Hare Krishna,
could anyone helps to clarify the below:
1. Many time I hear two words -" prescribed" duty and "occupational" duty - whats
the diference between the two.
2. Lord Krishna repeatedly says (eg BG 18.07 ) - don't give up your prescribed duty. However
I hear in many in many lectures - " just to do chanting and dancing -24hrs. everything will be fine" - is that what prescribed duty means?
3. I hear many times ; " direct" bhakti yoga like chanting, archana etc is the only way to serve lord. Not indirect methods like one earn money and use for spiritual activities . - it is being termed as nishkama karma yoga in Iskcon and not recommended.
If that is the case - How a person in family life , an officer goer, or lives outside temple life - should see "Bhakthi yoga". If he wants to purify his consciousness , development attachment towards Lord Krishna - how he as to align himself to this direct bhakthi yoga ? how to commit to his "prescribed" duty?
thanks.
Replies
Hare Krsna Prabhuji,
PAMHO.
You are a grihasta, providing for your family is very much prescribed duty for you. You have to earn, take care of family, all the while keeping Krsna in the centre. This is the perfection of grihastashram. Its not always possible to do bhakti yoga, sometimes its karma misrit bhakti, sometimes gyaan misrit bhakti.
Basically for a grihasta, if one succeeds in keeping Krsna in the centre of one's life and activities, that is the ideal life. How to do it? Get up in the morning, do mangalarati, chant 16, read scriptures/hear lectures, eat only Krsna prasadam, no eating out, no prajalpa, read/ hear on the way to work and back, come back home in the evening and do sandhya arati, read/ hear lectures before retiring. Be part of or lead a preaching program, invite devotees regularly to your house and feed them prasadam, share with them their issues and discuss yours, donate to Krsna Conscious activities, celebrate festivals either in the local ISKCON temple and/ or at home, visit the local temple regularly and take up some service as per convenience, go for yatras to dhams. The more you simplify your life, the more conducive to sadhana it will be.
Haribol,
YOur servant,
Radha Rasamayi DD
Well, In Bhagavad Gita Sri Krishna says to Arjuna in a typical order while explaining and introducing various Yogas..to reach God. Yoga means union..Union of Jeevatma with Parmatma...It can be done in various ways..
1. Gyana yoga. 2. Karma yoga.. 3. Dhyana yoga ( raja yoga) 4. Bhakti yoga.
When Lord introduced each yoga in a step wise manner.
Gyana Yoga Starts with Understanding Sankhya yoga. That is you are soul and not the body. ( in simple terms). Becoz body is ever changing but soul is eternal and soul transmigrates the bodies...
dehino ’smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā
tathā dehāntara-prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati ( 2.13 BG)
He says here at the end of Chapter 2.
BG 2.71: A person who has given up all desires for sense gratification, who lives free from desires, who has given up all sense of proprietorship and is devoid of false ego—he alone can attain real peace.
The enlightened soul thus who has understood that he is not the body cares nothing for his body and then gives up all attachments and sense of doership attains real peace( enlightened stage).. End of all gyana yoga is real peace...oneness with the supreme.
Then Arjuna says..
Abandoning all attachment to the results of his activities, ever satisfied and independant, he performs no fruitive action, although engaged in all kinds of undertakings.( BG 4.20)
By giving up the attachment to the results of the work done and performing duty as an offering ( yagna) to lord. one is free from the bondage of Karma.
Prescribed duty of Arjuna as he was Kshetriya he is prescribed duty is fight against injustice.. That is his swa dharma.
Now a days we don't do our prescribed duties as there is no longer Varna and ashrama dharmas practiced.
now a days a shudra is becoming a teacher and a scholar and brahmin is performing the jobs of the Vaishya and shudra. In such a case....whatever job you are presently doing is ur prescribed duty... do it with 100% commitment work with whole heart... without thinking about the results of the work done...
In case you are student.. your duty is to study well for the exams..prepare well for the exams give in ur 100% put in all hard work....leave rest to God. Don't think about the results.. whether you will pass the exam or not it is not in ur hands....You did your best.....you know you have done all that you can!!! but result is not in our hands..
karmany evadhikaras te
ma phalesu kadacana
ma karma-phala-hetur bhur
ma te sango 'stv akarmani
You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty.
Dhyan/ Raja Yoga: Chapter 5, Verse 27-28
Shutting out all external sense objects, keeping the eyes and vision concentrated between the two eyebrows, suspending the inward and outward breaths within the nostrils—thus controlling the mind, senses and intelligence, the tranecendentalist becomes free from desire, fear and anger. One who is always in this state is certainly liberated.
The sages, knowing Me as the ultimate purpose of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attain peace from the pangs of material miseries. ( 5.29)
In Chapter 6 Lord introduces Dhyana Yoga...
When the yogi, by practice of yoga, disciplines his mental activities and becomes situated in Transcendence—devoid of all material desires—he is said to have attained yoga.
And of all yogis, he who always abides in Me with great faith, worshiping Me in transcendental loving service, is most intimately united with Me in yoga and is the highest of all.( 6.47 BG)
In this way he slowly explain each yoga.. and how each path way can lead to Lord.
End of all knowledge ( Jyana) is uniting with Lord..
End of all nishkaam karma is uniting with Lord.
End of all dhyana is also uniting with lord.
In Chapter 12 Lord Introduces Bhakti yoga.!!!
12.8 , 12.9, 12.10--
BG 12.8: Fix your mind on Me alone and surrender your intellect to Me. There upon, you will always live in Me. Of this, there is no doubt.
12.9: If you are unable to fix your mind steadily on Me, O Arjun, then practice remembering Me with devotion while constantly restraining the mind from worldly affairs.
BG 12.10: If you cannot practice remembering Me with devotion, then just try to work for Me. Thus performing devotional service to Me, you shall achieve the stage of perfection.
First..He says.. 1. Try fixing mind on ME. 2. If you cannot fix your mind.. then try.. remembering me... Thirdly.. he says If you cannot remember me..3. Perform devotional service and work for me. This is the order HE says..
SO.. Lord gives the order in which one may try to reach lord..
BG 12.5: For those whose minds are attached to the unmanifest,( impersonal) the path of realization is full of tribulations. Worship of the unmanifest is exceedingly difficult for embodied beings.
So Lord directly.. said to fix mind on HIS Personal Form as the impersonal form is difficult to achieve.. if you are not able to fix mind on the personal form of lord then try to remember His leelas.. if not able to recollect leelas then go for doing performing devotional service and work for HIM.
So....Lord directly gave the final statement...that --the easiest pathway to come to HIM.
chapter 18.verse 66..
sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
moksayisyami ma sucah
Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.
Simply surrender to Lord He will take care of everything and make sure that you are delivered from all sins.
Hare Krishna.
Hare Krsna
1. Many time I hear two words -" prescribed" duty and "occupational" duty - whats
the diference between the two.
Prescribed duty consists of Occupational duty and constitutional duty.
Occupational duty is for purpose of maintaining body and aspects related to it.
Consittutional duty is for purpose of developing/ maintianing Krsna consciousness
2. Lord Krishna repeatedly says (eg BG 18.07 ) - don't give up your prescribed duty. However
I hear in many in many lectures - " just to do chanting and dancing -24hrs. everything will be fine"
Kindly give reference for the above
3. I hear many times ; " direct" bhakti yoga like chanting, archana etc is the only way to serve lord. Not indirect methods like one earn money and use for spiritual activities . - it is being termed as nishkama karma yoga in Iskcon and not recommended.
There are various levels of how to serve Sri Krsna . Lord Sri Krsna has clearly mentioned this in Bhagavad Gita.
1. Highest level
mayy eva mana ādhatsva
mayi buddhiṁ niveśaya
nivasiṣyasi mayy eva
ata ūrdhvaṁ na saṁśayaḥ
Just fix your mind upon Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and engage all your intelligence in Me. Thus you will live in Me always, without a doubt.(BG 12.8)
This is level of spontaneous devotional service with complete absorption in the personality of Sri Krsna. This is stage of love which is above duty. At this stage devotee performs only direct devotional service. 9 types of devotional service like hearing, chanting etc.
2. Regulated devotioanal service
atha cittaṁ samādhātuṁ
na śaknoṣi mayi sthiram
abhyāsa-yogena tato
mām icchāptuṁ dhanañ-jaya
My dear Arjuna, O winner of wealth, if you cannot fix your mind upon Me without deviation, then follow the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga. In this way develop a desire to attain Me. (Bg 12.9)
This is the level in which the devotee can fix mind on Krsna but not 100% of the time. Hence they follow regulated devotional service. Details are in the purport of this verse. The goal is to increase absorption in Krsna through regulated devotional service of 9 processes of devotional service.
At this stage occupational duty and constitutional duty are both recommended. However for those who very advanced like Srila Prabhupada, they may perform such duties just to set example for others, although they are at the stage of love.
3. Working for sake of Krsna
abhyāse ’py asamartho ’si
mat-karma-paramo bhava
mad-artham api karmāṇi
kurvan siddhim avāpsyasi
If you cannot practice the regulations of bhakti-yoga, then just try to work for Me, because by working for Me you will come to the perfect stage.(Bg 12.10)
This recommended for those who are not able to practice regulated devotional service. For example - People who are worshipers of Shiva, kali etc may be hesitant to take up devotional service to Krsna as this may be social stigma. They need to follow their occupational duty which is as much in alignment of Krsna as possible and perform their occupational duty with the consciousness that Krsna is their master who has given them that work and they need to perform their duty for Krsna. They are conscious of Krsna through their work.
4. Working selflessly
athaitad apy aśakto ’si
kartuṁ mad-yogam āśritaḥ
sarva-karma-phala-tyāgaṁ
tataḥ kuru yatātmavān
If, however, you are unable to work in this consciousness of Me, then try to act giving up all results of your work and try to be self-situated. (BG 12.11)
This is performing work and offering results. This is recommended for those who cannot even perform work which is aligned with Krsna conscious principles. Example - somebody may be a butcher, poultry farmer, fisherman etc. Such work is against Krsna conscious principles. Such people cannot perform their occupational duty as God given duty. Because it is not God given duty. Such people need to become selfless and give the result of their work liek money to krsna or some good cause.
In Krsna conscious society, Srila Prabhupada expected devotee to be at stage of regulated devotional service performing both duty towards body and soul with the intention of absorbing ourselves in service of Krsna
Hare Krsna