न कर्मणामनारम्भान्नैष्कर्म्यंपुरुषोऽश्नुते । न च सन्न्यसनादेव सिद्धिंसमधिगच्छति ॥३.४॥
A person (पुरुषः) does not (न) gain (अश्नुते) the state of actionless-ness (नैष्कर्म्यम्) by the non-performance (अनारम्भात्) of activities (कर्मणाम्). Nor does (नच) the person attain (समधिगच्छति) सिद्धि (liberation) out of mere (एव) renunciation(सन्न्यसनात्).
Many unusual lines comes up in Chapter 3 of the श्रीमद्भगवत्गीता – the above is one of them. श्री कृष्ण states here that one does not attain the state of नैष्कर्म्यम् – a state of inaction if one does not do anything. In normal language, if someone does not do anything, one is said to be in a state of inaction. However, the above Shloka is suggesting that inaction cannot be achieved by not doing any action. So what is the deal here?
Simple translation of कर्म is action. So what is action? Any act done with an intent of a certain outcome that we yearn for. Note the words “yearn for”. We want joy – we go for a holiday. We want a promotion – we work in a way that boss is impressed. Further, we have stakes in the act – if it works, we experience joy while if it does not, we gain sorrow.In short, any act that is backed by a connection- attraction, aversion, fear, favour, anger, hunger, etc is action. But all acts by all people are backed by a connection – is it not? By this logic therefore, all actions done by all people may be seen as कर्म. Is it not?
In अध्यात्म, कर्म is also expressed as an outcome. So if one happens to experience a positive outcome, one says it is because of good कर्म and if one experiences an unhappy event, we term this as an outcome of bad कर्म done in the past. Where does this come from?
Given below is a long background in the words of Swami Krishnananda that provides a useful context to understand the idea of कर्म in a deeper manner. Please read every word very carefully.
Why do we do an action?
Every action that we perform is a confirmation of a desire, and it is the fulfilment of a particular urge of the individual in respect of its atmosphere. And, inasmuch as the release of a particular urge in the direction of its fulfilment brings satisfaction in the form of that fulfilment, and because it is satisfaction that is the aim of temporal life, every satisfaction gained through the contact of senses with objects becomes an added confirmation of the fact that pleasure is in the objects. Hence, there is a repeated effort on the part of the mind and the senses to come in contact with the objects, and this chain of action continues.
So what happens as a result of our actions?
Every experience of pleasure or satisfaction in respect of contact with an object of sense creates an impression in the mind. There is a memory of past pleasure. “I came in contact with that object yesterday, and I had great satisfaction from it. I was very happy at that time. There was pleasure in that contact, so I would like to repeat that contact.” This desire to repeat the contact arises on account of a memory of the pleasure of yesterday. This memory is a groove that has been formed in the mind by the experience of pleasure that was undergone earlier. So, what happens? This groove that has been formed in the mind by the pleasurable experience urges the mind to further action in that very direction, and there is again a grasping of the object in a manner similar to that which was employed earlier. There is again a pleasure which confirms, “Yes, I am perfectly right. There is great pleasure in this contact.” There is an ecstasy, a rapture and a thrill of contact with objects, and there is ennui and surfeit. We retire with a memory that the repetition of the contact has brought about an added pleasure. So, why not repeat it three times, four times, five times, a hundred times, a thousand times, as many times as possible? Why should not we convert the entire life into a repeated activity of coming in contact with objects which give us such satisfaction?
Every such contact which brings about a pleasure creates an impression, so there are impressions and impressions endlessly created in the mind. There are millions of grooves in the mind which can urge the mind towards any object of sense at any time, according to the favourable conditions. There is nothing which cannot attract us, if only the necessary conditions are provided. There is nothing which we cannot pounce upon at some time or the other as a means to the satisfaction of the senses. The reason is that there is present in the mind a groove for every type of experience on account of the various births through which we have passed in our earlier incarnations.
What is कर्म as per अध्यात्म?
This impression that is created in the mind at the time of a pleasurable experience is a कर्म that is added to the stock already there. कर्म is not merely an action. It is also the effect that is produced by an action, a force that is generated –an apurva, as it is called in some schools of thought. An invisible potency is generated in the mind by an experience of any kind. This invisible force is the urging factor for further experience of a similar character. So this apurva, or the potency that is present in the mind for further experiences, is present there, and one groove is sufficient to create a desire for further experiences of a similar nature – which again produce further grooves, and so on, endlessly.
So why are we born or who are we?
The nucleus of this mind draws the particles of matter in space and forms an atomic structure which is this body. It has been done for a particular purpose, as it is very clear. Then the instrument is born. This is called birth. This instrument is born for a particular purpose: to repeat these experiences of previous lives. Then, what happens? The mind jumps on the objects immediately because the instrument is ready, and it gets confirmed inits feeling that there is pleasure in the objects of sense. Thus, in this birth also we repeat the same experience that we had in the previous life. What happens is that we go on having more and more confirmation of this feeling that pleasure is only in objects because we can see them, we can feel them, we can touch them, we can taste them, we can smell them, and so on. What can be a greater proof than this experience of pleasure? The reality of pleasure is confirmed. This second series of impacts of the senses on the objects produces more impressions again, and so we find ourselves in hell, veritably. The earlier samskaras are already there, not entirely fulfilled; and before they are completely fulfilled, we add to the stock by further experience.
So how does कर्म work?
It is very difficult to understand how कर्म works, because the whole of nature is the determining factor behind the operation of the law of कर्म. A particular action, though it is singled out from all others at any particular time, may produce an effect which has some relevance to other factors which are unknown to the individual, and it may be conditioned by those unknown factors.The way in which कर्म works is inscrutable – this is because every कर्म has some connection with every force in nature. And, the way in which the कर्म can be fulfilled or made to manifest is determined by the law of the entire nature, of which an individual can have no knowledge because of the limitation of the knowledge in the individual to a particular frame of the physical body. Thus, there is a complete subjection of oneself to the forces of कर्म, given rise to by desires of this kind in respect of objects of sense.
Why rebirth happens in a certain way in a particular life?
Rebirth cannot be avoided as long as unfulfilled desires are present. These desires which cause rebirth are not necessarily conscious longings of the mind in respect of any intelligible object. Psychologists tell us that there are various layers of the mind, which is another way of saying there are various layers of the manifestation of desire, because what is mind but desires? This पुरुष is supposed to be made up of desires only. These different layers of mind which are studied by psychology are the different densities of the manifestation of desire. The dense ones are visible first and the lesser in density remain at the background, just as there can be layers of clouds darkening the sun completely, and though we will see only the thickest, lowermost layer which is proximate to us, the inner layers are always there, invisible.
What causes pleasure and pain? It is OUR OWN कर्म
पुण्य and अपुण्य (also named as पाप), merit and demerit, are regarded as causative factors of pleasurable and miserable experiences in life. The happiness that we experience, whatever be the nature of that happiness and whatever be the cause thereof, is considered to be an effect of the forces generated by the meritorious deeds of the past. We are not unnecessarily happy or unnecessarily unhappy. These experiences are brought about by certain causative factors. Nothing happens without a cause. Even the manner in which the psychophysical organism comes in contact with objects of pleasure is determined by the nature of the actions performed in previous lives. This explains why only certain objects can give us pleasure and certain others cannot, though it is true that every object has the capacity to fulfil a particular need of an individual. What may become the source of happiness to me may not be the source of happiness to you. This means pleasure, or happiness, or joy, whatever we call it, is a very peculiar situation that is created, and not a substance, as such. It is a condition which is brought about by other conditions – namely, the actions of the past.
Why certain deeds bring pleasure and why others bring displeasure or sorrow is also to be explained; and it is easily explained by the nature of things. Anything – any action, any tendency of the mind – which takes a step in the direction of the unity of things will certainly become the cause of a pleasurable experience, and any tendency or step taken in the opposite direction will become the cause of sorrow or pain. Any intention of the mind, any affirmation, any conviction or feeling, or any action based on these feelings, etc., confirming the diversity of things, will become the source of sorrow, either in this life or in a future life.
Finitude vs Infinite aspect of our being
An affirmation of the diversity of things is contrary to the law of things as they really are.So, an intense egoism – a self-assertive nature which cuts oneself off from the reality of others and asserts an utterly selfish mode of behaviour – naturally prevents the entry of positive forces from outside into its constitution and consequently suffers the agony of separation, the sorrow of isolation, and all the difficulties that devolve upon this attitude of the mind. Any affirmation of independence on the part of an individual is the cause of the sorrow of that individual, because sorrow is an immediate outcome in the form of an experience of the inability of the individual to get on with the resources of its own individuality. The finitude of the individual causes the sorrow.Wherever there is finitude, there must be unhappiness. As a matter of fact, unhappiness and finitude mean one and the same thing. It is the intense feeling of limitation in every way that causes restlessness in our minds and also becomes the motivating force behind efforts towards the obviating of these causes of limitation. That is why we are active and work hard to come in contact with things outside. So, in a sense, what it amounts to is that all joys of life, whether they are physical or psychological, are caused by unselfish deeds of the past – which means to say, deeds which have suppressed the sense of individuality to some extent, and enabled the altruistic nature to manifest itself to the extent possible. Thus, pleasures and pains have a beginning and an end, inasmuch as every action has a beginning and an end.Anything that we do in space and in time is temporal; and if our deeds are the causes of our experiences, and if these deeds are temporal in their character, our experiences also should be of a similar nature.
What is the conclusion from the words of Swamiji?
Swamiji has said many things. To start simply, let us look at the following diagram that articulates various types of our actions and their respective consequences.
Simply put, our actions can be divided into five types:
- दुष्कर्म – Such acts are driven by तमोगुण. There is an intention to harm another and derive joy out of such an action. Such actions are driven clearly by a complete absence of empathy for the other. Expression of laziness and therefore not taking up actions which are meant to be taken up may also be seen as दुष्कर्म. As stated by Swamiji above, such actions are driven by actions of intense egoism. पाप फल is a natural outcome of such actions – there is no escaping it. Therefore, if the original action is driven by intense egoism, the फल will also be in the form of an experience of extreme separateness with others – and thus one loses something held as dear by them and they experience the act of separation in real world too – there is no escaping this.Thus, दुष्कर्म will certainly be deemed as actions that will lead to consequences.
- Survival कर्म – By virtue of attaining a certain body (animal or human), we are driven to perform actions to maintain ourselves. If we eat food daily when we are hungry, such an act is an act to maintain the स्वभाव of our physical body. Our act of eating is driven by hunger. Our normal state of being to remain as a human being cannot continue without satisfying hunger. Similarly, brushing of teeth is for being able to perform effectively in society apart from keeping good health.Therefore, Survival कर्म will not generate any फल since they are necessary to maintain our physical state of being – additionally, actions to maintain our मनand बुद्धि at a natural state of being to be able to function effectively are included here. We may see these as अकर्म.
- काम कर्म – Most of our actions fall in this bucket. They are driven by रजस् within us. We pursue a career, we go for holidays, we do shopping for fun, we watch movies, we watch football for enjoying the game with friends and family, etc. All such acts are undertaken within an intent to gain entertainment. There is a काम within and this काम drives us to go for doing such acts. Now such acts may also be seen as assertion of ego by an individual for obtain a certain desire. Pursuit of such a desire means seeking something from the world to satisfy one’s own body, mind and intellect. One wants one’s own mind to derive joy which in turns boosts our ego together with our past memories of attaining joy from such actions. Such actions will also therefore attract कर्म फल. If the pursuit of desire is done in such a way that the entire work spce or home space or nation space also benefits (beyond the individual), such an action will give पुण्य but if this leads to snatching something from other to boost one’s own ego alone, it will lead to पाप. Therefore, a फल will be the outcome of pursuit of काम कर्म.
- सुकर्म – Such actions are driven by सत्व within us. They are acts of charity that arise out of compassion or love for another. Such acts are done primarily to include the others and benefit the other. And for people driven by सत्व, they experience joy in doing such actions. Such actions will also therefore attract कर्म in the form of पुण्य and therefore such actions are also deemed to fall under कर्म.
- धर्म or निष्काम कर्म – Actions of the type 1, 3 and 4 attract कर्म and one cannot escape the outcomes. Now we come to धर्म – such actions do not lead to accumulation of the stock of कर्म –they in fact contribute to कर्म क्षय (meaning reduce the stock of previously accumulated कर्म). So what is धर्म? Dharma denotes “that which holds together the different aspects and qualities of an object into a whole”. While a loose translation of the word has found various meanings – Duty, Righteousness, morality, etc – a closer definition of this word has been given as “that which makes a thing or being what it is”. Accordingly, Dharma of the Sun is to provide heat& light and thereby sustain life; Dharma of a tree is to give fruits/flowers. From a human perspective, one can say that धर्म of a student is to study in a school college, धर्म of a married person is to take care of family,धर्म of a king is to take care of people in the kingdom, etc. Therefore, धर्मfor every person varies from situation to situation, place to place, time to time, etc. Such an act that needs to be done at a certain point of time as an appropriate action is धर्म. Now as perअध्यात्म, an act of धर्म is not an action itself – it is inaction. श्री कृष्ण uses the word “नैष्कर्म्यम्” to describe such an action. In Swamiji’s words, धर्मmay be defined as “deeds which have suppressed the sense of individuality to some extent, and enabled the altruistic nature to manifest itself to the extent possible”. Therefore,धर्म happens when one goes beyond fulfilling the needs of one’s own ego and includes another (Family, Nation, State, Universe, etc), one is actually doing an act ofधर्म.
Outcome of all types of actions and related कर्म फल
Life (or lives) are meant to be a journey from दुष्कर्म & अकर्म towards निष्काम कर्म. The following diagram will provide a simplified perspective of each kind of action that we do and their related फल.
स्वभाव vs स्वधर्म
This brings us to the crux of this write-up. Says श्रीकृष्ण in the Srimad Bhagavadgita:
श्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुणःपरधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात् । स्वधर्मे निधनं श्रेयः परधर्मो भयावहः॥३.३५॥
Better (श्रेयान्) is one’s own dharma (स्वधर्मः) which is imperfectly performed (विगुणः) than the well-performed (स्वनुष्ठितात्) dharma of another (परधर्मात्). Death (निधनम्) in one’s own dharma (स्वधर्मे) is better (श्रेयः). The dharma of another (परधर्मः)is fraught with fear (भयावहः).
Our स्वभाव is गुण-driven.All types of actions – दुष्कर्म, अकर्म, काम कर्म and सुकर्म are in the zone of स्वभाव.So every action that is in the zone of स्वभाव is seen as a seed which will grow into a tree meaning we are meant to experience consequences of our action.There is no escaping it. One who does good Karma experiences heaven either on Earth or after life. One who does bad Karma will experience hell either here or after life. Which seed will take birth as a tree in this life or later is not known. God knows – but no one else. It is His law- simply put, humans may not know how His law works. So we just experience our joys and sorrows as His gift. Equally, we must know that these gifts are being given to us for OUR OWN actions in the past. He does not give anything more than what we deserve or are ready for. If we are ready to take a big sorrow, He will give this to us but if we are not, He may give it later or administer these in small doses. It is His call. But the reason for sorrows to come to us is not Him, it is us and us only. It is our past actions.
Knowing the types of actions is thus critical to get to perform स्वधर्म at all times. Stick to your धर्म meaning your natural inclinations; your innate aptitude. धर्म is usually wrongly translated as religion but needs to be taken as an action that is most natural to one’s own inclination. In daily life, धर्म needs to be thus conceived as what skills do I have or what skills do I want to possess that makes me GIVE the most to the world (as against doing an activity that makes me accumulate the most – money, fame, etc from the world). Thus, if you are of a warrior person, do not take up a desk job but instead get involved in righteous wars. If you are बुद्धि driven man, keep away from non-बुद्धि jobs but use yourबुद्धि to give ideas to others to think through difficult situations. If you like being with people and helping others, join politics and solve problems of such people. If you are of the communist mould, stay away from InvestmentBanking but work for uplifting the downtrodden. If you are inclined towards farming, do not get swayed by getting into an Accounting role but farm well to give good quality veggies/ fruits to society, etc. Doing स्वधर्म always means including the others. Your need is to get rid of impurities in your mind. At least if you stick to your स्वधर्म, you will be in tune with your area of expertise and enjoy what you do. In your own vocation, once you get reasonably grounded, you can slowly start giving up फल a lot easier and become a कर्मयोगी. However, if you take up परधर्म because of what you can acquire, the driver is राग. If success happens, राग rises and if failure happens, द्वेष rises. So you will get caught in joy or anger or frustration, moving into कर्मयोग thus becomes more and more a distant goal.स्वधर्म is also role specific – perform the activity that suits the role. As a student, do a छात्र धर्म, as a husband, do a भर्तधर्म, as a head, do a leaderधर्म, etc. धर्म is not a single set of rules but doing the most valid role that is in maximum interest to public/ society at large. O अर्जुन! If you try to become a संयासी, your decision to run away is based on राग (excessive compassion for your family) and द्वेष (dislike to see people killed). These will still remain within you as impurities and the ideal of कर्मयोग will be difficult to realize. Two big questions faced by most are – 1) What is myस्वधर्म? & 2) How to handle धर्मसंकट situations when one धर्म (sayपिताधर्म) clashes with another (राष्ट्रधर्म). Such aspects are envisaged inधर्म texts and पुराण episodes.
Anअध्यात्म way to understand the message under 3:35 is also given here. If goal of human life is to achieve oneness with परम्, all means followed to achieve this is स्वधर्म and all other actions as परधर्म. Practicing ज्ञानमार्ग &कर्ममार्ग is स्वधर्म while hankering after objects of the world is परधर्म. All virtuous actions like pilgrimage, fast, penance, meditation Yoga, etc performed with the expectation of reward is परधर्म but if performed for the welfare of others without expecting any reward is स्वधर्म. The reason is, our real identity, our आत्मा, is desire-less while desire is born by having affinity toप्रकृति. So when a man having a desire performs his धर्म, it becomes the धर्मof another. One’s own धर्म leads one to highest freedom, कैवल्यम् while परधर्म leads one to कर्मबन्धन:. A man is independent when performing our own स्वधर्म while he is dependent on outcome of fruits when performing परधर्म. When there is no desire, there is no question of want or dependence – that is स्वधर्म.Though परधर्म may be easy to perform and even though full of merit, it is fraught with danger, i.e., it leads to being caught in the cycle of birth &death.
An act of स्वधर्म leads to कर्म क्षय meaning that not only such an act does not accrue कर्म, it reduces the accumulated stock of previous कर्म. Better still, it leads to ज्ञान. And what is ज्ञान? Ideally, for performing any action, we must have full clarity of the situation at hand as well as our own persona. If we are not clear about either the external or internal situation or both, our action is a stunted action. And we will experience कर्म फल. However, if an action is performed with complete clarity, we will then not be swayed by our गुण. We will be stable and in this stability, we will perform the most appropriate action. Such action is the action of स्वधर्म. And each and every such action of ours deepens our ज्ञान about ourselves – takes us closer and closer to our real core. At the very end, as we are able to pursue स्वधर्म at all times, the accumulated stock of कर्म (over many previous lives) perishes and we gain completely clarity. We become a ऋषि.And in this state, we attain our innermost core – सत् चित् आनन्द. And once were discover the inner core within us, we exclaim with joy – अहम् ब्रह्म अस्मि
ॐ तत् सत्
Source
Adhyatma Writings 