The Action in Actionlessness- Bhagavad Gita Verses 3.1-3.5

Chitvish · Jul 17, 2008

Now that Krishna has extolled, the Man of Perfection rooted in wisdom, Arjuna starts with a pertinent question,

Arjuna uvacha:

Jyaayasee chethkarmaNasthae mathaa budhirjanaardanaa
Thathkim karmaNi ghOrae maam niyOjatasi kesava 3.1

Oh Janardhana! In case, according to you, "wisdom" is nobler than "action", why then, Oh Kesava, you force me to engage in this horrible action?

The nature of subject under consideration makes Arjuna put this question. He wants to know, why, Krishna when praising the path of renunciation wants him to follow the path of action.
In fact, this question by Arjuna is very apt and it serves to unfold the wisdom of action in the light of knowledge, which forms the main subject of this chapter.

To make it more vivid, Arjuna continues:

VyaamisreNeva vakyena buddhim mOhayaseevame

Thadekam vada nischithya yena sreyO(a)hamaapnuyaath 3.2

You are perplexing my understanding with conflicting theories- tell me the one path by which I can attain the highest.

Arjuna wants to know which path he should follow for the total happiness of his generation – as a result of which he too may come to enjoy his share of the general welfare, Shreyas.

So, in the next shloka, the Lord says that there are two life styles.

Loke(a)smin dvividhaa nishtaa puraa prOkthaa mayaa(a)nagha
JnanayOgena saankhyaanaam karmayOgena yOginaam 3.3

These two paths were imparted by Me, from the beginning to this world – the Path of Knowledge for the meditative type and the Path of Action for the active type of men.

Krishna clearly explains that the Path of Knowledge is prescribed for the meditative and the Path of Action to the Active. It is not possible for a man to practise these two Yogas simultaneously. Karma Yoga is means to an end. It purifies the heart and prepares the aspirant for the reception of knowledge. Once his heart is purified, the Karma Yogi should take up Jnana Yoga. This takes him to the goal without any extraneous help.
Both Yogas, being complementary, are to be practised serially one after the other.

To show this, the Lord says

Na karmaNaam anarambhan naishkarmyam purushO(a)s(h)nute
Na cha sanyasanaadeva siddhim samadhigachchathi 3.4

By non-performance of action, none can reach "Actionlessness". By merely giving up action, no one can ever attain perfection.

Krishna says, one attains the state of actionlessness by gaining the knowledge of the Self. If a man simply sits quiet by abandoning action, one cannot say, he has attained the state of actionlessness. His mind will be planning, scheming and speculating. Thought is real action. The sage who is free from affirmative thoughts, wishes and likes and dislikes, who has the knowledge of the Self can be said to have attained the state of "actionlessness".
For the question, "Why work at all, if Actionlessness can be the highest state of Perfection", Krishna answers:

Na hi kaschith kshaNamapi jaathu thishtathya karmakruth
Kaaryathae hyavasa: karma sarva: prakrithijair guNai: 3.5

Nobody can ever remain, even for an instant, without performing action; all are compelled to act, helplessly indeed, by the Gunas born of one's nature.

By the inescapable law of life, the Creator has not made life to be stagnant. Man has three vasanas based on three gunas:
Satva - harmony or purity or knowledge
Rajas - motion or action
Thamas - darkness or inertia.
The first helps a man to attain liberation; the next two bind him to samsara.
These qualities cannot affect a man who has crossed over these qualities and one who has knowledge of the Self. He has become Gunatita (one who has transcended these qualities of Nature).
To escape work is to escape "life" and run into "death" – it is suicidal. So let us accept that nature prompts us, with compelling force, to act.
Work, we must!

Love,
Chithra.

Cheeniya · Jul 17, 2008

There is an arresting phrase, nay aphorism, in the famous novel titled ‘Two leaves and a bud’ by the well known Chinese writer, Lin Yutang that says ‘Do nothing and everything is done’. This is the essence of ‘actionlessness’. One may wonder how one can do nothing and still get things done. According to me, a deep contemplation on this phrase alone is enough to create enough wisdom to understand the import of Chapter 3 of the Song of God.

There is a stanza in Kandar Anubhoothi which hails Lord Muruga as below:
Chemman magalai thirudum thirudan,
Pemman murugan piravaan iravaan,
Chumma iru chol aara endralume,
Aamma porul ondrum arindilane.

Which roughly translates as,

When he, the thief who eloped with the deer’s daughter*,
The great Lord Muruga without birth or death,
Told me, avoid words and do nothing,
Oh God, I did not understand the meaning of those words.
(* Sri Valli)

It is amazing that there is a reference to ‘doing nothing’ in all religions. What does it really mean? The Lord repeatedly points out to us that it is our ego that makes us think that we are the ‘doer’ of all actions. When we are thus entangled in this egocentric web, we get irretrievably immersed in our temporal existence. Our actions in this state of mind cause a lot of reactions in us like anxiety, fear, jealousy and the like. Unless we try and get out of our egocentric existence, all our actions will continue to make us go through the inevitable cycle of ‘Punarapi Jananam, punarapi Maranam’

The Lord’s clarion call of ‘Do nothing’ is to elevate all our actions from the temporal level to the spiritual level. When we cease to think of ourselves as the ‘doer’ of all actions, we reach the state of ‘actionlessness’. It is sheer vanity to think that ‘I’ am the performer of all actions. The reality is that in all activities, man is merely the Divine’s instrument and that is how everything is “done”. If man can have this clear understanding in regard to all his actions, then, not only all that he does will be pure and unselfish, but he will also remain in a conscious state of “actionlessness”.

This aspect is also stressed by Bhagwan Ramana Maharshi, the greatest exponent of hunting the ‘I’. As long as the thought of ‘I’ overrides all other thoughts, we may never reach a state of ‘actionlessness’. It is not the same as inaction in which ego reigns supreme, if not in actions, in our thoughts. An inactive man continues to be raided by a series of egocentric emotions but in a state of actionlessness, he is at peace with himself even when he is engaged in intense actions.

corallux · Jul 17, 2008

My Dear Gita Gurus (Chithraji & Cheeniyaji),

"EGO" the big stumbling block in the path of spirituality.

What Cheeniyaji's explanation says is absolutely correct....balancing the ledger of our "karma" & actions....that alone gives us Mukti from the cycle of birth & death.

Chithraji this is where your explanation regarding "Bhakti" is well illustrated. A "Bhakt" never takes credit for good or bad...

Dear Gurus, on this holy occasion of "Guru Poornima", you have re-stressed the message of the holy Gurus throughout the ages.."Surrender your actions to the divinity".

A small example: Elders say when we invite people for a pooja/havan, the correct format is "It is with the permission of God we invite you to partake of Prasad......"
Now a days, it is "We are performing a .....Pooja/havan. Please come over"

What a difference.

In traditional Indian weddings, the invitations start with "Shri Kuldevta Prassanna" meaning with the permission of the family deities...

Times are changing! Bhakti is slowly giving way to pomp & show. No wonder the prophecies say that when Kalki avatar comes, the Lord will put away the false teachers & prophets...

Please accept my Namastes to you my Gurus.

Regards,

Corallux

vidhi · Jul 17, 2008

Dear Chith
It was a very thought provoking post chith. Before I used get confused about this actionless a lot. But after going through all your posts I think slowly I am able to get a glimpse of it. We cannot be in an actionless state even for a second. Our mind is occupied with so many things that it does not know that we are doing any action at all. I liked the last para to escape work is to escape "life" and run into "death" – it is suicidal. So let us accept that nature prompts us, with compelling force, to act. Work, we must. It was so inspirational. Thank you chith.
Love
Vidhi

vidhi · Jul 17, 2008

Dear Cheeniya Sir

That was a great explanation of actionlessness with the help of a stanza from Kandhar Anuboothi. When I read avoid words and do nothing I remembered the words Yamirukka Bhayamaen. Once the mind is free from worries it can do any action with much conviction. So that actionlessness, calmness of the mind is what we need to attain. But our Ego tries to always keep us away from that state.

regards
Vidhi

Lalitha Shivaguru · Jul 17, 2008

Dear M & M (mami & Mama)

Sarvam Krishnaarparnam should be the main criteria I think, correct me If I am wrong.

But to achieve this height our EGO will be a big obstacle. Maybe we have to consciously put more effort in not only thinking but also acting and surrendering all our actions at His lotus feet.

EGO = Edging God out by Swami Sukhabodhananda (mami might know this) and we do not want Him to go out of us at any cost. Hence atleat let us earnestly pray for his Grace that we raise above this facade called ego.

The song of Bhaja Govindam by Acharya Shankara explains this very beautifully and the quote Punaarpi jananam punaarpi maranam is so apt. It is a vicious cycle and to break out of it requires only His grace and blessings. Without Him nothing happens.

M & M please correct wherever I am wrong......... as I am slowly studying these great books still sometimes get confused. Mami, when you started explaining the Gita I was taken back to my Port Blair days, where we used to chant the Gita with our Guru guiding us. Thanx for the nostaligic trip and I do miss that a lot.

sudhavnarasimhan · Jul 17, 2008

Dear Chithra,

This week's post is really simpler and lucid! When i think that Krishna himself has actually explained all this to none other than Arjuna, who though being so great a warrior, still had all these doubts, then what are we mere mortals!

A very pertinent questioning by Arjuna and Krishna's explanation on the two paths were clearly brought to us by you!
These statements were so profound!
"Nobody can ever remain, even for an instant, without performing action; all are compelled to act, helplessly indeed, by the Gunas born of one's nature.

To escape work is to escape "life" and run into "death" – it is suicidal. So let us accept that nature prompts us, with compelling force, to act.
Work, we must! "

Thanks for these inputs....shows clearly that we have to ACT and do our duty!

sudhavnarasimhan · Jul 17, 2008

Dear Cheeniya,
As usual you have started off beautifully.....with such lovely examples. Thanks for going out of the way to bring such quotes and blending them with Gita! This phrase Doing Nothing sounds so stress free! I have started thinking that way often....that I am not the Doer! I am just a channel through which the Divine Wish is being fulfilled!
And surely this state of mind being without attachments to actions does not lead to all those associated emotions which you have brought forth!

" The reality is that in all activities, man is merely the Divine’s instrument and that is how everything is “done”."
I agree hundred percent with this statement!

Just Live for the Moment with judging or attaching anything to this Moment is what i had learnt after reading Tolle's POWER OF NOW! And i have been experiencing this now and then!
Honestly i can say that your bringing together a different and contemporary dimension to Gita is just what is there in Tolle's book too....so i think you should seriously compile all these and get a BESTSELLER published! ( Who knows maybe a Booker Prize is surely on the way too!):bowdown

Chitvish · Jul 17, 2008

Dear Lux,
The moment we get rid of the doership, we are on the right path in spirituality.But it is not easy also.
Hasty students get confused and stupefied when they read that the Goal of Perfection is the State of Actionlessness.Spiritually, as the Self, everyone of us is All-full and Perfect..Because of the ignorance of this, we entertain in our intellect unending desires.Each one of them is our own intellect's attempt to fulfill itself.Whatever we do not have in full, we desire. same way with thoughts.Thoughts are directly controlled by our desires.Next, thoughts become actions.
Thus in this chain of ignorance, constuted of desires, thoughts and actions, each one of us is caught.Butall the different factors are caused by the same spiritual ignorance.
Naturally, therefore, if the Supreme can be defined as
The experience beyond Ignorance
it must necessarily be true that the self is
The state of desireless-ness
or
The condition of thoughtless-ness
or
The Life of actionless-ness.

Now, Lux, thanks for patiently reading this!
Love,
Chithra.

corallux said: ↑

My Dear Gita Gurus (Chithraji & Cheeniyaji),

"EGO" the big stumbling block in the path of spirituality.

What Cheeniyaji's explanation says is absolutely correct....balancing the ledger of our "karma" & actions....that alone gives us Mukti from the cycle of birth & death.

Chithraji this is where your explanation regarding "Bhakti" is well illustrated. A "Bhakt" never takes credit for good or bad...

Dear Gurus, on this holy occasion of "Guru Poornima", you have re-stressed the message of the holy Gurus throughout the ages.."Surrender your actions to the divinity".

A small example: Elders say when we invite people for a pooja/havan, the correct format is "It is with the permission of God we invite you to partake of Prasad......"
Now a days, it is "We are performing a .....Pooja/havan. Please come over"

What a difference.

In traditional Indian weddings, the invitations start with "Shri Kuldevta Prassanna" meaning with the permission of the family deities...

Times are changing! Bhakti is slowly giving way to pomp & show. No wonder the prophecies say that when Kalki avatar comes, the Lord will put away the false teachers & prophets...

Please accept my Namastes to you my Gurus.

Regards,

Corallux
Click to expand...

Chitvish · Jul 17, 2008

Dear Vidhi,
Please read my answer to Corallux - you will find it very relevant.
Man cannot remain totally inactive for a single moment. Even, if we are physically at rest, even in the deep-sleep state, our digestive system, assimilation system etc are al doing the work assigned to them.
Therefore, not to act at all is to disobey the laws of nature which will bring about our cultural deterioration.We must act vigorously with a right attitude of mind, so that we may avoid all internal waste of energy and learn to grow in ourselves.
Love,
Chithra.

ote=vidhi;365967]Dear Chith
It was a very thought provoking post chith. Before I used get confused about this actionless a lot. But after going through all your posts I think slowly I am able to get a glimpse of it. We cannot be in an actionless state even for a second. Our mind is occupied with so many things that it does not know that we are doing any action at all. I liked the last para to escape work is to escape "life" and run into "death" – it is suicidal. So let us accept that nature prompts us, with compelling force, to act. Work, we must. It was so inspirational. Thank you chith.
Love
Vidhi
[/quote]