Bhagwad Gita - Post 49

Chapter 4 continued...

Verse 12

Kaangkshantah karmanaam

Siddhim yajanta iha devataah;

Kshipram hi maanushe loke

Siddhir bhavati karmajaa.

Those who long for success in action in this world sacrifice to the gods, because success is quickly attained by men through action.

Verse 13

Chaaturvarnyam mayaa srishtam

Gunakarma vibhaagashah;

Tasya kartaaram api maam

Viddhyakartaaram avyayam.

The fourfold caste has been created by Me according to the differentiation of Guna and Karma; though I am the author thereof, know Me as the non-doer and immutable.

Verse 14

Na maam karmaani limpanti

Na me karmaphale sprihaa;

Iti maam yo’bhijaanaati

Karmabhir na sa badhyate.

Actions do not taint Me, nor have I a desire for the fruits of actions. He who knows Me thus is not bound by actions.

Verse 15

Evam jnaatwaa kritam karma

Poorvair api mumukshubhih;

Kuru karmaiva tasmaat twam

Poorvaih poorvataram kritam.

Having known this, the ancient seekers after freedom also performed actions; therefore, do thou perform actions as did the ancients in days of yore.

Verse 16

Kim karma kim akarmeti

Kavayo’pyatra mohitaah;

Tat te karma pravakshyaami

Yajjnaatwaa mokshyase’shubhaat.

What is action? What is inaction? As to this even the wise are confused. Therefore, I shall teach thee such action (the nature of action and inaction), by knowing which thou shalt be liberated from the evil (of Samsara, the world of birth and death).

Verse 17

Karmano hyapi boddhavyam

Boddhavyam cha vikarmanah;

Akarmanashcha boddhavyam

Gahanaa karmano gatih.

For, verily the true nature of action (enjoined by the scriptures) should be known, also (that) of forbidden (or unlawful) action, and of inaction; hard to understand is the nature (path) of action.

Verse 18

Karmanyakarma yah pashyed

Akarmani cha karma yah;

Sa buddhimaan manushyeshu

Sa yuktah kritsnakarmakrit.

He who seeth inaction in action and action in inaction, he is wise among men; he is a Yogi and performer of all actions.

Verse 19

Yasya sarve samaarambhaah

Kaamasankalpa varjitaah;

Jnaanaagni dagdhakarmaanam

Tam aahuh panditam budhaah.

He whose undertakings are all devoid of desires and (selfish) purposes, and whose actions have been burnt by the fire of knowledge — him the wise call a sage.

Verse 20

Tyaktwaa karmaphalaasangam

Nityatripto niraashrayah;

Karmanyabhipravritto’pi naiva

Kinchit karoti sah.

Having abandoned attachment to the fruit of the action, ever content, depending on nothing, he does not do anything though engaged in activity.

Verse 21

Niraasheer yatachittaatmaa 

Tyaktasarvaparigrahah;

Shaareeram kevalam karma

Kurvannaapnoti kilbisham.

Without hope and with the mind and the self-controlled, having abandoned all greed, doing mere bodily action, he incurs no sin.

Continued...

Love.

Sri Sathya Sai Baba

For the protection of the virtuous, for the destruction of evildoers and for establishing righteousness on a firm footing, I incarnate from age to age. Whenever disharmony (asanthi) overwhelms the world, the Lord will incarnate in human form to establish the modes of earning peace (prasanthi) and to re-educate the human community in the paths of peace. At the present time, strife and discord have robbed peace and unity from the family, the school, the society, the religions, the cities, and the state.

- Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Bhagwad Gita - Post 48

Chapter 4

Verse 1

Sri Bhagavaan Uvaacha:

Imam vivaswate yogam

Proktavaan aham avyayam;

Vivaswaan manave praaha manur Ikshwaakave’braveet.

The Blessed Lord said:

I taught this imperishable Yoga to Vivasvan; he told it to Manu; Manu proclaimed it to Ikshvaku.

Verse 2

Evam paramparaa praaptam

Imam raajarshayo viduh;

Sa kaaleneha mahataa

Yogo nashtah parantapa.

This handed down thus in regular succession, the royal sages knew. This Yoga, by a long lapse of time, has been lost here, O Parantapa (burner of foes)!

Verse 3

Sa evaayam mayaa te’dya

Yogah proktah puraatanah;

Bhakto’si me sakhaa cheti

Rahasyam hyetad uttamam.

That same ancient Yoga has been today taught to thee by Me, for, thou art My devotee and friend; it is the supreme secret.

Verse 4

Arjuna Uvaacha:

Aparam bhavato janma

Param janma vivaswatah;

Katham etadvijaaneeyaam

Twam aadau proktavaan iti.

Arjuna said:

Later on, was Thy birth, and prior to it was the birth of Vivasvan (the Sun); how am I to understand that Thou didst teach this Yoga in the beginning?

Verse 5

Sri Bhagavaan Uvaacha:

Bahooni me vyateetaani

Janmaani tava chaarjuna;

Taanyaham veda sarvaani

Na twam vettha parantapa.

The Blessed Lord said:

Many births of Mine have passed, as well as of thine, O Arjuna! I know them all but thou knowest not, O Parantapa!

Verse 6

Ajo’pi sannavyayaatmaa

Bhootaanaam eeshwaro’pi san;

Prakritim swaam adhishthaaya Sambhavaamyaatmamaayayaa.

Though I am unborn and of imperishable nature, and though I am the Lord of all beings, yet, ruling over My own Nature, I am born by My own Maya.

Verse 7

Yadaa yadaa hi dharmasya

Glaanir bhavati bhaarata;

Abhyutthaanam adharmasya

Tadaatmaanam srijaamyaham.

Whenever there is a decline of righteousness, O Arjuna, and rise of unrighteousness, then I manifest Myself!

Verse 8

Paritraanaaya saadhoonaam

Vinaashaaya cha dushkritaam;

Dharma samsthaapanaarthaaya

Sambhavaami yuge yuge.

For the protection of the good, for the destruction of the wicked, and for the establishment of righteousness, I am born in every age.

Verse 9

Janma karma cha me

Divyam evam yo vetti tattwatah;

Tyaktwa deham punarjanma

Naiti maameti so’rjuna.

He who thus knows in true light My divine birth and action, after having abandoned the body is not born again; he comes to Me, O Arjuna!

Verse 10

Veetaraagabhayakrodhaa manmayaa

Maam upaashritaah;

Bahavo jnaana tapasaa

Pootaa madbhaavam aagataah.

Freed from attachment, fear and anger, absorbed in Me, taking refuge in Me, purified by the fire of knowledge, many have attained to My Being.

Verse 11

Ye yathaa maam prapadyante

Taamstathaiva bhajaamyaham;

Mama vartmaanuvartante

Manushyaah paartha sarvashah.

In whatever way men approach Me, even so do I reward them;My path do men tread in all ways, O Arjuna!

Continued...

Love.

Sri Yukteswar Giri

“The undeveloped man must undergo countless earthly and astral and causal incarnations in order to emerge from his three bodies. A master who achieves this final freedom may elect to return to earth as a prophet to bring other human beings back to God, or like myself he may choose to reside in the astral cosmos. There a savior assumes some of the burden of the inhabitants’ karma and thus helps them to terminate their cycle of reincarnation in the astral cosmos and go on permanently to the causal spheres. Or a freed soul may enter the causal world to aid its beings to shorten their span in the causal body and thus attain the Absolute Freedom.”

- Sri Yukteswar Giri

Bhagwad Gita - Post 47

CHAPTER 4

THE YOGA OF WISDOM

Lord Krishna declares that He is born from age to age, in order to raise man and take him to the Supreme. Whenever there is a prevalence of unrighteousness and the world is ruled by the forces of darkness, the Lord manifests Himself to destroy these adverse forces and to establish peace, order and harmony. Hence, we see the appearance of the great saviors of the world. 

What is the secret of Yogic action? This the Lord proceeds to explain to Arjuna. 

Even though one is not engaged in action, but if the mind is active with the idea of doer-ship and egoism, then it is action in inaction. 

On the other hand, though engaged physically in intense action, if the idea of agency is absent, if one feels that Prakriti does everything, it is inaction in action. 

The liberated man is free from attachment and is always calm and serene though engaged in ceaseless action. He is unaffected by the pairs of opposites like joy and grief, success and failure. 

One who has true union with the Lord is not subject to rebirth. He attains immortality. Such a union can only be achieved when one is free from attachment, fear and anger, being thoroughly purified by right knowledge. 

The Lord accepts the devotion of all, whatever path they may use to approach Him. Various kinds of sacrifices are performed by those engaged in the path to God. Through the practice of these sacrifices the mind is purified and led Godward. 

Here also there must be the spirit of non-attachment to the fruits of actions. Divine wisdom, according to Sri Krishna, should be sought at the feet of a liberated Guru, one who has realized the Truth. The aspirant should approach such a sage in a spirit of humility and devotion. 

God Himself manifests in the heart of the Guru and instructs the disciple. Having understood the Truth from the Guru by direct intuitive experience the aspirant is no longer deluded by ignorance. 

The liberated aspirant directly beholds the Self in all beings and all beings in the Self. He cognizes through internal experience or intuition that all beings, from the Creator down to a blade of grass, exist in his own Self and also in God.

Arjuna is given the most heartening assurance that divine wisdom liberates even the most sinful. When knowledge of the Self dawns, all actions with their results are burnt by the fire of that knowledge, just as fuel is burnt by fire. When there is no idea of egoism, when there is no desire for the fruits of one’s actions, actions are no actions. They lose their potency.

In order to attain divine wisdom, one must have supreme faith and devotion. Faith is therefore the most important qualification for a spiritual aspirant. The doubting mind is always led astray from the right path. Faith ultimately confers divine knowledge, which removes ignorance once and for all. 

Mere intellectual knowledge does not lead to liberation. It cannot grant one supreme peace and freedom. When one has achieved complete self-mastery and self-control, when one has intense faith and devotion, then true knowledge dawns within and one attains liberation and freedom from all weaknesses and sins.

The Lord concludes by emphasizing that the soul that doubts goes to destruction. Without faith in oneself, in the scriptures and in the words of the preceptor, one cannot make any headway on the spiritual path. It is doubt that prevents one from engaging in spiritual Sadhana and realizing the highest knowledge and bliss. By following the instructions of the Guru and through sincere service, one’s doubts are rent asunder

Love.

Bhagwad Gita - Post 46

Verse 30

Mayi sarvaani karmaani

Sannyasyaadhyaatma chetasaa;

Niraasheer nirmamo bhootwaa

Yudhyaswa vigatajwarah.

Renouncing all actions in Me, with the mind centered on the Self, free from hope and egoism (ownership), free from (mental) fever, (you) do fight!

After many verses, the commentary for this verse is taken largely from Chinmaya’s commentary, as it is unique.

RENOUNCE ALL ACTIONS IN ME --- We have already noticed that by the first-person pronoun, Lord Krishna means the Supreme Self, the Divine, the Eternal. 

Renouncing all activities unto Him, with a mind soaked with devoted remembrances of the Self, the Lord advises Arjuna to act on. 

Renunciation of action does not mean an insipid life of inactivity. Actions performed through attachment and desires are renounced the moment we take away from action the ego-centric and the selfish stink.

A serpent is dangerous only as long as its fangs are not removed. The moment these are taken out, even the most poisonous reptile becomes a tame creature incapable of harming anyone. 

Similarly, action gives rise to bondage only when it is performed with a heart laden with selfish desires. Actions performed without desires are not actions at all, in as much as they are incapable of producing any painful reactions. Here, the renunciation of action only means the giving up of the wrong motives behind the actions.

Not only is it sufficient that we renounce thus all wrong actions, but we have also to make a few adjustments in our inner instruments in order to bring out an unobstructed flow of the Creator's Will through us. These are indicated here by the two terms "without hope" and "without ego."

WITHOUT HOPE --- Hope is "the expectation of a happening that is yet to manifest and mature in a FUTURE PERIOD OF TIME." Whatever be the hope, it belongs not to the present; it refers to a period of time not yet born.

Hope is an appointment, a desire filled expectation. Only when there is appointment, there can be a possibility of disappointment, when the results for which we hope are not achieved. 

(After the post on Pujari-prasad and subsequent talk on the same shared with few, we should commit to Swami that henceforth, our prayers would be only our expression of Love towards Him and we shall not seek anything in particular in return. No more prayers for fulfillment of any Hopes / any desires / any results, please. He is there to bestow on us whatever we require. We need not push Lord for the same.)

WITHOUT EGO --- Our ego-centric concept of ourselves is nothing but "a bundle of happenings and achievements of ours which took place, or were gained, in the past moments." 

Ego is therefore "the shadow of the past," and it has an existent reality only with reference to THE DEAD MOMENTS OF THE PAST.

CALL TO FIGHT ---- The term "fight" is to be understood here "as our individual fight with circumstances, in the silent battle of life." Thus, the advice is not for Arjuna alone, but to all men who would like to live life fully and intelligently! 

What are the salient aspects of the instruction imparted thus far to Arjuna?

Lord Krishna wants Arjuna to act and sensibly at that, so he, Arjuna, has to be made to appreciate what actions is all about and why it is needed.

That is why after a few cursory remarks on the Atma, Lord Krishna switches to the topic of action (Karma Yoga) and lays it on thick. 

Of course, action cannot be done in a spiritual vacuum and it ultimately has to be linked to Atma, life’s ultimate goal etc. In other words, all actions must be spiritualized. How is this to be done? Krishna gives two guidelines

1)      Do your duty without bothering about the consequences.

2)    Dedicate all actions to me.

When these instructions are followed, all actions automatically become sacrifice or Yagna, in the larger sense!!!

Love.

PS - With this, we come to the end of third chapter. 

Bhagwad Gita - Post 45

Verse 22

Na me Paarthaasti kartavyam

Trishu lokeshu kinchana;

Naanavaaptam avaaptavyam

Varta eva cha karmani.

There is nothing in the three worlds, O Arjuna, that should be done by Me, nor is there anything unattained that should be attained; yet I engage Myself in action!

The reason why we all work is because we need something. We are all tiny parts of God, who is an ocean of bliss, and hence we all seek bliss. 

So, whatever we do is for the sake of attaining bliss. God is Bliss / love Himself. He is perfect and complete in himself and has no need of anything outside of himself. 

If such a personality does work, there can be only one reason for it — it will not be for oneself, rather it is for the welfare of others. 

Thus, Sri Krishna tells Arjuna that although in His divine state as Sri Krishna, he has no duty to perform in the universe, yet he works for the welfare of others. 

How many times Swami repeated these very same words and has also stood as a standing example for this very verse!!

We see Swami often distributing sweets. During His birthday time, there is a chain of cakes offered to Him, He comes, lights the candles and cuts the cake, but has He himself taken those cakes?? 

Swami has built super speciality hospitals, but when it came to taking over the sickness of His devotees, he never approached any doctor from those hospitals for his quick relief. 

He seldom used to sleep but used to keep sleepless vigil over the entire world.  

What more can be said of action filled with sacrifice?? And who undertakes?? The lord Himself. 

Swami says,

“There is no one to Question me if I do not act. There is nothing that I would lose, if I do not engage in any activity. 

Nor do I have a great urge to be active. But yet, you see me active. The reason is I must be doing something all the time, for your sake, as an example, as an inspiration, as a piece of training. 

I am engaged in activity so that you may learn to transmute every minute into a golden chance to enable you to move into Godhood”

So, in the same way Arjuna / all of us should perform prescribed actions for maintaining world order and offering the results of the actions to the Supreme Lord.

Love.

Bhagwad Gita - Post 44

Verse 21

Yadyad aacharati shreshthas

Tattadevetaro janah;

Sa yat pramaanam kurute

Lokas tad anuvartate.

Whatsoever a great man does, that other men also do; whatever he sets up as the standard, that the world follows.

The word Sreshtha means great personality expert in the conclusions of the Vedas. 

Whatever actions such a great person performs others will try to follow. Hence the great personalities should always act in an exemplary manner to set the standard for the world.

In this way they inspire everyone to perform prescribed Vedic actions according to the qualification of one's varna or caste in life and one's asrama or stage in life.

If a great leader of society becomes a karma sanyasi, and renounces work, it sets an errant precedent for others. 

The leader may be at the transcendental platform and therefore eligible to renounce work and engage completely in spirituality. 

However, others in society use their example as an excuse for escapism, to run away from their responsibilities. 

Sage Tulsidas says: “One who renounces worldly duties, without the concurrent internal enlightenment with divine knowledge, treads the quick path to hell.”

How an enlightened yogi teaches on "selfless action" even after he has crossed all definitions / prescriptions / rules regarding action, prescribed in Gita or any other treatise? 

Let us see:

Visitor: Our work-a-day life is not compatible with such efforts [for Self-realization].

Ramana Maharshi: Why do you think that you are active? Take the gross example of your arrival here. You left home in a cart, took train, alighted at the Railway Station here, got into a cart there and found yourself in this Asramam. When asked, you say that you travelled here all the way from your town. 

Is it true? Is it not a fact that you remained as you were and there were movements of conveyances all along the way? Just as those movements are confounded with your own, so also the other activities. They are not your own. They are God’s activities. (Source: The Core Teachings of Ramana Maharshi, Roy Melvyn)

Visitor: So Karma yoga is kartrtva buddhi rahita karma – action without the sense of doership.

Ramana Maharshi: Yes. Quite so.  (Source: Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi, Talk 643)

Question: Without the sense of doer-ship — the sense ‘I am doing’ — work cannot be done.

Ramana Maharshi: It can be done. Work without attachment. Work will go on even better than when you worked with the sense that you were the doer.

Thus, if one fails to do this by neglect or omission one commits sin by omitting to help benefit the welfare of the world by their example and the consequence will be one will fall down from the path they achieved after many lifetimes.

Love.