गीता-गीत Gita-geet
तृतीयो अध्याय (श्लोक1-9)Third chapter(Verses 1-9)
कर्मयोग का महत्व
अर्जुन उवाच
ज्यायसी चेत्कर्मणस्ते मता बुद्धिर्जनार्दन ।
तत्किं कर्मणि घोरे मां नियोजयसि केशव ॥3-1॥
व्यामिश्रेणेव वाक्येन बुद्धिं मोहयसीव मे ।
तदेकं वद निश्चित्य येन श्रेयोऽहमाप्नुयाम् ॥3-2॥॥
मानते हो बुद्धि को यदि कर्म से बेहतर|
डालते हो इस भयंकर कर्म में क्यों कर ||
अनेकार्थक वचन से अब बुद्धि मोहित है|
बोल दो निश्चित मेरे हित जो भी श्रेयस्कर||3-1,2||
श्रीभगवानुवाच
लोकेऽस्मिन्द्विविधा निष्ठा पुरा प्रोक्ता मयानघ ।
ज्ञानयोगेन साङ्ख्यानां कर्मयोगेन योगिनाम् ॥3-3॥
दो प्रकार की निष्ठायें, माने यह संसार |
जाने साङ्ख्य योग से प्रकृति-पुरुष व्यापार||
कर्म-योग से ज्ञात हो नियत कर्म विस्तार|
करें लोक-हित कर्म सब, बिन-फल-में-अधिकार||3-3||
न कर्मणामनारंभान्नैष्कर्म्यं पुरुषोऽश्नुते ।
न च सन्न्यसनादेव सिद्धिं समधिगच्छति ॥3-4॥
अनारम्भ कर्म से पुरुष, न निष्कर्मता को पा जाता|
संन्यास ले लेने से ही न वह, सफल कहीं हो पाता||3-4||
न हि कश्चित्क्षणमपि जातु तिष्ठत्यकर्मकृत् ।
कार्यते ह्यवशः कर्म सर्वः प्रकृतिजैर्गुणैः ॥3-5॥
बिना कर्म के किये नहिं रह सकते क्षण-मात्र|
संभव नहीं चला सकें बिना कर्म निज गात्र ||
तामस-राजस-सत्व गुण प्रकृति-जन्य ही जान|
इन्हीं गुणों से विवश सब कर्म करें यह मान||3-5||
कर्मेन्द्रियाणि संयम्य य आस्ते मनसा स्मरन् ।
इन्द्रियार्थान्विमूढात्मा मिथ्याचारः स उच्यते ॥3-6॥
कर्मेन्द्रियां संयमित कर, रोके हठ से अंग|
याद करे इन्द्रिय-विषय, हो मन उनके संग||
यह है स्वयं ही स्वयं को, मूर्ख बनाता ढंग|
उसे कहें मिथ्याचारी, हों जिसके झूठे रंग ||3-6||
यस्त्विन्द्रियाणि मनसा नियम्यारभतेऽर्जुन ।
कर्मेन्द्रियैः कर्मयोगमसक्तः स विशिष्यते ॥3-7॥
किन्तु नियंत्रित इन्द्रियाँ मन के द्वारा कर |
अनासक्त, कर्मेन्द्रियों से आरम्भ कर जो नर||
कर्मयोग हित, वह ही बनता व्यक्ति विशेष |
हे अर्जुन उसके लिए नहिं करना कुछ शेष ||3-7||
नियतं कुरु कर्म त्वं कर्म ज्यायो ह्यकर्मणः।
शरीरयात्रापि च ते न प्रसिद्धयेदकर्मणः ॥3–8॥
करो कर्म जो है यहाँ नियत तुम्हारे हेतु |
सदा कर्म, अकर्म से श्रेष्ठ है जीवन सेतु ||
कर्मों से सिद्धि मिले, यह जीवन का मर्म|
शरीर के निर्वहन हित भी करते नित कर्म ||3-8||
यज्ञार्थात्कर्मणोऽन्यत्र लोकोऽयं कर्मबंधनः ।
तदर्थं कर्म कौन्तेय मुक्तसंगः समाचर ॥3-9॥
यज्ञ है समष्टि को सहज समर्पित कर्म |
अन्यत्र कर्मों से जुड़ें बंधन कारक मर्म ||
इसीलिये हे अर्जुन! बिना किसी आसक्ति |
कर्म करो जैसा उचित आचरणीय स्वधर्म ||3-9||
After listening to the Lord’s teaching in the second chatper, Arjuna gets a doubt regarding the role of karma yoga and that of jnana yoga. Arjuna thinks that there is a choice between karma yoga and jnana yoga and a person can choose any one of these. So, he seeks clarification from Lord Krishna.
Arjuna’s question asking the Lord “If knowledge is superior to karma then why do you push me into karma?”(3-1)
“With this apparently perplexing speech you confuse my understanding ; therefore , tell me that one way for certain by which I may attain the highest”.(3-2)
Krishna replied stating as follows:
In this world there is a two-fold path, One is an exclusive pursuit of knowledge. This is called sāṅkhya or jñāna-yoga.
A second lifestyle is performing the duties and roles assigned for him after acquiring full knowledge ( called karma-yoga). In this world, these two types of committed life styles were taught by me(Krishna) earlier,(3-3)
A status where no further action is required (Naishkarmyam) and perfection (Siddhi) of action are synonymous. If a man simply sits quiet by abandoning action , he cannot say that he has attained to the state of perfection where no further action is required. No one can reach perfection or freedom from action or knowledge of the Self by mere renunciation or by simply giving up activities without possessing the knowledge of the Self.(3-4)
Mere abstinence from work does not result in a state of freedom from karmic reactions. The mind continues to engage in thoughts, planning, scheming and speculating. Since mental work is also a form of karma, it binds one in karmic reactions, just as physical work does. One cannot attain perfection of knowledge by mere physical renunciation.(3-5)
One who restrains the senses of action but whose mind dwells on sense objects certainly deludes himself and is called a pretender. (3-6)
O Arjuna!, one, who engages in Karma-yoga with the organs of action, controlling the organs with the mind and becoming unattached with the outcome, excels in performing the action. (3-7)
Perform your prescribed duty, because action is better than inaction. A man cannot even maintain his physical body without doing some routine work. (3-8)
Man is bound by his own action except when it is performed for the sake of sacrifice for the society as a whole, termed as YAGYA. Therefore, O son of Kunti, be unattached and do your duty for the sake of sacrifice i.e. yagya.(3-9)
Learning:
- Nishtha (or life style) is either one value or a set of values, that you adopt to govern all your activities and pursuits in life. If you are a nishthaavaana, then you will always find, the mind, the intelligence, the will, everything in you, is governed by the nishtha values. You will always be wanting to ensure that whatever you do, think, and speak has one set of values
There are two types of life style or nishtha:
- Pravrithi marga, an active life in society, which is pravrithi marga.
- Nivrthi marga, a life of withdrawal, a life of sanyasa ashrama.
Karm-yoga comes under Pravrithi marga: take to active way of service, contributing to the society and in the process refine the mind;
- Shree Krishna declares that the sānkhya yogi cannot attain the state of knowledge merely by renouncing the world and becoming a monk. By avoiding action, a person does not attain liberation from the results of past Karma. One may give up the physical objects of the senses, Out of previous habit, the materially contaminated mind keeps running in the direction of anxiety, stress, fear, hatred, envy, attachment, and the whole gamut of material emotions.
- Therefore, action is also necessary for success in sānkhya yog. In this world, no man can rest without doing work; for every person, even though he may have determined, ‘I will not do anything,’ is caused to act, i.e., is compelled to act according to the Gunas born of Prakrti.
- Everyone is compelled to act according to the Gunas born of Prakrti. The Gunas are Sattva, Rajas and Tamas; which increase in accordance with his old Karma. Consequently, Jnana Yoga can be attained only by means of a purified inner organ after annulling the old accumulation of sins by means of Karma Yoga of the aforesaid characteristics and bringing Sattva and other Gunas under control. Otherwise, one who engages oneself in Jnana Yoga becomes a hypocrite:
- Sattva is harmony or light or purity; Rajas is passion or motion; Tamas is inertia or darkness. Sattvic actions help a man to attain to Moksha. Rajasic and Tamasic actions bind a man to Samsara. These qualities cannot affect a man who has knowledge of the Self. He has crossed over these qualities. He has become a Gunatita (one who has transcended the qualities of Nature). The ignorant man who has no knowledge of the Self and who is swayed by Avidya or nescience is driven helplessly to action by the Gunas.
- The only difference in the human beings is the proportion of the three gunas; satva pradhana, raja pradhana, or tama pradhana, in accordance with his old Karma. So, nobody can remain inactive for even a moment. Otherwise, one who engages oneself in Jnana Yoga becomes a hypocrite: the more you give up physical action, the mind becomes proportionately doubly active. Mind is not meant for stopping but for functioning.
- Some people think that action refers only to professional work, and not to daily activities such as eating, drinking, sleeping, waking and thinking. So when they renounce their profession, they think they are not performing actions. But Shree Krishna considers all activities performed with the body, mind, and tongue as actions. Hence, he tells Arjun that complete inactivity is impossible even for a moment. If we simply sit down, it is an activity; if we lie down, that is also an activity; if we fall asleep, the mind is still engaged in dreaming; even in deep sleep, the heart and other bodily organs are functioning. Thus Shree Krishna declares that for human being’s inactivity is an impossible state to reach, since the body-mind-intellect mechanism is compelled by its own make-up of the three guṇas (sattva, rajas, and tamas) to perform work in the world.
- Therefore, it is impossible to give up action; maximum you can do is to reduce or redirect the action; in karma yoga.
- Inaction in action (कर्म में अकर्म): Though engaged physically in intense action, but the idea of agency performing the action, is absent, i.e.if one feels that Prakriti does everything, it is inaction in action.
- Unattached action (निष्काम कर्म): If one is free from attachment and is always calm and serene though engaged in ceaseless action, he is unaffected by the pairs of opposites like joy and grief, success and failure. Also, one who has true union with the Supreme is not subject to rebirth. He attains immortality. Such a union can only be achieved when one is free from attachment, fear and anger, being thoroughly purified by right knowledge.
- Man is bound by his own action except when it is performed for the sake of sacrifice for the society as a whole, termed as YAGYA. Any selfless action or action imbued with the spirit of reaching out is what is meant by the word yajna. Since the conduct of yagya is the only action that is not directed for self. All other business in which people are engaged are only forms of worldly bondage,
Bhagwati Prasad Gupta 