Shri Krishna Loves You: Saattvic method of performing actions

  

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|| जय श्री कृष्ण ||

॥ श्रीमद्‍भगवद्‍गीता ॥ 18.9॥

 

_कार्यमित्येव यत्कर्म नियतं क्रियतेअर्जुन ।_

_सङ्‍गं त्यक्त्वा फलं चैव स त्यागः सात्त्विको॥_

 

भावार्थ :

हे अर्जुन! जो शास्त्रविहित कर्म करना कर्तव्य है- इसी भाव से आसक्ति और फल का त्याग करके किया जाता है- वही सात्त्विक त्याग माना गया है॥९॥

 

Meaning:

Whatever action is done, should be performed only as an obligatory duty. In this manner, giving up attachment and also the reward, that giving up is saattvic, in my opinion.

 

Explanation:

Shri Krishna explains the correct way, the saattvic method, of performing actions. Let us look at this step by step. The first step is to only perform actions that are within the realm of our state in life, our aashrama, and our career, our varna. Actions that are prohibited or actions that are purely out of selfishness should not be performed. These actions are termed as niyatam karma in the shloka. A high degree of awareness is required to first ensure that we are not stepping into any prohibited actions.

 

The second step is to give up attachment to the reward, the phala, the fruit, of the action. Attachment to the reward need not be something tangible and physical. It could be subtle things like praise and adoration received from others on successful completion of the action. It could be a subtle thought such as "I have helped that person, so nice of me to do so". The goal is to slowly wean the mind away from its natural tendency to expect rewards for every action. We can do so my substituting our personal motive with a motive for selfless service.

 

The third step is to give up attachment to the action itself. We saw the types of attachment to action in the previous shloka, including attachment to the completion of action and attachment to one particular way of performing the action. The key is to realize that at every moment, we are giving it the best of our ability and attention. The rest is upto Ishvara, since there are several other factors at play in the outcome of an action. But in no circumstance should our energy level go down. We have to combine energy in our work with indifference to the reward of the work.

Chant the mantra you have faith in

Hare Krishna

The Hare Krishna maha-mantra is composed of three Sanskrit words, which are “Hare”, “Krishna” and “Rama”. According to the scriptures “Obstruction or problem can’t come into their lives, who do chant this mantra continuously”. The Great Mantra is:

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare

Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

हरे कृष्ण हरे कृष्ण , कृष्ण कृष्ण हरे हरे |

हरे राम हरे राम , राम राम हरे हरे ||