Hare Krishna -
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Krishna and to all of his pure devotees and aspiring devotees.
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“The jiva who is bewildered by mäyä is first compelled to adopt the path of karma; then he must adopt karma-yoga, followed by jnana-yoga, and finally bhakti-yoga. However, if he is not shown that all these are but different steps on the one staircase, the conditioned jiva cannot ascend to the temple of bhakti.
“What does it mean to adopt the path of karma? Karma consists of the activities that one performs with the body or mind in the course of maintaining one’s life. There are two types of karma: auspicious (subha) and inauspicious (asubha). The results that the jiva obtains by performing subha-karma are auspicious, whereas those that he obtains from asubha-karma are inauspicious. Asubhakarma is also known as sin (papa), or prohibited acts (vikarma). The non-performance of subha-karma is known as akarma. Both vikarma and akarma are bad, whereas subha-karma is good.
“There are three types of subha-karma: obligatory daily rites (nitya-karma), circumstantial duties (naimittika-karma), and ceremonies performed out of a desire for personal benefit (kamya-karma).
Kamya-karma is completely self-interested and should be rejected. The sästras direct us to adopt nitya-karma and naimittikakarma. The sastras have considered what is fit to be taken up and what is fit to be abandoned, and they have classified nitya-karma, naimittika-karma, and kamya-karma as karma, whereas akarma and kukarma (impious activity) have not been included in this category. Although kamya-karma is counted as karma, it is undesirable, and should be given up; so only nitya-karma and naimittika-karma are truly accepted as karma.
“Nitya-karma is karma that produces auspiciousness for the body, mind, and society, and which results in promotion to other planets after death. Everyone is obligated to perform nitya-karma, such as chanting the brahma-gayatri-mantra at the three junctures of the day (sandhya-vandana), offering prayers, using honest means
to maintain one’s body and society, behaving truthfully, and caring for one’s family members and dependants. Naimittika-karma is karma that one must carry out under certain circumstances, or on certain occasions, for example, performing rites for the departed souls of one’s mother and father, atoning for sins and so on.
“The authors of the sastras first examined the natures of human beings and their natural eligibility traits, and then established varnasrama-dharma, the duties for the social castes and spiritual orders. Their intention was to prescribe a system in which nitya-karma and naimittika-karma could be carried out in an excellent way in this world. The gist of this arrangement is that there are four natural types of human beings, classified according to the work that they are eligible to perform: brähmaëas, teachers and priests; khatriyas, administrators and warriors; vaisyas, agriculturists and businessmen; and südras, artisans and laborers. People are also situated in four orders or stages of life, which are known as asramas: brahmacaré, unmarried student life; grhastha, family life; vanaprastha, retirement from family responsibilities; and sannyasa, the renounced ascetic life. Those who are fond of akarma and vikarma are known as antyaja (outcaste) and are not situated in any akrama.
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Please forgive me for any offence or inconvenience.
Jai Sri Radha Madhav Ki Jai!!
Source: Jaiva Dharma (Srila Bhaktivinoda Thäkura)
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