Sunday, April 8, 2012

The Bhagvad Gita – Chapter 5 – Renunciation and Selfless Action

This article is taken from Guru30's blog. You can access the full write up here. It's good read to understand a little about hinduism. The Bhagvad Gita – Chapter 5 – Renunciation and Selfless action


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Arjuna asks the Lord “On one hand you advocate renunciation (non-action) and on the other hand you talk of selfless action. O Hari (Lord Srikrishna) please tell me which is better of the two”. The Lord replies that of the two Selfless action is definitely better. A renounced man is devoid of hatred and selfish desire. Indifferent to all dualities, he/she is free from all bondage and attains liberation. Only a childish person thinks that these two people (one who has renounced and the one who is on a path of selfless action) are different. In effect, both of them reach the same goal. The realization of the Lord.
Karma yoga (The yoga of selfless action) and Jnana Yoga( The yoga of knowledge) both lead to the same destination. One who perceives this, sees things from the right perspective. Abandoning action without yoga is difficult. The sage who is established in Yoga quickly attains the absolute. One who practices yoga with senses controlled, the mind conquered and intelligence purified attains the self and remains free and un-entangled even when he/she is grounded in the sphere of action. One who is acting in Yoga  knows that what he hears or sees or his other senses are all that does various things and not him/herself.
Like a lotus leaf that remains unaffected by water, the yogi also remains untouched by evil. A karma-yogi is thus not affected by the impurities around him. Although he/she has to use his/her senses, the mind and intellect, the result is absolute as he/she has given up attachment to the fruits of the action. Thus having renounced this, he/she attains ultimate peace. Whereas they who do not practice Karma yoga get attached and hence cannot attain the ultimate Thus mentally even when existing in the city of nine gates (our body has 9 apertures. A woman has 10) he /she is free from delusion.
The Lord further says that he is not bothered by a man’s good/bad actions. Because our knowledge is covered by ignorance, we act in such a manner. This knowledge which shining like the Sun is to be attained. For the wise, a pound of Gold and Sand is the same. There is no distinction between a Brahmana or a Chandala (High and Low caste) One who is thus unattached and absorbed in action / contemplation in the service of the Lord achieves unbound happiness.The wise do not rejoice in temporary sense pleasures, as in retrospect, they bring only pain.
The seers who attain this knowledge and work for the happiness of others are truly realized. They attain the absolute. The way to attain the Supreme is to focus on the centre of the two eye brows, inhale and exhale in rhythm equalizing and control the senses and the mind and give up anger. One who realizes that it is God who controls the actions and the fruits and also knows that he is the supreme to be attained, who is the friend of all, he/she attains supreme peace.
That’s concisely this chapter on Renunciation and Selfless action.
Cheers,
Guru30

1 comment:

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    its nice to read a useful article for beginner like me. Some of points from this article are very helpful for me as I haven’t considered them yet. I would like to say thank you for sharing this cool article. Bookmarked and sharing for friends.

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