teachers and relatives. That’s why Krishna elaborates on this issue on various occasions in the Bhagavad Gita. Firstly, Paramatma takes no account of anyone’s virtue or sin. It is the problem of human beings who are deluded as their knowledge is covered by moha (delusion or ignorance) (5.15). Secondly, one hoping for nothing, with a controlled mind and body, doing mere bodily actions, incurs no sin (4.21). Even if we are the most sinful of sinners, we shall safely cross the sea of sin by the raft of wisdom (4.36). The wisdom is realising ‘That’ by which we will see all beings in the self (4.35). Thirdly, for ...
Read more

259. Tapasya with Devotion

Image
  K rishna says, “This (the Gita) is never to be spoken by you to those who are not austere ( a-tapaskaya ) or to those who are not devoted ( a-bhaktaya ). It should also not be spoken to those who are averse to listening and especially not to those who cavil at Me” (18.67). The spiritual journey toward unconditional love and eternal joy is both adventurous and, at times, lonely. In this path we are expected to shed all the beliefs we gathered in our lives. We are also expected to shed the sense of attachment to our physical possessions, feelings and relationships. That’s why very few reach the destination (7.3). Hence, one should pursue it like tapasya with devotion. On the contrary, when it is pursued out of curiosity, it leads to the illusion of knowledge which increases ahankaar . Coming as ‘the existence’, Krishna mentioned about not caviling at Him. It is the path of accepting and embracing all the diverse and seemingly contradictory aspects of existence without any cavil, w...
Read more