Action In Krishna Consciousness
English Wording:
- naiva kincit karomiti
- yukto manyeta tattva-vit
- pasyan srnvan sprsan
- jighrann asnan gacchan
- svapan svasan.
- pralapan visrjan
- grhnann unmisan
- nimisann api
- indriyanindriyarthesu
- vartanta iti dharayan.
Purport:
A person in Krishna consciousness is pure in his existence, and consequently he has nothing to do with any work which depends upon five
immediate and remote causes: the doer, the work, the situation, the
endeavor and fortune. This is because he is engaged in the loving
transcendental service of Krishna. Although he appears to be acting
with his body and senses, he is always conscious of his actual
position, which is spiritual engagement. In material consciousness,
the senses are engaged in sense gratification, but in Krishna consciousness the senses are engaged in the satisfaction of Krishna's
senses.
Therefore, the Krishna conscious person is always free, even though he appears to be engaged in affairs of the senses. Activities such as seeing and hearing are actions of the senses meant for receiving knowledge, whereas moving, speaking, evacuating, etc., are actions of the senses meant for work. A Krishna conscious person is never affected by the actions of the senses. He cannot perform any act except in the service of the Lord because he knows that he is the eternal servitor of the Lord.
Sanskrit working:
English Wording:
- brahmany adhaya karmani
- sangam tyaktva karoti
- yah lipyate na sa papena
- padma-patram ivambhasa.
One who performs his duty without attachment, surrendering the results unto the Supreme Lord, is unaffected by sinful action, as the lotus leaf is untouched by water.
Purport: Here brahmani means in Krishna consciousness. The material world is a sum total manifestation of the three modes of material nature, technically called the pradhana. The Vedic hymns and, in the Bhagavad-Gita, indicate that everything in the material world is a manifestation of Brahman; and although the effects are differently manifested, they are non-different from the cause. In the Isopanisad it is said that everything is related to the Supreme Brahman, or Krishna, and thus everything belongs to Him only.
One who knows perfectly well that everything belongs to Krishna, that He is the proprietor of everything and that, therefore, everything is engaged in the service of the Lord, naturally has nothing to do with the results of his activities, whether virtuous or sinful. Even one's material body, being a gift of the Lord for carrying out a particular type of action, can be engaged in Krishna conscious- ness. It is then beyond contamination by sinful reactions, exactly as the lotus leaf, though remaining in the water, is not wet. The Lord also says in the Gita:
"Resign all works unto Me [Krishna]." The conclusion is that a person without Krishna consciousness acts according to the concept of the material body and senses, but a person in Krishna consciousness acts according to the knowledge that the body is the property of Krishna and should therefore be engaged in the service of Krishna.
Sanskrit working:
English Wording:
- kayena manasa buddhya
- kevalair indriyair api
- yoginah karma kurvanti
- sangam tyaktvatma-suddhaye.
The yogis, abandoning attachment, act with body, mind, intelligence and even with the senses, only for the purpose of purification.
Purport:
When one acts in Krishna consciousness for the satisfaction of the
senses of Krishna, any action, whether of the body, mind, intelligence
or even the senses, is purified of material contamination. There are
no material reactions resulting from the activities of a Krishna conscious person. Therefore purified activities, which are generally
called sad-acara, can be easily performed by acting in Krishna consciousness. Sri Rupa Gosvami in his Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu
describes this as follows:
"A person acting in Krishna consciousness (or, in other words, in the service of Krishna) with his body, mind, intelligence and words is a liberated person even within the material world, although he may be engaged in many so-called material activities."
He has no false ego, for he does not believe that he is this material body, or that he possesses the body. He knows that he is not this body and that this body does not belong to him. He himself belongs to Krishna, and the body too belongs to Krishna. When he applies everything produced of the body, mind, intelligence, words, life, wealth, etc.—whatever he may have within his possession—to Krishna's service, he is at once dovetailed with Krishna. He is one with Krishna and is devoid of the false ego that leads one to believe that he is the body, etc. This is the perfect stage of Krishna consciousness.
English Wording:
- yuktah karma-phalam
- tyaktva santim apnoti
- naisthikim ayuktah kama-karena
- phale sakto nibadhyate.
The steadily devoted soul attains unadulterated peace because he offers the result of all activities to Me; whereas a person who is not in union with the Divine, who is greedy for the fruits of his labor, becomes entangled.
Purport:
The difference between a person in Krishna consciousness and a
person in bodily consciousness is that the former is attached to
Krishna whereas the latter is attached to the results of his activities.
The person who is attached to Krishna and works for Him only is
certainly a liberated person, and he has no anxiety over the results of
his work. In the Bhagavatam, the cause of anxiety over the result of
an activity is explained as being one's functioning in the conception
of duality, that is, without knowledge of the Absolute Truth. Krishna
is the Supreme Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead. In
Krishna consciousness, there is no duality. All that exists is a product
of Krishna's energy, and Krishna is all good. Therefore, activities in
Krishna consciousness are on the absolute plane; they are transcendental and have no material effect. One is therefore filled with peace
in Krishna consciousness. But one who is entangled in profit calculation for sense gratification cannot have that peace. This is the secret
of Krishna consciousness—realization that there is no existence
besides Krishna is the platform of peace and fearlessness.
English Wording:
- sarva-karmani manasa
- sannyasyaste sukham vasi
- nava-dvare pure dehi
- naiva kurvan na karayan.
When the embodied living being controls his nature and mentally renounces all actions, he resides happily in the city of nine gates [the material body], neither working nor causing work to be done.
Purport:
Owing only to forgetfulness of his superior nature, he identifies with the material body, and therefore suffers. By Krishna consciousness, he can revive his real position and thus come out of his embodiment. Therefore, when one takes to Krishna consciousness, one at once becomes completely aloof from bodily activities. In such a controlled life, in which his deliberations are changed, he lives happily within the city of nine gates. The nine gates are mentioned as follows:
"The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is living within the body of a living entity, is the controller of all living entities all over the universe. The body consists of nine gates [two eyes, two nostrils, two ears, one mouth, the anus and the genitals]. The living entity in his conditioned stage identifies himself with the body, but when he identifies himself with the Lord within himself, he becomes just as free as the Lord, even while in the body."
English Wording:
- na kartrvam na karmani
- lokasya srjati prabhuh
- na karma-phala-samyogam
- svabhavas tu pravartate.
The embodied spirit, master of the city of his body, does not create activities, nor does he induce people to act, nor does he create the fruits of action. All this is enacted by the modes of material nature.
Purport:
