During this time of election sops, Sri Krishna's words in the chapter on Karma Yoga in the Bhagavad Gita remind you of the importance of action.
He tells Arjuna: the unwise act with attachment – meaning even during action, they are bound by its results. However, the wise man, who has a responsibility in maintaining order in society, should act without attachment. If politicians worked without attachment to the results of action — ie winning the election, then only will ethics, quality and welfare exist in government.
The next verse is on how not to disturb the social order. If there are masses of people who perform actions without clarity, the wise leader who is established in his true self should not destabilise them and prevent them from doing their actions. He must allow them and himself do his work without attachment to the results. The three qualities of nature–Satwa–purity, Rajas–dynamism and Tamas–Inertia in different permutations and combinations motivate actions. Unrealised persons, deluded by ego, tend to think that they are the doers.
Actions are led by the three Gunas; Satwa, Rajas and Tamas that determine perception, which in turn guides action. Those who are ignorant of this combination causing action and result shouldn’t be dissuaded by the man of steady wisdom for wthis will lead to chaos in society! All action binds you to the world of further actions and results. The only way to escape this bondage is to act in total faith and without jealousy. When something is done well, people are eager to assume responsibility, “Yes, it’s me who did it!” If things go wrong the blame falls on others, “It was he and not me, who did it!” This happens during many conversations between parents over their children — who are no doubt the results of their participation! If the son does something excellent, the father is the first to exclaim, “Oh, he is my son, he can’t be anything but excellent!.” If he has committed an embarrassing error, the mother is blamed, “He has got all your nasty traits! Look at what he has done!” Sri Krishna is aware of the mind’s blame game and says,“Whoever finds fault with this teaching and does not follow it is a fool. Despite all the knowledge he may possess, he suffers from delusions and is totally lost in confusion!” A woman with too much rajas in her system is bound to get angry, restless and agitated. A man with more tamas in his system is bound to be sleepy and slow all the time. Trying to change it is like trying to straighten a dog’s tail! A woman of predominant satwa will be excellent in all actions. There is no point in being jealous about their achievements, but one can reach there by hard work, emulation and working at transforming their own personality through the many yogic practices available! There are only two ways to guide our actions, whatever they may be — one is to change all that you can’t accept. The next is to accept all that you cannot change!
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