ब्रह्मण्याधाय कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा करोति य: |
लिप्यते न स पापेन पद्मपत्रमिवाम्भसा || 10||
brahmaṇyādhāya karmāṇi saṅgaṁ tyaktvā karoti yaḥ
lipyate na sa pāpena padma-patram ivāmbhasā
brahmaṇi—to God; ādhāya—dedicating; karmāṇi—all actions; saṅgam—attachment; tyaktvā—abandoning; karoti—performs; yaḥ—who; lipyate—is affected; na—never; saḥ—that person; pāpena—by sin; padma-patram—a lotus leaf; iva—like; ambhasā—by water
Translation:
He who acts placing all actions in the eternal Brahman, giving up attachment, is unaffected by sin like the lotus by water.
Commentary:
The doctrine of Karmayoga is restated here. All actions should be surrendered in the Eternal, and all personal attachments to the fruits thereof should be given up. There should be no feeling of personal doership. Such a worker is not affected by sin. The idea is illustrated by means of a simile. The lotus leaf is in water, and yet it is not tainted by the water rolling over and around it. Similarly, the expert in Karmayoga is engaged in a thousand activities, but he is not touched or tainted by sin in any way.
By the Knowledge he has acquired, he knows that all objects and actions are only reflected images in the Supreme Brahman. He is himself That. So there are no desires or attachments for him. Having themselves escaped from the torments of karma, they work for the spiritual uplift of humanity. They are free because they know the Truth, and they have surrendered everything to the Lord or the eternal Brahman.
Swami Vivekananda Says —
“Whosoever lives in the midst of the world, and works, and gives up all the fruit of his action unto the Lord, he is never touched with the evils of the world. Just as the lotus, born under the water, rises up and blossoms above the water, even so is the man who is engaged in the activities of the world, giving up all the fruit of his activities unto the Lord.”[Source]
He [Krishna] taught that a man ought to live in this world like a lotus leaf, which grows in water but is never moistened by water; so a man ought to live in the world — his heart to God and his hands to work. [Source]
The aim and end in this life for the jnana-yogi is to become this jivanmukta, “living-free”. He is jivanmukta who can live in this world without being attached. He is like the lotus leaves in water, which are never wetted by the water.[Source]
The Lord Himself works incessantly and is ever without attachment. Just as water cannot wet the lotus leaf, so work cannot bind the unselfish man by giving rise to attachment to results. The selfless and unattached man may live in the very heart of a crowded and sinful city; he will not be touched by sin.[Source]
So karma-yoga says, first destroy the tendency to project this tentacle of selfishness, and when you have the power of checking it, hold it in and do not allow the mind to get into the ways of selfishness. Then you may go out into the world and work as much as you can. Mix everywhere, go where you please; you will never be contaminated with evil. There is the lotus leaf in the water; the water cannot touch and adhere to it; so will you be in the world. This is called vairagya, dispassion or non-attachment. I believe I have told you that without non-attachment there cannot be any kind of yoga. Non-attachment is the basis of all the yogas.[Source]
If a man plunges headlong into foolish luxuries of the world without knowing the truth, he has missed his footing, he cannot reach the goal. And if a man curses the world, goes into a forest, mortifies his flesh, and kills himself little by little by starvation, makes his heart a barren waste, kills out all feelings, and becomes harsh, stern, and dried-up, that man also has missed the way. These are the two extremes, the two mistakes at either end. Both have lost the way, both have missed the goal.
So work, says the Vedanta, putting God in everything, and knowing Him to be in everything. Work incessantly, holding life as something deified, as God Himself, and knowing that this is all we have to do, this is all we should ask for. God is in everything, where else shall we go to find Him? He is already in every work, in every thought, in every feeling. Thus knowing, we must work — this is the only way, there is no other. Thus the effects of work will not bind us. We have seen how false desires are the cause of all the misery and evil we suffer, but when they are thus deified, purified, through God, they bring no evil, they bring no misery. Those who have not learnt this secret will have to live in a demoniacal world until they discover it. Many do not know what an infinite mine of bliss is in them, around them, everywhere; they have not yet discovered it. What is a demoniacal world? The Vedanta says, ignorance.[Source]
Sri Ramakrishna Says —
MASTER: “A devotee who can call on God while living a householder’s life is a hero indeed. God thinks: ‘He who has renounced the world for My sake will surely pray to Me. He must serve Me. Is there anything very remarkable about it? People will cry shame on him if he fails to do so. But he is blessed indeed who prays to Me in the midst of his worldly duties. He is trying to find Me, overcoming a great obstacle — pushing away, as it were, a huge block of stone weighing a ton. Such a man is a real hero.'”
PUNDIT: “You are right, sir. The scripture says the same thing. There is in the Mahabharata the story of the ‘pious hunter’ and the ‘chaste woman’. Once a hermit was disturbed in his meditation by a crow. When he cast an angry glance at the bird, it was reduced to ashes. The hermit said to himself: ‘I have destroyed the crow by a mere glance. I must have made great progress in spiritual life.’ One day he went to a woman’s house to beg his food. She was devoted to her husband and served him day and night; she provided him with water to wash his feet and even dried them with her hair. When the hermit knocked at her door for alms, she was serving her husband and could not open the door at once. The hermit, in a fit of anger, began to curse her. The chaste woman answered from the inner apartments: ‘I am not your crow. Wait a few minutes, sir. After finishing my service to my husband I shall give you my attention.’ The hermit was very much surprised to find that this simple woman was aware of his having burnt the crow to ashes. He wanted her to give him spiritual instruction. At her bidding he went to the ‘pious hunter’ at Benares. This hunter sold meat, but he also served his parents day and night as embodiments of God. The hermit said to himself in utter amazement: ‘Why, he is a butcher and a worldly man! How can he give me the Knowledge of Brahman?’ But the hunter was a knower of Brahman and had acquired divine knowledge through the performance of his worldly duties. The hermit was illumined by the instruction of the pious hunter’.”
The Master was about to take his leave. He was standing at the door of the next house, where Ishan’s father-in-law lived. Ishan and the other devotees stood by the Master. They were waiting to bid him good-bye. Sri Ramakrishna said to Ishan: “Live in the world like an ant. The world contains a mixture of truth and untruth, sugar and sand. Be an ant and take the sugar.
“Again, the world is a mixture of milk and water, the bliss of God-Consciousness and the pleasure of sense-enjoyment. Be a swan and drink the milk, leaving the water aside.
“Live in the world like a waterfowl. The water clings to the bird, but the bird shakes it off. Live in the world like a mudfish. The fish lives in the mud, but its skin is always bright and shiny.
“The world is indeed a mixture of truth and make-believe. Discard the make-believe and take the truth.” (Source: Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna)
Isa Upanishad Verse 1 & 2 :
Verse 1: All this-whatever exists in this changing universe-should be covered by the Lord. Protect the Self by renunciation. Lust not after any man’s wealth.
Verse 2: If a man wishes to live a hundred years on this earth, he should live performing action. For you, who cherish such a desire and regard yourself as a man, there is no other way by which you can keep work from clinging to you.
He who has realized the Self, which is innate, unborn, and inconceivable, is not contaminated by any evil, even if he acts in whatever way he likes. And once he is free from ignorance, he cannot perform any action. For that reason the self-controlled mendicant is never bound.
– Avadhuta Gita 2.30
Not contaminated by any evil—The Brahma Sutras (an authoritative text of Vedanta) says: “On the realization of that Brahman, there occur the non-attachment and destruction of the subsequent and previous sins respectively, because it is declared by the scriptures.” (4.1.13)
He cannot perform any action—Because action originates from desire, and desire originates from ignorance.
The Chhandogya Upanishad says: “As water does not cling to the lotus leaf, so no evil clings to one who knows Brahman.” (4.14.3)
Question: Who is not bound by karma?
Answer: He who has surrendered all actions to the eternal Brahman, who has given up all attachments, is not bound by karma.
Question: How?
Answer: Like the lotus-leaf in the water.
