The unexpected, but powerful tranquility in Do-Be-Do-Be-Do

A teaching from Padma

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“The way to do is to be.”
— Lau Tzu

The path to tranquility, wisdom, and freedom

In addition to Lao Tzu’s simple instruction, Krishna has a lot to say about doing and being in the Bhagavad Gita.

First, he tells us that it’s impossible to avoid action. Even when we’re still and seemingly motionless, we’re breathing and our bodies are continuously engaged in multiple processes just to support our embodiment.

Then he says we must perform righteous and obligatory actions without attachment to the outcome. He tells us we do this by using the mind to control the senses which otherwise scatter endlessly in pursuit of the objects of the senses. Freed from the bondage of attachment, Krishna then advises us to perform all our actions as worship of the Divine.

Work as worship, without attachment, is the path to tranquility, wisdom, freedom, and perfection. 

The Divine is the only doer

After all this, Krishna sneakily slips in that, in truth, the Divine is the only doer, and that’s where things get a bit tricky.

We’re earnestly working to keep our senses under control, to engage only in righteous actions, to offer all our efforts and their fruits to the Divine with love, and to realize the Divine is the only doer.

My current way of resolving this seeming contradiction is to start the day by offering myself to the Divine, asking what it would love to share through me.

I’ve also borrowed a practice from the author Byron Katie, who describes the wonder and awe of experiencing her hands as divine kindness in action, scrambling eggs and toasting bread for breakfast and offering them to the Beloved in the form of her partner.

Playing with the Divine, inviting favorite qualities to act through me, is fun and helps remind me we are all extensions of the Divine, the only doer.

“Work as worship, without attachment, is the path to tranquility, wisdom, freedom, and perfection.”

Frank Sinatra may be better known for popularizing the phrase do-be-do-be-do in the coda to the song Strangers in the Night, but the spiritual teacher Ram Dass playfully elevated it as a way to describe the natural human tension we encounter between doing and being.

Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra

Even though we know that doing and being are not mutually exclusive, it can be challenging to balance them and ultimately see the two as one.

This tension reminds me of a holographic image that, when tilted, shifts between two images. One image is of the world in action, the other is the peaceful, still, presence of the one perfect and beautiful Doer.

Toggling back and forth, there’s an instant of overlap and we realize that doing and being are actually one. Happy do-be-do-be-do to all!

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If you are interested in learning more about the unexpected, but powerful tranquility in Do-Be-Do-Be-Do, there is a wealth of information available online about the teachings of yoga philosophy, Advaita Vedanta, and the mystical teachings of Christianity, Buddhism, Taoism, Zen, Hinduism, and Judaism. You are also invited to discover these teachings through Awake Yoga Meditation’s offerings. Based on your interest in this article, you may also enjoy:

You are also always invited to schedule a private, personal, spiritual conference with Swami Nityananda whether you are completely new to the study of yoga philosophy and meditation or one who is seeking to deepen your practice.

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