Talks on the Gita -Vinoba 90

Chapter 9 THE SOVEREIGN SCIENCE OF SERVICE TO HUMANITY: YOGA OF SURRENDER 44. Dedication Of The Fruit Of Actions To The Lord 12. This is the special teaching of the Ninth Chapter. In this Chapter, there is a fascinating confluence of karmayoga and bhaktiyoga. Karmayoga means doing work and renouncing its fruit. Work should be done with such an ingenuity that the mind remains untouched by attachment to its fruit. It is like planting a walnut tree. The walnut tree takes twenty five years to yield fruit. One who plants it may not be able to eat its fruits. Still one must plant the tree and take care of it lovingly. Karmayoga means planting the tree without expecting anything in return. Bhaktiyoga means getting attached to God with love and devotion. Karmayoga and bhaktiyoga combine together in rajayoga. Rajayoga has been defined by different people in different ways. I would like to define it as a beautiful blending of karmayoga and bhaktiyoga. Work has to be done, but its fruit is not to be thrown away; it should be dedicated to God. To throw away the fruit would be to reject it. But dedication of the fruit of actions to the Lord is something very different. It indicates an extremely beautiful state of the mind. Even if we renounce the fruit, it is not that nobody will have it; somebody is bound to get it. Questions like the recipient’s fitness may then arise. If a beggar comes to our door, we say, “You are strong and stout. It does not behove you to beg. Get lost.” We sit in judgement over the justification for his begging. The poor fellow feels ashamed. There is no trace of fellow-feeling in our hardened heart. How can we then have the right judgement about the fellow? 13. When I was a child, I had expressed the same doubt to my mother. Her answer is still ringing in my ears. I had told her about a beggar, “This beggar seems to be strong and stout. To give alms to such a person will encourage indolence and bad habits.” I also quoted a verse from the Gita, ‘देशे काले च पात्रे च।’ She said, “That beggar was the Lord Himself. Keep it in mind and then judge His worthiness. Would you rate God as undeserving? In fact, what right have we got to judge his worthiness? I see no need to think any more. To me, he is the Lord and that is all.” I have not yet found a fitting reply to what she said. We judge the worthiness of others when it is a question of feeding others, but when it comes to filling our own bellies, the thought of fitness never crosses our mind. Why should we regard the man coming to our doors as just a wretched beggar? Why should we not look upon him as the Lord Himself?