ISHAVASYA UPANISHAD : - 3.

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Sunday, February 06, 2022. 19:00.

“The All-Pervading Reality” -3.

2. THE PATH OF KARMA YOGA :

Mantram- 2 : Dedicated Loving Service :

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Reflections by Swami Gurubhaktananda on the 12 Lectures delivered by Guruji, Swami Tejomayanandaji, to the 15th Batch Vedanta Course at Sandeepany Sadhanalaya, Powai, Mumbai : July 11th – July 16th, 2012.

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Adi Shankaracharya, Swami Sivananda, Swami Tapovanji, Swami Chinmayananda.
SERVE  LOVE  GIVE  PURIFY  MEDITATE  REALISE

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Mantram-2.

"Kurvan eva iha karmaani, jijeevishet shatagm samaah;

evam tvayi na anyathaa itah asti,  na karma lipyate nare."

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Translation :

1 Kurvan eva iha karmaani,            = Performing works here in this world,

2 jijeevishet shatagm samaah;         = one should desire to live a full hundred years.

3 evam tvayi na anyathaa itah asti,  = This alone is the path; there is no other.

4 na karma lipyate nare.                 = Action does not cling to a man following this path.

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Commentary :

It is very clear that this verse is addressing a more common set of people than the first Mantra. From the very sincere and committed seekers who have no attraction for the world, we shift to the virtuous householder who has to play his role in society, yet he is God fearing and desires to make some spiritual progress in his life.

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1.  The standard demanded of the virtuous householder is lower than that expected of a Sannyasin. Karma Yoga is most suited to his capacity. He is shown the right means – Karma Yoga – to earn wealth and fulfill his desires legitimately. Karma Yoga is the devotional path of service to the Lord. 

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2 .Aim to live a hundred years: This is the only instruction given in this Pada. We see here the Upanishadic style which uses minimum words to bring out maximum meaning. The Upanishad expects us to reflect deeply to grasp what it is implying in such terse language.Living the clean life of a Karma Yogi he is sure to “live a full hundred years”, the expected life-span for healthy human beings.

Jijeevishet: “should desire”; this verb is in the Imperative Mood, suggesting that it is an injunction for the householder to follow this path of Karma.

The reference to a hundred years life-span is for the sake of providing the normal incentive for performance of action for the type of person that is being addressed. It is usual for man to expect some reward for his actions. Since selfish interest is being ruled out here, an alternative incentive would be long life. To the genuine seeker of the first type, the lifespan is immaterial; it is the quality of life and the principles one lives for that count, not the length of life of this physical body.

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3. Such Karma alone can reduce the bundle of Karmic impressions that we come with at birth to work out in this lifetime. By doing one’s actions and duties in the right spirit of selflessness, the action will never “cling” to him.

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4. Na Lipyate: “not clinging”; this clinging refers to the bondage that results from doing action indiscriminately. The wrong actions will, of course, bind one by incurring bad Karma whose fruits will be pain, sorrow, disease, and so on. But even virtuous actions can bind unless they are done as a dedication to the Lord. This dedication is suggested here indirectly by “not clinging”

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#Kurwan: This verb is in Parasmai Pada, i.e. a verb form which expresses an action done “for others, not for oneself”; an action done for oneself is placed in Atmane Pada in Samskrit grammar. Thus in the very form of the word, selflessness is implied. It means the action has to be dedicated to ‘Paramatman’. Such dedication renders the action powerless to bind one to Samsara since it creates no Karmic reaction. 

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NEXT - 1.3 THE PATH OF SORROW :

MANTRAM - 3: The Sunless Worlds :

To be continued ...

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