Your 'Gratitude Thinking' May Not Be Good For Your Karma

-Kirti Tarang Pande

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Originally Published in Daily Bhaskar

Incidence 1

Recollect- The Rangbhoomi scene of Mahabharata, unchallenged, unparalleled Arjuna had stolen the show, he was about to be declared warrior of the day & that’s when it happens- arrival of Karna.

He wants to take on Arjuna, but due to his low-birth it was forbidden to him.

Duryodhana saves the day for Karna, by crowning him the King of Anga. What does Karna do?

Veda Vyasa in Mahabharata writes-

“Karna sets his emotions free to flow, through his eyes, in the form of tears. He asks Duryodhana, “How may I be of service to you?””

Now think- What you would have done in similar situation- a man saves you from a national humiliation, makes you the king! What would you say?

I would say, “Thank you”, as a reflex. Karna didn’t. Note the choice of his words,”How may I be of service to you”, and not, “How can I repay you?”

Does it mean Karna was ungrateful?

Let’s look at it from the prism of another incidence-

Incidence 2

Recollect- When Hanuman meets Sita in Ashok Vatika, as a messenger of Rama. He shows her Rama’s ring & tells her that her husband will be here to rescue her. How did Sita respond?

Rishi Valmiki writes,

“Upon knowing that he is a messenger of Rama, she blesses him. With a heart overwhelmed with joy & grief, she says; “Give your master my Pranam (salutation)”

Now think- If you were trapped by the most feared person of our times & suddenly someone comes and says, “Rescue team is on its way.”  Wouldn’t you thank that person or at least send your gratitude to the rescue team?

Sita didn’t

.

Does it mean Sita was ungrateful?

Before judging further, let’s understand what gratitude means?

In today’s society it’s the ‘trending’ thing. Saying ‘thank you’ not only reflects our politeness & manners but practicing gratitude gives one the most ‘in’ label of being a ‘spiritual person’ these days.

However, for true yogis & advanced practitioners of ancient Vedic wisdom (like Karna & Sita), this is a sign of ignorance- this gratitude towards another human being because s/he was of service to us.

Why?

Answer is given by Krishna in Gita. While talking about Vedic concept of Janana Yoga (The path of wisdom), 

Krishna says;

Gatsangasya Muktasya Gyanavstitchetasah|

Yagyayachratah Karma Samagram Praviliyate||

-Gita 4.23

Beyond attachment, free & with a mind established in knowledge, when he performs action for a yajna alone, everything is destroyed.

It means that when we perform an action, with the attitude of performing a yajna (a Hindu purification ritual of making offerings to scared fire), surrendering our every action as a service of society, one gets freedom from the bondage of Karma. There’s no negative or positive Karma attached to such an act. This is the easiest path of ultimate liberation (knowledge, happiness & bliss). Since, our Atman takes a body to pay dues for negative Karma & reap benefits of positive Karma.

Conversely, when we say ‘thank you’ we form a Karmic alliance with that person. The alliance is formed out of our ignorance of cosmic law; which in Gita, Krishna describes as:

“Na Mam Karmani Limpanti Na Me Karmaphale Spraha|

Iti Mam Yobhijanati Karmabhi Nars Badhyate||

- Gita 4.1

In Bhavatakmak way, it means that Atman, our inner & true self, isn’t interested in the fruits of actions that we perform. Since our inner & true self has the awareness that by performing actions in this way, it can’t be tied in the chain of Karma.

Our conscious mind may not be aware of this process though, because over the years we have become aloof to our inner & true self. In this equation, when we add ‘Thank You’, we hurt the person in two ways:

1. We take the person further away from the inner-true self.

2. We tie the person in Karmic cycle of birth & rebirth.

Then what to do?

There are ways:

1. Follow Karna’s model: Gift the person the pleasure to witness the joy the action has brought to you, by expressing our emotions. Then connect with your heart in the wisdom- That the person in didn’t do a ‘favor’, but merely performed his dharma. You, in turn, perform yours.

2. Follow Sita’s model: Bless or offer salutations to that person, whatever comes naturally to you. Please note- the blessing/salutations should be seated in love & not in gratitude.

For example- When we get a glass of water to our grand-parents, they don’t say ‘thank you’, they say ‘Bhagwan bhala kare’ (May God Bless you), ‘jug jug jiyo’ (May you live long) etc

3. Use ‘Namaste’ instead- Namaste means I bow to the divine in you. This means that you’re acknowledging that the performed action was yagna & you are bowing to that.

For example- Remember our good old Kirane wale bhaiya( grocery man), he never thanked us for shopping with him, like billing guys in supermarket nor did our parents thanked him for assisting in shopping, like we say to the sales girls in stores. They would simple say ‘namaste’ to each other & would (knowingly/ unknowingly) transcend their materialistic transaction to spiritual level.

4. Path of least resistance- You may say ‘thank you’ with your mouth, but keep your heart & emotions firmly seated in any of the above mentioned options.

Namaste!

Do you know Yoga is a byproduct of Shiva-Parvati's lovestory?

- Kirti Tarang Pande

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Originally published on Daily Bhaskar

In his Sanskrit epic poem ‘Kumar Sambhav’, dramatist Kalidas writes;

“Tatha Vitham Prempatishtadarsh”

Love like Parvati & husband like Shiva, these are both beyond our reach.

Kalidas wasn’t being verbose here, in Hindu mythology it is believed that in Kailash Parvat, Shiva & Parvati began the ecstatic dance of mystic love, ‘I’, ‘you’, ‘he’, ‘she’, ‘we’, all these distinctions stop existing.

This mystic dance is Yoga that creates the divine union. After all the classic definition of Yoga says:

“Yujyate anena iti yogah”

One that joins is yoga.

That’s what I am sharing with you today, the mythological story of the cosmic union of Shiva & Parvati?

However, like every story of Hindu mythology, this one has a back story.

Let’s ruffle the pages of another Indian epic, Gita, for this-

To elucidate the concept of ‘detached action’ to Arjuna, Krishna gives example of Shiva as the Param Yogi- he has reached a state that’s beyond Karmic cycle. He has the ability to destroy entire shristi (the universe) without taking any negative karma upon him.

That’s where Krishna opens a love-window through which we can peep into Shiva’s love story; which can be summed up in two sentences:

It was Shiva’s love for Sati that made him a Yogi. It was Shiva’s love for Parvati that made him the Adi-Guru of Yoga.

That’s why in yogic tradition it is believed that if one worships only Shiva & ignores Shakti, the person remains confined in the trappings of maya- the illusion of subject-object duality.

To overcome this hurdle, ancient sages recommend Bhakti Yoga Marg- a path of complete surrender to Shiva & Shakti.

In the incarnation of Sati, Shakti was married to Shiva.

Shiva has emerged from cosmic sound. He took the form of an ascetic. And then, one day he falls in love with Sati. This love, however we try to describe, the description sounds lacking. How can we describe something that’s beyond our experiential field? So, let’s call this love an ocean, whose depth we know not of & move on.

In an unforeseen way, Sati dies (that’s another story, let’s touch it another day). This death tore off Shiva. He became a madman, choosing annihilation. But how does one slay something that was never born? So, the universe bore the brunt of Shiva’s grief, in the form of destruction.

Even that couldn’t liberate him from his grief. So Shiva embraced silence and turned within. It led to a miraculous expansion in Shiva from which Yoga was born.

Thus, Yoga was Shiva’s internal journey of transforming grief into a permanent state of ecstasy.

This closes Chapter one of Shiva’s love story.

Let’s jump to the page where Parvati, another incarnation of Shakti, touched Shiva through her tapas.

On the night of their union Shiva taught Parvati 84 yogic asanas before taking her as his consort into Tantra.

That night out of his love of Parvati, Shiva became the Adi-Guru of Yoga & Parvati became his first student.

This is the reason why, when we take Deeksha of Yoga in Vedic Parampara, the first teaching that we receive from our Guru is this Mangal Sholka:

“Shri Adinath Namastu Tasmay Yenopdishta Hathyogvidya|

Vibhrajate Prannatrajyogmarodumichoradhirohireev||”

Meaning: Salutations to Shiva who’s instructor of Hathayoga vidya to Parvati which shines bright like a ladder for one desirous to climb to the heights of the most excellent Rajayoga.

Shiva’s teachings to Parvati bear such intimacy & indulgence that if you read the sholkas, it will create innumerable bubbles of love in your heart. Each sholka starts with ‘O the Resplendent one’, ‘O the Beautiful one’, ‘O the Graceful one’.

Shiva was so smitten by Parvati that he never bothered to share this Yogic knowledge with anyone else. Parvati, however, the symbol of feminine nurturing energy, couldn’t bear the idea of being in a state of permanent ecstasy when there was so much misery in the three worlds.

So she asked Shiva, cajoled Shiva into teaching Yoga to us mortals. He had no interest in doing so.

Parvati, the cosmic mother, was too resilient to give up. One day, she approached this topic as a woman, when Shiva was with her as a man, and said that she understands why Shiva is reluctant to teach. It’s too difficult. He can’t do it.

The reverse psychology worked! Shiva took Sapt rishis as his first batch of disciples. Through Sapt Rishis came a lineage of 18 siddhas. These 18 siddhas imparted the divine knowledge to us earthlings.

Disclaimer: Stories from Hindu mythology are metaphors depicting Cosmic Reality beyond experiential existence. They should not be approached with a mind that’s caged in human limitations.  

References: Kumar Sambhav, Devi Bhagwat, Shiv Mahapuran, Hath Yoga Pradipika, Gita