[Advaita-l] Re: More on Paurusha

[Vishwanathan Raman]

Pranaams to learned list members,

 This is my first post to this list ever since I became a member (though I
actively read the posts almost on a daily basis). So I request the list
members to please correct me if my understanding is wrong.

 "Do your duty / don't expect results" is often one of the mis quoted
interpretations of the
message conveyed by Gita.

For instance, if I publish a book, then certainly as a publisher of the
book, I can have expectations with regard to the number of sales that would
occur. In fact an expectation is indeed required, to decide how many copies
initially needs to be printed. Therefore having expectations per se is
not a problem.

For any action there could be 3 possible outcomes:

(1) The result meets my expectations
(2) The result exceeds my expectations, OR
(3) The result is below my expectations (which could be negative also).

So what is important is the maturity to receive the karma phala with
equanimity of mind which is termed as "prasada buddhi" in the Bhagavad Gita.

Regards,
Viswanathan.R


Message: 2
> Date: Thu, 7 Dec 2006 05:24:10 +0000 (GMT)
> From: Viswanathan N <vishy1962 at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: [Advaita-l] Re: More on Paurusha
> To: A discussion group for Advaita Vedanta
>         <advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org>
> Message-ID: <201229.84339.qm at web33804.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
>
> Pranams Vyasji
>
>   Thanks a lot for your mail.
>
>   You are perfectly right in saying that the person performing karma
> without desiring results/ out come is karmayogi. Fine, but this could only
> lead to peaceful living in this birth without any further accumulation of
> samskaras....
>
>   Acquiring the true Jnana is only the key for mukthi. I feel.
>   Combination of Jnana yoga and Karma yoga is the correct recipe for
> liberation. Rather the movement you know the truth you automatically become
> a Karmayogi.
>
>   What is  acquired by reading/ listening to the scriptures can only
> amount to mere accumulation of knowledge and may not result in true Jnana,
> unless one continuously contemplate on the same and experience the truth by
> oneself. The acquired knowledge can only be 'means' and not the 'End' by
> itself.
>
>   This is my understanding, Am I correct, sir?
>
>   Warm Regards
>   Viswanath
>
>
>
> "Jaldhar H. Vyas" <jaldhar at braincells.com> wrote:
>   On Wed, 6 Dec 2006, Viswanathan N wrote:
>
> > With due apologies, I disagree with the above statement. What is
> > Dharma? Isnt't it totally relative! Doing yajnas alone cant be dharma.
>
> No and I'm not saying that. Rather as I explained in an earlier email,
> yajna is the archetype of Dharmic karma. All actions can be analyzed on
> the basis of the concepts originally meant for analyzing karma.
>
> > For a butcher , butching is Dharma (hope you recall the story of rishi
> > who burnt a bird, going for biksha, guided to a butcher by devote
> > housewife)
> >
>
> Yes, this is the story of Kaushika and Dharmavyadha told in the
> Mahabharata. Dharmavyadha was a hunter not a butcher btw.
> Shankaracharya uses this very episode as an example of a Shudra who was a
> jnani.
>
> > One who knows " Who He is", who doesnt have desires/ attachments and
> > just carrying on his dutiful karma is spritually evolved. He needn' t
> > even be a scholor of scriptures or priest doing rituals. Take the
> > cases of Kabir, Meera, Bhakta Khumbhar.......
>
> The Gita says:
>
> yaGYArthAt karmaNo.anyatra loko.ayam karmabandhanaH |
> tadarthaM karma kaunteya muktasa~ngha samAchara || 3.9 ||
>
> "Except for the purpose of Yajna, this entire world is in bondage to
> Karma. Only actions with that purpose, Kaunteya [Arjuna], free of
> expectation, should you do."
>
> This message of the Gita is often bastardized to "work is worship." but it
> would be more accurate to say "work can be worship." We can recognize
> three types of workers:
>
> 1. The one who is doing work without thinking or planning because someone
> told him to or forced him to etc. His only relationship to
> spirituality is the idea that Gods and spirits may interfere with his
> life and need to be placated to leave him alone.
>
> 2. The one who is doing work for personal interest. He may be religious
> but only because he may feel Gods can help him in his ambitions or
> reward him if he is on good terms with them.
>
> 3. The one who works with dispassion and without expectations of results,
> purely as a matter of Dharma and for the love of God. This is yajna
> whether it is done by the pandit or the butcher.
>
> --
> Jaldhar H. Vyas
>