18. karmaNi akarma yaH paSyeth akarmaNi cha karma yaH
sa buDdhimman manushyeshu sa yukthaH
krthsnakarmakrth
The one who sees inaction in action and action in inaction, is wise, integrated and is the one who has finished all his actions(that is, he has no need of any more action)
This appears to be a self contradicting statement on the surface but it is not so in reality. Seeing akarma in karma is with respect to the actions done without attachment giving up the desire for the fruit of such actions. This could be understood by the above story of Vyasa and
Bharatha, a king in ancient times left his kingdom in pursuit of knowledge and led an ascetic's life. But due strange circumstances he became attached to a deer cub and had to take another birth as a deer, in which due to the wisdom acquired in his previous janma he shed his body and was born as an enlightened sage in his next and last birth. Once he was asked to carry the palanquin of King Rahugana, which he did without hesitation as he was totally devoid of ego. When his gait did not match that of others the king got irritated and seeing his well built body, sarcastically remarked that perhaps it was too much of a burden for him. Bharatha replied "I do not have any strain because I am not doing any work." When he said `I' he meant his Self and not his body. So this is a case of seeing akarma in karma.
But more perplexing is the idea of seeing karma in akarma. The word inaction, akarma is usually understood as abstention from action or keeping still. Bur even when we are keeping quiet our mind is active. So it appears that inaction is when even the mind is silent or in a state of Samadhi. But it is not as simple as that. The great sages who are found even today in
This idea can be very simply verified in daily life. When we are moving in a vehicle, provided the movement is very smooth and not felt as such, it looks as though we are still and the other objects outside are rushing in the opposite direction. Similarly when we look at a distant object it looks as though it is stationary whereas it may be moving and the movement is not visible due to the distance. The difference between a man of wisdom and a man of the world is similar to that between a man of scientific knowledge who knows that the earth is moving and an ignorant man who thinks that it does not.
The word krthsnakaramkrth, one who has completed all actions should be understood in the light of the sloka 22 of the previous chapter, `na me partha asthi karthavyam-----vartha eva cha karmaNi,' where
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