(Image Courtesy Mahanidhiswami)

Life Becomes Easy When Lived in Divine Consciousness

कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन |
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि || 2.47 ||

karmaṇy-evādhikāras te mā phaleṣhu kadāchana
mā karma-phala-hetur bhūr mā te saṅgo ’stvakarmaṇi || 2.47 ||

Shloka Translation
BG – Ch. 2- Ver. 47:

You have the right to carry out your responsibilities, but you do not have the right to the benefits of your activities. Never believe that you are responsible for the outcomes of your actions, nor should you be connected to inaction.

Explanation

Shri Krishna claims that we have authority only over the activities we take, not the outcomes. In other words, we don’t have perfect control over any activity’s outcome. However, because we forget this, we are upset when things do not go our way and happy when they do.

There are three types of action

1. Tamas – inaction, no motivation
2. Rajas – desire-driven action for a fruit
3. Sattva – obligatory actions with no desire or fruit

The verse contains four instructions for the study of work: 1) Perform your duties without regard for the outcome. 2) You will not be able to reap the results of your activities. 3) Give up your doership pride even while working. 4) Don’t get caught up in inaction.

Do your job, but don’t be concerned about the outcome. We have the right to perform our duties, but the outcomes are not solely dependent on our efforts. Our efforts, destiny (past karmas), God’s will, others’ efforts, the cumulative karmas of the persons involved, the place and situation (a matter of luck), and so on all play a role in determining the outcome.

If we get anxious about results, we will become stressed anytime they do not meet our expectations. As a result, Shree Krishna urges Arjun to stop caring about the outcome and instead concentrate entirely on producing a good job. The truth is that when we don’t care about the outcome, we can focus totally on our efforts, and the result is much greater than before.

The fruits of your action are not for your enjoyment. Human nature necessitates the flow of activities. We all have various responsibilities as a result of our birth, which is dictated by our family circumstances, social status, career, and other factors. We must remember that we are not the ones who get to enjoy the outcomes; the results are for God’s delight. Because each of us is a minuscule part of God, it is in our nature to serve him in all of our deeds.
God is the Supreme Master of the Universe, and all living and non-living things are his servants.” “God is the owner and enjoyer of this entire world,” characterises spiritual consciousness. I’m nothing more than his selfless servant. I have to put everything I have into the service of God.” As a result, Shree Krishna tells Arjun not to think of himself as the receiver of his activities’ rewards.

Give up your pride in being a doer, even if you’re working. Arjuna is asked by Shree Krishna to give up kartritvabhavam, or the ego of being the doer. He tells Arjuna not to look for preconceived motivations in his actions or to think of himself as the source of the consequences of an action. However, why should we not regard ourselves to be the doers of deeds when we perform them? The reason for this is that our senses, mind, and intellect are inactive until God energizes them with his power and makes them available to us. As a result, we can only work with the support of the power we receive from him.

We could not have done anything if God had not given our body-mind-soul mechanism the ability to act. As a result, we must let go of our ego of doing, knowing that God is the only source of the force that allows us to carry out all of our activities.

Don’t get caught up in idleness. Even though it is like a living person to work, situations exist where employment appears to be stressful and unclear. Instead of running away from such situations, we must learn and use the appropriate science of work, as instructed to Arjuna by Shree Krishna. It is, nevertheless, exceedingly improper if we regard work as difficult and unpleasant, and then choose to do nothing. Getting connected to inaction is never a good idea, and Shree Krishna expresses his disapproval of it.

Verse & what we can learn

To give our best in any situation is in our hands, but not the results.

To think that we are the doers is a myth We have got a body but the energy that makes the body, mind and heart function properly and in the right way is given by him.

Take for example a bike it does not work by itself tough it has petrol and is in great condition the person who drives the bike is the one who makes it move, goes here and there. Likewise our driver the Divine is sitting inside us and making us do everything without him we are nothing. If the bike thinks oh I am so great I do this I do that it is foolishness, likewise, we think of ourselves that I am so great I am this and that so and so is an act of foolishness.
There is nothing that is I or mine in this world all is his.

Staying in body consciousness and forgetting the divine is the root cause of all troubles. To achieve the state of mind that I am not the doer, one has to meditate regularly. 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, Lord Shri Krishna talks about how he should perform his duty.

Let’s learn to live with “The Gita” via Meditation Affinity…