Swami Brahm Bodhi

Question : In order to prove oneself to be the best, which approach is more commendable—criticism, or making the finest creative effort?

Put in simple terms, is it more worthy to erase an already drawn line and make it shorter, or to draw a longer line through one’s own creative effort?

What view does the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita take on this matter?

Answer:

Nowhere does the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita convey the message that the purpose of our actions should be to prove ourselves to be ‘the best’.
Such an objective is not presented in the Gita.

Yes, certain specific actions—yajña (here not meaning fire-sacrifice; one should see the various forms of yajña described in the fourth chapter of the Gita), tapas (austerity), and dāna (charity)—are said to have the purpose of inner purification, as the Lord states in this verse:

“Yajña, charity, and austerity—these indeed purify the wise.”
(Bhagavad Gita 18.5)

The second purpose of action, according to the Gita, is loka-saṅgraha, as the Lord clearly declares:

“It was through action alone that Janaka and others attained perfection.
Keeping in view the welfare and cohesion of the world, you too ought to act.”
(Bhagavad Gita 3.20)

Loka-saṅgraha means the welfare of society—keeping people united and maintaining social order and balance.

The Gita also teaches that action should be free from mere desire, free from ego, and performed as an offering to God, for God:

“Surrendering all actions to Me, with the mind focused on the Self,
free from expectation and possessiveness, fight without inner agitation.”
(Bhagavad Gita 3.30)

To act with the feeling, “I am the best,” is clearly an expression of ego.

As for the idea of drawing a longer line instead of erasing a shorter one, it must also be remembered that at times a line does need to be erased—whether it is long or short.

The war of the Mahabharata itself was fought to erase a line of injustice and to draw a new, righteous one.
That line deserved to be erased.