यस्त्वात्मरतिरेव स्यादात्मतृप्तश्च मानव: |
आत्मन्येव च सन्तुष्टस्तस्य कार्यं न विद्यते || 17||
yas tvātma-ratir eva syād ātma-tṛiptaśh cha mānavaḥ
ātmanyeva cha santuṣhṭas tasya kāryaṁ na vidyate
yaḥ—who; tu—but; ātma-ratiḥ—rejoice in the self; eva—certainly; syāt—is; ātma-tṛiptaḥ—self-satisfied; cha—and; mānavaḥ—human being; ātmani—in the self; eva—certainly; cha—and; santuṣhṭaḥ—satisfied; tasya—his; kāryam—duty; na—not; vidyate—exist
Translation:
But he who rejoices, who is contented, who finds happiness in Atma only, has no work to perform.
Commentary:
Except for the Paramahamsa who has directly experienced the Supreme Self, for all others Karma yoga is the inevitable law. In this verse, the Lord describes the liberated sage. He finds all joy in Atma, all satisfaction in Atma, all contentment in Atma. He does not move outside Atma. For him, the law of karma does not apply because he has already realised the highest fruit of karma (i.e.) Moksha. So he is released from the operation of the law of karma. But still, if he works, he does so for the benefit of mankind. There is no harm whether he works or does not work.
Such realised sages are very rare indeed. All the others must work. They should endeavour to attain the highest state by diligent performance of yajna. They should understand what they are, where they are, how they live, and avoid the dangerous delusion of giving up karma before reaching the goal. It would be as foolish to do so as to throw away the leaf before eating the food.
In modern times the attachment and distractions of the material world have assumed dangerous proportions. Man has sunk into the mire of material pleasures and is caught by them in a ready embrace from which he is not able to extricate himself. He is not able to conceive of anything higher than food and sex. The true joy of life is lost. Man is reduced to the level of animal creation. It would be understood by the purified intellect that joy and happiness cannot arise from dead matter. It is the greatest error to think so. True joy is actually flooding the heart of all people. What one imagines as joy coming from external objects is only reflected. Atmic happiness is ever-present in the heart. To know this is Jnana. Not to know this is Maya. The realised sage is perfectly contented because he knows that all the joys, delights, and pleasures of the material world are comprehended in the happiness of the Self. Knowing and realising this, he does not hanker for sense-pleasures. He does not go outside himself to seek for – this or that as the ignorant man does. He is Atmarama, Atmatripta, Atmatushta. The general term man (manavah) is used to show that no one is denied the merit of Self-realisation for reasons of caste, creed, or sex.
Swami Vivekananda Says —
“He whose joy is only in himself, whose desires are only in himself, he has learned his lessons.” This is the great lesson that we are here to learn through myriads of births and heavens and hells — that there is nothing to be asked for, desired for, beyond one’s Self.[Source]
As the Gita says, “He whose devotion is to the Atman, he who does not want anything beyond Atman, he who has become satisfied in the Atman, what work is there for him to do?”[Source]
The highest men are calm, silent, and unknown. They are the men who really know the power of thought; they are sure that even if they go into a cave and close the door and simply think five true thoughts and then pass away, these five thoughts of theirs will live through eternity. Indeed such thoughts will penetrate through the mountains, cross the oceans, and travel through the world. They will enter deep into human hearts and brains and raise up men and women who will give them practical expression in the workings of human life. These sattvika men are too near the Lord to be active and to fight, to be working, struggling, preaching, and doing good, as they say, here on earth to humanity. The active workers, however good, have still a little remnant of ignorance left in them. When our nature has yet some impurities left in it, then alone can we work. It is in the nature of work to be impelled ordinarily by motive and by attachment. In the presence of an ever active Providence who notes even the sparrow’s fall, how can man attach any importance to his own work? Will it not be a blasphemy to do so when we know that He is taking care of the minutest things in the world? We have only to stand in awe and reverence before Him saying, “Thy will be done”. The highest men cannot work, for in them there is no attachment. Those whose whole soul is gone into the Self, those whose desires are confined in the Self, who have become ever associated with the Self, for them there is no work. Such are indeed the highest of mankind; but apart from them every one else has to work.[Source]
Every one must work in the universe. Only those who are perfectly satisfied with the Self, whose desires do not go beyond the Self, whose mind never strays out of the Self, to whom the Self is all in all, only those do not work. The rest must work.[Source]
Sri Ramakrishna Says —
SHRISH: “Under the pressure of duties people do many unrighteous things in the world. Further, some are engaged in good work, and some in evil. Is this due to their actions in previous births? Is that why they act this way?”
MASTER: “How long should a man perform his duties? As long as he has not attained God. Duties drop away after the realisation of God. Then one goes beyond good and evil. The flower drops off as soon as the fruit appears. The flower serves the purpose of begetting the fruit.
“How long should a devotee perform daily devotions such as the sandhya? As long as his hair does not stand on end and his eyes do not shed tears at the name of God. These things indicate that the devotee has realised God, From these one knows that he has attained pure love of God. Realizing God one goes beyond virtue and vice.
I bow my head, says Prasad, before desire and liberation;
Knowing the secret that Kali is one with the highest Brahman,
I have discarded, once for all, both righteousness and sin.
“The more you advance toward God, the less He will give you worldly duties to perform.” (Source: Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna)
—–
“Formal worship drops away after the vision of God. It was thus that my worship in the temple came to an end. I used to worship the Deity in the Kali temple. It was suddenly revealed to me that everything is Pure Spirit. The utensils of worship, the altar, the door-frame—all Pure Spirit. Men, animals, and other living beings — all Pure Spirit. Then like a madman I began to shower flowers in all directions. Whatever I saw I worshipped.
“One day, while worshipping Siva, I was about to offer a bel-leaf on the head of the image, when it was revealed to me that this Virat, this Universe, itself is Siva. After that my worship of Siva through the image came to an end. Another day I had been plucking flowers, when it was revealed to me that the flowering plants were so many bouquets.” (Source: Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna)
—–
“Without having realised God one cannot give up rituals altogether. How long should one practise the sandhya and other forms of ritualistic worship? As long as one does not shed tears of joy at the name of God and feel a thrill in one’s body. You will know that your ritualistic worship has come to an end when your eyes become filled with tears as you repeat ‘Om Rama’. Then you do not have to continue your sandhya or other rituals.
“When the fruit appears the blossom drops off. Love of God is the fruit, and rituals are the blossom. When the daughter-in-law of the house becomes pregnant, she cannot do much work. Her mother-in-law gradually lessens her duties in the house. When her time arrives she does practically nothing. And after the child is born her only work is to play with it. She doesn’t do any household duties at all. The sandhya merges in the Gayatri, the Gayatri in Om, and Om in samadhi. It is like the sound of a bell: t — a — m. The yogi, by following in the trail of the sound Om, gradually merges himself in the Supreme Brahman. His sandhya and other ritualistic duties disappear in samadhi. Thus the duties of the jnani come to an end.” (Source: Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna)
—–
In order to perform the worship of God you will be preoccupied for a long time with such religious duties as plucking flowers, making sandal-paste, polishing the utensils of worship, and arranging offerings. As you perform these duties your mind will naturally be directed to God. You will get rid of meanness, anger, jealousy, and so forth. When you two sisters talk to each other, always talk about spiritual matters.
“The thing is somehow to unite the mind with God. You must not forget Him, not even once. Your thought of Him should be like the flow of oil, without any interruption (BG 6.19). It you worship with love even a brick or stone as God, then through His grace you can see Him.
“Remember what I have just said to you. One should perform such worship as the Siva Puja. Once the mind has become mature, one doesn’t have to continue formal worship for long. The mind then always remains united with God; meditation and contemplation become a constant habit of mind.” (Source: Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna)
—–
When, hearing the name of Hari or Rāma once, you shed tears and your hair stands on end, then you may know for certain that you do not have to perform such devotions as the sandhyā any more. Then only will you have a right to renounce rituals; or rather, rituals will drop away of themselves. Then it will be enough if you repeat only the name of Rāma or Hari, or even simply Om. The sandhyā merges in the Gāyatri, and the Gāyatri merges in Om.
— Sri Ramakrishna
When love of God is awakened, work drops away of itself. If God makes some men work, let them work. It is now time for you to give up everything. Renounce all and say, ‘O mind, may you and I alone behold the Mother, letting no one else intrude.’
— Sri Ramakrishna
One should continue to perform the Vedic ritualistic activity until one actually becomes detached from material sense gratification and develops faith for hearing and chanting about Me.
— Srimad Bhagavatam 11.20.9
Having taken complete shelter at My lotus feet, however, a saintly person ultimately renounces such ordinary religious duties and worships Me alone. He is thus considered to be the best among all living entities.
— Srimad Bhagavatam 11.11.32
Question: Who is exempt from the law of karma?
Answer: The sage of self-realisation is free from the law of karma. For them, there is no work to do.
