The Bhagavad Gita on Performing Thy Task in Life

It's easy to assume the moral life should be measured by its positive impact on others. But what if the measure of how we live has less to do with the results of our actions and more to do with our own spiritual state? The excerpt from the Bhagavad Gita below notes how everyone is always performing some action. Since we cannot escape action, our concern should be on the intentions behind our actions rather than the action itself or its outcome. The Hindu deity Krishna expands on this point in the following:

[.alt-blockquote]Not by refraining from action does man attain freedom from action. Not by mere renunciation does he attain supreme perfection.[.alt-blockquote]

[.alt-blockquote]Action is greater than inaction: perform therefore thy task in life. Even the life of the body could not be if there was no action.[.alt-blockquote]

[.alt-blockquote]The world is in the bonds of action, unless the action is consecration. Let thy actions then be pure, free from the bonds of desire.[.alt-blockquote]

[.alt-blockquote-attribution]Bhagavad Gita 3.4, 3.8-9, trans. by Juan Mascaró)[.alt-blockquote-attribution]

Questions

• Why might Krishna suggest “action is greater than inaction?” Do you think inaction would help or hinder your ability to detach from your expectations?
• Krishna suggests renunciation of actions alone does not perfect a person. But what spiritual value does renunciation offer? What is missing from renunciation alone?
• What inescapable actions do you partake in on a daily basis? Though you may not be able to avoid certain tasks, what sort of freedom might detachment offer you?
• What might Krishna have meant by saying you should “perform therefore thy task in life?” How might you go about discerning your task in life?
• Do you think you should escape your expectations, or as Krishna describes them, “the bonds of desire?” What might you gain or lose from this detachment?
• How might this detachment differ from apathy?
• How would your life change if you acted out of duty to your task in life without attachment to the results of your actions?
• Krishna suggests a “pure” action is one free from the bonds of desire. Is this definition of a pure action sufficient for you? What can we gain from this definition, and what could it be missing?

Context

• Chapter Three of the Bhagavad Gita
• Chapter 6: "How are we to live?" in Life Worth Living: A Guide to What Matters Most

Pairs Well With

• Deontological ethics, e.g. Kant on duty
• Possible connection to the Good Samaritan in that we should help others out of obligation to a moral principle rather than out of any desire we may have for ourselves.
• Christian accounts of selfless love for one's neighbor regardless of circumstances, e.g. the Good Samaritan
• Nietzsche's eternal recurrence: We complete our actions to affirm life rather than merely meet a certain expectation.
• Buddhist conceptions of detachment
• Stoicism and virtue ethics

Possible Harmful Interactions

• Act consequentialism - e.g. utilitarianism
• Epicurean aspirations to enduring happiness
• Nietzsche's Will to Power