Gitabhasya of Jagannatha Prakasa 3:20-27: The Importance of Duty with Understanding

The Gitabhasya Of Jagannatha Prakasa Translation and Commentary by Jagannatha Prakasa (John of AllFaith © 1993/2008) Karma Yoga: The Yoga of Action 3:20: Through action Janaka and others attained perfection. Likewise, for the protection of the world you ought to perform your requisite actions. Seeradhwaja Janaka was a celebrated solar king of Videha. His capital was at Mithila. He was the father of the glorious Srimati Sita Devi, Divine Consort of Lord Rama. Janaka is celebrated in the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad and other important sastras (scriptures). By studying the examples of such people one can discover how to better serve the Lord. 3:21: Whatever preeminent people do sets the standard which others emulate. Arjuna is encouraged to perform his duty for so many reasons. One being that his exploits, like those of King Janaka and others, would encourage similar service. Indeed we are reading his conversation with Sri Krsna now and receiving so many blessings from it. By performing devotional service to the Lord blessings abound! Such actions should be performed to glorify the Lord. 3:22: O son of Partha, there are no required actions for Me in all the three worlds, nor do I desire to obtain anything, nonetheless, even I engage in activities. 3:23: If at any time I ceased from engaging in actions, all people would follow My path, O son of Partha. 3:24: If I did not act these worlds would all be ruined. There would be caste confusion and I, the Creator, would destroy all these living entities. Society works best when everyone performs their prescribed duties. The Varnashram Dharma (the original Caste System) was established to ensure social order, however as our present age of confusion and hypocrisy progressed castes and their proper roles in society were forgotten and abused. In time the Varnashram System ceased to work properly and indeed resulted in many abuses. I discuss this system in some detail in my bhasya on 1:42 of this work. Every living being in the material world is called upon to serve in diverse ways. Even Ek Devata, the One Divinity beyond all comprehension is engaged in needful activities even though He transcends all authority. Were Sri Krsna, who is the Supreme Person Incarnate, to cease from action all existence would immediately cease. Those who would attain enlightenment should perform their prescribed duties as their service to God without desiring the results of those activities. In this way the living entity achieves Oneness with God who is the Source of all actions. 3:25: Just as the ignorant act out of attachment to fruitive reactions O descendant of Bharata, so too those who are knowledgeable should act without attachment, for the protection of the world. 3:26: Those who are knowledgeable should not cause the intelligence of the ignorant to be disturbed with regards their attachment to actions, but rather should encourage them to yoke their minds [to Me] and thus favorably engage in all activities. Here is an important point and one of the hallmarks of the Sanatana Dharma. While many religious people focus on condemning those who are more sinful than themselves by pointing fingers and casting judgments, Sri Krsna rejects this hypocritical state of affairs. Attachment to the illusions of material existence is based on avidya (ignorance). Why condemn those who are seeking fulfillment merely because the path they are following is doomed to failure due to avidya (ignorance)? Their failures and the subsequent karma is punishment enough and who among us is without sin? Rather, the Lord advises those with spiritual understanding to encourage those who are overpowered by maya (illusion) to seek higher understanding and freedom. If such conditioned souls can be encouraged to recite the Names of the Lord, to visit the holy mandirs (temples) even occasionally, to take prasada (foods offered first to the Lord), if they will but give some thanks to the Lord for His infinite goodness they will make some progress. Having made some progress more advancement is certain. Condemnation merely encourages more sin. As Sri Krsna has previously explained: In this effort there is no loss or reversal. Even the slightest performance of this selfless duty releases one from the greatest fear. Bhagavad (Gita 2:40) Surely such compassion is preferable to condemnation. 3:27: All types of activities are being performed by the [three] gunas [qualities or aspects] of material nature, yet the living entity who is deluded by false ego thinks him/her self the doer. All materially bound living entities (souls) are seeking satisfaction, purpose, joy, reason -- however conceived. Some seek satisfaction by the acquisition of wealth, power, authority, fame. Others seek fulfillment or escape through sex, drugs, religion, tradition, art, music, friends, family, politics and so on. There are so many ways to seek that which can never be attained. These and all other material acquisitions are at best temporary. Once attained more is desired -- more wealth, more power, more conquests -- and even if one is fortunate and feels ones life is truly satisfying, sooner or later inevitable death comes and all is lost as the living entities returns to the seemingly endless cycle birth and death. Where is the satisfaction desired by the eternal soul? The attempts all fail because they are conditioned or tainted by the temporary qualities of material nature: The Three Gunas of Material Nature as discussed previous (2:45): Sattva Guna: Goodness, purity, balance, intelligence. Raja Guna: Passion, activity, energy. Tama Guna: Ignorance, delusion, darkness. The materially bound living entities are deluded by maya (illusion) and avidya (ignorance) and imagine themselves to be free, but it is only their accumulated karma that drives them on action by action, prison by prison. Om Jai Jagannatha! Sri Jagannatha Home Page Complete Srimad Bhagavad Gita Gitabhasya of Jagannatha Prakasa Sri Jagannatha Hinduism Pages Sri Jagannatha Sikhism Pages AllFaith.com: Buddhism Pages AllFaith.com