Action And Reward

You were never born; you will never die…Unborn, eternal, immutable, immemorial, you do not die when the body dies. — The Bhagavad Gita, translated by Eknath Easwaran (“The Gita”), 2.20

It’s undeniable that there’s more to this world, this life, this existence when one closes one's eyes to meditate — we touch into this place, this stillness, this peace, this roaring silence, this from which everything emerges.

It can be blissful, terrifying, beautiful, dark, bright, alluring, repelling.

As we begin to realize, remember, this truth, how do we reconcile our life and the needs of this body…with this greater reality? How do we meet injustice?

Krishna continues…

You have the right to work, but never to the fruit of work. You should never engage in action for the sake of reward, nor should you long for inaction. Perform work in this world…as a [person] established within [themself] ⁠— without selfish attachments, and alike in success and defeat. For yoga is perfect evenness of mind.

Seek refuge in the attitude of detachment and you will amass the wealth of spiritual awareness. Those who are motivated only by desire for the fruits of action are miserable, for they are constantly anxious about the results of what they do. When consciousness is unified, however, all vain anxiety is left behind. There is no cause for worry, whether things go well or ill. Therefore, devote yourself to the disciplines of yoga, for yoga is skill in action.

— The Gita, 2.47 - 2.50

Yoga has been the most helpful path for me. After learning to touch this place in meditation, the question has become, how to bridge, how to integrate.

Particularly in asana practice, in these embodied movements, touching this still place as the body begins to move, as the muscles stretch, grow. As we meet the discomforts of this body, this life.

For years, I approached yoga with a goal — to become more limber, more flexible, more peaceful. And I achieved the opposite.

It is only as I’ve begun to let go in my practice, surrender, that this body-heart-mind has found the space it’s needed to feel, to process, and then…to begin to release.

The wise see that there is action in the midst of inaction and inaction in the midst of action. Their consciousness is unified, and every act is done with complete awareness. — The Gita, 4.18.

This is my practice.