Chapter 3 Verse 4 – Karma Yoga
Sloka
Na karmanaam anaarambhaan naishkarmyam purusho’shnute;
Na cha sannyasanaad eva siddhim samadhigacchati.
Translation
Not by the non-performance of actions does man reach actionlessness,
nor by mere renunciation does he attain to perfection.
Interpretation
After talking about the two folds in the same path Lord Krishna in this shloka concentrates on the action performed by an individual. He says that even if a man abandons action, his mind will be active. That means action is only one part of what mind does. If it is not doing any action also it will be active. Lord Krishna also adds that one cannot reach perfection or freedom from action or knowledge of the Self, merely by renouncing action. He must possess knowledge of the Self to reach the level of perfection.
Extending Interpretation to Mankind’s Life!
The focus of this shloka is actionlessness and action and the difference between the both. Is there a state of actionlessness that ever exists? Lord Krishna says it is impossible to have actionlessness. I will explain how. Suppose you are sitting idle on a sofa, not doing anything. You are not watching TV or listening to music or not talking or not listening to anyone or not eating anything. You are just sitting in sofa. Can that state be called as a state of actionlessness as you are not doing any work? The answer is No. Even if you are not doing any work this cannot be called actionlessness.
Why? The answer is simple. You are breathing, blood is flowing in your body, your body is ready to move whenever you want it to move. If a mosquito sits on you to bite, then you will move your hand to kill or scare off that mosquito, that means you are ready to perform action. A dead body cannot do that. And second most important thing is even if you are not performing anything, inside your mind you are thinking about something. These thoughts are the triggers for all the future actions. In short you are planning for future action.
You might want to go to a mall or you might want to exercise or talk to your parents or watch TV. So, its proved beyond doubt that there is no state called the state of actionlessness and you cannot achieve perfection without these two. That’s why elders say “Think before you act”. That means before doing any action you need to think with full concentration and that thinking should not be misunderstood as the state of actionlessness. Both action and acquiring knowledge which is equated to actionlessness is important for Perfection!
