March 4 – Bhagavadgita Chapter 3; Verses 3.08-3.09 (Day 64) Karma Yoga

 Lesson 3.2 (Verses 8-16)

March 4 – Day 64

Verse 3.08-3.09

नियतं कुरु कर्म त्वं कर्म ज्यायो ह्यकर्मणः ।

शरीरयात्रापि च ते न प्रसिद्ध्येदकर्मणः ॥ ३-८॥ 

niyataṁ kuru karma twaṁ karma jyāyo hyakarmaṇaḥ
śharīra-yātrāpi cha te na prasiddhyed akarmaṇaḥ (8) 

நியத¹ம் கு¹ரு க¹ர்ம த்¹வம் க¹ர்ம ஜ்யாயோ ஹ்யக¹ர்மண: |
ஶரீரயாத்¹ராபி¹ ச¹ தே¹ ந ப்¹ரஸித்³த்4யேத³க1ர்மண: ||8|| 

8. Do thou perform thy bounden duty, for action is superior to inaction and even the maintenance of the body would not be possible for thee by inaction. 

COMMENTARY: Niyatam Karma is an obligatory duty which one is bound to perform.  The non-performance of the bounden duties causes demerit.  The performance of the obligatory duties is not a means for the attainment of a specific result.  The performance does not cause any merit. 

यज्ञार्थात्कर्मणोऽन्यत्र लोकोऽयं कर्मबन्धनः ।

तदर्थं कर्म कौन्तेय मुक्तसङ्गः समाचर ॥ ३-९॥ 

yajñārthāt karmaṇo ’nyatra loko ’yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ
tad arthaṁ karma kaunteya mukta-saṅgaḥ samāchara (9) 

யஞ்ஞார்தா²த்¹க¹ர்மணோ‌ன்யத்¹ர லோகோ¹‌யம் க¹ர்மப³ந்த⁴ன: |
த¹த³ர்த²ம் க¹ர்ம கௌ¹ன்தே¹ய முக்¹த¹ஸங்க³ ஸமாச¹ர ||9|| 

9. The world is bound by actions other than those performed for the sake of sacrifice; do thou, therefore, O son of Kunti, perform action for that sake (for sacrifice) alone, free from attachment! 

COMMENTARY: Yajna means sacrifice or religious rite or any unselfish action done with a pure motive. It means also Isvara. The Taittiriya Samhita (of the Veda) says “Yajna verily is Vishnu” (1-7-4). If anyone does actions for the sake of the Lord, he is not bound. His heart is purified by performing actions for the sake of the Lord. Where this spirit of unselfishness does not govern the action, such actions bind one to Samsara (worldliness), however good or glorious they may be (Cf 2:48) 

Commentary by Swami Venkatesananda [verses 8-9] 

Kṛṣṇa has the divine genius of going at once to the root of the problem. What binds man to the wheel of action-reaction, or more simply, sin and suffering? Selfish desire and attachment. Removal of these two liberates us from it.

On the other hand, if we stubbornly and ignorantly refuse to take part in the world’s activity, we lose the best way to understand the nature and strength of the chain that binds us. It is the ego, the ‘me’ It is the ego that suggests that inaction is liberation. The approval and adulation of ignorant people stiffens and strengthens the ego of the pseudo sage who has ‘renounced the world’. Covering filth with a Persian carpet cannot remove it. Therefore, Kṛṣṇa advocates positive action and vigilant effort at self-purification.

We are bound to the wheel of karma by selfish desires. These must be sacrificed, and our actions should be our sacrifice at the altar of the omnipresent God. ‘Ya’ (that) ‘jña’ (knowledge) – that action which is of knowledge and leads to knowledge. If yajña means ‘animal sacrifice’, the animal to be sacrificed is not outside, but within us. That animal is the personality full of selfishness, lust, hatred and egoism – in a word, ‘me’. But if sacrifice means ‘offering’ then we should offer all our actions to God as sacrifice. If sacrifice means ‘to make sacred’ then everything (all our actions, experiences, and even the ego) should be offered to God to be made sacred. Self-sacrificing, selfless service will not bind us, but liberate us.

But even these should be performed without attachment to the actions (the feeling that we do or do not do) and their rewards.

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