Gita Acharan

K rishna says that “Those sammohit (hypnotised) by the gunas (qualities or characters) of nature are attached to the functions of the gunas ; one with perfect knowledge should not unsettle the ignorant whose knowledge is imperfect” (3.29). Apart from being the real karta (doer), gunas have the ability to hypnotise and cast a spell on us that makes us forget our true nature. We remain spellbound until we realise that we are under their spell. Krishna talks about the ignorant and the wise. The ignorant are under the hypnotic spell ( maya ) of gunas and feel that they are karta (3.27). They want to achieve, be important, get noticed and fight for entitlements. Simultaneously, they take others in the family, workplace and society to be karta and expect them to behave or perform as per their expectations. This results in perpetual guilt, regret, anger and misery. The second stage is awareness which comes with a time lapse following an incident. This time lapse can be...

  K rishna says that we have the right to do karma (action) but have no right over karma-phal (fruits of action) (2.47). This does not mean that we gravitate towards akarma , which is inaction or mere reaction to circumstances. In a sense this verse talks of awareness and compassion - awareness that karma and karma-phal are separate and compassion towards others as well as ourselves. Krishna says that without performing karma , our survival is impossible as the maintenance of the physical body requires karma like eating etc. (3.8). The gunas ( satva, rajo and tamo ) constantly drive us towards karma (3.5). Hence, there is hardly any place for akarma . The literal meaning of akarma is inaction. But the context suggests that it connotes reaction. For example, if we observe our tendencies while going through the news, we’ll realise that several reactions are generated in us. This happens when we see, hear or read about our beliefs like religion, caste, nationality...