Bhagwad Gita Transcribed from Parisamvad at The Yoga Institute.
Chapter 3, Sloka 9
The world is bound by action other than those performed ‘for the sake of sacrifice’; do thou, therefore, O son of Kunti, perform action for that sake (for Yajna) alone, free from all attachments.
Dr. Jayadeva Yogendra:
“The Gita is continuously telling us to function in a manner that we can feel happy and free. The method is simple. Don’t get attached with results, just do the job. Just as you see the horse or the bullock, they do their jobs and are free and happy but as soon as a human starts an action, his eyes are on the result. That creates a lot of pain and suffering. That’s the way we are made. Just doing the action in the best possible way you can and going to the next work, how many of us can do that? I know of people in our city who are able to do that. They are efficient, helpful, kind.
I have often mentioned about a ‘collector’ of Mumbai. The land of the Institute required to pay taxes to the government – they were large amounts. We were told that as a non-profit Institute we are exempt from paying the taxes . We applied, we renewed, again applied again renewed and it went on for ten years. Ultimately we lost hope, lost interest and continued paying thousands of rupees. Then we had a big officer in the government attending our class. He learnt about this matter. He told me, ‘go and meet the collector and tell him about your matter.’ I told him that, ‘ I had gone to hundreds of such people and its no use.’ He said, ‘No , he is a different man.’ I went , took all the papers , explained everything . He was quiet, listening. He told me, ‘I’ll study the papers, come tomorrow’. I thought it’s the same old story. I went the next day. He immediately called his steno and dictated, ‘Yoga Institute is exempt from any taxes from the government’. It was a split second affair – not asking me to come again and again. So there are people in the modern world, who are clear headed, honest .
So actions , if they are done in that fashion – not only they are useful and helpful to others, they are useful to the individual himself. That was his habit. The whole city knew him as a wonderful character. They put him into municipality as a municipal commissioner. But the municipality is so corrupt that ultimately he was removed and they had a big Satyanarayan pooja when he was removed. There are some people who exist with some principles and have no fear. The ideas here are quite wise and possible. They are simple things and if we apply, we can bring a big change in our life.”
“This Shloka is very important. It teaches us how to live. Every human being is bound by his Karma. Whatever actions we do we will face the consequences of those actions. We have to be extra careful about our actions. We have to be absolutely truthful to ourselves. This habit of externally showing something and internally something else has to be removed. This habit may be successful in managing the world, but on the spiritual path it is harmful. Not all actions bind. If the actions are done with detachment with no desires as an offering – Neki Kar, Kua Mein Daal, then it does not bind. So one has to be very balanced while doing the action. We have to do actions, we have to do duty, but do it with a balanced state without expecting anything.”
About Parisamvad
On every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, The Yoga Institute, Santacruz holds Parisamvad sessions – Free interactive sessions that are open to all. These session begin at 7:20 am and end around 7:45 am.
The Tuesday Parisamvad is dedicated to explanation of the the Bhagwad Gita by our esteemed Gurus, Dr. Jayadeva and Smt. Hansaji.
All are welcome to attend.Click Here to learn more about The Yoga Institute, Santacruz, Mumbai.
(Picture credit http://www.ishwar.com/hinduism/holy_bhagavad_gita).