मयि सर्वाणि कर्माणि संन्यस्याध्यात्मचेतसा |
निराशीर्निर्ममो भूत्वा युध्यस्व विगतज्वर: || 30||
mayi sarvāṇi karmāṇi sannyasyādhyātma-chetasā
nirāśhīr nirmamo bhūtvā yudhyasva vigata-jvaraḥ
mayi—unto me; sarvāṇi—all; karmāṇi—works; sannyasya—renouncing completely; adhyātma-chetasā—with the thoughts resting on God; nirāśhīḥ—free from hankering for the results of the actions; nirmamaḥ—without ownership; bhūtvā—so being; yudhyasva—fight; vigata-jvaraḥ—without mental fever
Translation:
Renouncing all actions in Me with the mind fixed in Self, free from hope and egoism, fight without mental agitation.
Commentary:
Most people’s minds are filled with worldly knowledge and objective considerations. Such troubled minds cannot reflect the light of Paramatma. It is not a spiritual mind. It is the gross mind capable of apprehending only material things. The aspirant should cultivate a spiritualised mind, illumined by knowledge and devoted to the Lord. Such is the purified mind capable of apprehending the subtle Reality underlying all matter. With the mind thus spiritualised, man should surrender all actions and their fruits to God. All actions without exception should be surrendered. That is the Lord’s command.
Free from desire and egoism: Desire and egoism (personal selfishness) should be given up. Man should understand that there is only one Reality. God (Atma) is the universe. Knowing this man cannot have any attachment of I and Mine to anything in the world. He knows that the world is only a reflection and dreamlike projection of the mind, which is subject to change, growth and decay. Thus freeing himself from the burden of material things, man should surrender to the Lord and carry out the duties of life in a detached manner. Since Arjuna is a Kshatriya the Lord’s injunction to him is ‘fight’. It means that every individual, according to his position in the social structure should execute his duty prescribed by custom and tradition in a spirit of dedication to the Lord-the Supreme Being.
Without passion: “Fight, free from passion” – that is again the Lord’s command. The fever of life is of two kinds. One affects the body, another attacks the mind. The first could be cured by medicine. But the internal fever of the mind, being more subtle, requires a spiritual cure. Every man runs to a Doctor at the slightest touch of physical ill-health, but is he taking the same care of the mind and its fever? No. The fire and passion expressing itself in anger and hatred, which consume the internal man, can be cured and extinguished only by spiritual knowledge. To divert to God, to surrender the fruits of work to God, to give up all foolish desires, to have no feeling of I and Mine – these are steps to be taken by the seeker. These four aspects of spiritual discipline constitute the most powerful cure for life’s fitful fever.
It should be understood that the Lord insists on action and surrender. The terms ‘fight’ (Yuahyasva) and renouncing (Samnyasya) may appear apparently contrary, but it is not really so. If a wood-cutter or soldier or teacher or politician should realise the Truth, he should not for that reason change himself or something else in the social structure. He would still be a wood-cutter or a teacher etc., and would be performing all the duties that belong to his profession. Only he knows that it is not the same person who is doing the work. The Kshatriya continues to fight the enemy and defend his country, but he knows that he is not the same person who is doing the work. Thus the concept of Hinduism is not a negation of action, but a proper understanding of the feeling of action which enables the actor to act without passion, without elation of hope or the frustration of failure. Every man should surrender everything to the Lord and carry on the duties of life cheerfully and with courage.
Swami Vivekananda Says —
“Surrendering the fruits of work to God” is to take to ourselves neither credit nor blame, but to give up both to the Lord and be at peace.[Source]
The Gita teaches that all works should be done thus. He who is one with the Lord through yoga performs all his works by becoming immersed in concentration, and does not seek any personal benefit. Such a performance of work brings only good to the world, no evil can come out of it. Those who work thus never do anything for themselves.[Source]
Sri Ramakrishna Says —
MASTER (to Pratap): “It is not in England alone that one sees attachment to worldly things. You see it everywhere. But remember that work is only the first step in spiritual life. God cannot be realised without sattva — love, discrimination, kindness, and so on. It is the very nature of rajas to involve a man in many worldly activities. That is why rajas degenerates into tamas. If a man is entangled in too many activities he surely forgets God. He becomes more and more attached to ‘woman and gold’.
“But it is not possible for you to give up work altogether. Your very nature will lead you to it whether you like it or not. Therefore the scriptures ask you to work in a detached spirit, that is to say, not to crave the work’s results. (BG 18.59) For example, you may perform devotions and worship, and practise austerities, but your aim is not to earn people’s recognition or to increase your merit.
“To work in such a spirit of detachment is known as karmayoga. But it is very difficult. We are living in the Kaliyuga, when one easily becomes attached to one’s actions. You may think you are working in a detached spirit, but attachment creeps into the mind from nobody knows where. You may worship in the temple or arrange a grand religious festival or feed many poor and starving people. You may think you have done all this without hankering after the results. But unknown to yourself the desire for name and fame has somehow crept into your mind. Complete detachment from the results of action is possible only for one who has seen God.”
A DEVOTEE: “Then what is the way for those who have not seen God? Must they give up all the duties of the world?”
MASTER: “The best path for this age is bhaktiyoga, the path of bhakti prescribed by Narada: to sing the name and glories of God and pray to Him with a longing heart, “O God, give me knowledge, give me devotion, and reveal Thyself to me!’ The path of karma is extremely difficult. Therefore one should pray: ‘O God, make my duties fewer and fewer; and may I, through Thy grace, do the few duties that Thou givest me without any attachment to their results! May I have no desire to be involved in many activities!’
“It is not possible to give up work altogether. Even to think or to meditate is a kind of work. As you develop love for God, your worldly activities become fewer and fewer of themselves. And you lose all interest in them. Can one who has tasted a drink made of sugar candy enjoy a drink made of ordinary molasses?”
A DEVOTEE: “The English people always exhort us to be active. Isn’t action the aim of life then?”
MASTER: “The aim of life is the attainment of God. Work is only a preliminary step; it can never be the end. Even unselfish work is only a means; it is not the end. (Source: Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna)
Related Articles:
- No one can live even for a moment without doing work. Everyone without his will is made to do work by the qualities born of Prakriti. (BG 3.5)
Question: What is the highest good for man?
Answer: Surrendering to the Lord, and acting without desire is the highest good.
