Gita Acharan

  K rishna assures that even baby steps in the practice of karma yoga give good results and this dharma (discipline) protects us from great fears (2.40). The key point to note is that while sankhya yoga is characterised by pure awareness, karma yoga involves efforts. This is a definitive assurance from Lord Krishna for seekers who have just begun their spiritual journey and find the effort daunting. Krishna understands our difficulty and assures us that even a small effort can produce wonderful results. He motivates us to follow the path of nishkaam-karma (unmotivated action) and samatva (equanimity). One approach is to have shraddha (trust) in what Krishna said and start practising His teachings on karma yoga. Over time, as we consistently view our experiences through the lens of karma yoga , our realizations deepen gradually, leading us closer to our inner self. An alternate approach is to understand our fears and realise how the practice of karma yoga can r...

  T he Gita is perceived differently by different people depending on their perspective. There are three different paths given in the Gita which are karma yoga, sankhya yoga and bhakti yoga . Karma yoga is ideal for someone who is mind- oriented. Sankhya yoga is for intellect and bhakti yoga for heart oriented. In today’s world, the majority falls in the category of mind oriented.   It is based on the belief that they are tied up with chains and need to work hard to break them to free themselves. This implies that it is action oriented. Any conversation with them would end up with ‘What should I do now’. This path leads us to nishkaam-karma i.e. unmotivated action. Sankhya yoga , also known as jnana yoga, is about awareness or knowing, but not knowledge. Its starting point is the belief that we are in a dark room. To dispel darkness, we simply need to light a lamp, as no amount of action or struggle can remove it . This path takes us towards ‘choiceless awaren...