The Way of Hinduism
Better than ritual practice [abhyasa]
is knowledge [jnana, or gnosis
Better than knowledge [jnana]
is concentration [dhyana, or zen]
Better than concentration [dhyana] is renunciation of the reward of all action,
from which directly issues Peace.
(Bhagavad Gita 12:12)
[What is money
but the representation of
the reward of action?]
Running after that cur, money,
I have forgotten you, O Lord.
What a shame!
I have time only for making money,
not for you.
How can a dog who loves rotten meat
relish nectar?
(Basavanna, Vachana 313)
Krishna, renouncer of all rewards,
owner of nothing,
owner of all
(painting by Parama)
Shiva sitting in his Temple called Nature
The person who sheds all longing
and moves without concern,
free from the sense of "I" and "mine" --
he attains peace.
(Bhagavad Gita 2:71)
This world suffers bondage from all action
save that which is done
for the sake of vajna [sacrifice, selfless giving].
To this end, O Kaunteya,
perform action without possession.
(Bhagavad Gita 3:9)
The righteous persons
who eat the remnants of vajna [selfless giving]
are freed from all sin [debt].
(Bhagavad Gita 3:13)
Just as, with attachment, the unenlightened perform all actions, O Bharata, even so, but unattached, should enlightened persons act,
with a desire for the welfare of humanity.
(Bhagavad Gita 3:25)
Cast all thy acts on Me.
With thy mind fixed on the indwelling Atman [literally Spirit],
and without any thought of reward or sense of "mine",
shake off thy fever and fight!
(Bhagavad Gita 3:30)
A person of yoga obtains everlasting peace
by abandoning the rewards of action.
The person ignorant of yoga,
selfishly attached to reward,
remains bound.
(Bhagavad Gita 5:12)
As for those who worship Me,
thinking on Me alone and nothing else,
ever attached to Me,
I bear the burden
of getting them what they need.
-- God (Bhagavad Gita 9:22)
Those who desire their actions to bring reward
worship the gods here;
for in this world of men
the rewards of actions are quickly obtainable.
(Bhagavad Gita 4:22)
He who finds happiness only within,
rest only within,
light only within,
that yogi, having become One with Nature,
attains Oneness with Brahman
(Bhagavad Gita 5:24)
Expecting nothing,
holding his mind and body in check,
abandoning every possession,
and going through action only in the body,
he incurs no stain.
Content with whatever chance may bring,
rid of the pairs of opposites,
free from ill will,
even-minded in success and failure,
he is not bound,
though he acts.
(Bhagavad Gita 9:21-22)
Yajnavalkya [addressing his wife]:
"Maitreyi, I am resolved to renounce the world and begin the life of renunciation. I wish therefore to divide my property between you and my other wife, Katyayani."
Maitreyi: "My lord, if this whole earth belonged to me, with all its wealth, should I through its possession attain immortality?"
"No. Your life would be like that of the rich. None can possibly hope to attain immortality through wealth."
"Then what need have I of wealth? Please, my lord, tell me what you know about the way to immortality."
(Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2.4.1-3)
Who is same to enemy and friend,
who regards alike respect and disrespect,
cold and heat, pleasure and pain,
who is free from possession,
who weighs in equal scale blame and praise,
who is silent, content with whatever his lot,
who owns no home, who is of steady mind –
that devotee of Mine is dear to Me.
(Bhagavad Gita 12:18-19)
The yogi who is filled
with the contentment of wisdom
and discriminative knowledge,
who is firm as a rock,
who has mastered his senses,
and to whom a clod of dirt, a stone and gold are the same,
is possessed of yoga.
He excels who regards alike
the boon companion, the friend, the enemy, the stranger,
the mediator, the alien and the ally,
as also the saint and the sinner.
Let the yogi constantly apply his thought to Atman, remaining alone in a secluded place,
his mind and body under control,
rid of desires and possessions.
(Bhagavad Gita 6:8-10)
The offering of vajna [selfless giving] is Brahman.
The oblation is Brahman.
It is offered by Brahman
in the fire that is Brahman.
Thus he whose mind is fixed
on acts dedicated to Brahman
must needs pass on to Brahman.
(Bhagavad Gita 4:24)
Where he holds no greater gain
than that which he has gained,
and where, securely seated,
he is not shaken by any calamity, however great.
(Bhagavad Gita 6:22)
He who sees Me everywhere and everything in Me,
never vanishes from Me nor I from him.
The yogi, anchored in Unity,
worships Me abiding in all beings
lives and moves in me,
no matter how he live and move.
He who, by likening himself with others,
senses pleasure and pain
equally for all as for himself
is deemed to be the highest yogi, O Arjuna.
(Bhagavad Gita 6:29-32)
He alone is reality. Wherefore, renouncing all vain appearances, rejoice in Him. Covet no man’s wealth.
(Isha Upanishad)
Fools dwelling in darkness,
but thinking themselves wise and erudite,
go round and round, by various tortuous paths,
like the blind led by the blind.
The Hereafter never reveals itself
to a person devoid of discrimination,
heedless and perplexed by the delusion of wealth.
"This world alone exists," he thinks,
"and there is no other."
Again and again he comes under my sway.
--Yama, Lord of Death (Katha Upanishad, Part 1, Chptr 2:6)
NACHIKETA:
I know that earthly treasures are transient
And never can I reach the eternal through them.
Hence have I renounced all my desires for earthly treasures
To win the eternal through your instruction.
YAMA:
I spread before your eyes, Nachiketa,
The fulfillment of all worldly desires:
Power to dominate the earth, delights
Celestial gained through religious rites,
Miraculous powers beyond time and space.
These with will and wisdom have you renounced.
The wise, realizing through meditation
The timeless Self, beyond all perception,
Hidden in the cave of the heart,
Leave pain and pleasure far behind.
(Katha Upanishad, Part 1, Chptr 2:10-12)