Own Being – In Gita Verse 3.20 Kings such as Janaka attained perfection solely by performance of prescribed duties. Therefore, just for the sake of educating the people in general, you should perform your work.
Kings such as Janaka attained perfection solely by performing their prescribed duties. Therefore, for the sake of educating the people in general, it is imperative to perform your work diligently. Even wise individuals like Janaka have achieved ultimate success by engaging in work without attachment. This approach not only considers personal welfare but also the welfare of the world.
Dispassion signifies a state where nothing attracts or repels us, where we remain neutral. Buddha referred to this as indifference, meaning neither this way nor that way. It is a balanced state where neither attachment nor detachment prevails. Krishna used the term detachment, while Mahavira referred to it as vitarag. Both concepts emphasise a state beyond attachment and detachment.
Both attached and detached individuals perform work, but their motivations differ. An attached person works to earn or gain something, whereas a detached person might work to renounce or relinquish the same thing. The quality and direction of work change for a detached person. The inner state of mind does not change; only the direction of work becomes opposite. If an attached person stands upright, a detached person stands on their head, metaphorically speaking. The essence remains the same, but the perspective changes.
The nature of a detached person’s work is unique. They can perform tasks that both attached and detached individuals do, but their mindset is entirely different. Neither an attached nor a detached person can be a true witness, as both have attachment. Attachment means being coloured by something. An attached person is coloured by their desires, while a detached person is coloured by their aversions. A truly detached person remains uncolored, observing life without being influenced.
A detached person sees life impartially, accepting whatever comes their way without being swayed. This quality of detachment is what Krishna highlights through the example of Janaka. Even a wise man like Janaka did not seek to escape life but lived quietly where he was, performing his duties.
Janaka’s principle was Anasaktiyoga, which involves seeing beyond dualities. Both attached and detached individuals see two entities – themselves and the object of their attachment or detachment. A detached person sees three: the object of attraction or repulsion, themselves, and the observer who watches both.
Krishna advises Arjuna to establish himself in this state of detachment, as it brings welfare not only to oneself but also to the world. The welfare of the world comes from the absence of tension, worry, and sorrow that arise from attachment. Detached individuals do not create negative waves in the lake of human life; instead, they spread positive, auspicious waves.
We constantly radiate our inner state to the world around us. Just as a stone thrown into a lake creates ripples, our thoughts and actions create waves that affect others. Detached individuals, by their nature, spread waves of peace and positivity. Therefore, detachment benefits both the individual and the world.
Krishna emphasises that running away from life does not lead to transformation. True revolution and change come from within. Those who know do not flee but transform themselves. Detachment is not about escaping but about rising above attachment and detachment.
Life is polar, with every aspect having its opposite. Those who live in attachment will experience moments of detachment, and vice versa. Only a truly detached person transcends these polarities, achieving a state of non-duality.
Detachment is non-polar and leads to a state beyond dualities, where one enters Brahman. Those who are attached or detached remain in duality, unable to touch the essence of Brahman. Only by rising above both attachment and detachment can one become a true witness in action.
Krishna cites Janaka as an example. Upon his self-realisation, Janaka proclaimed, “Amazing am I; I bow down to myself. I possess nothing, yet encompass all that can be spoken or thought.” Janaka’s paradoxical statement reflects the realisation that, while he owns nothing because his individual self has dissolved, he simultaneously embodies everything, as godliness and existence remain within him.
This transformation occurs when one becomes an observer, akin to Buddha, Ashtavakra, or Krishna, and thus becomes the centre of the universe. The individual ego vanishes, replaced by a connection to the infinite.
Janaka’s words serve as sutras for worshipping one’s own being, emphasising that you are both the devotee and the divine. They encourage self-adoration and the internal union of the devotee and God within oneself. These sutras uniquely urge you to bow to your own feet, lose yourself within, and achieve inner fusion, embracing your own godliness.
Tags: Own Being
