246. Understand One to Understand All

 

It is said that creation is merely a Leela or divine play and some rules are framed to make this play interesting. In the game of football, if the size of the goalpost is too small or too big, the interest in the game will diminish. Some such interesting rules of this creation that helped in the evolution of complex life forms like us include - death follows birth; diversity from the oneness etc. This diversity expresses itself as divisions at both the individual and societal levels. These are based on race, religion, caste, economic status etc. and were imprinted on us at an early stage of life. The challenge is to transcend them, and the Bhagavad Gita serves as a guide in this pursuit.

One such technique is devotion to swa-karma (one’s deed or duty). In that context, Krishna says, “With devotion to swa-karma one attains siddhi (perfection or freedom) as this devotion is nothing but worshipping Him from whom all beings rise and by whom all this is pervaded” (18.45-18.46). If our joy lies in servicing others, then we must continue in that path, regardless of how society perceives it. If we enjoy learning - we must continue to learn without getting distracted by the riches or power of others. This holds true for every role we perform and every profession we engage in.

Essentially, we should keep doing what we are doing to the best of our abilities. It should be done by dropping hatred by inculcating the divine quality of forgiveness (16.3); without getting trapped into the alluringly described karmas of others; without attachment to our past regrets and expectations from the future. This devotion to swa-karma is nothing but worshipping Him. That’s why Krishna in the oft-quoted verse (2.47) said that we have right over our karma but not on karma-phal (fruits of action) because each karma we perform with dedication has the potential to lead us toward siddhi.