Talks on the Gita -Vinoba 23

Chapter 3 KARMAYOGA (YOGA OF SELFLESS AND DESIRELESS ACTION) 12. Various Gains from Karmayoga 8. There is extraordinary power in the selfless and desireless karmayoga. It richly blesses both the individual and the society. A karmayogi, who follows his swadharma, does get his daily bread. Besides, his industriousness makes his body healthy and pure. His work also contributes to the well-being and prosperity of the society in which he lives. A karmayogi farmer will not cultivate opium or tobacco to earn more money. He links his work to the welfare of the society. Actions done in the pursuit of swadharma will confer nothing but benefit on the community. A trader who believes in working for the good of the people will not sell foreign cloth. His business will therefore be beneficial to the society. A society which has in its midst such karmoyogis who have identified themselves with those around them, forgetting their selfish interests, will have prosperity, order and harmony. 9. Work of a karmayogi helps sustain him. It keeps his body healthy and intellect radiant. It results in the welfare of the society as well. It also confers on the karmayogi a great gift in the form of the purity of his mind. It is said that work is a means for the purification of the mind—‘कर्मणा शुद्धिः:’. But this is true only of the work done by a karmayogi, as it is charged with the spirit of selfless service, and not of the work ordinarily done by the people. In the Mahabharata, there is a story of the trader named Tuladhar. Jajali, a Brahmin goes to him seeking true knowledge. Tuladhar tells him, “My dear fellow, what is really required is that the scales must always be held even.” The outward action of weighing had made Tuladhar’s mind straightforward and perfectly balanced. Whosoever came to the shop, Tuladhar’s balance was always true. Work does have effect on one’s mind. A karmayogi’s work is like japa — a form of prayer. It purifies the mind and it is only the clean and pure mind which receives true knowledge. A karmayogi’s work ultimately leads to the attainment of wisdom. Tuladhar learnt equanimity of mind from the weighing balance. Sena was a barber who cut the hair and cleansed the heads of his customers. While doing this work, a realisation dawned on him. He thought, “I have been cleansing others’ heads, but have I cleansed my own head, my own mind?” Such words of spiritual wisdom came to his lips while working. While removing weeds from the field, it occurs to a karmayogi that the weeds of base desires and passions should also be removed from the mind. Gora Kumbhar, the potter, realised, while shaping and baking earthen pots, that his own life should also be properly moulded and baked in the fire of desireless action. He eventually attained such an exalted status by virtue of his wisdom that he earned the authority to judge the degree of spiritual development of others. Karmayogis gained true knowledge through the terms used in their respective vocations. To them, their vocations were like schools of the spirit. Their work was imbued with the spirit of worship and service. Although it appeared worldly, it was spiritual in essence.