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950
GITA-RAHASYA OR KARMA-YOGA
akarma' cannot possibly mean “karmaśānyatā' (total absence of Action); and that no man can under any circumstances be Inactive (Gi. 2.5; 18. 11); because, nobody can escape sleeping, sitting, or at any rate, being alive; and if it is impossible to be totally Inactive (karma-śünya), one has to decide what is meant by 'akarma'. To this the reply of the Gītā is: Do not look upon 'Karma' as 'the mere performing of Action'; but decide as to whether an Action is 'karma' or 'akarma' by considering the good or bad results which flow from it. If the Cosmos itself is karma, man cannot escape karma, so long as he exists in the Cosmos. Therefore, the consideration of what a man should do or not do, must be from the point of view of to what extent such Action will prejudicially affect him. That Action, which being performed, does not prejudicially affect the Doer, must be deemed to have lost its nature of being a 'karma' (that is, its "karmatva'), or its binding force (bandhakatva); and if in this way, any Karma loses its 'karmatva' or 'bandhakatva', then necessarily that 'karma' becomes an 'akarma'. It is true that the ordinary meaning of the word 'akarma' is total absence of Action' (karmaŚūnyatā); but considering the matter scientifically, that meaning is not appropriate here, because even 'sitting quiet', that is, 'not doing anything', is very often an Action in itself. For instance, if one sits quiet, when someone is hammering one's parents, and does not do anything to protect them, that is "Inaction' (akarma), that is, 'total absence of Action' (karmaśūnyatva), according to the ordinary meaning of the word. It is nevertheless an 'Action' (karma), nay, even a Wrong Action (vikarma); and, according to the doctrine of Causality, one cannot escape the evil results of this kind of Action. Therefore, the Gītā says paradoxically and very skilfully in this stanza that he who understands that even 'akarma' amounts to 'karma' (sometimes, even very terrible karma); and also that even in performing Action, such Action is dead action' or 'akarma' from the point of view of Causality, is the real Jñānin; and this meaning has been explained in different ways in the subsequent stanzas.
