Isha Upanishad: The Practical Guide for Divine Life : ( Part 2)

Verse 2: 

kurvanneveha karmāṇi jijīviṣecchataṃ samāḥ | 

evaṃ tvayi nānyatheto’sti na karma lipyate nare || 2 ||

Literal Meaning :

Should one wish to live a hundred years on this earth, he should live doing Karma here (in the light of the above verse). While thus, (as) a man, you live, there is no way other than this by which Karma will not cling to you.

My Personal Understanding :

The word ‘eve ha’ means here and now. This is added to emphasize the importance of present actions. It is vain to think of our past actions nor we can speculate how we will act in the future. Only the present actions are in our control and they alone have the power to set us free.

Fact 1:

kurvanneveha karmāṇi jijīviṣecchataṃ samāḥ | 

This verse talks about the importance of selfless service and the practice of karma yoga. Those actions that help us unite the sense of individuality with the cosmic oneness come under the purview of karma yoga. 

Karma Yoga is not about our physical actions alone. It could be a physical action that involves sense organs, a mental action where you pursue a certain thought, an emotional action that involves harboring a feeling within, or a spiritual action where you perform a certain act of sadhana or meditation. The point is not the act itself but the intention behind doing a certain act.  Whatever actions you undertake, ask yourself a simple question? Does this action evoke a feeling of oneness within, does this act helps me expand my individual consciousness that feels limited? If the answer is yes, then a simple act of wishing well to someone mentally is karma yoga. If the answer is no, then giving away the entire wealth and possessions is at best the philanthropy rooted in the sense of “I” ness.

Here is an article that can help you learn how to practice Karma Yoga in your daily life:

https://os.me/learn/ways-to-practice-karma-yoga-for-beginners/

Fact 2:

evaṃ tvayi nānyatheto’sti na karma lipyate nare ||

This verse says that living our life in the spirit of karma yoga is the only way that Karma will not cling to you. This verse is a word of caution by sages to those who are prone to doing good deeds. This verse clearly tells that although performing righteous actions is noble, it also has an impact and keeps us bound to the cycle of birth and death, one has to come back to the earth even to reap the fruit of their good actions. That is why our sages emphasized that if freedom is what one desires, one should perform righteous action established in the knowledge given in the first verse. One should not claim right over any outcome from the action, instead one should perform actions knowing the Supreme Lord is aware of all his actions and have a faith that Lord will provide what one needs and deserve to evolve at any point in time.

Few words on Faith by beloved master Om Swami :

https://os.me/do-you-have-faith/

To be Continued…

🌼🌼🌼All Glories to Swamiji Alone🌼🌼🌼