IV: 41

Chapter 4, Verse 41

"Those who make pure their works
Through the practice of Yoga
And whose doubts are torn to shreds
Because they rest in the Self,
Have hearts that are poised
in the Being of the Atman,
And are free from
The bondage of action."

Sri Aurobindo:

"The sign of the divine worker is that which is central to the divine consciousness itself, a sublime inner peace which depends upon nothing in the external world for its continuance. It is innate. Ordinary people depend on outward things for happiness. As a result, they have unskillful desire, anger, and suffering. They measure things on the continuum of good and evil fortune. None of these affect the divine workers. They are ever satisfied, without any kind of dependence, for their delight, ease, happiness and joyful light shine eternally from within, forever consciously ingrained within themselves. They find everywhere the same joy they find within, because they have become one Self with the Self of all beings, united with them behind the screen of superficial differences.

When Krishna says that the fire of wisdom turns Karma to ash in verse 37, he does not mean at all that there is a cessation of works. What he means is made clear in this verse. The wise are not bound by their works."

Question:

When something dreadful happens to me or someone else...accident, illness, pain of some kind, or death...I can pretend that it isn't bad, but the fact remains that it is bad, so why deny it?"

Eckhart Tolle

You are not pretending anything. You are allowing it to be as it is. That's all. This 'allowing to be' takes you beyond the mind with its resistance patterns which create the positive/negative polarities. This is an essential aspect of forgiveness. Forgiveness of the present is even more important than forgiveness of the past. If you forgive every moment by allowing it to be as it is, unvarnished, then there will be no accumulation of resentment that needs to be forgiven at some later time.

We're talking about inner peace. For example, when a loved one has just died, you will not be happy. But you can be at peace. There may be sadness and tears, but provided that you have relinquished resistance, underneath the sadness you will feel a deep serenity, a stillness, a sacred presence. This is the experience of Being. This is inner peace, the good that has no opposite."

Question:

"What if it is a situation that I can do something about? How can I allow it to be and change it at the same time?"

Eckhart Tolle:

Do what you have to do. In the meantime, accept what is. Acceptance immediately frees you from mind dominance and reconnects you with Being. Then the usual ego motivations for 'doing'...fear, greed, control, defending or feeding the false sense of self...will cease to operate. An intelligence much greater than the egoic mind is now in charge, and so a different quality of consciousness will naturally flow into your doing.

'Accept whatever comes to you woven into the pattern of your destiny, for what could more aptly fit your needs?' This was written two thousand years ago by Marcus Aurelius, one of those exceedingly rare individuals who possessed worldly power as well as wisdom.

Most people need to experience a great deal of suffering before they will relinquish resistance and accept, before they will forgive. As soon as they do, one of the greatest miracles happens: the awakening of Being-consciousness through what appears to the outside eye as evil. This experience comprises the transmutation of pain into inner peace. The ultimate effect of all evil and suffering in the world is that it will force humans into realizing who they are beyond name and form. Thus, what we perceive as evil from our limited vantage point is actually part of the higher good. Again, this good has no opposite. The key to the process is forgiveness, which essentially means recognizing the insubstantiality of the past and allowing the present moment to be as it is.

The miracle of transformation happens not only within but also without. A silent space of intense presence arises both in you and around you. Whoever or whatever enters that field of consciousness will be affected by it, sometimes visibly and immediately, sometimes at deeper levels with visible changes appearing later. You dissolve discord, heal pain, and dispel unconsciousness without doing anything, but rather by simply holding that frequency of intense presence."

A friend:

"Forgiveness is the key to healing. All woes and emotional pain dissolve with meditation. Compassion and forgiveness go hand in hand, and though it may take time, it is the supreme gift that one can give to others and to oneself."