Summary:

Chapter 2, Verse 49: Karma-yoga (action with proper attitude) is superior to action driven by desire for results. The verse contrasts two approaches: those who act for results become entangled in disappointment and judgment, while karma-yogis maintain composure by recognizing Ishvara's laws govern results. A karma-yogi sees every action as an opportunity for self-growth and moksha, remains enthusiastic without demands, and understands laws are impersonal and fair. This understanding frees one from guilt and hurt, allowing focus on solutions rather than problems.

Chapter 2, Verse 50: Karma-yoga requires aligning actions with samanya-dharma (universal ethics) while recognizing dharma as Ishvara's manifestation. Life combines purushartha (choice) and prarabdha (past causes). Dharmic action requires giving up obsession with punya and papa (merit and sin). Transgressions of dharma occur through raga-dvesha (likes/dislikes), societal pressure, past samskaras, and trauma, leading to guilt, fear, and low self-esteem. Dharma isn't fixed but dynamic, requiring discernment rather than personal interpretation. True karma-yoga involves both proper action guided by dharma and equanimous acceptance of results.

BHAGAVAD GITA, CHAPTER 2, VERSE 49:
Two ways of doing actions

दूरेण हि अवरम् कर्म बुद्धि-योगात् धनञ्जय ।
बुद्धौ शरणम् अन्विच्छ कृपणाः फल-हेतवः ॥ २-४९॥
dūreṇa hi avaram karma buddhi-yogāt dhanañjaya ।
buddhau śaraṇam anviccha kṛpaṇāḥ phala-hetavaḥ ॥ 2-49॥

Action (based on desire) is, therefore, far inferior to that performed with the proper attitude of karma-yoga. Seek refuge in this buddhi-yoga (of proper attitude), Dhanañjaya (Arjuna)! Those who perform action only for the results are misers.

Two approaches of doing actions:

1. Performing actions for sake of future results:
   • When don’t get what you expected, there's disappointment and entanglement. Meaning even though actions are ethical, person is not satisfied noticing life isn’t sufficiently compensating or fast enough. Then ends up looking down on others not following dharma, and angry seeing adharmic people are getting away with it. 
2. One who performs actions with Karma-yoga attitude:
   1. Whatever happens, a karma–yogi maintains composure, recognizing he can’t change laws that govern results. Each result is opportunity to bring Ishvara into your life. Every action is for sake of moksha. Recognizing everything for moksha is already given (air, capacity to know/desire/do), therefore karma–yogi remains enthusiastic and non-demanding. Understandings laws are fair, thus less chance of dissatisfaction. Let’s you unload the mind of guilt (what I did to others) and hurt (what others did to me).
   2. Focus on the solution, else mind spends time ruminating on the problem.
   3. Have a fallback in your life. Some inspiring project that keeps your mind occupied. Or some reminder your bring to your mind in hard times. EG: “I CAN and WILL figure this out!”.
   4. Remember you can't change the laws. They are neither against nor for you. Neither punishing nor rewarding you. It's never personal. All you can do is keep aligning your actions to the laws whenever a new situation calls for your response. For example, choosing to act from a place of care and deliberation.

Different aspects that make up Karma-Yoga that we've seen up to verse 49…

1. Karma-Yoga welcomes challenges as it allow you to perceive them through Vedantic lens. EG: World > Intelligently-put-together-world. Person > Manifestation of Ishvara.
2. Karma-Yoga is bringing Ishvara into every aspect of your life.
3. Karma-Yoga involves knowing where you have a choice (actions) and don’t have a choice (results of actions).
4. It gives you Samatvam (composure and equanimity) – which comes from knowing Ishvara gives results of actions, and laws are unfailing, unbiased. Ishvara is not punishing you. Frees you from loads.
5. In next verse 50: Having discretion while doing actions (aligning actions to samanya-dharma).

NEXT VERSE: What spiritualizes your actions? Aligning them to dharma, while knowing that very dharma is manifestation of Ishvara.

BHAGAVAD GITA, CHAPTER 2, VERSE 50:
Aligning actions to samanya-dharma

बुद्धि-युक्तः जहाति इह उभे सुकृत-दुष्कृते ।
तस्मात् योगाय युज्यस्व योगः कर्मसु कौशलम् ॥ २-५०॥
buddhi-yuktaḥ jahāti iha ubhe sukṛta-duṣkṛte ।
tasmāt yogāya yujyasva yogaḥ karmasu kauśalam ॥ 2-50॥

One who is endowed with the sameness of mind, gives up both puṇya and pāpa here, in this world. Therefore, commit yourself to karma-yoga. Karma-yoga is discretion in action.

Karma Yoga is Discernment in Action (yoga karmasu kaushalam):

Life is mixture of purushartha (power of choice) and prarabdha (pressure of past causes). Meaning despite past causes, you’re given capacity to engage in new actions and change course of life through thoughtfulness and discretion.

EG: Through collaborative collective discretion – society made quantum strides in medical fields (heart, kidney transplant, cancer research, IT revolution).

How to be discerning in actions?

By giving up obsession for results (wanting punya, avoiding papa). Stop making it all about yourself. And rather align your actions to Dharma (which is not superimposition of societal condition, but innate program). Meaning, before doing anything, ask, “How will this contribute to well-being of both myself and the other?”. If it's one sided benefit, dharma goes.

Without dharma, the law is designed to cut you off eventually.

Some examples when actions aren't keeping with dharma…

• 2008 Crash: Imagine a bank gives Steve $500K loan – even though he can't pay it back. This is called subprime-loans. Bank doesn’t keep that risky loan – but immediately sells it for a profit to another bank, calling it a “safe investment”, hiding the risks! Why would another bank or investor buy Steven’s loan? If Steve borrowed $500K at 6% interest for 30 years, you'd eventually get back way more than $500K – you'd get around $1 million with all the interest payments! So banks bought these loans thinking “We'll make a huge profit when Steve pays back both the loan AND all that interest.” Plus, they thought “Even if Steve stops paying, we can take his house and sell it for more, since house prices keep going up.” That's why these loans looked attractive to buy – the promise of big profits from interest payments, plus the houses as backup. What they didn't count on was masses of people like Steve defaulting all at once (failed to make loan payments), and house prices crashing instead of rising. It made all those purchased loans worthless. When millions of bad loans became worthless at once, banks lost massive money, thus lost jobs, and stopped lending to anyone (thus legitimate businesses couldn’t survive).
• Illegal Ocean Dumping: Princess Cruise Lines in 2016 was fined 40million for illegal waste dumping into Oceans. Example showing even a corporation will transgress dharma when there's no incentive to follow it. Then again in 2019, this time Carnival Cruise Lines fine 20million for illegal ocean dumping.
• Incentivized Arson: Teenagers given $500 incentive for arson to burn down tobacco shops.
• Wall Street Sensation: Elizabeth Holmes was $5 billion worth, selling a product that never existed; a portable blood tester. Fired whoever didn't believe in her “non-existent” vision. Her justification was “Fake it, until you make it”.
• Sports: Lance Armstrong was winner of Tour de France, but later found doping. His justification, “Everyone was doing it, so I though I will too”. 

Why don’t we always follow dharma – even though it’s ingrained?

1. Raga/Dvesha: Pressure of Likes/dislikes override the program. EG: Want a toy, end up stealing it from your own friend. Or police official accepts a bribe. Reason is we don’t see immediate gains of being honest. Each situation is assessed from what will maximize returns. Then justifies, “It’s just one time”. 
   • Also in most cases, there seems to be no choice but operate from likes for profits, and dislikes for poverty. For example, most farmers harvesting cocaine leaves in Peru, openly admit, they aren't proud the leaves are being used for cocaine production, but have no choice, as it's the only sustainable way of livelihood. Consequently, they have to live with amounts of fear being caught and guilt.
   • Order: Pressure of likes/dislikes > leads to loss of perspective > loss of discernment in action.
2. Society pressure: Success is defined per society (parents, tribe, nation). Noone wants to be a failure. Thus in pursuit of success, one transgresses dharma. One feels a need to belong to cultural expectations. Your self-worth gets connected to cultural definitions. And wanting to be somebody, the quickest way to get there is through shortcuts. Cultural values are not universal ethical values.
   • Example showing how societal pressure covers up basic ethics: Andre Rebelo was living a social media luxury lifestyle. The perfect trophy wife. Both obsessed with public image. This took a tool on his finances. He killed his mother to extract 1.5 million insurance due to pressure to maintain his perfect social media profile.
3. Past life impressions (samskaras). EG: Innately drawn to “bad boys”, nerds, etc. Which further sculpts your personality (which was given to you from prarabdha-karma) in youth.
4. Trauma in childhood (abuse, poverty). In adulthood, their actions come from pain. Makes one sadistic, getting pleasure by inflicting pain on others to regain the power/control that was non-existent in childhood. EG: Thus turns to bully, crime.

What is consequence of transgressing dharma?

1. Guilt: Inner conflict in form of guilt. Humans brush guilt aside by distraction through calling friend, going shopping, etc. Can get away with it, but other indicators show up, such as…
2. Fear: Fear that you’ll be caught.
3. Low self-esteem: Fall in self-esteem, unable to live with a high-head.
4. Suspicion/Paranoid: Becoming suspicious of others. “If I can transgress, so can others. People want to use me, they want something from me, etc”. Makes one unable to have a healthy relationship.

Advice won't help inculcate dharma. Seeing the cost and rewards of violating it will…

Advice won’t help as everyone already knows, “I shouldn’t cheat, lie, etc”.

One has to see for oneself, “What is my gain following values? And what do I lose not following values?”

Recognizing there is a compensation system keeping with quality of your actions. By seeing clearly the consequences, it becomes apparent that transgressing dharma isn’t a good bargain.

Consequently, you naturally incorporate dharma into actions. To bring dharma into life is to bring Ishvara into your life — because Dharma is manifestation of Ishvara.

Dharma is not fixed, it’s dynamic

Example, if you’re in the army on a mission, navy will intentionally hold back bad news within your family, as not to affect your moral on the mission. Or doctor holds back bad news to family for certain time.

Krishna said Arjuna’s fight is dharmic (despite violence), as opposing an adharmic/destructive king isn’t violence.

How to avoid personal interpretation of dharma (convincing oneself adharmic decision is dharmic)?

One has to recognize that laws don’t bend to adjust to your interpretations.

Ramayana Story illustrating who interpreting dharma per your fancies doesn’t help you: Ratnakar was robbing innocent travelers. Then tried to rob Narada, who asked him “What are you getting from robbing me?”. Ratnakar said “To support my family”. Narada challenged him saying others also support family without robbing. Ratnakar thought he was clever by getting money faster. Narada warned him of consequences. Asked Ratnakar if his family was willing to share the negative consequences of his actions. Ratnakar went to ask his wife/child, both unwilling to share his papa consequences. This got Ratnakar thinking, “World doesn’t work as I want it, but has independent laws”. Ratnakar began to rethink his actions, starting with japa “Rama, Rama”.

Revision: Karma-Yoga addresses two main aspects of living…

1. ACTIONS: How are my actions to be performed? Yoga karmasu kaushalam. They’re guided by dharma, considering impacts of your actions, to ensure they create harmony and well-being on both sides. While also recognizing dharma you’re aligning to is manifestation of Ishvara. (Verse 50)
2. RESULTS: How do I deal with results of my actions? Responding with equanimity knowing 4 outcomes are possible, which aren’t entirely in your hands. Immediately thinking solution mode. Taking refuge in your fallback, else mind ruminates on the result, eating up precious time. (Verse 47-48)

NEXT VERSE: What are the benefits to those who take up to Karma-Yoga?…

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Course was based on Swami Dayananda (Arsha Vidya) home study course.

Recorded 9 Feb, 2025