Which actions must one never renounce? || Acharya Prashant, on Bhagavad Gita (2020)

Acharya Prashant

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Transcript

00:00Shreemad Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 18, verses 5 till 9.

00:20The work of Yagya, Gift and Austerity should not be relinquished, but it should indeed

00:31be performed, for Yagya, Gift and Austerity are purifying to the wise.

00:39But even these works, O Path, should be performed, leaving attachment and the fruits, such as

00:48my best and certain conviction.

00:53But the renunciation of obligatory action is not proper.

00:58Abandonment of the same from delusion is declared to be tamasic.

01:06He who from fear of bodily trouble relinquishes action because it is painful, thus performing

01:13a rajasic relinquishment, he obtains not the fruit thereof.

01:20When obligatory work is performed, O Arjun, only because it ought to be done, leaving

01:27attachment and fruit, such relinquishment is regarded as sattvic.

01:39Sir Namaste, it's being said, renunciation of obligatory action is not proper.

01:46What is meant by obligatory actions?

01:49Is Shri Krishna talking about my social responsibilities or something else?

01:56First of all, the English word obligatory is not quite proper.

02:12A more befitting word would be destined action, not obligatory action.

02:40It is not nirdharit karma, it is niyat karma.

02:52It is not quite an obligation.

03:01It is the only real option.

03:06It is your destiny.

03:14You are being advised to do that which your destiny has anyway preordained.

03:27What is it that has been preordained for you by your destiny?

03:35Social responsibilities, familial responsibilities, following the code of your sect, cult or religion,

03:51following the dictates of your desires and fancies.

03:57Is that your destiny?

04:02Nobody in his right senses would agree to this.

04:10Destiny is the end.

04:18Destiny is the final point for the sake of which we all exist and keep moving.

04:30What is it that we finally want?

04:33Where is it that we ultimately want to reach?

04:37That is destiny, obviously.

04:42Destination, the end, the summit, the culmination, the total fulfillment, absolute completion

05:10– all these point towards destiny.

05:18So what is it that we are moving towards?

05:24Look at any human being, any conscious being, what is it that they ultimately want?

05:32We keep wanting, right?

05:35What is the ultimate want?

05:38Here is a hint.

05:40If the want is really final and ultimate, then it would leave you with no residual or

05:52next want.

05:57So we want to reach the end of wanting.

06:05We want completion, fulfillment in such a final way that we are left with nothing to

06:16want anymore.

06:20That's the destination.

06:23That's what all spiritual process is aimed at – a peace, a contentment so absolute

06:38that you are left with no trace of incompleteness, bitterness, hope, future, desire.

07:02That's the destiny.

07:07That's the destiny because if we don't reach it, we will keep moving.

07:18How can you stop if you are still discontented?

07:23How can you stop if you are still unfulfilled?

07:25You will have to continue your movement just as it has continued since time eternal.

07:41So if that is the destiny, what is destined action – Niyat Karam?

07:51Destiny is the end of all Karam.

07:53Then what is Niyat Karam?

07:55What is destined action?

07:59Go into it.

08:05You have to act in a way that brings you to your destiny and destiny is the end of both

08:14the actor and action.

08:18But destined action is the action that brings you to your destiny and it can bring you to

08:23your destiny only when such action is guided by the destiny alone.

08:32You see, whosoever guides or dictates your action would make you act in a way that suits

08:45the guide, in a way that fulfills the aspirations and matches the character of the guide, right?

09:01If you are to reach your destiny, then can miscellaneous forces of Prakriti be the right

09:12guide for your movement?

09:16If miscellaneous forces are guiding you, they will direct you towards miscellaneous destinations.

09:26Isn't that obvious?

09:30If you are to reach your destiny, then only your destiny can guide you and if your destiny

09:38is truth, then only truth can guide you towards truth.

09:45Only truth can illuminate your path towards the truth.

09:56Therefore, your destined action is to get rid of your falsenesses, act in a way inspired

10:05by the truth that you hack down the shackles of your falseness.

10:15If your destiny is freedom, then you have to act in a way that negates your bondages.

10:25That's what Niyat Karma is.

10:27Niyat Karma has been widely and grossly misinterpreted and misrepresented.

10:34People have said Niyat Karma is obligatory action which means you have to do things that

10:42the society expects of you or stuff that your culture expects of you or you have to engage

10:51in particular types of behavior or conduct and that they have named as obligatory action.

10:58It is not, obviously.

11:00Your obligation is towards no one except Krishna.

11:04Is that not the essence of the Gita?

11:08Even if you are to engage in obligatory action, who is it that you are obliged to?

11:15Are you obliged to the priest and the pastor and to all the runners of the society?

11:31Is it to them that you are obliged?

11:34What is it that you really owe to them?

11:36Nothing.

11:37Then how can you be obliged to them?

11:42All that you owe to yourself is your freedom.

11:48And you heavily owe that to yourself, don't you?

11:51You are indebted to yourself.

11:54That's your obligation if we are to talk the language of obligation at all.

12:01That's your only obligation.

12:04Your only obligation, in other words, is to reach your destination.

12:11That's your only responsibility.

12:17You are not indebted towards anybody else in any serious way.

12:23Yes, there are superficial obligations and debts that you must keep settling.

12:33That's fine.

12:34But all that cannot be taken too seriously.

12:39Even if those debts are settled fully, still you would be as deeply mired in misery as

12:46you currently are.

12:49Let's say you owe a couple of lakhs to someone.

12:54Let's say there are certain functions to be performed in the family and you feel responsible

13:02for them.

13:08Let's say you have to provide for somebody's education.

13:13Let's say you feel that it is very important for you to get somebody married off.

13:21And let's say that you are able to take care of all these obligations.

13:27Now where does that put you?

13:29In a very sweet and sacred spot?

13:32Are you joyful and contended now?

13:37The one you wanted to marry off has been married off.

13:42The loans that you needed to settle have been settled.

13:49The house that you wanted to build has been built.

13:54All the obligations that you could think and dream of have indeed now been taken care of.

14:04Now where does that leave you?

14:09Free?

14:11Liberated?

14:15So fine, it's a part of the drama of life that you keep settling some dues.

14:25There are no free lunches.

14:29If you just have enjoyed a full meal somewhere, it is obligatory upon you to settle the bill.

14:37It's alright, keep doing all those things.

14:39But those things can't be taken very seriously because they aren't seriously going to take

14:47you to your destination.

14:51To go to your destination, your internal compass has to be aligned in a very different way.

14:58It has to be aligned to a very different field.

15:07Even while performing your so-called daily routine, you have to constantly keep thinking,

15:16how are my actions directed towards my liberation?

15:27How are my actions directed towards my liberation?

15:35You cannot stop certain actions.

15:37You will get up, you will take bath, you will brush your teeth, you will have food, you

15:47need some clothes, you will talk to people, you need sleep.

15:54All those things are there.

15:56The question is, those things are indispensable, but have I aligned those actions with the

16:10greater direction of my liberation?

16:16Being a human being, you will walk, but which direction are your legs taking you?

16:27Being a human being, you will talk, but who is it that you are talking to?

16:34Being a human being, you will eat, but how really have you earned your bread?

16:41In whose company are you breaking your bread?

16:48Those are the questions that you seriously need to answer.

16:52Those are the questions that will decide whether you are doing your Niyat Karam.

17:02Niyat Karam, I repeat, is not about sticking to a particular code of pre-decided conduct.

17:11Niyat Karam is a very lively and dynamic thing.

17:17Every moment you have to be alert and conscious.

17:22Every moment you have to keep asking yourself, this action that I am doing, this decision

17:27that I am taking, is it leading me towards liberation or have I given in to my ego?

17:37Where is this coming from and hence what is it taking me towards?

17:54In the middle of all your daily miscellaneous actions, keep asking yourself, what is the

18:09sum total of all of this?

18:12What's the net result?

18:18Am I getting lost in the maze of the thousand little things that happen to me daily or have

18:28I remained inside to see what the resultant, the net resultant of my entire day is?

18:37And there are a thousand little things that happen to everybody every day, don't they?

18:47The important thing is to keep the resultant in mind.

18:54What's the sum total of all of this?

19:01Giving undue importance to something micro, something trivial is quite tempting and equally

19:14tempting is to give little importance to that which deserves tremendous attention.

19:39The little things that we do every day, I repeat, are unavoidable.

19:46What is however possible is to align them to the one great thing that we live for.

20:03The man living badly sleeps, wakes up, walks, eats, talks, works, sleeps.

20:25The man living rightly sleeps, wakes up, walks, eats, works, sleeps.

20:42We all do the same things ostensibly, seen from a distance, apparently both are just

20:59living and acting but go closer and pay attention and you will find that there's a great difference

21:15between talking and talking, eating and eating, earning and earning, walking and walking.

21:33Gautam Buddha was walking the jungles, so were a thousand robbers, right?

21:44And an uninitiated eye would not spot the difference.

21:50So one fellow just walked past me, he was Gautam Buddha and then there is another fellow

21:59who walked past me, he is a robber.

22:02They are the same because both are just walking but there is a great difference between walking

22:08and walking.

22:09When Gautam Buddha is walking, his walk is aligned with his destiny.

22:19His walk is being controlled now by something beyond the ego.

22:27Even the robber is walking, his steps, his walk are being commanded by something very

22:34trivial.

22:38That's the difference.

22:43That alignment is extremely important and alignment is a modern and moderate word.

22:54In classical spirituality, this alignment of your daily life with your ultimate purpose

23:03is called surrender.

23:06You do whatever you do but you surrender it to an ultimate purpose.

23:17So you do speak, you do shout, you do stand still and you do run hard, you do all those

23:25things but all those things are now being done at the command of something far bigger

23:35than your limited interests, your limited ego.

23:48That is called Niyat Karma.

23:50Never be confused again, Niyat Karma is not what the elders have decided for you, Niyat

23:58Karma is not what the traditions have decided for you.

24:12Niyat Karma is that which takes you to your dissolution which is your destiny, which is

24:25your desire ultimate.

24:34Born a human being, you will have to act, act rightly, act for the right purpose, live

24:44for the right end.

24:48That alone is the right life.

24:58Getting it?

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