Gita Acharan

  K rishna says, “The one who attained perfection (of freedom from karma ) can also attain Brahma (the eternal). Learn from me this supreme state of knowledge” (18.50). This is a continuation of what Krishna earlier explained about ‘freedom from karma ’ which can be attained through non-attached intellect, conquering self and dropping desires (18.49). Krishna says, “Endued with purified intellect, having conquered self through firmness, forsaking sound and other sense entanglements, abandoning attachment and hatred (18.51); dwelling in solitude, eating lightly, speech, body and mind subdued, ever engaged in yoga of meditation, taking refuge in vairagya (dispassion) (18.52); Freed from ahankaar (egoism), power, arrogance, desire, anger, greed, notion of ‘me and mine’ and being peaceful, one is fit for Brahma (the eternal)” (18.53). Dwelling in solitude is the ability to detach oneself even in a crowd. Krishna gave an example of a lotus leaf that doesn’t get attached to water de...

K rishna says, “Those whose intellect ( buddhi ) is not attached everywhere ( sarvatra ), have conquered the self, and are free from desires through renunciation attain the perfection of ‘freedom from karma ’ ( naishkarmya-siddhi )” (18.49). Earlier, it was made clear that every karma (action) carries a blemish (18.48). At the same time, there is no escape from karma as our survival itself becomes impossible without performing karmas (3.8). In this seemingly paradoxical context, this verse gives three paths to attain freedom from karma-bandhan (bondage of action). The first path is the non-attachment of intellect everywhere. Our intellect is habitual of getting attached to multiple things, people and situations. For each attachment, we have different justifications, yardsticks and thought process, making us polypsychic. It is a journey of moving from multiple attachments to one attachment. The final stage is not to have any attachment or detachment as both are the same at the cor...

  T he spiritual path of self-discovery ( moksha ) is not about acquiring something greater, rather it is about dropping the dust we gathered during our lifetimes and hatred is among such dust. Krishna earlier told us to drop hatred while performing our karmas and described nitya-sannyasi (perpetual renunciant) as the one who drops both desires and hatred by inculcating the divine quality of forgiveness (16.3). The root cause for desire is our divisive mind which keeps comparing what we don’t have and what others have. Krishna advises dropping this comparison and says, “Better is swa-dharma (own nature or reality), though without merit, than well performed para-dharma (other’s nature or reality); performing action ordained by one’s nature one incurs no sin” (18.47). This is in continuation to what Krishna had earlier said in this context, that swa-dharma is superior to well accomplished para-dharma even when the former is devoid of merit. It’s better to die in swa-dharma tha...

I t is generally believed that Bhagavad Gita prescribes three paths for attaining self-realisation. These are sankhya yoga - a path of awareness for the intellect oriented, bhakti yoga - a path of surrender for the heart oriented and karma yoga - a path of action for the mind oriented. Krishna says that only children, not the wise, speak of sankhya and karma yoga as different. He who is truly established in one obtains fruits of both (5.4). This is an indication that only children or beginners believe these three paths to be separate. As we progress through the Bhagavad Gita, it becomes clearer that these three paths intertwine and complement one another. This leads to clarity that karma is the foundation for all these paths as each path involves some form of karma or another. For awareness, one could begin with reading, serving a master or meditating. In the case of bhakti, it could be ritualistic to begin with but in the end, it is seeing Him even in a thief, an enemy as w...

  K rishna says, “One should not abandon sahaja karma (natural deeds) even though all undertakings are inherently marred by blemishes, as fire by smoke” (18.48). Sahaja karma is interpreted as our natural or inborn duty. It is also interpreted as the karma of the moment. Another possible interpretation is that they are natural actions arising from ‘existence’ itself. Regardless of interpretation, Krishna concludes that all karmas are marred by one blemish or another. This implies that no karma is pure. Krishna uses many words in the context of karma (action) such as akarma (inaction), vikarma (prohibited actions) and niyat karma (prescribed actions) on different occasions. But he never advises us to perform pure karma as all karmas are marred by blemishes. For example, our immune system keeps us safe from diseases by killing the invading viruses and bacteria daily. If killing is seen as inherently impure, then even the act of living becomes tainted. Consequently, any ka...

  I t 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). ...

  U nderstanding varnas (social classifications) and karmas (actions) associated with them based on the gunas springing from their nature is one of the most challenging facets of the Bhagavad Gita. The difficulty is compounded by the fact that we are deeply identified with one varna or another. The following verses clarify that the varnas are not hierarchical and the karmas performed by anyone have equal potential to attain siddhi (perfection or freedom). Krishna says, “With devotion to swa-karma (one’s deed or duty) one attains siddhi as this devotion is nothing but worshipping Him from whom all beings rise and by whom all this is pervaded” (18.45-18.46). Earlier Krishna used swa-dharma (one’s own nature) and now uses swa-karma . Essentially, swa-karma emerges from swa-dharma . Firstly, in today’s context, in almost all cultures and societies, some professions like sports, acting and singing receive more admiration than others. Similarly, in the olden days, the impo...