सक्ता: कर्मण्यविद्वांसो यथा कुर्वन्ति भारत |
कुर्याद्विद्वांस्तथासक्तश्चिकीर्षुर्लोकसंग्रहम् || 25||
saktāḥ karmaṇyavidvānso yathā kurvanti bhārata
kuryād vidvāns tathāsaktaśh chikīrṣhur loka-saṅgraham
saktāḥ—attached; karmaṇi—duties; avidvānsaḥ—the ignorant; yathā—as much as; kurvanti—act; bhārata—scion of Bharat (Arjun); kuryāt—should do; vidvān—the wise; tathā—thus; asaktaḥ—unattached; chikīrṣhuḥ—wishing; loka-saṅgraham—welfare of the world
Translation:
O Arjuna! As the ignorant men work with attachment to action, so should the wise act without attachment, for the welfare of the world.
Commentary:
According to Swami Ranganathananda, 13th president of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission, this is the most important verse of the Bhagavad Gita. (Narrated by Swami Shuddhidananda in the audio below.)
The wise and the ignorant both perform work. But there is a clear difference in attitude between the two. The wise act without attachment to the fruits of work. The ignorant act with attachment to the fruits of work. The wise are not entangled in work because they have no sense of doership. The ignorant are caught in the meshes of work by thinking that they are the doers. The wise work for the welfare of the world. The ignorant work for their own satisfaction. Work is common to both. But what a world of difference in purpose and spirit. Therefore the wise attain liberation through work and the ignorant are bound to the wheel of birth and death. Work is like a sword. For one who knows how to use it, it is a good instrument of action; for another, it is a deadly weapon of self-destruction. The wise use fire for useful purposes, the ignorant get themselves burned by it. This being so, it is essential that the seeker should understand the secret of right action, it method, attitude, and aim.
The Lord says, “Do not be inactive. Use this great instrument of action (karma) for Self-realisation. Know how you should work and with what aim.” He explains the method here. The principle of work is detachment. Work should be done without desire for the personal enjoyment of the fruits thereof, and unmindful of success or failure.
The common man is constantly at work, earning money with zeal and enthusiasm, building houses, purchasing lands, securing for himself and his family all the material pleasures of life. Besides, he thinks that he is the doer of all this work. But the impersonal attitude to work is Karma yoga. The wise people work with equal zeal and enthusiasm, but they know that they are only the instruments of the Lord in the service of humanity. Acting in this spirit, they attain liberation.
Welfare of the world: We understand from these words that the Lord values service to humanity and other beings. It is the duty of all seekers to do what is most pleasing to the Lord. In this service, work is worship of the Lord. Any little help and service done to fellow beings is accepted by Him as an act of devotion to Him.
Bharata: The ordinary meaning for this word is one who belongs to the family of Bharata. It has a special meaning also. Bha means light, ratah means desirous of light (spiritual illumination). The lord address Arjuna as the seeker of divine light. He exhorts his disciple to dispel darkness by spiritual realisation.
Swami Vivekananda Says —
“That which the ignorant do with desire for results and gain, let the wise do without any attachment and without any desire for results and gain.”[Source]
Devotee: “You have placed heavy work of the (Ramakrishna) Mission upon our shoulders. How can one devote oneself completely to Sâdhanâ with such heavy work?”
Swami Saradananda: “Heavy work, indeed! Don’t you realize that had there been no such work, you would not have done even what little you are doing now? Give up work for a single day if you can. Take meals from the Satra (alms-house) and practise hard. Let me see how far you can proceed. You won’t be able to do this even for a day. After a few days you will be idling away your time. Swamiji started these works for the service of humanity -service with the fullest knowledge that man is a veritable symbol of the Lord. This is a new path-a simple, easy path. But this does not suit you! Why not leave work and see the result? You will fail to do even what little Sâdhanâ you are putting in-in the midst of work.
Now you are performing selfless work, but if you give it up, you will plunge headlong into selfishness. This will be the result. Don’t you see how hard people in the world have to work! Why not enter into the world and see the fun? Many people are at their wit’s end simply for serving their parents. Give one a sumptuous meal without any work, because one prefers to practise Sâdhana! This won’t do. One can certainly gain one’s goal even in the midst of work. Is there any shade of difference between spiritual practice and the work of the Mission, which is the Master’s work? One’s longing for spiritual practice loses much of its keenness when work is abandoned. As long as there is obstruction in the path, there is manifestation of power. So long as one lives in one’s home, one’s desire to become a monk remains intense. But how long do good intentions prevail after one has become a monk? (Keeping silence for a while) Various causes such as regular study, special care of parents, marriage affairs, etc. offer obstruction, and consequently the power is increased. But when one renounces home, one thinks that the goal has been reached and struggles no more. Take for instance an embankment. Water presses hard to break away as long as there is the embankment. But when it finds a way out it is spread all over. Nothing is left of that force. Being scattered all over, the concentrated force is lost.”
Devotee: “It may also finally stop without forcing a way out and thus lose all its strength.”
Swami Saradananda: “Yes, sometimes it is actually so. But that is rare. Power seeks channels for its manifestation, and gathers force in the midst of obstructions. The Mantra that you have received-why not repeat it regularly? But this none of you will do. Follow your Guru’s instructions. How many of you do it? At most one sits for half an hour, that too not in a calm mood and tells the beads as if it is a drudgery and then gets up. This won’t help. Who has been following the rules after receiving the Mantra? One nowadays takes a fancy for Sannyasa (monasticism). This seems to be your usual way. Sannyâsa means an inward unfoldment. Mere formality cannot go far. Is there anything in formality? One must make one-self fit for Sannyasa. This requires an inward growth. How many people work in a true spirit? Working like a day-labourer-what can it pay? It is the spirit-that we are serving Nârâyana in human forms and that the Ishta is in all men – that counts in the long run.” (Source: Spiritual Talks by the First Disciples of Sri Ramakrishna)
Disciple: “Mother, some devotees say, “The starting of Sevâshramas (homes of service), A hospitals, publication of books and magazines, keeping of accounts, etc., etc., are not in keep-ing with a monk’s ideal. Did Shri Ramakrishna ever do such things? It is a pity such works are thrust on young men who join the Order with a spirit of dispassion. If one is to do work, it must be work like Japa, meditation, ritualistic worship, etc. The other kinds of work are full of worldliness and turns one away from God.'”
Mother: “Don’t give them any hearing. If one does not work what will one be doing all through the day? Is it possible for one to meditate day and night? Shri Ramakrishna’s case was different. It is because you are doing work of public utility that you are getting your daily bread. Otherwise you would have had to go begging from door to door for your food, and thereby your health would have broken down. Moreover, who ever gives alms to monks nowadays as of yore? Do not pay any heed to such criticism; do as Shri Ramakrishna guides you. The Math will go on on these lines. Those who cannot accommodate them-selves to this will have to leave the organization.
“Mani Mallick, on his returning from a pilgrimage, went to see the Master. The Master asked him, ‘Well, did you meet holy men? He replied, ‘Yes, but then they ask for money.’ The Master in reply said, ‘Well, how much money after all did they ask of you? Probably a pice or two for smoking hemp or tobacco. That much. You want the best dishes, best suite of rooms, a well-arranged bed, etc., etc., while he wants but a pice for smoking. Will he not have even that much? Will you people have the monopoly of all enjoyment and will he not have even a pice worth of smoke?”” (Source: Spiritual Talks by the First Disciples of Sri Ramakrishna)
Renouncer and householder
Once a devotee named Rao, who always saw Swami Tyagishananda Maharaj engrossed in normal chores like cooking and tending cows, asked in a lighter vein, “Swamiji, what is the difference between a householder and you? We worry about our children and you worry about your cows”. Maharaj promptly replied, “Rao, there is an important difference. If tomorrow the Headquarters sends me a postcard asking me to leave to another Centre, I just take my loin-cloth and leave.” He then made a gesture of wiping his hands sideways, implying finishing with a task for good (and not even taking the dust of that place). “Can a householder walk out of his home in this way?” he asked.
— Swami Harshananda
There are good souls, calm and magnanimous, who do good to others as does the spring, and who, having themselves crossed this dreadful ocean of birth and death, help others also to cross the same, without any motive whatsoever.
— Vivekachudamani, Verse 37
Question: How should a wise man work?
Answer: He should work in a detached spirit.
Question: For what purpose?
Answer: He should work for the welfare of the world.