In the previous episode, we had discussed Bhagawan Krishna talking about the significance of the “Nitya-Anushtaanam” or the “Nitya-Karma” that we’ve to perform every passing day. This is as part of the last “Adhyaaya’ (Eighteenth) wherein Bhagawan says that both “Karma” and “Bhakti” are important to attain “Moksha”. In other words, Bhagawan stresses upon the fact that “Bhakti” doesn’t happen if we’re not performing our “Karma” properly. This is where we resorted to clarify a very important point in the previous episode – Some of us might have a feeling that we are traversing the “Bhakti Maargam” which is the best way to reach Bhagawan Krishna, and in this pursuit, we are not required to perform our “Karma Yoga” in the form of our “Nitya Karma” and “Nitya Anushtaanam”. This is a wrong notion that many of us have. Of course, “Bhakti Maargam” is of the highest level and if we’re trying to walk this path, it is excellent! But, in no place Bhagawan mentions that we can compromise on our “Nitya Karma” and perform the “Bhakti Yoga”. In fact, we’re going to continue this discussion forward in today’s episode as well, as there are quite a few misconceptions around this point which are floating around us.
Hence, to the first myth that we’ve raised, the answer is very simple – Performing “Bhakti” without performing the ‘Nitya Karma” like “Sandhyavandanam”, “Amaavaasya Tarpanam”, etc. is of no use! It is like adding a “one” in front of 4 “zeros” (00001). However, if we’re performing our “Nitya Karma” along with “Bhakti”, it is like adding a “one” behind 4 “zeros” (10000), which has a higher value! 🙂 The idea behind this is very simple – As I’ve mentioned in the previous episode as well, we are saddled with heavy loads of “Paapa Karma” over several births! The more we’re performing our “Nitya Karma” every day, we are slowly washing out our “Paapa Karma”, which acts like a stumbling block, preventing us from performing the “Bhakti Yogam”. The more we clear these hurdles, the easier it becomes for us to walk the path of “Bhakti Maargam”. Thus, we’ve to have the simple understanding here that Bhagawan has mandated us to perform our “Nitya Karma” every day, so that it serves as an opportunity to clear off all our bad deeds step by step!
More than this, some of us might have this thought too (Myth) – “Oh! We’ve absorbed all whatever is being spoken about by Bhagawan Krishna as part of the Bhakti Yoga! We are following all these aspects already in a meticulous manner and as a result, we’ve already reached a very high level in our spiritual upliftment! Hence, we are not in the lower levels anymore wherein, we’ve to keep performing these “Nitya Karma” matters every day!” For this, let me tell one thing very clearly – The very idea that we’ve risen up several notches in spiritual upliftment is utter nonsense! We’re all still in extremely lower levels of spiritual upliftment. First, let us shun this thought that we’ve risen spiritually. If we’ve really risen like this, we would never make such tall claims in the first place! Hence, all these arguments indicate an attitude of mere escapism from the duties that we’ve to perform!
Apart from this, some people have another thought process – “Oh! When we perform the “Sandhyavandanam” and several “Yagnyams” and “Tarpanams”, we pour water from our palms as part of the procedure. Where does this water go? Of what benefit is this procedure to anybody? Does this really reach our “Pitru Devatas”? The water is only going to the ground, isn’t it?” For this, we’ve to have a deeper understanding here – Yes, of course, the water that we pour as part of the “Tarpanam” procedure merely goes to the ground. Moreover, by doing these procedures, we are not going to accumulate any “Punya Karma” as well, as these are part of our fundamental duties for our departed parents and grandparents. Yet, what is that we’re going to gain here? It is very simple – Imagine that we’re wanting urgent cash to the tune of Rs. 30,000 and we’re requesting a friend to lend us this money. This friend makes a bank transfer of the amount and we’re going to the ATM to pick up the cash. So can we say that the currency notes that our friend had deposited in his bank account should be the same as the currency notes that we receive from the ATM machine that we’re obtaining cash from? That friend is putting cash into his bank account and this is like us performing our “Tarpanam” with the water. However, the same currency notes do not reach us, isn’t it? This is where we’ve to understand that the water that we pour as part of our “Tarpanam” gets converted into the palatable food items for our “Pitru Devatas”. The “Mantras” that we chant along with the pouring of water will transform this water into the food that is consumable for the “Pitru Devatas”. Hence, it is important that we perform all these “Nitya Karma” without fail and this is the real significance behind performing them!
Moreover, we are performing all these “Karma” because Bhagawan warrants us to perform, isn’t it? Hence, when we take the effort to perform them correctly, Bhagawan’s heart is going to be happy! With Bhagawan being happy with our actions and sincerity, He is automatically going to hand-hold us into the “Bhakti Maargam”, isn’t He? This is where our “Nitya Karma” helps! So, from this episode, the key learning for all of us is that, we should never forsake our “Nitya Karma” for anything else, even if it is walking the path of “Bhakti Maargam”. Our “Nitya Karma” always comes first and it should have the top priority! So for today, let us understand this point very clearly and let us wait till the next episode to continue this further! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 