Work is Worship - Karma Yoga

"karmany evadhikaras te
ma phalesu kadachana
ma karma-phala-hetur bhur
ma te sango ’stv akarmani" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 47)

"Sri Krishna said: You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty.

In the above verse God is asking his disciple Arjuna to perform his prescribed duty & not get attached to the fruits of its action. If one does all his/her actions without considering or thinking about the Fruits these actions shall produce & devotes that action & its fruit to the God only, then he/she is not bound by that action & that action shall not bear such fruits which shall be the cause of his/her next birth. Once a person is relieved of taking rebirths then that person can go to the abode of God & live there with Him & he becomes a liberated soul.

Art of doing actions for the sake of God only & doing all his/her actions without thinking or keeping in mind the fruit of that action is only what is called Karmayoga.

Work is Worship” but When “Work is done as the Worship of God, it is called Karma Yoga”. To offer all of your actions to God, to live your life for the God, to service the God in every way is actually called the practice of Karma Yoga. By practicing Karma Yoga our future actions shall get purified & all of the bad karmas of our past shall get dissolved.

By devoting all our Karmas to God our mind gets purified of all the impurities & our mind receives the Godly light, Godly grace and Godly knowledge. If we do Service of humanity then also it is the service of God as God sits in the heart of all human beings. Let’s work without attachment and egoism & offer all the good works of ours to God.

By practicing Karma Yoga our heart reaches out to other people & through it we see God in all people’s hearts. By such devotional practice, divine virtues such as love, mercy, tolerance, kindness, patience, self-restraint, etc. are developed in us. Karma Yoga destroys jealousy, hatred, malice and the idea of superiority in us.

Below are verses from "Bhagwat Gita", in which God is asking his disciple Arjuna to do all his actions / activities for Him only. The below verses are firstly, written in, as it is written in original Sanskrit in Bhagwat Gita & below that is English translation of that verse.

' Ye tu srvani krmani
myi sanyasya mat-para
anany-naiv yogen
maam dhyayant upasate '
' Tesham-aham samud-dharta
mrityu-sansar-saagrat
bhavami na-chirat parth
mayy-avesita-chetsam ' ( Bhagwat Gita: Chapter XII verse 6-7 )

'Those people, who worship Me by surrendering all their activities unto Me, are always devoted to Me, always meditate upon Me, Having always fixing their minds upon Me, O Parth - to them, I swiftly rescue from the ocean of birth and death.'

Through above verse 6 & 7, God is telling 'Parth' (another name of Arjuna, his disciple), that those people who work for God only & offer all their activities & work to Him only, to such a Soul He shows great mercy, always protects him & finally rescues him during & after death.

"mayi sarvani karmani
sannyasyadhyatma-cetasa
nirasir nirmamo bhutva
yudhyasva vigata-jvarah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Three verse 30)

"Sri Krishna said: Therefore, O Arjuna, surrendering all your works unto Me, with full knowledge of Me, without desires for profit, with no claims to proprietorship, and free from lethargy, fight."

Now, how we can work for God only? This whole world is the creation of God only & knowingly, unknowingly, we all are working for the maintenance of this world only. Just introspect & see that, whatever, work or job (good one), you are doing in this world, it is helping in someway or the other in maintaining & sustaining this world. Just take it in that sense, that if all the people of the earth stop doing their daily work, duties, this whole world shall come to a standstill. In that case nobody shall grow food, vegetables, fruits & other things which sustain our life & hence we shall all die. Same is the case with other professions & each person is adding value to this world by doing his/her duty.

Now, though we do duty to sustain this world only but we don't realize that. As this world is a creation of God, so we should work for Him only. If we develop this sense that we are working selflessly to sustain this world created by God only, then also we shall develop an affinity towards God. In the above verses, God is making very clear that if a person offers all his work & activities to God, thinking this world to be a creation of God only, then also He shall be happy with that person & shall protect & shall deliver that person from the cycles of birth & death. By working for God, we shall attain peace & shall attain His love & devotion. So Let's all Work for God only.

Jai Shri Krishna

Beautiful Hymn Devoted to Universal, Omnipresent form of Lord Krishna

Here below is a "Hymn to that Universal, Omnipresent form of Lord Krishna".

"O Lord Krishna, You are the Ancient One & the Lord of Shining Light,
O Lord Krishna, You dwell beyond all darkness and the night;
O Lord Krishna, knowing You alone can a man cross over death,
O Lord Krishna, There is no other path for him to take.

"O Lord Krishna, All heads are Your heads, all faces Your faces,
O Lord Krishna, You dwell inside the heart & also in all hidden places.
O Lord Krishna, Through the whole universe, You have extended Yourself.
O Lord Krishna, You are Shiva, the auspicious, the ever-present Lord.

"O Lord Krishna, With hands and feet everywhere, eyes and ears
Everywhere, heads and mouths everywhere,
O Lord Krishna, You have filled up every corner of the space.
O Lord Krishna, Smaller than smallest and larger than largest.

"O Lord Krishna, Present are You in the depths of our heart.
O Lord Krishna, When free of desires and unshaken by sorrow, we
Seek for You only, then by Your grace,
O Lord Krishna, Your Form and Your glory stand clearly before us.

"O Lord Krishna, You are the God Rama,
O Lord Krishna, You are the youth and the maiden, too;
O Lord Krishna, The old one tottering there with his cane
Is You, who are born here again and again.

"O Lord Krishna, You are the bird of dark-blue hue and the parrot green
With bright red eyes; You are the thunder-cloud's black sheen,
O Lord Krishna, You are the seasons and the seas. Beginning less and
Endless, You are He from whom all worlds are born.

"O Lord Krishna, Can men ever roll up space like a skin?
Then, unless they have known You without and within,
O Lord Krishna, How can they cross over sorrow and death?
O Lord Krishna, whose light needs no other light.

"O Lord Krishna, Creator of even Brahma, the creator,
Revealer to him of the knowledge called Veda,
O Lord Krishna, To You, I come in my longing for freedom;
O Lord Krishna, To You, for refuge, with reverence, I come!"

Here below is a Verse from Bhagwat Gita which exemplify this Universal, Omnipresent nature of God very loudly.

Yathakasa-sthito nityam
vayuh sarvatra-go mahan
tatha sarvani bhutani
mat-sthanity upadharaya (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Nine verse 6)

"Sri Krishna says in Gita: Just like the mighty wind, blowing everywhere, rests always in the sky, so do all created beings rest in Me i.e. in God, who in its unmanifest aspect always rests within this all pervasive space."

From the above verse it is very clear that God gets seated himself always within this all pervasive Space & sees all our activities & controls this whole universe. So Let's start wondering about this Space & the God who is seated within this space in the invisible form. Once we realize this, then it shall be very easy to see GOD all around us & shall be able to feel the omnipresent nature of God. That Supreme God is only called Brahman.

Jai Sri Krishna

Wonderful God – Lord Krishna

Lord Krishna is considered as the Supreme Deity & is worshipped across Hinduism as the Supreme God. Lord Krishna is the Wonderful God of Hinduism. He is recognized as the eighth incarnation (avatar) of Lord Vishnu, and one and the same as Lord Vishnu, one of the Trimurti and as the Supreme God in his own right. Lord Krishna gave spiritual knowledge to Arjuna as the Bhagavat Gita, also known as the Divine Song of God.

Lord Krishna has all the qualities of Godhead. He is very beautiful, pleasing, ever youthful, effulgent, strong, truthful, highly learned & highly knowledgeable. Lord Krishna talks very pleasingly, is very fluent, is highly intelligent & is a genius. He is the authority of Vedas & all the scriptures. He is magnanimous, compassionate, forbearing & always forgiving. He is the well-wisher of devotees & is controlled by love only. He is all-auspicious, very powerful, worshiped by all, all-opulent & the supreme controller of this Universe. Uncountable universes come out from His body & He is the source of all creations. He is also the source of all incarnations that happen from time to time.

Lord Krishna is almighty, all powerful & everyone prays to Him but there is a cult of devotion in which a person falls in Love with Lord Krishna & there is a burning desire in that person's mind to meet Lord Krishna. Lord Krishna is ‘Supreme Deity” & praying Him, having devotion in Him will remove all sins of a person & that person shall get divine bliss in life.

In "Bhagwat Gita", Lord Krishna Says that if a person is devoted to God only then God rescues that person from ocean of Birth & Death i.e. that man becomes eligible for permanent life beyond death forever with God.

"Ye tu srvani krmani
myi sanyasya mat-para
anany-naiv yogen
maam dhyayant upasate '
' Tesham-aham samud-dharta
mrityu-sansar-saagrat
bhavami na-chirat parth
mayy-avesita-chetsam" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter XII verse 6-7)

'Those people, who worship Me by surrendering all their activities unto Me, are always devoted to Me, always meditate upon Me, Having always fixing their minds upon Me, O Parth - to them, I swiftly rescue from the ocean of birth and death.'

"sarva-bhuta-sthitam yo mam
bhajaty ekatvam asthitah
sarvatha vartamano ’pi
sa yogi mayi vartate" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Six verse 31)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Such a yogi, who engages in the worshipful service of the Super soul, knowing that I and the Super soul are one, remains always in Me in all circumstances."

"satatam kirtayanto mam
yatantas cha drdha-vratah
namasyantas cha mam bhaktya
nitya-yukta upasate"  (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Nine verse 14)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Always chanting My glories, endeavouring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion."

So let's be devoted to Lord Krishna always. Let's sing His Glories, read literature regarding Him & also do loving service to humanity (charity etc.) in His name.

Jai Sri Krishna

Jiva (जीव) Moves From One Body to Other

In Hinduism Jiva or (जीव, jeev, jiwa, jeeva) is the immortal essence (individual soul) of a living organism (human, animal, fish or plant etc.) which survives physical death. It is somewhat similar to atma, but whereas atma refers to "the cosmic self", “Jiva” is used to denote an individual 'living entity' or 'living being' specifically. The terms Paramatma and jivatma are used to avoid this confusion. Jivás, originates from the Sanskrit word with the root jīv- which means “to breathe”. So a soul in a body which breathes is called a “Jiva”.

As per the "Bhagwat Gita", at the death of a person this "Jiva (जीव) takes aways all the human senses, its past, present sensory experiences & all the past, present memories with it. It is so subtle that due to its "Immaterial" nature it can travel at the speed of Light & can travel from one planet to another. So due to all the Karmic law as destined by God, it goes from one body to another in the different worlds. So the "Jiva (जीव)" moves from one body to another & one world to another world in "Time & Space", so that's why, It is also called "A Cosmic Traveller"

Below are some verses of "Bhagwat Gita", which clearly tells that there are so many Material Worlds in which a Jiva (जीव) which is a spark of the all pervading Cosmic Consciousness, travels from one place to another after taking repeated births. These are those people who have not yet known the God, hence they take repeated births.

"sariram yad avapnoti
yac chapy utkramatishvarah
grhitvaitani samyati
vayur gandhan ivasayat" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fifteen verse 8)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, The living entity (Jiva (जीव)) in the material world carries his different conceptions of life from one body to another as the air carries aromas. Thus he takes one kind of body and again quits it to take another."

"srotram chaksuh sparshanam cha
rasanam ghranam eva cha
adhisthaya manas chayam
visayan upasevate" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fifteen verse 9)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, The living entity (Jiva (जीव)), thus taking another gross body, obtains a certain type of ear, eye, tongue, nose and sense of touch, which are grouped about the mind. He thus enjoys a particular set of sense objects."

"utkramantam sthitam vapi
bhunjanam va gunanvitam
vimudha nanupasyanti
pasyanti jnana-chaksusah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fifteen verse 10)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, The foolish cannot understand how a living entity (Jiva (जीव)) can quit his body, nor can they understand what sort of body he enjoys under the spell of the modes of nature. But one whose eyes are trained in knowledge can see all this."

"yada sattve pravreddhe tu
pralayam yati deh-bhrit
tado Uttam-vidam lokan
malan pratipadhyate " (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter XIV verse 14)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, "When one, Jiva (जीव) dies after doing Great & Good Karmas & established in the mode of goodness, he attains to the pure higher planets of the great sages."

"rajsi pralayam gatva
karma-sanghisu jayte
tatha pralinas tamsi
mudhh-yonishu jayate" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter XIV verse 15)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, "When one, Jiva (जीव) dies after doing Mixed Karmas in the mode of passion, he takes birth among those engaged in fruitive activities; and when one dies in the mode of ignorance, he takes birth in the animal kingdom."

"urdhvam gacchanti sattva-stha
madhye tish-thanti rajasa
jaghanya-guna-vrtti-stha
adho gacchanti tamasa (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter XIV verse 18)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, "Those Jiva (जीव) situated in the mode of goodness after doing Good Karma's gradually go upward to the higher planets; those in the mode of passion after doing Mixed Karma's live on the earthly planets; and those in the abominable mode of ignorance after doing Bad Karma's go down to the hellish worlds."

"a-brahm-bhuvanan loka
punara vartino ajuna
mam upetya tu kauntey
punara janm na vidhyate" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter VIII verse 16)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, "From the highest planet of Brahm Loka in the material world down to the lowest world, all are places of misery wherein a person comes in repeated birth and death from time to .time. But one who attains to to Me (God), O son of Kunti, never takes birth again."

"para's tasmat tu bhavo a'nyo
a'vyakto a'vyaktat sanatanah
ya sa sarveshu bhuteshu
nashyatsu na vinashyati " (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter VIII verse 20)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, "Beyond the above said material worlds, which are all perishable, there is another unmanifest nature, which is eternal and is transcendental in nature. It is supreme and is never annihilated. When all in this material world is annihilated, that part remains as it is i.e. it is never annihilated & there is eternal life."

Lord Sri Krishna is the Supreme Lord & just like the sun is eternally associated with his rays so the transcendental God Sri Krishna is eternally joined with the “Jivas”. The jivas are the infinitesimally small particles of His spiritual effulgence and are, therefore, not perishable like mundane things. “Jivas”, being part of Divine Lord’s effulgent rays, exhibit on a minute scale the divine qualities of God. So “Jivas” are identical with the qualities of Lord only.

Though Lord Krishna is the all powerful, all-pervading, all-extending Supreme Lord; but Jivas are confined to bodies only. When a Jiva meditates through devotion & merges with the Lord then only he attains to the Lord’s all powerful, all pervasive sublime nature.

Jai Sri Krishna