Running Away from Karma Is Not the Solution
The Lord says, 'The Pandavas focused only on dharma, while the Kauravas focused only on karma. This became the cause of unrest.'
When dharma and karma are not harmonized in the same place at the same time, that place becomes a battlefield. The Lord says, 'Do not act like this. Perform your actions righteously. Make karma your dharma. Then there will be no unrest. Do not view them separately.'
The Kauravas were restless because they focused only on karma. The Pandavas became restless because they focused only on dharma. Both sides were restless. Otherwise, how would there have been a war?
Work must be done for the world; otherwise, the world will come to a standstill. If you do not work, how will you run your family? If all rulers, soldiers, police officers, and doctors were to engage only in chanting the divine name, what would happen to the world?
Then even thieves, dacoits, enemies across the borders, and germs would have to engage in chanting the divine name. But that will not happen. Therefore, everyone must perform their respective duties.
However, if you treat karma and dharma as separate, it will lead to frustration. This is what the Lord shows us. 'Work for the world. Keep performing your duties. Turn them into your personal dharma. What is dharma for yourself should be karma for the world. Do not draw a line between them. This is the message of the Gita.'
Some say dharma is everything and karma is painful, harmful to the soul. Others believe wealth is everything and that dharma does not even exist.
Both these views arise within the mind. The same mind sometimes becomes a field of dharma (Dharmakshetra) and at other times becomes a battlefield (Kurukshetra). Think about it: from morning to evening, we sometimes think from a spiritual perspective and sometimes from a material perspective.
If these two perspectives are not harmonized, there will always be unrest in life. How to bring this harmony into life is what the Gita teaches us. This is the purpose of the Gita.
Abandoning karma is not the solution. You may retreat to a cave, but if circumstances force you to work again, the unrest will return. Therefore, abandoning karma is not the solution.
Yes, if you wish, you may avoid unnecessary actions, and that is fine. But completely abandoning karma is impossible. When you cannot do so, it too becomes a cause of frustration.
'Oh, I am being forced to work,' someone might say. Another person says, 'I have realized the ultimate truth, that all this is an illusion. But those who have lent me money do not understand. What should I do? They are still after me.'
Thus, escaping from karma is not the solution. This is what the Lord teaches. Harmonize karma and dharma, and then karma will also become a source of joy. This is the message of the Gita.
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Bhagavad Gita
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