Hare Krsna-My personal feeling is that most people, myself and other devotees included, do not understand the principle of "Karma". Krsna Himself tells us in His Bhagavad Gita that even among intelligent men this business of action and reaction is difficult to understand.
And it is difficult to understand, otherwise we would find devotees talking more about it than so many other subjects which are not important as this one. Karma yoga is the beginning of how to stop karma, and this later develops into pure bhakti. So unless we understand completely how to dovetail everything for Krsna's service and why we should do so, then we are still generating the wheel of karma for our selves, life after life.
Hare Krsna
Damaghosa das
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1.) Dec 18 1975 Bombay conversations
Dr. Patel: But suppose you had given me a knife to mend the pencil, and I stab somebody with it. So, like that.
Prabhupāda: What is that?
Dr. Patel: You have done a dāna to me, giving your knife to mend my pencil, or some useful work, and I stab somebody with the penknife, so...
Prabhupāda: That is your responsibility.
Dr. Patel: No, but then the dāna that you did was not tamasic. Still, it has ended in tamasic action.
Prabhupāda: Yes, everything. Just like the money. Money is not material. You can spend it for constructing a temple for Kṛṣṇa. Then it is not material; it is spiritual. Everything originally..., nothing is material. But when it is not used for Kṛṣṇa, that is material. Otherwise, īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvaṁ tena.... tyaktena bhuñjithā [Īśo mantra 1]. If everything is belonging to Kṛṣṇa, how it can be material. He is spirit, so everything belongs to Him, so how it can be material? Material means when Kṛṣṇa's things are not used for Kṛṣṇa, for oneself, that is material.
Dr. Patel: And that is sin also. Anything which is not...
Prabhupāda: Material anything you do, yajñārthāt karmano'nyatra loko yam. Anything you do, if it is not meant for Kṛṣṇa, then you are criminal, immediately.
Dr. Patel: Sinful activity.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Immediately. To spiritualize everything, Kṛṣṇa says therefore, yat karoṣi yaj juhosi yat tapasyasi dadāsi.... yat kuruṣva mad arpaṇam. Then it is spiritual. Immediately. Karmāny evādhikāras te mā phaleṣu kadācana.
Dr. Patel: Tad-arthaṁ kārma kaunteya.
Prabhupāda: Yes. This is spiritual. Yajñārthāt karma, everything is there. Unless you do it for Kṛṣṇa, everything is material and sinful.
Dr. Patel: That's a fact. If you are doing work tad-arthaṁ karma, then you become mukta, because there is no, I mean, taking with you anything. Mukta-saṅgaḥ samācara.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Just like government servant, soldiers, they are killing so many; they are not responsible, because he's doing for the government. Police beats you, but he cannot bring any charge against the police. Another man, if he little slaps, you can bring charge, immediately. That is tad-arthaṁ karma kaunteya. The police and military department, they are doing for the government.
Dr. Patel: [break] ...eḥ? Very good discussion we had this morning. And we thank you very much.
2.)SB 2.9.34--O Brahmā, whatever appears to be of any value, if it is without relation to Me, has no reality. Know it as My illusory energy, that reflection which appears to be in darkness.
PURPORT-In the previous verse it has already been concluded that in any stage of the cosmic manifestation-its appearance, its sustenance, its growth, its interactions of different energies, its deterioration and its disappearance-all has its basic relation with the existence of the Personality of Godhead. And as such, whenever there is forgetfulness of this prime relation with the Lord, and whenever things are accepted as real without being related to the Lord, that conception is called a product of the illusory energy of the Lord. Because nothing can exist without the Lord, it should be known that the illusory energy is also an energy of the Lord. The right conclusion of dovetailing everything in relationship with the Lord is called yoga-māyā, or the energy of union, and the wrong conception of detaching a thing from its relationship with the Lord is called the Lord's daivī māyā, or mahā-māyā. Both the māyās also have connections with the Lord because nothing can exist without being related to Him. As such, the wrong conception of detaching relationships from the Lord is not false but illusory.
3.)SB 1.5.34-Thus when all a man's activities are dedicated to the service of the Lord, those very activities which caused his perpetual bondage become the destroyer of the tree of work.
PURPORT-Fruitive work which has perpetually engaged the living being is compared to the banyan tree in the Bhagavad-gītā, for it is certainly very deeply rooted. As long as the propensity for enjoying the fruit of work is there, one has to continue the transmigration of the soul from one body or place to another, according to one's nature of work. The propensity for enjoyment may be turned into the desire for serving the mission of the Lord, By doing so, one's activity is changed into karma-yoga, or the way by which one can attain spiritual perfection while engaging in the work for which he has a natural tendency. Here the word ātmā indicates the categories of all fruitive work. The conclusion is that when the result of all fruitive and other work is dovetailed with the service of the Lord, it will cease to generate further karma and will gradually develop into transcendental devotional service, which will not only cut off completely the root of the banyan tree of work but will also carry the performer to the lotus feet of the Lord.
Below are the important points from the above 3 quotes
"Everything originally...,[spiritual] nothing is material. But when it is not used for Kṛṣṇa, that is material."
"Material means when Kṛṣṇa's things are not used for Kṛṣṇa, for oneself, that is material."
"Anything you do, if it is not meant for Kṛṣṇa, then you are criminal, immediately."
" Brahmā, whatever appears to be of any value, if it is without relation to Me, has no reality. Know it as My illusory energy, that reflection which appears to be in darkness."
"The right conclusion of dovetailing everything in relationship with the Lord is called yoga-māyā, or the energy of union,"
" The conclusion is that when the result of all fruitive and other work is dovetailed with the service of the Lord, it will cease to generate further karma and will gradually develop into transcendental devotional service,"
Compiled by Damaghosa Das