**It is far better to perform one’s natural prescribed duty, though tinged with faults, than to perform another’s prescribed duty, though perfectly. In fact, it is preferable to die in the discharge of one’s duty, than to follow the path of another, which is fraught with danger.

~ Gita 3.35**

Arjuna is a Kshatriya. It is his duty to fight a righteous battle though he may face death in the attempt. To neglect his duty and adopt the duty of another is dangerous because it would upset the order of the world, and create confusion and chaos in society.

Every man and woman must perform their prescribed duties without fail. That is lord's command.

The spiritual meaning of this verse could be - The word Svadharmah may be taken to mean the law of the Atma and paradharma may mean the law of the objective world (i.e.) the pleasure of the senses and the physical body.

Whatever is conducive to Self-realisation should be followed, even it causes death in the attempt. Whatever draws away from Atma-dhrama should be avoided.

Fasting, japa, dhyana, study of shastras, penance and other sadhanas will confer great merit finally. They constitute Atma-dhrama.

On the other hand worldly pleasures though enjoyable at first, lead to pain and suffering. So all the people should hold on to the Atma-dharma and go on practicing the prescribed duties.

Sometimes the seeker may feel that he is not making any progress and that his sadhana is futile. In these moments of doubt, the seeker should be cautious and firm. He should not abandon his practices. If he dies in the midst of his Yoga-Sadhana, he does not perish. He attains to higher world and would come to act again into the human body to continue his work. So the Lord exhorts the everyone not to give up Svadharma, Atma-dhrama under any circumstances.

**But those who find faults with My teachings, being bereft of knowledge and devoid of discrimination, they disregard these principles and bring about their own misery and destruction.

~ Gita 3.32**

Those who find fault and disregard at the spiritual teaching of the Lord are doomed to destruction.

Driven by desires, haunted by hopes and fears, blasted by frustration, they live a restless life and die in darkness. And they pass the endless cycle of birth and death, without peace.

They cannot understand the secret of the Supreme Brahman, nor the liberation from the bondage of karma.

Though a person is learned in the material knowledge, if he is devoid of faith in God and discriminative understanding (permanent and temporary, imperishable and perishable), he is indeed an ignorant person who knows nothing.

His mind is gross, his discrimination is confused, and so he wanders in the wilderness of the perishable world, tired, weary and restless. Such people are lost because they have no real knowledge, no faith in the Lord.

@guruvaakya

Those who abide by these teachings of Mine, with profound faith and free from envy, are released from the bondage of karma.

~ Gita 3.31

It is said that a person can cut the bonds of karma by detached and selfless action. From this, we understand that work performed in the true spirit frees a person from the bondage of karma.

Always: The principle of selfless action should be applied to every work that a person does, and always. Everyone is acting every moment of his life. So the teaching of the Lord should be remembered and practiced at any moment of life.

Two important virtues are to be cultivated during the period of sadhana – firstly faith, and secondly freedom from envy. Faith in the teaching of the Lord is the first step. The degree of faith in God determines the measure of achievement. The deeper the faith the greater is the benefit. And next, envy is like the cankerworm. It eats up man’s strength and power. In the field of spirituality, it is a hostile force.

So faith in God and good-will for mankind are the two weapons for the man of action in the world. Such action performed with faith and surrender to God does not bind man to the wheel of karma. On the other hand, It releases him from bondage.

Question: Who are freed from the bondage of Karma?

Answer: Those who practice the law of selfless action with faith in God are freed from the bondage of action.

@guruvaakya

**All activities are carried out by the three modes of material nature. But in ignorance, the soul, deluded by false identification with the body, thinks of itself as the doer.

~ Gita 3.27**

The Lord explains how the action takes place. Action takes place by the power of the qualities of nature. Those qualities are – Satva, Rajas, and Tamas. They are called the three Gunas.

These qualities of nature are modified into the four elements – manas, buddhi, chitta, ahamkara, the five subtle elements, the five organs of action, the five organs of perception, and the five objects of the senses. Thus the human organism and the universe around are the product of Nature. All actions wherever and in whatever manner they take place are actually done by the power of the three gunas.

Atma remains as the eternal uncontaminated witness. The real nature of an individual is Atma. It is the witness of the body, the internal and external organs, and the modifications of the mind. In truth, the real nature of a person, i.e Atma is not the doer.

All the actions that a person apparently performs with his physical and subtle organs is the work of Nature.

But the deluded person having identified himself with the body thinks “I am the doer,” and so thinking he burdens himself with the responsibility for all of them. Consequently, he has to pass through several births and suffer endless pain and sorrow.

This is exactly the difference between the wise and the ignorant. The ignorant person imagines himself to be the body and thinks that he is the doer, enjoyer of all actions and the fruits thereof. The wise person seprates himself from the vehicle of the body and knows that he is the immortal Atma, that he is not the doer nor is he subject to the binding power of his actions.

Happiness and sorrow depend upon the idea of doership. If you think you are the body, you have to bear pain and grief and all the innumerable ills of life. If you think you are the Atma, you are at the source of all bliss. So let the seeker discriminate between the Atma and the non-Atma, and know his real nature. Then all that he does is sublimated into the Atma and remains unaffected.

@guruvaakya

**O Arjuna! As the ignorant men work with attachment to action, so should the wise act without attachment, for the welfare of the world.

~ Gita 3.25**

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 or dedicates work to the lord. 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.

@guruvaakya

**There is no duty for me to do in the three worlds. There is nothing unattained or to be attained for me. And yet I am also engaged in work.

~ Gita 3.22**

Lord Krishna is God himself. He is in all the worlds and all the worlds are in Him. What then should he work for? What is he to gain by work? He is everything, and yet out of compassion for humanity, He incarnates Himself, again and again, to maintain Dharma for the well-being and progress of the world. He is ceaselessly working everywhere for establishing Dharma.

He, the infinite formless Brahman, takes birth, comes into the world, mingles with humans, teaches them, elevates them, and leads them on to freedom and bliss.

If the Lord Himself is thus engaged in work, should not the common people work for his own good?

The great Jivanmuktas like Shankara, and a long line of sages and gurus have all done tremendous work in the World. Why? Not for their own gain, because they have nothing to gain, but for the sake of humanity.

So the seekers and aspirants should do honest and sincere work to purify themselves and attain the spiritual aim. They should not be inactive, because inaction is tamas (inertia or laziness).

Work, work, is the Lord’s command. Work without attachment, performing one’s duty without expectations of the results, is the law of karma yoga.

@guruvaakya

**King Janaka and others attained perfection by action. Even having in view the need to show the right path to the masses, you should work.

~ Gita 3.20**

The principle that man attains liberation by Nishkama karma is illustrated by the example of King Janaka and others like Asvapati, Ikshvaku, Ambarisha, Bhagiradha. They were all emperors who followed the doctrine of Nishkama karma and attained the highest spiritual goal. It is an ancient way of life, and men of the greatest responsibilities in the world understood the secret of the work and practised it in their daily life. Arjuna, a prince of the Royal family of Bharata, could do it.

It is an answer to the doubt whether man could attain Moksha while engaged in the practical duties of the world, and whether work could lead to liberation. Nishkama karma purifies the mind and knowledge dawns at once.

It is said in the Yoga Vasista that Janaka performed many acts of righteousness without attachment, purified his mind thereby, and by enquiry into the Self, realised the Supreme Brahman.

The Lord further emphasises the need for good work even from a worldly point of view. Man should work at least to serve mankind, to show them the right path, and to set an example to them. Service to humanity has indeed a very high place in religion and philosophy.

Even to help a single individual is indeed a great work. To liberate oneself, and then to lead others to spiritual illumination is undoubtedly the highest act of service to mankind.

Wealth and lands, power and position could be won and lost. But moksha (freedom) and God-realisation is a blessing to humanity.

So the Lord advises Arjuna to work, not only for self-purification but to show the path of work to mankind and help the masses by his personal example.

@guruvaakya

**Therefore that work which should be done, do it well always without attachment. He who performs all the prescribed duties in a detached spirit will attain the Supreme.

~ Gita 3.19**

Work should be done:

1- without attachment
2- as prescribed by the Sastras.

Working in this way, the action becomes a means of liberation. So people should always perform Nishkama Karma. Detached work leads to the Supreme. Otherwise, it binds and becomes the cause of samsara. This is the secret of Karma yoga.

It is here explained how karma yoga along with other yogas leads to Moksha, freedom. By Nishkama Karma the mind is purified and then it ascends to the highest plane. Moksha is the purity of mind. Purity is attained by detached action.

To work without attachment or expectations of results of the work, to work unattached, brings the highest bliss and freedom. This secret of karma-yoga.

Question: How should a person perform work?

Answer: A person should act without attachment or expecting fruits of their work.

Question: What is the result of such work?

Answer: Moksha, the highest state of bliss and peace.

@guruvaakya

**Such self-realized sages have nothing to gain or lose either in discharging or renouncing their duties. Nor do they need to depend on other living beings to fulfill their self-interest.

~ Gita 3.18**

It is said that the Jivanmukta (Atma-Realized person) may work or may not work. In both, he has nothing to gain or lose. He is constantly rooted in the Atma and is perfectly satisfied in the Atma. And so. with work done or not done he has no concern whatsoever. There is nothing for him to achieve beyond the realisation of Self. So the law of Karma Yoga does not apply to him. But we find that some of the realised sages engage themselves in work to illuminate mankind with true knowledge.

The jivanmukta has nothing to seek from any being in the world. All pleasures, delights, and bliss are in the Atma, and he lives and moves and has his being in the Atma. So, what would he need and to which of the Devas should he offer sacrifice? Why and what for?

He has arrived at the central station of all Bliss and blessedness, the source from which all happiness emanates expressing itself through the mind, the senses, and the body.

It should be understood that the Lord has spoken of the Jivanmukta. But the ordinary seeker has still to go a long way before reaching the goal. He should perform work with detachment and devotion to God.

Of course, we see that men having completed their period of service qualify themselves for pension and live a free life. This does not apply to young men who are still students and workers. They should do their work and complete the term of work, and then only they qualify themselves to gain pension and be free from work. Otherwise, they lose their job and their livelihood.

So all should work with devotion and detachment, till by the grace of God, he is freed from the cycle of birth and death. This is the law for all common men.

@guruvaakya

**But he who rejoices, who is contented, who finds happiness in Atma only, has no work to perform.

~ Gita 3.17**

Except for the Paramahamsa who has directly experienced the Brahman or Atman, for all others Karma yoga is the inevitable law.

In this verse, the Lord describes the liberated sage. He finds all the supreme bliss 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.

In modern times the attachment and distractions of the material world have assumed dangerous proportions. All 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, money and sex. The true bliss of life is lost.

All are 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 bliss and peace 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 Atma-Realized sage is perfectly contented because he knows that all the bliss, 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 person does.

@guruvaakya