Attitude of surrenderBy Sri. N.Veezinathan
Courtesy The Hindu
A step-by-step approach to spiritual growth is advocated by the scriptures so that a seeker of liberation will be able to progress towards this goal without difficulty. This is also necessary to accommodate different levels of aspirants because Vedanta is inclusive as it posits that liberation is the birthright of every human being. After elaborating meditation on the Absolute Reality, meditation on God with form, and worship of His image form, Lord Krishna comes down to the level of those who find these practices difficult by teaching how performance of devotional practices will help evolve further.
if it was not possible even to engage in devotional acts, the Lord had advised to surrender the fruit of all the actions one performed to God after subduing the mind and intellect. This is the first step for all spiritual seekers and at first sight it will be perplexing to see Krishna hailing relinquishing the fruit of actions as superior to the other practices. The reason for this becomes apparent in the following verse in which He gives the rationale of His statement: “Knowledge is better than practice (without discernment), meditation on God is superior to knowledge, and renunciation of the fruit of actions is even superior to meditation for peace immediately follows from renunciation.” The object of spiritual life is not only liberation from rebirth but also attainment of mental tranquillity here and now, and hence dedicating the fruit of one’s actions to God pulverises the ego and also negates the accumulation of fresh Karma, which is the cause of rebirth.
Another reason why performance of action and relinquishing its fruit to God come in for approbation in the Gita is due to the human tendency to take the easy way out when given a choice. Laypeople will then give up action resulting in a systemic breakdown of values and instituions in society. While everyone has to work towards the spiritual goal it is possible to progress only from the level of one’s evolution. This is why Krishna Himself has acknowledged, “In the very last of all births the enlightened soul worships Me realising that all this is God. Such a great soul is rare
if it was not possible even to engage in devotional acts, the Lord had advised to surrender the fruit of all the actions one performed to God after subduing the mind and intellect. This is the first step for all spiritual seekers and at first sight it will be perplexing to see Krishna hailing relinquishing the fruit of actions as superior to the other practices. The reason for this becomes apparent in the following verse in which He gives the rationale of His statement: “Knowledge is better than practice (without discernment), meditation on God is superior to knowledge, and renunciation of the fruit of actions is even superior to meditation for peace immediately follows from renunciation.” The object of spiritual life is not only liberation from rebirth but also attainment of mental tranquillity here and now, and hence dedicating the fruit of one’s actions to God pulverises the ego and also negates the accumulation of fresh Karma, which is the cause of rebirth.
Another reason why performance of action and relinquishing its fruit to God come in for approbation in the Gita is due to the human tendency to take the easy way out when given a choice. Laypeople will then give up action resulting in a systemic breakdown of values and instituions in society. While everyone has to work towards the spiritual goal it is possible to progress only from the level of one’s evolution. This is why Krishna Himself has acknowledged, “In the very last of all births the enlightened soul worships Me realising that all this is God. Such a great soul is rare
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1 comment:
Chitappa, there is so much of value in our scriptures, especially teaching that could help us lead a happy life.
In saying our prayers, many a times, the focus is on the sloka/mantra as a means to achieving something- job, admission, the right spouse, house, car, relief from sickness etc. Then we get into the tough cycle of happiness contingent on something that we want.
Wit the passage of time, I have become more convinced of the immense solace in letting go off baggage that has become burdensome.
There is a song sung by the American country singer, Anne muuray and one of the line says Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose.
Bhuvani
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