COMMENT ⊗   VALID 00002 PAGES
C REC  PAGE   DESCRIPTION
C00001 00001
C00002 00002	\input basic
C00013 ENDMK
C⊗;
\input basic
\def\sdot{{\spose{\lower 2.5pt\vbox{\moveright .6pt\hbox{.}}}}s}
\def\rdot{{\spose{\lower 2.5pt\vbox{\moveright .5pt \hbox{.}}}}r}
\def\mdot{{\spose{\raise 6pt\vbox{\moveright 3.5pt \hbox{.}}}}m}
\def\footnote#1#2{#1\botinsert{\vskip 8pt \hrule width 5pc
    \vskip 3pt \baselineskip 11pt\hbox par size{\:a#1#2}}}
\font b←cmr12 \font c←cmti12 
\:b \baselineskip .3truein
\topspace .5truein
{\:a \baselineskip .15truein 
But the man whose delight is in the Self alone, who is content with the Self,
who is satisfied with the Self---for him there exists no work that needs to 
be done. \par
Similarly, in this world he has no interest whatever to gain by the actions that he
has done and none to be gained by the actions that he has not done. He does not
depend on all of these beings for any interest of his. \par
therefore, without attachment, perform all the work that has to be done, for man
attains to the highest by doing work without attachment. \quad 3:17--19
\footnote{$↑1$}{\:n The Bhagavad G\=\i t\=a, \:a from \:n A Sourcebook
in Indian Philisophy, \:a edited by Sarvopalli Radhakrishnan and Charles A. Moore,
Princetion University Press, 1959 (1973 ed.)}
\par}
\vskip .2truein 
This passage from the G\=\i t\=a, short as it may be, embodies all of the important 
aspects of Karma (work) Yoga. It tells of the Self, separated from the body, and the
state of satisfaction and independence it attains with the culmination of this yoga.
It states that when this stage is reached, the Self gains \:c no \:b interest from 
actions of the body (referring to lack of karmic build-up). Also stressed, however,
is that work must still be done, but without attachment. This non-attached work is 
praised as one of the methods to attain ``the highest,'' that state of liberation
from sa\mdot s\=ara (or the ``wandering'') that is the ultimate goal of the Hindu
religion.    
\par
Each of these aspects of the Karma Yoga deserves further attention. The Self, or 
\=atman, is of common importance to this and all other yogas. This entity is the 
device of salvation for the Hindu---it is the only part of being which never 
changes, remaining constant throughout the ordeal of sa\mdot s\=ara. The \=atman is 
the person, the \:c subject \:b of all experience. Separate from it are all other
things---while it is the subject (or puru\sdot a), all else is the object (or 
prak\rdot ti). It \:c seems \:b that this subject would simply be the mind, for this
is clearly the part of us which experiences things. Yet the puru\sdot a is more
complex than this. For example, when the mind thinks, it can think about thinking;
further, it can ponder over considering the act of thinking; and it can speculate 
concerning the thought of $\ldotss$ and the process continues indefinitely. This 
characteristic of the mind, that there is always a non-experiencable subject, 
separates the puru\sdot a from the prak\rdot ti in the mind. While the puru\sdot a
is closely linked to the mind, it is not the mind. Finding this \=atman, then, and
somehow unifying with it in satisfaction, is the goal of all yogas. 
\par
The karma yoga deals with this goal in the context of action. Although the \=atman 
is separate from the body, it is closely proximate to the prak\rdot ti section of
the mind. In the average person, this ``outer mind'' strongly attaches itself to the
\:c actions \:b of the body. It seeks pleasure and avoids pain, attempting to 
get ``the most'' out of life. Ironically, however, this close involvement with
action in effect constructs a wall that separates the mind from the \=atman, which 
really \:c is \:b ``the most'' in life. This ``wall,'' more specifically, is a
being's karma. It passes along with the \=atman from life to life throughout 
sa\mdot s\=ara, and the effects of each life on it are cumulative. Karma Yoga 
asserts that de-attachment of the mind from the body's action will bring the 
build-up of karma to a halt. Thus for the man who realizes this, having ``no 
interest whatever to gain by the actions that he has done and none to be gained by
the actions he has not,''``there exists no work that needs to be done.'' 
\par
Yet this is only partially true---there exists no \:c mental \:b work to be done.
The mind has been effectively isolated from the actions of the body. This isolation,
however, has only stopped any \:c increase \:b of karma. The task still remains 
to break down the wall of karma that is left over from the present and any previous
lives. The admonition ``perform always the work that has to be done'' presents the
method for ``using up'' the karma which still separates the mind from the \=atman.
this necessary work fulfills part of the dharma (or duty) stage of life: although 
the major hurdle of reaching liberation from sa\mdot s\=ara has been crossed, 
responsibilities to society must still be met. The economy and existence of society
must still be a concern, but this concern resides only with the body and not with 
the mind. When finally the wall of karma has crumbled away, the \=atman lies
unhidden and life is complete: the \=atman is liberated from its prison of prak\rdot 
ti and removed to become part of ``the highest.''
\par
This ``highest,'' the liberation from sa\mdot s\=ara, is the final desire of the 
Hindu. Yet it is nothing akin to a ``heaven,'' where everything exudes beauty
and all is pleasurable. As a matter of fact, although the experience is not cleary 
definable, it appears that liberation is not a continuation of life at all but 
simply an ``end.'' The appeal of such finality to the Hindu hinges on the 
previously mentioned process of sa\mdot s\=ara. This wandering from one life to 
another is not viewed as a ``continual life'' but rather as ``eternal 
death''---death must come over and over again with no escape but liberation. This 
prospect is worsened still by the fact that sa\mdot s\=ara doesn't heed the barrier
of species: it is all too likely that a person will be reincarnated as an amoeba or
mosquito thousands of times before once again becoming human. It is for these 
reasons that ``work without attachment'' is, for the Hindu, liberation indeed.
\par
\vfill \eject
\output{\page}
\topspace 3in 
\ctrline{Karma Yoga in the Bhagavad G\=\i t\=a}
\vskip 1in  \ctrline{Peter Richert}
\ctrline{Religions of the East}
\ctrline{February 8, 1982}
\vfil \end