The despondency of Arjuna in the first chapter of the Gita
is typically human. Sri Krishna, by sheer power of his inspiring
words, changes Arjuna's mind from a state of inertia to one of righteous
action, from the state of what the French philosophers call "anomie"
or even alienation, to a state of self-confidence in the ultimate
victory of "dharma" (ethical action.)
When Arjuna got over his despondency and stood ready to fight, Sri
Krishna reminded him of the purpose of his new-found spirit of intense
action - not for his own benefit, not for satisfying his own greed
and desire, but for the good of many, with faith in the ultimate
victory of ethics over unethical actions and of truth over untruth.
Sri Krishna's advice with regard to temporary failures is, "No
doer of good ever ends in misery." Every action should produce
results. Good action produces good results and evil begets nothing
but evil. Therefore, always act well and be rewarded.
My purport is not to suggest discarding of the Western model of
efficiency, dynamism and striving for excellence but to tune these
ideals to India's holistic attitude of " lokasangraha"
- for the welfare of many, for the good of many. There is indeed
a moral dimension to business life. What we do in business is no
different, in this regard, to what we do in our personal lives.
The means do not justify the ends. Pursuit of results for their
own sake, is ultimately self-defeating. ("Profit," said
Matsushita-san in another tradition, "is the reward of correct
behavior." – ed.)
Yoga
has two different meanings - a general meaning and a technical meaning.
The general meaning is the joining together or union of any two
or more things. The technical meaning is "a state of stability
and peace and the means or practices which lead to that state."
The Bhagavad Gita uses the word with both meanings.
M.P.Bhattathiri.
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