Bhagavad Geeta- A model of personal peace and harmony.

World and India believe that Freud was the first one who had analysed the mind and developed psychological concepts about it. But before that five thousand years ago, Lord Krishna had narrated Bhagavad Geeta to Arjuna and in that analysis of mind was done and its psychological aspect (about mind) was discussed. The same is relevant, acceptable even in today's context. Having compared both, at the end, we will find that its analysis and conclusion is even superior to that of Freud. Freud's psychology says that desire, lust, attraction, only go away when these negative feelings are fulfilled, else the person gets disappointed, feels tensed and suffers from complex, which affects the whole personality of the person. On the other hand Geeta says desires etc are formed from selfish attraction. The mind will be disturbed to fulfil that desire, will feel uncomfortable and lack of peace. The inner personality will be influenced with it (similar to Freud). Further a person commits sins when he is under the influence of lust, desire and aspirations.  Further Geeta's psychology says that when they are fulfilled then they are not removed but subside for some time or become calm, but they arise once again. The cycle rotates and does not stop. The Geeta's psychology is not just philosophy, but contains easy and practical methods to control desires, lust and attraction, which are psychological, appropriate and practical. It says that as the Sunrays outshine the light of an earthen lamp in the same way the high thoughts defuse the lust, desires and attractions (differ from Freud) .

The Bhagavad-Geeta is full of such insights and a model of personal peace and harmony is contained therein. It shows how our physical self is related to social self and work but both are different from real self. This model shows how doing the work with the intention to achieve the fruits of our labour leads to an entrenched development of social self, but letting go of the passion for the reward for our actions leads us toward the liberation and real self.  If we consider  two alternative paths to lead a life, Freud or Western psychology deals with the first path by focusing on various aspects of intentional work  for achieving fruit only, thus missing out on the immense possibility of leading a spiritual life that the second path ( of Geeta) has to offer.

To begin with, for a person or society first question is- to work or not to work? As per Geeta  verse 3.5, work is said to be natural to human being. We are driven by our nature, and cannot live even for a moment without doing some work. So question boils down to what type work is to be pursued by the person. Geeta shows a strong tie between Self and one's duty (or Svadharma), which is enumerated in verse 2.31 (Kshtra Dharma) and elsewhere. One has a choice to do or not to do his or her duty, or work prescribed by one's caste and phase of life (Varnashrama dharma). The positive aspects of performing one’s duties are stated in verses 3.35a, 18.47a, and 18.48. In verse 3.8, two interesting arguments are made. First, doing work is stated to be superior to not performing one’s duty or work, presenting the general principle that action is better than inaction. Second, it is argued that we cannot even continue the journey of life or maintain the body without performing work. In this argument lies the strong bond between the physical self, the social self and work. The verse 18.46 argues that God is in everything, and that God gives the drive to living beings. Further, human beings achieve perfection by worshipping God, and one worships God by performing his or her work.  Finally, in verse 18.48, Arjuna is advised that one should not abandon one’s natural duties even if it has flaws since all work have some flaw much like there is smoke associated with fire. The Bhagavad-Geeta is categorical about the consequences of not performing one’s duties. In verse 2.33, Arjuna is told that if he did not take part in the battle for duty or the battle supporting righteousness in the battlefield of Kurukshetra, he would accrue infamy and sin. In light of the above reasons, it becomes quite clear that one is to perform his or her duties at all times, and that there are serious negative consequences of not performing them. So far we do not find any noticeable difference between Freud and Geeta with regard to importance of work in life, but here too Geeta’s emphasis is on a work which is person’s duty and not all type of work.  

Thus having decided to perform one’s duties, we move to the next step to examine the intention of performing one’s duties. Once we decide to perform our duties (svadharma), we arrive at another decision point, where we have to decide whether we want to do our duties (svadharma) with the intention of achieving/ enjoying the fruits of our action (sakama), or we want to pursue it with the intention of being indifferent about achieving or not achieving the fruits of our actions (nishkama). Intention being the best predictor of human behaviour, this is a significant phase in decision making, and it affects how our self develops further. If we decide to pursue the work with the intention to enjoy the fruits of our effort, we follow Path 1, which leads to increased attachment to work and its consequences, or Karmic bondage. This is stated in verse 3.9a. The nature of Path 1 is described in verses 2.41b, 2.42-44, and 2.45a. If we intend to work without being concerned with the fruits of our effort, or become detached from them, i.e., maintain equanimity in achieving or not achieving them, then we are following Path 2, which leads to liberation. Path 2 is described in verses 2.38-40, 2.45b, 2.48, 3.7b, 3.9b, 3.17, and 3.30. In verse 2.49, Path 1 is stated to be inferior to Path 2, and in verse 3.7 Path 2 is stated to be superior to Path 1.

What are the factors for destruction/fall of the person (following path1) or after which stage the person rises above in life (following path2) has been told in the Geeta. If we follow path1, sequence is, while contemplating the objects of the senses, a person develops attachment for them, and from such attachment lust develops, and from lust anger arises. From anger, complete delusion arises, and from delusion bewilderment of memory comes. When memory is bewildered, intelligence is lost, and when intelligence is lost one falls down again into the material pool, (verse 2.62 and 2.63). Lord Shri Krishna must have been a great psychologist, who told the mankind that there are eight stages of destruction of man, which begin from subjects and end with destruction. In other words whatever is attained, it becomes the basis for the intelligence to work. If the person does not have intelligence he will destroy his life. If the wisdom is lost the person falls down from his path. The path of this destruction moves at great speed. At the stage of attachment the perception of the thing changes and jealousy and hatred, which are internal things, become our companion and are infectious. Hatred and jealousy are our nets to fall in traps. This is the stage of destruction. The person can come out of anger due to his natural nature of freedom by following path 2. The source of coming out is disinterest, lack of willingness. The Geeta says that in order to calm down anxiety (created by desire etc) either the person has to lead a selfless life free of aspirations, lust and attractions or lead a life with some high aspiration. High aspiration is also of two types thinking of God  (Bhakti Yoga) or selfless service of the society (Karm Yoga). Selfless service has no aspiration; there is only peace of mind, a gift of life. You should work with this gift of life but remember that nobody can do anything alone; we are part of the society. Thus the Bhagavad Geeta contains the psychological analysis of desire. None of the books of the world contain such an analysis.

Further, following the path 1 every task or element of our work when completed, adds something to our social self, adds to our identity box as we advance in our careers and acquire wealth and professional success. While pursuing a materialistic life we are often motivated to do what our neighbours or colleagues do, aptly express in the expression "keeping up with the society.” We also indulge in conspicuous consumption to gratify our various needs, and add to our social self in the process. Finally, we are constantly drawn toward the ego-enhancing objects or products that are aggressively advertised by companies that manufacture luxury goods. All these lead to an endless, perhaps infinite, growth in our social self. This explosive growth of social self is much like the expansion of the universe captured in the entropy principle (of physics i.e., entropy of the universe is constantly increasing) resulting chaos and unrest in life.

On the other hand, Path 2 originates when a person makes a conscious decision not to passionately pursue the fruits of his or her endeavours. In verse 2.38, Krishna tells Arjuna that if he fought by maintaining equanimity in happiness or sorrow, victory or defeat, and loss or gain, then fighting the battle for its own sake, and killing his relatives in the process, would not accrue any sin to him. In verse 2.39, Krishna starts to explain to Arjuna how Karmayoga (or yoga through work) leads one to get rid of the bondage of karma. In verse 2.40, Krishna tells Arjuna that in doing one's duties there is no loss, disappointment, offence, diminution, or sin, and if done properly even doing a little bit of one's duties protects one from great fear. When one stops worrying about the fruits of one's efforts, performs one's duties by controlling the senses with the mind, and allow the work organs to perform their tasks without any anxiety, then slowly one begins to withdraw from the hustle-bustle of the world, and begins to be inner centred. Thus the social self-starts to lose its meaning for the person, for it is an external identity, and the person begins to be anchored inside, on the inner self, following this path. The physical self and social self-starts to slowly melt, and when the intellect of the person becomes stable then one realizes the atman or the real self. This melting of the self is just the opposite of the explosive growth of the self that happens when one follows Path 1.

In brief, when we follow Path 1, we set goals and achieve them. This leads to further development of our social self, and we get more and more entrenched in our physical and social self. On the other hand, when we follow Path 2, we detach ourselves from the fruits of our action, and slowly but definitely erode the social self and the associated “I consciousness” and “agency ship (kartabhav)”. In the long run this process leads to the realization of the real self, or atman, which is described in verses 2.17-29. It shows that even if intention to obtain the fruit was taken out of work, one could still work in the world and make progress on the spiritual (and material) path, because the consequences of work and the entailing passion would be pre-emptively dissipated. However it must be remembered whether you wish fruits/ results of work or not as per path1 or 2, person will definitely get fruits of or has to suffer for his work. This is the rule of “Karma” (work).

As said earlier, whether you wish or not, fruits of work will definitely accrue and there will be some surplus with us. So, as per Geeta, whatever wealth and money remains after maintaining of self and social service, should be donated to the society. The Geeta calls this as Yagya. Whatever else we do other than Yagya leads to attachments (because we keep it with ourselves). Of course we should use it for our upcoming, but whatever remains should not be considered to be belonging to us, it should be donated to the society. This is known as 'Idamna mama'. Whatever was my share, I took it, now the remaining does not belong to me, and it belongs to the society. This is called the unselfish action. In this way the person leads a lust free, aspiration free and attraction free life. Such type of person is away from all the negative things despite doing his duties and all work.

How to achieve all this? As person following path 1, believes in Self- efficacy meaning individual’s belief in his or her capacity to execute behaviours necessary to produce specific performance attainment and the ability to exert control over one’s own motivation, behaviour and social environment.  Here human beings view self as agents who are responsible for their development, adaptation or change. An athlete's feats are clearly associated with the physical ability and the regimen of rigorous practice (i.e., the mental ability) they subject themselves to. Therefore, the "can do attitude" or efficacy is associated with the concepts of our physical and ever expanding social selves and thus is necessarily an outward process. On the other hand if the inner journey requires the dissolution of the social self, as the path 2 posits, then to advance on the spiritual path (without sacrificing material prosperity) one has to get rid of these elements of self-efficacy. In other words, the self-efficacy that makes us so effective in the material world becomes a burden on the spiritual journey. Part of the challenge in making spiritual progress is to be able to get rid of the sense of agency, and self-efficacy is nothing but innumerable aspects of that ego and being an agent.

Therefore, those following Path 2 must have necessarily acquired their self-efficacy through the practice of "not paying attention to the fruits of their effort.” But this skill is not readily available in the society, since most people follow Path 1.  Therefore first, change of mind-set is required. Path 2 thus, offers some interesting insights to the process of self-efficacy development, especially as it pertains to spiritual self-growth, which has not been hitherto thought about. For a beginner on the path 2, this raises the questions about what we know about goal setting (as per path1). It is not easy to visualize how one may proceed or motivated to perform one's work without concern for the fruits of his or her effort. However, it is possible to set goals and reschedule them without either celebrating the success or expressing frustration about the failure. If we work with the intention not to chase the fruits of our efforts, then we enter a zone where goals are not important, and they lose their motivating potential. We are in a situation where the person does not have to be an agent setting goals and taking actions to meet those goals. It is likely that the above situation may sound quite alien to the western mind. But in fact we can see a similar state of mind among tenured professors in US universities, who often do research that interests them, but are not overly concerned about where they end up publishing the paper ( as juniors do worry).

To conclude the path 2 proposed by Geeta shows how we can continue our engagement in the world and yet strive toward liberation. People can use the path for their personal growth, and test its validity for themselves by reflecting on changes in their life in terms of reduced attachment to various social selves, increase in felt calmness and peace, and a clear reduction in work and social stress. This way we can get rid of the path proposed by Freud's psychology which led the people to materialistic life but gave a life full of tension, depression, loneliness, disappointment and other mental diseases.