Don’t Seek Approval – In Gita Verse 4.21 Such a man of understanding acts with mind and intelligence perfectly controlled, gives up all sense of proprietorship over his possessions and acts only for the bare necessities of life. Thus working, he is not affected by sinful reactions.
Krishna explains to Arjuna that the person who lives for the need and not for desire will not do any sinful act.
Here he tries to give understanding to Arjuna that need means right now in the middle of the war what is your need and desire.
In my Bhagavad Gita Verse 1.12, I wrote about Need and desire.
Krishna says to Arjuna first take up your desire so that you will know that your all desires are your attachments for yourself. Your all questions wanted my permission to run away from war. When you want someone’s permission it’s your desire to be approved by others, it’s your attachments.
One has to see the foolishness of it. It is not a question of resolving it. One has to see the ridiculousness of it, then it falls. It is not resolved. Diseases are not to be resolved; they fall away. Just try to see the foolishness of it.
Krishna is saying drop all this nonsense! You are already approved of, otherwise you could not have been here. God has accepted you, given birth to you. If Van Gogh paints, whatsoever painting he creates is already approved of – otherwise he would not have created it in the first place. If Picasso paints something, in the very painting, the painting is approved of. The painter has put his heart into it. Just go deeper into your own being – God has put all the treasures that you need there. He has approved of you, accepted you. He is happy that you are!
But you don’t look there. You are asking from others like a beggar: Approve of me! –
I (Krishna) am not going to approve it. As I am not a beggar, don’t seek my approval, understand me from that understanding act, even if it is war or Picasso painting doesn’t make any difference. Your war will become as beautiful as the paintings of Picasso, Van Gogh. Just drop your desire, which is your illusion. Because of this illusion you are seeking my permission.
Once you know from knowing that your desire and attachments are an illusion then you will know – what is needed at this moment. And just responding to the need is not sin. It’s art, it’s creativity.
Let’s try to understand need and desire from our routine life: First try to understand from your small need of life, when you are hungry you eat, but when you eat for your body requirements you will not overeat but enjoy what you are eating. This is a need and not desire. But the same food if it is eaten for desire you not only overeat but it is sinful also. Because it is for desire. If you eat food for your body requirement and enjoy the food and its taste it becomes creative. And the same food will be non-creative and destructive if you eat for the taste only.
If you understand this from your routine life then it will be very easy to understand how war can become creative.
Right now when you are seeking my approval, your focus is on the result and not actually happening at this moment. Second thing for you now war is winning and losing but not an opportunity to look into yourself, empty out all your desire and attachments which is nothing but illusion, from that pure space of yours can feel the way in which your body felt hunger and your dropped the desire for taste you will be able to drop your desire for winning and losing the war. Immediately you will know that the same war can become creative if you can fight Without Enmity as you have dropped your desire for winning and losing all your attachments disappeared. From that pure space you will understand that possibility of Fighting Without Enmity. If you Fight Without Enmity the war will become creative.
Krishna is saying to Arjuna to take up this challenge and make the war creative, by Fighting Without Enmity.
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