The Unified Path of Knowledge and Action

[dattaswami]

The Unified Path of Knowledge and Action

[Shri J.S.R. Prasad (Professor of Sanskrit, Central University, Hyderabad) asked: In the Yoga Vāsiṣṭham, which is the preaching of sage Vasiṣṭha to Śrī Rāma, it is said that both knowledge (jñāna mārga) and action (karma mārga) are like the two wings of a bird flying to the spiritual goal. But Śaṅkara condemned the karma mārga of Maṇḍana Miśra. How can we correlate Vasiṣṭha and Śaṅkara?]

Two Types of Karma

Swami replied: O Learned and Devoted Servants of God! Just like Vasiṣṭha, Kumarila Bhaṭṭa also said that both jñāna and karma are needed side-by-side, in the spiritual effort. Bhaṭṭa’s theory is called Jñāna-Karma-Samuccaya-Vāda or the unified path of knowledge and action. His disciple, Maṇḍana Miśra, however, took only the path of action (karma mārga), which is also called Pūrva Mīmāṃsā. It mainly stresses on karma, which is work done with an aspiration for worldly fruits. If you take Śaṅkara, He stressed only on jñāna, which is the theoretical enquiry about God and the consequent theoretical devotion to God. Hence, Śaṅkara and Maṇḍana Miśra were exactly opposite to each other, whereas, Vasiṣṭha and Kumarila Bhaṭṭa lie in between them since they accept both jñāna and karma. In any case, there is a conflict between the paths of knowledge and action.

The whole confusion is caused by the word karma, which actually has two meanings: (1) The first meaning of karma is action done with an aspiration for worldly fruits. It includes both worldly work and the aspiration-filled practical worship of God. Practical worship of God means serving God or sacrificing our wealth for Him. When the practical worship of God is done only for the sake attaining worldly benefits, even this worship is basically worldly work. (2) The second meaning of karma is action done in the service of God, without aspiring for any fruit in return.

The meaning of the word karma, as taken by Maṇḍana Miśra, is the first one, which is the aspiration-filled worldly work. The meaning taken by Vasiṣṭha and Kumarila Bhaṭṭa is second one, which is God’s service done without the aspiration for any fruit in return. Therefore, the meaning of the word karma, taken in the second sense, is not against the path of Śaṅkara (jñāna). The action (karma) involved in the path of Śaṅkara, is related to God and not to the world. The action done (karma) in the second sense, is a part of the jñāna mārga of Śaṅkara itself. If you take worldly work, in which there is an aspiration for worldly fruits, such karma is against the jñāna mārga of Śaṅkara. If service to God, which is karma, taken in the second sense, is absent, jñāna mārga is incomplete and useless, like a human body without life. Suppose you only show theoretical love to your wife, always praising her beauty and good qualities. Will she love you, if you never express your love practically, such as by purchasing some flowers to decorate her hair? Similarly, if you have merely used your intelligence to analyze and come to know all the theoretical details about God (jñāna mārga) and if you have merely used your mind to pray to God (theoretical devotion), your entire spiritual effort is only theoretical. It is useless without practical proof.

Practical Proof of Devotion

Karma yoga is the practical proof of theoretical devotion. It can also be said to be practical devotion. Karma yoga has two sub-divisions: (1) Karma saṃnyāsa, which is the effort or work done in serving God. (2) Karmaphala tyāga, which is the sacrifice of the fruit (wealth) earned by hard work.

Claiming to love God by expressing only theoretical devotion and avoiding practical devotion, is cheating God. It is called prostitution-devotion or veśyā bhakti. In this form of devotion, the devotee only expresses theoretical devotion, aspiring for practical fruits from God. The devotee does not express even a trace of practical devotion (service and sacrifice). The devotee is like a prostitute who only expresses theoretical love for the customer, aspiring for the money from his pocket. She does not sacrifice even a single rupee to the customer. The reality is that she does not love the customer at all. She only pretends to love him to get his money. Due to the absence of practical proof, which is action involving sacrifice (karma), this devotion is the worst devotion. Mere theoretical knowledge, which is knowing the correct details of God with the help of analysis and theoretical devotion, which is praising God through prayers, become meaningless in the absence of the practical proof or karma. Even karma yoga, which is practical service done to God, becomes useless if it is done with an aspiration for worldly fruits. Such practical devotion which is filled with aspiration is business-devotion or vaiśya bhakti. It is nothing but business done with God, in which you aspire for some practical worldly fruits, in exchange for your practical devotion (service) to God. The jñāna mārga of Śaṅkara includes theoretical knowledge (jñāna), theoretical devotion (bhakti) and the practical proof or action (karma). The evidence for this is the very life of Śaṅkara. Śaṅkara wrote commentaries (jñāna) and several devotional prayers (bhakti). But along with these two, Śaṅkara also performed the third step called karma yoga by wandering throughout the country, doing God’s work. Apart from service, He also sacrificed the fruit of work (wealth). He donated to a poor devotee, the golden fruits, which rained from the sky after He sung the prayer called Kanakadhārā Stotram. Hence, Śaṅkara did both service and sacrifice, which are the two parts of karma yoga, while being in the path of jñāna. The service done by Śaṅkara was not worldly work. It was God’s work (Matkarma paramo bhava—Gita).

Karma Yoga and Giving Up Action

Therefore, if you keep the two meanings of the word karma in your mind, the confusion related to the paths of knowledge and action disappears. The karma followed by Maṇḍana Miśra was worldly work in the first sense of the word. He, like all pūrva mīmāṃsakas, performed rituals called yajña to worship God. This action (karma) was done with worldly aspirations like the aspiration for heavenly pleasures. This karma, as followed by Maṇḍana Miśra is not work done for God. It is not divine service done without the aspiration for any fruit. To avoid confusion, it is better to call the work of divine service karma yoga and aspiration-filled worldly work simply karma. The word yoga denotes the association with God.

Hence, God recommended the path of jñāna (sāṅkhya) over the path of completely giving up work (Karma yogoviśiṣyate, Na karmaṇāmanārambhāt etc...—Gita). There is no point in giving up all kinds of work. Only aspiration-filled work is to be given up. Aspiration-free service to God is to be certainly performed. When one only does God’s work, worldly actions and worldly fruits do not bind him since he is not doing worldly work at all (Kurvannapi na lipyate—Gita, Na karma lipyate...—Veda). When God said in the Gita that all work should not be given up, He used the term karma saṃnyāsa to mean the giving up of all work (Tayostu karma saṃnyāsāt). On the other hand, we have used this same term, karma saṃnyāsa, in the sense of doing God’s work (service). So, God Krishna has used the word saṃnyāsa in the sense of detachment, while, we have used saṃnyāsa in the sense of attachment. Saṃnyāsa can mean both attachment as well as detachment. It means attachment to God, which, simultaneously, is detachment from the world.

Two Birds in One Stone

Whenever we do either service (karma saṃnyāsa) or sacrifice (karmaphala tyāga), we are doing both of them! If a person does some service to God, he has also indirectly done the sacrifice of the fruit of his work because, in that time, he could have done some worldly work and earned some worldly fruit. Since he served God, he had to sacrifice that worldly fruit. Thus, effectively, serving God is sacrificing a proportional amount of the fruit of one’s work. Similarly, when a person donates money for the sake of God’s mission, he is sacrificing to God, the fruit of his past worldly work. He had worked in the past, when he was ignorant and he had earned that money. By sacrificing that fruit of his work to God now, his past worldly work effectively becomes God’s service (Karmajaṃ buddhi yukatā hi, phalaṃ tyaktvā...—Gita). Thus, by doing any one of service or sacrifice, you are effectively doing both—two birds in one stone!

We have preferred to use the term karma saṃnyāsa to indicate God’s service because a renunciant saint can do only service. Being a renunciant, he possesses no money and hence, he cannot sacrifice the fruit of his work. The word saṃnyāsa indicates sainthood (renunciation). The term karma saṃnyāsa to indicate God’s service indirectly involves giving up worldly work. God Krishna used the same term, karma saṃnyāsa to mean giving up worldly work. So, both usages do not contradict each other. Even when a married devotee dedicated to serving God does worldly work to maintain his or her life and the lives of his or her devoted family members, that worldly work should be included under God’s work (Śarīrayātrāpi ca…, Niyatasya tu saṃnyāsaḥ…—Gita). The devotee should not marry an atheist, who will hinder the spiritual progress of the devotee. The devotee should also always try to improve the devotion of his or her family members so as to get the cooperation of the family in his or her divine service. God’s work (or worship) done aspiring for worldly fruits is only worldly work. It is not God’s work, at all. But worldly work (niyata karma) done for maintaining the body (and the family) in order to do God’s work is indeed God’s work and not worldly work (Karmaṇyakarma...—Gita).

We must clearly understand the philosophy of Kumarila Bhaṭṭa in which both jñāna and karma are recommended in the spiritual effort. There is no contradiction in this philosophy, if you take the meaning of the word karma in the second sense as God’s work. In that case, karma becomes the final part of the jñāna mārga. The contradiction arises only when you take the meaning of karma in the first sense of worldly work.

Step-by-Step Removal of Aspiration

There is a path of the same philosophy in which the word karma is taken in the sense of worldly work, while still maintaining the connection with the spiritual effort. That worldly work is taken to be initial step of the spiritual effort. In this initial step of the spiritual path, it is necessary to develop an attraction for God in the soul. This is done by presenting God as the giver of worldly fruits. The inevitable attraction of the soul to worldly fruits is exploited for the beneficial purpose of developing an attraction in the soul for God. Later on, the soul is gradually guided to develop detachment from the worldly fruits, through the realization that the worldly fruits are illusory. Gradually, the soul reaches the stage of worshipping God, without aspiring for any worldly fruit (Nāstyakṛtaḥ kṛteneti—Veda). It is based on this very approach that the Veda encourages the worship of God for attaining worldly fruits (kāmya yajña).

The initial defect of aspiration in the work is acceptable since it is inevitable. As we try to kindle a fire, it inevitably gives off a lot of smoke initially, before burning brightly, later on (Sarvārambhā hi...—Gita). This is very similar to the case of developing a child’s interest in going to school. Initially, the child in the kindergarten class is given some chocolates to motivate it to go to school. At that low level of maturity, one cannot expect the child to be motivated by the knowledge and learning that takes place in the school. But by the time the child grows into an adult postgraduate student, he or she is supposed to be attracted to the knowledge that is to be acquired in the university. At that point, the chocolates should not be the motivating factor for going to the university.

Thus, the Veda introduces the worship of God for worldly boons, in the beginning. Later, in the final stage, it introduces the worship of God without the aspiration for any fruit, in the Upanishads. Unfortunately, this path has been an utter failure, in the case of the devotees of today. Today, the postgraduate student is also demanding chocolates to attend classes at the university! Even when people get old, they still remain attached only to worldly fruits (Vṛddhastāvat cintā magnaḥ).

Action Leading to Liberation

Hence, if you take jñāna-karma samuccaya vāda as following both jñāna and karma (God’s service), this theory is perfectly correct. Śaṅkara condemned this theory too, if the word karma is taken in the first sense, as aspiration-filled worldly work. It is important to remember that even God’s service done aspiring for worldly fruits becomes worldly work. Thus, the word karma is complicated and it has different senses in different contexts (Gahanā karmaṇo gatiḥ—Gita). God Krishna also said that devotees like King Janaka got salvation by karma alone (Karmaṇaiva hi saṃsiddhim, āsthitājanakādayaḥ—Gita). Here, karma means the karma yoga which is part of the path of kowledge jñāna mārga. King Janaka was deeply interested in spiritual knowledge. He used to be so absorbed in spiritual discussions and debates that he once said that even if his city burnt, he would not be bothered at all (Mithilāyāṃ pradagdhāyāṃ na me kiñcana dahyate). If God Krishna had meant worldly work by the word karma, it was impossible for such ‘karma’ to be the path of Janaka’s liberation. If Janaka were constantly engaged in worldly work, such as the administration of his kingdom, he would never have made the above statement!

 

 

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-By Shri Datta Swami
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