Raj Baksh

Karma-phal we desire might not be good for us

2020-10-31T18:13:26.458Z

k Siva Prasad Gita Acharan (K Siva Prasad is an IAS officer and these writings can be accessed at anchor.fm /GitaAcharan and medium.com /@GitaAcharan).

We are usually not prescient enough to understand whether the karma-phal (fruits of action) we currently desire will be good for us down the line. As in a failed relationship, at one moment, the only karma-phal a couple wanted was to be together but after some time they only want to separate. In fact, many regrets that people have today is on account of getting the karma-phal which they desired desperately and which, over time, proved disastrous.

On the contrary, going by general experience, many feel that the best thing that happened to them was not getting the karma-phal coveted by them at some point of time in the past.

These life experiences gathered over a period of time will help us understand the iconic verse 2.47 in the Gita, where Krishna says that we have the right to do karma (action) but have no rights over the karma-phal.

These experiences can be used to see this verse through the lens of polarity/duality (dwandwa) . The world is polar and everything exists in its polar opposite. The same applies to karma-phal also.

In the first case, a pleasure ( sukh /victory/profit) polarity turned into pain (dukh/ defeat/loss) polarity in due course of time. In the second instance, exactly the opposite thing happened.

Krishna’s emphasis throughout the Gita is on transcending these everlasting polarities by being aware of them. The desire for karma-phal is one such polarity which should be transcended by not attaching ourselves to it.

The Creator (consciousness, chaitanya , creativity) has the experience of running this universe for more than 13.5 billion years. How can he falter when it comes to our karma-phal ? Certainly, He will not. We get what we need or deserve.

— The writer is a senior IAS officer in the Punjab Government.

#ahankaar #livethelifeofGita #KsivaprasadIAS #sivaprasadgita #sivaprasaddailyworld #bhagavadgita #KsivaprasadIAS #ahankaar #livethelifeofGita #sivaprasadgita #dailyworldgita #sivaprasadiasgita

Last Article by K. Siva Prasad

http://epaper.dailyworld.in/Details.aspx?id=84542&boxid=80900&uid=&dat=2020-10-18

Be a karma yogi, before expecting others to be karma yogis

2020-10-24T15:47:42.111Z

k Siva Prasad
Gita Acharan

(K Siva Prasad is an IAS officer and these writings can be accessed at anchor.fm /GitaAcharan and medium.com /@GitaAcharan).

Krishna says (2.47) that we have the right to perform our karma (action), but have no right over karma-phal (fruits of action). If one of our loved ones required surgery, we would look for a competent surgeon with character. His competence would ensure success of the surgery and his character would ensure that he wouldn’t undertake any unnecessary surgery. In short, we are scouting for a surgeon who is a karma-yogi. The two takeaways from this situation help us understand the verse better.

We expect all our service providers to be karma-yogis and that they should give us the best results that we can hope for. If we apply the same principle of samatva (equanimity) to ourselves, we too should be karma yogis while providing service to other people in our daily life. This verse says that we should do our best in everything that we do, in work as well as in our family affairs.

Krishna, elsewhere in the Gita, assures us that small steps in the practice of karma yoga bring us closer to samatva , which is a joy in itself. When we are able to provide our best service to someone we are unlikely to meet again, we are firmly on the path of becoming a karma yogi.

In fact, when we are deeply involved in karma without bothering about karma-phal, we enter into state of Kaal-ateeth (transcending time) where time is no more relevant. In the above example, when we wait outside the operation theatre, time appears to pass slowly. On the other hand, a Karmayogi surgeon will lose track of time and in a sense, time would have stopped for him.

Krishna asks us to uproot the tree of sorrow, whose roots are nothing but desires for fruits of action.

— The writer is a senior IAS officer in the Punjab Government.

#ahankaar #livethelifeofGita #KsivaprasadIAS #sivaprasadgita #sivaprasaddailyworld #bhagavadgita #KsivaprasadIAS #ahankaar #livethelifeofGita #sivaprasadgita #dailyworldgita #sivaprasadiasgita

Last Article by K. Siva Prasad

http://epaper.dailyworld.in/Details.aspx?id=84444&boxid=80923&uid=&dat=2020-10-11

We have right on Karma, not on karma-phal (fruits of action)

2020-10-17T15:22:14.725Z

k Siva Prasad

Gita Acharan

(K Siva Prasad is an IAS officer and these writings can be accessed at anchor.fm /GitaAcharan and medium.com /@GitaAcharan).

Once, a group of friends were travelling and they had to cross a wide river. They made a boat and crossed the river. They then decided to carry the heavy boat with them for the rest of their journey, thinking that it would be useful. As a result, their journey got derailed. Here the river is a pain polarity and the boat is an instrument to overcome the polarity.

Likewise, there are many instruments and rituals to give us relief from several pain polarities that we face in our daily lives. The Vedas (knowledge) describe many rituals to give relief from temporary pain polarities and many of these rituals are available and are being practiced to this day. It appears logical to turn to these rituals when we face difficulties in the areas of health, business, work and family.

Krishna tells (2.42-2.46) Arjuna not to get trapped by the words of the unwise who promise pleasure both in this life and the afterlife (heaven) by prescribing the outer meaning of the Vedas. He encourages him (2.45) to transcend the polarities (dwandwa-ateeth) and Gunas ( Guna-ateeth or Nirgun ) to become atmavaan (established in self). When one gets a big lake, he doesn’t need a small ditch and similarly, for atmavaan the vedas are like that small ditch(2.46).

Just as wisdom lies in not encumbering ourselves with the burden of the boat on our onward journey, Krishna indicates about transcending the Vedas after understanding the futility of efforts in gaining pleasure and power.

At the very beginning, Krishna tells Arjun that (2.14) sense perception brings polarities and to bear with them as they are anitya (impermanent). His emphasis is to transcend them and learn to witness these transients. Krishna is in favour of authentic joy than synthesising happiness.

— The writer is a senior IAS officer in the Punjab Government.

#ahankaar #livethelifeofGita #KsivaprasadIAS #sivaprasadgita #sivaprasaddailyworld #bhagavadgita #KsivaprasadIAS #ahankaar #livethelifeofGita #sivaprasadgita #dailyworldgita #sivaprasadiasgita

Last Article by K. Siva Prasad

http://epaper.dailyworld.in/Details.aspx?id=84290&boxid=81357&uid=&dat=2020-10-04

Krishna tells us to be atmavaan (established in self)

2020-10-10T10:34:08.234Z

k Siva Prasad

Gita Acharan

(K Siva Prasad is an IAS officer and these writings can be accessed at anchor.fm /GitaAcharan and medium.com /@GitaAcharan).

— The writer is a senior IAS officer in the Punjab Government.

#ahankaar #livethelifeofGita #KsivaprasadIAS #sivaprasadgita #sivaprasaddailyworld #bhagavadgita #KsivaprasadIAS #ahankaar #livethelifeofGita #sivaprasadgita #dailyworldgita #sivaprasadiasgita

Last Article by K. Siva Prasad

http://epaper.dailyworld.in/Details.aspx?id=84177&boxid=81406&uid=&dat=2020-09-27

Benefits of term insurance policy that makes it the best option for a secured future

2020-10-07T10:28:19.652Z

Term life insurance is a popular form of life insurance policy offering a substantial amount as a death benefit to the policy nominee upon the untimely demise of the policyholder. Term insurance secures your family during uncertainties by providing them with the much-needed financial support in your absence. It is a pure protection plan without any maturity benefit, unlike other life insurance plans. One of the primary benefits of term insurance policy is its high sum assured amount at a low premium cost that no different life insurance policy offers. However, people often look at it as an investment toll which is a misconception. So, let us discuss its unique features in-depth for better understanding:

Affordable: As mentioned above, one of the primary benefits of term insurance policy is that you do not need to worry about the premium amount. Term Insurance has the least expensive premiums; that is why it is considered affordable. If you are the sole breadwinner of the house, then this is the best insurance product for you as it will not impact your financials, and at the same time, it will also protect your family’s financial future. It is always advised to purchase Term Life Insurance Policy at an early age because age impacts the premium amount.

Following table shows the average premium amount on per day basis as per your age for different coverage amount:

Here you can see that the premium amount significantly increases with age. Someone at the age of 25 years gets a similar benefit in ₹14 per day wherein other people who are 65 years old have to spend ₹73 for a similar product with the same interests.

Easy to Understand: Term Insurance is the simplest form of insurance. Even a layperson can understand the terms and conditions of the policy without any hustle, unlike other insurance policies where maturity benefit and additional return on investment factors are involved. Term Life Insurance is a simple investment plan which doesn't guarantee any maturity benefit; that's why the calculation of policy premium is simple, and it doesn't have any hidden clauses or conditions.
Tax Benefit: Often, people don't invest in term life insurance policy thinking it does not offer any tax benefit as its premiums are low. But that's not right! Even though term life insurance policy doesn't have high premiums, but it still provides tax benefit up to ₹1.5 lacs under section 80 C of Income Tax Act, 1961. Coverage amount of Term Life Insurance is also totally tax-free under section 10 (D), so the beneficiary of the policy will receive full coverage amount without any deductions or charges.
Fast Payment Process: In Term Life Insurance, there's a provision of quick payment of coverage amount in case of demise of the policyholder, which makes this policy even more attractive. This helps the family of the policyholder to get through tough times without financial burden.
Modifiable: Term Life Insurance Policy is exceptionally flexible. You can easily modify it as per your need and requirements. Such as you can add various riders to your policy to make it more worthy. Some of the popular riders available in the market like Critical Illness Rider, Accidental Benefit Rider, Child Term Rider, Return of Premium Rider, and many more. These riders can transform your primary term policy into an attractive one with multiple benefits.

So, the culmination of the above pointers is that due to multiple benefits of term insurance policy, it should be on your top priority while planning your finances because it is never too late to do something useful for your family and loved ones. It can help your loved ones to pursue their dreams without thinking about the financials in your absence.

If you want to make the wise decision of buying a term insurance plan, then you can visit https://bimakaro.in Here you can select the best term life insurance policy as per your compulsion and need that too from the top insurance companies of India. You can also compare various insurance plans and then proceed further. Hence, visit BimaKaro.in today to safeguard your loved ones from the scepticism of the future.

What are term insurance benefits?

2020-10-03T12:14:50.050Z

You should remember that life itself is flighty. You may weave numerous plans and financial objectives in the course of your life, and at that point, work out the math to assemble funds to achieve them. But an untimely demise can imperil these objectives while leaving your family stranded. In such troublesome occasions, no measure of cash can replace the loss of a dear one; however, term insurance benefits can financially secure your family in your absence.

In this blog, we will clarify what term life insurance is and enlighten you regarding a few critical term insurance benefits.

Term life insurance is a form of life insurance that provides financial security or death benefit to the policy nominee in case of the untimely demise of the policyholder. The insured person pays a specific premium towards the insurance coverage for a particular time limit. A term protection plan doesn't offer any maturity benefits like conventional, money-back or market-linked life insurance policies. Yet, it gives a lot higher inclusion for a less amount of premium.

Important term insurance benefits

Term Insurance Policies are very easy to comprehend: Simplicity is one reason for the growing popularity of term life insurance. Term life coverage is a pure protection plan that centers around offering your loved one's financial security in the form of sum assured in case of your absence. One thing that you need to ensure is paying the premiums on time.

Term protection plans are remarkably affordable: Term policy premiums are as low as 0.1 percent of the total coverage amount. This implies that in the term insurance policy, you get a higher death benefit amount against a considerably a low premium amount which is not offered in any other life insurance policies.

Term Plans offer a lot higher insurance coverage amount in contrast with conventional plans: Thetotal sum assured amount for traditional endowment policies, or ULIPs are around 7 to 10 percent of the annual premium. So, in the case above plans, if you pay a yearly premium of Rs 30,000, you get insurance coverage of Rs 3 lakh that is probably not enough to cover your family's expense for a long time.

Whereas a term plan offers a lot higher sum assured amount so you can leave your family and wards enough funds that they don't experience financial difficulty in your absence. The average coverage amount in case of term insurance is Rs 1 crore for which the premiums will be in the range of Rs 10000 to Rs 17000. This means the insurance coverage amount offered by term insurance is about 60 times higher as compared to other forms of life insurance policies.

Term plans offer tax benefits:While the essential purpose behind purchasing a term life insurance is making sure about your family's future, but you also get the opportunity to save taxes. So, let's take a look at its three tax benefits.

Section 80C: Under this segment, you can avail tax deduction up to Rs 1.5 for the premiums paid for the term life insurance policies.

Section 80D: This exclusion is permitted for the premiums paid towards health-related insurance coverage such as critical illness riders. You can claim the tax deductions up to Rs 25,000 for the premiums paid towards it.

Section 10 (10D): This benefit can be availed while claiming the payout of the term insurance. The entire insurance coverage amount is wholly exempted from taxes.

Premiums are fixed for the entire tenure of the policy: When you buy a term insurance plan, you set the premium amount for the whole policy term. And this is the reason why you should start your term policy as early as possible to enjoy premiums at lower rates throughout the tenure of the policy. Let's understand with an example – if you buy a Rs 1 crore term insurance plan at the age of 30, your premium amount will be around Rs 10,000 per year. Whereas, if you buy the same policy at the age of 45, then probably you will have to shell out about Rs 30000 towards paying your premium.

The bottom line is as examined in the article; there are several term insurance benefits. It gives higher insurance coverage against a lower premium, it's easy to comprehend and accompanies tax benefits. Yet, before figuring in all the advantages, you ought to recall the main objective of purchasing the term plan is financially securing your loved ones during uncertainty and not for saving funds. Therefore, you must understand all aspects of term life insurance properly starting from its features, advantages, and disadvantages before you decide to buy one. You can visit BimaKaro.in for all your insurance queries or even speak to their insurance advisors by requesting a call back.

Karma yoga brings coherent intellect

2020-09-30T17:27:57.366Z

k Siva Prasad

Gita Acharan

(K Siva Prasad is an IAS officer and these writings can be accessed at anchor.fm /GitaAcharan and medium.com /@GitaAcharan).

Krishna says (2.41) in karma yoga, the buddhi (intellect) is coherent and the intellect of those who are irresolute is bahu-shakha (many-branched).

Krishna says (2.48 & 2.38) that samatva (equanimity) is yoga, which is the union of two polarities we face, like pleasure and pain; winning and losing; and profit and loss. Karma yoga is the path to transcend these polarities, which ultimately results in a coherent intellect. On the other hand, an imbalanced intellect robs us of our ‘peace of mind’.

Our general presumption is that ‘peace of mind’ automatically follows pleasure, winning and profit, but Krishna says that a coherent intellect brought about by the practice of karma yoga gives us peace of mind by helping us transcend polarities.

An irresolute intellect looks at different situations, outcomes and people differently. At our workplace, we apply one yardstick to people below us and another one to those above us in the hierarchy. Children do not develop ‘ samatva’ when they see different yardsticks being applied while facing different situations in the family where we have one set of rules for loved ones and another set for others.

In our daily lives, we are victims of shared myths like religion, caste, nationality, dogmas and the list goes on. They were put into our mind at an impressionable stage and they continue to divide us. We are impacted differently for two sides of each of these shared myths.

With irresolute intellect, we have one level of justification to judge our mistakes and another set of parameters for judging those of others. While seeking help and offering help, we wear different masks.

Krishna says that by following the path of Karma yoga, one attains a coherent intellect capable of ‘samatva,’ which is the foundation for peace of mind.

— The writer is a senior IAS officer in the Punjab Government.

#ahankaar #livethelifeofGita #KsivaprasadIAS #sivaprasadgita #sivaprasaddailyworld #bhagavadgita #KsivaprasadIAS #ahankaar #livethelifeofGita #sivaprasadgita #dailyworldgita #sivaprasadiasgita

Last Article by K. Siva Prasad

http://epaper.dailyworld.in/Details.aspx?id=84030&boxid=81384&uid=&dat=2020-09-20

Karma yoga protects us from great fears

2020-09-25T12:18:44.628Z

k Siva Prasad

Gita Acharan

(K. Siva Prasad is an IAS officer and these writings can be accessed at anchor.fm /GitaAcharan and medium.com /@GitaAcharan).

Krishna assures (2.40) that even baby steps in the practice of karma yoga give results and this dharmam (discipline) protects us from great fears. The point to be noted is that while sankhya is pure awareness, karma yoga involves efforts.

This is a definitive assurance from Lord Krishna for the seekers who have just started out on their spiritual journey and who find the effort daunting. Krishna understands our difficulty and assures us that even a small effort can produce wonderful results. He motivates us to follow the path of nishkam karma (unmotivated action) and samatva (equanimity).

One approach is to have Shraddha (trust) on what Krishna said and start practicing his teaching on karma yoga. Over a period of time, when we practice viewing our experiences from the lens of karma yoga, our realisations get deeper and deeper till we reach our inner self.

An alternate approach is to understand our fears and realise how the practice of karma yoga can remove them. Fear, at its core, is the result of the mismatch of our inner expectations and the real world. Karma yoga teaches us about nishkam karma, which helps reduce our expectations from our action. This reduces fear in us.

The property of water helps the moving ship to change its course even when a small internal force is applied on the trim tab attached to the rudder. Similarly, a small effort in the right direction from within can bring about a large change due to the property of the universe, which conspires to pave the path of karma yoga for us.

As babies, we never gave up until we learnt to walk and run — no easy feat. Similarly, repeated efforts made to master karma yoga will yield results that can be seen as a series of small but definite victories.

— The writer is a senior IAS officer in the Punjab Government.

#ahankaar #livethelifeofGita #KsivaprasadIAS #sivaprasadgita #sivaprasaddailyworld #bhagavadgita #KsivaprasadIAS #ahankaar #livethelifeofGita #sivaprasadgita #dailyworldgita #sivaprasadiasgita

Last Article by K. Siva Prasad

http://epaper.dailyworld.in/Details.aspx?id=83928&boxid=81366&uid=&dat=2020-09-13

Freedom from karma bandhan - bondage of action

2020-09-18T13:59:25.329Z

k Siva Prasad

Gita Acharan

(K. Siva Prasad is an IAS officer and these writings can be accessed at anchor.fm /GitaAcharan and medium.com /@GitaAcharan).

Krishna says (2.39) that after elucidating about sankhya (awareness) (2.11-2.38) he would now explain yoga (or Karma Yoga ), the practice of which will free one from karma bandhan (bondage of action).

While explaining Sankhya yoga , Krishna makes Arjun aware that he is that indestructible Chaitanya (consciousness) which doesn’t have death. From this verse onwards Krishna starts explaining the same through karma yoga. Thus, karma bandhan and yoga need to be understood in this context.

Yoga literally means union and is used in many contexts. Krishna mentions equanimity as yoga (2.48) where attachment to success or failure is abandoned. Even in 2.38, the emphasis of Krishna is to maintain equanimity towards pleasure and pain; winning and losing; and profit and loss.

Karma Bandhan refers to the impressions or scars, both pleasant and painful, left on us by the karmas we perform and the reactions we get from within and outside. Scientifically they can be called neural patterns. These impressions drive our behaviour from the unconscious level and hence Krishna tells us to free ourselves from karma bandhan through yoga.

Our natural tendency is to cling to impressions that give pleasure and profit. We develop a simultaneous aversion to pain and loss. The more deep-seated these impressions, more is the intensity of clinging and aversion.

The strength of these impressions can be metaphorically compared to writing on a stone, sand and on water. When the impression is on stone, it is deeper and affects us for a much longer time. Less so with writing on sand. Writing on water, on the other hand, is erased instantaneously.

Krishna is referring to impressions on water when he says that karma yoga frees us from karma bandhan and it makes us so saral (gentle) that nothing can affect or bother us.

— The writer is a senior IAS officer in the Punjab Government.

#ahankaar #livethelifeofGita #KsivaprasadIAS #sivaprasadgita #sivaprasaddailyworld #bhagavadgita #KsivaprasadIAS #ahankaar #livethelifeofGita #sivaprasadgita #dailyworldgita #sivaprasadiasgita

Last Article by K. Siva Prasad

http://epaper.dailyworld.in/Details.aspx?id=83787&boxid=80945&uid=&dat=2020-09-06

Perform any Karma with equipoise

2020-09-11T11:36:19.323Z

K. Siva Prasad

Gita Acharan

(The writer is a senior IAS officer in the Punjab Government. This column on spirituality appears every Sunday).

Verse 2.38 captures the entire essence of the Gita. Krishna tells Arjuna that he would incur no sin when he fights (read as performing any karma ) if he were to treat sukh (pleasure) and dukh (pain); labh (gain) and nasht (losses); and jaya (victory) and apajaya (defeat) with equipoise.

This verse simply says that all our karmas are motivated and this motivation makes the karma impure or sinful. But we hardly know or do any karma without being motivated by pleasure, profit or victory and to avoid pain, loss or defeat.

From Sankhya and Karma Yoga point of view, any karma can be divided into three parts viz. Karta (doer), Chesta (action) and Karmaphal (fruit of action). Krishna divided karmaphal into pleasure/pain, profit/loss and victory/defeat.

Krishna is indicating in this verse to separate these three to achieve equanimity. One way is to drop Kartapan (feeling of doership) and become a sakshi (witness). The realisation is that in the grand drama called life, we play a negligible role. Another way is to realise that we don’t have any right over karmaphal (result of action) as it is a combination of many factors apart from our efforts. The paths of dropping of kartapan or karmaphal, are interconnected and progress in one will automatically bring progress in another.

Coming to chesta (action), it was there much before any of us arrived on the planet. It can neither be owned nor can its results be controlled.

This verse can also be approached from the Bhakti Yoga point of view where Bhaav (intent) is everything. Krishna gives Bhaav priority over karma. This internal surrender brings equanimity automatically.

Depending on one’s orientation, one can choose their own path. Whatever may be the approach, just by meditating on this verse, one can attain an inner self free of ahankaar.

— The writer is a senior IAS officer in the Punjab Government.

#ahankaar #livethelifeofGita #KsivaprasadIAS #sivaprasadgita #sivaprasaddailyworld #bhagavadgita #KsivaprasadIAS #ahankaar #livethelifeofGita #sivaprasadgita #dailyworldgita #sivaprasadiasgita

Last Article by K. Siva Prasad

http://epaper.dailyworld.in/Details.aspx?id=83657&boxid=83631&uid=&dat=2020-08-30