The Kartha-the doer

The essence of some of the verses from the Taitriya Upanishad speaks of the attitude of the Kartha-the doer.

Shraddha, Rtam, Satyam, Yoga and Mahah

In this context we can take shraddha as the reverential love for the action. So, the advantage then is, if you love the Karma, action it gives immediate joy. When we honour Surya Bhagavan, if it is done with shradha, the very action gives joy.

The next principle is rtam, having knowledge of the karma, how to do, when, where etc. If we are going to do Pitr Yagna by way of conducting a ceremony to honour the ancestry, knowledge of the methodology should be known so the karma will give peace and not lead to agitations.

The next principle is Satyam, implementing of what has been learnt with total involvement, when the knower, doer and done are all one. For example, if one is a dancer, when performing unless the rtam or knowledge of the steps is learnt and repeated and practiced and known well, the performer and the performed will not be one, if knowledge is thorough then the dancer and the dance become one.

After satyam comes Yoga, in this context Yoga signifies, the very action becoming meditative. If a dancer has satyam then the experience of dance is akin to meditation.

The fifth principle is Mahah, in this context it signifies the Hiranyagarbha , the totality or Brahman, the Universal Being. The Upanishad says it is a process to learn to identify with the Supreme principle and operate not from an individual and selfish purpose but with an expansive outlook.

So, the five principles that together lead one to excel as a Kartha are:

1. Love for the Karma one does
2. Total knowledge of the Karma
3. Putting in action the knowledge
4. Single-pointed attention to the Karma in hand
5. Having a total outlook in the Karma, one is engaged in.