नेहाभिक्रमनाशोऽस्ति प्रत्यवायो न विद्यते |
स्वल्पमप्यस्य धर्मस्य त्रायते महतो भयात् || 40||
nehābhikrama-nāśho ’sti pratyavāyo na vidyate
svalpam apyasya dharmasya trāyate mahato bhayāt
na—not; iha—in this; abhikrama—efforts; nāśhaḥ—loss; asti—there is; pratyavāyaḥ—adverse result; na—not; vidyate—is; su-alpam—a little; api—even; asya—of this; dharmasya—occupation; trāyate—saves; mahataḥ—from great; bhayāt—danger
Translation:
In this, no effort is ever lost and no harm is ever done. Even very little of this dharma saves a man from the Great Fear.
Commentary:
This Karma Yoga, performed with discrimination, is a powerful spiritual force. It never goes to waste. When once it is started, good results flow from whatever is done in this Yoga. There is no harm or adverse effect even if it is stopped in the middle. For instance, when we plant a seed in the soil, we should water the soil constantly. Otherwise, the seed is destroyed. Such is not the case with this Yoga. Whatever is done produces its own good results in proper measure and at the proper time. Nothing is lost and no effort is wasted.
Protects from great fear:- Even a little of this Sadhana protects man from great fear. And what is the great fear of man in this world? Death. The cycle of birth and death constitutes Samsara. By the practice of this Yoga, man transcends this awful fear.
A small spark of fire is capable of spreading and burning up a whole forest; A small ship is capable of taking us over the big ocean. Even so, even a little practice of Karma Yoga protects man from the great ills of life. The seeker need not feel discouraged at all. Though he cannot attain the state of perfection all at once, he should continue this practice, little by little, without intermission. Even it is a piece of worship, or a small mantra – have faith in it and go on doing it as best as you can. This will enable you to cross the ocean of samsara. A bit of medicine, taken with a proper diet, helps a man to overcome a fearful disease.
This declaration is the most encouraging assurance of the Lord to all mankind. Generally, the seekers are discouraged by thinking of the obstacles on the path of spiritual life “How can I swim across this mighty inscrutable ocean of samsara? How can I transcend this limitless darkness of ignorance? Alas! I am not a Rishi. I cannot perform painful Tapas. I have no steadiness of mind. How can I be saved ?” Such is the usual train of thought for the majority of the seekers. Such discouraging thoughts are the real obstruction to progress. So the Lord assures all that whatever little they do will yield the best results and they can work wonders by their faith. This is the Lord’s promise. This is the Lord’s hope for mankind.
Swami Vivekananda Says —
There is no danger that you can overdo it. “If you do even a little of it, [this yoga will save you from the terrible round of birth and death].[Source])
We worship him (Gautama Buddha) as God incarnate, the greatest, the boldest preacher of morality that the world ever saw, the greatest karma-yogi; as disciple of himself, as it were, the same Krishna came to show how to make his (Krishna’s) theories practical. There came once again the same voice that in the Gita preached, “Even the least bit done of this religion saves from great fear.”[Source]
This is teaching on the practical side. Believe, therefore, in yourselves, and if you want material wealth, work it out; it will come to you. If you want to be intellectual, work it out on the intellectual plane, and intellectual giants you shall be. And if you want to attain to freedom, work it out on the spiritual plane, and free you shall be and shall enter into Nirvana, the Eternal Bliss. But one defect which lay in the Advaita was its being worked out so long on the spiritual plane only, and nowhere else; now the time has come when you have to make it practical. It shall no more be a rahasya, a secret, it shall no more live with monks in cave and forests, and in the Himalayas; it must come down to the daily, everyday life of the people; it shall be worked out in the palace of the king, in the cave of the recluse; it shall be worked out in the cottage of the poor, by the beggar in the street, everywhere; anywhere it can be worked out. Therefore do not fear whether you are a woman or a shudra, for this religion is so great, says Lord Krishna, that even a little of it brings a great amount of good.[Source]
Cannot the knowledge, by which is attained even freedom from the bondage of worldly existence, bring ordinary material prosperity? Certainly it can. Freedom, dispassion, renunciation, all these are the very highest ideals, but “स्वल्पमप्यस्य धर्मस्य त्रायते महतो भयात् — Even a little of this dharma saves one from the great fear (of birth and death).” Dualist, qualified-monist, monist, Shaiva, Vaishnava, Shakta, even the Buddhist and the Jain and others — whatever sects have arisen in India — are all at one in this respect that infinite power is latent in this jivatman (individualized soul); from the ant to the perfect man there is the same Atman in all, the difference being only in manifestation. “As a farmer breaks the obstacles (to the course of water)” (Patanjali’s Yoga-Sutra, Kaivalyapada, 3). That power manifests as soon as it gets the opportunity and the right place and time. From the highest god to the meanest grass, the same power is present in all — whether manifested or not. We shall have to call forth that power by going from door to door.[Source]
A very small amount of religious work performed brings a large amount of result. If this statement of the Gita wanted an illustration, I am finding every day the truth of that great saying in my humble life.[Source]
Question: Explain the point of Karma Yoga.
Answer:
- Whatever is done in this Yoga never goes to waste.
- There is no adverse effect, even if it is stopped in the middle.
- A little of this practice saves man from great fear.
Question: What is the way to escape the fear of Samsara?
Answer: To act according to the law of Karma Yoga with discrimination is the way.
