When the young man-of-action was told that he must "fulfil his duties at least for the guidance of the world" (Lokasangrahamevapi sampashyan kartumarhasi) , he might be tempted to wonder how his personal actions will affect the world of man.
Krishna explains, (111-21) "Whatever a great man does, that is imitated by all others. What he demonstrates by his actions, that alone people follow. " We, as a generation today, do not realise how our licentious actions are leaving behind a trail for the coming generations to follow. The majority of people only imitate. They have not the originality to plan and act independently. "Whatever great men do, that is followed by others (yadyadacharati shreshthah, tattadevetaro janah).
And everyone is "great" (shreshthah) to someone at least. Thus, even an uneducated beggar is Shreshtha to his children. The more educated we are, the more people look up to us. There is .an increase in load of responsibility upon the "leaders" to live a chaste, pure, and ideal life — else, others will blindly follow them, and the entire community will be shattered with internal disintegration and moral dissipation. History text-books scream the truth of this law-of-life in the stories of the mighty men of excesses and their times.
In short, moral beauty, cultural glory, national integrity, creative productivity, disciplined progress and such other virtues must always come from the top to the base of the social ladder.
Revolution comes from the bottom to the top; evolution proceeds from the top and seeps down to the lowest level.
"Whatever the great one ( shreshthapurushah ) demonstrates in his life (sa yat pramanam kurute), that alone the world follows" ( lokastadanuvartate ), — meaning, not what the leaders say, but what they do alone is demonstrative enough for the masses to follow.
Krishna telling about himself says that even though he has nothing to gain in the world, yet he keeps on tirelessly working, "Else people following my way of life will learn to idle away their days and destroy themselves with mental dissipations." If Krishna is considered as the pure self, he must continuously, by his presence, illumine all physical, mental and intellectual experiences......... else "I will be the cause for confusions". (sankarasya cha karta syam), in individuals, and "of destruction of these people" in the community. Krishna says, (111-25) "Just as the unwise, act with attachment, O Bharata, so should the wise, wanting to guide the world, act without attachment." Let the wise one, without selfish desires and vanity act in the same tempo of sincerity, self-application and intense zeal in the service of the world. Voluntary work in service-programmes must be undertaken and worked out with as much careful efficiency and deligent application as we work for any wordly profits.
Here an enthusiast may immediately be tempted to declare that all selfish actions should end. Krishna insists that such confusions should not be created in the mind of the immature who are now acting vigorously under the compulsion of their ego and desires. He says, (111-26) "One should not unsettle the understanding of the ignorant, who are attached to action. The wise must himself steadily act, and should engage the ignorant in all work."
The majority, work enthusiastically under the impulse of their ego-sense, for the fulfilment of their desires. The dynamism of activity is a sacred force, and so we should not halt them in their work and confuse their minds. Once they stop their efforts they will sink into sad inertia —— into Tarn as The avise-man should join them and working with them, slowly by example, make them work selflessly for the service of the community. The youth of a nation should exemplify themselves, in the purity of their actions and in the vigour of their efforts; others watching them will come to imitate them slowly —— without losing the tempo of their daily efforts.
Krishna declares the difference in the actions of the wise and the unwise (111-27) "All actions are performed by the modes of the mind (Prakriti). The fool whose mind is deluded by egoism, thinks, 'I am the doer'".
Actions are expressions of Vasanas, and the quality of Vasanas determine the quality of performance at the body level, But the ignorant one, identifying with thoughts and body (ahankaravimoodhatma), considers that "I am the doer" (Kartaham iti manyate). Hence he is ever tied down to his work —— with no freedom to act well and enjoy fully.
(111-28) "One who has the true insight into the modes of the mind and the actions precipitated by them, understanding that Gunas as "sense-organs" move among Gunas as "objects" —— he no longer gets attached to them" — this, declares the Lord, is all the difference. A child may play with a balloon —— its father also may play. When the balloon bursts, the child cries, the father roars with laughter; the child plays in 'ignorance* while the father plays with the 'knowledge' of the perishable nature of the balloon; he was expecting this to happen at any moment.
Similarly, the wise man knows full well that the Gunas as 'sense-organs' play among the Gunas as 'sense-objects'. The Vasanas in us determine both our equipments of enjoyment, and the objects of enjoyment. So he who realises this truth is never caught in the infatuation of the world-game ( na sajjate ).
The Lord emphasises, (111-29) "Those who are completely deluded by the modes of their mind (Gunas) remain attached to those Gunas and their actions; the man of perfect knowledge should not unsettle the people of dull-wit and imperfect knowledge." This was already said by Krishna earlier and he now repeats it for emphasis.
As a recapitulation we may enumerate the main points of the arguments :
1) At least for the guidance of the world every educated and cultured man must dynamically act in the fields of selfless service.
2) The Lord has no duty to perform yet He does work to keep the world in order.
3) A wise-man should in no way discourage others from the performance of the duties by renouncing actions himself, or by calling men to do so. On the other hand the wise-man should perform all duties himself and encourage and inspire all others in the community to do so.
4) A man-of-wisdom should never unsettle man attached to vigorous activity by a sudden renunciation of all their duties.
( Courtesy :- Geeta Office, Powai)
Topic: THE SCIENCE OF RELIGION By : Swami Chinmayanand Pleading For a Life of Service (Read 3182 times)