Swami answers questions by Shri Anil on Hinduism

[Questions by Shri Anil]

1. What is action and what is inaction?

[किं कर्म किमकर्मेति कवयोऽप्यत्र मोहिता: |
तत्ते कर्म प्रवक्ष्यामि यज्ज्ञात्वा मोक्ष्यसेऽशुभात् ||16||

What is action and what is inaction? (Gita 4:16)]

Swami replied:- Karma does not mean simply action in the context of the Gita even though fundamentally it means any action. In this spiritual context, action means good action. Similarly, Akarma does not mean simply no action and in this spiritual context, Akarma means bad action and no Akarma means no bad action.

2. How can one elevate oneself?

[उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं नात्मानमवसादयेत् |
आत्मैव ह्यात्मनो बन्धुरात्मैव रिपुरात्मन: || 5|| How one can elevate oneself? (Gita 4:16)]

Swami replied:- This means that God will not uplift you unless you put some effort for your uplift. If you put effort, you are friend to yourself and if you don’t put effort, you are enemy to yourself. If you are destroyed, you have destroyed yourself. This means that just by theoretical devotion, God will not help you because effort means practical effort. God will move practically for your practical effort and God will move theoretically for your theoretical effort. Knowledge and devotion are theoretical efforts whereas service and sacrifice are practical efforts. Knowledge is the source of practice and devotion is the force of the practice. The warning here is that sometimes there is source and force but the resulting action is zero. Force is the product and source is the cause. The merit or defect in the cause will come to the product. Incomplete force means incomplete knowledge.

3. What is the meaning of meditation in the following verse?

[ये तु सर्वाणि कर्माणि मयि सन्न्यस्य मत्परा: ।
अनन्येनैव योगेन मां ध्यायन्त उपासते ॥ ६ ॥
ेषामहं समुद्धर्ता मृत्युसंसारसागरात् ।
भवामि न चिरात्पार्थ मय्यावेशितचेतसाम् ॥ ७ ॥

What is the meaning of meditation here? (Bg. 12.6-7)]

Swami replied:- Meditation means complete absorption in God. In meditation, you forget yourself and hence, all the worldly bonds are also forgotten. The absence of attraction to anything other than to God is the main essence in this context. God is also attached to such topmost devotees to do anything for them.