Srimad Bhagavad Gita -Ramanujacharya 90

Srimad Bhagavad Gita -Ramanujacharya

Chapter-3 Karma Yogaḥ

Sri Krishna himself will declare — "The sinful ones who cook food for their own sake eat sin." Obligatory rites (nitya karma) and periodic rites (naimitta karma) and the pañca-mahāyajñas must be carried out by one who meditates too, as the body must be sustained until perfection is attained. Besides, Self-realisation is an integral part of Karma Yoga, as it involves the contemplation of the ātman as not being an agent. It is also in harmony with the natural order (Prakrti). Karma Yoga, is for these reasons easier and it is free from possibility of failure. Therefore, you must perform Karma Yoga only — this is the purport of the verse. If it is argued that any action such as earning money implies 'I-ness, 'My-ness' etc. and will therefore distract the senses, and the Karma Yogi will again be bound through the subtle impressions [samskāras] of his acts then; yajñārthāt karmaṇo’nyatra loko’yaṃ karma bandhanaḥ | tad-arthaṃ karma kaunteya mukta saṅgas-samācara || 9 || 9. This world is bound by actions other than those performed as sacrifice. O Arjuna, you must perform work to this end [for sacrifice alone], free from attachment. Commentary People become subject to the bondage of Karma only when work is done for personal gain, but not when work is performed, or money acquired for the purpose of sacrifice and other acts of charity which are prescribed in the Scriptures. So you must perform acts like the acquisition of wealth for the purpose of sacrifice (Yajña). In doing so, overcome attachments generated by the pursuit of personal ambitions, and then do your work in the spirit of sacrifice. When a person, free from attachment, acts for the sake of sacrifice, the Supreme Being, propitiated by sacrifice grants him the calm vision of the Self after destroying the subtle impressions of Karmas, which have accumulated from time without beginning.