Bhagavad Gita – Notes and Select Verses

Bhagavad Gita – Notes and Select Verses

Background

Bhagavad Gita means ‘Song of the Lord’. Though originally part of the great epic Mahabharata (chapters 25 – 42 of the Bhishma Parva – 18 chapters and 700 verses), classified as a Smiruti literature, Bhagavad Gita came to be regarded as the primary Sruti literature. It was taken as one of the Prasthanatriyas, the 3 basic texts of the Vedanta, others being the Upanishads and Brahmasutras.

Gandhi came to know about the Gita through its first English translation (by Charles Wilkins), translated into Gujarati and projected it as containing the quintessence of Hinduism. Today, though non-Vedic/Brahmanic traditions such as the Tamil Savism have difficulty to accept, the revivalist Hindus, particularly VHP presents it as the mark of Hindu identity and insists that every Hindu home should have a copy of the Gita. It suits their fight to recover the Brahmanic Dharma from foreign taints. This line of interpretation came from Bala Gangadara Tilak who stressed the central message of the Gita, i.e., ‘fight and kill to re-establish dharma’. Since then the text has become a political weapon to assert identity and sacredness. Gandhi on the other hand stressed the message of non-violence as its quintessence (there are only four passing references to non-violence). In the end Mathuram Godse, motivated by the Tilakian interpretation, assassinated Gandhi. Political Hindus organize Rathyatras to capture the imagination of Hindus about Krishna the charioteer teaching Arjuna, his devotee and friend. In 2012 in the heat of a controversy over the translation of the text in Russian, S.M. Krishna, the then Minister of External Affairs declared it to be India’s national book. In 2014 September beginning, during his visit to Japan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a copy of the Gita to the Japanese government and said he could not think of a better gift from India. He did the same at the end of the month when he visited the US.

Originally the Gita text seems to represent the combination of the revival of Vedic religion after a period of decline (4-2 centuries BCE), the amalgamation of Vedic tradition with the Bhagavata tradition including its divine-hero Krishna and the early forms of Samkhya Yoga. The Hindu claim is that the author of the Gita has achieved a remarkable synthesis of various streams of thought. What sort of synthesis was this? Are there not tensions and discrepancies?  Such questions and resultant researches have proved the Gita as the best researched and published Hindu text. Consequently, one has to distinguish between scholarly materials, spiritualized interpretations and propaganda literatures.

Krishna as their kinsman was acceptable to both Kauravas and Pandavas. When both approached him Krishna offered his army to one party and himself to the other. Kauravas chose the army and Pandavas Krishna himself. God himself or God’s blessings? This question is important for the devotees of all traditions. At the same time, the Gita is not only a book on bhakti. Its teaching on Vedic sacrifice, knowledge, Samkhya etc should be studied in relation to bhakti.

The plot is battle in the field of Kuru (famous sacrificial ground, near Delhi) and of dharma. The blind father of the Kauravas Dhrtarashtra speaks to the messenger Sanjaya asking about his sons and the Pandavas doing in the battle field (1:1). The armies are in array and there is a description of famous people, the heroes on both sides. Drums beaten and conchs blown, Arjuna asked Krishna (Achyuta) to place the chariot between the two armies so that he could have a look at the ‘enemies’. ‘Standing there Partha (Arjuna) then beheld both the armies, paternal uncles, grandfathers, teachers, maternal uncles, cousins, sons, grandsons, comrades, fathers-in-law and benefactors’ (1:26). Suddenly Arjuna was overtaken by sadness and compassion towards his cousins. His limbs failed him and mouth parched up, body quivered, hair stood on end, his famous Gandiva bow slipped from his hand with hands and skin burning all over (1:27ff). Arjuna told his charioteer and friend Kesava (Krishna) that he was unable to stand, his mind whirling and he was seeing adverse omens (1:30).

Arjuna put forward a catalogue of reasons for avoiding this war: no good ensuing from the slaughter of kinsmen; he had no interest in victory, empire and pleasure; he would have rather preferred to be slain rather than slaying the kinsmen; no joy, only sin would accrue; it would lead to destroy a precious family and that would cause growth of impiety, women become unchaste and there would be mixture of caste, ancestors being bereft of ritual offering and reward would be hell, it would be better for him to be killed by the kinsmen than killing them(1:31-46).

The response of Krishna: ‘Whence has this unmanly, heaven-barring, shameful dejection come upon you, at this juncture? Yield not to feebleness. It does not befit you. Cast off this petty faint-heartedness, wake up (2:2, 3).

Further plea of Arjuna: How shall I with arrows counter-attack Bhishma and Drona who are worthy of worship? To eat beggar’s bread is better than to slay these great-souled masters. But if I kill them, my enjoyment of wealth and desires in this world itself will be stained with blood. Either sides victory is problematic, I can’t live after killing them. I am confused needing guidance. Revering the kingdom or having sovereignty does not give any remedy. I shall not fight (2:4-9). Krishna assumes the role of a divine teacher on various matters which are not related to Arjuna’s confusion in the war field,

On Soul: ‘You grieve for those who should not be grieved for; yet you spell words of wisdom. The wise grieve neither for the living nor for the dead. All of us were never non-existent nor will be ever non-extent in the future. The indweller (soul) in the body passes from one body to another. The contacts of the senses with their objects create feelings of heat and cold, of pain and pleasure. They come and go and are impermanent. Those of steadfast mind who are not affected by such contrasts are destined to heaven. ‘The unreal has no existence; the real never ceases to be. The truth about both has been realized by the seers.’ The soul is indestructible, all pervasive, immeasurable, eternal and immutable. It does not slay nor is it slain. It is neither born not does it die. It is unborn, constant and ancient. It is not killed when the body is slain. So you should fight without worrying about slaying or being slain. As someone casting off worn-out garments puts on new one, so the soul casting off worn-out bodies enters into others that are new. ’Weapons do not cleave the Atman, fire burns it not, water wets it not, wind dries it not.’ It is said to be unmanifested, unthinkable and immutable. Therefore you need not grieve. Death is certain for that which is born and birth is certain of that which is dead. You should not lament over the inevitable. While beings are in the chain of being manifested in different statures and unmanifested , thus invulnerable, there is no point of anguish (2:10-30).

On Duty: You should not waver from your duty as a warrior. Happy are the Kshatriyas who obtain such a warfare that comes unsought as an open gateway to heaven. ‘But if you will not wage this righteous warfare, then forfeiting your own duty and honour you will incur sin.’ People will recount your infamy which is worse than death. Both foes and friends will insult you. If slain you will go to heaven and if victorious you will enjoy the earth. ‘Treating alike pain and pleasure, gain and loss, victory and defeat, engage yourself in the battl. Thus you will incur no sin’(2:31-38).

On Knowledge: ‘The ideal of Self-knowledge has been presented to you. Hearken now the practice thereof. Endowed with it you will break through the bonds. However little, the practice of it will have its own reward. It helps the firm-minded. Those of infirm mind are unsteady and indecisive. ‘The unwise who delight in the flowery words disputing about the Vedas say that there is nothing other than this.’ One should move on from desire-ridden activities such as rituals aiming at heaven. ‘There is no fixity of mind for them who cling to pleasure and power and whose discrimination is stolen away.’ The Vedas enumerate three gunas, but you transcend them, free from opposites and be centred in the Self (soul). To an enlightened Brahmin the Vedas are as useful as a tank around which flood everywhere. (2:39-46).

On Doing Duty without being attached to its fruits: ‘Seek to perform your duty; but lay not claim to its fruits. Be you not the producer of the fruits of karma; neither shall you lean towards inaction. Perform action being fixed in yoga, renouncing attachments, and even-minded in success and failure; equilibrium is verily yoga.’ Motivated and result oriented action is inferior. You perform your duty in the equanimity of mind. Such are free from both virtues and vices. Work done to perfection is yoga. ‘Those wise, imbued with evenness of mind, renouncing the fruits of their actions,  freed from the fetters of births, verily go to the stainless state. When your understanding transcends the taint of delusion, then shall you gain indifference to things heard and those yet to be heard. When your intellect, tossed about by the conflict of opinions, has become poised and firmly fixed in equilibrium, then you shall get into yoga.’(2:47-53)

What is the nature of this mind-set, and how to achieve it? ‘When a man abandons all the desires of the heart and is satisfied in the Self by the Self, then is he said to be one stable in wisdom. He whose mind is not perturbed by adversity, who does not crave for happiness, who is free from fondness, fear and anger, is the Muni of constant wisdom. He who is unfettered by happiness of good and dejected by evil such person is poised in wisdom.’ Just like a tortoise withdraws its limbs he withdraws his senses from sense-objects, he is firm in wisdom. All attachments drop and he intuits the Supreme. The excited senses can carry away even one who strives for perfection. ‘The yogi having controlled them all, sits focused on Me as the supreme goal. His wisdom is constant whose senses are under subjugation. Brooding on the objects of senses, man develops attachment to them; from attachment comes desire; from desire anger sprouts forth. From anger proceeds delusion; from delusion, confused memory; from confused memory the ruins of reason; due to the ruin of reason he perishes. But the disciplined yogi, moving among objects with the senses under control, and free from attraction and aversion, gains in tranquility. In tranquility all his sorrow is destroyed. For the intellect of the tranquil-minded is soon anchored in equilibrium. There is no wisdom in the fickle-minded; nor is there meditation in him. To the unmeditative there is no peace. And how can the peace-less enjoy happiness?’ Just like gale pushes away a ship in waters, the roving senses carry away one’s discrimination. Restraining the senses from objects assures cognition as well poised. Even when there is night to beings the disciplined man keeps awake. Just like stream confluences in sea all desires merge in the yogi. One attains peace if he lives devoid of longing and desires, as well as the sense of ‘I’ and ‘mine’. This is the Brahman state in which there is bewilderment (2:54-72).

Further Clarification about Knowledge and Duty

If knowledge is superior to action (ritual and moral), why should we continue to engage in action? Two fold path has been given from the beginning, action and knowledge. One does not gain actionlessness by abstaining from activity, nor does he rise to perfection by mere renunciation. None can be ever actionless as every one is propelled to act by the Gunas of Prakruti. ‘That deluded man is called hypocrite who sits controlling the organs of action, but dwelling in his mind on the objects of the senses.’ But the one who, restraining the senses by the mind, unattached, directs his organs of action to the path of work, excels (3:1-8).

The world is bound by action except that done by sacrifice (yajna). Therefore act for yajna alone. Having created mankind in the beginning together with yajna, the Prajapati said ‘By this shall you propagate; this shall be the milch cow of your desires. Cherish the Devas with this; and may those Devas cherish you; thus cherishing one another, you shall reap the supreme good.’ Thieves are those who abstain from this mutual cherishing. ‘The good who eat the remains of yajna are freed from all sins; but the sinful ones who cook food only for themselves, they verily eat sin. From food beings become; from rain is food produced; from Yajna rain proceeds; yajna is born of karma. Know karma to have risen from the Veda, and the Veda from the Imperishable (Brahma). The all-pervading Veda is, therefore, ever centred in yajna.’ Those who do not follow the yajna wheel live in sin (cf. Buddhist bhava chakra and dharma chakra). For the one who rejoices in the Self, is satisfied with the Self, for him verily there is no obligatory duty. But those who do need not achieve anything or not to lose anything need not depend on anything. ‘Therefore, constantly perform your obligatory duty without attachment; do your duty without attachment; for, by doing duty without attachment man verily obtains the Supreme.’ Perform action by following great men in the past. Though not obligatory, I myself is engaged in action in all the three worlds. If I did not, men would follow my path. The world would have then perished and there would be confusion in all species. The unenlightened act out of attachment, but the enlightened act out of unattachment. Let the wise induce others in all activities (3:9-26).

Actions and Gunas: The gunas of Prakriti (the Samkhyan categories) perform all karma. Those deluded with ego think that they do it. Those who know gunas and their sense objects do not become entangled. Those deluded with the gunas get attached to their functions. Those of perfect knowledge should not unsettle the mediocre whose knowledge is imperfect. ‘Surrendering all actions to Me, with your thoughts resting on Self, freed from hope and selfishness and cured of mental fever, engage in battle.’ Those who take this teaching of mine they too are released from actions. Others heed to ruin. Wise men too follow nature for their actions. ‘Attachment and aversion of the senses for their respective objects are natural; let none come under their domination; they are verily his enemies. One’s own dharma, though imperfect, is better than the dharma of another well discharged. Better death in one’s own dharma; the dharma of another is full of fear.’ (3:27-35).

Particular persons are forced to do particular acts. Desire and wrath, two enemies on earth, are begotten by Rajo-guna (passion bound). ‘As a fire is enveloped by smoke, as a mirror by dust, as an embryo by the womb, so is covered by that. Knowledge is covered by this insatiable fire of desire, the constant foe of the wise. The senses, the mind and the intellect are said to be its seat; by these it deludes man by veiling his wisdom.’ So master and slay the senses, the destroyer of knowledge and realization. ‘The senses are said to be superior to the body; the mind is superior to the senses; the intellect is superior to the mind; and what is superior to the intellect is Atman.’ Knowing Him as superior, kill the desire which is difficult to be overcome (3:36-43).

Yoga/ Avatar/Caste/Action: Taught and transmitted in a chain today it is taught to you by Me. Many births you and I have taken and I know them all but you do not. Though unborn, imperishable and the Lord of all beings, yet subjugating My prakruti I come into being by My own maya. ‘Whenever there is decay of dharma and rise of adharma, then I embody Myself. For the protection of the good, for the destruction of the wicked and for the establishment of dharma I am born age after age. He who thus knows My divine birth and action in true light, having dropped the body, comes not to birth again, but comes unto Me. Freed from passion, fear and anger, filled with Me, taking refuge in Me, purified by penance in the fire of knowledge, many have entered into My Being. In whatever way men identify with Me, in the same way do I carry out their desires; men pursue My path in all ways. Longing for success in action on earth, they worship the gods; for quickly is success born of action in this world of man.’ (4:1-12).

‘The fourfold caste was created by Me by the different distribution of Guna and karma. Though I be the author thereof, know Me to be the actionless and changeless.’ I am not bound or tainted by actions. What is action and inaction? It is needful to discriminate action, forbidden action and inaction; inscrutable is the way of karma. ‘He who sees inaction in action, and action in inaction, he is wise among men, he is a yogi and accomplisher of everything. Whose doings are all devoid of design and desire for results, and whose actions are all burnt by the fire of knowledge, him, the sages call wise. Having abandoned attachment to the fruits of action, ever content, depending on nothing, though engaged in karma, verily he does not do anything. Hoping for naught, his mind and self controlled, having abandoned all possessions, performing karma by the body alone, he incurs no sin.’ He is indifferent to the outcome and beyond opposites. He who acts in this way for yajna alone his entire karma melts away (4:13-23)

Yajnas: The oblation, the clarified butter, offerer, fire and receiver is Brahman. Those who are cognizant of this go to Brahman. Some sacrifice to gods alone while others offer the self as sacrifice by the self in the fire of Brahman. Some offer hearing and others the senses in the fire of restraints, and yet others sense-objects in the fire of the senses. Again others offer all the actions of the senses and the functions of the life-energy in the fire of self-control, kindled by knowledge. Yet others offer wealth, austerity, yoga, self-denial, extreme vows, sacred study and knowledge as sacrifice. Yet others offer the outgoing birth in the incoming and vice versa, regulating their process and thus absorbed in life-energy. Those who have regulated food habit offer in the life-breaths and their functions. ‘All these are knowers of Yajna, having their sins destroyed by yajna. The eaters of the nectar, the remnant of yajna go to the eternal Brahman. This world is not for the non-sacrificer, how then the other? ‘Various yajnas such as these are spread out in the storehouse of the Vedas. Know them all to be born of karma; and thus knowing you shall be free. Knowledge-sacrifice is superior to wealth-sacrifice. All karma in its entirety culminates in knowledge’ (4:24-33)

Seeking Knowledge as the Way of Salvation: ‘Seek that enlightenment by prostrating, by questions and by service; the wise, the seers into the Truth will instruct you in that knowledge. Knowing this you will not again fall into this confusion; by this you will see the whole of the creation in your self and in Me. Even if you are the most sinful of all sinners, yet shall you cross over all sin by the raft of knowledge. As the blazing fire reduces fuel to ashes, so does the fire of knowledge reduce all karma to ashes.’ There is no purifier than knowledge in the world. Those perfected in yoga realize this. ‘The man of sraddha, the devoted, the master of his senses obtains knowledge…he goes promptly to the Peace Supreme. The ignorant, the man devoid of sraddha, the doubting self, goes to destruction. The doubting self has neither this world, nor the next, no happiness. With work absolved in yoga, and doubts rent asunder by knowledge, actions do no bind him who is poised in the Self. Therefore, severing with the sword of knowledge this ignorance-born doubt about the Self, dwelling in your heart, be established in yoga. Stand up, O Bharata.’ (4:33-42).

Renunciation,  Action and Yoga: ‘Renunciation and performance of action both lead to freedom; of the two, performance of action is superior to the renunciation of action.’(5:2) A constant Sannyasin, free from opposites is easily set free from bondage.  ‘Children, not the wise, speak of knowledge and performance of action as different; he who is truly established in one obtains the fruit of both.’(5:4) The same state is reached by both jnanis and karma yogis. Both need to be seen as one. ‘Sannyasa is hard to attain without karma yoga. The man of meditation, purified by karma yoga quickly goes to Brahman. With the mind purified by karma yoga, and the self disciplined, and the senses subdued, who  realizes one’s self as the Self in all beings, though acting, is not affected’ (5:6-7). While doing all sorts of action, the sage centred in the Self should think that he does not do anything. ‘He who acts, abandoning attachment, dedicating his deeds to Brahman, is untainted by sin as a lotus leaf by water. The yogi abandoning attachment, performs work with the body, the mind, the intellect and the senses only, for self-purification. Abandoning the fruits of action, the yogi attains peace born of steadfastness; impelled by desire, the non-yogi is bound, attached to fruit’(5: 10-12).  Having mentally renounced all actions a disciplined rests happily in the city of nine gates (body), neither acting nor causing to act. Not the Lord but the nature creates agency, actions and fruits.

‘The Omnipresent does not take note of the merit or demerit of any. Knowledge is veiled by ignorance; mortals are thereby deluded. Shining like the sun, knowledge reveals the Supreme in them, in whom ignorance is destroyed by Self-knowledge’(5: 15-16). Those who think on That merge, get fixed, having the goal in that with non-return, and their taints being dispelled by knowledge. ‘Men of Self-knowledge are same-sighted on a brahmana imbued with learning and humility, a cow, an elephant, a dog and an outcaste. Transitory existence is overcome even here by them whose mind rests on equality. Brahman is flawless and the same in all; therefore they are established in Brahman. Established in Brahman, with firm understanding and with no delusion, the knower of Brahman rejoices not, getting what is pleasant and grieves not, getting what is unpleasant. With the self detached from the external contacts he realizes the bliss in the Self. Devoted as he is to the meditation of Brahman, he enjoys imperishable Bliss’(5: 18- 21). Contact-born delights are wombs of pain. They have a beginning and end and no wise man rejoices in them. He who is able to resist the impulse of desire and anger here and now he is a yogi, a happy man. He whose happiness, delight, illumination is within only that yogi becomes Brahman and gains the Beatitude of Brahman. ‘With sins destroyed, doubts removed, minds disciplined, being delighted in the welfare of all beings, the Ṛṣis attain the Beatitude of Brahman. The Beatitude of Brahman is both here and hereafter for those Sanyasins who have shed lust and anger, subdued their minds and realized the Self. Shutting our external objects, fixing the gaze between the eyebrows, equalizing the outward and inward breaths moving in the nostrils, the sage who has controlled, the sage who has controlled the senses, mind and intellect, who is solely pursuing liberation, who has cast away desire, fear and anger, he verily is liberated’ (5:25-28).

‘Having known Me as the Lord of Yajnas and asceticism, as the Ruler of all the worlds, as the Friend of all beings, he attains Peace’ (5:29)

Dhyana Yoga and Disciplined Action: Chapter six repeats the themes of earlier chapters. The discipline of yoga is connected with action with mind beyond opposites – steady-mindedness as Brahman and Nirvana. Two verses, however, mention rather abruptly about Krishna Bhakti: ‘He who, established in oneness, worships Me abiding in all beings, that yogi lives in Me, whatever may be his mode of living’ (6:31); ‘Of all yogis, he who worships Me with faith, his inmost self merged in Me, - him I hold to be the most devout’ (6:47-last verse of the chapter).

Creation, Lord and Worship: Chapter seven presents a particular version of the Samkhya category of Prakriti. It has two types – lower and higher. Krishna claims that He was the originator of the universe and he is the best, highest and quintessence of everything. There is mention in passing of the three Gunas –Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. Again Krishna Bhakti intrudes: ‘Whatever for any devotee with faith wishes to worship, I make that faith of his steady. Endowed with that faith, he engages in the worship of that form, and from it he obtains his desires, which are being actually  ordained by Me.  But the fruit that accrues to those men of small intellect is finite. The worshippers of the gods go to the gods; My devotees come to Me (7: 21-23). Men do not know Krishna because of his yoga maya, but He knows all of them, their past, present and future.

The Yoga of the Imperishable Brahman: Chapter eight starts with explaining the following terms: Adhiyajna (to be known at death by the self-controlled), Brahman (Supreme and Imperishable, while indwelling individual body it is Adhyatma), Adhibhuta (perishable Nature), Adhidaivata (Purusha). Krishna says, ‘I alone am the Adhiyajña here in this body. And whoever, at the time of death, leaving the body, goes forth remembering Me alone, he attains My being; there is no doubt about this. Whatever being a man thinks of at the last moment when he leaves his body, that alone does he attain, being ever absorbed in the thought thereof. Therefore at all times think upon Me only and fight. With mind and understanding set on Me, you will surely come to Me’ (8:4-7). After a brief description of the Supreme Puruṣa, Kṛṣṇa says: ‘All the gates of the body closed, the mind confined within the heart, having fixed his life-energy in the head, engaged in firm yoga; uttering the one-syllabled ‘OM’, Brahman, thinking of Me, he who departs, leaving the body, attains the Supreme Goal. I am easily attainable by that ever-steadfast yogi, who constantly remembers Me daily and thinks of none else. All worlds including that of Brahma are subject to return, but on reaching Me there is no rebirth’ (8:12-16). There is explanation of yugas and evolution and dissolution of the universe. Devotion to the Supreme Puruṣa is mentioned (8: 22).

Bhakti Yoga: After asserting His supremacy and identifying with the best and highest of everything Krishna says: ‘Whoever offers Me with devotion, a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, I accept that, the pious offering of the pure in heart. Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer in sacrifice, whatever you gift away, whatever austerity you practice, do it as an offering to Me. Thus shall you be free from the bondage of actions yielding good and bad results. With the mind firmly set in the yoga of renunciation and liberated, you shall come to Me. I am the same to all beings; to Me there is none hateful, none dear. But those who worship Me with devotion, they are in Me and I also am in them. Even if a man of the most sinful conduct worships Me with undeviating devotion, he must be reckoned as righteous, for he has rightly resolved. Soon does he become a man of righteousness and obtains lasting peace and know for certain that My devotee never perishes. For those who take refuge in Me, though they be of inferior birth – women, Vaisyas and Sudras – even they attain the Supreme Goal. How much more then the holy Brahmanas and devoted royal saints! Having come into this transient, joyless world, do worship Me. Fix you mind on Me; be devoted to Me; sacrifice unto Me; bow down to Me. Having thus made yourself steadfast in Me as the Supreme Goal, you will come to Me’ (9: 26-34).

On Krishna: ‘Neither the hosts of Devas nor the great Rishis know My origin; for in every respect I am the source of the Devas and the great Ṛṣis. He who knows Me as unborn and beginning-less, as the Great Lord of the worlds, he among mortals is undeluded and freed from all sins. Intellect, wisdom, non-delusion, patience, truth, self-restraint, calmness, pleasure, pain, birth, death, fear and fearlessness. Non-injury, equanimity, contentment, austerity, charity, fame and obloquy – these qualities of beings arise from Me alone. The seven great Rishis and the four ancient Manus, endowed with My power, were born of My mind; and from them have come forth all the creatures in the world. He who knows in truth this glory and power of Mine is endowed with unfaltering yoga; of this there is no doubt. I am the origin of all; from Me all things evolve. The wise know this and adore Me with all their heart. With their minds fixed on Me, with their life absorbed in Me, they are contented and delighted. To them ever devout, worshipping Me with love, I give the yoga of discrimination by which they come to Me.’ (10: 2-11)

Acknowledging Krishna’s supreme qualities as above, Arjuna asks Krishna as how can he know Him. In response Krishna says: ‘I shall now tell you My divine glories according to their prominence; there is no end to the details of My manifestation. I am the Self seated in the hearts of all beings. I am the beginning, the middle and also the end of all beings.’ (10:19,20). Krishna continues to say that He is the best of all and best in all and all beings share in his glory.

Viṣhvarūpa Dharśana (Spectacular Manifestation of the Lord – chapter 11): Acknowledging all the above teachings Arjuna is asking for a vision of Krishna’s glory. Krishna says, ‘Behold My forms by hundreds and thousands, manifold and divine and of multi-colours and shapes…But you cannot see Me with these eyes of yours; I give you divine sight; behold My Supreme Yoga.’ Krishna then manifests his supreme form which includes in His body the whole world, all the beings and all the best he talked about earlier. Arjuna, exclaimed by the terrifying form and asked for the secret.  Krishna says, ‘I am the mighty world-destroying Time now engaged in wiping out the world. Even without you the warriors arrayed in hostile armies shall not live. You therefore arise and obtain fame. Conquer the enemies and enjoy the unrivalled kingdom. By Me have they been verily slain already. You be merely an outward cause.’ He encourages to slay great warriors Drona, Bhishma and Karna. Arjuna exclaims narrating Krishna’s supremacy and all-pervasiveness. He says: ‘You are the Father of this world moving and unmoving. You are to be adored by this world, You the greatest Guru; none there exists, who is equal to you in the three worlds; who then can excel you, O Being of unequalled power. Therefore, bowing down, prostrating by body, I implore You, adorable Lord to forgive me. Bear with me, O Lord, as a father with a son, as a friend with a friend, as a lover with his beloved. I rejoice that I have seen what was never seen before, but my mind is compounded with fear. Show me that form only, O God; have mercy, O God of gods, O Abode of the universe .’ Krishna clarified that no one could see this form and nothing including yajna would qualify for this experience, but the loving devotion of Arjuna made it possible. Then He showed His original form. And said: ‘He who does work for Me, who looks on Me as the Supreme, who is devoted to Me, who is free from attachment, who is without hatred for any being, he comes to Me.’

The Difference between Worshipping Krishna and the Unmanifest, and other Forms (Ch. 12): In response to Arjuna’s enquiry Krishna says: ‘Those who have fixed their minds on Me, and whoever steadfast and endowed with supreme Śraddha, WORSHIP Me – them do I consider perfect in yoga. But those who worship the Imperishable, the Indefinable, the Unmanifest, the Omnipresent, the Unthinkable, the Unchangeable, the Immovable, the Eternal (impersonal Brahman?) – Having restrained all the senses, even-minded everywhere, engaged in the welfare of all beings – verily they also come unto Me. Great is their difficulty whose minds are set on the Unmanifested, for the goal of the Unmanifested is very hard for the embodied to reach. For them whose thought is set on Me, I become very soon the deliverer from the ocean of the mortal Samsara. Fix your mind on Me alone, let your thoughts dwell in me. You will hear after live in Me alone. Of this there is no doubt. If you are not able to fix your mind steadily on Me, then seek to reach Me by Abhyasa yoga. If you are unable even to practice Abhyasa yoga, be you intent on doing actions for My sake; even by performing actions for My sake you will attain perfection. If you are not able to do even this, then taking refuge in Me, abandon the fruits of all actions with the self subdued. Better minded is knowledge than (formal) Abhyasa; better than knowledge is meditation; better than meditation is the renunciation of the fruit of actions; peace immediately follows renunciation. He who hates no being, who is friendly and compassionate to all, who is free from the feeling of ‘I and mine’, even-minded in pain and pleasure and forbearing, ever content, steady in meditation, self-controlled and possessed of firm conviction , with mind and intellect fixed on Me, he My devotee is dear to Me. He by whom the world is not afflicted and who the world cannot afflict, he who is free from joy, anger, fear and anxiety – he is dear to Me. He who has no wants, who is pure and prompt, unconcerned, untroubled, and who is selfless in all his undertakings, he who is thus devoted to Me, is dear to Me. He who neither rejoices nor hates nor grieves nor desires, renouncing good and evil, full of devotion, he is dear to Me…They, verily, who follow this immortal dharma described above endued with Sraddha, looking upon Me as the Supreme Goal, and devoted – they are exceedingly dear to Me.’

Discrimination of Kshetra (body, part of prakriti) and Kshetrajna (he who knows it) (Chaper 13): ‘And know Me as the Kshetrajna in all Kshetras. The knowledge of Kshetra and Kshetrajna is deemed by Me as true knowledge. Hear briefly from Me, what the Kshetra is, what its properties are, what its modifications are, whence is what; and who He is and what His powers are. This has been sung by Rishis in many ways, in various distinctive chants, in passages indicative of Brahman, full of reasoning and convincing. The great elements, egoism, intellect, as also the unmanifested, the ten senses and the one mind, and the five objects of the senses; Desire, hatred, pleasure, pain, the aggregate, intelligence, firmness – the Kshetra has been thus briefly described with the modifications. Humility, modesty, non-injury, forbearance, uprightness, service of the teacher, purity, steadfastness, self-control; Dispassion towards the objects of the senses, and also absence of egoism; perception of evil in the birth, death, old age, sickness and pain; Unattachment, non-identification self with son, wife, home, and the like, and constant equanimity in the occurrence of the desirable and the undesirable; Unswerving devotion to Me in yoga of non-separation, resort to sequestered places, distaste for the society of men; Constancy in Self-knowledge, perception of the end of the knowledge of Truth; this is declared to be knowledge, and what is opposed to it is ignorance’ (13:2-11).

I shall describe that which has to be known, knowing which one attains to immortality. Beginningless is the Supreme Brahman. It is not said to be ‘sat’ or ‘asat’. With hands and feet everywhere, with eyes and heads and mouths everywhere, with ears everywhere – He exists enveloping all. Shining by the functions of all the senses, yet without the senses; Absolute, yet sustaining all; devoid of Gunas, yet, He experiences them. Without and within all beings; the unmoving and also the moving; because of His subtlety He is incomprehensible; He is far and near. He is undivided and yet He seems to be divided in beings. He is to be known as the supporter of beings. He devours and He generates. The Light of all lights, He is said to be beyond darkness; knowledge, the knowable, the goal of knowledge, seated in the hearts of all. Thus the Kshetra, knowledge and that which has to be known have been briefly described. My devotee, on knowing this, is fitted for my state’ (13:12-18).

Know that Prakriti and Purusha are both without beginning; and know also that all modifications and Gunas are born of Prakriti. In the production of the body and the senses, Prakriti is said to be the cause; in the experience of pleasure and pain, Purusha is said to be the cause. Purusha seated in the Prakriti, experiences the Gunas born of Prakriti; attachment to the Gunas is the cause of his birth in good and evil wombs. The Supreme Purusha in this body is also called the Spectator, the One who permits, the Supporter, the One who experiences, the Great Lord and the Supreme Self. He who thus knows the Purusha and Prakriti together with the Gunas, is never born again, in whatever way he may live. By meditation some behold the Self in the self by the self, others by the yoga of knowledge and yet others by karma yoga. Still others, not knowing thus, worship as they have heard from others; they too go beyond death by their devotion to what they have heard. Whatever being is born, the unmoving or the moving, know it to be from the union of Kshetra and Kshetrajna. He sees, who sees the Supreme Lord, remaining the same in all beings, the undying and the dying. Because he who sees the Lord, seated the same everywhere, destroys not the self by the self, therefore he reaches the Supreme Goal. He verily sees, who sees that all actions are done by Prakriti alone and that the Atman is actionless. When he realizes the whole variety of beings as resting in the One, and is in evolution from that One alone, then he becomes Brahman. Having no beginning and possessing no Gunas, this Supreme Self, imperishable, though dwelling in the body, neither acts nor is tainted. As the all-pervading Akasa is not tainted by reason of its subtlety, so the Self seated in the body everywhere, is not tainted. As the one sun illumines this whole world, so does the Lord of the Kshetra illumine the whole Kshetra. They who perceive with the eye of wisdom this distinction between the Kshetra and Kshetrajna and the deliverance of beings from the Prakriti, they go to the Supreme.’ (13:19-34)

Prakriti and Three Gunas (Ch 14): ‘My womb is the Mahat Brahma (Prakriti); in that I place the germ; thence is the birth of all beings. Whatever forms are produced in any wombs whatsoever, the great Brahma (Prakriti) is their womb, I the seed-giving Father. Sattva, Rajas, Tamas – these Gunas, born of Prakriti, bind the indestructible embodies one fast in the body. Of these, Sattva being stainless, is luminous and unobstructive. It binds by creating attachment to happiness and attachment to knowledge. Know Rajas to be of the nature of passion, the source of thirst and attachment; it binds fast the embodied one by attachment to action. But know Tamas to be born of ignorance, deluding all embodied beings; it binds fast by heedlessness, indolence and sleep. Sattva binds one to happiness, and Rajas to action while Tamas verily veils knowledge and binds one to heedlessness. Sattva asserts itself by predominating over Rajas and Tamas; and Rajas over Sattva and Tamas; and Tamas over Sattva and Rajas. When the light of knowledge beams through all the gateways of the body, then it may be known that Sattva is predominant. Greed, activity, the undertaking of actions, unrest, longing – these arise when Rajas is predominant. Indiscrimination, inertness, heedlessness, and delusion – these arise, when Tamas is predominant. If the embodied one meets with death when Sattva is predominant, then he goes to the pure worlds of those who know the highest. Meeting with death in Rajas, he is born among those attached to action; and dying in Tamas, he is born in the wombs of the deluded. The fruit of good action, they say, is Sattvika and pure; verily the fruit of Rajas is pain, and ignorance is the fruit of Tamas. From Sattva arises wisdom and good from Rajas and error arise from Tamas, and also ignorance. Those who are fuxed in Sattva go upwards; the Rajasikas remain in the middle; and the Tamasikas, abiding in the functions of the lowest Guna, go downwards. When the seer perceived no agent other than the Gunas, and knows Him who is higher than the Gunas, he enters into My Being. The embodied one having crossed over three Gunas out of which the body is evolved, is freed from birth, death, decay and pain, and attains to immortality’ (14:3-20).

‘What are the mark of him who has crossed over the three Gurnas? What is his conduct? And how does he rise above the Gunas? (Arjuna). Krishna answers: He who hates not light, activity and delusion, when present, nor longs after them when absent; He who, sitting like one unconcerned, is moved not by the Gurnas, who, knowing that the Gunas operate, is firm and moves not; Balanced by pleasure and pain, Self-abiding, viewing a clod of earth, a stone and gold alike; the same to agreeable and disagreeable, firm, the same is censure and praise; The same in honour and dishonor, the same to friend and foe, abandoning all undertakings – he is said to have risen above the Gunas. And he who serves Me with an unswerving devotion, he, going beyond the Gunas, is fitted for becoming Brahman. For I am the Abode of Brahman, the Immortal and the Immutable, the Eterna Dharma and Absolute Bliss’ (14:21-27).

On the Supreme Self (Ch. 15): ‘They speak of an imperishable Asvattha tree with its root above and branches below. Its leaves are the Vedas; he who knows it is the knower of the Vedas. Below and above spread its branches, nourished by the Gunas; sense objects are its buds; and below in the world of men stretch forth the roots, engendering action. Its form is not here perceived as such, neither its end, nor its origin, nor its existence. Having cut asunder this firm-rooted Asvattha with the strong axe of non-attachment; Then that Goal should be sought for, going whither, they do not return again. I seek refuge in that Primeval Purusha whence streamed forth the Eternal Activity. Freed from pride and delusion, with the evil of attachment conquered, ever dwelling in the Self, their desires being completely stilled, liberated from the pairs of opposites known as pleasure and pain, the undeluded reach that Goal Eternal. That the sun illumines not, nor the moon, nor fire; that is My Supreme Abode, going whither they return not. An eternal portion of Myself having become the Jiva in the world of Jivas, attracts the senses, with mind as the sixth, abiding in Prakriti. When the lord obtains a body and when he leaves it, he takes these and goes, as the wind carries the scents from their sources. Presiding over the ear, the eye, the touch, the taste and the smell, as also the mind, he experiences objects. The deluded do not see him who departs, stays and enjoys, who is conjoined with the Gunas, but they see, who possess the eye of wisdom. Those who strive, endued with yoga, cognize him dwelling in the self; though striving, the unrefined and unintelligent see him not. The light which residing in the sun illumines the whole world, that which is in the moon and in the fire – know that light to be Mine. Entering the earth I support all beings by My energy; and having become the sapid moon I nourish all herbs. Abiding in the body of living beings as Vaisvanara, associated with Prana and Apana, I digest the four kinds of food. And I am seated in the hearts of all; from Me are memory, knowledge, as well as their loss; I am verily that which has to be known by all the Vedas; I am indeed the author of the Vedanta as well as the knower of the Vedas. There are two Purushas in the world – the Perishable and the Imperishable. All beings are the Perishable, and the Kutastha is called the Imperishable. But distinct is the Supreme Purusha called the Highest Self, the indestructible Lord, who pervades and sustains the three worlds. As I transcend the Perishable and am even above the Imperishable, therefore I am known in the world and in the Veda as ‘Purushottama,’ the Highest Purusha. He who, undeluded, knows Me as the Highest Self – he knows all, and he worships Me with all his heart. Thus has this most profound teaching been imparted by Me. Knowing this a man becomes enlightened and all his duties are accomplished.’ (15:1-20).

On the Division between the Divine and the Demonic (Ch. 16):‘Fearlessness, purity of heart, steadfastness in the knowledge and yoga, almsgiving, control of the senses, Yajna, study of the scriptures, austerity and straightforwardness. Non-injury, truth, absence of anger, renunciation, serenity, absence of calumny, compassion to beings, uncoveteousness, gentleness, modesty, absence of fickleness. Vigour, forgiveness, fortitude, purity, absence of hatred, absence of pride, these belong to one born for a divine state. Ostentation, arrogance and self-conceit, anger and also harshness and ignorance belong to one who is born for a demoniac state. The divine state is deemed for liberation, the demoniacal for bondage, grieve not (O Arjuna), you are born for a divine state. There are two types of beings in this world, the divine and the demoniacal; the divine has been described at length; hear from Me, of the demoniacal. The demoniac know not what to do and what to refrain from; neither purity, nor right conduct nor truth is found in them. They say “the universe is unreal, without a moral basis, without a God, born of mutual union, brought out by lust; what else?” Holding this view, these ruined souls of small intellect, of fierce deeds, rise as the enemies of the world for its destruction. Beset with immense cares ending only with death, regarding gratification of lust as the highest, and feeling sure that that is all; Bound by a hundred ties of hope, given over to lust and anger, they strive to secure by unjust means hoards of wealth for sensual enjoyment. “This today has been gained by me; this desire I shall fulfill; this is mine, and this wealth also shall be mine in future.” “That enemy has been slain by me, and others also shall I slay. I am a lord, I enjoy, I am successful, powerful and happy.” “I am rich and well-born. Who else is equal to me? I will sacrifice, I will give alms, I will rejoice.” Thus deluded by ignorance, Bewildered by many a fancy, enmeshed in the snare of delusion, addicted to the gratification of lust, they fall into a foul hell. Self-conceited, stubborn, filled with the pride and intoxication of wealth, they perform sacrifice in name for ostentation, disregarding ordinance. Given over to egoism, power, insolence, lust and wrath, these malicious people hate Me in their own bodies and those of others. These cruel haters, worst among men in the world, I hurl these evil-doers for ever into the wombs of the demons only. Entering into demoniac wombs, the deluded ones, in birth after birth, without ever reaching Me, they thus fall into a condition still lower.

Triple is this gate of hell, destructive of the self – lust, anger and greed; therefore should one abandon these three. The man who is liberated from these three gates to darkness practices what is good for him and thus goes to the Supreme Good. He who, casting aside the ordinances of the scriptures, acts on the impulse of desire, attains not perfection, nor happiness, nor the Supreme Goal. Therefore, let the scriptures be your authority in deciding what ought to be done and what ought not to be done. Having known what is said in the ordinance of the scriptures you should act here’ (16:1-24).

On Sraddha etc in Relation to three Gunas (Ch. 17) – (Following Arjuna asking and Krishna agreeing to explain): ‘The Sraddha of every man is in accordance with his natural disposition. Man is of the nature of his Sraddha; what his Sraddha is, that verily he is. Sattvika men worship the Devas; Rajasika, the Yakshas and the Rakshasas; the others – the Tamasika men – the Pretas and the hosts of Bhutas. Those men who practice violent austerities not enjoined by the scriptures, given to hypocrisy and egoism, impelled by the force of lust and attachment, Fools that they are, they torture their bodily organs and Me, too, who dwell within the body – know that they are Asurika in their resolve’ (17:3-6).

‘The foods that augment vitality, energy, vigour, health, joy and cheerfulness, which are savoury and oleaginous, substantial and agreeable, are liked by the Sattvikas. The foods that are bitter, sour, saline, over-hot, pungent, dry and burning are liked by the Rajasika, and are productive of pain, grief and disease. That which is stale, tasteless, stinking, cooked overnight, refuse and impure is the food liked by the Tamasika.’ (17:8-10)

‘That Yajna is Sattvika which is performed by men desiring no fruit, as enjoined by ordinance, with their mind fixed on the Yajna only, for its own sake. That which is performed in expectation of reward or for self-glorification, know it to be a Rajasika Yajna. They declare that Yajna to be Tamasika which is contrary to the ordinances, in which no food is distributed, which is devoid of Mantras, gifts and Sraddha.’ (17:11-13)

‘Worship of the Gods, of the twice-born, of teachers and of the wise; purity, uprightness, continence and non-injury – these are said to be the austerity of the body. The speech which causes no excitement, which is truthful, pleasant and beneficial, and also the practice of sacred recitation – these are said to form the austerity of speech. Serenity of mind, gentleness, silence, self-control and purity of disposition – this is called the mental austerity. This threefold austerity practiced by steadfast men with the utmost Sraddha, desiring no fruit, they call Sattvika. The austerity which is practiced with the object of gaining respect, honour and reverence, and with ostentation is here said to be Rajasika; it is unstable and transitory. That austerity which is practiced with a foolish obstinacy, with self-torture or for the purpose of destroying another, is declared to be Tamasika.’ (17:14-19)

‘That gift which is made to one who can make no return, with the feeling that it is one’s duty to give, and which is given at the right place and time and to a worthy person, that gift is held Sattvika. And that gift which is given with a view to receive in return, or looking for the fruit, or again grudgingly, is accounted as Rajasika. The gift which is given at a wrong place or time, to unworthy persons, without respect or with insult, that is declared to be Tamasika’ (17:20-22).

‘“Om Tat Sat” - this has been declared to be the triple designation of Brahman. By that were made of old the brahmanas, the Vedas and the Yajnas. Therefore, with the utterance of “Om,” are the acts of sacrifice, gift and austerity, as enjoined in the scriptures, always undertaken by the followers of the Vedas. Uttering “Tat” without aiming at the fruits, are the acts of sacrifice and austerity and the various acts of gift performed by the seekers of Moksha. The word “Sat” is used in the sense of reality and of goodness; and so also the word “Sat” is used in the sense of an auspicious act. Steadfastness in sacrifice, austerity and gift is also called “Sat” and action for the sake of the Lord is also called “Sat.” Whatever is sacrificed, given or performed and whatever austerity is practiced without Sraddha, it is called Asat. It is of no account here or hereafter.’ (17:23-28)

On Sannyasa and Liberation (Ch. 18): ‘The renunciation of kamya karma, the sages understand as Sannyasa; the wise declare the abandonment of the fruits of all works as Tyaga. Some sages declare that all action should be relinquished as evil, while others say that Yajna, gift and austerity should not be relinquished.  Learn from Me the truth about this abandonment, verily, has been declared to be of three kinds. Acts of Yajna, gift and austerity should not be given up, but should be performed; Yajna, gift and austerity are purifying to the wise. But even those actions should be performed giving up attachment and the fruits; this is My certain and best belief. Verily, the abandonment of any obligatory duty is not proper; such abandonment out of ignorance is declared to be Tamasika. He who from fear of bodily trouble abandons action, because it is painful, obtains not the fruit thereof. Whatever obligatory work is done merely because it ought to be done, abandoning attachment and also fruit, that abandonment is deemed to be Sattvika. The relinquisher imbued with Sattva and a steady understanding and with his doubts dispelled, hates not a disagreeable work nor is he attached to an agreeable one. It is indeed impossible for an embodied being to renounce action entirely. But he who renounces the fruit of action is regarded as one who has renounced. The threefold fruit of action – evil, good and mixed – accrues after death to one who does not relinquish but there is none ever for the one who renounces.’ (18:2-12)

‘Learn from Me these five factors in the accomplishment of all action, as taught in the Samkhya which is the end of action. The body, the agent, the various senses, the different functions of various sorts, and the presiding deity also, the fifth. Whatever action a man performs with his body, speech or mind, whether right or wrong – these five are its causes. That being so, the man of perverse mind, who, on account of his imperfect understanding looks upon the Self, the Absolute, as the agent – he does not see at all. He who is free from the notion of egoism and whose understanding is not tainted – though he kills these people, he kills not, nor is he bound’(18:13-17).

‘Knowledge, the object of knowledge and the knower from the threefold incitement to action; and the instrument, the object and the agent are the threefold constituents of action. Knowledge, action and actor are declared in the science of Gunas to be of three kinds only, according to the distinction of Gunas; hear of them also as they are. The knowledge by which the one Imperishable Being is seen in all existences, undivided in the divided, know that that knowledge of Sattvika. But that knowledge by which one sees in all beings manifold entities of the different kinds as varying from one another – know that that knowledge is Rajasika. And the knowledge that clings to one single effect as if it were the whole, and is without reason, without foundation in truth, and trivial – that knowledge is declared to be Tamasika. An action which is ordained, which is free from attachment, which is done without love or hatred by one not desirous of the fruit, that action is declared to be Sattivika. But that action which is done by one craving for desires, or again with egoism, or with much effort, that is declared to be Rajasika. That action which is undertaken from delusion, without heed to the consequence, loss, injury and ability, that is declared to be Tamasika. An agent who is free from attachment, non-egoistic, endued with firmness and zeal and unaffected by success or failure, is called Sattvika. Passionate, desiring to obtain the fruit of action, greedy, cruel, impure, moved by joy and sorrow – such an agent is said to be Rajasika. Unsteady, vulgar, stubborn, deceitful, malicious, indolent, despondent, procrastinating – such an agent is called Tamasika’ (18:18-28).

‘Hear the threefold distinction of understanding and firmness, according to the Gunas, as I explain them exhaustively and severally. The intellect which knows the paths of work and renunciation, right and wrong action, fear and fearlessness, bondage and liberation – that intellect is Sattvika. The intellect that makes a distorted grasp of dharma and adharma, of what ought to be done, and what ought not to be done – that is Rajasika. That which, enveloped in darkness, regards adharma as dharma and views all things in a perverted way, that intellect is Tamasika. The unswerving firmness by which, through yoga, the functions of the mind, the Prana and the senses are regulated, this firmness is Sattvika. But the firmness by which one holds fast to Dharma, Kama and Artha, desirous of the fruit of each from attachment, that firmness is Rajasika. That by which a stupid man does not give up sleep, fear, grief, despair and also conceit, that firmness is Tamasika’ (18:29-35).

‘And now hear from Me the three kinds of happiness. That in which a man comes to rejoice by long practice and in which he reaches the end of his sorrows; That which is like poison at first, but like nectar at the end; that happiness is said to be Sattvika, born of the translucence of intellect sue to Self-realization. That happiness which arises from the contact of the senses and their objects and which like nectar at first but like poison at the end – it is held to be Rajasika. That happiness which deludes the self both at the beginning and at the end and which arises from sleep. Sloth and miscomprehension – that is declared to be Tamasika. There is no being on earth, or again in heaven among the Devas, that is liberated from the three Gunas, born of Prakriti’ (18: 36-40).

‘The duties of Brahmanas, Kshatriyas and Vaisyas, as also of Sudras are distributed according to the Gunas born of their own nature. Serenity, self-restraint, austerity, purity, forgiveness, and also uprightness, knowledge, realization, belief in a hereafter – these are the duties of the Brahmanas, born of their own nature. Heroism, vigour, firmness, resourcefulness, not flying from battle, generosity and lordliness are the duties of the Kshatriyas born of their own nature. Agriculture, cattle-rearing and trade are the duties of the Vaisyas, born of their own nature; and action consisting of service is the duty of the Sudras born of their own nature. Devoted each to his own duty, man attains the highest perfection. How engaged in his own duty, he attains perfection, that do you hear. He from whom is the evolution of all beings, by whom all this is pervaded, worshipping Him with his own duty, man attains perfection. Better is one’s own dharma, though imperfect, than the dharma of another well-performed. He who does the duty ordained by his own nature incurs no sin. One should not abandon the duty to which one is born, though it is attended with evil; for, all undertakings are enveloped by evil, as fire by smoke’ (18:41-48).

‘He whose intellect is unattached everywhere, who has subdues his self, from whom desire has disappeared, he by renunciation attains the supreme state of freedom from action. Learn from Me in brief how reaching such perfection, he attains to Brahman, that supreme consummation of knowledge. Endowed with pure understanding, restraining the self with firmness, turning away from sound and other objects, and abandoning attraction and aversion; Dwelling in solitude, eating but little, speech, body and mind subdued, always engaged in meditation and concentration, endued with dispassion; Having abandoned egoism, violence, arrogance, desire, enmity, property, free from the notion of “mine” and peaceful, he is fit for becoming Brahman. Becoming Brahman, serene-minded, he neither grieves nor desires; the same to all beings, he obtains supreme devotion to Me. By devotion he knows Me in truth, what and who I am; then having known Me in truth, he forthwith enters into Me. Doing continually all actions whatsoever, taking refuge in Me, by My grace he reaches the eternal undecaying Abode.  Mentally resigning all deeds to Me, having Me as the highest goal, resorting to Buddhi-yoga, do you ever fix your mind on Me’ (18:49-57).

‘Fixing your mind on Me, you will by My grace, overcome all obstacles; but if from egoism you will not hear Me, you will perish. If filled with egoism, you think “I will not fight” vain is this, your resolve; your nature will compel you. Bound by your own karma born of your nature, that which from delusion you wish not to do, even that you shall do helplessly against your will. The Lord dwells in the hearts of all beings and by His Maya causes all beings to revolve as though mounted on a machine. Seek refuge in Him alone with all your heart. By His grace you will gain Supreme Peace and the Eternal abode. Thus has wisdom more profound than all profundities been declared to you by Me. Reflect upon it fully and act as you choose’ (18:58-63).

‘Listen again to My supreme word, the profoundest of all. You are beloved of Me and steadfast of heart; therefore I shall tell what is for your good. Fix your mind on Me; be devoted to Me; sacrifice to Me; prostrate before Me; so shall you come to Me. This is My pledge to you, for you are dear to Me. Renounce all dharmas and take refuge in Me alone. I shall liberate you from all sins; grieve not. This is never to be spoken by you to one who is devoid of austerities, nor to one who is not devoted, nor to one who does not do service, nor to one who speaks ill of Me. He who with Supreme devotion to Me will teach this immensely profound philosophy to My devotees, shall doubtless come to Me alone. Nor is there any among men who renders dearer service to Me than he; nor share there be another on earth dearer to Me than he. And he who will study this sacred dialogue of ours, by him I shall have been worshipped by Jnana Yajna; such is My conviction. And the man who hears this, full of faith and free from scoff – even he, liberated from evil, shall attain the auspicious regions of the righteous’ (18:64-71).

The further few verses are concluding notes on Arjuna’s confusion cleared and Sanjaya declaing the greatness of this dialogue.

The translated text is based on The Bhagavad Gita by Swami Chidbhavananda, Sri Ramakrishna Tapovanam, Tirupparaiturai, Tiruchirappalli Dt., 1986.

Some Comments

1. It was not without reason that this text was taken as one of the primary sources of Vedanta and now projected as the sole scripture of Hinduism. 

2.  Obviously the text has made an attempt to synthesize different schools of thought.  It was a necessity as the situation was explosive.

3. The structure of the text is not systematic as one would have it today. Often there have been sudden shift from one topic to another.   However there are in few places  some topics are dealt with in a coherent manner. E,g. the invulnerable nature of soul and relating the triguṇa category to different dispositions   and characters of life and work.

4. While new types of sacrifice such as karma yajña, jñāna yajña and bhakti yajña have been described there is a categorical assertion of the Vedic ritual yajña at all times and all stages in life. But it cannot be connected with other yajñas without tension, even contradiction.

5. Sāṁkhya-Yoga system of thought is described in a rudimentary manner. This will become clear when compared to the well-developed system. Two types of Purusha (higher and lower) and two types of Prtakriti are interesting, so also Krishna’s identification with the higher!

6. The idea of Brahman requires separate study. The term is used as a mental  and emotional state of steady mindedness, unperturbed by opposites.  It is the Imperishable, the final goal, but without any explanation of personal and/or impersonal nature of Brahman and without any reference to the relevant texts of the Upaniṣads. Then there is indication  of Brahman as a deity with his devotees. Further, Kṛṣṇa claims that those who go to Brahman in fact goes to Him. In one or two places He identifies himself with Brahman. This was one of the most debated ideas by the Vedantins.

7. The four castes are mentioned without any elaboration. Relating them to the guṇas may not be acceptable by those castes concerned. Sūdras are assigned service. But there is no mention of the panjamas (dalits) and no hard rules as evident in some of the Dharma Sūtra-Śāstras. Kṛṣṇa accepting the offering made in devotion of the ‘low born’ (Vaiśyas, Sūdras and women) has provided a paradigm shift in the social thought of the Hindu religious traditions.

8. Doing one’s own cast duty imperfectly is better that doing other’s duty perfectly. The same idea occurs in the Manudharma Śāstra.

9. While every duty brings its fruits or consequences, acting without attaching to the fruits has been debated by scholars. Seen from the perspective of the context, it means, kill without worrying about the consequences. In this connection some scholars argue that the Gītā advocates murder with impunity. But at the same it is fair to state that a warrior cannot raise ethical questions on killing while in action in the battle field. Also, doing one’s duty for duty’s sake without bothering about the consequences/rewards/fruits goes close to the teachings of many figures including Confucius and Jesus. Moreover, Gītā’s catalogues of moral qualities such us ahimsa, self-control, forbearance, fearlessness, purity of heart, steadfastness, charity, austerity and straightforwardness, are considered as applicable to all people.

10. On the whole the following message is most profound in the Gītā: ‘Having firmly fixed your mind on God, do your duty as an offering without attaching yourself to the fruits.’  Here only one can see a successful synthesis of karma-jnana-bhakti yogas all it is not free from certain ambiguities when explained. One striking point is about the continued practice of performing sacrifice (yajna) for sustaining the universe and the gods; while some other texts advocate giving it up at the stage of sannyasa, this text says ‘no’.