Q: What to do?
The question is, “What to do?”. For all of us, common human beings, we have to spend our time in Artha and Kama. Because we have to make our living, livelihood and survive. Without that, we can’t survive. So, typically men have to go and work. Nowadays, women also want to go and work. So, both men and women go and work, and to make a living they have to work. This becomes kamya karma. What is the way out for them? Is there a path for them?
First, you have to understand that karma is not what you do. Karma is what intention you have. What is your inner attitude brings the karma phala. Any action can be done with a different attitude. To give an example: there were 3 stone cutters. It was the hot sun, and 3 people were cutting stones. One person was very tired. Somebody asked him “what are you doing?”. The first person replies, “Can’t you see? I am cutting a stone. Such a horrible living”. The second person says, “I am cutting stone for this building”. The third person was very joyful and energetic. The third person says, “I am cutting stone for a temple for the Lord. So many people will visit”. The attitude of doing the same job is different in different people. Depending on your attitude your acts will be purified. So, what you do doesn’t matter but why you do, matters. This is the secret of karma yoga.
When you do something, let us say you are earning for the family, you are going for work. If you do the work with the attitude that, ‘This is the service to the God, whatever I am doing is a service to the God, let my work be worship to the God, whatever small work I do.’ It doesn’t matter what work you do. With that attitude, if you work, your whole work will become pooja. Most people think that pooja is something they do in the morning. The work itself can be converted into pooja. That’s why Basavanna, a great saint in Karnataka said “kayakave kailasa”. Work can be converted into worship. That’s your attitude towards the work. If you convert work into worship, your inner Consciousness gets purified. So, work can be a worship of God and can be liberating also.
Same way, if you do work with the attitude of Seva, it will become dharma, it is my duty. It will qualify you for good punya, going to heaven. The same work that you do for your survival, can be converted into a path for Mukti or a path for swarga also, depending on the attitude which you have.
Now, I shall tell a story from Mahabharata. The story of Dharmavyada. There was this Rishi called Kaushik. Kaushika Rishi. He was doing intense meditation in the forest for 12 years. What happens is that this meditation has some mental powers. One day, when he was sitting under the branch of a tree, there was a crow sitting on the branch which shit on his head. This guy got very angry and looked at the crow. Because of his intense meditative power, the crow got burnt. He was happy that I have got so much of power of meditation.
Then he goes for bhiksha to the city. Stands in front of a house and says, “bhavati bhiksham dehi” . There was a lady, who was supposed to give bhiksha, she gets delayed and this person is getting angry. When she comes out after some time, he looks at her. That lady says, “Oh Kaushika! I am not a crow to get burnt”. This guy gets rattled. He thinks, “How can it be? how can this lady know?”.
Then the lady says, “Oh Kaushika! You are a monk. You have the luxury of going to the forest and doing meditation continuously as a full-time activity. We are householders; we don’t have that luxury. For us, surviving is a difficult job. We need to work. For me, I need to take care of my husband, I have to take care of my children. Every work I do, I did looking at the Divine in my husband and Divine in my children. When I am doing cooking, I am cooking for the Divine in my husband. I am cooking for the Divine in my children. Because of this, my entire work got converted into pooja and I gained the highest wisdom, karma yoga.”
This is actually what they say Pathivratha. In earlier days, there was something called, Pathivratha. Now, today’s modern-day ladies think that it is all old fashion attitude/concept. The Pathivratha is actually a vratha which means spiritual practice. Pathi means husband. So, pathi means not just a husband. Pathi means one who protects. One who protects is not the husband. One who protects is the Divine in the husband. With that attitude when the wife does service to the husband, she becomes eligible for the highest enlightenment.
There are stories of many Pathivratha. Now, modern-day people don’t understand this concept at all. The housewife’s work can be converted into karma yoga, and that can be converted into bhakti-yoga. It is not the work you do, it is the attitude with which you do the work. This is the secret of karma yoga. Now Kaushika gets rattled. He has done meditation and all that he acquired is Ego or ahamkara. He just falls at her feet and says, “You are my guru”.
The lady still sees ahankara in him. She says “It is not possible. I am a householder woman. A monk becoming shishya for a householder woman is not a good thing. It is not a right thing for you.”. Kaushika said, “No! You are my guru because you have wisdom.” Actually, he should have said this. But he asks her, “What should I do now?”. That means the ego is still there. Then, that lady says, “What you do is, you go to that city and there is a person called Dharmavyada. You get the wisdom from him”. Because traces of ego are still there in this fellow, she sends him to another person.
He goes to that place and he sees that there is a butcher shop. The butcher is cutting animals and selling it. This man, all his life is a vegetarian and he is vomiting. He has to listen to that person who is sitting in a butcher shop. He is waiting until evening. The butcher closed his shop. Washed his hands. Takes a bath. A lot of people have started gathering to listen to the discourse given by the butcher. He has the highest wisdom. He is called Dharmavyada.
Kaushika is rattled. He asks, “How is it that you attained wisdom?” Dharmavyada says, “See, I am born in a hunter’s family. I don’t have any other means of living. I have to take care of my family. Whatever I did, I did as an offering to the God and God gave me highest wisdom. So, from morning to evening I perform my work, and evening people gather for wisdom from me”.
So, please don’t underestimate the work. Work itself, what you do, doesn’t matter. But why you do makes a lot of difference. With what intention you do makes a lot of difference. Any work can be converted as a service to God. Any work can be liberating. Any work can give punya, depending on your inner attitude.
Pranams
References:
SK 19