Niskayuna Karmayoga in the Bhagavad Gita

Action without self-interest - Part 2

- Shri Murarilal Dhanuka

Lord Krishna says, “Not by nonperformance of actions, does a man attain freedom from the bondage of actions; nor by mere renunciation does he attain perfection.

A man has an impulse for action, which can be pacified by the performance of actions without having any desire for fruits. If a man performs actions having a desire for fruits, this impulse is not pacified, it is rather enhanced. The Lord further says that when a striver performs his duty without any desire for fruit, he attains the state of actionlessness i.e. he is released from the bondage of action. Such actions do not bear fruit, in the same way as a roasted or boiled seed loses its protein to sprout. Such actions lose their power of involving a man in the bondage of birth and death.

A man can renounce desire, when he performs action only for the welfare of others. So long as he performs actions for himself, he cannot renounce desire, and as long as he does not renounce desire, he cannot attain the state of actionlessness.

Lord Krishna also says that it is necessary for a striver to renounce the sense of doership, in order to attain perfection. Therefore, a striver should renounce egoism instead of renouncing performance of actions. The Gita teaches us to perform our duty; it does not teach us to renounce actions. It teaches us to perform action with even-mindedness. Therefore, a striver instead of renouncing performance of actions should renounce his attachment to them.