(Image Courtesy Mahanidhiswami)
We Should Do Our Job With The Body While Keeping Our Thoughts Focused On Divine
तस्मात्सर्वेषु कालेषु मामनुस्मर युध्य च |
मय्यर्पितमनोबुद्धिर्मामेवैष्यस्यसंशयम् || 8.7||
tasmāt sarveṣhu kāleṣhu mām anusmara yudhya cha
mayyarpita-mano-buddhir mām evaiṣhyasyasanśhayam|| 8.7||
Shloka Translation
BG – Ch. 8- Ver. 7:
As a result, remember Me at all times and carry out your wartime duties. You will undoubtedly gain Me if you devote your mind and intellect to Me; there is no doubt about that.
Explanation
“Do your duty with your body, and keep your mind linked to Me,” Shree Krishna tells Arjun. Arjun must fight since it is his duty as a warrior. The Lord, on the other hand, tells Arjun that he should remember God even in the midst of a battle. Farmers, engineers, doctors, students, housewives, and other professionals all receive the same message.
People frequently ignore their worldly obligations and responsibilities under the guise of living a spiritual life. Some, on the other hand, use their worldly obligations as an excuse for not exercising spirituality. They believe that material and spiritual aims can’t be achieved at the same time. The message of Shree Krishna in this verse, however, contradicts all of these beliefs and has the power to sanctify our entire lives.
The body is engaged in worldly activities while the mind is focused on God in the practise of karma yoga. As a result, while we endeavour to fulfil our responsibilities in this world, we are not bound by the Law of Karma. Karmic reactions occur when works are done with attachment. Even in worldly laws, one is not regarded guilty if there is no connection.
Arjun performed his duties as a warrior during the Mahabharat war. He battled heroically without regard for material gain. He obeyed Shree Krishna’s directions and kept his thoughts focused on God at all times. As a result, Shree Krishna proclaimed at the end of the conflict that Arjun had not accumulated any bad karma. According to the Law of Karma, when someone executes their duty without any selfish attachment to the world and with their thoughts fixed on God, their activities are multiplied by a factor of zero.
Verse & what we can learn
Do your worldly responsibilities, but keep God in mind at all times. Our minds are taken over by the great commanders of Maya’s army—desire, envy, greed, lust, rage, hatred, and so on—the moment we forget God. As a result, we must keep our minds focused on God at all times.
The mind should always be thinking of God when doing any work. God’s remembrance should be continuous rather than intermittent throughout the day.
We are not expected to abandon our responsibilities, retire to a forest, and meditate on Ishvara there. Shri Krishna asks us to remember Ishvara first, then do our duty in accordance with our svadharma. We will undoubtedly acquire
Ishvara as a result of living such a life. This is without a doubt the case.
In most cases, we limit meditation to fifteen to thirty minutes of sitting in a secluded location, as recommended in the sixth chapter. We now understand that those instructions were given to prepare us for the type of meditation that Shri Krishna wants us to practice: Ishvara meditation 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The only way to keep meditating is to realise that all we see, do, and know is Ishvara. If we realise that the actor, the action, the instrument, the process, and the result – everything is Ishvara – we will never forget Ishvara when executing any activity.
We establish an attachment to our favourite deity by practising meditation on it, so that we can recall it whenever we feel disconnected from Ishvara. As a result, we should seek to modify our thinking by consistently meditating on
Ishvara, so that our final idea is nothing but Ishvara.
To acquire knowledge and to implement that knowledge in life one needs to be mentally and physically active and healthy and for that daily meditation is a great tool.
There are various types of meditation like Buddhist meditation, heartfulness meditation, mindfulness meditation, meditation for stress, and each meditation benefits are countless. There are also numerous meditation techniques for beginners which help in practicing daily meditation so go ahead and start your journey towards a peaceful and balanced life.
In the next verse, Shree Krishna explains the benefits of practicing karma yoga.
Let’s learn to live with “The Gita” via Meditation Affinity…