How can One Attain Ultimate Goal without Doing Prescribed Work?

‘There are very few slokas in the Gita which are more significant than the seven ïlokas from 20 th to 26 th of the 3 rd chapter.’ He also says that the word ‘lokasangrah’ should not be misinterpreted as social service or social welfare. This is a process of educating the people by an exemplar of devotion. The Gita has been written keeping in mind the highest level of emotions and spiritual experiences, and hence, the meaning of words chosen to describe certain aspects of life is not ordinary. But it should be considered extraordinary. The essence of lokasangrah has been explained very clearly in the following ïloka –

Yadyad³carati ïreÌÚhastattadevetaro jana¡ Ð Sa yatpram³ña® kurute lokastadanuvartate H (21/3)

Meaning: Whatsoever a great man does, other men also do that; whatever ideal he sets up, the world follows it.

Arjuna is in a dilemma – ‘How society is affected by my personal actions?’

He gets the answer from Lord Krishna in ïloka (21/3) that he comes in the category of distinguished persons, and his conduct may become the cause of rise or fall of society. None of his actions is personal; instead, all his actions are for educating the people. Most people look at others for deciding their lifestyles, and hence, a prominent person should behave with caution. It is easy to become a hero or icon, but when some ugly aspects of life are exposed, then the entire society, which used respect him earnestly, starts reproaching him.

The severe crisis of the present era is the shortage of saintly/ prudent persons who can serve as lighthouses of ethicalmoral conduct. There are plenty of leaders, but creative people are rare. The widespread moral decline that is seen today is the result of this crisis. The public is unable to see any guiding system. The entire process of Yug Nirman Mission and the whole endeavor of the Gayatri Pariwar is meant for awakening the same guiding souls, which used to serve as Purohits, lead the society and educate people by their conduct. It can be easily understood in today’s circumstances. With the aim that the human race should not get destroyed due to its moral decline, the Gita has been advising from the time immemorial that the process of production of great men must not stop. The method of organization of the nation should be based on an ethical basis, and the virtues of discipline, excellent moral character, and lifestyle befitting a Brahman should be visible in the leaders. Then only the revolution can happen. The virtues seen in the upper cadre of leadership will automatically descend to lower-level leaders

and then to the masses. This ideal alone can serve the basis of development in today’s circumstances.

Lord is very clearly saying that the public follows what the leaders do (lokastadanuvartate), not what they say. Lord is saying in the following ïlokas that He does not exempt himself from this rule. Though nothing remains to be achieved by Him, everything is easily accessible, even then He works continuously. If He neglects His work or stops working, then people will follow Him and, in the process, would get destroyed.

Na me P³rthasti kartavya® triÌu lokeÌu kiócana Ð N³nav³ptamav³ptavya® varta eva ca karmañi H (22/3)

Meaning: O Arjuna! There is no prescribed duty for me in the three worlds, nor is there anything unattained that should be attained by me; yet I engage Myself in action.

Yadi hyaha® na varteya® j³tu karmanyatandrita¡ Ð Mama vartm³nuvatante manuÌy³¡ P³rtha sarvaïa¡ H (23/3)

Meaning: Because, O Arjuna! If I would not ever engage Myself in action, unwearied, men would follow My path, in all respects.

How clear is the guidance for the prince Arjuna? Lord is saying clearly – ‘I am an Avatar (incarnation of God). I can attain whatever I wish; even then, I engage myself in action.’ When God cannot remain without performing his duties, how can a human being escape from them? He says further – ‘If I do not engage in work thoughtfully, then it will be harmful to society.’ Here we have to realize that the Avatar has to behave like a human being and not like an Avatar. The teacher in the infant class makes the students learn alphabets by giving demonstrations of objects, like A for Apple, B for Ball, C for Cat, etc. and makes them pronounce again and again. He has to teach them repeatedly. In the same way, Avatar descends to the level of human being and demonstrates how life should be lived. This is lokasangrah – educating the people. He has to live life like an artist and show it to the public. Param Pujya Gurudev showed how to live an ideal life as a Gruhastha (householder). There is no problem if you cannot take Vairagya or Sannyasa, cannot go to the Himalayas, etc. ‘How to engage in social service while living a family life, and how the home can be made a Tapovan (hermitage)? – I will demonstrate through my life an example of this.’ – so said Gurudev and accomplished it. He showed how to live in less money. He established a gigantic ‘Yug Nirman Yojana’ (Plan for ushering in the New Era of peace and harmony) in limited resources. Transforming the minds of millions of people and molding their fortunes in a better direction and living an ideal life for this purpose was a tough task that only Gurudev could accomplish. He knew who he was and why he came on this earth, but he descended to our level and showed how to live the life of a Loksevi (a person truly working for public welfare). Today millions of

wise householders are progressing on the path of spirituality. Not only they or their families got benefitted by it, but the good effects could be seen in their workplaces, their resident towns, and the whole society. Is this not a significant achievement?

In fact, Avatar, Guru, great men come for demonstration, for teaching the art of living, and for educating people through their lives. That is why it is advised that we should study, contemplate, and imbibe their teaching in our lives. A human being should learn humanity; for this purpose, Avatar does everything that is needed for humans. The next two ïlokas are very important. Lord says in the following ïlokas:

Sakt³¡ karmañyavidva®so yath³ kurvanti bh³rata Ð KuryavidvanstathasaktaïcikºrÌurlokasógraham H (25/3) ibheda® janayedajó³n³® karmasaógin³m Ð JoÌayetsarvakarm³ñi vidv³nyukta¡ sam³caran H (26/3)

Meaning: O Bharata (Arjuna)! As the ignorant men act from attachment to action, so should the wise act without attachment, wishing the welfare of the world! Let no wise man confuse the minds of ignorant people who are attached to fruitive actions; being unattached, he should perfectly perform all his prescribed activities, keeping them fully engaged.

Lord is advising that the tasks related to public welfare should be done with the same spirit as that done for getting the material benefits. Lord is expecting the knowledgeable persons to take up voluntarily the work of social welfare with the same interest as that shown by an ignorant person in satiating his passions. He also says that one should not confuse such people. The knowledgeable should perform his tasks wisely and inspire others to do so. In the opinion of Lord Shri Krishna, activity/ industriousness is a sacred power. In order to fulfill one’s desire, if a person takes up some activity enthusiastically, then we should not stop him. Once he becomes lethargic, he would stop doing anything, and the darkness of inactivity would engulf him. Knowledgeable persons, with their example, should work selflessly with them and gradually try to mold them towards social service.

In both the above ïlokas, the essence of one significant word ‘Jó³nº’ (meaning knowledgeable) person has been appropriately defined. Who is ‘Jó³nº’? One, who knows God, remains engrossed in the Divine, and keeps himself stable there, is ‘Jó³nº.’ He educates the masses through his conduct. He does not see what others are doing; he also does not confuse people regarding their actions. Instead, he always inspires them for noble tasks and helps them elevate to higher dimensions of spiritual life.

All of us become a victim of one vice, and that is, when we see others, we start overthinking about them. Instead of focusing on what we are doing, we think what the other person is doing and why he is doing that? A person involved in lokasangrah, educating others through his actions, does not get perturbed by the actions of others.

All the tasks are superior, whether it is writing for uplifting the masses or delivering a discourse or sweeping the floor or cleaning the utensils or spreading noble thoughts. There was a servant of Ramakrishna Paramhansa, named Rasik Bhangi. He used to clean the premises of the Ashram, including his room. Gradually Thakura immersed in Samadhi. Brahmanandaji was the first president of Ramakrishna Mission and used to live in Bellure Matha. Rasik Bhangi would clean the premises of the Dakshineshwar temple as usual. He became old. At the time of death, he felt that Thakura had come to pick him up in a Ratha (chariot). Saying so, he stood up and walked from the deathbed as if he had really gone in the Ratha. At the same time, Swami Brahmananda, sitting in Bellure Matha on the other side of Ganga, also had a similar experience. He immediately said to the people sitting in front of him – ‘See! Thakura has come, and he is taking Rasik Bhangi in a Ratha.’ How Rasik Bhangi attained the Supreme element? Swamiji explained this mystery – ‘His sadhana had depth. He did his work considering it to be worship, and it took him to perfection.’ When Rasik Bhangi could achieve the Supreme Goal of life by mere sweeping,

Raidasa by repairing the shoes, and Sikh Guru Arjun Dev by cleaning the utensils, then we can also achieve it, provided we consider the tasks given by Gurudev to be our duty and accomplish them faithfully.

There was a parijan in Shantikunj. Every day, since 1978, I could listen to the sound of sweeping him the front portion of Shantikunj Ashram around 2-2:30 AM, and he would accomplish this task before anyone could get up. I asked him why he did that. He replied – ‘Gurudev asked me to sweep this area first thing in the morning daily. Since then, I am doing it.’ This man would have certainly achieved Supreme Truth because he completed daily the task given by Gurudev faithfully. Those, who give long discourses, talk thousand things of Shastras, may have to take several births to attain the ultimate goal of life.

[To be continued][Note: This is the translation of Hindi version of ‘Yug Gita’ (Part 1) by Dr. Pranav Pandya,