Bhagavad Gita - Book 12, Volume 8

POWERFUL COGNITION

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You must fix your mind upon Me alone.

If you are not able to work even this way, surrendering unto Me, give up all the results of your actions to Me without ego.

Kṛṣṇa gives various possibilities to Arjuna, one after another. His compassion for Arjuna’s spiritual evolution knows no limits. He never gives up on Arjuna. ‘If you cannot do this, do that. And if you cannot do that, at least do this,’ Kṛṣṇa continues. In the last four verses, He continuously gives options to Arjuna. Kṛṣṇa says, ‘Fix your mind upon Me alone.

Live in Me.’ Then He felt that He had to give Arjuna an option, in case Arjuna could not succeed. ‘If you cannot fix your mind upon Me, steadily practice and practice again,’ He advised. He relented further, ‘If you cannot do this repetitive practice, if this is too much for you, then work on My mission. Whatever you do, do it for Me.’ Kṛṣṇa now says, ‘If you are unable to do even this, which is work for My sake, then just abandon your ego and turn over the results of your actions to Me, sarva-karma-phala tyāgam tataḥ kuru yatātmavān (12.11).’

Kṛṣṇa relents from His standpoint that Arjuna should work only on those activities that are Kṛṣṇa’s. He feels that there may be conditions that may prevent Arjuna from devoting all his time only to those activities that are Kṛṣṇa’s. See how relevant Kṛṣṇa’s advice is, even by today’s standards. None of us can hope to sit idle and be taken care of. We must do something to occupy ourselves. In our day-to-day reality of life, not all may be able to work on God’s mission alone, all the time.

We may be able to spend only some time on activities that are selfless activities that benefit humanity overall, and activities that are spiritual.

we need to spend a lot of time on
activities that are of material benefit
to us and to others related to us.
Nothing is lost, assures
Kṛṣṇa, and He provides the bridge
between material pursuits and
spiritual pursuits. Kṛṣṇa brings in the
core concept of the Gītā, that of
‘renunciation’.

He says, ‘Do what you must do with
an attitude of surrender to Me and
sacrifice the results of your actions to
Me, with complete control over
yourself, your ego.’ We feel
responsible for the results of our
actions. Whether we succeed or fail in
what we do, either proud and happy,
or guilty and sad, our ego makes us
feel responsible.

We identify ourselves with what
we do and the results of what
we do. Kṛṣṇa says, ‘If you cannot
do whatever else I have told you
to do, do this. Drop your ego.
Drop the fruits of your actions
and renounce them to Me.’ The
freedom that results from what
Kṛṣṇa advises is true liberation.

Once we realize that we no
longer are the masters of our
destiny, decision makers of the
results of our actions, we feel a
weight lifting off our shoulders.
It is He who is now responsible
for the results of our action. We
still are the ‘doers’, but no
longer the ‘owners.’ One may
wonder, how can I succeed in
this rat race? Remember that
even if you are the winner in
this rat race, you are still
only a rat!

It is an illusion of our minds that we decide the results of our actions. It is pure fantasy to believe that we decide the result of our actions. We cannot even guarantee that we will survive our next breath. Our life is not in our hands. What arrogance, therefore, to imagine that activities in the outer world are subject to our control! There is a power higher than us that decides the results of our actions. Once we realize this and start believing in the wisdom of that higher power, strange and mystical things happen to us.

We just need to let the Universe, Kṛṣṇa, the Divine, decide what is best for the rest of humanity and us.

Let us surrender the results of
all that we do to this sacred
power. Whatever then happens
to us is for the good, for our
good and the good of everyone
in this Universe. We are
surrendering to the cosmic
power that surrounds us.
Without Its grace we cannot live
or take our next breath. Say,
‘Do what you think is best for
me’ with deep completion and
see what happens. Not merely
does the end goal materialize,
but an immense spiritual relief
will overtake you. ‘Renounce
unto Me,’ says Kṛṣṇa, ‘surrender
yourself to Me, and I shall
liberate you.’