Every day, we work, make decisions, and face the results of our actions. But do we understand which actions bind us and which free us? The Bhagavad Gita explains how we can continue performing our duties while becoming free from karmic bondage. By understanding these teachings, we can give our daily work a spiritual purpose.
Let us understand what karma is, its different types, and how to act in a way that brings us closer to Lord Krishna.
What Is Karma? Meaning and Origin
Karma is a Sanskrit word that refers to any “action” or “work”. Any act of karma brings a result, called “the fruit of action” or karma-phala. Karma describes the relationship between what we do and the consequences we experience.
The results of our karma may appear immediately, over time, or in the next birth. Our present circumstances are influenced by the actions we performed in the past, and the actions we perform today will certainly influence our future experiences.
What Are the Different Types of Karma?
There are three types of karma described in Bhagavad Gita 4.17, namely karma, vikarma, and akarma. Understanding which actions bind us and which free us from bondage helps us progress on the path of liberation.
1. Karma: Prescribed Action
Karma refers to performing duties according to scriptural injunctions. When performed with attachment to enjoying the results, these activities produce reactions that bind us to material existence. The person performing them must experience their results, whether temporary happiness or suffering. Therefore, we should fulfil our responsibilities as a matter of duty without becoming attached to their results.
2. Vikarma: Forbidden Action
Vikarma means the actions performed against scriptural injunctions. These activities lead to sinful reactions and further material bondage. More or less everyone is doing vikarma because people are mad after sense gratification. For example, a thief knows that stealing others’ property is sinful, but for the sake of his family or his personal motives, he still does it. Similarly, we claim ownership of the things we possess and act accordingly without recognizing the fact that everything belongs to God.
3. Akarma: Action Without Material Reaction
Akarma means performing activities for Krishna’s satisfaction, without a desire for personal sense gratification. A person engaged in such service remains active but becomes free from karmic reaction. Here, freedom from reaction does not mean giving up work. Lord Krishna never tells Arjuna to give up fighting; rather, He tells him to fight for His satisfaction. It means one works for the satisfaction of Lord Krishna with the understanding that one is His eternal servant.
What Does the Bhagavad Gita Say About Karma?
Karma is the action responsible for our bondage or liberation, and attachment to its results is the source of suffering. The Bhagavad Gita therefore teaches us to perform our prescribed duties without attachment to the results. Such karma, or actions, will not bind us in the chain of action and reaction. Acting without attachment is very difficult, but it becomes easy for one who works for Krishna’s satisfaction. Such action is called akarma.
Lord Krishna, through the Bhagavad Gita, explains to us that we have the right to perform our duty but are not entitled to the fruits of our actions. One should neither consider himself the cause of the results nor become attached to avoiding his duty.
What Is Karma Yoga? Difference Between Karma and Karma Yoga
The word Yoga means linking ourselves with the Supreme Lord. Karma yoga means performing our prescribed duties for the satisfaction of Lord Krishna, without attachment to the results. Through this practice, our work becomes a means of connecting with the Lord and becoming free from material bondage.
The difference lies in the purpose of our work. In ordinary karma, we work to enjoy the results personally. In karma yoga, we offer our work and its results to Krishna. The same work that can bind us to material existence can also become a means of spiritual progress.
How Can We Apply These Teachings in Daily Life?
These are some ways by which we can apply these teachings in our daily life:
- Perform your duties sincerely: Whether studying, working, or caring for your family, fulfil your responsibilities honestly and carefully.
- Work without attachment: Perform your duty as a matter of duty only, without being attached to the result.
- Use your earnings in Krishna’s service: Meet your responsibilities and contribute towards devotional activities, such as distributing prasadam or sharing spiritual knowledge.
- Offer food to Krishna: Prepare suitable vegetarian food, offer it to Him with devotion, and accept it as prasadam. By doing this, we can dovetail our tendency to enjoy nice foodstuffs in Krishna’s service.
- Make time for spiritual practice: Chant the Hare Krishna mahamantra and read the Bhagavad Gita daily to remember Krishna and understand how to serve Him.
Can We Become Free from Karma?
In Bhagavad Gita 3.9, there is a description of how one can become free from karma. Work performed for the satisfaction of Lord Vishnu does not causes bondage, and that work only can free us from the reactions of karma.
Conclusion
Karma reminds us that our actions bring results, and we are responsible for how we act. Through the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna guides us to perform our duties without attachment and work for His satisfaction. By applying these teachings in our daily lives, we can gradually become free from karmic bondage and revive our eternal relationship with Him.
