How should one act?

In the previous post we saw that the root cause of problems created by action is not the action itself but wrong association - wrong association with the agent (i.e. the body) that actually performs the actions.

“The soul has nothing to gain by doing any action. Nor does it lose anything by not doing any action.

But the world (I.e the material world) cannot go on without action. It is action that keeps the world running.

So , we (soul + body) need to perform whatever is essential action for the benefit of the world. We need to do it as if we are really doing it for our own sake. That way, we can set an example to the worldly people who are ignorant and who blindly mimic other people.

If we keep performing actions with such a frame of mind, totally disassociating ourselves from both success or failure of our actions, with our sight fixed firmly on the ultimate reality (that we are the souls), these actions don’t bind us.

It is like a lotus leaf that remains completely un-drenched even while it stands in a pool of water.”

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Based on verse 3.18, 3.14, 3.25, 3.21, 5.10, of Bhagavad Geetha, one of the most quoted and widely translated of the ancient Indian scriptures, believed to have been composed by Vyasa as part of the great Indian Epic Mahabharata, 5000 years ago. The interpretation of the verses and audio recital are by Dr.King (Copyright © 2018 Dr. King)