Karma Sanyasa Yoga: Shlokas 5 to 9
If you have not already done so, I would request you to review the Chapter 4, Jnana Karma Sanyasa Yoga before studying chapter 5 as that would help set the right context.
You can find the explanation of the previous set of shlokas, 1 to 4 of chapter 5 here. Please go through that to get a better understand and maintain continuity in your learning.
You can also listen to all the episodes through my Spotify Portal.
The importance of bhava or intention
As discussed in chapter 4, the ‘bhava’ or intention is extremely important and that is what either creates bondage or liberates us from it. Even when we are performing puja for example, what matters is not the physical actions we perform but rather the bhava that matters.
Krishna has said that even when we are performing our social duties, as long as we do it with the right intention, with devotion, and intending to sacrifice the results of our actions, we will not get into bondage from karmic reactions. Likewise, even if we are practicing karma sanyasa, where we are devoting 100% of our time to devotional services, if we are not having the right bhav or intention then we cannot progress and in fact we would tend to experience a downfall.
The wise see that both the karma sanyāsa and nishkama karma yoga involve having a bhava of devotion and engaging our mind in God, and so they are both identical in their internal consciousness. Krishna says that karma yoga and karma sanyasa are not contradictory and instead, they are both supposed to be performed with the same bhava and they both lead to the same destination. Besides, we must understand that we have to first elevate ourselves using nishkama karma yoga before becoming eligible for karma sanyasa.
Importance of Karma Yoga
Shri Krishna explains that you cannot become a karma sanyasi without having been a karma yogi, however you can attain liberation by being a karma yogi without engaging in karma sanyasa.
Nishkama karma yoga, if performed the right way, with the right bhav, helps us achieve enlightenment and it gives the same result as karma sansaya although in a more consistent manner.
Qualities required to succeed in Nishkama Karma Yoga
In the 4th chapter, Shri Krishna spoke about the three qualities which were prerequisites for performing Nishkama Karma Yoga (Nirashih – Free from expectations, Yata Chittatma – Full control over their mind and intellect, Tyakta Sarva Parigraha – Free from sense of ownership).
Here Shri Krishna talks about four qualities we should possess while performing nishkama karma yoga in order to avoid getting entangled in the material world and achieve liberation:
- Viśhuddhātmā: of purified intellect (shuddha means pure, vishuddha means extremely pure)
- Sarvabhūtātmabhūtātmā: This can be translated as “realizing the true nature of the soul within all living beings.” It signifies the understanding that the same divine essence or soul is present in all creatures.
- Vijitātmā: who has conquered the mind, and
- Jitendriya: one who has controlled the senses. (5 jnanendriyas and 5 karmendriyas)
Jñānendriyas (Sense Organs):
These are the faculties related to knowledge or perception. They are:
Śrotra – Ear: The organ of hearing.
Tvak – Skin: The organ of touch.
Chakṣu – Eye: The organ of sight.
Jivha – Tongue: The organ of taste.
Ghrāṇa – Nose: The organ of smell.
Karmendriyas (Action Organs):
These are the faculties related to action or function. They are:
Vāk – Speech: The organ of verbal expression.
Paṇi – Hand: The organ of grasping and giving.
Pāda – Feet: The organ of movement.
Pāyu – Excretory Organ: The organ of excretion.
Upastha – Reproductive Organ: The organ of procreation.
Such a person who has these three qualities will not have any sense of ownership and will also realize that they are only an instrument and they are ultimately the spirit soul. They do not take pride in their actions and whenever they do good actions they realize that they are not the doers but only instruments. These people consider everyone dear to them and become dear to everyone.
Dale Carnegie wrote a book ‘how to influence people and win friends’ and he went on to become a multi millionaire. This was the perfect example of ascending knowledge that is gained through experimentation which is imperfect, as he couldn’t even influence his own wife to stay married and they got divorced within 4 years of marriage.
Krishna has provided the true descending knowledge on how to become dear to everyone, more than 5000 years ago 😊 Let us make the most of this. To understand this better, let us recollect what we learned in 3.36: where Arjuna had asked “Why is a person impelled to commit sinful acts, even unwillingly, as if by force, O descendent of Vrishni (Krishna)?”
There Krishna says that it is lust which causes all kinds of sinful activities. Now lust is the enemy but then where does it reside? How can we catch it and kill it? So for this, in 3.40 Krishna had said that lust resides in our senses, our mind and our intelligence. That is why it is so important to cultivate the above-mentioned three qualities to conquer this enemy.
Achieving viśhuddhātmā. Studying, inquiring and understanding the sacred scriptures like the Bhagavad gita, Srimad bhagavatam etc helps us purify our intellect. We should rely on descending knowledge for purification of our intellect.
Achieving vijitātmā. In Kaliyuga, the best way to purify and conquer the mind is by constantly chanting the Hare Krishna maha mantra. If you look at the word mantra, man means mind and tra means that which liberates. So constant chanting of the mantra can help control the mind and take us towards liberation.
Achieving jitendriya. Managing your senses is not easy and Shri Krishna has said in 2.60 that “O son of Kunti, The senses are so strong and turbulent, that they can forcibly carry away the mind even of a person endowed with discrimination and practicing self-control.”
We also discussed Vivekachudamani, verse 76, which speaks about five animals, which all have a weakness for one sense organ. Kuranga-matanga-patanga-mina-bhrnga
Kuranga is deer, Matanga is elephant, patanga is moth and mina is fish, bhrnga is black bee.
These animals get killed eventually based on their weakness for one sense organ. Just imagine our fate when we have weakness for five!
How to control the senses
So what is the solution? Shri Krishna says that just as a tortoise withdraws all it’s limbs into the shell when it senses some disturbances outside, we should withdraw our sense organs from the sense objects whenever we are troubled by desires. Then we become stithaprajna.
Krishna goes on to say that it is not enough to just control your body and deprive it of the sensory objects because the cravings will still remain. It is only through self realization that the cravings also go away. That should be the ultimate goal. Thus, Shri Krishna teaches the beautiful path of sublimation of desires by directing them toward God.
So, for managing your desires:
Step 1 is to withdraw your sense organs from the sense objects, meaning do not give in to your desires. This will weaken your desires. (Krishna gave the analogy of a tortoise in 2.58)
Step 2 is to recognize when you are having cravings and at that time, substitute those thoughts with thoughts of God. Chant the Hare Krishna mahamantra a few times. If possible, engage in some activity as a service to God. Like doing puja, cleaning your space, singing a devotional song, cooking prasadam, etc.
In 5.8 and 5.9, Shri Krishna says that we have to get into the mindset of नैव किञ्चित्करोमीति (Naiva kiñcitkaromīti): This means “I am not the doer.” It signifies the understanding that the true self (Atman) is beyond actions and is not the one performing them. The actions are carried out by the body and the mind, while the self remains a detached observer.
A self-realized person recognizes this distinction between the self and the body-mind complex. It is the senses that are engaged with the sensory objects, and the true self remains detached from these interactions. This understanding helps a self-realized individual to actively participate in the world, while remaining internally detached, understanding that the true self is beyond the actions performed by the body and the senses.
The Mahabharata is not an auspicious text because it deals with blind attachment, bloodshed and deceit and the break-up of a family. The only auspicious part of the Mahabharata is the Bhagavad Gita. Although technically the Bhagavad gita is a small part of Mahabharatha, it is actually the spirit and core of Mahabharatha. Without Bhagavad Gita the rest of Mahabharatha would not have been so important.
Similarly, our lives can also become auspicious if we make the teachings of Bhagavad Gita as the core of our lives.
We should all strive to master our intellect, mind and the senses and progress on the spiritual path by practicing nishkama karma yoga with bhakti bhav.
Importance of Bhakti bhav and faith
Bhakti bhav and faith is extremely important to get the grace of Shri Krishna.
There is this story of a thief who was running away from the police who were chasing him. When the thief was running, he came across a crowd of people all sitting and listening to a learned person speak about Srimad Bhagavatam. The thief thinks that if he joins the crowd then it will be easy to hide and the cops won’t be able to find him. So he enters the crowd and sits down and starts listening to the stories of Krishna. There the learned person speaks about a beautiful blue skinned boy named Krishna who lives in Vrindavan and who wears a lot of ornaments with exotic gemstones, etc. The thief thinks wow, I must meet this boy and steal a few precious ornaments from him.
So he then goes to Vrindavan looking for Krishna. He had so much faith in Krishna’s existence, that he genuinely started searching for Him. He manages to actually find Krishna near the banks of the river and he is stunned to see the beauty of Krishna. He also sees Krishna wearing many necklaces with precious gemstones so he asks Krishna ‘hey can you give me one of your necklaces’? Krishna says no I cannot give you because my mother knows exactly what all I am wearing and even if one of them is missing she will scold me. The thief keeps asking Krishna, saying you have so many necklaces, why don’t you give me just one? And Krishna is equally adamant and he keeps saying no I cannot give you any because my mother will scold me.
However, during this back and forth discussion with Krishna, the thief gets totally purified and he becomes viśhuddhātmā, vijitātmā and jitendriya. He suddenly realizes that all those jewels mean nothing to him and what was the most precious was Krishna’s presence in front of him. He bows to Krishna and seeks His blessings. He then remembers that it all started because of the learned pandit who spoke about Krishna.
So he runs back to the pandit and tells him, hey you spoke about the blue skinned boy Krishna, I just met him and he is truly magnificent and beautiful. The pandit says ‘you must be joking, how can you actually meet Krishna?”. The thief (now a self realized soul) says what do you mean? Of course I met him, you were the one who told me that he lives in Vrindavan, didn’t you? Why don’t you come with me and I will show him to you.
Out of curiosity, the pandit goes with the thief to the banks of the river in Vrindavan and the thief shouts in joy, see! Here is Krishna. I told you! However, the pandit is not able to see Krishna. He keeps saying I don’t see anybody? Then the thief requests Krishna saying Oh Krishna please show yourself to this pandit otherwise he will think that I am a liar!
So, to save him from being called a liar, Krishna starts speaking to the pandit. The pandit feels overwhelmed and says ‘Krishna but why am I not able to see you?’. Krishna says that this thief had absolute faith in my existence so he could see me. Whereas, you being learned, were only talking intellectually about me without any real faith in me. So you cannot see me. Go and purify yourself. Once you develop faith and purify yourself, I will show myself to you.
The moral of the story is that faith and devotion are the most important ingredients. They will help us develop all other qualities, help purify us and get us closer to Krishna.
You can read the explanation of the next set of verses, 5.10 to 5.13 over here:
kṛṣṇadaasa
Servant of Krishna
Aka +Vinayak Raghuvamshi