Srimad Bhagavad - Gita

Srimad Bhagavad-Gita : Chapter-3. ( Karma-yogam ) Slokam-6. ( One who restrains the senses and organs of action, but whose mind dwells on sense objects, certainly deludes himself and is called a pretender.) karmendriyani  samyamya  ya  aste  manasa  smaran, indriyarthan  vimudhatma  mithyacarah  sa  ucyate. karmendriyanni   samyamya  =  controlling all  karmendriya-s; yah  manasa   =  anyone who by mind; indriyarthan  =  about the vishayas of indriya-s (sense-objects ), smaran  aste  =  remains  thinking; vimudhatma  sah  =   foolish  person, he; mithyacarah  ucyate =  (is)  called  as  Mithyacaran  ( pretender). The unqualified renunciate who in ignorance attempts to perform jnana yoga the cultivation of spiritual knowledge is being censored now. In a strong sense Lord Krishna states: that fool who by forcefully restraining the senses under the pretext of meditation but is inwardly reflecting on the objects of the senses is a cheat and a charl

Srimad Bhagavad-Gitta : Chapter-3. ( Karma-yogam ) Slokam-5. [ Lord's reply  ( continues from slokam-3. ) : All men are forced to do karma  helplessly according to the impulses born of the   modes of material nature   ( guna-s  of  prakrti  ) ; therefore no one can refrain from doing something, not even for a moment. ] Na   hi   kascit    kshanamapi   jatu    tishthatyakarmakrt, Karyate   hyavasah    karma    sarvah    prakrtijairgunaih. kascit  jatu  = anyone  no   even  once; kshanam  api =  even a moment also; akarmakrt = without  doing  anything; na  tishthaty  hi = certainly   not   remains  idle; hi =  why  because; prakrtijaih gunaih = in the guna-s, which  formed  ou of Prakrti  ( Nature); sarvah avasah =  everyone  helplessly (without  freedom); karma  karyate = compelled  to do ( forced to do) karma. Actions are spoken of as two-fold in the Paingi scripture. Actions that are dependent upon a cause and and actions which

Srimad Bhagavad-Gita : Chapter-3. ( Karma-yogam ) Slokam-4. ( Not by merely abstaining from work can one achieve freedom from reaction, nor by renunciation alone can one attain perfection.  ) Na    karmanamanarambhat     naishkarmyam     purushosnute, Na    ca    sannyasanadeva    siddhim    samadhigacchati. karmanam  anarambhat  =  because  of  not  started   doing   karmam ( non-performance  of the prescribed duties); purushah =  man  ( humanbeings ); naishkarmyam  na  asnute  =  never  achieve  freedom   from  reaction; sannyasanat  eva  =  by  simple  renunciation  Karma-s  ( because of   this ); na  samadhigacchati  ca  =   will  not  attain; siddhim  =  success. The actions Lord Krishna is referring to in this verse are the ordained actions prescribed in the Vedic scriptures. By the abstention of ordained actions or by the renunciation of ordained actions one will not ever be able to achieve moksa or liberation. By the cultivation of sp

Srimad Bhagavad-Gita : Chapter-3. ( Karma-yogam ) Slokam-3. ( The  Lord said: O sinless Arjuna, I have already explained that there are two classes of men who realize the Self. Some are inclined to understand Him by empirical, philosophical speculation, and others are inclined to know Him by devotional work. ) Sri-Bhagavan uvaca Lokesmin    dvividha    nishtha    pura    prokta     mayanagha, Jnanayogena     sankhyanam     karmayogena     yoginam. Lord   Krishna    said  ( replied ) anagha  =  O sinless  one; asmin loke  =  in  this  world; sankhyanam  jnanayogena  =  ( firstly )  of  the  empiric  philosophers  by the  linking  process of  knowledge; yoginam  karma-yogena  =  ( secondly ) of  the  devotees  by  the  linking  process  of  devotion; dvividha  nishtha  =  two   kinds   of    faiths; maya  pura  prokta  =  was  said  by  Me  very  long  ago. Lord Krishna's reply begins with O sinless one infering that Arjuna is fit to b

Srimad Bhagavad-Gita : Chapter-3. ( Karma-yogam) Slokam-2.  (  My intelligence is highly stimulated by Your equivocal instructions. Therefore, please tell me decisively what is most beneficial for me. ) Vyamisrenneva    vakyena     buddhim    mohayasiva     me, Tadekam     vadha    niscitya     yena       sreyohamapnuyam. vyamisrenna   iva   vakyena  =  by  equivocal  words; me  buddhim  =  my  intelligence; mohayasi  iva  =  it  is  like  stimulating  my  interests; aham  yena  =  I by  which; sreyah  apnuyam  =  may  have  uplifted  ( gain  highest  goal ); tat  ekam  =   which  is  that  one; niscitya  vadha  =  ( hence )  please  tell  ( me )  ascertaining. We see Lord Krishna stating in chapter-2, slokam-31 that "There is no greater good fortune for a ksatriya warrior then to engage in a war for righteousness. So the superiority of actions has also being praised by Him. Due to the praising of both jnana yoga and karma yoga in a seeming

Srimad Bhagavad-Gita : Chapter-3. ( Karma-yogam ) Slokam-1. ( Arjuna said:   O Janardana, O Kesava, why do You urge me to engage in this ghastly warfare, if You think that intelligence is better than fruitive work? ) Arjuna   uvaca   : Jyayasi   cet    karmanaste    mata    buddhirjanardana, Tat   kim    karmanni     ghore    mam     niyojayasi     kesava. Arjuna     asked   : janardana  =  O   Krishna; buddhih  =  jnanam  (knowledge ); karmmannah  jyayasi  =  it   is   far   superior   than   karmam; te  mata  cet  =  if  your  opinion  is  such; kesava  =  O  Krihna; tat  ghore  karmanni  =  therefore,  in  ghastly  (  wildly  )  karmam; kim  mam   niyojayasi  =  why  ( you  are )  engaging  me. So in review chapter one introduced the setting in which Arjuna's grief and lamentation arose as an apparent cause for spiritual instructions from the Supreme Lord Krishna. Then in order to remove this grief and lamentation in chapter two

Srimad Bhagavad-Gita : Chapter-3. ( Karma-yogam) Introduction: Part-16. Thus, you can be a very good servant in any walk of life, and there is no such thing as menial labour or better work, a white-collar job. They do not exist. Every work is dignified because of the fact that every work is connected to a spiritual connection of your life with the whole godly arrangement of things. So ‘spirituality’, ‘secularity’ and so on are words that have to be used in the proper sense. There is only one action, all divine in its being; and only one person acts – it is the supreme Purusha and Prakriti. There is one purpose, the unity of existence, the blending of adhyatma, adhibhuta and adhideva in which you are involved. It is all joy. You seem to be in a kingdom of heaven even when you think of all these things. You are not living in hell. You are actually living in the heaven of God even now. The illusion of hell is only a temporary makeshift or a trickery of the mind, a

Srimad Bhagavad-Gita : Chapter-3. ( Karma-yogam) Introduction: Part-15. So with spiritual freedom, moksha, being the ultimate aim of existence, it becomes necessary on your part to be cautious. Yoga is not merely harmony, samattva, and it is not merely expertness in action. It is also caution. Vigilant is the Yogi. Apramattas tada bhavati (Katha 2.3.2), says the Katha Upanishad. Heedfulness is the watchword of the Yoga student. If you are heedless and not able to catch the situation that is presented before you, you become mistaken in your attitude. Caution is the watchword. What is the caution? You must never forget that your particular behaviour and action that you perform is not disconnected from the consciousness of unity of purpose. This is the caution. You have to be vigilant to see that your behaviour and action at any given moment of time is not out of context with the unity of purpose that is to be at the back of it. Otherwise, it will be a drab, desultor

Srimad Bhagavad-Gita : Chapter-3. ( Karma-yogam) Introduction: Part-14. Here is a brief outline of the Karma Yoga principle of the Bhagavadgita. Therefore, Arjuna is asked to take a particular step under the prevailing circumstances, out of which he could not extricate himself. He is bound to do whatever is expected of him. Even if you think you will not do, you will actually be ruminating over that, and your ‘not doing’ is also a kind of action. Do not be attached to doing, and do not be attached to not doing. When you are doing some work, you may feel you are getting attached to it, and so you may desist from action under the impression that you are not going to be attached. But you are going to be attached to the other, negative aspect of it, namely, cessation from action. Your consciousness of action may be attachment, but your consciousness of non-action is also attachment. (Gita 2.47): "Ma  karmaphalaheturbhurma   te   samgostvakarmani"  :

Srimad Bhagavad-Gita : Chapter-3. ( Karma-yogam) Introduction: Part-13. The mind is so tricky that it will not allow you to think like this. The moment this session is over, you will get up with a feeling as if nothing has happened. You have heard nothing. It is all gone, as water poured on a rock. This should not be. It should sink into your feeling. These discourses, this teaching, this academy is not a diversion from your daily duties or routine; it is a transmuting process of your very personality itself. It is intended to make you a new person altogether. When you return from this place, you will not be the same person that you were. You are a super person, a higher person, a slightly transcendent person, you may say. You have enlarged your being itself. Therefore, the Bhagavadgita gospel of duty hinges upon two factors: In the universal setup of things everybody has to participate in some way or the other according to their proclivity, due to the predomina

Srimad Bhagavad-Gita : Chapter-3. ( Karma-yogam) Introduction: Part-12. The philosophy of the Bhagavadgita is not merely work, but participation in the production of a value that is transcendent to the action itself. When a large machine is working, every little part works and contributes to the machine’s output, the output being transcendent to the machine itself. The machine is an instrument, and the parts are also participants. Something is automatically produced as a transcendent result by the participation of the parts in the work of this large machinery of the world. What follows from all this? You cannot sit quiet, nor can you motivate action by your own self independently. You are wound up inextricably, warp and woof, as in the fabric of a cloth, in the arrangement of things in this universe. Again to repeat, every individual is a cosmic representation, a little avatara, an incarnation, as it were, of God Almighty Himself. Remember the cosmic scheme which

Srimad Bhagavad-Gita : Chapter-3. ( Karma-yogam) Introduction: Part-11. For instance, even an ordinary fitter in a factory may not be divested of the consciousness of his organic relation with the whole setup. He is not merely doing something independently, unconscious of why he is doing it. A consciousness of unity of purpose is there even in an organisation such as a factory, a government, etc. If that consciousness of unity of purpose is not there, it is a mechanical action that is being done, and he will be suffering, crying and cursing everybody, “How long will I work?” But if he knows the output will sustain him also, he will joyously work in a family, in an organisation. In this great world of duty, no one is exempt from action. Na  hi  kascit  kshanamapi   jatu   tishtatyakarmakrt  (Gita 3.5); karmanyevadhikaraste   ma   phaleshu   kadacana  (Gita 2.47). Your duty is to act, and not to expect the fruit of an action. Here is the essence of the wh

Srimad Bhagavad-Gita : Chapter-3. ( Karma-yogam) Introduction: Part-10. Thus, the Bhagavadgita doctrine of duty, giving, participation, is minus expectation of a recompense that will follow. You may be very worried as to what kind of work you are being asked to do, and do not want to simply drudge for no purpose. I have already given you the knowledge of the organism of the body. The participation of the limbs of the body to the body’s requirement also provides their own necessity, as the body sustains the legs, the eyes, the hands, and the nose, etc. If the stomach eats food, the legs and fingers also get strength, the eyes will shine, and the cheeks will bloom. Why should the cheeks say they have no connection with your eating? If this universal principle is maintained behind your every act, the Universal Being will protect you. How it will protect you will come in the later chapters of the Gita. The introduction is laid here, in the Second Chapter. Your duty is t

Srimad Bhagavad-Gita : Chapter-3. ( Karma-yogam) Introduction: Part-9. Joy is shared in giving. Inasmuch as your joys are egoistic in nature, body-conditioned and not actually universally placed, it is good that you share your joy with other people. In sharing the joy, you are also sharing a little part of your ego, because joy and ego go together. The ego it is that is happy, for whatever reason. Let its happiness go a little bit. It pinches. Nobody likes to give anything. You feel sorry that something is going. The ego feels that at bit of it is also going, and feels great grief. Let it feel the grief so that the more you give as a sharing of your own joy, the more also is the ego part that goes with it. The less is the ego, the more is the universal aspect that will enter into you, the more spiritual you become, the more godly you become, and the less human, finite and drab your existence becomes. So here is a point in the expectation of no result. When you gi

Srimad Bhagavad-Gita : Chapter-3. ( Karma-yogam) Introduction: Part-8. In this call of duty, which is your participation, you should not connect your performance with any fruit or result that may follow from it. Here is a difficulty in understanding the gospel of the Bhagavadgita. We are always prone to think that everything we do should yield some result: “What shall I get if I do this?” The Bhagavadgita will not permit you to raise such a question. Can the legs ask what they will get by walking? If the hands raise a morsel of food and put it in the mouth, do they ask what they get by doing that? “Somebody is eating, and I lift the food.” Would you like to carry somebody’s luggage for nothing? And why should the hand lift the food for somebody else’s satisfaction? But does the hand put such a question? The spectacles are for the eyes, but the nose bears the burden. Why does the nose bear somebody’s luggage? Does the nose refuse? Why does each limb not demand satis

Srimad Bhagavad-Gita : Chapter-3. ( Karma-yogam) Introduction: Part-7. These three properties of Prakriti’s gunas, which are distributed disproportionately in everyone and are never in equilibrium, decide the difference in one’s call of duty. If you are predominantly sattvic in nature, you will be fitted for one kind of work in this world; one type of participation will be expected from you in the scheme of things. If you are predominantly rajasic for some reason or the other, then you will be assigned some job, some work, some duty according to your particular temperament. But suppose you are basically unfit for other physical reasons, such as the preponderance of tamas, etc.; then, you will have to be taken care of in a different way altogether. Everybody in this world has a duty to perform. You can ask me what this duty is, and why you should do anything. You should not put such questions such as why should you do and why should you not do. Your duty depends up

Srimad Bhagavad-Gita : Chapter-3. ( Karma-yogam) Introduction: Part-6. So your duty in this world is not actually doing something, but participation in the cosmic scheme of things. Your duty is to participate in the requirement of the whole cosmic setup, and not to independently do whatever you like from the point of view of your own egoistic personality. Svadharma is one’s own duty; svabhava is one’s own character or constitution. Your duty in this world is dependent on what kind of person you are, and how you are fitted to your own self as well as to society outside. Therefore, the duties that are required on the part of any individual cannot be uniform. It is not that everybody should be a businessman, everybody a driver, everybody a professor, everybody a yogi – nothing of the kind. That is not possible because whatever you are expected to be in this world and in what manner you are expected to participate in the scheme of things will depend upon your constit

Srimad Bhagavad-Gita : Chapter-3. ( Karma-yogam) Introduction: Part-5. So, in a way, the relativity of the rise of a particular wave in the ocean – relativity in the sense that it is of a particular character, particular shape, particular size, particular direction, and so on – is due to the particularity of other waves that are equally responsible for this characterisation of a single wave and, vice versa, this particular wave also determines the movement of other waves. If the hand moves, the eyes move or the tongue speaks, they are all so-called differentiated movements, but really they are not differentiated because of the fact that all these actions of the different limbs taking place simultaneously, as it were, are one act of the will of the person. It should be done like that, and it is done in various ways through the different means of the body. So our duty in this world is like the characterisation of a particular wave in the vast sea, not independe

Srimad Bhagavad-Gita : Chapter-3. ( Karma-yogam) Introduction: Part-4. As I mentioned by way of an analogy, every part of the body is correlated to other parts of the body, every action of every limb is the action of every other limb, everyone’s action is also everyone else’s action, and whatever anybody does is also something everybody else does. No independent, individual action is permissible, as is the case with the physical organism. Nobody does anything in this world, even as no limb in the body acts independently. The whole organism acts, and you feel as if some particular limb is working. When I speak, it looks as if the tongue is speaking, but it is not so. My entire setup in all the five koshas is working even when I speak, even when I see. So what is the role that one plays in this world of such a location and such an involvement in the cosmological scheme? Knowing that at least, you should not desist from doing, and do not be a coward, do not