Sathya Sai Vahini - Post 50

Perform work with dedication

 

Karma is generally known to mean “work”. Transactions and actions of all kinds can be designated as “work”. There are no levels of work, like low or high. All work is holy, if it has to be done for the upkeep and uplift of life. This is why work (karma) is praised as highly sacrosanct and desirable and as fraught with meritorious or deleterious consequences.

 

The Hindus ascribe good fortune and bad, joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain, to the inescapable fruit of work, so some have labeled as idlers those who do not resist and overwhelm distress, disease, and pain. This is a partial, paralytic, view, which ignores the guiding principles and underlying philosophy of work and knows it only as reflected in worldly, material activities. This view is adopted and emphasized to help particular sections to progress, that is all.

 

Take some examples from within your own experience. The commuter working in an office, the farmer who lives on his own toil, the porter who depends on his physical strength to gather the meagre means of livelihood, the blacksmith, the potter, the carpenter, the washerman, the barber — they are conscious of the activities they have to follow and the sense of duty with which they have to follow them. They know that their lives cannot flow smoothly when they don’t fill their assignments with dedication. Therefore, they engage themselves in their profession as best as their intelligence, skills, and aspirations allow. But where is the need to prompt such people into further activity, to warn them and encourage them? We have to undertake this task only when they are unable or unwilling to carry on their duties.

 

Caste averts confusion of duties

 

In the case of Arjuna, who was confused about his duty and who withheld from battle since he was befogged by a feeling of renunciation, Sri Krishna said, “You have only to concentrate on the act and carry it out as you can. To act and only to act is the duty imposed on you.” That was the immortal nectarine advice of the Lord, and it is quoted by many. But it must be pointed out that this advice was given in the context of the restoration of righteousness. It deals with activities approved by holy scriptures (sastras), and not with worldly, sensual, and animal activities like seeking food, shelter, and mates.

 

Dharmaraja and others were immersed in worldly affairs, and they were past masters in dealing with worldly situations. They were engaged constantly in following and fostering duties and responsibilities laid down for the four castes in society and the four stages of life. Why then should they be prompted and persuaded, counseled and commanded to engage in battle? Krishna advised only Arjuna to resume his bow and arrows, presenting before him many an argument.

“You are born into the warrior (kshatriya) caste, the caste entrusted by social norms with execution of one social duty: fighting against injustice. Engaging in battle against wickedness is your responsibility. Do not desert that duty and discard that burden. People are bound to the inclinations implanted in them by nature. Again, consider this. People have to be ever involved in some activity or other; they can’t live without it even for a mo ment. Therefore, it is best that you act now, in accordance with the inclination and skill impressed on you by your ancestry and heredity.” This is the lesson taught to Arjuna, the path of the caste or class to which he belonged.

Does “work” connote only acts by which food etc. are procured? Aircraft, ships, factories, hospitals are products of work. They can also be said to involve only worldly material “work”. This type of work is important for living, and happy living here is preparation for spiritual advancement in the hereafter. The more faulty one’s activities in worldly pursuits, the less success there will be for the individual, the society, and the nation. There can be no two opinions on these points. Nevertheless, people do not exert as efficiently and as enthusiastically for spiritual advancement as they do for worldly success and fame. This is indeed a pity.

 

Love.