By Gautam Saha
A MANâS WORK IS HIS LIFE
A manâs work is the centre of his life ( unless he is a gentleman of leisure and does not need to earn a living, for one or more of a variety of reasons ). His interests, leanings, education, hobbies, lifestyle all revolve around and are centred on his work. In time, a manâs work becomes his passion. He is identified by his work, and the more successful he is seen in that work, the more successful is his life supposed to be.
WHAT IS WORK AND WHAT IS WORSHIP ?
There is a common saying, popularized by Mahatma Gandhi, âwork is worshipâ. The word âworshipâ is defined as âreverent honour and homage paid to God or a sacred personageâ. On the other hand âworkâ in its most generalized conception is defined as âexertion or effort directed to produce or accomplish something tangible or concreteâ. Unless there is a defined connection or equation between the two words âworkâ and âworshipâ, the saying âwork is worshipâ is, in all probability, a random connection, and, taken by itself, lacks authenticity or logic.
An ass works very hard throughout the day. If he does not, his master will beat him with a stick. Why does he work ? At the end of the working day, he gets some food to eat, and probably wants to have some sex with the she donkey, at the risk of being kicked repeatedly by her. Some hard earned sleep, and then back to the grind the next day. Can this work be called worship ?
A robber works to feed his family and himself, a prostitute also does the same. A butcher, who may apparently be a nice person, also slaughters many animals everyday to feed himself and his family. Can we call this work worship ? As we move up the social and educational order, the type of work becomes more and more âsophisticatedâ. A doctor cures many patients everyday and in the process amasses a lot of wealth for himself. Is this work worship ? A chief executive has to take decisions which affect his own ( very high ) income and the incomes of others. He might resign if his income is sought to be reduced. Where is the worship in his work ? So where should we draw the line ? What is the differential due to which work actually becomes worship ?
WHAT IS THE SRIMAD BHAGAVAD- GITA ?
The context of the Srimad Bhagavad â Gita is a conversation between Lord Krishna and the Pandava prince Arjuna taking place in the middle of the battlefield before the start of the battle of Kurukshetra, with armies on both sides ready to battle. Responding to Arjuna’s confusion and moral dilemma about fighting his own cousins who command a tyranny imposed on a disputed empire, Lord Krishna explains to Arjuna his duties as a warrior and prince, and elaborates on different Yogic and Vedantic philosophies, and explains different ways in which the soul can reach the Supreme Being. This has led to the Srimad Bhagavad â Gita often being described as a concise guide to Hindu theology and also as a practical, self contained guide to life. During the discourse, Lord Krishna reveals his identity as the Supreme Being himself (Svayam Bhagavan), blessing Arjuna with an awe inspiring vision of His divine universal form.
((( The Srimad Bhagavad – Gita is universally renowned as the jewel of India’s spiritual wisdom and its seven hundred concise verses provide a definitive guide to the science of self realization. No other philosophical or religious work reveals, in such a lucid and profound way, the nature of consciousness, the self, the universe and the Supreme. ( from www.asitis.com ) )))
WHAT DOES THE SRIMAD BHAGAVAD â GITA STATE ABOUT WORK ?
(2.47)
karmany evadhikaras te
ma phalesu kadacana
ma karma-phala-hetur bhur
ma te sango ‘stv akarmani
You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself to be the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty.
There are three considerations here : prescribed duties, capricious work, and inaction ( karma, vikarma and akarma ). Prescribed duties refer to activities performed while one is entangled in the modes of material nature. Capricious work means actions without the sanction of scripture, and inaction means not performing one’s prescribed duties. The Lord advised that Arjuna be not inactive, but that he perform his prescribed duty without being attached to the result. One who is attached to the result of his work is also the cause of the action. Thus he is the enjoyer or sufferer of the result of such actions.
How many of us work without being attached to the result of such work ? Hardly anyone, one should imagine. In fact, modern management pundits point to the necessity of a tangible material goal to every action and every work, in order to make work more âefficientâ. This itself is a form of attachment and cannot be called detachment in any sense of the term. Hence most work by modern man is in the state of attachment to results and are not aligned to the injunction of scripture, and therefore, certainly not worship. Thus, this shloka of the Srimad Bhagavad â Gita, though perhaps the most quoted, is the least understood, and given the least relevance in material life.
(3.9)
pyajnarthat karmano ‘nyatra
loko ‘yam karma-bandhanah
tad-artham karma kaunteya
mukta-sangah samacara
Work done as a sacrifice for Vishnu has to be performed, otherwise work binds one to this material world. Therefore, O son of Kunti, perform your prescribed duties for His satisfaction, and in that way you will always remain unattached and free from bondage.
One has to work for the satisfaction of the Lord. While performing such activities, one is in the liberated stage. Any other work done in this material world will be a cause of bondage, since both good and evil work have their reactions, and any reaction binds the performer to material life. This is the art of doing work, and in the beginning this process requires very expert guidance. One should therefore act very diligently, preferably under the direct instruction of Lord Krsna Himself ( under whom Arjuna had the opportunity to work ) â by following the Srimad Bhagavad â Gita, and / or under the guidance of a bonafide spiritual master. Nothing should be performed for oneâs personal sense gratification.
ONLY WORK DONE FOR THE SATISFACTION OF THE LORD IS WORSHIP
Any work, however beneficial it may be in the material sense, unless conjoined with or dovetailed into service offered to the Lord, cannot be called worship, whatever be the intentions of the doer. If the beneficiary of the work is seen by the worker as having the Lord seated within his heart, then of course, the worker is working directly for the Lord Himself. Mother Teresa saw Lord Jesus Christ in every human she served, however humble that person, or however pitiable his condition. She was therefore serving Lord Jesus Christ personally, lovingly and directly ( acting in bhakti yoga ). Mother Teresa is therefore a classic and contemporary example of a highly advanced bhakta yogi, whose work was her worship to the Lord.
However, if the worker, however hard he works, does not see or refuses to see the Lord seated within the heart of the beneficiary of the work, then that work binds him to the material world and cannot be called worship by any stretch of the imagination. A stubborn refusal to see the Lord in His paramatma swarup in other living beings will not elevate the worker spiritually, and will bind him perennially to material nature and the chakravyuh of the material condition.
Hence the Srimad Bhagavad â Gita states (5.18) :
vidya-vinaya-sampanneÂ
brahmane gavi hastiniÂ
suni caiva sva-pake caÂ
panditah sama-darsinah
The humble sage, by virtue of true knowledge, sees with equal vision a learned and gentle brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog eater ( chandaal ).
A God conscious person does not make any distinction between species or castes. The brahmana and the outcaste ( chandaal ) may be different from the social point of view, or a dog, a cow, or an elephant may be different from the point of view of biological difference of species, but these differences of body are meaningless or insignificant from the viewpoint of a transcendentalist. As far as the bodies in different social divisions or different species of life are concerned, the Lord is equally disposed to each and every one of them. The bodies are material productions of different modes of material nature, but the soul and the Supersoul within the body are of the same spiritual quality. The Supersoul ( Paramatma ) is present in all bodies without distinction, as the witness and permitter.
THE THREE KINDS OF KNOWLEDGE
(18.20-22)
sarva-bhutesu yenaikam
bhavam avyayam iksate
avibhaktam vibhaktesu
taj jnanam viddhi sattvikam
prthaktvena tu yaj jnanam
nana-bhavan prthag-vidhan
vetti sarvesu bhutesu
taj jnanam viddhi rajasam
yat tu krtsna-vad ekasmin
karye saktam ahaitukam
atattvartha-vad alpam ca
tat tamasam udahrtam
That knowledge by which one undivided spiritual nature is seen in all existences, undivided in the divided, is knowledge in the mode of goodness ( satt gunn ).
That knowledge by which a different type of living entity is seen to be dwelling in different bodies is knowledge in the mode of passion ( rajah gunn ).
And that knowledge by which one is attached to one kind of work as the all in all, without knowledge of the truth, and which is very meager, is said to be in the mode of darkness ( tamah gunn ).
The “knowledge” of the common man is almost always in the mode of darkness or ignorance because every living entity in conditional life is born into the mode of ignorance ( tamah gunn ). One who does not develop knowledge through the authorities or scriptural injunctions has knowledge ( however sophisticated, âadvancedâ, or deep that knowledge ) that is limited to the body, or the material world. He is not much concerned about acting in terms of the directions of scripture. For such persons, God is money, and knowledge is the means to the ultimate satisfaction of bodily demands and sense gratification. The more money he has, the more ârefinedâ or âsophisticatedâ the quality of the sense gratification. Such knowledge has no connection with the Absolute Truth. It is more or less like the knowledge of the animals : the knowledge of eating, sleeping, mating and defending. Such knowledge is described by the Lord as the product of the mode of darkness.
In summary, knowledge concerning the spirit soul beyond this body is called knowledge in the mode of goodness, knowledge producing many theories and doctrines by dint of mundane logic and mental speculation is the product of the mode of passion, and knowledge concerned with only keeping the body comfortable is said to be in the mode of ignorance.
WORK AS A SERVICE TO THE LORD IS WORK FOR MANKIND
(2.48)
yoga-sthah kuru karmani
sangam tyaktva dhananjaya
siddhy-asiddhyoh samo bhutva
samatvam yoga ucyate
Be steadfast in yoga, O Arjuna. Perform your duty and abandon all attachment to success or failure. Such evenness of mind is called yoga.
Yoga means to concentrate the mind upon the Supreme by controlling the ever restless senses. And who is the Supreme? The Supreme is the Lord. And because He Himself is telling Arjuna to fight, Arjuna has nothing to do with the results of the fight. Gain or victory are not supposed to be Arjunaâs concern. His concern should only be to satisfy the Lord by his determination and actions.
âMadhav seva is manav sevaâ and not vice versa. Serving man in whatever form of work, however exalted, or seemingly very benevolent or beneficial, if not dovetailed into service for the Lord, only binds one to the material world and cannot be considered as work in transcendence, neither is there any element of worship about it.
Gautam Saha
This is a very good analysis. The “humanism” movement is an atheistic movement. It places mankind above all else. Because people cannot “see” God, they consider Him out of the picture. We see horrible things happening in the world and question, “how can God let this happen?” The result is “humanism” or “nature worship”, or any permutation of this.
The fact is (for fortunate souls) God is not dead. He is the ultimate Permitter, yes, but our vision of material transformations clouds our judgement. When I first came to Krishna consciousness in 1970, I heard many Hindus say that duty, as it related to one’s work, was the message of the Bhagavad gita. This was based on Arjuna’s initial refusal to fight, and then his later agreement to fight. The important element of Krishna is forgotten by these arguments. How great is Krishna!! Arjuna fought for Krishna, on Krishna’s order, and for Krishna’s purpose.
That is one issue. The other issue is that the activity of this world is external to the soul. Happiness and distress are caused by the jiva-souls’ attachment BG 13.21). The discussion of ksetra (the field) and ksetrajna (the knower of the field) is discussed in the Bhagavad gita, and is subtle and difficult to understand…but it can be understood. Thus, we learn of the importance of work as bhaktas only in as much as we dedicate our work to Krishna, and its fruits as well, as Prabhu notes. This is medicine for the soul!!! Someone might say, “what value does sacrifice have?” Krishna says, “bhoktaram yajna tapasam” that Krishna is the Enjoyer of our sacrifices. That is the value. And, when offered to Krishna with love, then Krishna says that He will accept it. Just think how Krishna accepted even a banana peel from Vidura, because it was offered with love. Krishna wants our love. Krishna wants our love. Krishna wants our love.
Srila Prabhupad opened our conconsciousness with the salve of transcendental knowledge. He gave us the basis for discrimination. We must always search for the truth and never make our own standard as the gold standard. Our Gurudeva leads the way, places light before us so we can stay upon the path, and is the Lord of our heart.
Pusta Krishna das
Thank you to Gautam Prabhu for this article. Thank you also to Pusta Krishna Prabhu for his, as usual, excellent comment…
If I may throw in my menial and insignificant realization(s) in, I would say that I both agree and disagree with our dear writer friend…
I agree in the sense that yes, action has to be offered in sacrifice to Vishnu and Krishna, and that selfless action, performed for the pleasure of Sri Guru and Krishna is the goal…
But I would beg to disagree, to some degree, in the overall tone of dismissing anyone and everyone who may not be on that highest platform of ahaituki apratihata seva, i.e. unmotivated and uninterrupted devotional service, which is the level of pure devotion, on which all sadakas, including our dear writer friend, may not be themselves….
Otherwise, one has to envision and include in one’s reasoning and presentation the concept of progressiveness… bahunam janmanam ante:
bahunam janmanam ante â¨jnanavan mam prapadyate â¨vasudevah sarvam iti â¨sa mahatma su-durlabhah
After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare. B.g. 7.19
In the same way that most sadakas may not have reached the level of pure devotion and hence of ahaituki apratihata seva, one may also considers that the so called “karmis”, the fruitive workers, are also on their way, as spirit souls, i.e. devotees of Krishna (jivera svarupa hoya, Krishnera nitya das), engaged in serving the Lord and His energies, one way or the other: “All follow my path, O Arjuna…”.
Therefore, at a lower level, when parents look after their defenseless child, they also serve another soul, dear to Krishna. Thus, by serving that soul nicely, they also please Krishna and set a good example in society… So does the parent who goes out and earns the daily bread, at the sweat of his forehead!
Action is better than inaction. So, we have to encourage people to first perform their duty, may they seem to be “material” duties… By doing so, they will cultivate, to some extent, some form of renunciation to their propensity for selfish enjoyment, which may be conducive for further spiritual advancement…
Hence, from a preaching point of view, I would suggest that we should not present an either black or white presentation, which may, on one hand, encourage those who consider themselves to be the happy few who are supposed to have understood, to some extent, the Vaishnava siddantha and put it in practice, to some extent, in their lives and, on the other hand, discourage the mass of people, who may feel that instead of seeing the good in them and encouraging them, we are rather a bunch of critics, who boost their egos by thinking themselves to be right, and everyone else wrong⌠which will lead the former group to, indeed, remain few in number!
So, we have to use pedagogy and preach with a straw in between the teeth. By nature, a devotee should be a worshiper of qualities in others, as the jivas are also part and parcels of Krishna and as all qualities and skills emanate from HimâŚ
So, this equal vision, has to transcribe into love and concern for the welfare and thus the spiritual advancement of othersâŚ
So, in conclusion, I would humbly dare say that, yes, work is worship!
Worship may be at different levels, in different modes, as knowledge is. But, somehow or other, the jivas are struggling with material nature:
mamaivamso jiva-loke â¨jiva-bhutah sanatanah â¨
manah-sasthanindriyani â¨prakrti-sthani karsati
The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal, fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind. B.g. 15.7
Considering this, the heart of the devotee bleeds and he wants to rescue the jivas from this ocean of births and deathsâŚ.
Some may argue, that the strategy may differ. Some may be in favor of the blow in the face and the knock-down. Some may be like patient and merciful teachersâŚ
It all depends on oneâs personal conditioned nature and possibly, on one’s personal spiritual advancement. However, in my humble opinion, in order to become transcendental (and efficient) preachers, we have to renounce our own ahankaraâŚ
Then, we will be genuinely concerned with the welfare of the jivas and not so much with proving our so called superiority over others, be it in our limited understanding of this transcendental philosophy, as long as we remain ourselves, to some extent, on the conditioned platform.
There may be more to say, but work, duty, i.e. seva is calling me!
Hare Krishna
Yours in service
Puskaraksa das