I use this one word repeatedly in my several posts, ‘karma’. Today let’s see what this word really means.

• कर्म – karma – Action, work, activation, operation, labour, product, special duty, inevitable consequence of past acts, fate, effect, obligation, healing, medical treatment, motion, past acts, spiritual activity, position, calculations, object, result, performance, occupation, organs of sense/action, etc.

Then there is this very famous Shlok (47-2) from the Bhagwat Gita, I am sure all of you must have heard of it,

• कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन ।
• मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भुर्मा ते संगोऽस्त्वकर्मणि
• Karmani-eva-adhikarh-tey ma phaleshu kadachana,
• Ma karmaphala-hetuh-bhuh ma tey sangah-astu-akarmani

I saw this being translated in such an incorrect fashion that, finally I had to write this post. (classic example of a half-baked translation, “You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself to be the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty”) (eye-roll!)

Let’s first break down the words for easier understanding, Sanskrit is a palimpsest, one word has several hundreds of meanings, so

• Karmani – ‘connected/together with karma’ ‘in karma’. Karma meaning as above.
• Eva – really, moving, fast, going, exactly so, same, immediate, only, still, even, already, just so, merely, reason, habit, world, earth, usage, conduct, etc.
• Adhikarh – position, passage, authority, office, influence, topic, ownership, to perform spiritual practices for merit-punya, power, property, right, claim, privilege.
• Tey – addressing ’all of you’, a plural noun
• Ma – negation of the highest degree
• Phaleshu – ‘in the plural Phal’ – phal means consequence, fruit, profit, end of an action, effect, donation, interest on capital, result of a calculation, corrective action, gaming board, creation, point, seed
• Kadachana – at any time, ever
• Ma – negation of the highest degree
• Karma-phala – the phala of the karma. Meanings as above.
• Hetuh – argument, reason for inference, purpose, means, primary cause, impulse, mode, logic, motive, condition, cost, that which causes the bondage of the soul, external world and senses,
• Bhuh – being, existing, becoming, springing, object, space, matter, universe, the conscious fire which causes motion/evolution, fundamental geometry, foundation
• Ma – negation of the highest degree
• Tey – addressing ’all of you’, a plural noun
• Sangah – join, union, contact, merge, conflict, devotion, addiction, war, attach, wish, relationship, desire, clinging, attachments to the worldly things, etc
• Astu – “may it be so”, This is a benediction, an ashirwad, the intention of this shlok.
• Akarmani – negation of ‘Karmani’. karmani meaning as above.

Now let’s put all this together. There are very many meanings, you can put it together in the best way it makes sense to you. But here is what it means to me,

This shlok is addressed to everyone,

“All of you,” (Tey)

“Spiritual movement is the only reason for which all this creation was created. There is only one possible direction of spiritual movement, ie to attain the Nirvishesh Brahma).” (Eva)

“All this following is available to all of you – You have the power to perform spiritual practices for merit-punya. This is your privilege due to your position as the individual soul. You have a claim to move onward from the manifested world towards the Nirvishesh Brahma, this is because of your authority as a spiritual aspirant. You have a valid claim for experiencing the Highest Consciousness because you are passing through this created universe.” (Adhikarh)

“But all this above is available to you only when you are in the following situations and you perform as follows – While you are still obliged to accept the inevitable consequence of past acts/ fate. While you are doing your precise duty of performing the necessary healing of yourself (ie to bring your consciousness to the Highest.) While you are doing spiritual activity using your available organs of sense/action. While you are hard at work, moving your energies with intention. While you are result-oriented, working for your this very precise result, attainment of Nirvishesh Brahma.” (Karmani)

(My note – In simpler words, All this Adhikarh is not available to you in any circumstance ma kadachana, if you do not in your karma-created situations. ie As long as you are bound by karma you have these adhikar. ie once you are free of the karma these adhikar become meaningless to you.)

“Whenever you come to a conclusion of the situations described above. When you have ended your above actions on the ‘gaming board’ ie manifested creation. When you have with you the result of your corrective actions. When you, in your spiritual practice, reach the seed of creation. When the final culmination of your actions is touching the final Single Bindu-point. (Karma-phala)”

Then,

“The effect of your spiritual practice can never be a reason for binding your soul to this created universe. Your right action and its result cannot allow the external world to exist. Your special objective and its fructification cannot be the impulse for the space/matter to exist. The end of your obligatory action will not allow ‘motion’ of any type to exist. (ie you will achieve the state of the constant Nirvishesh Brahma). (Ma hetu bhu)

(My note: Your karma-phala can never be the hetu for bhu. If you perform as above, the bindings on your soul which tie you to this illusionary creation will stop existing. ie you will attain Your Realization.)

“May you all merge completely and in all possible ways into the state of Nirvishesh Brahma, Advaita where there is no concept of imbalance, no action, no fate, no effect, no object, no spiritual activity, no performance, no healing, no obligation. (Sangah astu akarmani)

(My note – The Advaita cannot be described in the language of this world thus is always described in negations.)

This is the true grandeur of this grossly misinterpreted Shlok. While doing anything with the Bhagwat Gita, always remember that is a Yog-shastra as well as a Tatva-gnyan. ie it gives the step-wise route to self realization and also the deepest philosophical foundation. Both are essential on your journey. The first commentary on this classic Gita was written by Adi Shankaracharya, it is a route to the Advaita, Nirvishesh Brahma, the highest Moksh.

If I do some Karma, I also need to be aware why I did it in the first place. What was my objective behind this action? What do I intend by this action? These are all the deepest philosophical questions which are essential and should be pondered upon. Eg. I earn a lot of material money, gold, jewels and then spiritual merit, auspicious benefits from my actions. Now it is all lying around in my house and in my energy bank. It is useless unless I know why I was gathering it in the first place and also how am I going to use it. My intention is paramount. My intention will ignite my spiritual merit and this fire will make my deepest Desire stronger. It is a self-feeding cyclic loop. The deepest Desire in my soul is to go back Home, to See my real face, to be truly Myself. Unless I have this intention burning inside me, igniting my very soul, all this spiritual activity is essentially useless just lying around.

Shri Krishna never told Arjun to randomly do his Karma/ Dharma without understanding and without intention on just ‘faith’. Sanatan Dharma/ Hinduism does not have anything called ‘blind faith’. If you take up some action do it only when you are clear about your objective, you are fiercely desirous of attaining it and are convinced that this very action will take you there. (And there is only one objective Eva)

The first attribute of a spiritual aspirant is ‘Vivek’, this is the wisdom to choose the correct option from several, the judiciousness of hoarding energy, the prudence of keeping away from harmful desires, the appropriate discretion, the right judgement,  and the intelligence to see the correct path when it comes before you and the courage to walk on it.

We all desire happiness-Anand, everything we do is essentially for happiness. My Sat-Guru would say, ‘do your actions but always be aware as to why you are doing them’. It is only when you ignite your soul with the desire, the intention and feed it with the fuel of your karma, do you reach that position of everlasting Happiness, Param-anand, the Nirvishesh Brahma.

(The worst sin-paap that the Britishers did, when they destroyed India, was to suppress the use of Sanskrit language, Devbhasha Samskrutam. Now the entire world is suffering as a consequence. The deepest tatva-jnyan, the essential knowledge and wisdom is in and only in Sanskrit. Sanskrit cannot be translated. Just doing spiritual practice is of no use unless you also understand the tatva-jnyan behind all of it.)

(The sequence of studying the Bhagwat Gita is this – first read just the Sanskrit shloks, then read the Pranav Gita. Then start your study of the Vedant/Upanishads and then come to the Shankarbhashya. This is written by Adi Shankaracharya, he expounds on the true essence of the Gita as the pure distillation of the Vedant is explained)