Why does man compromise with his ideals, engage in actions which are below the dignity of a human being or perform deeds that have a negative impact on his mind, thereby creating more sorrow for himself? Why does it happen?

In the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna asks Sri Krishna, ‘Why does man commit sin even though he does not want to (anichchena)? In spite of himself, he does so. What is that force, factor, or entity that pushes him, forcibly as it were, into wrong doing?

Bhagavan responds with a direct answer. ‘kaam eshe’. It is kaam – desire, lust, passion. It is irresistible, uncontrolled and uncontrollable desire. Desire is the cause and it is desire, itself, that takes the form of anger or rage, if it is obstructed.

Nature of Desire

The nature of desire is such that the moment it arises, it immediately causes agitation and restlessness. We may be busy reading, writing or listening to something and suddenly a thought comes, ‘I think I need a coffee break now’. Immediately, the mind is disturbed, agitated, and restless. If the desire for coffee is obstructed, and there is someone preventing its fulfilment, the desire turns into anger.

How does desire arise? It rises from rajoguna. The quality of rajoguna is agitation. The mind becomes more and more restless.

Anger

What is the difference between desire and anger? Desire is mahashanah and krodh is mahapapma. Ashan means eating, hunger. Desires are insatiable and never fulfilled. We go on buying, collecting and hoarding objects, but we never say, ‘Enough’. The Shastras give the beautiful example of fire. They point out that trying to fulfil desires is similar to adding fuel, in the form of firewood, oil or ghee, to put out a fire. Actually, the more you add, the more it grows. Desire is indeed a peculiar thing: you fulfil one  thinking that it is the very last time and you will end it once and for all. But, immediately, it again comes up. And it also gives rise to new desires. Mahashanah this hunger is insatiable.

Krodh is mahapapammah – Anger is a great sinner. Anger can make you do wrong things and commit sin – loot, plunder and even kill.

Now somebody may ask, “I understand that if my desire is obstructed, it will turn into anger. But suppose it is fulfilled. Will I not get peace? If my desire is fulfilled then there will be peace.”

I suggest you try it and see for yourself!

Greed

The nature of desire is such that once it is fulfilled, it becomes greed. I just want a little more…then a little more…and then a little more….It never stops. This craving continues throughout one’s life.

Take the example of a child wanting something. If you try to put it off, you will be faced with a massive tantrum. For the child, there is no tomorrow or evening or later on, the desired object is wanted ‘right now!’ You try to be smart, ‘Alright, I will give it to you, but do you promise, you will not ask for anything else? Absolutely Promise?’ And every parent knows how innocently and promptly the child will promise to never ask for anything again! How long does it last?

Desires can be compared to a box of paper tissues. Like tissues, another pops up as soon as one is pulled; as soon as you satisfy one desire, the second is waiting for you. Desires have a good understanding among themselves – it is only when the first goes that the second one surfaces. Fulfil it and behold  the third is waiting for you!

This just goes on and on. The root of all sins is this greed.

The Author is the Head of Chinmaya Mission Worldwide.

Compromising our ideals is also a form of paapam. We have a mental picture of an ideal life; but are we ready to make the necessary sacrifices to actualise it? Let us take the simple example of deciding to get up early in the morning. However, when the alarm rings, I say ‘Not today; let me sleep a little more. From tomorrow I will definitely get up early!’ If for the next seven days, I am not able to get up, on the eighth day, I tell myself, ‘What is the need of getting up early anyway? What does it matter?’ This compromise appear to be small but tends to become bigger and bigger until our whole life is filled with compromises. All the big payoffs, which we hear of, are nothing but compromises.

Sacrifice vs. Compromise

There are two kinds of actions –sacrifice and compromise. In both, a person has to renounce something. In sacrifice, a man sacrifices the lower for the sake of a higher cause or ideal. On the other hand, in compromise, the higher is given up for something lower. Whenever we compromise, we become weaker and weaker. Our willpower and moral strength are undermined. That is called paap.

Many Shades of Meaning

Any act that is below human dignity can also be called paapam. Stealing the property of another, injuring or killing another are acts considered below the dignity of a human being.

Human beings are highly evolved. Hence, the highly evolved must take care of the lesser evolved. Is that not so? In your own home when the elder child fights with the younger one over a toy, do you not say “You are a big brother, you must give that to the younger one.” So, as the more evolved, it is our responsibility to take care of those who are weaker than us – including birds, animals, trees, and plants. If we destroy them it is considered as paap. When we start viewing things in this light, we will realise the amount of paap that we commit every day!

People think that results of paap and punya come in the future. This is not correct. The moment you entertain a noble thought, a good thought, you immediately feel happy; you feel good about yourself. And the moment you entertain a wrong thought, you start feeling guilty. This outcome at the mental level is immediate. The grosser, tangible result may come later on.

There is a very interesting shloka in connection with paap and punya in one of the texts – ‘punyasa phalamicchanti punyam necchanti manavah, na papaphalamicchanti papam kurvanti yatnatah’

People are strange – they want the result of punyam, meritorious deeds which is happiness, but they do not want to do perform any meritorious acts. They do not want the result of papam which is sorrow, but commit sins methodically!

So the concept of paap has many shades of meaning – anything which pollutes the mind, any situation in which compromises are made, and wherever we act below our dignity as human beings. All these fall into the category of paap.

The Author is the Head of Chinmaya Mission Worldwide.

The last question posed by Arjuna to Sri Krishna in Chapter three is one that is of great relevance to all of us. Why does man commit sin? Even though he does not want to (anichchena), still, in spite of himself, he does so. What is that force, factor, or entity that pushes him, forcibly as it were, into wrongdoing?

It is interesting to note that Arjuna’s question implies an external or internal source, which impels man to commit sin. Most of us think likewise because we are averse to owning responsibility for our own actions. We always want someone else to shoulder the blame for any wrongdoing.

Paapam

Before we see the Lord’s response, let us try to first understand what exactly is meant by sin – termed as paap in Sanskrit. The opposite of paap is called punya.

Let us appreciate the principle behind these two concepts. In Sanskrit the word punya is defined as punati-iti punyam – that which purifies our mind is called punya. And therefore, the opposite, paapam would be that which pollutes the mind.

While reading, I came across a very interesting etymology of the word – pa means to protect. Paap is something which protects. What does paap protect? It protects or shelters our foolishness, our ignorance, our wrong notions and our negative tendencies. That is known as paapam. And the result of paap is nothing but sorrow.

Today, there is so much talk of atmospheric pollution, water pollution, air pollution, noise pollution. But very rarely do we speak of mind pollution. Please note that external pollution is nothing but the result of a polluted mind.

So paapam is to be understood as that which ‘pollutes’ the mind and results in suffering. Using this yardstick, we can observe which of our thoughts, feelings, speech, actions or reactions fall into the category of paap.

For example, suppose a person is allergic to nuts. The first thing that person does when any food is put in front of him is to enquire what are the ingredients. He is worried about its reaction on his body.

Similarly, you must start questioning: “What will be the effect on my mind if I entertain a particular thought?” If I feel hatred, dislike and negative emotions, I must ask myself about its impact on my mind? In the same way, we must examine the effect of our words, actions and reactions on the mind.

So paapam is not just a particular kind of action; it is any thought, feeling, word, action or reaction that creates this kind of pollution in the mind and fosters ignorance and wrong notions.

1.Bhagavad Gita 3.36

The Author is the Head of Chinmaya Mission Worldwide.

Whatever a great person or a Shreshta Purusha (leader) does, his example is followed by others (Bhagavad Gita 3.21). For instance, if you admire someone in the field of sports, music, theatre or spirituality, there is a tendency to imitate the behaviour of that person. You follow the standards, values, ideals and conduct upheld by him/her. Whatever a great person or leader does, people will imitate him. Therefore, it is the crucial responsibility of a leader to live an exemplary life.

Practice what You Preach

Once, a determined lady travelled a long way with her son to the ashrama of a Mahatma. She requested him, “Please advise my son not to indulge in sweets as he has a medical condition”. The Mahatma asked them to revisit him after a month.

On returning after the elapsed time, the Mahatma looked at the boy and advised, “Don’t eat so many sweets. It is bad for your health. Be moderate.”

The lady was taken aback. “But why”, she asked, “Did you not say this a month earlier?”

The Mahatma replied “At that time, I could not have said it. I too was eating a lot of sweets. First, I myself had to give them up, only then could I counsel him”.

Each One is a Leader

In society, every person is a leader to someone else. I may be looking up to some person for guidance or advice, but there is also somebody who holds me in high esteem and looks to me for direction. In a family where there is a five- year old and a three-year old, the three-year old looks up to the five-year old. Consecutively, the five-year old may look up to a cousin or a neighbour.

 At home, the head of the family is a leader to other family members – they consider him to be a source of strength and wisdom; in an organization, the members look up to its head for guidance and inspiration. So each one of us has the responsibility of setting an example by the values we uphold, by our conduct and speech. We have to first live the values that we want others to follow, be it our children, neighbours, friends or co-workers.

  Bhagavan – the Ultimate Example

Sri Krishna cites His own example. He tells Arjuna that though He has no duties to perform and nothing to achieve, yet He tirelessly engages in action. Moreover, if He did not ever remain engaged in action, with alertness and vigilance, other people would follow His example. The Lord has nothing to lose by not engaging in karma or anything to gain by performing action.

You must have seen and experienced in your life that if a child misbehaves, people ask ‘Who are your parents? Is this what they taught you?’ If disciples do not work properly, they ask ‘Who is your Guru?’ Even the Guru is not spared.

If the present generation does not take care of peace, prosperity and happiness, the next generation will hold us responsible. Is it not so? A leader or a great person must ensure that the followers are upholding the rules of right conduct; if they misbehave, the leader is held responsible.

Similarly, Sri Krishna states that the people are His responsibility. He says, ‘I cannot let them perish. I have to engage in karma to guide and bring them on to the righteous path’. Whenever Bhagavan uses the word ‘I’ in the immediate context, it means Shreshta Purusha.

If you see Shri Krishna as the Lord of the universe, you know that the Lord functions through all the laws and forces of Nature; if He takes time off – even for a few seconds – all the worlds will perish. So, whether you regard Shri Krishna as Ishvara or Shreshta Purusha, He knows He has responsibilities to fulfil and always fulfils them.

The Author is the Head of Chinmaya Mission Worldwide.

The Bhagavad Gita contains two slokas which encapsulate the principles of leadership. Sri Krishna reveals how a leader should himself act and how to lead or guide others.

Spiritually ignorant people are attached to results (saktah); the wise remain asaktah – totally unattached. They should work only for one purpose – loka sangrah – leading people and society towards peace, prosperity and happiness.

Furthermore, Sri Krishna points out that ignorant people attached to karma have their own faith, beliefs and way of thinking. A leader should not unsettle them immediately; he should remain steadfast and integrated in performing his own karma and motivate the unwise to perform their karmas more effectively.

Leadership has three aspects: the individual or the leader, who must lead, the people who are to be led, and finally, the goal or destination.

The Leader

The leader must have a clear and concise knowledge of the destination or the goal to which he wants to lead people; he or she must also be aware of the path and the means necessary to reach the objective and lastly, the psychology of the followers must be understood. This is a very important aspect. One must grasp the state of mind of the people. If you do not know have any idea of what motivates them or their way of thinking and you speak about very high and lofty goals, you will not be effective.

To lead by example is the best way to guide others. The leader must be detached, patient, enthusiastic, dynamic and inspiring.

The Goal

The motivation of a leader must be the welfare of all. A true leader is one who is interested not only in the material prosperity of people, but also in their spiritual unfoldment.

These two are the goals of dharma – all round prosperity in the world and spiritual unfoldment. Both are necessary for a flourishing society. Suppose all people become ascetics and sanyasis – can a nation go on? Or if all people are indulgent, thinking only of power play, material prosperity and pleasure – will that bring happiness and peace?

It is necessary to work and achieve something in this world. Without acquisition there is no point in renunciation. Renunciation has no meaning if there is nothing to renounce! Therefore, a beggar cannot be called a man of renunciation. It has worth only if one who has gained knowledge, wealth or success in this world, renounces them. After engaging in activity and spending time in acquiring possessions, a stage must come when a person should understand the goal of renunciation.

It is important for a leader to recognize that the majority of people have countless desires and ambitions for worldly things. They are fascinated by glamour and material wealth. They want to raise the standard of living and better their lot. At such a time, you cannot talk only of renunciation and the highest spiritual goal. That will not motivate them. But they should be shown that there is a greater goal and greater good also. It should be pointed out that if they go on acquiring more and more of the same, there will only be a quantitative change in their lives; there will be no qualitative transformation. Hence, they should not just work for more and more of the same, but also reflect on that which is greater and higher. People must not be kept ignorant of the fact that there is also a spiritual goal to be attained.

Loka sangrah is the objective of leaders – you have to lead people towards material prosperity and also impress on them that there is a spiritual goal in life which has to be desired and attained.

The Path

The path for reaching the goal must be very clear. The path is karma yoga – perform karma dedicated to the Lord. In the early stages, the route is of selfless dedicated action and aspiration for the greater goal of life. The path of yajna – that will take them to prosperity in this world and towards the higher spiritual goal – must be shown.

These days many leaders themselves do not know where they are going. If the followers ask, ‘Where are we going?’ the answer is ‘I myself do not know. I will figure it out as we go along!”

A leader must know where he is going. The goal is loka sangrah, the welfare of all. Doing karma in the yajna spirit is the path.

The Author is the Head of Chinmaya Mission Worldwide.