The Gītā's Central Teaching
The Bhagavad Gītā's third chapter introduces karma-yoga: perform your prescribed duties (svadharma) as a sacrifice (yajña) to the Lord, without attachment to fruits. This is not inaction but action cleansed of ego-motivation. Kṛṣṇa calls this yogaḥ karmasu kauśalam — "skill in action is yoga."
Rāmānuja's Interpretation
In his Bhagavad Gītā Bhāṣyam, Rāmānuja interprets the three paths — karma-yoga, jñāna-yoga, and bhakti-yoga — as an ascending progression:
- Karma-yoga — action without desire (niṣkāma-karma) purifies the antaḥkaraṇa (inner instrument/mind) from rāga-dveṣa (attraction-aversion), making it fit for higher knowledge
- Jñāna-yoga — the self-knowledge that results from purified karma; culminating in discrimination between ātman and the body-mind complex
- Bhakti-yoga — sustained meditation on Bhagavān; the direct path to liberation for those qualified
Rāmānuja holds that karma-yoga and jñāna-yoga are not alternative paths but preparatory stages for bhakti-yoga.
Karma-yoga in Practice
For the Sri Vaishnava, karma-yoga means:
- Performing all daily actions (including varṇāśrama duties) as tiruvarādhanam to the Lord
- Offering every fruit (phalam) of action to Bhagavān
- Treating one's professional, domestic, and social obligations as modes of kainkarya