Ye tv etad abhyasuyanto nanutisthanti me matam
Sarva-jnana-vimudhams tan viddhi nastan acetasah
(Text 32, Ch 3, Karma Yoga)
Meaning: But those who, out of envy, disregard these teachings and do not follow them regularly are to be considered bereft of all knowledge, befooled, and ruined in their endeavors for perfection.
Ye me matam idam nityam anutisthanti manavah
sraddhavanto nasuyanto mucyante te pi karmabhih
(Text 31, Ch 3, Karma Yoga)
Meaning: Those persons who execute their duties according to My injunctions and who follow this teaching faithfully, without envy, became free from the bondage of fruitive actions.
Mayi sarvani karmani sannyasyadhyatma-cetasa
nirasir nirmamo bhutva yudhyasva vigata -jvarah
(Text 30, Ch 3, Karma Yoga)
Meaning: Therefore, O Arjuna(devotee), surrendering all your works unto Me, with full knowledge of Me, without desires for profit, with no claims to proprietorship, and free from lethargy, fight ( do karma).
Prakrter guna -sammudhah sajjante guna-karmasu
tan akrtsna - vido mandan krtsna - vin na vicalayet
(Text 29, Ch 3, Karma Yoga)
Meaning: Bewildered by the modes of material nature, the ignorant fully engage themselves in material activities and become attached. But the wise should not unsettle them, although these duties are inferior due to the performers lack of knowledge.
*** Persons who are unknowledgeable falsely identify with gross material consciousness and are full of material designations. This body os a gift of the material nature, and one who is too much attached to the bodily consciousness is called manda, or a lazy person without understanding of spirit soul. Social work, nationalism and altruism are some of the activities for such materially designated persons.
Those who are enlightened in spiritual life, however, should not try to agitate such materially engrossed persons. Better to prosecute one's own spiritual activities silently.
Tattva-vit tu maha-baho guna -karma-vibhagayoh
guna gunesu vartanta iti matva na sajjate
(Text 28, Ch 3, Karma Yoga)
Meaning: One who is in knowledge of the Absolute Truth, O mighty -armed, does not engage himself in the senses and sense gratification, knowing well the difference between work in devotion and work for fruitive results.
Prakrteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani sarvasah
ahankara-vimudhatma kartaham iti manyate
(Text 27, Ch 3, Karma Yoga)
Meaning: The spirit soul bewildered by the influence of false ego thinks himself the doer of activities that are in actually carried out by the three modes of material nature.
***Two persons, one in divine consciousness and the other in material consciousness, working on the same level, may appear to be working on the same platform, but there is a wide gulf of difference in their respective positions. The person in material consciousness is convinced by false ego that he is the doer of everything. He does not know that the mechanism of the body is produced by material nature, which works under the supervision of the Supreme Lord.The materialistic person has no knowledge that ultimately he is under the control of divine. The person in false ego takes all credit for doing everything independently, and that is the symptom of his nescience.He does not know that this gross and subtle body is the creation of material nature, under the control of the Supreme and as such his bodily and mental activities should be engaged in the service of divine.
Na buddhi-bhedam janayed ajnanam karma -sanginam
Josayet sarva-karmani vidvan yuktah samacaran
(Text 26, Ch 3, Karma Yoga)
Meaning: So as not to disrupt the minds of ignorant men attached to the fruitive results of prescribed duties, a learned person should not induce them to stop work. Rather, by working in the spirit of devotion, he should engage them in all sorts of activities ( for the gradual development of divine consciousness).
Saktah karmany avidvamso yatha kurvanti bharata
Kuryad vidvams tathasaktas cikirsur loka-sangraham
(Text 25, Ch 3, Karma Yoga)
Meaning: As the ignorant perform their duties with attachment to results, the learned may similarly act, but without attachment, for the sake of leading people on the right path.
*** A person in divine consciousness and a person not in divine consciousness are differentiated by different desires. A divine conscious person does not do anything which is not conducive to development of divine consciousness. He may even act exactly like the ignorant person, who is too much attached to material activities, but one is engaged in such activities for the satisfaction of his sense gratification, whereas the other is engaged for the satisfaction of divine. Therefore, the divine conscious person is required to show the people how to act and how to engage the results of action for the purpose of divine consciousness.
Utsideyur ime loka na kuryam karma ced aham
Sankarasya ca karta syam upahanyam imah prajah
(Text 24, Ch 3, Karma Yoga)
Meaning: If I did not perform duties, all these worlds would be put to ruination. I would be the cause of creating unwanted population, and I would thereby destroy the peace of all living beings.
Yadi hy aham na varteyam jatu karmany atandritah
mama vartmanuvartante manusyah partha sarvasah
(Text 23, Ch 3, Karma Yoga)
Meaning: For if I ever failed to engage in carefully performing prescribed duties, O Partha, certainly all men would follow My path.
*** In order to keep the balance of social tranquillity for progress in spiritual life, there are traditional family usage meant for every civilized man. Although such rules and regulations are for the conditioned souls and not Lord krishna(divine soul), because he descended to establish the principal of religion He followed the prescribed rules.
na me parthasti Kartavyam
trisu lokesu kincana
nanavaptam avaptavyam
varta eva ca karmani
(Text 22, Ch 3, Karma Yoga)
Meaning: O son of Prtha, there is no work prescribed for Me within all the three planetary systems. Nor am I in want of anything, nor have I a need to obtain anything-and yet I am engaged in prescribed duties.
*** The Supreme lord is the controller of all other controllers, and he is the greatest of all the diverse planetary leaders. Everyone is under his control. All entities are delegated with particular power only by the Supreme Lord. They are not Supreme themselves. He is also worshipable by all demigods and is the Supreme director of all the directors. Therefore, he is transcendental to all kinds of material leaders and controllers and is worshipable by all. There is no one greater than him and he is the supreme cause of all causes.
Yad yad acarati sresthas tat tad evetaro janah
sa yat pramanam kurute lokas tad anuvartate
(Text 21, Ch 3, Karma Yoga)
Meaning: Whatever action a great man performs, common men follow. And whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues.
*** One should follow in the footsteps of great devotees, and that is the way of progress on the path of spiritual realization.
Karmanaiva hi samsiddhim asthita janakadayah
loka-sangraham evapi sampasyam kartum arhasi
(Text 20, Ch 3, Karma Yoga)
Meaning: Kings such as Janaka (Self realised person) attained perfection solely by performance of prescribed duties. Therefore, just for the sake of educating the people in general, you should perform your work.
tasmad asaktah satatam karyam karma samacara
asakto hy acaran karma param apnoti purusah
(Text 19, Ch 3, Karma Yoga)
Meaning: Therefore, without being attached to the fruits of activities, one should act as a matter of duty, for by working without attachment one attains the Supreme.
*** A person acting for divine or in divine consciousness, under proper guidance and without attachment to the result of the work, is certainly making progress towards the Supreme goal of life.
To be a good man or a nonviolent man is a personal attachment, but to act on behalf of the Supreme is to act without attachment for the result.
A divine consciousness person has no attachment for the result but acts on behalf of divine alone. He engages in all kinds of activities, but is completely nonattached.
Evam pravartitam cakram nanuvartayatiha yah
aghayur indriyaramo mogham partha sa jivati
(Text 16, Ch 3, Karma Yoga)
Meaning : My dear Arjuna (devotee), one who does not follow in human life the cycle of sacrifice thus established by the Vedas certainly leads a life full of sin. Living only for the satisfaction of the senses, such a person lives in vain.
***By nature's law, this human form of life is specifically meant for Self-Realization, in either of three ways-namely Karma-yoga, jnana-yoga or bhakti-yoga. There is no necessity of rigidly following the performance of the prescribed yajnas for the transcendentalists who are above vice and virtue; but those who are engaged in sense gratification require purification by the above mentioned cycle of yajna performances.
Karma brahmodbhavam viddhi brahmaksara-samudbhavam
tasmat sarva-gatam vrahma nityam yajne pratisthitam
(Text 15, Ch 3, Karma Yoga)
Meaning: Regulated activities are prescribed in the Vedas,and the Vedas are directly manifested from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Consequently the all-pervading Transcendence is eternally situated in acts of sacrifice.
Annad bhavanti bhutani parjanyad anna-sambhavah
yajnad bhavati parjanyo yajnah karma-samudbhavah
(Karma Yoga, Text 14, Ch 3)
Meaning: All living bodies subsist on food grains, which are produced from rains.Rains are produced by performance of yajna (sacrifice), and yajna is born of prescribed duties.
***
The devotees of Lord, who are in divine consciousness, offer food to divine and then eat- a process which nourishes the body spiritually. By such action not only are past sinful reactions in the body vanquished, but the body becomes immunized to all contamination of material nature. When there is an epidemic disease, an antiseptic vaccine protects a person from the attack of such an epidemic.Food offered to Lord and then taken by us makes us sufficiently resistant to material affection, and one who is accustomed to this practice is called devotee of the Lord. Therefore, a person in divine consciousness, who eat only food offered to divine, can counteract all reactions of past material infection, which are impediments to the progress of Self-Realization.
Yajna-sistasinah santa mucyante sarva-kilbisaih
bhunjate te tv aghampapa
ye pacanty atma-karanat
(Text 13, Ch 3, Karma Yoga)
Meaning: The devotees of the Lord are released from all kinds of sins because they eat food which is offered first for sacrifice. Others, who prepare food for personal sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin.
Istan bhogan hi vo deva dasyante yajna bhavitah
tair dattan apradayaibhyo yo bhunkte stena eva sah
(Text 12, Ch 3, Karma Yoga)
Meaning : In charge of the various necessities of life, the demigods, being satisfied by the performance of yajna (sacrifice), will supply all necessities to you. But he who enjoys such gift without offering them to the demigods in return is certainly a thief.
*** We should make proper use to all necessities supply to keep ourself fit and healthy for the purpose of Self-Realization, leading to the ultimate goal of life (Liberation from the material struggle for existence). This aim of life is attained by performance of yajnas. If we forget the purpose of human life and simply take supplies from the agents of the Lord for sense gratification and become more and more entangled in material existence, which is not the purpose of creation, certainly we become thieves, and therefore we are punished by the laws of material nature. A society of thieves can never be happy, because they have no aim in life.
Devan bhavayatanena te deva bhavayantu vah
parasparam bhavayantah sreyah param avapsyatha
(Text 11, Karma Yoga, Ch 3)
Meaning: The demigods, being pleased by sacrifices, will also please you, and thus, by cooperation between men and demigods, prosperity will reign for all.
***
By performing yajnas (Karma, sacrifice) all activities become purified. By performing of yajna one eat-ables become sanctified, and by eating sanctified foodstuffs one's very existence become purified; by the purification of existence finer tissues in the memory become sanctified, and when memory is sanctified one can think of the path of liberation, and all these combined together lead to divine consciousness, the great necessity of present day society.
Saha-yajnah prajah srstva purovaca prajapati
anena prasavisyadhvam
esa vo stv ista-kama-dhuk
(Text 10, Chapter 3, Karma Yoga)
Meaning: In the beginning of creation, the lord of all creatures sent forth generations of men and demigods, and with sacrifices for divine and blessed them by saying, " Be thou happy by this sacrifice because its performance will bestow upon everything desirable for living happily and achieving liberation".
Yas tv indriyani manasa niyamyarabhate 'rjune
Karmendriyaih karma -yogam asaktah sv visisyate (Text 7, Ch 3)
Meaning: On the hand, if a sincere person tries to control the active senses by the mind and begins karma-yoga (in divine consciousness) without attachment, he is by far superior.
