This is one of the most interesting topics according to me based on Bhagvad Gita. I have seen a lot of people talking about Karma through different angles e.g. Punya Karma , Paap Karma, etc., Some people keep sharing quotes on Karma and some people really want Karma to bite someone back who has wronged them or hurt them.
Bhagvad Gita has complete chapter on Karmayog and Bhaktiyog. Definitely I'm nowhere close to someone knowledgeable like Shri Krishna or Arjuna to talk about it in depth. However, this is an attempt to put my scribbled thoughts based on my experience and knowledge gained by reading Bhagvad Gita and Srimad Bhagvatam. So I'll try to refrain myself from quoting Bhagvad Gita verses in this post. Because complete Bhagvad Gita revolves around the same topics. One of the goals of my life is to encourage people to read Bhagvad Gita so that they can find the true purpose of their lives. The most important part of this self awareness, self realisation and self consciousness is to understand the difference between Karma and Devotion.
I'll try to describe this difference through different examples in the modern world as well as based on references in Puranas like Ramayan , Mahabharat.
Punya (पुण्य)
Punya is a word generally taken to mean 'saintly', virtue, 'holy', 'sacred', 'pure', 'good', 'meritorious', 'virtuous', 'righteous', 'just', 'auspicious', 'lucky', 'favourable', 'agreeable', 'pleasing', 'lovely', 'beautiful', 'sweet', 'fragrant', 'solemn' or 'festive', according to the context it is used.
People keep saying if I do something right it will be added to my good karma or I'll earn Punya. Basically in short what they mean is that they will be in a good books of God ! Some people are generous and without thinking about good or bad they keep doing their deeds out of generosity. Everyone has their own definition of Good and Bad Karma. Often this definition is created by their own mind which is influenced by their upbringing and surrounding environment. E.g. Someone from an orthodox / religious family may find eating non-vegetarian food as an extremely bad act and adds to the bad karma but the person who eats non-vegetarian food can still be religious and may follow certain rituals which are considered as devotion. E.g. standing in front of God and praying daily after bathing.
So if eating non vegetarian food has added to bad karma, will praying to God daily nullify its effect ? I'll keep this unanswered for now!
[ I scribbled down my thoughts in जीवो जीवस्य जीवनम् (jīvo jīvasya jīvanam) when I turned pure vegetarian ]
Recently one of my friends came across my status on WhatsApp regarding donation to Ram Mandir being constructed at Ayodhya. He pointed out one of the most controversial topics in the news these days that it would have been appreciable if same amount was spent on building hospitals rather than the temple. In the given situation of Covid - 19 it seems to be necessary to have more hospitals and medical facilities in the country so that nobody has to die because of lack of such facilities. People expect the Government to build such facilities and that is very much a right expectation from the tax payers.
The screenshot of the news I had shared said - trust of Ram Mandir received donation worth 1000 Cr. Devotees of Ram had came forward to build a magnificent temple for their beloved God ! Every devotee had tried a squirrel's contribution from their end out of "Love and Devotion" while some had done it so that it gets added to their "Good Karma !".
When your deeds are reflecting "Love and Devotion" for Shri Krishna, Shri Ram or any of his forms, it doesn't get added to your Karma !
Then What Does Good Karma (Punya) Do ?
Love and Devotion for Him has immense power. The power to free one from Karma. The power that can free one from vicious cycle of Life and Death.
Building hospitals and temples both are equally important. However, their importance can not be compared.
One is important from the point of view that it helps to maintain physical wellness in the society. Without proper medical facilities there will be diseases spreading across and it leads to a catastrophic situation to manage.
Other one is important from the point of view that, it helps in spiritual growth and wellness of the society. Srimad Bhagvatam describes "Archa Vigrha" means worship of His idol in a temple. It's a facility provided by Him for everyone to worship him. There are many ways one can provide his services to Godhead through the medium of temples. If someone is visiting temple daily and offering his services to Him, eventually "pure" love and devotion in the heart of devotee may help him discover self-consciousness and true purpose of his life.
The bigger cross question I would like to ask is, why does the society need so many hospitals ?
In a way it is the effect of bad karma or bad deeds that's making one suffer and hence he needs to rush to the hospital to get himself treated from diseases and conditions.
Imagine an ideal society where everyone wakes up early morning on Bramha Muhurta (between 03:30 - 05:30 am /06:00 am). Performs daily chores and rituals, Practices yoga, eats only satvic food, keeps his senses in control and don't get addicted to alcohol, sex and any materialistic entities, etc,. Would they suffer through horrible sickness ?
The truth is we don't live in an ideal world and no living being can escape from the vicious cycle of Life -Death - Disease - Old Age (जन्म - मृत्यु - जरा - व्याधि).
Then What About Good Karma ?
Once Aakanksha and I were discussing about an NGO. Aakanksha works in healthcare section so she was thinking about how her services could help under privilege and differently abled kids. This discussion led to a topic of Karma vs Devotion. No doubt doing something for a good cause selflessly is a good thing and adds to good karma BUT it is Karma. Anything that's not done for Him gets added to Good or Bad Karma.
This is how Bhagvad Gita originated !
Arjuna was not ready for the greatest war in the history of mankind. Even though he had to fight the war for his own birth rights, his consciousness was not allowing him to kill his own relatives and friends. He was depressed with a thought that even the victory wouldn't bring him peace because there won't be anyone alive from his family to share the happiness of his victory .
Only after Shri Krishna opened his eyes with his words of wisdom, he realised he has to fight this war not for himself or his happiness or rights but for Shri Krishna. By killing those people who were standing against him in the war he was going to destroy iniquity ! That was one of the purposes of Shri Krishna's incarnation.
After Arjuna had this self realisation what happened on the Kurukshetra after that is a well known history ! Arjuna served Shri Krishna ! None of those deaths were added to Karma of Arjuna !
Devotion & Bad Karma
Ravana was one of the greatest devotees of Lord Shiva. He penanced for a long time and earned boon from Lord Shiva. However it was his bad Karma and being incapable of keeping his senses in control made him do things that couldn't save him from his death by Shri Ram.
Devotion has power but it's important in order to escape from Karma one must refrain himself from doing things which will put him in vicious cycle of Karma. It's only Shri Krishna / Shri Ram / Swami Samarth or any of his forms who can save one from the effects of Karma !
Devotion & Fruits Of Karma
It is common to have faith in God. So whenever something good is expected to happen in our life or while seeking blessings in general, we offer our prayers to Him. At the same time when something goes wrong terribly, people hold God responsible for it.
This is exactly what most of the people fail to understand that it's not God who wants bad things happen to them, they are fruits of their own Karma. Every single thing we do, adds on to Karma. It could be good or bad but it is Karma. So even when something bad happens, one has to understand he is redeeming fruits of Karma. I have described more on this topic in अहम् ब्रह्मास्मि !
When people say, God doesn't listen to them or they are atheist, it reminds me this bhajan -
अच्युतम केशवं कृष्ण दामोदरं,
राम नारायणं जानकी वल्लभं ।
कौन कहता हे भगवान आते नहीं,
तुम मीरा के जैसे बुलाते नहीं।
कौन कहता है भगवान खाते नहीं,
बेर शबरी के जैसे खिलाते नहीं।
कौन कहता है भगवान सोते नहीं,
माँ यशोदा के जैसे सुलाते नहीं।
कौन कहता है भगवान नाचते नहीं,
गोपियों की तरह तुम नचाते नहीं।
नाम जपते चलो काम करते चलो,
हर समय कृष्ण का ध्यान करते चलो।
याद आएगी उनको कभी ना कभी,
कृष्ण दर्शन तो देंगे कभी ना कभी।
Bottom-line : Whatever you do, do it for Him !
I hope, I could shed some light on the difference between Karma and Devotion. I would like write more on this but I'll prefer to stick to short write-ups for now so that I can reach out to more people to encourage them to read Bhagvad Gita !
Bhagvad Gita has 700 verses. If one decides to read only one per day it would take 2 years to complete reading. But I think one can definitely try at least 2, that makes it 1 year to complete reading. But I think 2 is also easy to manage. How about 4 verses a day ? That makes it roughly 6 months to read and I think that would be a very good achievement !
In case you need a copy of Bhagvad Gita and not able to find online anywhere, feel free to reach out to me at me@nayaneshgupte.com.
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