Namaste Sri Sadanada-ji,


I don't have any disagreement with the conclusion presented in your post, but
there are some other statements that don't seem to go well with the conclusion.
I was wondering why this should be so and then I saw the reason for it. I think
there is a certain lack of distinction in your post between the goal of
Karma-Yoga and the condition of a person because of which Karma-Yoga has been
taught by the Lord. I shall try to bring out this distinction so that there may
be no discord between the statements and the conclusion. But first, let me
present the conclusion:

> In essence is what are important are 1. performance of
> dharmic acitons 2. attitude in action and 3. Spirit of
> yagna.

I agree with this conclusion. Now I shall comment on the statements that need
further clarification according to me.


> In B. S bhashya, Shankara while explaining sutra 1, says
> the karmas are not necessary for jnaana â€" what is
> necessary is saadhana chatuShTaya sampatti â€" how one
> gets that is immaterial.

True, because the topic of how one obtains sadhana chatushtaya is not the
subject matter of the Brahma Sutras. But the same Shankara Bhagavdpada says
elsewhere that the Path of Actions leads in an indirect manner to jnana since it
confers chitta-shuddhi or sadhana chatushtaya and thus leads to the Path of
Knowledge which is the direct means to Brahma-Jnana. Also, Advaita Makaranda too
says the same thing:

"(For they were) endowed with mind purified with continuous observation of
daily, occasional and obligatory duties resulting in manifestation of
discrimination, dispassion, the six fold wealth of mind-control etc. and desire
for liberation owing to which arose a desire to know the Self."


> Bhagavan has to come in the form of Krishna to reinterpret
> Vedas and explain to us that any action can become karma
> yoga if one does that action in the attitude of yagna.

Sri Krishna also says: "Better one's own duty, though devoid of merit, than the
duty of another well discharged. Better is death in one's own duty; the duty of
another is productive of danger." (BG.3.35). Therefore, the expression `any
action' doesn't fit unless it is further qualified by something else.


> If one performs any action with that attitude then the
> mind gets purified â€" chitta suddhi occurs since I only
> act but not react.
> .....
> and beauty of B. Gita is Krishna reinterpreting the
> Vedanta by saying any karma can be made to karma yoga
> by the performing any action in the attitude of yagna.

This state of mind, wherein one may perform ANY action, refers to the GOAL of
Karma-Yoga and not to the mental condition of a person on account of which
Karma-Yoga has been prescribed by the Lord.

Karma-Yoga is not taught to one who has already attained chitta-shuddhi. It is
taught to one whose mind has a natural tendency to go outward towards objects of
desire with the aim of making the person practice withdrawal of the mind from
objects (of desire) and learn to place it in the Self or Ishvara instead. The
ability to do so comes after long practice. In the beginning, one may not be
able to continuously offer the fruits of all actions to the Lord simply because
the mind often forgets about the Lord while performing actions; the offering of
the fruits to the Lord would be intermittent and one would have to be constantly
and consciously pulling the mind away from objects to make it rest on Ishvara
instead. Only after long practice there comes the stage when the resting of
actions in Ishvara becomes frequent and finally comes the stage when the person
can be steadfast in resting all his actions in the Self (or Ishvara).

What would happen to the person if during the beginning stages, he were to
perform ANY action, including prohibited actions, while the mind is still not
capable of continuously worshiping Ishvara in all his actions? He would surely
be accumulating more sins (or defects) thus defeating the purpose of Karma-Yoga.

When the Path of Action (Karma-Marga), with its prescriptions for avoiding the
accumulations of sins and defects, is already available as part of Vedic Dharma,
why would the Lord teach a risky option by recommending the performance of ANY
action during those stages when a man is still striving to attain
chitta-shuddhi? The Lord is not saying anywhere in the Gita that any action may
be performed during the stages of sadhana. Karma-Yoga has the prescriptions and
prohibitions of Karma-Marga as its support and substratum.


> Arjuna’s question is answered that he has to do his
> assigned obligatory duty and develop the chittasuddhi

Yes, this statement goes well with the instructions of the Lord. Obligatory
duties have to be necessarily performed. But it is not enough to perform
obligatory duties alone. The prohibitions of Karma-Marga have to be honored too;
otherwise, one will get into a vicious circle of performing obligatory duties to
counter the effects of past bad karma while at the same time accumulating new
bad karma on account of engaging in prohibited actions. And once it is admitted
that the prohibitions of the Dharma-Shastras are to be honored too, then the
entire Karma-Marga becomes applicable.

A small clarification: Karma-Marga is defined not by Purva Mimamsa alone but
also by the Dharma Shastras that have their base in the Vedas and which are
established by Purva Mimamsa as constituting Duty. There is a section in the
Purva Mimamsa Sutras for establishing that the Manu Smriti comes from Vedic
sentences. Thus, when we talk about prescriptions and prohibitions of
Karma-Marga, the entire Dharma Shastra along with Purva Mimamsa constitutes the
Path.


Warm regards,
Chittaranjan