Attachment to the work and its fruit causes samsaara, a virulent cyclic flow of birth and death according to Vedic texts, and the essence of this extensive knowledge is found in Srimad Bhagavad Gita. All the great self realized Masters have echoed the same. Accordingly, we understand that all of us have passed through innumerable lives in the past. And countless such lives await us in future. Of all the lives among 8.4 million species on earth, human life is stated to be rare and distinct, because human life is an opportunity to escape from samsaara, a seemingly endless pain and suffering. Humans are prized with intellectual power such as no other species possess to understand the reality by inference.
The basic cause of creation and its sustenance is well explained in ancient Hindu texts leaving no trace of doubt in the minds of serious students of Truth. It is comprehensive and logical revelation and totally different from popular ways of conditioning of mind with assertion of non provable religious beliefs.
The serious seeker of reality must therefore refuse to be influenced by any theory and principles coming as those are from either scriptural texts however greatly held or esteemed by others or preached and proclaimed by people however greatly revered by others unless or until he/she is totally convinced by fundamental logic. Hence Srimad Bhagavad Gita must be studied and interpreted in this perspective.
Anishtam ishtam mishram cha trividhah karmanah falam ! Bhavatyatyaaginaam pretya na tu sanyaasinaam kvachit !! Gita ch18/12
All works (actions for fruit) of all people except those who have discarded works, shall bring forth either of three kinds of fruits namely unfavorable, favorable or mixed and bind such people after death. Only detached people are not bound by their actions.
Panchaitaani mahaabaaho kaaranaani nibodhame ! saankhye krutaante proktaani siddhaye sarva karmanaam !! Gita ch18/13
Method of extinction of work is preached in Sankhya shastra (Yoga of Analysis/Revelation of Analytical knowledge), that for any work to bear fruit five factors must essentially contribute.
Adhishtaanam tadaa kartaa karanam cha pruthak vidham ! Vividhaashcha prudhak cheshtaa daivam chaiva atra panchamam !! Gita ch18/14
Physical body must be present as one of the factors, likewise there must be a doer, the second factor, different kinds of implements must be there as the third factor, various activities must take place as the fourth factor and divine order must facilitate as the fifth factor.
Shareera vaangmano bhir yat karma praarabhate narah ! Nyaayyam vaa vipareetam vaa panchaite tasya hetavah !! Gita ch18/15
Be that a physical work of the body, oral speech, or mental thought, be that proper or improper, every work shall fructify when the above stated five factors contribute.
According to this each and every work however small or big must fructify. Nothing can ever go waste. Also work is said to be done not only by the physical activity of the body, work is done by oral exertion of speech too. And work is said to be done by every single thought of mind also. All kinds of work qualify for fruition. However these five factors must participate in fruition.
Among them, the first factor is the presence of a body. This is always there whenever work is done by either body, or speech or mind. It is stated clearly that a body must be present when the works fructify. That means when the body is not present, no work fructifies. Therefore that is the 1st of the five contributing factors.
The doer is required as the 2nd contributor. Who is the doer? We must identify the doer. The body, mind and the organ of speech are all inert and hence cannot be the doers. The eternal consciousness that is the reality neither does anything nor causes anything to be done and hence is not the doer.
In deed there is no doer at all. But an image created by reflection of consciousness on mind assumes the role of consciousness, the real self and is called ahamkaara. This is a fake self. Whereas the real consciousness is eternally stable, this mental consciousness is unstable and changes with every activity. When the eye looks at a picture, eye has no knowledge of the picture. It merely sees. The eternal consciousness does not see but always knows. It is mere knowledge, pure awareness. The image of consciousness on the mind has no physical existence and hence assumes the role of eye and attributes the knowledge of what the eye sees to itself and declares, “I see a picture”. When a sound is heard by the ear, the ear does not know it has heard a sound, the consciousness does not hear but merely knows, and the mind (ahamkaara) attributes the knowledge of the sound to the ear being in its role and asserts, “I hear a sound”. This mental self thus assumes responsibility for every action of body, limbs and senses when those act according to their nature thus creating a doer. Therefore a doer is there as long as this imaginary self, ahamkaara is there. Thus that the 2nd contributor, the doer becomes available.
The mind itself is an implement in the action of thinking, the body organs such as tongue and lips become implements for speech, and thought, speech, body organs and external people or things become implements for bodily actions. Hence all activities manifest with active use of 3rd contributor, the different kinds of implements/tools.
For any work to fructify, various activities must take place. In deed every work itself consists of various acts happening in a sequence or put together. Therefore the 4th factor for fructification of any work must anyway readily precede work.
For any work to fructify, one more factor, Daivam is prescribed as contributor. Who is this Daivam? Or what is it, that has become an essential contributor for fruition of your work? People call it God’s favor or divine help. Many people put in their efforts for certain results, but some become successful and others not. They say they are lucky and others unlucky to get desired results even after putting in excellent efforts. All agree that God must be favorable for their works to successfully fructify. They say that when God is favorable even their minimal efforts would bring forth unbelievably wonderful results. Some believe that Divine intervention has saved them from disastrous consequences of their misdeeds. People pray God for helping them accomplish and enjoy good results for their works. They organize pujas and worship to propitiate gods to pacify them and to be favorable for success of their ventures. Some solemnly offer valuable gifts/allurements to God in return for being favorable to them even while knowing fully well that they do not otherwise deserve such good fruits which they expect. They would want to please God somehow to shower them with boons.
When we try to understand this Daivam that has become so important and unalienable part of so many people around us, in a logical perspective, an astonishing fact would reveal itself. We must begin our study with the context in which this Daivam is mentioned in the reveled scriptural text, Srimad Bhagavad Gita. It is stated that Daivam is one among five essential factors that must contribute for successful fructification of any work.
It is already made very clear previously that each and every work must ultimately bear fruit. And the very purpose of every one’s birth and life on this planet is to enjoy/suffer consequential fruits of his previous works. When every work gets fructified inevitably and every kartha, the doer becomes ultimately a bhoktha, the enjoyer/sufferer for all his works, we must carefully examine to understand how exactly this is happening.
At first it is stated that every one excepting those who successfully discarded their works, must inevitably bear the good/bad/mixed consequences of all his previous works. Subsequently it is stated that for any work to fructify five factors must contribute. And out of those five factors, four viz; body, doer, implements and activities are clearly seen by all. But the fifth factor Daivam is not apparently clear how it is contributing. However this is the factor that implements what must inevitably happen. It cannot be a person or entity who can be pleased by propitiation/praise/gifts and allurements to change anything from what must inevitably follow. Everyone must bear fruits of all his works. It is an order of things that ultimately must prevail sequentially and that is called Daivam here. It is also called Vishva prajna/Daiva niyathi/Vidhi/Adrushtam or Divine/universal rule/law/order/luck or destiny that is responsible for sustenance of the entire creation.
Strange are the ways it works, but it surely works somehow. If we leave aside the discussion on how the creation has begun for the first time, we can understand the existence of this rule/law/order. Suppose a man desired to fly in the sky or probe deep inside ocean but had no time/means/capabilities to fulfill his desires. The purpose of his body was to enjoy/suffer the consequences of his previous works. He was in that process already. But anyhow he desired to fly. And this desire was a mental work that had already begun then. According to the divine/universal order, no work, however small/insignificant shall get wasted. It must ultimately fructify. But in that life he had no chance to fly because the purpose of his given body was to bear the fruit of his previous deeds in his past lives. It was already programmed and by the time all the programmed commitments were fulfilled, the purpose would be over and he would die for taking another body to carry on with some other commitments of the past which had not been programmed for earlier body for want of suitability of earlier body or opportunity to include more commitments, since a huge list was waiting whereas the endurance capacity of that body was limited. He has taken a new birth and a body of a cheetah by way of his other past works. The cheetah was hunting and feeding on animal flesh. Cheetah was unable to get food on regular basis. Once it had gone hungry for more than a week. Finally it hunted a deer and was about to start feeding on it. All of a sudden a lion appeared from nowhere and attacked the cheetah, badly mauled it and snatched away the body of deer. The cheetah somehow saved itself by climbing a tree. It helplessly watched the lion feeding on deer’s flesh. Hunger, pain and frustration overwhelming, it desired to eat the flesh of lion itself. After some time it perished and took birth as a vulture. Vultures fly high in the sky, feed on dead animals. This particular vulture one day found the carcass of a lion and settled down on it and ate its flesh. Thus three of his past works fructified. When he had human life he desired to fly the high skies. When he had the body of cheetah he hunted but could not eat his prized deer. He wished to eat the flesh of a lion. As a vulture he would eat animal flesh without having to hunt. He never imagined that he would be born as a vulture to fulfill his past desires. Strange are the ways of destiny though not unimaginable.
Vaasaamsi jeernaani yathaa vihaaya navaani gruhnaati naroaparaani ! Tathaa shareeraani vihaaya jeernaani anyaani samyaati navaani dehee!! Gita ch2/22
When old clothes are worn out and become useless, people discard them and have choice to select new ones according to their liking. But when their bodies become useless and are discarded, they have no choice to exercise their liking. They have to very well accept new bodies as are provided based on past works waiting for fruition.
No amount of prayers/propitiation/persuasion/bargain can ever make a dent or even slightest alteration to this eternal order. However it is stated in the beginning itself that one who has successfully discarded his works is exempted from facing consequences of his actions. Let us now examine further how anyone qualifies to discard works.
It is clearly stated that for any work to be fruitful five factors must contribute together. Also not even a small work done by anybody other than those in successfully discarded category shall get wasted. That means if a small beginning is made in the form of either thought or speech or action shall never get extinct. If it has not bourn fruit for want of any one or more of these five contributing factors, it must remain in suspended animation until all five factors come together again, just like a seed waits for suitable conditions to sprout and become a tree.
The so called work discarded category person also participates in certain activities. How does his work get discarded/extinct? Out of the five factors, 1) body, 2) doer, 3) implements, 4) activities, and 5) divine order, three things, body, implements and activities contribute for any work to manifest. Divine order decides when and how the work must fructify. The doer is the one who enjoys/suffers the consequences of the work. If there is no doer, no work fructifies. In deed there is no doer. An image of the universal consciousness known as ahamkaara assumes the role of doer whenever mind / organ of speech / body is engaged in activities. Ahamkaara always needs some identity. Therefore it gets attached to body/limbs/senses/mind and quickly identifies itself as that assumes that he is the doer.
Tathraivam sati kartaaram aatmaanam kevalam tu yah ! Pasyatyakruta buddhitvaat na sa pasyati durmatih !! Gita ch18/16
One whose intellect is pure and determined about the reality knows that he is not at all the doer while his body or senses go about their usual business. Others having intellects polluted with body feeling/sense feeling/mind feeling do not realize this.
If any person, having been convinced of the scriptural knowledge, simply assumes that he is not the doer while his body and senses are engaged in activities, he does not really become so (non doer) and hence cannot escape the consequences of works. Of course in order to promote to the state of non doer, one must begin assuming that he is non doer. This is a process to subdue ahmkaara, the body feeling. This assumption must gain intensity and strength to get gradually promote liberation from all attachments with activities of body and senses. Then only he gets qualified to discard works.
Yasya na ahamkruto bhaavo buddhiryasya na lipyate !
Hatvaa pi sa imaan lokaan na hanti na nibadhyate !! Gita ch18/17
One who has this state of mind that he is not the doer and is totally untouched by the actions of body or senses and not having any interest for works or the fruits there of is not responsible/bound even if his body is engaged in killing/destroying these worlds. He remains a non killer and hence does not face any repercussions.
This is not for those who merely think/say that they are not the doers while engaged in thinking/speaking/engaged in physical actions, but for those who are really liberated from all bonds with their bodies/senses/desires. Their bodies may be engaged in various activities and may be undergoing pleasures/pains or uttering words expressing such feelings or shivering with pain as a result of past works, but they have no attachment with such feelings. They are always in a state of total contentment/bliss. Those are called detached/unattached. They are said to have discarded works and are really boundless. They are really sadhus/sanyasis and not the people who have grown long hairs or putting on saffron colored robes and having no families of their own and move about with a band of devotees and preaching eloquently what has been extensively stated in religious texts of the lore.
Asakta buddhih sarvatra jitaatmaa vigataspruhah ! Naishkarmya siddhim paramaam sanyaasena adhigacchati !! Gita ch18/49
One who is disinterested in all things of the world having established in his intellect that he is not the body, nor senses, nor life, nor doer but mere existence, consciousness and bliss and therefore is oblivious to everything around him attains the pure non doer state by detachment.
May all be comfortable ! May all be happy and peaceful ! May all be bountiful ! May all be propitious !
Sparkling bits and pieces spilled out from immortal streams of enlightening discourses by the boundlessly compassionate, the divinely equipped, the personification of knowledge, the mystical Master, the authoritative Existence-Consciousness-Bliss, the most capable Sadguru, Sri Sri Sri Bhavaghni Guruji are assimilated here by one among the lowest order of his disciples, for his own comprehension. Others, who by chance examine this article, are expected to note that while the truthful revelations found in this are from divine Guruji's immortal talks, the rest are concocted for harmony with the writer's level of understanding.