Working the Bhagavad Gita (or part 3 of my yoga story)

“You have the right to work, but never to the fruit of work. You should never engage in action for the sake of rewards, nor should you long for inaction.” (B. Gita chapter 2, verse 47)

In the ancient Indian scripture, the Bhagavad Gita , the yogic path of spiritual enlightenment is mapped out in the metaphorical (some say true) story of Arjuna, the warrior who doesn’t want to fight and Krishna, his Divine counsel. What is most beautiful to me about the Gita is that it is the story of each one of us. When I first started practicing seriously, setting the lofty intention of enlightenment alongside better health and peace of mind, I was scared to death. Like Arjuna, I looked around my battlefield, or delusional mind, and I saw everything and everyone I knew, some helpful and some not, lined up on their respective sides ready to go at it over the Truth. I would have liked to talk with Krishna, or Buddha or whoever wanted to show up too! Laying out the principles of practice this way makes them real and accessible in a way that is is just poetic genius. The quote above is from the early part of the story, where Arjuna is despondent over his predicament, paralyzed by his attachments, rationalizing why he shouldn’t do his duty. Krishna is really pushing Arjuna to get the job going, to do his duty by letting go of attachment and just trusting that things will work out in the way they are supposed to. Attachment is a tricky thing, and in a lot of ways defines who we think we are. Our personalities are shaped by our likes and dislikes, by what we accomplish and the people and things with which we surround ourselves. We take this collection and call it our selves. When Arjuna looked around that battlefield, he saw his self in danger, just as I did sitting on the floor in my room afraid to go on and trying to talk myself into abandoning the whole project. “What if P doesn’t like me anymore, or worse yet, what if I’m not good at it, or worst of all, what if I fail?” Me, I’m, I . Attachment, attachment, attachment. But the work was still there to be done.

Like Arjuna, I was faced with something that I had to do, and my attachment was keeping me from performing my duty. In this verse, Krishna reminds us to set aside those attachments and “just do it.” In the context of spiritual awakening, realizing the Truth, transcending the ego, or False Self – the one constructed of attachments – and returning to our Divine nature is our duty. My work was to get started and is to follow the path of yoga, and that work is all I have the right to if that duty is to be fulfilled. “You should never engage in action for the sake of rewards, nor should you long for inaction.” Arjuna and I were afraid of the outcome of our actions, whether good or bad, and this attachment to results hindered our ability to act at all. By remaining paralyzed by fear, we were longing for inaction. He didn’t want to do it. I didn’t want to do it. But choosing not to act is an action in itself, and one that keeps us bound by attachment and unable to perform our duty. So how does attachment keep us from performing our duty? Because of our attachments, Arjuna and I suffered from anxiety and self doubt. These afflictions crippled us, keeping us stuck where we were instead of moving toward where we were duty bound to be. In the context of yoga practice, while the end of the path is a state of enlightenment, the path itself is the process of stilling the mind in order to see the Truth. If your mind is struggling, stirred up by the stress and anxiety that accompany attachment, how will it learn to be still? Krishna tells Arjuna over and over to trust him. The only choice we have is to perform our duty, let go of attachment, and trust in the results. In yoga this is called surrendering to the Divine. By trusting Krishna, the Divine, Arjuna is free to perform his duty without clinging to the pain of worrying about the outcome. Whatever happens is what is supposed to happen. In my spiritual practice, by handing over the perceived ownership of outcome to the Divine, I begin to transcend attachment and the mental struggle it creates, and make space for my mind to be still. Nurturing this stillness will give me the opportunity to fulfill my duty and realize my true nature. Or not; it’s not really up to me.