After many years of reading and loving the Gita, just this morning, it hit me in a flash. The entire Karma Yoga can be summarised in nine sutras!
- Arjuna is despondent because he thinks he is the doer (anxiety) the enjoyer (expectation) when he is merely an actor in Krishna's play called Kurukshetra (life).
- Krishna stresses that everyone MUST act according to his role, but no one is entitled to this or that fruit, BECAUSE how this connected world runs and what fruits you receive is beyond calculation.
- Do your best always, and work with poise, i.e. focus on your work, not your fruits.
- Working for gain causes bondage. When you make your work your worship, it is a Yajna.
- Discover your calling = Swadharma = what comes naturally to you and fits your circumstances. Don't imitate others.
- What is your true calling, and how to make it a Yajna, is taught by a Guru if you seek it sincerely.
- Sannyasa ≠ abstaining from work, excellence ≠ obsessing about work or results.
- Only when you make your Swadharma your Yajna, do you see Krishna's master plan = your role connected with all existence in a grand play. That is Bhakti.
- Bhakti is the summum bonum. Then Krishna gives you work, fruits, and bliss, whatever your role!
