The Lord says, “Be firm in yoga. Do your duty without being bound by success or failure. This equality of soul is called yoga.”
Lord Krishna advises us to follow the path of yoga, but what is this yoga?
The term «yoga» means: concentration on the Absolute (on Krishna) by the mastery of the senses, usually constantly agitated. And that Absolute is the Supreme Lord Krishna. It is also the practice of union and fellowship with Krishna.
If the Lord asks us to act and therefore to do a particular work, we do not have to worry about the outcome of this trial. Success, victory, is in the hands of God. We only have to follow His instructions. Following Krishna’s instructions is true yoga, which finds practical application in God consciousness or Krishna consciousness. It alone allows us to abandon any instinct of possession.
If one wants to fulfill one’s duties by being Krishna conscious, one must become one’s servant, or the servant of one’s servant. This is the only way to progress on the path of yoga.
The purpose of existence is to satisfy Krishna, God, the Supreme Person. It is not oneself that one should seek to satisfy, as one believes in the material world, but Krishna, and only Him. We must unite our desires with those of God, join our interest with that of Lord Krishna, and thus do His divine will.
The Lord says: “Free yourself from every material act by devotional service, be absorbed in him. «Stingy» those who aspire to the fruits of their actions”.
The man who fully realizes his fundamental nature as a servant of the Lord abandons all occupations other than those accomplished in Krishna consciousness. Devotional service consists in serving the Lord with pure love, this is the best way for all beings.
Who seeks to enjoy the fruits of his labor, when this can only entangle him more in the traps of material existence, is but a miser. Any action done for any purpose other than pleasing Kṛiṣhṇa is harmful, for it always keeps its author in the chains of the cycle of death and repeated rebirth or reincarnation.
One should never wish to be at the origin of the action. Everything should be done in full Krishna consciousness, for his own pleasure.
The miser does not know how to use the riches he has acquired by chance or hard work, and like him, the unfortunate does not use his human energy in the service of the Lord.
On the other hand, one must expend all his energies in the service of Krishna. Who does this, sees his existence crowned with success.
The Lord adds: “Devotional service can, in the present life, free those who engage in it from the consequences of action, good or bad. Strive to achieve the art of acting in yoga”.
All living beings, since time immemorial, accumulate the good and bad consequences of their actions, which is why they remain in oblivion of their true and eternal position.
Following God’s instructions allows us to dispel this ignorance, for He teaches how to surrender fully to Him and thus free ourselves from the chain, life after life, to the acts and their consequences. Lord Krishna advises us to act in full awareness of his Divine Person, in order to free ourselves from the chains of karma.