Commentary on the Srimad Bhagavad Gita- Discourse 7.4. - Swami Krishnananda.

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Friday,March  19, 2021. 11:01. AM.
Chapter-7. The Third Chapter Concludes: The Knower of Reality.-4.
Post-15.
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Srimad Bhagavad-Gita :
Chapter-3. ( Karma-yogam )
Slokam-36&37.
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Gita- ch-3, slokam-36.

Arjuna puts a question. 

Arjuna uvācha,

"Atha kena prayukto ’yaṁ pāpaṁ charati pūruṣhaḥ

anichchhann api vārṣhṇeya balād iva niyojitaḥ." 

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Translation :

arjunaḥ uvācha—Arjun said; 

atha—then; 

kena—by what; 

prayuktaḥ—impelled; 

ayam—one; 

pāpam—sins; 

charati—commit; 

pūruṣhaḥ—a person; 

anichchhan—unwillingly; 

api—even; 

vārṣhṇeya—he who belongs to the Vrishni clan, Shree Krishna; 

balāt—by force; 

iva—as if; 

niyojitaḥ—engaged

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Tatvam(Essence) :

BG 3.36 : Arjun asked: Why is a person impelled to commit sinful acts, even unwillingly, as if by force, O descendent of Vrishni (Krishna)?

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Commentary :

Shree Krishna stated in the previous verse that one should not come under the influence of attraction and aversion. Arjun wishes to lead such a divine life, but finds the advice difficult to implement. So he asks Shree Krishna a question that is very realistic and representative of the human struggle. He says, “What force prevents us from reaching this high ideal? What makes one succumb to attachment and aversion?”

We all have a conscience that makes us feel remorseful while committing a sin. The conscience is grounded in the fact that God is the abode of virtue, and as his fragments, we all have an innate attraction for virtue and goodness. The goodness that is the nature of the soul gives rise to the voice of conscience. Thus, we cannot make the excuse that we did not know stealing, swindling, libel, extortion, murder, oppression, and corruption are sinful activities. We intuitively know these deeds to be sinful, and yet we commit such acts, as if some strong force impels to do them. Arjun wishes to know what that strong force is.

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“This is an interesting teaching, and very enlightening indeed, but people find it very difficult to practise. People commit errors, blunders and sins, even if this teaching is poured on their heads. Knowingly, as it were, people commit mistakes. Though they are learned and have an insight into the knowledge of the scriptures, they are likely to take the erroneous path. What is the reason behind this mistake that human beings are subjected to?”
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Gita- ch-3, slokam-37.

śhrī bhagavān uvācha

"Kāma eṣha krodha eṣha rajo-guṇa-samudbhavaḥ

mahāśhano mahā-pāpmā viddhyenam iha vairiṇam"

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Translation :

śhri-bhagavān uvācha—the Supreme Lord said; 

kāmaḥ—desire; 

eṣhaḥ—this; 

krodhaḥ—wrath; 

eṣhaḥ—this; 

rajaḥ-guṇa—the mode of passion; 

samudbhavaḥ—born of; 

mahā-aśhanaḥ—all-devouring; 

mahā-pāpmā—greatly sinful; 

viddhi—know; 

enam—this; 

iha—in the material world; 

vairiṇam—the enemy.

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Tatvam (Essence) :

BG 3.37: The Supreme Lord said: It is lust alone, which is born of contact with the mode of passion, and later transformed into anger. Know this as the sinful, all-devouring enemy in the world.

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Commentary :

The Vedas use the word kām, or lust, not only for sexual desires but also to include all desires for material enjoyment based on the bodily concept of the self. Thus, lust shows itself in many ways—the urge for money, physical cravings, craving for prestige, the drive for power, etc. This lust is only a perverted reflection of love for God, which is the inherent nature of every living being. When the soul associates with the material energy in the form of the body, its divine love for God is transformed into lust, in association with the mode of passion. Since divine love is the highest power of God, its perversion in the material realm, which is lust, is also the most powerful force in worldly activities.

Shree Krishna identifies this “lust” for worldly enjoyment as the cause of sin, as the malignant allure sitting within us. The mode of passion deludes the soul into believing that worldly objects will give satisfaction, and so one creates desires for acquiring them. When desire is satisfied, it gives birth to greed; when it is not satisfied, it gives rise to anger. One commits sins under the influence of all three—lust, greed, and anger. Greed is nothing but intensified desire, while anger is frustrated desire. Hence, Shree Krishna labels lust, or desire, as the root of all evil.

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"Our enemy is our own self, the lower self, to which I made reference yesterday, which is conditioned entirely with the sentiments of love and hatred. In the verses of the Second Chapter, which we have already studied, it is mentioned how desire arises in terms of objects, and when a desire arises in terms of objects there is simultaneous anger in regard to that which is likely to be a hindrance in the fulfilment of the desire. Therefore, when there is a desire, there is anger, either potential or manifest. Even if it is not manifest, there is a susceptibility to anger in regard to a possible hindrance that may arise in the fulfilment of a desire. Hence, love and hatred go together. Kama and krodha go together."
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"Kāma eṣha krodha eṣha rajo-guṇa-samudbhavaḥ ?

Born of the intense agitation of prakriti’s nature, due to the agitation of the rajasic quality of the mind and the intense disturbance on the surface of the psyche, there is the impetuous activity of the sense organs in the direction of other people and other things in the world, with whom we deal in a manner which is always partial and never wholesome. It is always partial because of the fact that we can never have a judicious understanding of the total structure of anything in this world. Our knowledge is fractional. We are not tattvavit; we do not know the relation between the gunas of prakriti and action. So we are pulled in the direction of self-destruction. As a moth flies into the blazing flame under the impression that it is beautiful, and is reduced to ashes, the flames of desire which burn through the sense organs compel the individual soul to fly to the objects of sense, thereby losing its understanding and, sometimes, its very existence itself.

This impulse has to be restrained. We should not get angry. Actually, anger is a sign of absence of even culture, let alone spiritual insight. An uncultured person gets agitated over silly things. His eyes become red, his lips start throbbing, and he starts showing his fist. This is not only a sign of a lack of education and culture, it is a brute’s nature. Anger is the worst of enemies. Let it not take possession of you.

To be continued .....

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