What is the Secret to avoid Bad Karma?
Bhagavad Gita: Verses 2.37 and 2.38 explained
Introduction
Bhagavad Gita is a conversation between Krishna and Arjun. This dialogue begins just before the war of Mahabharata is about to begin. On seeing his family in opposition, Arjun is gripped with fear and confusion and wants to run away, but Krishna convinces him to fight and tells Arjun why he today raise his weapons to kill his brothers and relatives in this war.
Bhagavad Gits teaches us how to live life!
The core message of the Bhagavad Gita is considered very powerful for it can fundamentally transform the way you live your life. Bhagavad Gita is also called a summary of Vendantic Knowledge or simply ancient Knowledge.
Bhagavad Gita is crystallized form of the Hindu thought.
Bhagavad Gita is 700 verses long, spread across 18 chapters. Here we will understand Verses 37 & 38 of Chapter 2 of the Bhagavad Gita.
Verse 2.37
हतो वा प्राप्स्यसि स्वर्गं जित्वा वा भोक्ष्यसे महीम् |
तस्मादुत्तिष्ठ कौन्तेय युद्धाय कृतनिश्चय: || 37||
hato va prapsyasi swargam jitva va bhokshyase mahim
tasmad uttishtha kaunteya yuddhaya krita-nishchayah
Translation
Hey Arjun, son of Kunti, if you die fighting this war, you shall go to heaven. If you win and live, you shall enjoy the pleasure of this earthly Kingdom.
Thus take a strong vow. Get up & fight!
Verse 2.38
सुखदु:खे समे कृत्वा लाभालाभौ जयाजयौ |
ततो युद्धाय युज्यस्व नैवं पापमवाप्स्यसि || 38||
sukha-duhkhe same kritva labhalabhau jayajayau
tato yuddhaya yujyasva naivam papam avapsyasi
Translation
Don’t think about happiness or grief, gain or loss, winning or losing. Don’t think anything, fight this war for the sake of this war only.
When you do this, you wouldn’t get inflicted by any sin.
Commentary
Krishna is telling Arjun that he has got nothing to lose by fighting this war. Since fighting is a warrior's Dharma, thus fighting a war that is being fought to establish Dharma is only great fortune. So even if he dies fighting this war, he shall attain heaven. And if he wins, and lives, then he will get to enjoy his new kingdom all his life.
Saying this Krishna is asking Arjun to Fight.
At the same time, Krishna understands that Arjun is thinking too much, so much so that he is confused. Thus Krishna tells Arjun that he must stop all sorts of thinking, for gain or loss, Happiness or grief, winning or losing, doesn’t matter at all. All that matters is that there is a war about to begin, and Arjun is a warrior present here prepared for war, and so he must fight!
Krishna is thus telling Arjun to fight for the sake of fighting, and don’t think anything. As thoughts will only end up confusing him and in his current state what matters most is his focus. In order for him to fight with all his might and win, Arjun must eliminate all thoughts from his mind, and have a singular focus on the fight.
This is like Meditation. Mediation while being immersed in a fight. When there is no thought in the mind, the body leans on muscle memory and instinct and reacts. This is when training and experience of years come into the picture. When a warrior is fighting in this meditative mode, he is bound to put up his best fight.
Meditation in Action
Let’s take an analogy from the sport of cricket. When a batsman is facing a fast bowler, the mind of the batsman needs to be blank. A blank mind allows the batsman to react basis his muscle memory, and produce shots that he has practiced. If he thinks at the moment the ball is delivered, this will occupy his mind and his focus will be disturbed. His reaction will be slow or delayed and often incorrect due to incorrect judgment, and thus he will end up missing the ball or worse get out playing a poor shot.
The same thing translates in any and every activity, be it sports or war.
To perform at your best the mind needs to be blank.
One needs to be in thoughtlessness, and thus in a meditative stance.
Thus Krishna is urging Arjun to adopt a meditative state of mind and fight!
Action in Karma Yoga doesn’t generate any Karma!
Also, Krishna adds that if Arjun fights in this fashion, then he would be fighting for the sake of his duty. In this state of action, he will not incur any Sin.
This is a deep statement and needs some understanding. Krishna is essentially asking Arjun to indulge in Karma Yoga, where he must fight, for the sake of duty, but without any expectation in mind. In this state, he will act as a ferocious warrior and go for a kill, but since there is no personal expectation of any rewards or recognition, Arjun would be in Karma Yoga.
When a person is acting in Karma Yoga, he doesn’t generate any Karma!
This happens as the person is not doing the Karma for himself, but doing it for the sake of duty. When karma is not generated, then there is no question of good or bad, right or wrong, there is just action. Thus there is no question of Sin being committed, for the doer is doing the act for the sake of duty.
So to simplify, when action is done in Karma Yoga, no karma is generated. Thus the doer remains unaffected by the action and its outcome.
Let’s hear a story to understand this.
There was a soldier posted on a border. His country was at war. His orders were to shoot anyone he sees immediately. When he notices an intruder crossing the border, he follows the orders and shoots him on sight. The intruder is dead. When the soldier notices the body, he realised that he is a civilian. But the soldier doesn’t feel any remorse, as he was just following orders. And his orders were clear, no think anything, and shoot at sight. So he is able to forget this incident and go on to live life. He is clear that it is part of his duty, and he couldn’t have prevented it.
However, the same soldier was once off duty and was staying in a jungle lodge. He was told that there are leopards in the forest and he must not get out at night. At night he heard some sounds outside his cottage door. He thought that it must be some animal. He was carrying his personal weapon. In the tension of that moment, he held that in his hand. He heard some animal thudding against the door. Instinctively, he shot in that direction. There was a loud squeak. The soldier carefully moved in that direction and noticed that it wasn’t a wild animal. In fact he had shot a local dog that belonged to the property. The dog was friendly and it was playing with him in the morning when the soldier arrived. The soldier felt remorseful. He felt that he had taken a life unnecessarily. He was unable to sleep that night and carried that grief that lasted his entire life.
The lesson here is that in the first scenario, he had killed a man, but that was his duty. He did that as per orders when he was wearing his uniform. So it didn’t affect him. In essence, it didn't generate any Karma. He lived life as if nothing had happened.
But in the second case, it was a stray dog, but the soldier felt bad killing an innocent animal, as he considered himself at fault. He knew the dog died due to his haste. He had pulled the trigger and it was his own decision. This made him think, and in a way, it generated Karma which ended up affecting his life.
Thus the moral is when one acts to fulfill his duty, there is no Karma that is generated. Thus there is no question of any gain or any sin!
This is the secret of Karma Yoga!
