A common space for harmonic peacemakers

III: 7

Chapter 3, Verse 7

“The truly admirable ones

Are those who

Free from attachment

To results,

With their minds

Ruling its powers

In harmony,

Engage in the Yoga

Of consecrated action

On the path

To union with the Self.”

Sri Ramakrishna:

“A deadly cobra was a terror to travelers in a woodland. The locality was specificallly avoided for this reason. A holy man ‘by chance’ passed that way. The venomous creature made its appearance, bent on striking. Instead of biting him, it looked meekly at the holy man, who kindly advised the serpent not to bite anybody. The cobra accepted the advice. After a long interval, the holy man again came that way, thought about the converted cobra and searched for it. The creature was found mangled and half dead, wriggling in a hole. When the matter was anxiously inquired into, the snake submitted that it was all the result of faithfully following the advice of the saint. Because it had stopped biting, children took to pelting it with rocks. The saint smilingly rebuked the snake, saying, ‘I exhorted you not to bite, but I did not prohibit you from hissing.’ The snake learned a valuable lesson and thenceforth got on safely. Unbridled senses are like the poisonous snake wreaking havoc among people. Mortified senses are like the inactive snake almost beaten to death. Refined senses cultivated through the Yoga of consecrated action cause harm to none while elevating the practitioner to sublimity.”

[What is being described is the middle path of Karma Yoga, in which there is just the right amount of discipline. When we give free reign to the senses, there is the danger of self-indulgence at the expense of others; all that matters is ego gratification which increases the likelihood that others will be harmed unnecessarily. Too much discipline and rigid restriction of sense activity often encourages a withdrawal from engagement with the world. It is when action is performed wholeheartedly as worship of the higher power at work in ourselves and in the world that the right balance is struck.]

Swami Chidbhavananda:

“Discipline is imperative regarding the interactions between the mind and the senses. The acts of cooking and eating may be cited as examples. An aspirant prepares wholesome food for offering to the chosen deity. During the preparation, there is no thought whatsoever about tasting the dish. The whole activity is permeated by a worshipful spirit. When the food has been prepared, it is then dedicated to the Lord. It is subsequently eaten and considered to be grace from the Lord and not an object of sense-enjoyment. The delicacy of the food is relished as the glory of the Lord. Herein lies the difference between the indulgent and the disciplined.”