6 THE PATH OF PERFECTION Yoga as Action 7
devotees by giving them what they lack and preserving what they | @plring him to engage in activity. The entire Bhagavad-gitd is an
have. People are very fond of saying that God helps those who Inspiration to work, to engage in Krsna consciousness, to act on
help themselves, but they do not understand that helping yourself Krsna’s behalf. Krsna never tells Arjuna, ‘‘My dear friend Arjuna,
means putting yourself under Krsna’s protection. If one thinks, don’t concern yourself with this war. Just sit down and meditate
‘Oh, I can help myself. I can protect myself,’ one is thinking upon Me.”’ This is not the message of Bhagavad-gitd. We are not
foolishly. As long as my finger is attached to my body, it is useful, to refrain from all activity, but only from those activities that im-
and I may spend thousands of dollars to preserve it. But if this pede our consciousness of Krsna. Meditation means stopping all
finger is cut off, it is useless and is thrown away. Similarly, we are nonsensical activity. Those who are advanced in Krsna conscious-
part and parcel of Krsna, and helping ourselves means putting fess are constantly working for Krsna.
ourselves in our proper position as His parts and parcels. Other- A mother tells only her bad child to sit down and do nothing. If
wise we are only fit to be cast away. The finger can help itself only a child can do nothing but disturb his mother, the mother says,
when situated properly on the hand and working on behalf of the “My dear child, just sit down here and keep quiet.”’ But if the
entire body. If the finger thinks, *‘I will separate myself from this | Child can work nicely, the mother says, ‘‘My dear child, will you
body and simply help myself,’’ that finger will be cast away and please help me do this? Will you go over there and do that?”’ Sit-
will die. As soon as we think, ‘‘I shall live independently of ting still in one place is just for those who do not know how to
Krsna,” that is our spiritual death, and as soon as we engage in work sensibly. As long as the child sits in one place, he does not
Krsna’s service, as His part and parcel, that is our spiritual life. false havoc. Sitting still means negating nonsense; it is not posi-
Therefore, helping oneself means knowing one’s actual position tlve activity. In negation, there is no life. Positive activities con-
and working accordingly. It is not possible to help oneself without Btitute life, and positive activity is the message of Bhagavad-gita.
knowing one’s position. Spiritual life is not ‘‘Don’t do this.”’ Spiritual life is ‘Do this!” In
Service means activity, for when we serve someone, we are order to act properly, there are certain things that one must know
acting. When we serve Krsna, we are preaching Krsna conscious- not to do; therefore certain activities are forbidden. The whole
_hess, or cooking, or cleansing the temple, or distributing books Bhagavad-gita, however, is ‘‘do.”’ Krsna says, ‘‘Fight for Me.’ At
about Krsna, or writing about Him, or shopping for foodstuff to the beginning of Bhagavad-gitd, when Arjuna told Krsna, “‘I will
offer Him. There are so many ways to serve. Helping Krsna means not fight,’ Sri Krsna said,
acting for Him, not sitting down in one place and artificially
meditating. Krsna consciousness means activity. Whatever assets kutas tva kasmalam idam
| we have should be utilized for Krsna. That is the process of bhakti- visame Samupasthitam
| yoga. Krsna has given us a mind, and we must utilize this mind to anarya-justam asvargyam
think of Krsna. We have been given these hands, and we must use akirti-karam arjuna
| them to wash the temple or cook for Krsna. We have been given
these legs, and we should use them to go to the temple of Krsna. ‘“*My dear Arjuna, how have these impurities come upon you?
We have been given a nose, and we should use it to smell the They are not at all befitting a man who knows the progressive
flowers that have been offered to Krsna. Through the process of values of life. They lead not to higher planets, but to infamy.”
bhakti-yoga, we engage all these senses in the service of Krsna, (Bg. 2.2) Krsna directly tells Arjuna that he is speaking like a non-
and in this way the senses are spiritualized. Aryan—that is, like one who does not know the spiritual values of
In Bhagavad-gita, Arjuna was refusing to act, and Krsna was in- life. So Krsna consciousness does not mean sitting down idly.
