Field of Action – Br. Shankara

Sunday, June 1, 2014

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Field of ActionFrom the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
March 9, 1883

DEVOTEE: “Sir, why has God put us in the world?”

MASTER: “The world is the field of action. Through action one acquires knowledge. The guru instructs the disciple to perform certain works and refrain from others. Again, he advises the pupil to perform action without desiring the result. The impurity of the mind is destroyed through the performance of duty. It is like getting rid of a disease by means of medicine, under the instruction of a competent physician.

“Why doesn’t God free us from the world? Ah, He will free us when the disease is cured. He will liberate us from the world when we are through with the enjoyment of ‘woman and gold’. Once a man registers his name in the hospital, he cannot run away. The doctor will not let him go away unless his illness is completely cured.”

June is a month for the study of Karma Yoga. Ramakrishna defines that Yoga precisely in the first paragraph of his answer to the devotee. This, along with Swami Vivekananda’s highly practical advice on how to make the practices of Karma Yoga a part of your everyday life, is discussed in this talk.