Assignment on - Karma - Yog

Assignment-3 Shrimadbhagvad Gita

Name : Kavita Jesrani, Sem-I, MYASc

बु धयु तो जहातीह उभे सुकृतद ु कृते।

त मा योगाय यु य व योगः कमसु कौशलम ् ॥
[S.B.G. Ch.2 Verse 50]

INTRODUCTION:
The supreme personality of godhead is the supreme cause of all causes, he is absolute. Not one is
greater than him or equal to him. There is no duty for the Lord to perform, as for him, there is
nothing to achieve within the three planetary systems, and yet lord is engaged in the battlefield of
Kurukshetra. This act of Lord demonstrates the practical application of Karma-Yog.

The word ‘Karma’ literally means any action pertaining to the development of these material bodies.
As Arjuna has already accepted Krishna as his spiritual master by surrendering himself unto him.
Now, Krishna will tell him about the working process in Karma Yog i.e. the practice of devotional
service only for the sense gratification of the Lord. Lord Shri Krishna began to explain the concept of
Karma to Arjun from chapter 2 onwards. In Gita, the word ‘Karma’ means ‘Action’, but many people
inadvertently take it as ‘Karamkand’.

CONCEPT OF KARMA:
In verse 38 of chapter 2, Lord Krishna directly says to Arjuna that, “Fight for the sake of fighting,
without considering happiness or distress, loss or gain, victory or defeat and by so doing, you shall
never incur sin.” This is the clear concept of Karma Yog taught by Lord.

KARMA-YOG AND KARMA-KAND:

 KarmaYog – Further, explanation of Karmyog is given in Verse 47 of Ch. 2, where lord says,
“कम येवा धकार ते मा फलेषु कदाचन| मा कमफलहेतभ ु मा
ू ते स गोऽ वकम ण||” Means You have
a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action.
Never consider yourself to be the cause of the result of your activities, and never be
attached not doing your duty. Any attachment, positive or negative, is cause for bondage.
Inaction is sinful. Therefore one must perform any action as a matter of duty without
attachment to the result.
 In next verse 48, “योग थ: कु कमा ण स गं य वा धन जय | स य स यो: समो भू वा
सम वं योग उ यते ||” Means Perform your duty and abandon all attachment to success or
failure. Such evenness of mind is called yoga.
 Karmakand – People in general are not very intelligent, and due to their ignorance they are
most attached to the fruitive activities/sacrifices recommended for elevation to the
heavenly planets in the ‘Karma-kanda’ portions of the Vedas. They do not want anything
more than sense gratification.

CHARACTERISTICS NEED & SIGNIFICANCE OF KARMA:

 All human are forced to act according to the modes of material nature; therefore, no one
can refrain from doing something, not even for a moment.
 All activities bind the person to the cycle of birth and death.
  We should perform karma, as per scriptural injunctions, as a matter of duty, without being
attached to the result.
 Any action performed for sense gratification is subject to the reaction, good or bad.
 You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of
action.
 One can’t achieve freedom from reaction by abstaining from work or action.
 One can’t attain perfection by renunciation alone.
 Therefore, action is better than inaction.
 Material activities and their results end with the body. But little advancement in the
spiritual progress has permanent effect in this birth and beyond.
 Karma yog is to perform duty keeping God in mind, without attachment, surrendering the
result unto the supreme lord, is not affected by sinful action.
 Renunciation or Karma Sanayas without Krishna consciousness is incomplete, therefore,
action in devotion is always superior to renunciation, which always entails a risk of falling.

Karma and Kartapan: The bewildered spirit soul thinks himself to be the doer of the activities,
which are in actuality carried out by the three modes of nature because he does it under the
influence of the three modes of material nature. Ignorant of the fact that Lord is the master of the
senses of all material bodies because Maya is none other than transcendental powers of the Lord.

Divisions of Karma or Action:

Karma/Sakarma Vikarma Akarma

Definition Action as per scriptural Action against scriptural Actions not causing
injuctions. injunction bondage
Example Prescribed duty Meat eating Reading Bhagvad Gita
Called as Punya Paap Sukriti
Result Material happiness Material distress Spiritual progress
Nature Binding Binding Liberating
Destiny Heavenly planets Hellish planets Spiritual Planets
Effect Temporary Temporary Permanent

CONCLUSION:

Krishna consciousness is the purifying process of resultant action. A person engaged in devotional
service rids himself of both good and bad actions even in this life. Yog is to know our constitutional
position and re-establish our relation with Lord, surrender unto lord in all respects and become
liberated from the chained victimization of action and reaction, birth after birth, which is the art of
all work.

Executing duties according to spiritual injunctions lead us to freedom from the bondage of fruitive
actions. And there is punishment for the disobedience of the order of the Supreme lord, there is no
hope for perfection of life for him.