Action and Inaction
Lord Krishna declares: Action is superior to Inaction.
Action here means work done by body. Inaction here means not idleness, but, mental work powered by the knowledge. Hence action falls under the category of yoga of action, while Inaction falls under the category of yoga of knowledge.
According to Krishna, physical work is superior to mental work.
How?
Yoga of action is outward looking. Yoga of Knowledge is inward looking. Works by the body – senses in particular duly monitored by the mind are the source of power and energy for yoga of action. Thoughts monitored by the mind are the source of power and energy for yoga of knowledge. Action leads to tyaga – sacrifice. Knowledge leads to sanyasa –renunciation. Action in its final stage becomes perfect or pure action. Knowledge in its final stage becomes actionlessness or salvation or samadhi.
A man practicing Yoga of knowledge can cure or curse without any space constraint. Such Yogis are capable of inflicting their benevolence without any movement of the body. But Karma Yogi has to go physically to accomplish his task. For both of them, their measures of successes or failures depend upon the effectiveness or otherwise of their controls over their minds. Still, Lord Krishna declares that action is superior to knowledge. This is because that action is unavoidable and that all those with bodies will be forced to perform action by the Nature. A common denominator for both Jnana Yogi (Yogi of Inaction) as well as Karma Yogi (Yogi of Action) is action – but minimum to the former.
Path of Knowledge is more or less – ‘no action’ and there is every possibility of this ‘no action’ state being misused by many who keeps ‘idle’ posing themselves as Jnana Yogis.
Path of Action, which has no such misconception, is, therefore, superior.
Action here means work done by body. Inaction here means not idleness, but, mental work powered by the knowledge. Hence action falls under the category of yoga of action, while Inaction falls under the category of yoga of knowledge.
According to Krishna, physical work is superior to mental work.
How?
Yoga of action is outward looking. Yoga of Knowledge is inward looking. Works by the body – senses in particular duly monitored by the mind are the source of power and energy for yoga of action. Thoughts monitored by the mind are the source of power and energy for yoga of knowledge. Action leads to tyaga – sacrifice. Knowledge leads to sanyasa –renunciation. Action in its final stage becomes perfect or pure action. Knowledge in its final stage becomes actionlessness or salvation or samadhi.
A man practicing Yoga of knowledge can cure or curse without any space constraint. Such Yogis are capable of inflicting their benevolence without any movement of the body. But Karma Yogi has to go physically to accomplish his task. For both of them, their measures of successes or failures depend upon the effectiveness or otherwise of their controls over their minds. Still, Lord Krishna declares that action is superior to knowledge. This is because that action is unavoidable and that all those with bodies will be forced to perform action by the Nature. A common denominator for both Jnana Yogi (Yogi of Inaction) as well as Karma Yogi (Yogi of Action) is action – but minimum to the former.
Path of Knowledge is more or less – ‘no action’ and there is every possibility of this ‘no action’ state being misused by many who keeps ‘idle’ posing themselves as Jnana Yogis.
Path of Action, which has no such misconception, is, therefore, superior.
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