Verse 66
Abandoning
all duties, take refuge in Me alone; I will liberate thee from all sins; grieve
not.
Sri Sathya Sai Baba writes on this verse,
Note that the Lord said, “Abandon all dharmas (sarva dharmaan parithyajya)”, not “abandon all
actions (sarva
karmaan parithyajya)”. What then is the meaning of this statement? It
means, “Perform all acts enjoined by the Lord for His glorification, without
getting involved and lost in discussions of dharma and
non-dharma.”
Although you know that there is nothing for you
to acquire, for you have placed complete trust in the Lord and live only as an
offering to the Lord, still, like Janaka and others, you have to engage in
activity for the well-being of the world.
The soul immanent in every being is not distinct
from the Atma or soul that is in you. So, be eager to
promote the well-being of all beings. Perform all acts enjoined by the
scriptures for this sake, in the spirit of dedication, with no eye on the
fruits thereof. This is true renunciation of the fruit of action (nish-kama-karma).
Understand the Gita well and, observing its
injunctions, establish yourselves in the attitude of renunciation of the fruit
of action. Do all duties as acts of worship, offerings to God. That is the sole
task. Leave the rest to Him: the fruit, the consequence, the result.
Then, you receive the grace of Hari and your life on earth is sanctified and
becomes worthwhile.
(Gita Vahini)
Swami Sivananda writes,
"I ask Thee which may
be the better tell me that decidedly. I am Thy disciple, Suppliant to
Thee teach me. All Dharmas, all action- righteous or unrighteous."
As per Vedanta
Absolute freedom from all actions
is intended to be taught here. Taking refuge in Me alone implies the knowledge
of unity without any thought of duality knowing that there is nothing else
except Me, the Self of all, dwelling the same in all. If thou art established
in this faith, I shall liberate thee from all sins, from all bonds of Dharma and Adharma by manifesting Myself as thy own Self.
To behold forms is the Dharma of the eye. The support or
substratum of all forms is Brahman.
When you look at an object behold Brahman,
Which is the one essence and abandon the form as it is illusory and unreal.
Have the same attitude towards the
other objects which pertain to the other senses. Give up the Jiva Dharma (the notions - I am the doer
of actions, I enjoy. I am a Brahmana,
I am a Brahmachari, I am endowed with
a little knowledge and power, etc. and get yourself established in Brahma Bhavana (the understanding or knowledge
I am Brahman). This is what is meant
by taking refuge in Lord Krishna, according to the Vedantins.
In the path of devotion
Work ceaselessly for the Lord but
surrender the fruits of all actions to the Lord. Take the Lord as your sole
refuge. Live for Him. Work for Him. Serve Him in all forms. Think of Him only.
Meditate on Him alone. See Him in all forms.
Think of Him only. Meditate on Him
alone. See Him everywhere. Worship Him in your heart. Consecrate your life, all
actions, feelings and thoughts to the Lord. You will rest in Him. You will
attain union with Him. You will attain immortal supreme peace and eternal
bliss. This is the view of another school of thought.
Sankara's views on
karma
Sri Sankara very strongly refutes
the idea that knowledge in conjunction with Karma
(action) produces or leads to liberation. He says that Karma and knowledge may not go together in the same man, that karma helps the man to get purification
of the heart, and that right knowledge of the Self alone will give him absolute
freedom from Samsara.
He says that work and knowledge
are like darkness and light; that action is possible only in this universe of
illusory phenomena which is the projection of ignorance and knowledge dispels
this ignorance.
We will continue contemplating on
this verse in the next post as well and arrive at some conclusion after knowing
what few other Masters have said on this unique verse.
Love.
