Esoteric Teaching Seminars: Karma-yoga Part 6

Karma-yoga Part 6

Why is it that the Law of God decrees that our independent enjoyment of material resources creates karmic reactions? Because everything belongs to God, and its purpose is to be used in His service, and according to His instructions. If we appropriate God's material energy for our own purposes, then we are thieves and deserve to be punished:

iṣṭān bhogān hi vo devā
dāsyante yajña-bhāvitāḥ
tair dattān apradāyaibhyo
yo bhuṅkte stena eva saḥ

"In charge of the various necessities of life, the demigods, being satisfied by the performance of yajña [sacrifice], supply all necessities to man. But he who enjoys these gifts, without offering them to the demigods in return, is certainly a thief." [Bhagavad-gita 3.12]

Krsna appoints qualified souls as demigods in charge of the various departments of material energy. He does not administrate His material kingdom directly, but delegates this responsible service to His loyal servants. In other words, God does not directly touch the material energy. The karma-kanda section of the Vedas recommends sacrifice of material possessions to the demigods for resultant good birth, material facility and sense gratification. The purpose of this system of sacrifice is to train us to engage in a religious process for the satisfaction of our senses, rather than acting independently.

The ultimate aim of the Vedas is to detach us from material sense gratification completely, and fix us in ecstatic spiritual consciousness and devotional service; but this aim has to be accomplished in gradual stages. The important point here is that we should utilize God's material energy according to His instructions as revealed in the scriptures, and not independently or whimsically. God wants His material energy to be engaged in His service, but if we divert it for our own service, then we are thieves. How can we be happy if we maintain a criminal mentality in relation to God?

Therefore all religious principles are directly and indirectly based on the idea that everything is God's property; therefore it is to be used in His service, according to His instructions. Even our bodies and souls do not belong to us, but to God. Krsna emanates both the internal spiritual energy and the external material energy. Therefore we are meant to engage in His service at every occasion and at every level of our existence. Failure to meet this standard provokes various reactions from the laws of nature, which are, after all, the laws of God.

The principle of karma-yoga is really very simple: everything belongs to God, therefore everything is to be used in His service.

īśāvāsyam idam sarvaṁ
yat kiñca jagatyāṁ jagat
tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā
mā gṛdhaḥ kasya svid dhanam

"Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is controlled and owned by the Lord. One should therefore accept only those things necessary for himself, which are set aside as his quota, and one should not accept other things, knowing well to Whom they belong." [Sri Isopanisad, Mantra 1]

If we take something that belongs to another person, we can understand very well that this is stealing. The same principle applies to the Lord's property as well. The quota of material energy required for our devotional service to the Lord is our rightful charge; it does not become our property, but it is our responsibility to manage it well for His pleasure. One is entitled to manage the Lord's energy according to his talent and capacity, but he is never entitled to divert the Lord property to his own purposes.

The untrammeled greed of human enterprise in defiance of the Lord's clear injunctions has ruined the planetary environment in general, and human society in particular. This demoniac propensity is illustrated by the fact that if you leave an open bag of rice in a public place, the birds will come a take a few grains according to their need, but some greedy human who sees the opportunity will abscond with the whole thing. The tendency to steal and hoard material resources is seen throughout modern human history as the unfortunate cause of so much evil. The practice of karma-yoga or intentionally returning material resources to their rightful owner, the Lord, is simply restoring the material energy to its proper relationship with Him.