Bhakti(Devotion) and Karma (Action)

The essence from Volume 1, Chapter 3
OM Sri Gurubhyo Namaha!!

 We have to dedicate all our actions to God (Eswar) to receive His divine Grace. It is but natural that we are always doing some activity or the other and can never be free even for a second. There are activities of the body and activities of the mind in the form of thoughts. The very purpose of visiting temples and offering prayers is to offer oneself completely in thought and action to God.
Lord Krishna declared in Bhagavadgita:

           yat karoshi yad asnaasi yaj juhoshi dadasi yat
          yat tapasyasi kaunteya tat kurushva mad-arpanam         Ch 9, V 27

( whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer or give away, and whatever austerities you perform – do that, O son of Kunti, as an offering to me)
God has given us body. We take food when we feel hungry. We need shelter to protect ourselves from rain, heat and cold. Unlike other animals, we need clothing to cover our bodies.  Food, clothing and home are a trio and to earn them, a man needs a job. If there is no necessity of this trio, a man need not do anything. Man is struggling every day to earn them.
In the process of accumulating these bare necessities, if we have to be joyful, we need to dedicate ourselves to God and actions (Karma) have to be performed with devotion (bhakti) to God.
Let us assume that an employer has two helpers. One who always praises the employer for personal benefits and the other who simply loves his employer and the work given to him irrespective of employer’s like or dislike for him. If the employer is foolish, he might like the helper who praises him without performing the given work and may ignore the other helper who in fact delivers his duties. If the employer is an intelligent, he would like the helper who does his work with dedication and commitment and not bother about the one who is praising him for vested interests. It is not enough if the helper just heaps praises on the employer, there has to be selfless action for the benefit of the employer. Only then can he earn the love of his employer. The word and deed should match.
God is also like an employer. There is nothing that a good employer would want except for the performance of a given task as directed. The assigned work performed selflessly with dedication cleanses our heart and takes us nearer to God.
Bathing, sandhya, japa, homam, worship of God are part of six activities that are to be performed regularly. The shastras say “Shat karmani diney diney” and also prescribe how one has to bathe. Bathing with soap will only cleanse the body. There are mantras to be recited during bath that cleanse the mind and soul. If one doesn't know these mantras, at least he/she may say Rama! Krishna! while bathing.
Om tat sat !!!
Om Santhi ! Santhi ! Santhi hi !!!

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