Actions

Krishna and Arjuna have a discussion about various actions that are seen as “right.” Krishna is trying to explain to Arjuna that there is always action taking place in the world no matter what. There are many natural actions that humans make just in order to live, and thoughts about senses that are just natural. However, there are certain types of actions that are seen as better than other ones. Krishna goes on to explain that the best types of actions are those that are disciplined. In other words, those actions that is not purely in just one person’s self interest. Krishna states, “A man able to endure the force of desire and anger before giving up his body is disciplined and joyful. Krishna encourages Arjuna to do actions that both are non-selfish and that are one’s duty to do. Duty is once again key in this religion and culture. By detaching one’s self both from self need and self interest, and looking more towards what actions are my duty, you have then become empowered by knowledge. It is by using this knowledge that will lead people into doing the correct things. In one of the teachings Krishna touches is on caste and how he created people in four different classes, he then goes on to talk about how people must commit actions according to that class. I believe that the overall message that Krishna is trying to give the readers is that, the best actions are those that dutiful and are disciplined.