What is kamya karma? When they are performed with the purpose of obtaining the material benefits, they are called kamya karmas. In the initial stages one does kamya karmas. But, in due course – it may be after many births (called janmas) – one finds out that whatever benefits kamya karmas give are temporary. Even life in the higher world is, according to Sastra, temporary. Not only that, no pleasure is unmixed with pain. In fact most of the time, it is pain. Struggle and strain and anxiety in acquiring things, the worry of protecting what one has acquired and the sorrow when it is lost or ceases to be – all this is nothing but pain. Pleasure is only there in a fleeting moment when one has got a thing one wanted and the problem of maintaining it and protecting it has not yet started. Moreover, when desire for one thing has been fulfilled, desire for another or a higher thing of the same kind emerges; thus desire is endless. Then one begins wondering whether it is possible to have permanent peace and happiness. Sastra comes and says, “Yes; it is possible. Leave the kamya karmas and come to Jnana kanda.”

Prepartation for Jnana kanda Before taking to Jnana kanda, one has to prepare oneself for it. The subject is subtle and the study requires calmness and concentration of mind. Calmness or purity of mind and concentration are acquired, respectively, by the performance of karma and upasanas without desire for mundane benefits and solely with a view to going to Jnana kanda. This is called nishkama karma. Sastra prescribed what is called “varnashrama dharma” – four successive ways of life and four vocations, viz., brahmacarya ashrama in which boys and girls studied, under a preceptor, called guru, the Vedas and auxiliary subjects, called Vedangas, such as grammar, epistemology, logic etc. for a period of twelve years, grahasthashrama in which one, after marriage, functioned as a priest, teacher, warrior, trader, or agriculturist and women looked after the household, vanaprastha ashrama in which one retired to the forest for doing upasana and lastly, sanyasa ashrama during which one took to the study of Jnana kanda, , in depth. In the context of modern society, there is no time for elaborate rituals, sacrifices etc. It is no longer possible to adhere to the ancient system of varnasrama dharma which provided for different vocations and, corresponding to them, prescribed different rituals and duties. However, even in the context of modern society, it is possible to devote some time to a limited regimen of worship, prayers and meditation, to the extent the preoccupation of earning a living will allow. One has also to perform one’s duties to others, to society and to nature. Further, one should lead a life based on values, such as truthfulness, non-violence, austerity, charity etc, In all this, the attitude should be that it is a dedication to the Lord (called Iswara arpana buddhi) and one should have a readiness to accept the result, be it favourable or unfavourable, with equanimity, in a spirit that whatever comes is the Lord’s gift (called Iswara prasada buddhi). Then this becomes “karma yoga”. Karma yoga qualifies one for the pursuit of Janna kanda. Application for spiritual growth in Vedanta Both sections of the Veda are sources of knowledge about things for which one has no other means of knowledge. But the role of the knowledge in each section is different. In the first section there is knowledge about a variety of actions which are to be done to gain a variety of unrealized ends. The second section contains knowledge about a single, already-achieved but unrecognized end which is gained through the knowledge itself: gain of the knowledge is the gain of the end. It is also the section where religious ethics are detailed. Religious ethics codify commonsense ethics, based on the way one wants to be treated by others, and add something more. The "something more" which is added is the idea of punya and papa, merit and demerit, which accrue to the performer of actions. Punya, merit, is the subtle result of a good action. Papa, demerit, is the subtle result of a bad action. Commonsense ethics as codified in the rules of dharma and adharma (opposite of dharma) give the standards for determining whether an action is "good" or "bad". The subtle result of a good action is punya, the occurrence of an enjoyable, pleasant experience at some later time. The subtle result of a bad action is papa, an uncomfortable or painful experience at a later time. If one refuses to be sad, all papa, can do is give some physical pain. If you accept discomfort, the papa, can do nothing to you. You cannot be touched by an external situation which is the negative result of past actions if you are insulated against any kind of reaction to it. Maturity of thinking gives that insulation. Generally, man is not so insulated. He wants to be comfortable in all ways; therefore, papa, the uncomfortable subtle result of an adharmic action, is to be avoided. Punya, the pleasant, comfortable result of a dharmic action is to be sought. The pleasurable rewards of punya are often reserved for heaven. In addition to the gain of heaven, the karmakanda contains an account of many other ends which can be gained through various religious actions. Certain rituals are performed to produce desired results. There are two categories of rituals for the purpose of obtaining results: (1) those that will produce results right away; and (2) others that will produce results later. Both type of rituals are called karma. Because there are rituals prescribed which will produce results immediately, here, in this life itself, there is a way to test whether or not these Vedic karma work: perform the ritual and see what happens.

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