ॐॐॐ
The seventh sutra of the Kaivalya Pāda, Maharṣi Patañjali's Yoga Sūtras, the Yoga Darśana is a wonderful extension, explanation, description and exposition of the Karma Yoga.
The sutra is
क॒र्माशु॒क्लाकृ॒ष्णं योगिनस्त्रिविधमि॑तरे॒षाम् ॥ ४.७॥
Karmāśuklākṛṣṇaṃ yoginas trividham itareṣām ॥ 4.7 ॥
Karma is the action, work, Aśukla, śukla is pure, Aśukla, not pure, the meaning is, the word meaning for śukla is actually white but it is not just white in colour, white, transparency, the aśukla is not pure, not white, akṛṣṇa, kṛṣṇa is black, Akṛṣṇa, not black, not white, not black, beautiful, the sutra is wonderful, yoginaḥ, yogis, for yogis, trividham, three types, Itareṣām, eṣām of others, for others. Itareṣām it is. So karma is aśukla and akṛṣṇa for yogis. But it is trividham for others. For all actions, aśukla, for easily understanding, aśukla is not pure, to be more easy to understand, aśukla is pāpa, sinful, Akṛṣṇa is puṇya, Aśukla is bad, Akṛṣṇa is good, Aśukla is duṣkarma, Akṛṣṇa, satkarma. So by using the word aśukla and akṛṣṇa, the good and bad actions, satkarma and duṣkarma, satphala and duṣphala, respectively they give. For a yogī, there is no satkarma and no duṣkarma. Yoginaḥ, it is aśukla and akṛṣṇa. That's why the word “a” is used, important it is here. Neither aśukla nor aśukla, neither kṛṣṇa nor akṛṣṇa. That means for a yogī, for yogī's yoginaḥ, there is no good action or bad action. There is no good result or bad result. Beautifully in the Bhagavad Gītā, we have a śloka, Siddha Siddho Samobhūtvā Samatvaṃ Yoga Ucyate. These sutras are almost parallel or reflections of the Karma Yoga in the Bhagavad Gītā. Whether this reflects that or that reflects this, but they go clearly as a parallel. And for others, Itareṣām, those who are not yogis, for Itareṣām, Trividham it is. What is the Trividham? What are the three types? It is aśukla, it is kṛṣṇa and it is a mixed. So for all others, non-yogis, actions are three types: good action, bad action and a mixture of good and bad.
For all others, good result, bad result, mixture of good and bad results. Satkarma, duṣkarma and the both. Satphala, duṣphala and the both. Trividham it is. Three types. How simply, marvelously Maharṣi Patañjali is expounding the Karma Yoga.
That's why Svāmī Vivekānanda very clearly, beautifully says “Each soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest the divinity within by work or worship, by philosophy or psychic control, by one or more or all of this and be free.” That is Kaivalya.
And this particular sutra emphasizes that. And it gives a classification of Karma and indicates the means of avoiding the formation of new Karma it is, both.
And Karmas are neither black nor white. That means good or bad, in case of Yogis. But for ordinary people, there are three kinds: Śukla, Kṛṣṇa and both.
Many times Śukla, Kṛṣṇa, white or dark, clear, bright or dark are used for good and bad, Puṇya and Pāpa, Śukla, Kṛṣṇa Gati hyete, Bhagavad Gītā, we have a śloka. And Puṇya means the work, the action which is to be done, Vihita Karma it is, Vihita Karma is Puṇya, Niṣiddha Karma is Pāpa. What is to be done is to be done without any attachments, without any strings and that is Puṇya Kāryam and Pāpa is Niṣiddha Karma. What is not to be done is Pāpa, so what is to be done should be done, what is not to be done is not to be done, this is a papa. And the Śubhaphala, Aśubhaphala, the good results and the bad results about which also Maharṣi Patañjali spoke in the second chapter, 14th Sutra, when he talks about the various dimensions of the Karmaphala, we have seen there that the important dimensions which he spoke in that particular Sutra, number 14 - ते ह्ला॒दप॒रि॒ताप॑फ॒लाः पुण्यापुण्यहे॑तु॒त्वात् ॥ २.१४॥. Many times the word Pāpa is not used. It is just hinted as darkness, apuṇya, but in this particular Sutra, in this Sutra number 7 of the Kaivalya Pāda, Patañjali uses the word Karma Aśukla Akriṣṇam, Karma Aśukla Akriṣṇam Yoginaḥ Trividham Itareshām. So for example, many actions which we do have different effects on different people and the effect and the result depends on the persons based on their various dimensions, we don't know hidden and unhidden reasons, Dṛṣṭa and Adṛṣṭa Kāraṇas and Dṛṣṭa and Adṛṣṭa Phalaskam, Dṛṣṭa Karma and Adṛṣṭa Karma, various combinations and which are clear, which are unclear and which are mixed, that is the Trividham. So this particular Sutra talks about those and hints it Niṣkāma Karma is the best. And the word Yogī in this particular Sutra used by Maharṣi Patañjali is the one who is practicing Yoga and the Yoga means the Niṣkāma Karma Yoga it is. Not only the Yoga of Āsana, Prāṇāyāma, Kriyā, Bandha, Mudrās. And Maharṣi Patañjali goes beyond and he talks of the technique of the Niṣkāma Karma here and he uses the word Anāśaya it is called. It's very convenient if you understand Anāśaya Yoga it is. An individual can dissociate himself completely from his ego and perform an action in a complete identification with the Puruṣaḥ which is working through the ego. Such an action is called as Niṣkāma. It does not naturally produces any personal Karma, no personal Saṃskāra and consequently it does not give birth, fruit to an individual. That's why it is Niṣkāma. When the technique of Niṣkāma Karma has been learnt and applied to all actions, no personal Karma is incurred by the Yogī, even though he may be busily engaged in the fires of the world.
Asthita janakadayaha In Bhagavad Gītā, Śrī Kṛṣṇa gives an example of Janaka. Intensely involved in the work, worldly actions and engaged in the world but he's untouched Padma Patram Ivāmbhasā it is called, a lotus leaf is in the water but water doesn't touch and spoil the leaf.
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa Paramahaṃsa beautifully says when we cut a jackfruit, the gum of the jackfruit spoils the hands. To protect from that, apply an oil, Niṣkāma Karma is that oil, It's a coating, it's an attitude. And Yogī Maharṣi Patañjali specifically uses the word Anāśaya, he calls it and free from that, all these karmas are consumed in the fire of wisdom ñānāgni-dagdha-karmāṇaṁ, again the Bhagavad Gītā, wonderful. These sutras of the Kaivalya Pāda, as referred earlier, they go parallel in the Niṣkāma Karma Yoga spoken in the Bhagavad Gītā and Karmāśuklākṛṣṇaṃ yoginas trividham itareṣām this practicing of the Niṣkāma Karma will not create, will not add, will not accumulate further stock, Āśaya, Anāśaya it is and that is the Kaivalya. When all the Āśayas have been exhausted, Kaivalya is the state.
Again Svāmī Vivekānanda masterly concludes this particular sutra number seven in his own brilliant way. Svāmī Vivekānanda: “When the Yogī has attained to that state of perfection, the actions of that man and the karma produced by those actions will not bind him because he did not desire them. He just works on. He works to do good and he does good but does not care for the result and it will not come to him. But for ordinary men who have not attained to that highest state, works are of three kind: black evil actions, white good actions and mixed, Trividham.” And let us see and let us understand, how can we go ahead and transform our lives, our actions into a Niṣkāma Karma. Let us see further sutras.
Om śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ.
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः||
To Be Continued.. ---------------------------------------
These are transcription of session delivered by Vice-President of Vivekananda Rock Memorial & Vivekananda Kendra, Sri M. Hanumantha Rao Ji.
Audio Link - https://youtu.be/xuOafiHJBmI?si=HWJOTHC8FQ1Y8YNP
Read n Get Articles, Magazines, Books @ http://prakashan.vivekanandakendra.org
मुक्तसंग्ङोऽनहंवादी धृत्युत्साहसमन्वित:।
सिद्धयसिद्धयोर्निर्विकार: कर्ता सात्त्विक उच्यते ॥१८.२६॥
Freed from attachment, non-egoistic, endowed with courage and enthusiasm and unperturbed by success or failure, the worker is known as a pure (Sattvika) one. Four outstanding and essential qualities of a worker. - Bhagwad Gita : XVIII-26
No comments:
Post a Comment