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Detached commitment

CHENNAI: It is natural for an individual to take credit for his actions. This is because he readily identifies his self with the performing ability he is endowed with. Once he conditions his mind to regard the faculties as God-given and himself as a mere tool in His hands, he will be rid of a sense of ego. He will also start looking at successes and failures with equanimity, said Sri O. R. Devanathan in a discourse. Nor will the person lay any claim to the fruits of his actions.

This is the crux of the theory and practice of Karma Yoga propounded by Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita, and offers a sensible approach to the crucial human function, namely performance of actions.

To Arjuna's query about the relative merits of Karma Yoga and Jnana Yoga, Lord Krishna asserts that by practising Karma Yoga in the right spirit, namely, doing one's duty but without attachment, one is able to reach Self-realisation, that is the fruit of Jnana Yoga.

A Jnani is one who has realised the Self, who has found delight, satisfaction and peace in the Self. Such a self-realised soul is independent of everything and everybody. He is no longer obliged to perform any kind of action, for he has nothing to gain in this world by action, and nothing to lose by refraining from action.

Lord Krishna cites the example of the great king Janaka and others who reached enlightenment merely by doing their duty in this spirit.

He urges Arjuna to do his duty and set others by his example on the path of duty, since ordinary people emulate the acts of well-known people in high status.

Then Lord Krishna draws attention to His state: "Consider me: I am not bound by any sort of duty. There is nothing in all the three worlds which I do not already possess; nothing I have yet to acquire. But I go on working nevertheless. If I did not continue to work untiringly as I do, mankind would still follow me, no matter where I led them. Suppose I were to stop? Then all would be lost. The result would be universal destruction."

Karma yoga is a way of life. It is the practice of actions in a manner of detached commitment. This implies that one works with utmost sincerity while relinquishing all attachment to the fruits of action.

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