Title: Sarva-Karma-Phala-Tyagam – Philosophy of Desireless Actions

12th chapter: verse 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

In the 8th through 11th verses of the 12th chapter, Lord Krishna gives four options for devotion, in descending order of evolution.

8th verse: “You fix your mind and intellect on Me. There upon, you will always live in Me.” This is the highest state of a devotee where he keeps his mind and intellect fixed on God. He then lives in God and God lives in him.

For seekers who have not reached this highest state, Lord Krishna provides alternative options in the 9th-11th verses.

9th verse: “If you cannot fix your mind and intellect on Me, then you can reach the higher goal through Abhyasa-Yoga (uniting with God through repeated practice of rituals with sincerity).” Rituals are like a fence that protects a plant when it is growing. You don’t need it when the plant becomes a tree. Similarly, the devotee needs rituals at early stages. As he evolves, he transcends rituals.

10th verse: “If you are incapable of doing Abhyasa-Yoga, then do all your work as My work.” Every such work connects the mind with God and helps the devotee evolve.

11th verse: “If you are unable to do your work as My work, then offer the fruits of all your actions to Me (sarva-karma-phala-tyāgam)”.

12th verse: “Knowledge is better than mechanical practice of rituals without proper understanding. If you can practice meditation with knowledge that is even better. Renunciation of fruits of your actions (karma-phala-tyāgaḥ) is far better than meditation.”

Why is it so? A beginner’s mind may not cooperate with his intellect. When he sits for meditation – it throws undesirable thought currents. This is due to karmic blocks or accumulated samskaras. The advantage of karma-phala-tyāgaḥ is that it purifies the mind and makes it ready for meditation. It also helps connect the mind to God when we perform the action. One important sign of spiritual progress is that the mind creates less obstacles to what the intellect wants to do.

Actions done with karma-phala-tyāgaḥ reduces our anxiety and increases our inclination to acquire knowledge and our ability to concentrate/meditate.

Ramanujacharya says: “When we do our duty without desire for self-enjoyment of the results, the mind is cleansed of all sins, karmic blocks and negativity. It attains peace – it becomes calm, quiet and composed.”

Physical actions do not make the mind tired. Meaningless, disconnected thought currents make the mind tired. Desireless actions turn the mind towards healthy channels and train it on how to get proper rest.

Shankaracharya glorifies desireless actions. He says that when we do desireless actions, we are boarding a bus that is bound to reach its spiritual destination.

In the 13th and 14th verse, Lord Krishna describes the characteristics of an ideal devotee. He says: “He is not an enemy of anyone; he has no ill-feeling towards any living-being; he is friendly and compassionate towards all living-beings; he is free from ideas of possession; he is free from negative egoism; his mind is in a state of equilibrium; he is forgiving; and he is always contented.”

Shankaracharya says that in spiritual literature, whenever a list of characteristics of a spiritually enlightened person is provided, there is only one purpose. These characteristics constitute the road by which we should travel to reach the goal that the enlightened person has reached.

A true devotee of God is a humanist. He has an instinctive feeling that everyone is a child of God. At the same time, he is free from raga (obsessive attachment) and dvesha (obsessive aversion). He instinctively feels contented – he does not crave for worldly things, as he has a sense of inner fulfillment and richness.

Several mystics had to face physical suffering. They had deep contentment which gave them inner strength to withstand the suffering and obstacles.