The Bhagavad Gita calls for spontaneous, even intuitive action in the present – an action that arises from itself and dissolves the separation between object and subject.
Is this possible, and how?
Mahatma Gandhi expressed his adoration of the Bhagavad Gita as:
In the Bhagavad Gita, I find a consolation […] Sometimes disappointment stares at me in the face, and when I, abandoned, see no ray of light, I reach for the Bhagavad Gita. Then I find a verse here and there and immediately begin to smile in the midst of all the crushing tragedies – and my life has been full of external tragedies. If all of them have left no visible, no indelible wound on me, I owe it to the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita[1].
Together with the Bible, the Bhagavad Gita, the great holy book of India, is the most widely distributed and read book in the world, according to Bede Griffiths. The Bhagavad Gita is part of the great Indian epic, the Mahabharata. It documents a dialogue between the incarnation of Vishnu, in the form of Krishna, and the Indian prince Arjuna, who is preparing to wage war with his relatives for his throne. In the following, I’m reflecting on my own experience of one of the principles of the Bhagavad Gita, the “acting without acting”, of which Krishna speaks to Arjuna.
Like many seekers in the 60s and 70s and even today, I fell under the spell of the Bhagavad Gita at a young age. It was not only an intellectual interest – at that time, it was perhaps a fad among hippies and flower children – but an inner, intuitive experience that there is more to this book than just a religious and philosophical system that may give me clues for my life in these contradictory and turbulent times. The principle of “acting without acting” fascinated me. It has accompanied me through my life ever since. But what is it actually, this “acting without acting”?
The Bhagavad Gita says:
He who sees inaction in action and action in inaction is wise among men; he is a Yogi and performer of all actions[2].
The Bhagavad Gita gives some principles to resolve or explain this paradox:
– let go of the fruits of action,
– have no expectations (positive or negative) from actions,
– be frugal and not dependent,
– be content and equanimous in the face of success or failure,
– see all actions as offerings to Krishna / Vishnu; then they transform into spiritual knowledge.
Know that the wise who have realised the truth will instruct thee in that knowledge through long prostration, supplication, and service. Knowing that thou shalt not, O Arjuna, again be deluded like this; and by that, thou shalt see all beings in thyself and also in me[3].
If we observe ourselves against this background, we realise that all our thinking, desires, feelings, and actions assume that we want to achieve and expect something. All our actions are thus speculatively directed towards the future. On the other hand, the Bhagavad Gita calls for spontaneous, even intuitive action in the present – an action that arises from itself and dissolves the separation between object and subject to achieve unity between object and subject. Is this possible, and how?
Krishna clearly points out that no one can be inactive even for a moment and advises Arjuna:
Therefore, without attachment, always perform the actions that should be done; for by performing actions without attachment, one reaches the Supreme[4].
If we can implement Krishna’s advice in our lives, we can become free from speculative thinking and expectations of the future, free from the successes or failures of our actions. This dissolves all speculation about the future, which expresses itself in anxiety, worry, and fear. We can then spontaneously and cheerfully fulfil the duty imposed on us and keep the good of humanity in mind.
Catharose de Petri, the Grand Mistress of the Golden Rosycross, puts it this way:
It is absolutely possible, during your ordinary daily routine, whatever activities you must perform, to perfectly hold the core force and its principle in the background of your being and to let it radiate through everything, into your heart, your head, and your soul[5].
We then practically live two lives: one in connection with the ordinary world and the other that is not of this world, that lives in and from the power of Krishna or the Christ[6]. This gives us distance from the problems, conflicts, and adversities of this world because:
Those who love me are dear to me, and I am in them, and they are in me. They come to me and will have eternal peace[7].
We can then see the world of opposites like onlookers/outsiders, and at the same time, through the power of the soul and the knowledge within us, we can be focussed without difficulties on a world that is not of this world. Even in the greatest turbulences of our lives, we can remain calm and serene. Our actions then become spontaneous and not calculating, intuitive and not guided by positive or negative visions of the future. We can truly live in the present. This is what Mahatma Gandhi wants to express in the opening quote.
Where do I stand today? The concept of “acting without acting” has accompanied me throughout my life. One of the first and fundamental insights was and is: “Everything is relative!” Nothing is absolute, so I don’t fall from joy to despair but remain in a certain calmness, an often-quiet serenity. This does not mean indifference, especially towards the world and humanity, but instead it means keeping in focus the big picture and asking myself again and again:
Are the words of Krishna a reality in me? Am I in Him, and is He in me? Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita: All things are in Me – that is the foundation of our existence; he continues, but I am not in them[8]. This is the goal of our spiritual path: to awaken Him in us. Krishna goes on to say to Arjuna:
He who sees Me everywhere and sees everything in Me never becomes separated from Me, nor do I from him[9].
Perform your bounden duty, for action is superior to inaction, and even the maintenance of the body would not be possible for you through inaction[10].
On the one hand, the (partially) living awareness of living in our world, the world of the ordinary daily routine, and on the other hand experiencing a state of being that is not of this world and that is at the same time the foundation of the world gives me a joyful serenity to accept and process the demands of ordinary life. As long as or as often as I consciously experience this joyful serenity, I am an actor and, simultaneously, an observer in the world without being absorbed by and in it. I repeatedly experience that this orientation lifts me out of the hustle and bustle of everyday life (sometimes only for a few moments), and a cheerful serenity fills me, the serenity of the soul. Can this be a becoming one with Krishna? If we are honest with ourselves, we will find the answer within ourselves and leave intellectual considerations, questions, and doubts behind us.
[1] Mohandas Karamchand Gândhi (Mahatma Gandhi), in: Young India 1925, p. 1078)
[2] Bhagavad Gita, Ved Vyas Foundation, 2024 (e-book) Bhagavad Gita.io: (Chapter IV, verse 18).
[3] Idem: Chapter IV,Verse 34,35
[4] Idem: Chapter III,Verse 19
[5] Translation from: Catharose de Petri, Das Lebende Wort, Haarlem 1990, S. 300
[6] Translation from: Jan van Rijckenborgh, Die große Umwälzung, 3. Auflage, Haarlem 1992, Kapitel VII: Das Mysterium des Krishna
[7] Idem: Chapter IX, verses 29, 31
[8] Idem: Chapter IX, verse 4
[9] Idem: Chapter VI, verse 30
[10] Idem: Chapter III, verse 9
