Showing posts with label Srimad Bhagavad Gita ( Hindu sastra ). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Srimad Bhagavad Gita ( Hindu sastra ). Show all posts
Background of Srimad Bhagavad Gita.......
The date of composition of the text of the Bhagavad Gita is not known with certainty,
but is widely accepted as 5000 years ago: during Mahabharata times.
Showing great compassion for all living entities Shri Krishna’s lila avatar and literary
incarnation Krishna Dvaipayana Vedavyasa composed the authentic historical treatise
known throughout creation as the Mahabharata. The eighteen chapters of the
Bhagavad-Gita are found in the Bhisma-parva, chapters 25 to 42 of the Mahabharata
and they are the exact words that Shri Krishna spoke in Sanskrit on the battlefield of
Kurukshetra , India over five thousand years ago in 3137 B.C. The proof that the
Mahabharata is definitely an authentic historical treatise and not allegorical or
mythological is verified in the Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 1, chapter 4, verse 25 as
follows.
stri-sudra-dvijabandhunam trayi na
sruti-gocara
karma-sreyasi mudhanam sreya
evam bhaved iha
iti bharatan akhyanam krpaya
munina krtam
Out of compassion the great sage Vedavyasa thought it wise that all mankind achieve the ultimate goal of life. Thus he compiled the historical treatise known as the Mahabharata for the women, laborers and friends of the brahmanas.
treta-yugadau ca tato vivasvan manave dadau
manus ca loka-bhrty-artham sutayeksvakave dadau
iksvakuna ca kathito vyapya lokam avasthitah
In the beginning of Treta yuga the supreme science of Bhagavad-Gita was delivered by
the sun-god Vivasvan to Vaivasvata Manu the father of mankind who gave it to his son
King Iksvaku the ruler of the planet Earth.
Lord Krishna Himself also confirms this exact same disciplic succession in the
transferal of the supreme science in the Bhagavad-Gita, chapter 4, verse 1:
sri bhagavan uvaca
iman vivasvate yogam proktavam aham avyayam
vivasvan manave praha manur iksvakave'bravit
The Supreme Lord Krishna said: I instructed this supreme imperishable science unto the
sun-god Vivasvan and he instructed it unto Vaivasvata Manu the father of mankind who
instructed it to his son King Iksvaku, ruler of all the Earth.
King Iksvaku was the sovereign ruler of Earth at the time he received the supreme
science of the Bhagavad-Gita. He was the progenitor of the solar Raghu dynasty in
which the Lord Krishna's avatar as Rama appeared in Ayodhya also in Treta yuga. If we
calculate we know that the present age we are in is Kali yuga in which 5000 years have
transpired. Before this was Dvapara yuga which had 800,000 years and before this was
Treta-yuga which began 1,200,000 before Dvapara-yuga. So from this Vedic information
it can be determined that King Iksvaku received the Bhagavad-Gita in this world at the
very least 2 million years ago.
Going even further, the lifespan of Vaivasvatu Manu who is the current and seventh
Manu in this kalpa is calculated in the Vedic scriptures as being 308,571,428 solar years
of which 120,400,000 have transpired. Since the Bhagavad-Gita was given to the sun-
god Visvasvan before the current Vaisvasvatu Manu was born then it can be understood
that the Bhagavad-Gita was spoken to him at least 120 million 400 thousands years
ago.
Going even more further than this we know that one kalpa is calculated in Vedic
scriptures as being 4 billion 300 million years. There are 14 Manus is this time period of
a kalpa of which our current Vaivasvatu is the seventh Manu. So there were six
previous Manus before him and they also received the supreme eternal science known
as Bhagavad-Gita. So if we multiply 6 times 308,571,428 which is the time of existence
for one Manu we arrive at the time span of 1,851,428,568 solar years and if we add the
120,400,000 years from our current Vaisvasvatu the seventh Manu. It can be determined
the Bhagavad-Gita was also spoken 1 billion, 971 million, 828 thousand 568 years ago.
The supreme science of the Bhagavad-Gita is unable to be understood by unevolved
beings of impure consciousness. This supreme science of the Bhagavad-Gita is
periodically given by the Supreme Lord Krishna or His scriptually revealed incarnations
or by his authorised representatives through the auspices of disciplic succession in
one of the four bonafide sampradayas being the Brahma Vaisnava Sampradaya, the Sri
Vaisnava Sampradaya, the Rudra Vaisnava Sampradaya and the Kumara Vaisnava
Sampradaya. Having manifested at the beginning of each cyclic creation it eternally
manifests again and again with the birth of every Brahma.
but is widely accepted as 5000 years ago: during Mahabharata times.
Showing great compassion for all living entities Shri Krishna’s lila avatar and literary
incarnation Krishna Dvaipayana Vedavyasa composed the authentic historical treatise
known throughout creation as the Mahabharata. The eighteen chapters of the
Bhagavad-Gita are found in the Bhisma-parva, chapters 25 to 42 of the Mahabharata
and they are the exact words that Shri Krishna spoke in Sanskrit on the battlefield of
Kurukshetra , India over five thousand years ago in 3137 B.C. The proof that the
Mahabharata is definitely an authentic historical treatise and not allegorical or
mythological is verified in the Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 1, chapter 4, verse 25 as
follows.
stri-sudra-dvijabandhunam trayi na
sruti-gocara
karma-sreyasi mudhanam sreya
evam bhaved iha
iti bharatan akhyanam krpaya
munina krtam
Out of compassion the great sage Vedavyasa thought it wise that all mankind achieve the ultimate goal of life. Thus he compiled the historical treatise known as the Mahabharata for the women, laborers and friends of the brahmanas.
treta-yugadau ca tato vivasvan manave dadau
manus ca loka-bhrty-artham sutayeksvakave dadau
iksvakuna ca kathito vyapya lokam avasthitah
In the beginning of Treta yuga the supreme science of Bhagavad-Gita was delivered by
the sun-god Vivasvan to Vaivasvata Manu the father of mankind who gave it to his son
King Iksvaku the ruler of the planet Earth.
Lord Krishna Himself also confirms this exact same disciplic succession in the
transferal of the supreme science in the Bhagavad-Gita, chapter 4, verse 1:
sri bhagavan uvaca
iman vivasvate yogam proktavam aham avyayam
vivasvan manave praha manur iksvakave'bravit
The Supreme Lord Krishna said: I instructed this supreme imperishable science unto the
sun-god Vivasvan and he instructed it unto Vaivasvata Manu the father of mankind who
instructed it to his son King Iksvaku, ruler of all the Earth.
King Iksvaku was the sovereign ruler of Earth at the time he received the supreme
science of the Bhagavad-Gita. He was the progenitor of the solar Raghu dynasty in
which the Lord Krishna's avatar as Rama appeared in Ayodhya also in Treta yuga. If we
calculate we know that the present age we are in is Kali yuga in which 5000 years have
transpired. Before this was Dvapara yuga which had 800,000 years and before this was
Treta-yuga which began 1,200,000 before Dvapara-yuga. So from this Vedic information
it can be determined that King Iksvaku received the Bhagavad-Gita in this world at the
very least 2 million years ago.
Going even further, the lifespan of Vaivasvatu Manu who is the current and seventh
Manu in this kalpa is calculated in the Vedic scriptures as being 308,571,428 solar years
of which 120,400,000 have transpired. Since the Bhagavad-Gita was given to the sun-
god Visvasvan before the current Vaisvasvatu Manu was born then it can be understood
that the Bhagavad-Gita was spoken to him at least 120 million 400 thousands years
ago.
Going even more further than this we know that one kalpa is calculated in Vedic
scriptures as being 4 billion 300 million years. There are 14 Manus is this time period of
a kalpa of which our current Vaivasvatu is the seventh Manu. So there were six
previous Manus before him and they also received the supreme eternal science known
as Bhagavad-Gita. So if we multiply 6 times 308,571,428 which is the time of existence
for one Manu we arrive at the time span of 1,851,428,568 solar years and if we add the
120,400,000 years from our current Vaisvasvatu the seventh Manu. It can be determined
the Bhagavad-Gita was also spoken 1 billion, 971 million, 828 thousand 568 years ago.
The supreme science of the Bhagavad-Gita is unable to be understood by unevolved
beings of impure consciousness. This supreme science of the Bhagavad-Gita is
periodically given by the Supreme Lord Krishna or His scriptually revealed incarnations
or by his authorised representatives through the auspices of disciplic succession in
one of the four bonafide sampradayas being the Brahma Vaisnava Sampradaya, the Sri
Vaisnava Sampradaya, the Rudra Vaisnava Sampradaya and the Kumara Vaisnava
Sampradaya. Having manifested at the beginning of each cyclic creation it eternally
manifests again and again with the birth of every Brahma.
About Ishvara matter of the Bhagavad-gita.......
Īśvara :-
The main philosophical subject matter of the Bhagavad-gita is the
explanation of five basic concepts or truths:
*** Ishvara (The Supreme Controller)-
Īśvara , Ishvara or Eashwara (Sanskrit : "the Supreme Ruler; the Personal God") — is
Brahman associated with Maya but has it under His control unlike the jiva who is
Maya's slave. He has a lovely form, auspicious attributes and infinite power to create,
sustain and destroy. He dwells in the heart of every being, controlling it from within. He
responds positively to true devotion and sincere prayer. When God is thought of as the
supreme all-powerful person (rather than as the infinite principle called Brahman), he is
called Īśvara or Bhagavān .
Description :-
Most Hindus, in their daily devotional practices, worship some form of this personal
aspect of God, although they believe in the more abstract concept of Brahman as well.
Depending on which aspect of Īśvara one is talking about, a different name will be used
—and frequently a different image or picture. For instance, when God is spoken of as the
creator, God is called Brahmā. When spoken of as preserver of the world, God is called
Vishnu. When spoken of as destroyer of the world, God is called Shiva.
Many of these individual aspects of God also have other names and images. All the
various deities and images one finds in Hinduism are considered manifestations of the
same God, called Īśvara in the personal aspect and Brahman when referred to as an
abstract concept. In their personal religious practices, Hindus worship primarily one or
another of these deities, known as their "ishta devatā," or chosen ideal. The particular
form of God worshipped as one's chosen ideal is a matter of individual preference.
Although Hindus may worship deities other than their chosen ideal from time to time as
well, depending on the occasion and their personal inclinations, they are not required
to worship—or even know about—every form of God. Hindus generally choose one
concept of God (e.g., Krishna, Rama, Shiva, or Kali) and cultivate devotion to that
chosen form, while at the same time respecting the chosen ideals of other people. devis
The Hindu scriptures speak of many individual deities, called devas. Ishvara is just the
name used to refer to the personal God in general, when no particular deity is being
referred to.
The devas (also called devatās) are an integral part of the colorful Hindu culture. These
various forms of God are depicted in innumerable paintings, statues, murals, and
scriptural stories that can be found in temples, homes, businesses, and other places.
The elephant-headed deva known as Ganesha is worshipped before commencing any
undertaking, as he represents God's aspect as the remover of obstacles.
The most ancient Vedic devas included Indra, Agni , Soma , Varuna , Mitra , Savitri , Rudra,
Prajapati, Vishnu , Aryaman and the Ashvins . Vishnu and Shiva are not regarded as
ordinary devas but as Mahādevas ("Great Gods" ) because of their central positions in
worship and mythology.
Some Hindus consider the various deities not as forms of the one Ishwara, but as
independently existing entities, and may thus be properly considered polytheistic.
The main philosophical subject matter of the Bhagavad-gita is the
explanation of five basic concepts or truths:
*** Ishvara (The Supreme Controller)-
Īśvara , Ishvara or Eashwara (Sanskrit : "the Supreme Ruler; the Personal God") — is
Brahman associated with Maya but has it under His control unlike the jiva who is
Maya's slave. He has a lovely form, auspicious attributes and infinite power to create,
sustain and destroy. He dwells in the heart of every being, controlling it from within. He
responds positively to true devotion and sincere prayer. When God is thought of as the
supreme all-powerful person (rather than as the infinite principle called Brahman), he is
called Īśvara or Bhagavān .
Description :-
Most Hindus, in their daily devotional practices, worship some form of this personal
aspect of God, although they believe in the more abstract concept of Brahman as well.
Depending on which aspect of Īśvara one is talking about, a different name will be used
—and frequently a different image or picture. For instance, when God is spoken of as the
creator, God is called Brahmā. When spoken of as preserver of the world, God is called
Vishnu. When spoken of as destroyer of the world, God is called Shiva.
Many of these individual aspects of God also have other names and images. All the
various deities and images one finds in Hinduism are considered manifestations of the
same God, called Īśvara in the personal aspect and Brahman when referred to as an
abstract concept. In their personal religious practices, Hindus worship primarily one or
another of these deities, known as their "ishta devatā," or chosen ideal. The particular
form of God worshipped as one's chosen ideal is a matter of individual preference.
Although Hindus may worship deities other than their chosen ideal from time to time as
well, depending on the occasion and their personal inclinations, they are not required
to worship—or even know about—every form of God. Hindus generally choose one
concept of God (e.g., Krishna, Rama, Shiva, or Kali) and cultivate devotion to that
chosen form, while at the same time respecting the chosen ideals of other people. devis
The Hindu scriptures speak of many individual deities, called devas. Ishvara is just the
name used to refer to the personal God in general, when no particular deity is being
referred to.
The devas (also called devatās) are an integral part of the colorful Hindu culture. These
various forms of God are depicted in innumerable paintings, statues, murals, and
scriptural stories that can be found in temples, homes, businesses, and other places.
The elephant-headed deva known as Ganesha is worshipped before commencing any
undertaking, as he represents God's aspect as the remover of obstacles.
The most ancient Vedic devas included Indra, Agni , Soma , Varuna , Mitra , Savitri , Rudra,
Prajapati, Vishnu , Aryaman and the Ashvins . Vishnu and Shiva are not regarded as
ordinary devas but as Mahādevas ("Great Gods" ) because of their central positions in
worship and mythology.
Some Hindus consider the various deities not as forms of the one Ishwara, but as
independently existing entities, and may thus be properly considered polytheistic.
JIVA matter of the Bhagavad-gita ....
jiva :-
The main philosophical subject matter of the Bhagavad-gita is the explanation of five basic concepts or truths:
*** Jiva (Living beings/the soul) :-
jiva (Sanskrit: "the embodied atman") Individual Self.
Types of Jivas
There are three categories of jivas:-
1. nitya suri — These are the members of the Divine Ministering Assembly which,
although being jivas, have never been subjected to transmigration. They are the
eternal servants who make up the entourage of the Lord. (eg. Ananta, Garuda,
Vishvaksena and others.)
2. mukta — Those jivas that have finally been liberated from the cycle of reincarnation
after going through a myriad of births and which are now residing in the Supreme
Realm (paramapada) in eternal communion with Sriman Narayana enjoying the
fullness of Grace and the divine bliss.
3. baddha — Those jivas that are temporarily bound by karma which causes them to
transmigrate through different bodies in the various realms of existence of which
there are seven. These realms of existence are called Lokas and for the purpose of
working through their Karma, the jivas incarnate in 6 types of bodies;
a. animal tiryak
b. human manushya
c. gods deva
d. antigods asura
e. hungry ghost preta
f Hell-being naraki
There are six principle negative emotions associated with embodiment. Each one of
these categories of sentient beings is dominated by one of these negative emotions.
Animals are characterised by ignorance (moha), humans are characterised by desire
(kama). The gods are characterised by pride (mada). The antigods are characterised by
jealousy (matsarya), the hungry ghosts are characterised by greed (lobha) and the hell-
beings are characterised by anger or resentment (krodha). Although these are taught to
be actual physical incarnated states we can perceive their existence in the realm of
human psychology.
Although it is popularly believed and taught that after a human birth one can regress
and incarnate in an animal body, this is not necessarily the case. The animals do not
have a moral sense of right and wrong and are governed by their instincts. The spiritual
progress of animals is a passive not an active one and therefore they cannot actively
participate in the achievement of Liberation (Moksha). They simply have a natural
evolution from a lower to a higher life form. Whereas in the human form one has the
ability to think and to undertake the entire responsibility for one’s own spiritual
evolution. Virtuous and pious action (punya) and spiritual study & wisdom (jñanam)
lead to progression and evolution but sinful action (papam) and spiritual ignorance
(ajñanam) lead to rebirth in lower human species, and certainly one can see that there
are certain human beings that are very much on a par with or lower th!an animals in
their condition and behaviour!!
Those baddhas who have begun the journey back to Godhead can further be divided
into another two groups:
Kevalas - or the super jñanis (wise-ones) who are the yogis who pursue the path of
self-realisation/enlightenment alone and seek total isolation of the Self such as the
Jains or the transcending of Self, such as the Theravadan Buddhists; as their ultimate
goal through the practice of meditation.
Mumukshus - those jivas who have taken to the spiritual path and are seeking
communion with the Lord either through Bhakti - devotion or sharanagati - the path of
self surrender.
The main philosophical subject matter of the Bhagavad-gita is the explanation of five basic concepts or truths:
*** Jiva (Living beings/the soul) :-
jiva (Sanskrit: "the embodied atman") Individual Self.
Types of Jivas
There are three categories of jivas:-
1. nitya suri — These are the members of the Divine Ministering Assembly which,
although being jivas, have never been subjected to transmigration. They are the
eternal servants who make up the entourage of the Lord. (eg. Ananta, Garuda,
Vishvaksena and others.)
2. mukta — Those jivas that have finally been liberated from the cycle of reincarnation
after going through a myriad of births and which are now residing in the Supreme
Realm (paramapada) in eternal communion with Sriman Narayana enjoying the
fullness of Grace and the divine bliss.
3. baddha — Those jivas that are temporarily bound by karma which causes them to
transmigrate through different bodies in the various realms of existence of which
there are seven. These realms of existence are called Lokas and for the purpose of
working through their Karma, the jivas incarnate in 6 types of bodies;
a. animal tiryak
b. human manushya
c. gods deva
d. antigods asura
e. hungry ghost preta
f Hell-being naraki
There are six principle negative emotions associated with embodiment. Each one of
these categories of sentient beings is dominated by one of these negative emotions.
Animals are characterised by ignorance (moha), humans are characterised by desire
(kama). The gods are characterised by pride (mada). The antigods are characterised by
jealousy (matsarya), the hungry ghosts are characterised by greed (lobha) and the hell-
beings are characterised by anger or resentment (krodha). Although these are taught to
be actual physical incarnated states we can perceive their existence in the realm of
human psychology.
Although it is popularly believed and taught that after a human birth one can regress
and incarnate in an animal body, this is not necessarily the case. The animals do not
have a moral sense of right and wrong and are governed by their instincts. The spiritual
progress of animals is a passive not an active one and therefore they cannot actively
participate in the achievement of Liberation (Moksha). They simply have a natural
evolution from a lower to a higher life form. Whereas in the human form one has the
ability to think and to undertake the entire responsibility for one’s own spiritual
evolution. Virtuous and pious action (punya) and spiritual study & wisdom (jñanam)
lead to progression and evolution but sinful action (papam) and spiritual ignorance
(ajñanam) lead to rebirth in lower human species, and certainly one can see that there
are certain human beings that are very much on a par with or lower th!an animals in
their condition and behaviour!!
Those baddhas who have begun the journey back to Godhead can further be divided
into another two groups:
Kevalas - or the super jñanis (wise-ones) who are the yogis who pursue the path of
self-realisation/enlightenment alone and seek total isolation of the Self such as the
Jains or the transcending of Self, such as the Theravadan Buddhists; as their ultimate
goal through the practice of meditation.
Mumukshus - those jivas who have taken to the spiritual path and are seeking
communion with the Lord either through Bhakti - devotion or sharanagati - the path of
self surrender.
Prakrti matter of the Bhagavad-gita ......
Prakrti (Matter)***
The main philosophical subject matter of the Bhagavad-gita is the explanation of five basic concepts or truths:
prakṛti or prakriti (Sanskrit : प्रकृ्ति, ";") — material nature. According to the Bhagavad
Gita, the basic nature of intelligence by which the Universe exists and functions. It is
described in Bhagavad Gita as the "primal motive force". It is the essential consituent of
the universe and is at the basis of all the activity of the creation. In sankhya philosophy
prakrti is comprised of eight elements: earth, water, fire, air, space, mind, intellect and
ego. It is characterized by the three gunas : sattva, rajas and tamas . prakṛti is female
while purusa is male.
According to the ancient Vedic science of ayurveda the three gunas — sattva, rajas and
tamas — as the pertain to the human physiology are called doshas : kapha , pitta , vata.
The balance or imbalance of these doshas defines the prakriti or nature of one's body.
prakṛti or prakriti (Sanskrit : प्रकृ्ति, ";") — material nature. According to the Bhagavad
Gita, the basic nature of intelligence by which the Universe exists and functions. It is
described in Bhagavad Gita as the "primal motive force". It is the essential consituent of
the universe and is at the basis of all the activity of the creation. In sankhya philosophy
prakrti is comprised of eight elements: earth, water, fire, air, space, mind, intellect and
ego. It is characterized by the three gunas : sattva, rajas and tamas . prakṛti is female
while purusa is male.
According to the ancient Vedic science of ayurveda the three gunas — sattva, rajas and
tamas — as the pertain to the human physiology are called doshas : kapha , pitta , vata.
The balance or imbalance of these doshas defines the prakriti or nature of one's body.
Karma matter of the Bhagavad-gita......
*** Karma (Action)***
Main philosophical subject matter of the Bhagavad-gita is the explanation of five basic concepts or truths:
karma , kárma or kárman ( Sanskrit : कर्म, "act, action, performance") — is a noun-form
coming from the root kri meaning "to do," "to make." Literally karma means "doing,"
"making," action. Karma is pronounced as " karmuh," the " uh" being subtle. Karma can
best be translated into English by the word consequence. It corresponds to the "action"
or "deed" which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect (i.e., the cycle called
saṃsāra ). It applies to all levels of action, including thought, word, feeling and deed, and
the effects of it.
Karma refers to (1) any act or deed; (2) the principle of cause and effect; (3) a
consequence or karmaphala ("fruit of action") or uttaraphala ("after effect"), which
sooner or later returns upon the doer. What we sow, we shall reap in this or future
lives. Selfish, hateful acts ( papakarma or kukarma ) will bring suffering. Benevolent
actions (punyakarma or sukarma) will bring loving reactions. Karma is a neutral, self-
perpetuating law of the inner cosmos, much as gravity is an impersonal law of the outer
cosmos. In fact, it has been said that gravity is a small, external expression of the
greater law of karma . The impelling, unseen power of one's past actions is called
adrishta .
karma , kárma or kárman ( Sanskrit : कर्म, "act, action, performance") — is a noun-form
coming from the root kri meaning "to do," "to make." Literally karma means "doing,"
"making," action. Karma is pronounced as " karmuh," the " uh" being subtle. Karma can
best be translated into English by the word consequence. It corresponds to the "action"
or "deed" which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect (i.e., the cycle called
saṃsāra ). It applies to all levels of action, including thought, word, feeling and deed, and
the effects of it.
Karma refers to (1) any act or deed; (2) the principle of cause and effect; (3) a
consequence or karmaphala ("fruit of action") or uttaraphala ("after effect"), which
sooner or later returns upon the doer. What we sow, we shall reap in this or future
lives. Selfish, hateful acts ( papakarma or kukarma ) will bring suffering. Benevolent
actions (punyakarma or sukarma) will bring loving reactions. Karma is a neutral, self-
perpetuating law of the inner cosmos, much as gravity is an impersonal law of the outer
cosmos. In fact, it has been said that gravity is a small, external expression of the
greater law of karma . The impelling, unseen power of one's past actions is called
adrishta .
Description of the karma.....
It is karma operating through the law of cause and effect, actionand reaction, that governs all life
and binds the atman (the Self) to the wheel of saṃsāra (birth and death). The process of action and
reaction on all levels — physical, mental and spiritual - is karma. God does not give us karma. We
create our own. Karma is not fate; humans are believed to act with free will, creating their own
destinies. According to the Vedas, if an individual sows goodness, he or she will reap goodness; if one sows evil, he or she will reap evil. Karma refers to the totality of mankind's actions and their
concomitant reactions in current and previous lives, all of which determine the future.
However, many karmas do not have an immediate effect; some accumulate and return
unexpectedly in an individual's later lives. The conquest of karma is believed to lie in
intelligent action and dispassionate reaction.
Unkindness yields spoiled fruits, called papa , and good deeds bring forth sweet fruits,
called punya. As one acts, so does he become: one becomes virtuous by virtuous
action, and evil by evil action.
and binds the atman (the Self) to the wheel of saṃsāra (birth and death). The process of action and
reaction on all levels — physical, mental and spiritual - is karma. God does not give us karma. We
create our own. Karma is not fate; humans are believed to act with free will, creating their own
destinies. According to the Vedas, if an individual sows goodness, he or she will reap goodness; if one sows evil, he or she will reap evil. Karma refers to the totality of mankind's actions and their
concomitant reactions in current and previous lives, all of which determine the future.
However, many karmas do not have an immediate effect; some accumulate and return
unexpectedly in an individual's later lives. The conquest of karma is believed to lie in
intelligent action and dispassionate reaction.
Unkindness yields spoiled fruits, called papa , and good deeds bring forth sweet fruits,
called punya. As one acts, so does he become: one becomes virtuous by virtuous
action, and evil by evil action.
The Law of Karma........
The law of karma governs the universe and all beings within it; it acts impersonally and
binds each atman (inner Self) to the world and in addition to the cycle of
transmigration. The law of karma acts impersonally, yet we may meaningfully interpret
its results as either positive (punya) or negative (papa) — terms describing actions
leading the Self either toward or away from the spiritual goal. Karma is further graded
as: white (shukla), black (krishna), mixed (shukla-krishna) or neither white nor black
(ashukla-akrishna). The latter term describes the karma of the jnani, who, as Rishi
Patanjali says, is established in kaivalya, freedom from prakriti through realization of
the Self. Similarly, one's karma must be in a condition of ashukla-akrishna, quiescent
balance, in order for liberation to be attained. This equivalence of karma is called
karmasamya, and is a factor that brings malaparipaka, or maturity of anava mala. It is
this state of resolution in preparation for samadhi at death that all Hindus seek through
making amends and settling differences.
Karma is one of the important spiritual laws that govern our life experiences through
principle of cause and effect, action and reaction, total cosmic justice and personal
responsibility. Karma is not fate. You have free will. No God or external force is
controlling ones life. It is our own karmic creation. We are bounded by Karma in this
and other lifetimes until we understand the complete consequences of all our actions.
As Athma (Soul), we experience a constant cycle of births and deaths into a series of
bodies until we have learned all the spiritual lessons that the totality of all experiences
have to teach us. Until we have learned, we will find that "resistance" to the rules of
karma is "futile". A person carries with him the dharma and the Karma from one birth to
another.
Like gravity, karma was always there in its fullest potency, even when people did not
comprehend it. The early seers who brought through the Vedas were practitioners,
mystics and divine oracles who put into practice the knowledge of karma. To them,
Karma (from the root kri, "to do") was a power by which they could influence the Gods,
nature, weather, harvests and enemies through right intent and rites righteously
performed. Thus by their actions they could determine their destiny.
Through the ages, other realized souls explained the workings of karma, revealing
details of this cosmic law and, when the tradition of writing came into vogue, recording
it for future generations. In this way they established karma as perhaps the fundamental
principle of Hindu consciousness and culture then and now.
binds each atman (inner Self) to the world and in addition to the cycle of
transmigration. The law of karma acts impersonally, yet we may meaningfully interpret
its results as either positive (punya) or negative (papa) — terms describing actions
leading the Self either toward or away from the spiritual goal. Karma is further graded
as: white (shukla), black (krishna), mixed (shukla-krishna) or neither white nor black
(ashukla-akrishna). The latter term describes the karma of the jnani, who, as Rishi
Patanjali says, is established in kaivalya, freedom from prakriti through realization of
the Self. Similarly, one's karma must be in a condition of ashukla-akrishna, quiescent
balance, in order for liberation to be attained. This equivalence of karma is called
karmasamya, and is a factor that brings malaparipaka, or maturity of anava mala. It is
this state of resolution in preparation for samadhi at death that all Hindus seek through
making amends and settling differences.
Karma is one of the important spiritual laws that govern our life experiences through
principle of cause and effect, action and reaction, total cosmic justice and personal
responsibility. Karma is not fate. You have free will. No God or external force is
controlling ones life. It is our own karmic creation. We are bounded by Karma in this
and other lifetimes until we understand the complete consequences of all our actions.
As Athma (Soul), we experience a constant cycle of births and deaths into a series of
bodies until we have learned all the spiritual lessons that the totality of all experiences
have to teach us. Until we have learned, we will find that "resistance" to the rules of
karma is "futile". A person carries with him the dharma and the Karma from one birth to
another.
Like gravity, karma was always there in its fullest potency, even when people did not
comprehend it. The early seers who brought through the Vedas were practitioners,
mystics and divine oracles who put into practice the knowledge of karma. To them,
Karma (from the root kri, "to do") was a power by which they could influence the Gods,
nature, weather, harvests and enemies through right intent and rites righteously
performed. Thus by their actions they could determine their destiny.
Through the ages, other realized souls explained the workings of karma, revealing
details of this cosmic law and, when the tradition of writing came into vogue, recording
it for future generations. In this way they established karma as perhaps the fundamental
principle of Hindu consciousness and culture then and now.
Illustration on Karma....
One can't use the word "pre-destination" or "fate" to substitute with Karma because
they do not mean the same. Karma is not pre-destination. However, karma is the
underlying principle between Pre-destination and Freewill. The Hindu understanding of
karma includes both pre-destination and free will. To understand the implications of
karma, we have to understand the sublime synthesis of pre-destination and free will.
Both aspects exist simultaneously. To conceive of this apparently inconceivable reality,
we have to consider both sides of the law of karma: the point of view of action, and the
point of view of reaction.
The free will is excersized in Kriyamana karma and Agama karma . In terms of prarabha ,
it’s clear that one has no choice about whether to allow prarabha or not, because the
reaction has started, and it is going to have to work itself out. Yet, we are free to
choose what we’ll receive, but what we receive is determined by our past Karma
(prarabha karma - part of the reaction that is coming from all the accumulated actions
of the past). Thus, as far as experience is concerned, one is given a choice to choose
according to their Karma. The choice always has two paths - to face darkness or to turn
towards light. The decision made now (good or bad) determines the future ones and
that will determine the future choices given.
Karma works to develop our ability to handle free will responsibly. Karma operates
impersonally, giving us the opportunity at every moment to become open to greater
levels of love and compassion. The goal is to give us needed experiences so we evolve
into greater levels of awareness and responsibility. All we do at every moment is our
choice. Once we accept total responsibility for who we are, for what we have done or
will do, and for all our choices, life straightens out.
In a nutshell, Karma (good and evil, or whatever) - are actually by-products of our free
will. As we realize this, we come to the point of the exercise. At that moment of
awareness, at the instant we understand our responsibility for our situation, we can let
go of thousands of years of karma, good and bad. Although the laws of karma set up
and predestine the circumstance we are now in, we have free will to decide how to react
in each situation. But having free will doesn't make us "free" and independent. Free will
means that we can choose how to act under the influence of a specific set of
circumstances, positively or negatively; however, we cannot control the results of our
actions which come upon us according to the law of karma which is constantly
awarding us the results or reactions of our previous actions.
We are not restricted to act in a specific manner. We have free will. But with this free
will comes responsibility, because the way we act determines our reactions. Thus we
are free to choose our future, both individually and collectively. Whatever we do creates
a reaction that we must enjoy or suffer. We are constantly receiving the reactions of our
previous actions created using our free will. We are responsible for our happiness and
distress, and the material nature creates the conditions within which we enjoy or suffer.
The ultimate goal is to give us needed experiences so we evolve into greater levels of
awareness and responsibility.
they do not mean the same. Karma is not pre-destination. However, karma is the
underlying principle between Pre-destination and Freewill. The Hindu understanding of
karma includes both pre-destination and free will. To understand the implications of
karma, we have to understand the sublime synthesis of pre-destination and free will.
Both aspects exist simultaneously. To conceive of this apparently inconceivable reality,
we have to consider both sides of the law of karma: the point of view of action, and the
point of view of reaction.
The free will is excersized in Kriyamana karma and Agama karma . In terms of prarabha ,
it’s clear that one has no choice about whether to allow prarabha or not, because the
reaction has started, and it is going to have to work itself out. Yet, we are free to
choose what we’ll receive, but what we receive is determined by our past Karma
(prarabha karma - part of the reaction that is coming from all the accumulated actions
of the past). Thus, as far as experience is concerned, one is given a choice to choose
according to their Karma. The choice always has two paths - to face darkness or to turn
towards light. The decision made now (good or bad) determines the future ones and
that will determine the future choices given.
Karma works to develop our ability to handle free will responsibly. Karma operates
impersonally, giving us the opportunity at every moment to become open to greater
levels of love and compassion. The goal is to give us needed experiences so we evolve
into greater levels of awareness and responsibility. All we do at every moment is our
choice. Once we accept total responsibility for who we are, for what we have done or
will do, and for all our choices, life straightens out.
In a nutshell, Karma (good and evil, or whatever) - are actually by-products of our free
will. As we realize this, we come to the point of the exercise. At that moment of
awareness, at the instant we understand our responsibility for our situation, we can let
go of thousands of years of karma, good and bad. Although the laws of karma set up
and predestine the circumstance we are now in, we have free will to decide how to react
in each situation. But having free will doesn't make us "free" and independent. Free will
means that we can choose how to act under the influence of a specific set of
circumstances, positively or negatively; however, we cannot control the results of our
actions which come upon us according to the law of karma which is constantly
awarding us the results or reactions of our previous actions.
We are not restricted to act in a specific manner. We have free will. But with this free
will comes responsibility, because the way we act determines our reactions. Thus we
are free to choose our future, both individually and collectively. Whatever we do creates
a reaction that we must enjoy or suffer. We are constantly receiving the reactions of our
previous actions created using our free will. We are responsible for our happiness and
distress, and the material nature creates the conditions within which we enjoy or suffer.
The ultimate goal is to give us needed experiences so we evolve into greater levels of
awareness and responsibility.
Kala matter of the Bhagavad-gita ...
*** Kala (Time)***
Main philosophical subject matter of the Bhagavad-gita is the explanation of five basic concepts or truths:
kâla or kaala ( Sanskrit : "Time"), is the word for Time as the source of all things. The
absolute undivided time or duration, and of manifested or divided time: the former as
causal or noumenal, the latter as effectual or phenomenal, and therefore mayavi
(illusional). kâla is an illusion produced by the succession of our states of
consciousness as we travel through eternal duration, and it does not exist where no
consciousness exists in which the illusion can be produced; but 'lies asleep'.
kâla or kaala ( Sanskrit : "Time"), is the word for Time as the source of all things. The
absolute undivided time or duration, and of manifested or divided time: the former as
causal or noumenal, the latter as effectual or phenomenal, and therefore mayavi
(illusional). kâla is an illusion produced by the succession of our states of
consciousness as we travel through eternal duration, and it does not exist where no
consciousness exists in which the illusion can be produced; but 'lies asleep'.
Atharvan Hymn to Kala (Time)....
Time, the steed, runs with seven reins (rays), thousand-eyed, ageless, rich in seed.
The seers, thinking holy thoughts, mount him; all the worlds are his wheels.
With seven wheels does this Time ride, seven naves has he, immortality is his axle.
He carries hither all these beings. Time, the first god, now hastens onward.
He surely did bring hither all the beings; he surely did encompass all the worlds.
Being their father, he became their son; there is, verily, no other force, higher than he.
Time begot yonder heaven; Time also begot these earths.
That which was, and that which shall be, urged forth by Time, spreads out.
Time created the earth; in Time the sun burns.
In Time are all beings; in Time the eye looks abroad.
In Time mind is fixed; in Time breath is fixed; in Time names are fixed.
When Time has arrived, all these creatures rejoice.
In Time Tapas (Creative Heat) is fixed; in Time the highest being is fixed; in Time Brahma is fixed.
Time is the lord of everything; he was the father of Prajapati.
By him this universe was urged forth; by him it was begotten; and upon him this was founded.
Time, truly, having become the Brahma, supports Parameshthin (the Highest Lord).
Time created the creatures (Praja); and Time in the beginning created Prajapati.
The self-existing Kasyapa and the Tapas, from Time were born.
The seers, thinking holy thoughts, mount him; all the worlds are his wheels.
With seven wheels does this Time ride, seven naves has he, immortality is his axle.
He carries hither all these beings. Time, the first god, now hastens onward.
He surely did bring hither all the beings; he surely did encompass all the worlds.
Being their father, he became their son; there is, verily, no other force, higher than he.
Time begot yonder heaven; Time also begot these earths.
That which was, and that which shall be, urged forth by Time, spreads out.
Time created the earth; in Time the sun burns.
In Time are all beings; in Time the eye looks abroad.
In Time mind is fixed; in Time breath is fixed; in Time names are fixed.
When Time has arrived, all these creatures rejoice.
In Time Tapas (Creative Heat) is fixed; in Time the highest being is fixed; in Time Brahma is fixed.
Time is the lord of everything; he was the father of Prajapati.
By him this universe was urged forth; by him it was begotten; and upon him this was founded.
Time, truly, having become the Brahma, supports Parameshthin (the Highest Lord).
Time created the creatures (Praja); and Time in the beginning created Prajapati.
The self-existing Kasyapa and the Tapas, from Time were born.
Essence of the Gita
The Gita again and again emphasises that one should cultivate an attitude of non-
attachment or detachment. It urges repeatedly that an individual should live in the
world like water on a lotus leaf. “He who does actions, offering them to Brahman and
abandoning attachment, is not tainted by sin as a lotus leaf by water”
Attachment is due to infatuation. It is the offspring of the quality of Rajas. Detachment
is born of Sattwa. The former is a demoniacal attribute, the latter a divine one.
Attachment is born of ignorance, selfishness and passion and brings with it death;
detachment is wisdom and brings with it freedom. The practice of detachment is a
rigorous discipline. You may stumble like a baby who is just learning to walk, but you
will have to rise up again with a cheerful heart. Failures are not stumbling-blocks but
steppingstones to success.
Try to dwell always in your own Self. Abide in your centre. Think of the Self constantly.
Then all attachments will die automatically. Attachment to the Lord is a potent antidote
to annihilate all worldly attachments. He who has no attachments can really love
others, for his love is pure and divine. “Therefore, without attachment do thou always
perform action which should be done; for, by performing action without attachment man
reaches the Supreme”
attachment or detachment. It urges repeatedly that an individual should live in the
world like water on a lotus leaf. “He who does actions, offering them to Brahman and
abandoning attachment, is not tainted by sin as a lotus leaf by water”
Attachment is due to infatuation. It is the offspring of the quality of Rajas. Detachment
is born of Sattwa. The former is a demoniacal attribute, the latter a divine one.
Attachment is born of ignorance, selfishness and passion and brings with it death;
detachment is wisdom and brings with it freedom. The practice of detachment is a
rigorous discipline. You may stumble like a baby who is just learning to walk, but you
will have to rise up again with a cheerful heart. Failures are not stumbling-blocks but
steppingstones to success.
Try to dwell always in your own Self. Abide in your centre. Think of the Self constantly.
Then all attachments will die automatically. Attachment to the Lord is a potent antidote
to annihilate all worldly attachments. He who has no attachments can really love
others, for his love is pure and divine. “Therefore, without attachment do thou always
perform action which should be done; for, by performing action without attachment man
reaches the Supreme”
Krishna summarizes the Yogas ....
Krishna summarizes the Yogas ....Krishna summarizes the Yogas through eighteen chapters. Three yogas in particular
have been emphasized by commenters:
1) Bhakti Yoga or Devotion,
2) Karma Yoga or Selfless Action
3) Jnana Yoga or Self Transcending Knowledge.
1) Bhakti Yoga or Bhakti Marga ( Devanāgarī: भक्ति योग) — denotes the spiritual practice
of fostering bhakti (loving devotion) to a personal form of God that involves devotion,
attachment and love for God. bhakti is a Sanskrit term that signifies an attitude of
devotion to a personal God that is typically based on a number of human relationships
such as beloved-lover, friend-friend, parent-child, and master-servant. The Bhagavad
Gita and Bhagavata Purana are two important scriptures which explain and develop the
attitude of bhakti.
The Bhagavata Purana teaches nine primary forms of bhakti, as explained by Prahlada:
(1) śravaṇa ("listening" to the scriptural stories of Krishna and his companions), (2)
kīrtana ("praising," usually refers to ecstatic group singing), (3) smaraṇa ("remembering"
or fixing the mind on Viṣṇu), (4) pāda-sevana (rendering service), (5) arcana (worshiping
an image), (6) vandana (paying homage), (7) dāsya (servitude), (8) sākhya (friendship),
and (9) ātma-nivedana(complete surrender of the self).
— from Bhagata Purana, 7.5.23-24
These nine principles of devotional service are described as helping the devotee remain
constantly in touch with God. The processes of japa and internal meditation on the
aspirant devotees's chosen deity form (ishta deva) are especially popular in most bhakti
schools. Bhakti is a yoga path, in that its aim is a form of divine, loving union with the
Supreme Lord. The exact form of the Lord, or type of union varies between the different
schools, but the essence of each process is very similar.
** Bhakti Movements**
The main schools of bhakti in Hinduism are: Shaivas who worship Shiva and the gods
and goddesses associated with him; Vaishnavas, who worship forms of Vishnu, his
avataras, and others associated with him; Shaktas who worship a variety of goddesses.
These schools are not always exclusive of each other—a bhakti's devotional practices to
one form of god does not preclude worship of another form.
The bhakti movement began in South India and moved north, with an emphasis on
devotion vs. ritual. It also opposed the caste system, with prominent bhakti poets
Ravidas and Kabir both writing against the hierarchy of caste. Altogether, bhakti
resulted in a mass of devotional literature, music, dance and art that has enriched the
world and gave India renewed spiritual impetus, one eschewing unnecessary ritual and
artificial social boundaries.
2) karma yoga (Sanskrit: "Union through action.") The path of selfless service.
3) Jnâna Yoga is the Yoga which makes use of the rational power, through the intellect, to
cleave through illusion, cleave through the illusion of appearances and which takes you
to the Reality which is hidden beyond appearances; and thus it is a way of utilising the
power of investigation, observance, enquiry and analysis.
*** Overview :-
Jnana is knowledge. Ajnana is ignorance. To identify oneself with the illusory vehicles
of body, mind, Prana and the senses is Ajnana. To say, " I am the doer, the enjoyer, I
am a Brahmin, a Brahmachari, this is mine, he is my son," is Ajnana. Jnana alone can
destroy Ajnana, even as light alone can remove darkness.
In this, the power of the intellect, reasoning becomes the means of liberating yourself
from the grip of illusion which is merely the result of non-discrimination or the result of
failure to enquire, and making proper enquiry regarding the nature of things which we
observe and perceive. Blindly, without enquiring we take them for granted and get
involved in them. This path evokes in the seeker the active power of enquiry, Vichara,
and out of this philosophical enquiry, right discrimination dawns. Suddenly, you begin
to see that things are not just things. They are classified. Something is Eternal and
others are non-eternal. So, you begin to discriminate, which is the Permanent and
which is impermanent, appearance and the Reality, Eternal and the non-eternal, the Self
and non-self.
Brahman , the Supreme Self, is neither the doer of actions nor the enjoyer of the fruits of
actions. The creation, preservation and destruction of the world are not due to Him.
They are due to the action of Maya, the Lord's energy manifesting itself as the world-
process.
Just as space appears to be of three kinds - absolute space, space limited by a jar, and
space reflected in the water of a jar, - so also there are three kinds of intelligence. They
are absolute intelligence, intelligence reflected in Maya, and intelligence reflected in the
Jiva (the individual soul). The notion of the doer is the function of intelligence as
reflected in the intellect. This, together with the notion of Jiva, is superimposed by the
ignorant on the pure and limitless Brahman, the silent witness.
The illustration of space absolute, space limited by a jar and space reflected in water of
a jar, is given to convey the idea that in reality Brahman alone is. Because of Maya,
however, It appears as three.
The notion that the reflection of intelligence is real, is erroneous, and is due to
ignorance. Brahman is without limitation; limitation is a superimposition on Brahman.
The identity of the Supreme Self and the Jiva or reflected self is established through the
statement of the Upanishad Tat Tvam Asi - 'That Thou Art'. When the knowledge of the
identity of the two arises, then world problems and ignorance, with all their offshoots,
are destroyed and all doubts disappear.
Self-realization or direct intuitive perception of the Supreme Self is necessary for
attaining freedom and perfection. This Jnana Yoga or the path of Wisdom is, however,
not meant for the masses whose hearts are not pure enough and whose intellects are
not sharp enough to understand and practice this razor-edge path. Hence, Karma Yoga
and Upasana (Bhakti) are to be practiced first, which will render the heart pure and
make it fit for the reception of Knowledge.
have been emphasized by commenters:
1) Bhakti Yoga or Devotion,
2) Karma Yoga or Selfless Action
3) Jnana Yoga or Self Transcending Knowledge.
1) Bhakti Yoga or Bhakti Marga ( Devanāgarī: भक्ति योग) — denotes the spiritual practice
of fostering bhakti (loving devotion) to a personal form of God that involves devotion,
attachment and love for God. bhakti is a Sanskrit term that signifies an attitude of
devotion to a personal God that is typically based on a number of human relationships
such as beloved-lover, friend-friend, parent-child, and master-servant. The Bhagavad
Gita and Bhagavata Purana are two important scriptures which explain and develop the
attitude of bhakti.
The Bhagavata Purana teaches nine primary forms of bhakti, as explained by Prahlada:
(1) śravaṇa ("listening" to the scriptural stories of Krishna and his companions), (2)
kīrtana ("praising," usually refers to ecstatic group singing), (3) smaraṇa ("remembering"
or fixing the mind on Viṣṇu), (4) pāda-sevana (rendering service), (5) arcana (worshiping
an image), (6) vandana (paying homage), (7) dāsya (servitude), (8) sākhya (friendship),
and (9) ātma-nivedana(complete surrender of the self).
— from Bhagata Purana, 7.5.23-24
These nine principles of devotional service are described as helping the devotee remain
constantly in touch with God. The processes of japa and internal meditation on the
aspirant devotees's chosen deity form (ishta deva) are especially popular in most bhakti
schools. Bhakti is a yoga path, in that its aim is a form of divine, loving union with the
Supreme Lord. The exact form of the Lord, or type of union varies between the different
schools, but the essence of each process is very similar.
** Bhakti Movements**
The main schools of bhakti in Hinduism are: Shaivas who worship Shiva and the gods
and goddesses associated with him; Vaishnavas, who worship forms of Vishnu, his
avataras, and others associated with him; Shaktas who worship a variety of goddesses.
These schools are not always exclusive of each other—a bhakti's devotional practices to
one form of god does not preclude worship of another form.
The bhakti movement began in South India and moved north, with an emphasis on
devotion vs. ritual. It also opposed the caste system, with prominent bhakti poets
Ravidas and Kabir both writing against the hierarchy of caste. Altogether, bhakti
resulted in a mass of devotional literature, music, dance and art that has enriched the
world and gave India renewed spiritual impetus, one eschewing unnecessary ritual and
artificial social boundaries.
2) karma yoga (Sanskrit: "Union through action.") The path of selfless service.
3) Jnâna Yoga is the Yoga which makes use of the rational power, through the intellect, to
cleave through illusion, cleave through the illusion of appearances and which takes you
to the Reality which is hidden beyond appearances; and thus it is a way of utilising the
power of investigation, observance, enquiry and analysis.
*** Overview :-
Jnana is knowledge. Ajnana is ignorance. To identify oneself with the illusory vehicles
of body, mind, Prana and the senses is Ajnana. To say, " I am the doer, the enjoyer, I
am a Brahmin, a Brahmachari, this is mine, he is my son," is Ajnana. Jnana alone can
destroy Ajnana, even as light alone can remove darkness.
In this, the power of the intellect, reasoning becomes the means of liberating yourself
from the grip of illusion which is merely the result of non-discrimination or the result of
failure to enquire, and making proper enquiry regarding the nature of things which we
observe and perceive. Blindly, without enquiring we take them for granted and get
involved in them. This path evokes in the seeker the active power of enquiry, Vichara,
and out of this philosophical enquiry, right discrimination dawns. Suddenly, you begin
to see that things are not just things. They are classified. Something is Eternal and
others are non-eternal. So, you begin to discriminate, which is the Permanent and
which is impermanent, appearance and the Reality, Eternal and the non-eternal, the Self
and non-self.
Brahman , the Supreme Self, is neither the doer of actions nor the enjoyer of the fruits of
actions. The creation, preservation and destruction of the world are not due to Him.
They are due to the action of Maya, the Lord's energy manifesting itself as the world-
process.
Just as space appears to be of three kinds - absolute space, space limited by a jar, and
space reflected in the water of a jar, - so also there are three kinds of intelligence. They
are absolute intelligence, intelligence reflected in Maya, and intelligence reflected in the
Jiva (the individual soul). The notion of the doer is the function of intelligence as
reflected in the intellect. This, together with the notion of Jiva, is superimposed by the
ignorant on the pure and limitless Brahman, the silent witness.
The illustration of space absolute, space limited by a jar and space reflected in water of
a jar, is given to convey the idea that in reality Brahman alone is. Because of Maya,
however, It appears as three.
The notion that the reflection of intelligence is real, is erroneous, and is due to
ignorance. Brahman is without limitation; limitation is a superimposition on Brahman.
The identity of the Supreme Self and the Jiva or reflected self is established through the
statement of the Upanishad Tat Tvam Asi - 'That Thou Art'. When the knowledge of the
identity of the two arises, then world problems and ignorance, with all their offshoots,
are destroyed and all doubts disappear.
Self-realization or direct intuitive perception of the Supreme Self is necessary for
attaining freedom and perfection. This Jnana Yoga or the path of Wisdom is, however,
not meant for the masses whose hearts are not pure enough and whose intellects are
not sharp enough to understand and practice this razor-edge path. Hence, Karma Yoga
and Upasana (Bhakti) are to be practiced first, which will render the heart pure and
make it fit for the reception of Knowledge.
Type Of Karmas......
Karma can be divided into four parts called Sanchita Karma, Prarabdha Karma, Kriyamana karma and Agama karma .
1. Sanchita karma "accumulated actions." The sum of all karmas of this life and past lives.
2. Prarabdha karma "Actions begun; set in motion."
That portion of sanchita karma that is bearing fruit and shaping the events and conditions of the current life, including the nature of one's bodies, personal tendencies and associations.
3. Kriyamana karma "Being made."
The karma being created and added to sanchita in this life by one's thoughts, words and actions, or in the inner worlds between lives. What we are currently creating through our choices right now. It is our creativity that is unfolding, it is our "free will".
4. Agama karma "coming,arriving," and vartamana, "living, set in motion."
Is the actions that we are planning for the future. Actions that will or will not be achieved depending on the choices (free will) that we are making now and those that we have made in the past.
1. Sanchita karma "accumulated actions." The sum of all karmas of this life and past lives.
2. Prarabdha karma "Actions begun; set in motion."
That portion of sanchita karma that is bearing fruit and shaping the events and conditions of the current life, including the nature of one's bodies, personal tendencies and associations.
3. Kriyamana karma "Being made."
The karma being created and added to sanchita in this life by one's thoughts, words and actions, or in the inner worlds between lives. What we are currently creating through our choices right now. It is our creativity that is unfolding, it is our "free will".
4. Agama karma "coming,arriving," and vartamana, "living, set in motion."
Is the actions that we are planning for the future. Actions that will or will not be achieved depending on the choices (free will) that we are making now and those that we have made in the past.
About Srimad Bhagavad Gita......
The Srimad Bhagavad Gita is a dialogue between Lord Krishna and Arjuna, narrated in the Bhishma
Parva of the Mahabharata. It comprises eighteen discourses of a total of 701 Sanskrit verses. A
considerable volume of material has been compressed within these verses. On the battlefield
of Kurukshetra, Sri Krishna, during the course of His most instructive and interesting talk with Arjuna, revealed profound, sublime and soul-stirring spiritual truths, and expounded the rare secrets of Yoga, Vedanta, Bhakti and Karma.
All the teachings of Lord Krishna were subsequently recorded as the Song Celestial or Srimad Bhagavad Gita by Bhagavan Vyasa for the benefit of humanity at large. The world is under a great
debt of gratitude to Bhagavan Vyasa who presented this Song Celestial to humanity for the
guidance of their daily conduct of life, spiritual upliftment and Self-realisation. Those who are self-controlled and who are endowed with faith can reap the full benefit of the Gita, which is the science of the Soul.
The Gita Jayanti (birthdate of the Gita) is celebrated throughout India by the admirers
and lovers of this unique book on the 11th day (Ekadashi) of the bright half of the
month of Margasirsha according to the Hindu almanac. It was the day on which the
scripture was revealed to the world by Sanjaya.
In all the spiritual literature of the world there is no book so elevating and inspiring as
the Gita. It expounds very lucidly the cardinal principles or the fundamentals of the
Hindu religion and Hindu Dharma. It is the source of all wisdom. It is your great guide.
It is your supreme teacher. It is an inexhaustible spiritual treasure. It is a fountain of
bliss. It is an ocean of knowledge. It is full of divine splendour and grandeur.
The Gita is the cream of the Vedas. It is the essence of the soul-elevating Upanishads.
It is a universal scripture applicable to people of all temperaments and for all times. It
is a wonderful book with sublime thoughts and practical instructions on Yoga,
devotion, Vedanta and action. It is a marvellous book, profound in thought and sublime
in heights of vision. It brings peace and solace to souls that are afflicted by the three
fires of mortal existence, namely, afflictions caused by one’s own body, those caused
by beings around one, and those caused by the gods.
Parva of the Mahabharata. It comprises eighteen discourses of a total of 701 Sanskrit verses. A
considerable volume of material has been compressed within these verses. On the battlefield
of Kurukshetra, Sri Krishna, during the course of His most instructive and interesting talk with Arjuna, revealed profound, sublime and soul-stirring spiritual truths, and expounded the rare secrets of Yoga, Vedanta, Bhakti and Karma.
All the teachings of Lord Krishna were subsequently recorded as the Song Celestial or Srimad Bhagavad Gita by Bhagavan Vyasa for the benefit of humanity at large. The world is under a great
debt of gratitude to Bhagavan Vyasa who presented this Song Celestial to humanity for the
guidance of their daily conduct of life, spiritual upliftment and Self-realisation. Those who are self-controlled and who are endowed with faith can reap the full benefit of the Gita, which is the science of the Soul.
The Gita Jayanti (birthdate of the Gita) is celebrated throughout India by the admirers
and lovers of this unique book on the 11th day (Ekadashi) of the bright half of the
month of Margasirsha according to the Hindu almanac. It was the day on which the
scripture was revealed to the world by Sanjaya.
In all the spiritual literature of the world there is no book so elevating and inspiring as
the Gita. It expounds very lucidly the cardinal principles or the fundamentals of the
Hindu religion and Hindu Dharma. It is the source of all wisdom. It is your great guide.
It is your supreme teacher. It is an inexhaustible spiritual treasure. It is a fountain of
bliss. It is an ocean of knowledge. It is full of divine splendour and grandeur.
The Gita is the cream of the Vedas. It is the essence of the soul-elevating Upanishads.
It is a universal scripture applicable to people of all temperaments and for all times. It
is a wonderful book with sublime thoughts and practical instructions on Yoga,
devotion, Vedanta and action. It is a marvellous book, profound in thought and sublime
in heights of vision. It brings peace and solace to souls that are afflicted by the three
fires of mortal existence, namely, afflictions caused by one’s own body, those caused
by beings around one, and those caused by the gods.
Srimad Bhagavad Gita..... Capter I
Capter I
Arjuna's Conversion:
Dhritarashtra said:
1. O Sanjaya! What indeed did my people and the followers of the Pandavas do after having
assembled in the holy land of Kurukshetra, eager to join battle?
Sanjaya said:
2. Then seeing the army of the Pandavas arrayed in battle order. King Duryodhana for his
part approached the teacher Drona and spoke to him the following words:
3. O Teacher! Behold this great army of the sons of Pandu, arrayed in battle order by your
talented disciple, the son of Drupada.
4. Here (in that army) are many brave bow-men of note who are equal to Bhima and
Arjuna in battle - great car-warriors like Yuyudhana, Virata and Drupada;
5. Dhrishtaketu, Chekitana and the brave king of Kashi; Purujit, Kuntibhoja and Shaibya
the best of men;
6. The powerful Yudhamanyu, the brave Uttamauja, the son of Subhadra, and the sons of
Draupadi - all these are indeed noted car-warriors.
7. O best of Brahmanas, I shall mention for your information the names of the
distinguished leaders of our army.
8. Yourself, Bhishma and Karna, the victorious Kripa, Ashwatthama, Vikarna and
Jayadratha the son of Somadatta.
9. These and many more brave men, who are ready to lay down their lives for my sake and
who fight with various types of weapons, are present here. All of them are seasoned
warriors.
10. Though numerically superior, inadequate is the army of ours defended by Bhishma,
while theirs guarded by Bhima is adequate.
11. Therefore do ye all protect Bhishma remaining in appropriate positions in your
respective divisions.
12. Cheering him up, the valiant grandfather Bhishma, the oldest of the Kurus, sounded a
lion-roar loudly and blew his conch-shell horn.
13. Thereupon, conchs, kettle-drums, tabors, trumpets, and cowhorns all blared out
suddenly causing a tremendous sound.
14. Then Shri Krishna and Arjuna, seated in a great chariot with white horses yoked to it,
blew their celestial conch-shell horns.
15. Shri Krishna blew his conch Panchajanya, Arjuna blew Devadatta, and Bhima of terrible
deeds sounded his great conch Paundra.
16. Raja Yudhisthira, the son of Kunti, blew his conch Anantavijaya, and Nakula and
Sahadeva, Sughosha and Manipushpaka respectively.
17. The great archer, king of Kashi, the mighty car-warrior Shikhandi and Dhrishtadyumna
and invincible Satyaki;
18. The King of Drupada, the sons of Draupadi, the mighty armed son of Subhadra - all
these, O king, sounded their conchshell horns again and again everywhere.
19. That tumultuous uproar, resounding in the sky and over the land, pierced the hearts of
the followers of Dhrtarashtra.
20-21. O King! Arjuna, the Pandava-leader with the banner crest of a Hanuman, on seeing
the followers of Dhritarashtra arrayed for battle and the clash of weapons about to start,
held up his bow and said the following words to Shri Krishna:
Arjuna said:
21-22. O Achyuta! Please station my chariot between the two armies so that I may have a
view, on the eve of this battle, of all those standing ready to fight, and learn who all are the
persons with whom I have to contend.
23. Let me see all those who have arrived to favour the evil-minded son of Dhritarshtra in
war and are standing ready to join battle.
Sanjaya said:
24-25. O King Dhritarashtra! Shri Krishna, to whom Arjuna addressed these words,
stationed that most splendid of chariots at a place between the two armies, confronting
Bhishma, Drona and all those chiefs, and said: "O Arjuna! See these men of the Kuru horde
assembled for battle."
26-27. There he saw standing in both the armies - fathers, grand-fathers, uncles, brothers,
sons, grandsons, comrades, fathers-in-law and bosom friends. Seeing all these kinsmen
arrayed, Arjuna was overcome with great pity, and said sorrowing:
Arjuna said:
28-29. Seeing these relatives standing eager to join battle, my limbs are giving way, my
mouth is parching. I get trembling of the body and horripilations.
30. My bow Gandiva is slipping from my hand. My skin too is burning. I find it impossible
to stand firm, and my mind is, as it were, reeling.
31. O Kesava! I see adverse omens. I do not feel that any good will come by killing all one's
kinsmen in battle.
32. O Krishna! I do not long for victory, or kingdom, or enjoyments. O Govinda! Of what
use is kingdom, enjoyments or even life itself?
33-34. Those for whose sake kingdoms, enjoyments, and pleasures are desired - those very
teachers, fathers and sons, as also grandfathers, uncles, fathers-in-law and other relatives
are here stationed in battle ready to give up their lives and possessions.
35. Even for the sovereignty of the three worlds, I do not desire to kill them, though myself
killed - how much less then for this earthly kingdom!
36. What joy can there be for us by killing these sons of Dhritarashtra? Though they are
murderous villains, only sin will accrue to us by killing them.
37. Therefore, O Madhava! it is not befitting that we kill our relations, the sons of
Dhritarashtra. How could one be happy by the slaughter of one's own kinsmen?
38-39. O Janardana! Even if these people, with their intelligence overpowered by greed, do
not see any evil in the decay of families and any sin in the persecution of friends, why
should not we, who are aware of the evil of such decay of families, learn to desist from that
sin?
40. When a clan becomes decadent, its ancient traditions (laws) perish. When traditions
perish, the entire clan is indeed overcome by lawlessness.
41. O Krishna! When lawlessness prevails, the women of the clans become corrupt. O scion
of the Vrishnis! When women are corrupted, mixture of classes (promiscuity) prevails.
42. Promiscuity results only in hell to those destroyers of the clans, as also to the members
of the clan. For (being without legitimate progeny to perform obsequies), the spirits of
their ancestors fall, deprived of the offerings of rice ball and water.
43. By the misdeeds of these ruiners of clans and promoters of promiscuity, the
immemorial traditions of the communities and clans are uprooted.
44. O Janardana! We have heard that residence in hell awaits men, the religious traditions
of whose clans have been destroyed.
45. Alas! What great sin have we resolved to commit when we prepared ourselves to
destroy our kinsmen out of greed for the pleasures of a kingdom!
46. Far better would it be for me if the sons of Dhritarashtra, with weapons in hand, kill
me in battle, unarmed and unresisting!
Sanjaya said:
47. So saying, Arjuna, with his mind overwhelmed with sorrow, abandoned his bow and
arrows and sat down on the chariot seat.
Dhritarashtra said:
1. O Sanjaya! What indeed did my people and the followers of the Pandavas do after having
assembled in the holy land of Kurukshetra, eager to join battle?
Sanjaya said:
2. Then seeing the army of the Pandavas arrayed in battle order. King Duryodhana for his
part approached the teacher Drona and spoke to him the following words:
3. O Teacher! Behold this great army of the sons of Pandu, arrayed in battle order by your
talented disciple, the son of Drupada.
4. Here (in that army) are many brave bow-men of note who are equal to Bhima and
Arjuna in battle - great car-warriors like Yuyudhana, Virata and Drupada;
5. Dhrishtaketu, Chekitana and the brave king of Kashi; Purujit, Kuntibhoja and Shaibya
the best of men;
6. The powerful Yudhamanyu, the brave Uttamauja, the son of Subhadra, and the sons of
Draupadi - all these are indeed noted car-warriors.
7. O best of Brahmanas, I shall mention for your information the names of the
distinguished leaders of our army.
8. Yourself, Bhishma and Karna, the victorious Kripa, Ashwatthama, Vikarna and
Jayadratha the son of Somadatta.
9. These and many more brave men, who are ready to lay down their lives for my sake and
who fight with various types of weapons, are present here. All of them are seasoned
warriors.
10. Though numerically superior, inadequate is the army of ours defended by Bhishma,
while theirs guarded by Bhima is adequate.
11. Therefore do ye all protect Bhishma remaining in appropriate positions in your
respective divisions.
12. Cheering him up, the valiant grandfather Bhishma, the oldest of the Kurus, sounded a
lion-roar loudly and blew his conch-shell horn.
13. Thereupon, conchs, kettle-drums, tabors, trumpets, and cowhorns all blared out
suddenly causing a tremendous sound.
14. Then Shri Krishna and Arjuna, seated in a great chariot with white horses yoked to it,
blew their celestial conch-shell horns.
15. Shri Krishna blew his conch Panchajanya, Arjuna blew Devadatta, and Bhima of terrible
deeds sounded his great conch Paundra.
16. Raja Yudhisthira, the son of Kunti, blew his conch Anantavijaya, and Nakula and
Sahadeva, Sughosha and Manipushpaka respectively.
17. The great archer, king of Kashi, the mighty car-warrior Shikhandi and Dhrishtadyumna
and invincible Satyaki;
18. The King of Drupada, the sons of Draupadi, the mighty armed son of Subhadra - all
these, O king, sounded their conchshell horns again and again everywhere.
19. That tumultuous uproar, resounding in the sky and over the land, pierced the hearts of
the followers of Dhrtarashtra.
20-21. O King! Arjuna, the Pandava-leader with the banner crest of a Hanuman, on seeing
the followers of Dhritarashtra arrayed for battle and the clash of weapons about to start,
held up his bow and said the following words to Shri Krishna:
Arjuna said:
21-22. O Achyuta! Please station my chariot between the two armies so that I may have a
view, on the eve of this battle, of all those standing ready to fight, and learn who all are the
persons with whom I have to contend.
23. Let me see all those who have arrived to favour the evil-minded son of Dhritarshtra in
war and are standing ready to join battle.
Sanjaya said:
24-25. O King Dhritarashtra! Shri Krishna, to whom Arjuna addressed these words,
stationed that most splendid of chariots at a place between the two armies, confronting
Bhishma, Drona and all those chiefs, and said: "O Arjuna! See these men of the Kuru horde
assembled for battle."
26-27. There he saw standing in both the armies - fathers, grand-fathers, uncles, brothers,
sons, grandsons, comrades, fathers-in-law and bosom friends. Seeing all these kinsmen
arrayed, Arjuna was overcome with great pity, and said sorrowing:
Arjuna said:
28-29. Seeing these relatives standing eager to join battle, my limbs are giving way, my
mouth is parching. I get trembling of the body and horripilations.
30. My bow Gandiva is slipping from my hand. My skin too is burning. I find it impossible
to stand firm, and my mind is, as it were, reeling.
31. O Kesava! I see adverse omens. I do not feel that any good will come by killing all one's
kinsmen in battle.
32. O Krishna! I do not long for victory, or kingdom, or enjoyments. O Govinda! Of what
use is kingdom, enjoyments or even life itself?
33-34. Those for whose sake kingdoms, enjoyments, and pleasures are desired - those very
teachers, fathers and sons, as also grandfathers, uncles, fathers-in-law and other relatives
are here stationed in battle ready to give up their lives and possessions.
35. Even for the sovereignty of the three worlds, I do not desire to kill them, though myself
killed - how much less then for this earthly kingdom!
36. What joy can there be for us by killing these sons of Dhritarashtra? Though they are
murderous villains, only sin will accrue to us by killing them.
37. Therefore, O Madhava! it is not befitting that we kill our relations, the sons of
Dhritarashtra. How could one be happy by the slaughter of one's own kinsmen?
38-39. O Janardana! Even if these people, with their intelligence overpowered by greed, do
not see any evil in the decay of families and any sin in the persecution of friends, why
should not we, who are aware of the evil of such decay of families, learn to desist from that
sin?
40. When a clan becomes decadent, its ancient traditions (laws) perish. When traditions
perish, the entire clan is indeed overcome by lawlessness.
41. O Krishna! When lawlessness prevails, the women of the clans become corrupt. O scion
of the Vrishnis! When women are corrupted, mixture of classes (promiscuity) prevails.
42. Promiscuity results only in hell to those destroyers of the clans, as also to the members
of the clan. For (being without legitimate progeny to perform obsequies), the spirits of
their ancestors fall, deprived of the offerings of rice ball and water.
43. By the misdeeds of these ruiners of clans and promoters of promiscuity, the
immemorial traditions of the communities and clans are uprooted.
44. O Janardana! We have heard that residence in hell awaits men, the religious traditions
of whose clans have been destroyed.
45. Alas! What great sin have we resolved to commit when we prepared ourselves to
destroy our kinsmen out of greed for the pleasures of a kingdom!
46. Far better would it be for me if the sons of Dhritarashtra, with weapons in hand, kill
me in battle, unarmed and unresisting!
Sanjaya said:
47. So saying, Arjuna, with his mind overwhelmed with sorrow, abandoned his bow and
arrows and sat down on the chariot seat.
Srimad Bhagavad Gita..... Capter II
Capter II
Yoga of Knowledge
Sanjaya said:
1. To him who was thus overcome with pity and whose eyes were full of tears and bore a
bewildered look, Shri Krishna spoke as follows:
The Blessed Lord said:
2. O Arjuna! Whence has this loathsome stupidity come upon you in this crisis? It (this
attitude) is unworthy of a noble personage; it is a bar to heaven and a cause of much
disrepute.
3. O Partha! Yield not to unmanliness! It befits thee not. Abandoning this base faint-
heartedness, rise up, O dreaded hero!
Arjuna said:
4. O Krishna! How can I attack Bhishma and Drona in battle with my arrows? They are,
indeed worthy of worship, O destroyer of foes!
5. It is indeed better to live here in this world on a beggar's fare than to prosper by killing
these venerable teachers. The enjoyment of pleasure and power obtained through the
slaughter of these teachers and elders will surely be bloodstained.
6. We do not know which of the two (alternatives) will be the better - the one that we
should conquer them or the other that they should conquer us. The men on the side of
Dhritrashtra, standing arrayed against us, are the very people after killing whom we should
not care to live.
7. My natural disposition is vitiated by a sense of pity, and my mind is in utter confusion
regarding my duty. Lord, I beg Thee: tell me with certainty what will lead to my good. I am
Thy disciple. Instruct me, who have taken refuge in Thee.
8. I do not find anything that can assuage this grief which numbs my senses. Neither the
unchallenged lordship over a prosperous kingdom, nor even the overlordship of all the
Devas can do so.
Sanjaya said:
9. Addressing Shri Krishna, the master of the senses, Arjuna, though valorous and vigilant,
said, 'I will not fight' and sat silent.
10. O King! To him who was thus sitting grief-stricken between the two armies (instead of
fighting), Shri Krishna said as if by way of ridicule.
The Blessed Lord said:
11. You are moaning for those who should not be moaned for. Yet you speak like a wise
man. The truly wise never weep either for the dead or for the living.
12. Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor these rulers of men. Nor
shall all of us cease to be hereafter.
13. Even as the attainment of childhood, youth and old age is to one in this physical life, so
is the change to another body (at death) for the embodied soul. Wise men are not deluded
by this.
14. Contact of the senses with their objects generates cold and heat, pleasure and pain. They
come and go, being impermanent. Bear with them patiently, O scion of the Bharata race!
15. O leader of men! That enlightened one who is unperturbed alike in pleasure and pain,
whom these do not distress - he indeed is worthy of immortality.
16. The unreal can never come into existence, and the real can never cease to be. The wise
philosophers have known the truth about these categories (of the real and the unreal).
17. Know that Reality, by which everything is pervaded, to be indestructible. No one can
cause the destruction of this immutable Being.
18. What is said to perish are these bodies, in which the imperishable and unlimited Spirit
is embodied. Therefore fight, O scion of the Bharata race!
19. He who thinks him (the Self) to be the killer, and who experiences him (the Self) as the
killed - both of them know not. He (the Self) neither kills nor is killed.
20. He (this Self) has neither birth nor death. Nor does he cease to be, having been in
existence before; unborn, eternal permanent and primeval, he is never killed when the
body is killed.
21. O Arjuna! know this self to be eternal, undecaying, birthless and indestructible. A
person who knows him to be so - whom can he slay or cause another to slay.
22. Just as a man gives up old garments and puts on new ones, so the embodied self
abandons decrepit bodies and assumes new ones.
23. Him the weapons cleave not; Him the fire bums not; Him the waters wet not; Him the
wind dries not.
24. He cannot be cut or burnt. He can neither be wetted nor dried. Eternal, all-pervading,
immovable and motionless. He is the same for ever.
25. Knowing Him (the Self) to be unmanifest, inconceivable, and unmodifiable, it is
improper to mourn for Him.
26. In the alternative, even if you hold him (the Self) to be subject to constant births and
deaths, there is no justification, O mighty armed, for your mourning for him.
27. For the born, death is unavoidable; and for the dead, birth is sure to take place.
Therefore in a situation that is inevitable, there is no justification for you to grieve.
28. Mystery surrounds the origin of beings. Mysterious too is their end. Only in the
interim, between birth and death, are they manifested clearly. Such being the case, what is
there to grieve about?
29. Some have a glimpse of Him as a marvel, some speak of Him as a marvel, and yet
others hear of Him as a marvel. Yet none understands Him in truth, in spite of (seeing,
speaking and) hearing about Him.
30. At no time can the Spirit embodied in all beings be slain. Therefore there is no reason
for you to grieve for any one.
31. Further, even from the point of view of one's own duty, you ought not to falter. There
is no greater good for a Kshatriya than what a righteous war offers.
32. O Arjuna! That Kshatriya must indeed be a happy man to whom comes unsought a war
like this, which is an open gate to heaven.
33. If you do not take part in this righteous war, you will incur sin, besides failing in your
duty and forfeiting your reputation.
34. Besides, every one will speak ill of you for all time. More poignant than death is
disrepute to a man accustomed to be honoured by all.
35. The great car-warriors will consider you as having fled from battle out of fear, and you
who have been the object of their respect, will be despised by them hereafter.
36. Your enemies will indulge in derogatory speeches against you, belittling your prowess.
What is more painful than that?
37. O son of Kunti! If killed in battle you will attain heaven; if victorious you will enjoy the
kingdom. Therefore arise, resolved to fight.
38. Treating alike pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat, be ready for battle.
Thus you will not incur any sin.
39. O Arjuna! What has been declared to you is the Truth according to the Samkhya (the
path of knowledge). Listen now to the teaching of Yoga (the path of selfless action combined
with devotion) by practising which the bondage of Karma is overcome.
40. In this path of Yoga - the path of selfless action combined with devotion - no effort is
lost due to incompleteness and no contrary effect of an adverse nature is produced due to
failures. Even a little observance of this discipline saves one from great fear.
41. O Arjuna! In those following this path, the Buddhi (the understanding) that has the
nature of producing conviction, is directed towards a single objective. In those without any
spiritual conviction, the understanding gets scattered and pursues countless ends.
42-44. O Arjuna! There are people who delight in the eulogistic statements of the Vedas and
argue that the purport of the Vedas consists in these and nothing else. They are full of
worldly desires; paradise is their highest goal; and they are totally blind in a spiritual
sense. They expatiate upon those florid Vedic texts which describe the means for the
attainment of pleasure and power, which provide attractive embodiments as the fruits of
actions and which are full of descriptions of rites and rituals (through which these
fulfilments are obtained). In the minds of these votaries of pleasure and power, addicted to
enjoyments of the above description, steadfast wisdom (capable of revealing the Truth) is
never generated.
45. O Arjuna! The Vedas deal with material ends. But you be established in the Spirit, in
the immutable purity of it, having abandoned all material values, attachment to
possessions, and concern with the contraries of life like pleasure and pain, heat and cold.
46. What use a pond has got when a whole country is flooded, that much of use only the
Veda has got to a Brahmana who is full of wisdom.
47. To work alone you have competence, and not to claim their fruits. Let not the longing
for fruits be the motive force of your action. At the same time let not this attitude confirm
you in indolent inaction.
48. Engage yourself in action with the mind steadfast in Yoga. Abandon attachments, O
Arjuna, and be unperturbed in success and failure. This unperturbed sameness in all
conditions is Yoga. 49. O Arjuna, mere action (with attachment) is far inferior to action
done with the mind poised in evenness. Seek shelter in this state of unperturbed evenness
(which can arise only in a desireless mind in communion with the Divine). Those who
work for selfish gains are indeed pitiable. 50. One endowed with this unperturbed evenness
of mind abandons the effects of both good and bad actions even here itself. Therefore strive
for this state of Yoga. Yoga is skill in action.
51. Wise men, established thus in the unperturbed evenness of mind, abandon the fruits of
action, free themselves from entanglement in the cycle of births and deaths, and attain to
the state of freedom from all sorrow (liberation).
52. When you have overcome the delusions of your understanding sprung from self-centred
attachment, then you attain to a state of indifference towards all the past experiences and
the others yet to be had.
53. When your intellect, fed up with the bewildering scriptural doctrines and their
interpretations, settles (finally) in steady and unwavering introspection, then you will
attain to real Yoga.
Arjuna said:
54. O Kesava! What are the signs of a person who has attained to steady wisdom and deep
introspection? How does he speak? How does he sit? How does he walk? (How does he
behave in life generally?)
The Blessed Lord said:
55. O Son of Pritha! When all the desires of the heart have been abandoned, and the Spirit
finds joyous satisfaction in Itself (without dependence on any external factor) - then is one
spoken of as a person of steady wisdom.
56. Whose mind is not agitated in adversity, who is free from desire, and who is devoid of
attachments, fear and anger - such a person is called a sage of steady wisdom.
57. Whoever is without self-centred affection for anything, who rejoices not in favourable
situations and hates not in unfavourable ones - such a person's wisdom is firmly set.
58. When a person can withdraw his senses from their objects just like the tortoise its
limbs on all sides, his wisdom is firmly set.
59. From the abstinent soul sense objects fall away, but not the taste for them. When the
Supreme Truth is realised, even the taste departs.
60. O son of Kunti! The turbulent senses do violently draw away the mind of even a
discerning person who is earnestly striving on the spiritual path.
61. Having controlled them all, one should become entirely devoted to Me. He whose senses
are under control, his wisdom is firmly set.
62. In one who dwells longingly on sense objects, an inclination towards them is generated.
This inclination develops into desire, and desire begets anger.
63. Anger generates delusion, and delusion results in loss of memory. Loss of memory
brings about the destruction of discriminative intelligence, and loss of discriminative
intelligence spells ruin to a man.
64. A man of disciplined mind, who has his senses under control and who has neither
attraction nor aversion for sense objects, attains tranquillity, though he may be moving
amidst objects of the senses.
65. On attaining tranquillity all one's sorrows come to an end. For soon does the intellect of
a tranquil person become steady.
66. A man of uncontrolled senses has no spiritual comprehension. He has no capacity for
meditation either. For the unmeditative there is no peace. And where is happiness for one
without peace of mind?
67. The senses are naturally disposed to move towards their objects. Whichever of these
senses the mind pursues, that sense carries away that mind as a gale does a ship on the
high seas.
68. Therefore, O mighty Arjuna, he who can completely restrain his senses from pursuing
their objects, has his wisdom firmly set.
69. What is like night to all ignorant bein
gs, to that Atman consciousness the self-controlled
sage is awake; and the sensate life to which all ignorant beings are awake, that is like night
to this illumined sage.
70. He into whom objects of desire enter (unsought and causing no perturbation), even like
the ocean that is ever being filled by the rivers but still remains steady within its bounds -
such a person attains to peace, not he who runs madly after objects of desire.
71. Whoever has abandoned desires, and moves about without attachments and the sense
of 'I' and 'mine' - he attains to peace.
72. This, O son of Pritha, is the state of dwelling in Brahman. Having attained it, one is no
more deluded. By abiding in that state even by the time of death, one is united with brahman.
Sanjaya said:
1. To him who was thus overcome with pity and whose eyes were full of tears and bore a
bewildered look, Shri Krishna spoke as follows:
The Blessed Lord said:
2. O Arjuna! Whence has this loathsome stupidity come upon you in this crisis? It (this
attitude) is unworthy of a noble personage; it is a bar to heaven and a cause of much
disrepute.
3. O Partha! Yield not to unmanliness! It befits thee not. Abandoning this base faint-
heartedness, rise up, O dreaded hero!
Arjuna said:
4. O Krishna! How can I attack Bhishma and Drona in battle with my arrows? They are,
indeed worthy of worship, O destroyer of foes!
5. It is indeed better to live here in this world on a beggar's fare than to prosper by killing
these venerable teachers. The enjoyment of pleasure and power obtained through the
slaughter of these teachers and elders will surely be bloodstained.
6. We do not know which of the two (alternatives) will be the better - the one that we
should conquer them or the other that they should conquer us. The men on the side of
Dhritrashtra, standing arrayed against us, are the very people after killing whom we should
not care to live.
7. My natural disposition is vitiated by a sense of pity, and my mind is in utter confusion
regarding my duty. Lord, I beg Thee: tell me with certainty what will lead to my good. I am
Thy disciple. Instruct me, who have taken refuge in Thee.
8. I do not find anything that can assuage this grief which numbs my senses. Neither the
unchallenged lordship over a prosperous kingdom, nor even the overlordship of all the
Devas can do so.
Sanjaya said:
9. Addressing Shri Krishna, the master of the senses, Arjuna, though valorous and vigilant,
said, 'I will not fight' and sat silent.
10. O King! To him who was thus sitting grief-stricken between the two armies (instead of
fighting), Shri Krishna said as if by way of ridicule.
The Blessed Lord said:
11. You are moaning for those who should not be moaned for. Yet you speak like a wise
man. The truly wise never weep either for the dead or for the living.
12. Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor these rulers of men. Nor
shall all of us cease to be hereafter.
13. Even as the attainment of childhood, youth and old age is to one in this physical life, so
is the change to another body (at death) for the embodied soul. Wise men are not deluded
by this.
14. Contact of the senses with their objects generates cold and heat, pleasure and pain. They
come and go, being impermanent. Bear with them patiently, O scion of the Bharata race!
15. O leader of men! That enlightened one who is unperturbed alike in pleasure and pain,
whom these do not distress - he indeed is worthy of immortality.
16. The unreal can never come into existence, and the real can never cease to be. The wise
philosophers have known the truth about these categories (of the real and the unreal).
17. Know that Reality, by which everything is pervaded, to be indestructible. No one can
cause the destruction of this immutable Being.
18. What is said to perish are these bodies, in which the imperishable and unlimited Spirit
is embodied. Therefore fight, O scion of the Bharata race!
19. He who thinks him (the Self) to be the killer, and who experiences him (the Self) as the
killed - both of them know not. He (the Self) neither kills nor is killed.
20. He (this Self) has neither birth nor death. Nor does he cease to be, having been in
existence before; unborn, eternal permanent and primeval, he is never killed when the
body is killed.
21. O Arjuna! know this self to be eternal, undecaying, birthless and indestructible. A
person who knows him to be so - whom can he slay or cause another to slay.
22. Just as a man gives up old garments and puts on new ones, so the embodied self
abandons decrepit bodies and assumes new ones.
23. Him the weapons cleave not; Him the fire bums not; Him the waters wet not; Him the
wind dries not.
24. He cannot be cut or burnt. He can neither be wetted nor dried. Eternal, all-pervading,
immovable and motionless. He is the same for ever.
25. Knowing Him (the Self) to be unmanifest, inconceivable, and unmodifiable, it is
improper to mourn for Him.
26. In the alternative, even if you hold him (the Self) to be subject to constant births and
deaths, there is no justification, O mighty armed, for your mourning for him.
27. For the born, death is unavoidable; and for the dead, birth is sure to take place.
Therefore in a situation that is inevitable, there is no justification for you to grieve.
28. Mystery surrounds the origin of beings. Mysterious too is their end. Only in the
interim, between birth and death, are they manifested clearly. Such being the case, what is
there to grieve about?
29. Some have a glimpse of Him as a marvel, some speak of Him as a marvel, and yet
others hear of Him as a marvel. Yet none understands Him in truth, in spite of (seeing,
speaking and) hearing about Him.
30. At no time can the Spirit embodied in all beings be slain. Therefore there is no reason
for you to grieve for any one.
31. Further, even from the point of view of one's own duty, you ought not to falter. There
is no greater good for a Kshatriya than what a righteous war offers.
32. O Arjuna! That Kshatriya must indeed be a happy man to whom comes unsought a war
like this, which is an open gate to heaven.
33. If you do not take part in this righteous war, you will incur sin, besides failing in your
duty and forfeiting your reputation.
34. Besides, every one will speak ill of you for all time. More poignant than death is
disrepute to a man accustomed to be honoured by all.
35. The great car-warriors will consider you as having fled from battle out of fear, and you
who have been the object of their respect, will be despised by them hereafter.
36. Your enemies will indulge in derogatory speeches against you, belittling your prowess.
What is more painful than that?
37. O son of Kunti! If killed in battle you will attain heaven; if victorious you will enjoy the
kingdom. Therefore arise, resolved to fight.
38. Treating alike pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat, be ready for battle.
Thus you will not incur any sin.
39. O Arjuna! What has been declared to you is the Truth according to the Samkhya (the
path of knowledge). Listen now to the teaching of Yoga (the path of selfless action combined
with devotion) by practising which the bondage of Karma is overcome.
40. In this path of Yoga - the path of selfless action combined with devotion - no effort is
lost due to incompleteness and no contrary effect of an adverse nature is produced due to
failures. Even a little observance of this discipline saves one from great fear.
41. O Arjuna! In those following this path, the Buddhi (the understanding) that has the
nature of producing conviction, is directed towards a single objective. In those without any
spiritual conviction, the understanding gets scattered and pursues countless ends.
42-44. O Arjuna! There are people who delight in the eulogistic statements of the Vedas and
argue that the purport of the Vedas consists in these and nothing else. They are full of
worldly desires; paradise is their highest goal; and they are totally blind in a spiritual
sense. They expatiate upon those florid Vedic texts which describe the means for the
attainment of pleasure and power, which provide attractive embodiments as the fruits of
actions and which are full of descriptions of rites and rituals (through which these
fulfilments are obtained). In the minds of these votaries of pleasure and power, addicted to
enjoyments of the above description, steadfast wisdom (capable of revealing the Truth) is
never generated.
45. O Arjuna! The Vedas deal with material ends. But you be established in the Spirit, in
the immutable purity of it, having abandoned all material values, attachment to
possessions, and concern with the contraries of life like pleasure and pain, heat and cold.
46. What use a pond has got when a whole country is flooded, that much of use only the
Veda has got to a Brahmana who is full of wisdom.
47. To work alone you have competence, and not to claim their fruits. Let not the longing
for fruits be the motive force of your action. At the same time let not this attitude confirm
you in indolent inaction.
48. Engage yourself in action with the mind steadfast in Yoga. Abandon attachments, O
Arjuna, and be unperturbed in success and failure. This unperturbed sameness in all
conditions is Yoga. 49. O Arjuna, mere action (with attachment) is far inferior to action
done with the mind poised in evenness. Seek shelter in this state of unperturbed evenness
(which can arise only in a desireless mind in communion with the Divine). Those who
work for selfish gains are indeed pitiable. 50. One endowed with this unperturbed evenness
of mind abandons the effects of both good and bad actions even here itself. Therefore strive
for this state of Yoga. Yoga is skill in action.
51. Wise men, established thus in the unperturbed evenness of mind, abandon the fruits of
action, free themselves from entanglement in the cycle of births and deaths, and attain to
the state of freedom from all sorrow (liberation).
52. When you have overcome the delusions of your understanding sprung from self-centred
attachment, then you attain to a state of indifference towards all the past experiences and
the others yet to be had.
53. When your intellect, fed up with the bewildering scriptural doctrines and their
interpretations, settles (finally) in steady and unwavering introspection, then you will
attain to real Yoga.
Arjuna said:
54. O Kesava! What are the signs of a person who has attained to steady wisdom and deep
introspection? How does he speak? How does he sit? How does he walk? (How does he
behave in life generally?)
The Blessed Lord said:
55. O Son of Pritha! When all the desires of the heart have been abandoned, and the Spirit
finds joyous satisfaction in Itself (without dependence on any external factor) - then is one
spoken of as a person of steady wisdom.
56. Whose mind is not agitated in adversity, who is free from desire, and who is devoid of
attachments, fear and anger - such a person is called a sage of steady wisdom.
57. Whoever is without self-centred affection for anything, who rejoices not in favourable
situations and hates not in unfavourable ones - such a person's wisdom is firmly set.
58. When a person can withdraw his senses from their objects just like the tortoise its
limbs on all sides, his wisdom is firmly set.
59. From the abstinent soul sense objects fall away, but not the taste for them. When the
Supreme Truth is realised, even the taste departs.
60. O son of Kunti! The turbulent senses do violently draw away the mind of even a
discerning person who is earnestly striving on the spiritual path.
61. Having controlled them all, one should become entirely devoted to Me. He whose senses
are under control, his wisdom is firmly set.
62. In one who dwells longingly on sense objects, an inclination towards them is generated.
This inclination develops into desire, and desire begets anger.
63. Anger generates delusion, and delusion results in loss of memory. Loss of memory
brings about the destruction of discriminative intelligence, and loss of discriminative
intelligence spells ruin to a man.
64. A man of disciplined mind, who has his senses under control and who has neither
attraction nor aversion for sense objects, attains tranquillity, though he may be moving
amidst objects of the senses.
65. On attaining tranquillity all one's sorrows come to an end. For soon does the intellect of
a tranquil person become steady.
66. A man of uncontrolled senses has no spiritual comprehension. He has no capacity for
meditation either. For the unmeditative there is no peace. And where is happiness for one
without peace of mind?
67. The senses are naturally disposed to move towards their objects. Whichever of these
senses the mind pursues, that sense carries away that mind as a gale does a ship on the
high seas.
68. Therefore, O mighty Arjuna, he who can completely restrain his senses from pursuing
their objects, has his wisdom firmly set.
69. What is like night to all ignorant bein
gs, to that Atman consciousness the self-controlled
sage is awake; and the sensate life to which all ignorant beings are awake, that is like night
to this illumined sage.
70. He into whom objects of desire enter (unsought and causing no perturbation), even like
the ocean that is ever being filled by the rivers but still remains steady within its bounds -
such a person attains to peace, not he who runs madly after objects of desire.
71. Whoever has abandoned desires, and moves about without attachments and the sense
of 'I' and 'mine' - he attains to peace.
72. This, O son of Pritha, is the state of dwelling in Brahman. Having attained it, one is no
more deluded. By abiding in that state even by the time of death, one is united with brahman.
Srimad Bhagavad Gita..... Capter III
Capter III
Yoga of Action
Arjuna said:
1. O Janardana, if, according to Thee, discriminative insight is superior to action, why dost
Thou enjoin on me this terrible action (of engagement in war)?
2. By seemingly conflicting words, Thou art confusing my understanding. Speak to me only
about that which will definitely lead to my highest good.
The Blessed Lord said:
3. In times of yore a twofold spiritual path was taught by me, O sinless one - that of
knowledge for Samkhyas (who are pure contemplatives), and that of action for Yogis (who
combine detached work with devotion).
4. By non-performance of action a man does not gain the state of spiritual passivity (or the
state of egoless actionlessness called Naishkarmya). By mere external abandonment
(Samnyasa), he does not attain to perfection.
5. No man can ever remain even for a moment without performing any action. The
impulses of nature deprive him of freedom in this respect and compel him to act.
6. He who restrains the organs of action but continues to brood in his mind over the
objects of sensual desire (enjoyed through them) - such a deluded person is called a
hypocrite.
7. But he who, controlling all sense organs (by the power of his will) and becoming non-
attached, lives a life of communion through dedicated action such a person excels.
8. Perform your prescribed duties. For, action is superior to inaction. If you are totally
inactive, even the survival of the body would become impossible.
9. O son of Kunti! In this world all actions, unless they are done as an offering to God (or
as Yajna), become causes of bondage. Therefore, work for the sake of God without personal
attachments.
10. In the beginning Prajapati, having created men together with Yajna (selfless work
dedicated to God or Vedic sacrifice) as their duty, declared: "By this shall you multiply. May
this be to you the Cow of Plenty yielding all your wants!"
11. "You cherish the Devas with Yajna, and may the Devas in turn bless you (with rain and
other desired gifts)! Thus, mutually cherishing, you shall attain the highest good.
12. Worshipped by sacrifices, the Devas will give you the desired objects of enjoyment.
They are verily thieves who enjoy their gifts without giving their share in return.
13. Those persons who eat what is left after sacrifice, are released from all sin. But those
who cook food for the self alone (without sharing it with others), such degraded men eat
sin.
14. From food (i.e., from reproductive power sustained by food) creatures are born. Food is
produced by rain. Rain is born of sacrifice, and sacrifice originates from action.
15. Works of sacrifice have their authority in the Veda. Veda has been revealed by the
Supreme Being. Therefore the all-comprehending Veda is established in sacrifice (that is,
has performance of sacrifice as its fundamental teaching).
16. Vain is the life" of that sinful and sense-indulgent person who fails to fulfil his
obligations in this cycle of mutual inter-dependence and service (which the law of sacrifice
implies).
17. But whoever delights in the Self (Spirit) alone, and is content and satisfied in the Self,
for such a person there is no obligatory duty to discharge.
18. He has no object to gain here in this world by action. Nor does he lose anything by
abstaining from action. For him, there is no dependence on any created being for any
object of his.
19. Therefore perform action always without attachment. For, by working without
attachment a man attains the Supreme.
20. Men like Janaka verily attained to perfection by work alone. You ought to work for the
good of the world (having their example in view).
21. Whatever the noblest persons do, the ordinary man imitates. The standard they set, the
ordinary men follow.
22. In all the three worlds there is nothing, O son of Pritha, that is binding on Me as duty.
Neither is there anything that I have to gain, nor anything that I cannot gain. Still I am
always engaged in work.
23. O son of Pritha! If I did not ever continue in action unwearied, men all around would
have followed My way.
24. If I were not to work, all these worlds would have perished. I would have been the
cause of confusion among men and of their ultimate destruction.
25. O scion of the Bharata race! Just as ignorant men do action out of attachment, so let
enlightened ones perform the same unattached, with the good of the world in view.
26. An enlightened man should not cause confusion in the minds of ignorant people (by his
conduct), Himself working with equanimity, he should make them interested in all
activities.
27. Everywhere the dispositions (powers) of Nature perform all works. But deluded by
egoism, man thinks, 'I am the doer.'
28. But those who know the truth that the dispositions of Nature and the actions which
spring from them are distinct from the Self, do not get attached, understanding that it is not
the Self, but the dispositions of Nature as organs that settle on the respective objects which
too are products of the same dispositions.
29. Men, deluded by the dispositions of Nature, get attached to work prompted by these
dispositions. Those who know the whole Truth should not unsettle these dull-wilted men of
imperfect understanding.
30. Offering all your actions to Me, your mind in unison with the spirit and free from
desires and egotism, you fight without the slightest touch of hatred or excitement.
31. Whoever follow this teaching of mine, with their minds full of faith and free from
disparagement, they also are released from the bondage of Karma.
32. But those who disparage this doctrine of Mine and discard it, know such senseless men,
blind to all wisdom, as lost.
33. Even a wise man acts in accordance with his nature. All beings follow their nature.
What can repression do?
34. It is natural for each organ to feel attraction or aversion in respect of objects pertaining
to each sense. Do not come under their sway, for they are enemies (of all spiritual
aspirants).
35. One's own Dharma (duty), even though not glamorous, is better than duty alien to
one's growth (Para-dharmah), however well performed. For even death in doing one's duty
leads to one's good, while a duty alien to one's growth is burdened with the fear of
downfall.
Arjuna said:
36. What is that, O scion of the Vrishni race, prompted by which a man is forced, as it
were, to live a sinful life even against his will?
The Blessed Lord said:
37. It is lust, it is anger, born of Rajoguna, insatiable and prompting man to great sin.
Know this to be the enemy (in man's spiritual life).
38. As fire is enveloped by smoke, mirror by dust and the embryo by the placenta, so is
knowledge overcast by lust.
39. Knowledge, O Son of Kunti, is covered up by this eternal foe of the aspirant after
knowledge - the insatiable fire of lust.
40. The senses, the mind and the Buddhi are said to be its seat. With these it veils
knowledge and deludes the embodied spirit.
41. Therefore, O scion of the Bharata race, controlling the senses at the beginning itself,
slay this foul enemy, the destroyer of all knowledge and realisation.
42. The senses are great, they say. Superior to the senses is the mind, and superior even to
the mind is the intellect. What is superior even to the intellect is He, the Atman.
43. Thus knowing Him who is superior even to the Buddhi, and controlling the lower self
with the higher, kill that tough enemy in the form of lust, O mighty-armed Arjuna
Arjuna said:
1. O Janardana, if, according to Thee, discriminative insight is superior to action, why dost
Thou enjoin on me this terrible action (of engagement in war)?
2. By seemingly conflicting words, Thou art confusing my understanding. Speak to me only
about that which will definitely lead to my highest good.
The Blessed Lord said:
3. In times of yore a twofold spiritual path was taught by me, O sinless one - that of
knowledge for Samkhyas (who are pure contemplatives), and that of action for Yogis (who
combine detached work with devotion).
4. By non-performance of action a man does not gain the state of spiritual passivity (or the
state of egoless actionlessness called Naishkarmya). By mere external abandonment
(Samnyasa), he does not attain to perfection.
5. No man can ever remain even for a moment without performing any action. The
impulses of nature deprive him of freedom in this respect and compel him to act.
6. He who restrains the organs of action but continues to brood in his mind over the
objects of sensual desire (enjoyed through them) - such a deluded person is called a
hypocrite.
7. But he who, controlling all sense organs (by the power of his will) and becoming non-
attached, lives a life of communion through dedicated action such a person excels.
8. Perform your prescribed duties. For, action is superior to inaction. If you are totally
inactive, even the survival of the body would become impossible.
9. O son of Kunti! In this world all actions, unless they are done as an offering to God (or
as Yajna), become causes of bondage. Therefore, work for the sake of God without personal
attachments.
10. In the beginning Prajapati, having created men together with Yajna (selfless work
dedicated to God or Vedic sacrifice) as their duty, declared: "By this shall you multiply. May
this be to you the Cow of Plenty yielding all your wants!"
11. "You cherish the Devas with Yajna, and may the Devas in turn bless you (with rain and
other desired gifts)! Thus, mutually cherishing, you shall attain the highest good.
12. Worshipped by sacrifices, the Devas will give you the desired objects of enjoyment.
They are verily thieves who enjoy their gifts without giving their share in return.
13. Those persons who eat what is left after sacrifice, are released from all sin. But those
who cook food for the self alone (without sharing it with others), such degraded men eat
sin.
14. From food (i.e., from reproductive power sustained by food) creatures are born. Food is
produced by rain. Rain is born of sacrifice, and sacrifice originates from action.
15. Works of sacrifice have their authority in the Veda. Veda has been revealed by the
Supreme Being. Therefore the all-comprehending Veda is established in sacrifice (that is,
has performance of sacrifice as its fundamental teaching).
16. Vain is the life" of that sinful and sense-indulgent person who fails to fulfil his
obligations in this cycle of mutual inter-dependence and service (which the law of sacrifice
implies).
17. But whoever delights in the Self (Spirit) alone, and is content and satisfied in the Self,
for such a person there is no obligatory duty to discharge.
18. He has no object to gain here in this world by action. Nor does he lose anything by
abstaining from action. For him, there is no dependence on any created being for any
object of his.
19. Therefore perform action always without attachment. For, by working without
attachment a man attains the Supreme.
20. Men like Janaka verily attained to perfection by work alone. You ought to work for the
good of the world (having their example in view).
21. Whatever the noblest persons do, the ordinary man imitates. The standard they set, the
ordinary men follow.
22. In all the three worlds there is nothing, O son of Pritha, that is binding on Me as duty.
Neither is there anything that I have to gain, nor anything that I cannot gain. Still I am
always engaged in work.
23. O son of Pritha! If I did not ever continue in action unwearied, men all around would
have followed My way.
24. If I were not to work, all these worlds would have perished. I would have been the
cause of confusion among men and of their ultimate destruction.
25. O scion of the Bharata race! Just as ignorant men do action out of attachment, so let
enlightened ones perform the same unattached, with the good of the world in view.
26. An enlightened man should not cause confusion in the minds of ignorant people (by his
conduct), Himself working with equanimity, he should make them interested in all
activities.
27. Everywhere the dispositions (powers) of Nature perform all works. But deluded by
egoism, man thinks, 'I am the doer.'
28. But those who know the truth that the dispositions of Nature and the actions which
spring from them are distinct from the Self, do not get attached, understanding that it is not
the Self, but the dispositions of Nature as organs that settle on the respective objects which
too are products of the same dispositions.
29. Men, deluded by the dispositions of Nature, get attached to work prompted by these
dispositions. Those who know the whole Truth should not unsettle these dull-wilted men of
imperfect understanding.
30. Offering all your actions to Me, your mind in unison with the spirit and free from
desires and egotism, you fight without the slightest touch of hatred or excitement.
31. Whoever follow this teaching of mine, with their minds full of faith and free from
disparagement, they also are released from the bondage of Karma.
32. But those who disparage this doctrine of Mine and discard it, know such senseless men,
blind to all wisdom, as lost.
33. Even a wise man acts in accordance with his nature. All beings follow their nature.
What can repression do?
34. It is natural for each organ to feel attraction or aversion in respect of objects pertaining
to each sense. Do not come under their sway, for they are enemies (of all spiritual
aspirants).
35. One's own Dharma (duty), even though not glamorous, is better than duty alien to
one's growth (Para-dharmah), however well performed. For even death in doing one's duty
leads to one's good, while a duty alien to one's growth is burdened with the fear of
downfall.
Arjuna said:
36. What is that, O scion of the Vrishni race, prompted by which a man is forced, as it
were, to live a sinful life even against his will?
The Blessed Lord said:
37. It is lust, it is anger, born of Rajoguna, insatiable and prompting man to great sin.
Know this to be the enemy (in man's spiritual life).
38. As fire is enveloped by smoke, mirror by dust and the embryo by the placenta, so is
knowledge overcast by lust.
39. Knowledge, O Son of Kunti, is covered up by this eternal foe of the aspirant after
knowledge - the insatiable fire of lust.
40. The senses, the mind and the Buddhi are said to be its seat. With these it veils
knowledge and deludes the embodied spirit.
41. Therefore, O scion of the Bharata race, controlling the senses at the beginning itself,
slay this foul enemy, the destroyer of all knowledge and realisation.
42. The senses are great, they say. Superior to the senses is the mind, and superior even to
the mind is the intellect. What is superior even to the intellect is He, the Atman.
43. Thus knowing Him who is superior even to the Buddhi, and controlling the lower self
with the higher, kill that tough enemy in the form of lust, O mighty-armed Arjuna
Srimad Bhagavad Gita..... Capter IV
Capter IV
Renunciation of Action in Knowledge
The Blessed Lord said:
1. I imparted this immortal Yoga to Vivasvan, Vivasvan to Manu, and Manu to Ikshvaku.
2. O scorcher of foes! This Yoga handed down from teacher to disciple in succession, was
known to the Rajarishis (royal sages). But owing to long lapse of time, it was lost to the
world.
3. You are My devotee and friend - thinking thus, I have today declared to you even that
ancient Yoga. For, it is a noble secret (imparted by a teacher only to a worthy disciple).
Arjuna said:
4. Thy life-time is later, that of Vivasvan was much earlier. How then am I to understand
that Thou didst impart this doctrine to him?
The Blessed Lord said:
5. O Arjuna! You and I have passed through many births; I remember them all, but you do
not, O scorcher of foes!
6. Though birthless and deathless, and the Lord of all beings as well, yet I (the Eternal
Being) take birth by My inherent mysterious Power (Atma-mayaya), employing the pure or
Sattva aspect of My material Nature (Prakriti).
7. Whenever there is decline of Dharma and ascendance of Adharma, then, O scion of the
Bharata race! I manifest (incarnate) Myself in a body.
8. For the protection of the good, for the destruction of the wicked, and for the
establishment of Dharma, I am born from age to age.
9. O Arjuna! He who thus understands the truth about My embodiment and My deeds - he,
on abandoning his present body, is not reborn; he attains to Me.
10. Freed from passion, fear and anger, ever absorbed in My thought, and ever dependent
on Me - many have attained to My state, being purified by the fire of knowledge and
austerity.
11. O Partha! Whosoever worship Me through whatsoever path, I verily accept and bless
them in that way. Men everywhere follow My path.
12. In this world those who entertain desire for the fruits of pious works, worship the
deities. For, in this world of men such actions bear fruit quickly.
13. According to the aptitudes resulting from the dispositions of Nature (Gunas) and from
works, the social order of fourfold division has been created by Me. Though I am their
originator, know Me to be not an agent but the Spirit unchanging.
14. Actions do not affect Me. Nor have I any desire for the fruits of action. Whoever knows
Me to be so, is not bound by Karma.
15. Knowing thus, the ancient aspirants after liberation performed works. Therefore you
too do work as these ancients did from time immemorial.
16. What is work and what is 'non-work', is a subject regarding which even the wise are
perplexed. I shall therefore speak to you about work, by knowing which one is liberated
from evil (or the life of bondage in Samsara).
17. The truth about the nature of 'beneficial work' has to be understood, as also of 'baneful
work' and of 'non-work'. The way of work is difficult indeed to understand.
18. He who sees work in 'no work' and 'no work' in work, he is wise among men. Even
while doing all work, he remains established in Yoga.
19. Whose undertakings are devoid of self-centred objectives, whose works have been burnt
up by the fire of knowledge - him the wise call a sage.
20. Without attachment to the fruits of action, ever-satisfied and free from calculations, he
is verily doing nothing, even though engaged in actions.
21. One who is free from desires, whose mind is well-controlled, and who is without any
sense of ownership, incurs no sin from works, as his actions are merely physical.
22. Satisfied with whatever comes without calculations, rising above the contrasting
conditions of life, without any competitive spirit, and alike in success and in failure, a
man, though working, incurs no sin.
23. In the case of one who is without attachments and the sense of agency, and whose
mind is fully established in the knowledge of God, - his actions, being done in dedication to
the Lord, melt away with their very tendencies.
24. To one of the above description, the ladle with which the offering is made and the
oblations are Brahman; and the sacrificial rite (which is Brahman) is performed by the
sacrificer who is Brahman, in the fire which too is Brahman. He who is thus absorbed in
work as Brahman, attains to Brahman alone.
25. Some Yogis perform sacrifices especially wanting to propitiate deities. Still others offer
sacrifice (the Atman) itself as oblation (Yajna) in the fire of Brahman.
26. Some offer their organs of knowledge like hearing as sacrifice in the fire of restraint,
while others take in all their sense perceptions as oblations made in the fire of their
respective senses.
27. Others offer all the functions of their senses and vital energy as sacrificial offerings in
the fire of self-restraint kindled by knowledge.
28. Likewise others, being of rigid vows and hard practice, offer their wealth, their
austerities, their Yogic practices, and their daily study of the Vedas as sacrifice.
29. Others devoted to the practice of Pranayama, regulate the movement of Prana and
Apana, and offer as oblation Prana in Apana, and likewise Apana in Prana.
30. Some others, who observe regulation of food, make a sacrificial offering of the Prana as
the vital energy present in food stuffs, into the prana as the vital energy enlivening the
body. All these know the true nature of sacrifice and have all evil in them washed away by
Yajna (sacrifice).
31. Those who partake of nectar, the sacramental remnants of sacrifice, attain to the eternal
Brahman. O Thou the best of the Kurus! For one who sacrifices not, this world is lost, not
to speak then of the hereafter.
32. Thus many forms of sacrifice are set forth prominently in the Vedas (as paths to
Brahman). All of them spring from work done by body, mind, and speech. Knowing this,
you will attain liberation.
33. O scorcher of enemies! Sacrifice involving knowledge is superior to sacrifice with
material objects; for, O son of Pritha, all works without exception culminate in knowledge.
34. With reverential salutations do you approach them - the wise men who have known the
Truth. Serve them, and question them repeatedly (with due respect, until your doubts are
clarified). These wise men will impart the knowledge of this divine Truth to you.
35. They will impart to you that divine knowledge by knowing which you will not again fall
into such delusion; for you will then see all beings in their entirety in the Self and also in
Me.
36. Even if you happen to be the worst of sinners, you will surely go across all sin by the
raft of divine knowledge.
37. Just as a well-kindled fire reduces a heap of fire-wood to ashes, so does the fire of
divine knowledge reduce all sins to ashes.
38. Verily there is nothing so purifying as knowledge in this world. One who is perfect in
Yoga discovers it in oneself in course of time.
39. A man of deep Faith (Shraddha) obtains this divine knowledge, being full of zeal and
devotion for it and endowed with mastery of the senses. Having obtained that knowledge,
he is established in supreme peace very soon.
40. An ignorant man without any positive faith, who knows only to doubt, goes to ruin. To
such a doubting soul there is neither this world nor the world beyond. There is no
happiness for him.
41. O Arjuna! Works do not bind one who has abandoned them through Yoga consisting in
dedication and detachment, whose doubts have been dispelled by divine knowledge, and
who is poised in the Self.
42. Therefore, cutting asunder the sceptical tendency of the heart by the sword of divine
knowledge, betake yourself to Yoga (communion through sacrificial action) and arise, O
scion of the Bharata race!
The Blessed Lord said:
1. I imparted this immortal Yoga to Vivasvan, Vivasvan to Manu, and Manu to Ikshvaku.
2. O scorcher of foes! This Yoga handed down from teacher to disciple in succession, was
known to the Rajarishis (royal sages). But owing to long lapse of time, it was lost to the
world.
3. You are My devotee and friend - thinking thus, I have today declared to you even that
ancient Yoga. For, it is a noble secret (imparted by a teacher only to a worthy disciple).
Arjuna said:
4. Thy life-time is later, that of Vivasvan was much earlier. How then am I to understand
that Thou didst impart this doctrine to him?
The Blessed Lord said:
5. O Arjuna! You and I have passed through many births; I remember them all, but you do
not, O scorcher of foes!
6. Though birthless and deathless, and the Lord of all beings as well, yet I (the Eternal
Being) take birth by My inherent mysterious Power (Atma-mayaya), employing the pure or
Sattva aspect of My material Nature (Prakriti).
7. Whenever there is decline of Dharma and ascendance of Adharma, then, O scion of the
Bharata race! I manifest (incarnate) Myself in a body.
8. For the protection of the good, for the destruction of the wicked, and for the
establishment of Dharma, I am born from age to age.
9. O Arjuna! He who thus understands the truth about My embodiment and My deeds - he,
on abandoning his present body, is not reborn; he attains to Me.
10. Freed from passion, fear and anger, ever absorbed in My thought, and ever dependent
on Me - many have attained to My state, being purified by the fire of knowledge and
austerity.
11. O Partha! Whosoever worship Me through whatsoever path, I verily accept and bless
them in that way. Men everywhere follow My path.
12. In this world those who entertain desire for the fruits of pious works, worship the
deities. For, in this world of men such actions bear fruit quickly.
13. According to the aptitudes resulting from the dispositions of Nature (Gunas) and from
works, the social order of fourfold division has been created by Me. Though I am their
originator, know Me to be not an agent but the Spirit unchanging.
14. Actions do not affect Me. Nor have I any desire for the fruits of action. Whoever knows
Me to be so, is not bound by Karma.
15. Knowing thus, the ancient aspirants after liberation performed works. Therefore you
too do work as these ancients did from time immemorial.
16. What is work and what is 'non-work', is a subject regarding which even the wise are
perplexed. I shall therefore speak to you about work, by knowing which one is liberated
from evil (or the life of bondage in Samsara).
17. The truth about the nature of 'beneficial work' has to be understood, as also of 'baneful
work' and of 'non-work'. The way of work is difficult indeed to understand.
18. He who sees work in 'no work' and 'no work' in work, he is wise among men. Even
while doing all work, he remains established in Yoga.
19. Whose undertakings are devoid of self-centred objectives, whose works have been burnt
up by the fire of knowledge - him the wise call a sage.
20. Without attachment to the fruits of action, ever-satisfied and free from calculations, he
is verily doing nothing, even though engaged in actions.
21. One who is free from desires, whose mind is well-controlled, and who is without any
sense of ownership, incurs no sin from works, as his actions are merely physical.
22. Satisfied with whatever comes without calculations, rising above the contrasting
conditions of life, without any competitive spirit, and alike in success and in failure, a
man, though working, incurs no sin.
23. In the case of one who is without attachments and the sense of agency, and whose
mind is fully established in the knowledge of God, - his actions, being done in dedication to
the Lord, melt away with their very tendencies.
24. To one of the above description, the ladle with which the offering is made and the
oblations are Brahman; and the sacrificial rite (which is Brahman) is performed by the
sacrificer who is Brahman, in the fire which too is Brahman. He who is thus absorbed in
work as Brahman, attains to Brahman alone.
25. Some Yogis perform sacrifices especially wanting to propitiate deities. Still others offer
sacrifice (the Atman) itself as oblation (Yajna) in the fire of Brahman.
26. Some offer their organs of knowledge like hearing as sacrifice in the fire of restraint,
while others take in all their sense perceptions as oblations made in the fire of their
respective senses.
27. Others offer all the functions of their senses and vital energy as sacrificial offerings in
the fire of self-restraint kindled by knowledge.
28. Likewise others, being of rigid vows and hard practice, offer their wealth, their
austerities, their Yogic practices, and their daily study of the Vedas as sacrifice.
29. Others devoted to the practice of Pranayama, regulate the movement of Prana and
Apana, and offer as oblation Prana in Apana, and likewise Apana in Prana.
30. Some others, who observe regulation of food, make a sacrificial offering of the Prana as
the vital energy present in food stuffs, into the prana as the vital energy enlivening the
body. All these know the true nature of sacrifice and have all evil in them washed away by
Yajna (sacrifice).
31. Those who partake of nectar, the sacramental remnants of sacrifice, attain to the eternal
Brahman. O Thou the best of the Kurus! For one who sacrifices not, this world is lost, not
to speak then of the hereafter.
32. Thus many forms of sacrifice are set forth prominently in the Vedas (as paths to
Brahman). All of them spring from work done by body, mind, and speech. Knowing this,
you will attain liberation.
33. O scorcher of enemies! Sacrifice involving knowledge is superior to sacrifice with
material objects; for, O son of Pritha, all works without exception culminate in knowledge.
34. With reverential salutations do you approach them - the wise men who have known the
Truth. Serve them, and question them repeatedly (with due respect, until your doubts are
clarified). These wise men will impart the knowledge of this divine Truth to you.
35. They will impart to you that divine knowledge by knowing which you will not again fall
into such delusion; for you will then see all beings in their entirety in the Self and also in
Me.
36. Even if you happen to be the worst of sinners, you will surely go across all sin by the
raft of divine knowledge.
37. Just as a well-kindled fire reduces a heap of fire-wood to ashes, so does the fire of
divine knowledge reduce all sins to ashes.
38. Verily there is nothing so purifying as knowledge in this world. One who is perfect in
Yoga discovers it in oneself in course of time.
39. A man of deep Faith (Shraddha) obtains this divine knowledge, being full of zeal and
devotion for it and endowed with mastery of the senses. Having obtained that knowledge,
he is established in supreme peace very soon.
40. An ignorant man without any positive faith, who knows only to doubt, goes to ruin. To
such a doubting soul there is neither this world nor the world beyond. There is no
happiness for him.
41. O Arjuna! Works do not bind one who has abandoned them through Yoga consisting in
dedication and detachment, whose doubts have been dispelled by divine knowledge, and
who is poised in the Self.
42. Therefore, cutting asunder the sceptical tendency of the heart by the sword of divine
knowledge, betake yourself to Yoga (communion through sacrificial action) and arise, O
scion of the Bharata race!
Srimad Bhagavad Gita..... Capter V
Capter V
Yoga of Renunciation
Arjuna said:
1. O Krishna! Thou praisest in one breath both abandonment of works and communion
through their performance. Now tell me with certainty which of them leads to one's good.
The Blessed Lord said:
2. Both abandonment of works and communion through works lead to liberation. But of
them, communion through work excels abandonment of work.
3. O mighty-armed one! Whoever hates not, nor desires, should be known as one
established in renunciation. Indeed, one who is above such contraries is easily liberated
from bondage.
4. It is only the childish and not the wise that speak of Samkhya (or Knowledge
accompanied by abandonment of work) and Yoga (or communion through detached and
dedicated work) as different. A person well-established in even one of these, attains the
end that is the common goal of both. (That is, in the means they employ, they look
different, but their end or ultimate purpose is identical.)
5. The state which one attains by Samkhya, that same state is attained by Yoga too. He who
sees both Samkhya and Yoga as one, sees indeed.
6. O mighty-armed Arjuna! True abandonment of work (which the discipline of Samkhya
implies) is difficult to practise for one who is not accomplished in the Yoga discipline of
detached work. But the sage accomplished in Yoga attains to Brahman in no long time.
7. One who is established in selfless and detached action, who is pure, whose mind and
senses are under control, and whose self is identified with the self of all - he is never
bound, though he be engaged in work.
8-9. I (the Self) do naught; only the senses are occupied with their objects - this should be
the conviction of one who is detached in action and established in the truth (that he is the
Atman), even while seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, walking, sleeping,
breathing, conversing, evacuating, holding, and opening and closing the eyes.
10. One who resigns all his actions to Brahma and works without any personal
attachments, is not soiled by sin, as a lotus leaf is not wetted by water.
11. For the attainment of mental purity, spiritual aspirants (Yogins) perform action devoid
of attachment, with their body, mind, intellect or even merely with the senses.
12. By abandoning the fruits of action a man of restrained mind attains to abiding peace.
But the one with unrestrained mind, being prompted by desire for the fruits of action, gets
bound.
13. A self-controlled soul, having abandoned all work mentally (in the way described
above), resides at ease (as a witness) in this corporeal mansion with nine gates, neither
working nor causing work to be done.
14. In regard to all beings in this world, the sovereign soul is not the cause of the sense of
agency, nor of actions, nor of the fruition of actions. It is Nature that does all this.
15. The all-pervading Being does not accept the sins or merits of any one. knowledge of the
Divine Spirit is veiled by ignorance, and therefore beings are deluded.
16. But in the case of those whose ignorance has been destroyed by the knowledge of the
Atman, to them that knowledge reveals the supreme Truth, as the sun does the objects of
the world.
17. Those who think of That always, who are ever at one with That, who are deeply devoted
to That, and who look upon That as their goal, get purified of their sins by divine
knowledge and go to the state from which there is no return to worldly life.
18. Enlightened men are those who see the same (i.e. the Atman) in a Brahmana with
learning and humility, in a cow, in an elephant, and even in a dog or in an eater of dog-
meat (outcaste).
19. Even here in this embodied state, the cycle of births and deaths has been overcome by
those who have this vision of sameness in all. Verily, Brahman is the Unsullied and the
Pure. Therefore are those seers of sameness said to be established in Brahman.
20. Unperturbed and undeluded, a knower of Brahman, who is established in Him, neither
rejoices at pleasant experiences nor gets agitated at unpleasant ones.
21. An aspirant who is unattached to the contactual experiences of the external world, gains
the joy that is in the Self within. He enjoys unending bliss with his mind absorbed in
communion with Brahman.
22. Whatever enjoyments are there born of sense contact, they are sources of suffering
only. For, they are with a beginning and an end. A wise man finds no delight in them.
23. Here, even while in the body, whoever is able to withstand the agitation caused by lust
and anger, he is the self-controlled one, he is the happy man.
24. The Yogin whose happiness is within, whose resting place is within, who likewise
experiences' the light within - he realises himself to be the Spirit and attains to beatitude in
Brahman.
25. Verily, they attain to beatitude in Brahman who are sinless, whose doubts have been
destroyed, whose self is under their control and who rejoice in the good of all.
26. To those self-controlled ones (ascetics) who are free from lust and anger, who have
controlled their minds and who have known their real nature as the spirit - the attainment
of beatitude in Brahman is near at hand.
27-28. Excluding all sense perceptions; fixing the look between the eye brows; steadying the
flow of Prana (out-going breath) and Apana (incoming breath) through the nostrils;
controlling the senses, mind and intellect; devoid of desires, fear and anger; and aspiring
for liberation alone - a meditative sage is liberated for ever.
29. Knowing Me, the recipient of all worship and austere practices, the Supreme Lord of all
the worlds, and the friend of all beings, man attains to eternal peace
Arjuna said:
1. O Krishna! Thou praisest in one breath both abandonment of works and communion
through their performance. Now tell me with certainty which of them leads to one's good.
The Blessed Lord said:
2. Both abandonment of works and communion through works lead to liberation. But of
them, communion through work excels abandonment of work.
3. O mighty-armed one! Whoever hates not, nor desires, should be known as one
established in renunciation. Indeed, one who is above such contraries is easily liberated
from bondage.
4. It is only the childish and not the wise that speak of Samkhya (or Knowledge
accompanied by abandonment of work) and Yoga (or communion through detached and
dedicated work) as different. A person well-established in even one of these, attains the
end that is the common goal of both. (That is, in the means they employ, they look
different, but their end or ultimate purpose is identical.)
5. The state which one attains by Samkhya, that same state is attained by Yoga too. He who
sees both Samkhya and Yoga as one, sees indeed.
6. O mighty-armed Arjuna! True abandonment of work (which the discipline of Samkhya
implies) is difficult to practise for one who is not accomplished in the Yoga discipline of
detached work. But the sage accomplished in Yoga attains to Brahman in no long time.
7. One who is established in selfless and detached action, who is pure, whose mind and
senses are under control, and whose self is identified with the self of all - he is never
bound, though he be engaged in work.
8-9. I (the Self) do naught; only the senses are occupied with their objects - this should be
the conviction of one who is detached in action and established in the truth (that he is the
Atman), even while seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, walking, sleeping,
breathing, conversing, evacuating, holding, and opening and closing the eyes.
10. One who resigns all his actions to Brahma and works without any personal
attachments, is not soiled by sin, as a lotus leaf is not wetted by water.
11. For the attainment of mental purity, spiritual aspirants (Yogins) perform action devoid
of attachment, with their body, mind, intellect or even merely with the senses.
12. By abandoning the fruits of action a man of restrained mind attains to abiding peace.
But the one with unrestrained mind, being prompted by desire for the fruits of action, gets
bound.
13. A self-controlled soul, having abandoned all work mentally (in the way described
above), resides at ease (as a witness) in this corporeal mansion with nine gates, neither
working nor causing work to be done.
14. In regard to all beings in this world, the sovereign soul is not the cause of the sense of
agency, nor of actions, nor of the fruition of actions. It is Nature that does all this.
15. The all-pervading Being does not accept the sins or merits of any one. knowledge of the
Divine Spirit is veiled by ignorance, and therefore beings are deluded.
16. But in the case of those whose ignorance has been destroyed by the knowledge of the
Atman, to them that knowledge reveals the supreme Truth, as the sun does the objects of
the world.
17. Those who think of That always, who are ever at one with That, who are deeply devoted
to That, and who look upon That as their goal, get purified of their sins by divine
knowledge and go to the state from which there is no return to worldly life.
18. Enlightened men are those who see the same (i.e. the Atman) in a Brahmana with
learning and humility, in a cow, in an elephant, and even in a dog or in an eater of dog-
meat (outcaste).
19. Even here in this embodied state, the cycle of births and deaths has been overcome by
those who have this vision of sameness in all. Verily, Brahman is the Unsullied and the
Pure. Therefore are those seers of sameness said to be established in Brahman.
20. Unperturbed and undeluded, a knower of Brahman, who is established in Him, neither
rejoices at pleasant experiences nor gets agitated at unpleasant ones.
21. An aspirant who is unattached to the contactual experiences of the external world, gains
the joy that is in the Self within. He enjoys unending bliss with his mind absorbed in
communion with Brahman.
22. Whatever enjoyments are there born of sense contact, they are sources of suffering
only. For, they are with a beginning and an end. A wise man finds no delight in them.
23. Here, even while in the body, whoever is able to withstand the agitation caused by lust
and anger, he is the self-controlled one, he is the happy man.
24. The Yogin whose happiness is within, whose resting place is within, who likewise
experiences' the light within - he realises himself to be the Spirit and attains to beatitude in
Brahman.
25. Verily, they attain to beatitude in Brahman who are sinless, whose doubts have been
destroyed, whose self is under their control and who rejoice in the good of all.
26. To those self-controlled ones (ascetics) who are free from lust and anger, who have
controlled their minds and who have known their real nature as the spirit - the attainment
of beatitude in Brahman is near at hand.
27-28. Excluding all sense perceptions; fixing the look between the eye brows; steadying the
flow of Prana (out-going breath) and Apana (incoming breath) through the nostrils;
controlling the senses, mind and intellect; devoid of desires, fear and anger; and aspiring
for liberation alone - a meditative sage is liberated for ever.
29. Knowing Me, the recipient of all worship and austere practices, the Supreme Lord of all
the worlds, and the friend of all beings, man attains to eternal peace
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