In the previous episode, we had witnessed Bhagawan Krishna talking about how our “Nitya-Karma” aids us in our progress towards the “Bhakti Maargam”. This is part of the last (Eighteenth) “Adhyaaya” of the Bhagawad Gita and in this course of discussion, we’ve also discussed a few myths circulating amidst all of us with regards to performing / not performing our “Nitya Karma”. Just because we’re following the “Bhakti Maargam”, it doesn’t mean that we sacrifice on our “Nitya-Karma” and go into it. Performing our “Nitya-Karma” every day reduces our “Paapa Karma” continuously. Only when our “Paapa Karma” comes down, we will be able to sustain in the “Bhakti Maargam”. Else, our efforts would start dissipating with time because our “Paapa Karma” will start acting like a stumbling block, thus preventing us from marching ahead. This is like constantly picking up all the weeds from a paddy field, so that the main crops grow without getting spoilt by these weeds. Even if we forget to pick up the weeds for a day or two, they will grow to such an extent that all the underground water gets sucked in, and as a result, the main crops get decayed due to lack of water. Hence, just like how in agriculture, picking up the weeds are very important, our “Nitya Karma” is also very important to pick out the weeds of our “Paapa Karma”.
Moving on further, Bhagawan Krishna explains thus, “Oh Arjuna! Please remember one thing – Even when you’re wanting to traverse the path of ‘Bhakti Maargam’, there will be several obstacles that might come your way. It is not as easy as you think. However, that doesn’t mean that you will not put any effort and sit in the corner, blaming the obstacles for your lack of progress. You’ve to put in your effort, however, the resultant of your actions is decided by me! 🙂 Oh Arjuna! You might remember that I mentioned this earlier – When you perform your actions, it is not you who is the doer. The doer is somebody else. You are just a mere instrument in my divine hands! Now I shall tell you who is the doer of your actions – In fact, as you might think, there is no one doer. There are many – Your “Atman”, your “Praana-Vaayu”, your “Indriyaas”, your “Deham” and finally “Paramatman”! Even if one of these do not get involved, no action of yours is going to fructify!”
Now, how valid is this important point that Bhagawan Krishna is stressing upon here? Let us discuss a few examples! For instance, if I’m wanting to go for a job interview tomorrow morning – I’m well-prepared for it and I have the complete confidence that I can crack the interview quite easily. However, what if I get a heart-attack tonight as I go to bed? My “Praana-Vaayu” is stopping to cooperate, isn’t it? Hence, can I still proceed to go to the interview hall tomorrow? The answer might be a “No”! Rather than going to the interview hall, I might end up going to the hospital! 🙂 Secondly, even if my “Praana-Vaayu” is cooperating well enough and I start my journey to reach the interview hall the next day – Suddenly I start feeling feverish, giddy and I’m about to faint on the floor! What happens now? Even if all the others cooperate, my “Deham” is not willing to! Hence, I might again end up in the hospital bed, instead of landing at the interview hall! Now, assume that my “Praana-Vaayu”, “Atman”, “Deham” are cooperating very well and I’m meticulously getting ready to travel to the interview destination the next day! Now, what happens if my flight gets delayed or if my flight gets cancelled at the last minute? I might still not be able to reach my destination, isn’t it? So what happened here? The divine “Anugraha” of the “Paramaatman” goes missing! Hence, even if my “Praana-Vaayu”, “Atman”, “Deham”, etc. cooperate properly, and if the “Paramatman” does not, then my actions would end in failure!
Hence, we can clearly see here that if we’ve to perform an action successfully, the cooperation of these five elements are extremely important! This is why Bhagawan Krishna is emphasizing this point repeatedly that for any action in this world, we are not the sole doers. Of course, our effort is important and there’s no doubt about that. However, there are a few elements that are beyond our control and we’ve to acknowledge their contributions too, in making our actions successful or not! So for today, let us understand this point very clearly and we shall wait till the next episode to continue this discussion further! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 