Bhagavad-Gita and the Doctrine of Activism

The Intellectual “Framework” for Selfless Actions

Lights!  Camera!  Action!  The name of the game in the Bhagavad-Gita as in modern society is action. The Bhagavad-Gita starts with karma-yoga, ends with karma-yoga and is pervaded by karma-yoga. Therefore, it can be effectively said that the central teaching of the Bhagavad-Gita is its advocacy of the life of activism. When Arjun was dejected and refused to fight the impending battle, Sri Krishna wanted to put Arjun on his mettle and to make him fight the battle karma-yoga was the strategy which He advocated. Therefore, the whole purpose of everything said and done, as recounted in the eighteen chapters of the Gita, has but one motive, and that is to give Arjun a new heart and a new courage, to drive him into action, and to force him, of his own accord, into battle; an internal battle with his passions and desires. Throughout the Bhagavad-Gita, and in verse 2:38 in particular, this argument is continually interspersed with the constant refrain: “sukh duhke same’ kritvaa laabhaa laabhau jaya jayau …At all times think of Me only and while considering victory and defeat as same, fame and infamy as same, rise above the dualities that exist in this universe and, therefore, fight”-- your inner enemies with arrows of truth. In modern terminology, this can also be called as the Doctrine of Activism and it consists of the three laws, namely:

1.       The Law of the Body (B.G. 3:8) Shareer-yaatraa-api  ch  te  na  prasidh-yed-karmanah...

2.       The Law of the Society (B.G. 3:20) Lokasangrah-mevaapi sanpashyan kartum-arhasi

3.       The Law of the Wheel of the Universe (B.G. 3:16) Evam pravartitam chakram naanuvartaryateeh yah 

Each of these laws supports a life of activism, that is: 1) the Law of the Body, 2) the Law of the Society and 3) the Law of the Wheel of the Universe describe the workings of the universe, of which we form an integral part, and which is continually and unceasingly rotating, in the form of srishti and pralaya, the creation and dissolution of the universe. Therefore, as long as a person "owns" his body and wants to be a worthy part of the universe, he has to obey these three natural laws. These laws indicate nothing but a life of activism for the general welfare of the society; as without effort, even this body cannot be maintained.

Now, let us review one of the most famous verses of the Bhagavad-Gita, the verse 2:47, that says: “karmanye-vaadhikaa-raste maa phaleshu kadaa-chan.... Perform your duty for the sake of it and not for the fruits thereof.” It clearly says that we should leave away all attachment and all desire for fruit not merely in the case of ordinary actions but also in the case of holy actions so that even holy actions come within the domain of this doctrine. The poetic renditions of these verses are thus given here:

Law of the Body

So you perform your allotted action

Since action is better than inaction;

Even maintenance of physical life

Is not possible if you stop the strife

Law of the Society

The achievement of perfection by deed

King Janak and others attained indeed.

You should work with a view superior,

That will help to maintain our sphere.

Law of the Wheel of the Universe

In this world who never turns the wheel

Thus set in motion, is real evil

In nature, sensual in his delightful gain

The cause of his living, O Paarth, is vain.

The most practical application of this doctrine is found in verse’ 18:5 of the Gita and I am indebted to Dr. Pradyot De of Houston for bringing to my attention, during my study of the Gita, this verse that says: “yagya daan tap karma na tyaajam kaarya mev tat, yagyo daanam tapashchaiv paavnaani manishinaam.” where the Mighty One advises Arjun to actively participate in the workings of society and teaches harmonious living of individual and society through 1) sacrifice (yagya) supporting the law of the wheel of the universe, 2) charity (daan) supporting the law of the society and 3) spiritual growth (tapas) supporting the law of the body. The combination of service to humanity (daan) and spiritual growth (tapas) always result in yagya, the self-sacrifice. Over time, in the inherent fullness of the Gita, as I pondered on this verse, I was totally captivated by its beauty and its inner meaning, and after years of self-doubt, self-study, self-analysis and eventual self-reconciliation, the writer in me could gather enough strength and courage to write and, as a result, it became the basis of this essay. In the Bhagavad-Gita, this spirit of self-sacrifice is also demonstrated in what Sri Vinoba Bhave calls as the Yoga of Dedication, which is the cessation of selfish desires and dedication of all actions and their fruit to sagun brahman, the manifest divinity, the ‘personal’ god or nirgun brahman, the unmanifest divinity, the impersonal absolute, whichever one prefers. For Krishna says that parbrahman which pervades the whole universe is nothing other than his avayakta or the unmanifest form.

The beauty of this doctrine is also realized in the simplicity of its application, for it can be universally applied by anyone, anywhere at any time and for any purpose, without fanfare and without depending upon or requiring any approval from others. For, according to the late Yogi Krishna Prem, the Bhagavad­-Gita tells us that “it is not actions that bind, for the pravritti, or the cosmic tides of the expanding universe are as truly the manifestation of parbrahman as the calm bliss of atman, the unalloyed witnessing Self.” In this context, the Mundak Upanishad tells us that on the spiritual path, there are three obstacles or three knots, so to speak, namely; 1) the knot of Brahma, which ties the Atman to body or the sensory world; 2) the knot of Vishnu, that ties it to the desire world or the world of emotions and 3) the knot of Rudra or the knot of mind which binds us to the world of thought, the final basis of our ego centric selfhood or the I-ness, as we commonly call it.

Therefore, what binds is the “wrong attitude to actions” and these three knots which, surging from ignorance, make us fancy that we are so many separate individuals, isolated from each other and “free” to perform actions for our selfish ends. This, and not action itself, is what binds us” and, therefore, it is that to which Krishna returns again and again to the theme of “un-attachment” to the fruits of action, for there is no freedom for a selfish actor any more than there is for a bird that is in the meshes of a net.  Mirza Ghalib (1797-1869), the poet of Delhi, echoes similar sentiment when he says: “The efforts I make in my life resemble a bird in a cage, which can’t stop gathering straws for a nest.” Let us now review how Ramayan tackles this problem: Once, while in Kishkindha forest, Sri Hanuman asks Sri Ram: “Since I am a monkey of limited intelligence (moodh buddhi), therefore, Hey Sri Ram, please explain to me in simple language: what is bhakti or devotion to God.” To this, Sri Ram, a man of few words and a karma-yogi par excellence; while never admitting his divinity, simply replies: “Serving this world verily as my form is devotion to God.”

Thiru Valluvar expresses the same sentiment. Thiru Valluvar was one of the rarest individuals of the Tamil culture whose universal spirit rose above all dogma and the one- sided sectarianism of any kind. Writing over 3000 years ago in Tiru-k-Kural, about the social responsibilities of an activist or a karma-yogi in the spirit of the Bhagavad-Gita, he poses an important question: “What good do the creatures of the earth do to the rain cloud that pour the rains? So indeed should you serve the society seeking no return.”

Bhagavad-Gita further tells us that: 1) through yagya, the sacrifice, we maintain equilibrium in Nature or the environment, 2) through daan, in society and 3) through tapas, in the body. Thus this harmonious program, the ‘Doctrine of Activism’ or the ‘Categorical Imperative’ as it may be called, and which is proposed and endorsed by none other than the ‘Charioteer’ of the Bhagavad-Gita Himself, is intended to preserve a state of equilibrium in all orders, that is 1) in the body 2) in the society and 3) in the environment in which we all live.

In Sanskrit, the words yagya,daan and tapas have many shades of meaning; however, in the Bhagavad-Gita, yagya does not mean that you sit down-- you light a fire and perform a fire ceremony. That is only an outer expression of the true meaning of yagya. Yagya, according to the Yogi Krishna Prem, however, means sacrificial actions in general and the dedication of one’s goods and deeds and self to the service of Life in all.  And daan does not mean just charitable giving and self-righteous merit acquisition, which according to the Bhagavad-Gita is a form of sattvic bondage, but bondage nonetheless, as is so popular among some religious circles. Daan, however, is the process whereby the good things in the universe are made to circulate in the whole community instead of being locked up in the stagnant individual centers, whether it is money, time, knowledge or actions; and daan is thus a means of breaking down the barriers of egoism. Tapas, does not mean that you stand on one leg and perform austerities. Tapas, however, means self-discipline or self-control. Therefore, when actions consisting of yagya, daan and tapas are performed, through such actions, both the individual and the society prosper in a sustainable natural environment. And this, we are told, is the ultimate goal of governance for all the good governments of the world. Furthermore, there is nothing new about modern day environmental conservation or sustainable progress, as we sometimes call it. It was practiced even during the time of Ramayan, where we are told that after Sri Hanuman brought the Sanjeevani herb from the Himalayas to the battlefield in Lanka, along with the mountain top on which it grew; and after SushenaVaidya used the Sanjeevani herb to treat Lakshman, Sri Ram exhorted Hanuman to take the mountain top back to the Himalayas and restore it to its original condition. This is how Sri Ram issued the first environmental edict for all mankind.

Thus, the Bhagavad-Gita concludes that in this day-to-day world, a man has a duty to perform even after realization of the highest Self, that is, in the spirit of the Gita, a man who performs selfless actions cannot be said to be performing any actions at all and, therefore, is not bound by them. And this is the essence of eternal freedom or the infinite liberty in the Hindu view of the universe. Furthermore, such activity is to be performed in a spirit of “devotional service” to all, as Swami Prabhupad calls it, recognizing the evolutionary process towards what the Bhagavad-Gita calls as the “universal oneness.”

The basic oneness of the universe is not only the central theme of Eastern mystical thought but more recently it has also evolved in the modern sub-atomic physics. As physics penetrates deeper into the sub-atomic matter, it gains the same insights as developed by the mystics in samadhi that the constituents of matter and the basic phenomenon involving them are all interconnected, interrelated and interdependent. They cannot be understood as isolated entities, but only as integrated parts of the whole. Once again this theme is expressed in William Blake’s famous lines and it goes as follows:

To see a world in a grain of sand

And heaven in a wild flower,

Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,

And eternity in an hour

The same theme of activism is also given us in modern times by one named Sri Guru Nanak Dev (1469-1539), and it found its culmination, three hundred years ago in Guru Govind, the founder of the Khalsa tradition. For he made the highest sacrifice any person could ever make, of his sons, for the benefit of humanity. Thus we find that this doctrine of activism or the religion of selfless actions, as it may be called, is given us by one Govind at Kurukshetra and is relentlessly practiced by another Govind at Sarhand near Anandpur Sahib in Punjab . The world in general and the Hindu community in particular will remain eternally grateful to them for their selfless actions.

In his admiration of Krishna, Bankim Chandra Chatterji paid homage to that Ideal Person “Who, by the strength of his arm subdued the wicked and united India by his wisdom, who by the power of his superior knowledge proclaimed a self-less religion, and who in the land of the Vedas could say: ‘dharma is not in the words of karma-kaand, the ceremonial or the ritual portion of the Vedas, but Dharma is what conduces the well being of man.’ … I salute him, whether he was a man, a man-god or god, who is the source of all strength, all virtue, all truth, and of all love.”

Thus, we see that the central teaching of the Bhagavad-Gita is 1) action 2) its nature and 3) its binding force. Bhagavad-Gita is also about Yoga, for yoga is mastered on the field of activity, a lesson modern India still needs to re-learn, for there is too much emphasis on scholarship and not enough on action, on rituals and ceremonies and not enough on their true meaning. Krishna’s teaching of “tasmaadyogaaya yujayasva yogaah karmasu koshlam” Bhagavad-Gita verse’ 2:50, that is, a teaching of “skill in action” rather than seclusion, should be re-examined, for it has been largely forgotten and this has led to the decadence of India. In this context, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, the late President of India, in a critique of Indians, who he believed are not practicing the ideals set forth in the Bhagavad-Gita, says: “Unless India recovers from her stupor, her inertia, there is no chance for her. She must meet death from without. But if she takes to heart the lessons of her great self-less religion and ethics, which bid her neither sit, nor stand, but go, she will have victory from within.” Finally, Krishna, a karma-yogi to the core, tells Arjun in verses’ 3:22 to 3:24 that “there is nothing in the three worlds for Me to do, nor is there anything worth attaining unattained by Me, and yet, I continue to work. And if I cease to work, Hey Arjun, great harm will come to the world and these worlds may even perish for men follow my way in all matters.”

Let us now review the verse 18:66 in light of this Doctrine. The final secret of the Bhagavad-Gita is given us in verse 18:66, where Krishna says: “sarva dharmaan parityajya, maam ekam sharanam vraj…Abandon or surrender all your dharmas or duties to me and come to me for salvation. I shall release you from all sins.” Before we abandon all supports, the trumpery pedestals which we have built for ourselves, particularly in America, and take the final refuge in Krishna, which when accomplished, frees the disciple from all other duties, we have to ask ourselves two questions, namely; 1) what is dharma? And 2) what is the renunciation of dharma? In this context, the Bhagavad-Gita tells us that Dharma is rightful actions or rightful duties. It also declares that kartavya karma, known as good deeds, including yogic skills or mystical insight is also considered as dharma. Therefore, since any “action” that conduces the well being of man is dharma, then “renunciation of fruits of action” is considered as the “abandonment of dharma.” Once this is accomplished, only then, as a Christian mystic says: “the flight of alone to the Alone” or as the Hindu mystics put it “the flight of the free to the Free” can take place; giving forever the service that love asks of love and friend of friend. And this is taking refuge in Krishna. Hence according to the Bhagavad-Gita “action” is the “Law of Life” and devotion to God in the form of “selfless actions” is the essence of Hinduism and all the rest is just -- words.

This essay is dedicated to Hope & Helping Hand (HHH), a New Delhi, India based non-profit organization devoted to the “empowerment and self help” of women by providing them micro-financing and other support services so that they can maintain their dignity by their own efforts. To know more about Hope & Helping Hand, please contact:

Many references were used in preparation of this essay which is written for educational purposes and before I end this essay, the writer wants to express his sincere gratitude to Prince of Saket for inspiration and to Emeritus Professor Madhusudan for his guidance and counsel during the development of a series of essays on Indian culture in the context of modern life. Any error in the interpretation is strictly mine; therefore, the wise reader is requested to forgive the writer for he knows not the incomprehensible mystery of action that sends the pen across this page as an act of public service, and find the right answers in the deep recesses of his own pulsating heart, as Arjun did, by the grace of Saarathi, the Charioteer, the One without a second, who shines with the brilliance of a thousand suns, the supreme joy of Devaki and Yashoda and the darling of humanity. (This essay is written by the instrumentality of ashwini k. munjal, a resident of Houston, Texas. Therefore,forcomments and suggestions please send your response to ashwini.munjal@yahoo.com)

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