Gita Acharan

K rishna says, “Know yoga to be that which scriptures call sannyas (renunciation); nobody becomes a yogi without renouncing sankalp (will or purpose or motive or resolve)” (6.2). Earlier it was said that the pursuits of a sage are free from kaam (lust) and sankalp ( kaam sankalp varjitah ) (4.19). Krishna further says, “To the soul who is aspiring for perfection in yoga , karma is said to be the means; to the sage who is already elevated in yoga , tranquillity/quietude is said to be the means (6.3). When one is neither attached to sense-objects nor to actions, such a person is said to be established in yoga , having renounced all desires for the fruits of actions ( karma-phal )” (6.4). Our belief is that karmas are performed to obtain the desired karma-phal ; otherwise, why would anyone perform karmas ? A point to be noted is that the absence of our experience of something doesn’t imply its non-existence. Firstly, it’s about analysing the experiences from our pa...

E very culture evolved some ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ for peace in society and with the evolution of justice systems, some ‘don’ts’ have come to be recognised as punishable offences. Criminal jurisprudence holds that a crime requires both intent and action. Intent is the thought behind the crime and action is the physical part. Proof of both components is essential to convict any person of a crime. If we take the intent as sankalp (will or purpose or motive or resolve) and execution as kaam (desire), we can understand Krishna’s saying, “He whose pursuits are free from kaam and sankalp ( kaam-sankalp-varjitah ); whose actions are burnt by the fire of knowledge, him the wise call a pandit (sage)” (4.19). Society is satisfied as long as there is no crime, even if one is roaming around with criminal intent. Krishna says that we should drop kaam and subsequently should even drop sankalp indicating that both action as well as intent should be dropped. Suppression of desires ca...

A rjuna enquires, “How can a man perform evil even against his will as if he is compelled” (3.36). This is the most common question that arises when the first ray of awareness sets in. Krishna says, “Lust, anger and greed ( kaam , krodh and lobh ) are three gates of hell leading to the destruction of self. Therefore, one should abandon all three” (16.21). Kaam (lust) and krodh (anger) are born out of rajo guna and are great evils full of insatiable craving and we should beware of them, as they are the foulest enemies here on Earth (3.37). Krishna further says that rajo guna is raagatmak (nature of passion) giving birth to the desires and it binds the embodied soul through attachment to action. If we take the example of a car, the movement or speeding up is a quality born out of rajo guna and the accelerator is an instrument to achieve this. Similarly, slowing down or inertia is the nature of tamas and the brake is an instrument. The driver represents satva guna...