Bhagavad Gita 4.17

karmaṇo hy api boddhavyaṁ

boddhavyaṁ ca vikarmaṇaḥ

akarmaṇaś ca boddhavyaṁ

gahanā karmaṇo gatiḥ

The intricacies of action are very hard to understand. Therefore one should know properly what action is, what forbidden action is and what inaction is.

In Bhagavad Gita 4.17, Lord Kṛṣṇa declared that, if one is serious about liberation from material bondage, one has to understand the distinctions between action, inaction and unauthorized actions. He also mentions that this is a very difficult subject matter to understand. Fortunately, Srila Prabhupada has dissipated the darkness of ignorance with the torchlight of divine knowledge. As Kṛṣṇa spoke in BG 4.15: Therefore you should perform your duty, following in their footsteps.

Hence one must follow in the footsteps of the predecessor Acharyas to understand what is action, inaction, and unauthorized actions. Here is a very simple elucidation by Srila Prabhupada.

There Are Three Kinds of Karma

  1. Karma: The word karma refers to prescribed duties 
  2. Vikarma: The word vikarma refers to activities that are against one’s prescribed duties.
  3. Akarma: the word karma refers to activities which have no reaction at all

What is Karma (Action)?

Actions that are performed in terms of one’s prescribed duties, as mentioned in the revealed scriptures, are called karma. Prescribed duties are activities enjoined in terms of one’s acquired modes of material nature. Prescribed duties can be fitted into three subdivisions, namely routine work, emergency work and desired activities. Routine work performed as an obligation in terms of the scriptural injunctions, without desire for results, is action in the mode of goodness. Everyone has his proprietary right in regard to prescribed duties, but should act without attachment to the result; such disinterested obligatory duties doubtlessly lead one to the path of liberation.

What is Vikarma (Forbidden Action)?

Vikarma refers to actions that are performed through the misuse of one’s freedom and that direct one to the lower life forms are called vikarma. We are all part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa and because we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, our duty is to act according to what Kṛṣṇa says. That is our action. If we act otherwise, that called is forbidden action. Just like the finger is a part and parcel of our body. The finger’s duty to execute the orders of the body. If we wish for the finger to be upright, it will become upright. If we desire the fingers to close, it has to close. This is the natural duty of the finger. 

However, in a diseased condition, the finger is unable to act according to the will of the person on account of pain. Similarly, when we do not act in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and act separate from the will of the Lord, that is our diseased condition of life and that is called forbidden action.

What Is Akarma (Inaction)?

Actions that free one from the cycle of birth and death are called akarma. Akarma  also means without reaction to work. Inaction means what you do there is no reaction. When we work under the direction of Krsna, there are no reactions. A person acting in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is naturally free from the bonds of karma. His activities are all performed for Kṛṣṇa; therefore he does not enjoy or suffer any of the effects of work. Therefore he is declared as intelligent by Kṛṣṇa in BG 4.18. 

If we take it upon ourselves to kill someone, we are subject to capital punishment by the state government. Our actions are then called vikarma, for they are against prescribed actions. If, however, the government drafts us into the army, and we engage in battle and kill someone, we do not suffer the reactions, and this is called karma. 

In the one case we are acting according to our own whims, and in the other we are acting under the direction of the government. Similarly, when we act under the direction of Krsna, our actions performed are called akarma, for that kind of activity has no reaction. On the Battlefield of Kurukshetra, Arjuna engaged in fighting, and those on the side of Duryodhana also engaged in fighting. We must understand how it is that Arjuna is free from reaction whereas Duryodhana is not. 

Externally we can see that both parties are engaged in fighting, but we should understand that Arjuna is not bound by reactions because he is fighting under the order of Krsna. Thus when we see someone working in Krsna consciousness, we should understand that his work does not carry any reaction. Therefore it is said that one who can see action in inaction and inaction in action, is intelligent and is free from the bonds of karma. His activities are all performed for Kṛṣṇa; therefore he does not enjoy or suffer any of the effects of work. His eternal servitorship to Kṛṣṇa makes him immune to all sorts of reactionary elements of work.

Bg 4.18

karmaṇy akarma yaḥ paśyed

akarmaṇi ca karma yaḥ

sa buddhimān manuṣyeṣu

sa yuktaḥ kṛtsna-karma-kṛt

One who sees inaction in action and action in inaction is intelligent among men, and he is in the transcendental position, although engaged in all sorts of activities.

 

References

  1. Bhagavad Gita 2.47
  2. Bhagavad Gita 4.17
  3. Bhagavad Gita 4.18
  4. Raja Vidya Chapter 8
  5. Sri Isopanisad, Chapter 2
  6. Bhagavad-gītā 4.11-18—Los Angeles, January 8, 1969