Miscellaneous - Religion   

Instruction by practice

CHENNAI: The Karma Yoga propounded by Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita places tremendous emphasis on the performance of one's ordained duties while also urging the individual to renounce any claim on the fruits of actions performed.

The Lord draws attention to His own example when He states that He continues to work for the upkeep of the universe, though He is not bound by any kind of duty. There is nothing in all the three worlds that He does not possess, and nothing that He has yet to acquire.

Sri B. Sundarkumar pointed out in a lecture that in His incarnation as Lord Krishna there are many occasions wherein His actions highlight the practical and spiritual significance of principled living, while also offering an inspirational role model for emulation.

The Lord is the greatest preceptor who is not content with mere instruction of truths, but lives them out in His incarnations, to make his teaching effective. During the conduct of the Rajasuya yaga in the Mahabharata, Lord Krishna Himself assisted Yudhishtira by undertaking the responsibility of receiving the guests and scholars with due respect and reverence. This act revealed His unassuming nature and His Saulabhya (accessibility).

He, who is the sole refuge of all, had served the revered guests in all humility, indicating to mankind the importance of upholding this gracious and customary tradition of honouring guests.

Towards the end of the sacrifice, when the time came for paying obeisance to the most pre-eminent person in the assemblage of saints and savants, the Pandava brothers decided on the advice of Bhisma that Lord Krishna was the most eligible to receive the honour. Even the celestials joined in the worship of the Supreme Being.

It was then that Sisupala, the Chedi king and a cousin of Lord Krishna, who had nurtured animosity towards the Lord, hurled abusive language that turned out to be Ninda Stuti (censure turned praise) if one were to read between the lines.

The manner of Sisupala's end was a moment of great significance. The Lord severed his head with his discus and took him within Himself, marking the culmination of the curse incurred by the celestial gatekeeper Jaya, after three consecutive births.

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