Swadharma

“Krishna teaches Arjuna the way to resolve the dilemma of renunciation and action. Freedom lies, not in the renunciation of the world, but in disciplined action (कर्मयोग). Put concretely, all action is to be both performed without attachment to the fruit of the action (कर्मफलासंग) and dedicated with loving devotion to Krishna. Disciplined action within the context of devotion is essential to the religious life envisioned in the Gita.”

Barbara Stoler Miller, Introduction to The Bhagavad Gita

Coming across these lines in the introduction to Miller’s translation of the Gita, I remembered reading something similar before. Indeed I had. In a brief reference to the Gita in The Argumentative Indian, Amartya Sen brings up Krishna’s comment to Arjuna that he must “fare forward” rather than “fare well.” This concept of disinterested action (निष्काम कर्म) challenges any less-than-completely-enlightened soul. Perhaps this underlies why Miller and Sen both choose to dilate upon the point.

In both India and the United States, the emphasis placed on results is almost absolute. For most Hindus at Harvard, who aspire to become doctors, investment bankers, consultants, or lawyers, professional aspirations seem to be at odds with this divine religious calling outlined by Krishna. To add, most of our parents, concerned for our welfare, have rather high expectations of the results we put out; many just assume we will employ honest methods to attain these ends, or they do not stress the methods as being of equal importance to the ends. Aside from the basic challenge of disinterested action, such environmental factors make the task even more difficult. In the Adam Smithian world we live in, detaching self-interest from action seems to corrupt one of the foundation stones upon which our society is based. Living in America’s democracy, where, as Alexis de Tocqueville writes, “out of cupidity, [individuals] see in the public fortune their own,” extricating self from action would seem erode the success of our system of governance.

Should we decide to sacrifice selfish ends, renunciation looks like a better path. By renouncing the material world, we renounce its goods and bads. This culminates in the purging of our souls. Purged souls are clean. By extension, we too are clean. All this is achieved without tackling the paradox of disinterested action and confronting the resolution of the means-ends connection in कर्मयोग. To be sure, this method of purification may be as difficult or even more so than कर्मयोग. Rejecting love, human connections, pleasures, pain, and attachment require an almost boundless strength of the mind and iron fortitude. There’s a reason why only a very small percentage of Hindu society successfully attains true sannyasi status; the barriers to entry into this “occupation” are extremely high. And in the Indian diasporic community, sannyasis are virtually nonexistent. Perhaps even the sannyasi example is invalid; sannyasis make it their business to teach the general populace how to become aware of God and live virtuously. In doing so, they connect themselves to other human beings and thus do not renounce them completely. Nevertheless, if choosing a goal, the goal of the sannyasi at least seems mildly possible and ultimately successful.

Why then, does Krishna instruct Arjuna otherwise? Why does Arjuna listen to Krishna and help destroy the Kauravas? The answer may lie in the fact that renunciation implies cowardice. By skirting the issue of disinterested action, by not making the effort to extricate means and higher purpose from concrete ends, we fall in the trap of human mediocrity. We choose an easy way out. And as much as Western society and our upbringing ask us to put ourselves and our objectives first, it also teaches us to pursue knowledge wholeheartedly and to contemplate the mysteries and contradictions of life. By pursuing self-improvement through disinterested action, a concept that initially strikes us as at odds with our value system, we stand a greater chance to gain knowledge than we do by rejecting everything.

The insight provided by pursuing disinterested action will outweigh any benefits of renunciation. This method takes a bold stand against a challenge instead of scurrying away from it.

Related posts:

1. The Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 5
2. Question of the Week: What is my duty?
3. The Dark Knight, Continued
4. Abandoning both renunciation and acquisition: King Janaka
5. Chapter 14: Discrimination of the Three Gunas