asking the tough question

Verse 4.19: One is understood to be in full knowledge whose every endeavor is devoid of desire for sense gratification. He is said by sages to be a worker for whom the reactions of work have been burned up by the fire of perfect knowledge.

Why is it so difficult to put things into practice? We may theoretically understand so many things and accept them on an intellectual level, but when it comes to the practical application, many of us face a block.

For those who are trying to live a life of simultaneous gratitude and unattachment, this is often a conundrum. When we read bhakti texts like the Gita and hear from those who live such lives, we feel inspired and hopeful. We too can do it! But when it comes to actually putting in all our endeavours and efforts and offering it selflessly to the Divine as a token of our appreciation, something powerful interrupts us. These things can cause us to promptly fall back into our old way of thinking and doing things which is often that of - I perform x activity and expect y result.

One such challenge can come in the form of doubt. When doubt steps in, it can cause us to question what will happen if we let go of our attachment to the results of our endeavour. "Maybe I'll become too spiritual! What if I just stop caring about everything? I want to be normal and if I start actually becoming unattached, I might not be able to relate to others." Such types of conversations can start to take place in our mind.

When these doubts start to cloud our consciousness, it's very easy to become apprehensive. It causes us to become fearful of the unknown - in this case what will happen to us if we actually live a life of gratitude and detachment. Ultimately, it can be a vicious cycle that leads to more doubts and more apprehension.

Ultimately though, the root cause of all these misgivings is fear. The fear that our efforts to express gratitude and appreciation will go unrecognized. Although we may believe in a Divine power and personality who is giving us everything, do we really and truly believe?

The practice of performing akarmic work is more than just attitude. It prompts us to ask the tough questions and really look inside our hearts. Do we have unshakable faith that there is something greater than us and that the Divine is there ready and waiting to reciprocate with us? When we are able to answer that question honestly, irregardless of whether it is a no, yes or somewhere in between, then we can truly start to live a life of gratitude and selflessness.

stepping out of the comfort zone...

Verse 4.18: One who sees inaction in action, and action in inaction, is intelligent among men, and he is in the transcendental position, although engaged in all sorts of activities.

I remember exactly how I felt when I first read this verse - confused! It seemed so convoluted and complicated. What exactly is Krsna trying to say here? That being said, my confusion also lead to appreciation as it was only then that I realized how important it is to learn the teachings of the Gita from one who is trying to practice it.

Breaking it down, this verse is giving the secret to performing akarama, or performing actions that result in no karma. That's what "seeing inaction in action" means. Although one may be performing so much work, because their internal consciousness is one of detachment to the results and one of offering them in gratitude to the Divine, they don't incur any karma.

Conversely, one may mistakenly think that by sitting still and doing nothing that they will incur no karma. If only it were that easy! That's what the phrase "seeing action in inaction" means. Although it may seem that nothing is going on externally, we may forget that what goes on inside has a direct effect on what happens outside. Meaning, although we may be able to sit still for sometime, the mind which is so demanding will ultimately force us to act, even if it's against our will. At that time, if our attitude is self-centered, those actions will naturally result in good or bad karma.

Readers may be reflecting that these concepts of unattachment and attitude keep coming up over and over again. You're not alone! Although I've read the Gita before, I too am struck by how often these themes are highlighted.

But the time comes where the reading ends and the application begins. Be sure that if you are sincere at heart and are reading the Gita that you will be tested. I give fair warning! Since yoga is ultimately about connecting to the Divine, He takes special notice. Situations will arise and your mettle will be tested.

The good (bad?!) thing is that no matter how many times you fail, the opportunities will keep on coming.

In fact, if you think about it - the opportunities are coming right now.

That's the beauty of the Gita. It puts into perspective how we can positively transform the challenging situations that we face on a daily basis. Just these two things:

1. Detachment to the results of our activities and
3. Transforming our consciousness to offering everything we do with affection and gratitude to the Divine...

can work miracles in our lives.

Instead of seeing everything through the lens of "Why is this happening to me?" this shift promotes a sense of "Wow! I'm getting a chance to practically apply spiritual knowledge that I've gained." Granted, those feelings may not come soon...but it will! It may come sporadically at first - maybe once in a couple of years or every couple of months! LOL. That's ok. It will come though. It just takes practice.

Life is a series of lessons and bhakti is the path of self-empowerment. We can choose to learn from the lessons that surround us and benefit or continue to fight the lesson and drown in self pity. So join us as we step out of our comfort zones and into the stretch zone. You can change your consciousness today!

a life of learning

Verse 4.17: The intricacies of action are very hard to understand. Therefore one should know properly what action is, what forbidden action is, and what inaction is.

In Chapter 2 we discussed at length what karma (action), vikarama (forbidden action) and akarma (inaction) are. For anyone who would like a refresher, you can check it out here. Today, however, I'd like to talk about the real life application of these concepts.

Before getting to that, I'd like to share a beautiful quote from one of my favorite bhakti yoga mentors since it relates perfectly to this topic of application.

"It's very important to practice spirituality for practical application of spiritual knowledge."

Let's meditate on that for a moment, shall we? What does it actually mean? It means that we may hear lots of beautiful concepts and ideas but unless we actually try to implement that knowledge in our daily lives, it won't actually translate to wisdom. That's because wisdom is "the art of converting an experience into learning."

If we don't strive to apply what we've heard, then chances are we'll never really learn.

That's what our lives can become if we choose to live a life of learning. Since we are constantly performing actions, whether consciously or unconsciously, we get the perfect opportunity at every moment to tune into our motivations. Why are we doing something? Is it for our own satisfaction? Is it to make ourselves feel better? Is it really helping others? By posing such questions, we are forced to evaluate what is driving our actions. And trust me, if we actually attempt to do this even a little bit, it's amazing how introspective we'll become of our own thoughts and motivations.

Of course, we'll find that many times we'll skip out on checking into our motivations and you know what? It's ok. After all, for some of us this may be a slightly foreign concept to first reflect and then act. And like any habit, it takes practice and time. Even if we are starting to reflect after the fact, that's a step in the positive direction.

If and when we do reflect afterwards, it won't be uncommon to look back and perhaps cringe. Yes...that too is part of the process. It's may be uncomfortable to recognize what motivates our behaviour and distorts our consciousness. But that too is part of the learning process.

If we are unable to see the obstacles that prevent us from acting in positive and selfless ways, then we won't learn how to overcome them.

Life is all about the journey and in it there is the potential to learn so many lessons. Karma is one of the ways these lessons are dolled out. The Gita gives us practical knowledge as to why we face our current situations (i.e. results of our past actions). Equally important, the Gita teaches us how our reactions to these circumstances will impact our future. So...are you ready to live a life of learning?