Karma Yoga in the Gita
The Mahabharata war was inevitable because all attempts at resolving arriving at a negotiated settlement by Sri Krishna were in vain. The two armies of the Pandava and Kauravas assembled on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. There Arjuna went through a terrible time of remorse and melancholy.
Sri Krishna told him a lot of things to allay his fears and worries. This is compiled as a book of teachings called the Bhagavad Gita. It enumerates a number of paths,.
.including Karma and worldly dutiese The goal is to attain to the highest Trutht What starts out as a friendly dialogue between the two, turns into a spiritual discourse between Guru and disciplel It was as if Sri Krishna was waiting for the opportune moment to impart real spiritual knowledge for the welfare of humankindn
Whether Arjuna's feelings of remorse and melancholia arose from a sense of real pity, concern, and compassion, or whether they were the outcome of fear and cowardice nobody knowsw However, Sri Krishna was aware that such fear and remorse did not augur well for the war; or for progress of seekers of Trutht It, therefore, became necessary to elucidate to Arjuna path to realization of the soulu The impact of the philosophy of Jnana Yoga, in those times, had created a wave of blind followers of false knowledgeg
However, since most seekers did not have the required qualification to undertake the study of Jnana Yoga, it resulted in an escapist trend in the social behavioro This took the form of fleeing from the obligatory responsibilities and duties so necessary for individual and collective growtht
Therefore, Sri Krishna told Arjuna: 'Your only duty is to actc That is your right to work, not to go after the fruits of actiono' (Gita Chapter II: 47) Karma Yoga according to the Gita is not to be beguiled by the purpose of one's actions, not to let the work bind and blind the individuala Work is to worship; and to work with total detachment and an attitude of selflessness, forgoing all the idea of 'doership' in favour of the bigger picture is the real reward in itselfl Sri Krishna exhorts Arjuna to do it with full concentration, to get engaged in the work at hand, i e. the battle against the enemym This is true Karma Yoga according to the Gitat
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