( The G in this name is pronounced like 'G' in 'geese' and 'th' is pronounced like 'th' in 'with' .)
Geetha or Bhagavadgeetha is in Bheeshma parva of Mahaabhaaratham (bhagavadgeetha means told by god , bhagavaan=god and geetha= literally 'sung', ie delivered or taught or discoursed by ).
It is to be noted that many philosophical passages (does not mean prose) are described with the name geetha like guru geetha, bhramara geetha etc . [ In fact, there is a similar discourse of five chapters in a book named Deveebhaagavatham - a book different from what we famously know by that name- , by Devi to Himavaan. It is named Bhagavathee-geetha.] But, this Geeta in Mahaabhaaratam is specifically kmown as Bhagavad-geetha . Yet, in general, unless specified differently, the short-cut word Geetha only means this Bhagavadgeetha from the Mahaabhaaratham.
Bhagavadgeetha or Geetha is the discourse given by Krishna to Arjuna just before the commencement of the war, to dispel his nervousness that resulted out of mercy and pity (not cowardice as some wrongly interpret) and also to encourage him for the war. Arjuna sought clarification of certain points from Krishna and the latter replied in detail to clear all his doubts . The text is composed in around 700 shlokas divided into 18 chapters (Chapters were titled by Madhusoodana Sarasvathi in 15 th century or so. The heading of each chapter ends with the word yoga) . It is grossly felt that the first six chapters mainly deal with deeds, the second six chapters mainly deal with dedication and the last six chapters mainly deal with knowledge ie enlightenment, though a strict line of seperation can nowhere be drawn as the discourse mixedly discusses all these three throughout. Indian philosophy rests on Geetha which was truly considered to be the essence of all the prime Upanishads which inturn are nothing but Indian philosophy itself. That is why it is advised to understand the upanishats first and then attempt the geetha. Many sentences of the Upanishads bodily adopted appear in Geetha. No other book in India has enjoyed, nor will enjoy an equal place as Geetha's. A thorough study of Indian philosophy comprises three parts. Upanishads, Brahmasoothras and the Geetha in the last . The three are called Prasthaana-thrayam ( the three ways, to true knowledge ). It is a wonderful credit to Vyaasa that he composed the second and third of the three ! As was the story of the great war, the bhagavadgeetha too, as it took its place just before the fight began, was reported to Dhritharaashtra. In our country, it is believed that the Gita came into light on the eleventh day of the month of Maargasheersha and Geethaajayanthi ie birth of geetha is celebrated on that day.)
(Note: As the subject is what it is, a good technical jargon occurs in this topic. I used approximate English word sometimes followed by the original Samskritham word in brackets to enable the reader to assess the correct meaning intended. Also, the same word is used to mean different senses in different contexts. Again, many translators have used the words of their choice to render the original sense. I adopted such words as I thought fit for the younger readers. Some words might look new adoptions. Careful observation is needded. - T)
Dhritharaashtra asked Sanjaya , " Sanjaya! Gathering to fight in that holy place Kurukshethra, what did my ones and the Paandavas do ?
Sanjaya replied. "Sir! Duryodhana saw the arrayed armies of the Paandavas and went to his mentor DronaDrona and said to him, ' Sir! See the Paandavas' huge army arrayed and guarded by your celebrated disciple Dhrishtadyumna. It has in it great archers and heroes as valourous as Bheema or Arjuna , namely, Saathyaki, Viraata, Drupada, Dhrishtakethu, Chekithaana , Purujith, Kunthibhoja, Shybya , Yudhaamanyu, Uththamoujas, Abhimanyu , Droupadi's five sons. All these are Mahaarathas. Then, let me tell you the names of some prominent heroes on our side . Of course, you yourself, Bheeshma,Karna, Kripa, Ashvaththaama, Vikarna, and Bhoorishravas. These with many other stalwarts, wellversed with every kind of warfare stand for me staking their lives. Our army under Bheeshma's care looks unlimited as that of the Paandavas in Bheema's lead looks limited yet formidable. I request you all to stick to your allotted positions and collectively protect grandsire Bheeshma.'
At that time,the grandsire yelled out a roar and blew his conch sending waves of fear among the enemies and cheering Duryodhana's spirits. It was followed by numerous onches,drums,pipes and bells creating an enormous sound. Then Arjuna and Krishna blew their conches Devadaththam and Paanchajanyam respectively. Yudhishthira blew his conch Ananthavijayam, Bheema blew his Poundram, Nakulablew his Sughosham and Sahadeva blew his Manipushpakam. Following them, all the lead fighters like Shikhandi, Dhrishtafyumna, Kaashi King, Viraata, Saathyaki , Drupada, the junior Paandavas and abhimanyu blew their own conches. That great sound emanating from them made the Kouravas shudder and the earth and the sky together echoed it.
Then, as the moment for the first strike was about to fall, Arjuna looked at the Kouravas in positions before him, held his bow and said to Krishna . " Dear Krishna ! Pull down my car in the midst of both the armies. I wish to take a clear look at those who stand in this war against me in favour of the wicked Duryodhana."
Krishna did accordingly and told him to look at the opponent warriors that comprised Bheeshma, Drona and others. Arjuna sent his looks across the lines of the Kouracas' army. He saw there standing ready to fight against him, none other than his grandfathers, uncles, cousins, teachers, friends,sons, grandsons and colleagues. The thought that he was ready to kill those beloved sent a tremor of sadness and despair through his mind. Mercy and pity took better part of him. He became nervous and his vigour was shaken to the roots.
He said to Krishna in a tremulous voice," Krishna ! Seeing all my dear ones standing before me only to fight against me, my limbs are weakening. My mouth is parching. my entire body is trembling and getting goosepimpled from sadness. Gaandeevam is dropping from my hands. My skin is as if getting scalded. My mind is reeling and I am not able stand stable. I see many sinister omens. I see no pleasure or benefit by killing my own kinsmen in the war.I don't want either victory or the kingdom ar its pleasures. Standing before me only to be killed by me in the war, are my teachers, fathers, sons, uncles and grandsons whose company alone justifies our possession of any wealth. Without them, what is the kingdom for , what is the wealth for and what is the very life meant for ? I will even let my dear ones attack and kill me, but I am not going to harm them even for the lordship of the three worlds, what to talk of a small piece of land ? Not pleasure, but only sin befalls upon us by killing these kauravas even if they are here reday only to attack us. Hence we had better not kill these poor fellows who are none other than my kinsmen. Though these fellows subdued by lust and greed did not see the terrible result of clan-destruction, we should be wise enough to estimete that. Why shouldn't we hold ourselves from proceeding with this destruction of our own clans even after clearly perceiving what is going to entail ?
"What is going to happen to all the clans if the cream of the families is killed? Will the rules of life and standards of righteousness be maintained as before? Will the women remain pure? Once the women get impure, can the dynasties or castes hold themselves as they are, without getting crossbred? And that admixture of castes results in a hybrid society. That leads us only to the hell. the manes of such hell-goers will lose the offering from their heirs. That finally brings destruction of the society as a whole, the country and nation as a whole. I am not interested in this bloody affair of terrible consequences. Oh! Just owing to the lust for a kingdom and its pleasures, we are about to undertake the performance of a henious act of a great sin. It will be better for me if I am killed by my cousins rather than I myself killing them.I won't fight."
Saying this, he threw away the bow and arrows and sat desolate on the seat of his car.
Krishna looked at the merciful Arjuna whose mind was full of pity and eyes full of tears. He said to Arjuna , " Arjuna ! Is it you that speaks ? Whence does this pusilanimity come to you at this crucial moment ? This is not the way approved by elders. Neither fame nor the heaven comes from this. Why this unvirility to you suddenly ? Isn't this unbecoming of a true warrior like you ? shed your unworthy nervousness and riseto fight."
Arjuna replied collecting his words . " How can I shoot my arrows at Bheeshma and Drona who are simply respectable elders to me? I feel that even begging ia a better way of life than killing great elders befitting respect. He who that kills such people for the sake of any benefit will only enjoy bloody pleasures. We cannot be sure if we are superior to the opponents or they are superior to us. Hence we are equally unsure if we will win or lose. Standing before are my cousins, by killing whom we cannot even wish to remain alive. My original traits are overpowered by the blemish of mercy and pity. Unable to decide theright path, I submit myself to you praying to clarify and decide asto which is my right course. I am your desciple and refugee. Please guide and protect me. I am unable to find what will make me relieved of this pain to my senses, not the ownership of an enemyless empire, not even lordship of the gods. Anyway, My mind is against fighting these fellows." Saying this, Arjuna remained silent.
Krishna regarded him with a smile and said, "You lament for such ones whom you need not lament at all. Besides, you use scholarly words too. The one with true knowledge never laments over the dead or the living. Neither you, nor I, nor all these kings did ever cease to exist, nor we do cease now, nor will we cease to exist in the future too. Don't your opponents call you a coward if you withdraw? Doesn't that bring disgrace to your fame? For a person of fame and prestige, defamation is more damaging than death itself. Just like our body attaining various stages of its life like childhood, adolescence, youth and old age, the soul too gets moved from one body into another body. A learned stable person never fails to understand this. All such things that are felt by our sensories and mind are the cause for our feelings like cool, hot,pleasure and sorrow. Also, such things have existence and cessation, by their very nature. nor are they permanent. Never mind them to be true and worthy. One who can consider the so called pleasure and sorrow alike, is not bothered by these 'felt things' (result of combination of sensories and their objects) and he is fit for salvation. A thing that is a myth can never exist for ever (it is temporary) and a true thing that exists will never cease from existing (it is eternal). Scholars with true vision of the eternal knloledge have the real understanding of these two things.
" Now , learn about that eternal thing which ranges through all and everything . No one can bring destruction to that eternal thing.
Now, understand about the transient things. All these bodies or forms, that are simply different manifestations of the same eternal and undefinable soul, have their end destined. Hence, you shed this feeling of sorrow and get eady to fight. He who believs that the soul is killed or he who believs that the soul kills, both are equally ignorant. The soul neither kills nor gets killed. (Simply put, the body dies and perishes, but the soul remains for ever). It is never born, it never perishes, it never happens to rise from its cessation (It is free from the six effects of a being, ie birth, existence, growth, change, decay and desetruction .). It remains unhurt even as the physical body perishes, since it has no birth, it is eternal and the earliest . If one understands that this soul in the body is a birthless eternal being, how can he feel that he kills some one or gets some one killed ? Just how usually a person replaces his deformed dresses with fresh ones, the soul too, leaves the decayed bodies and enters other ones - any number of times. (here, decayed does not necesarily mean physically weakened but it only means such stage of bodies when the occupant soul departs from it per the previous acts or karma ). Weapons cannot break this soul or fire cannot burn or water cannot drench or air cannot dry it off. Simply because it is, by its very nature, unbreakable, unburnable, undrenchable and undriable. It is eternal, the beginning, omnipresent, unvariable and unchangeable. It is beyond the sensories and the thought. It is said to be undeformable. As such, keeping this in mind, you need not lament at all. And one more word Arjuna ! Even if you think that this soul is always subject to its births and deaths , then too, you are not correct in feeling sad like this. Because, such a thought is invariably followed by the fact that one that is born is bound to disappear and one that is gone is bound to be born again. So, in an imminent matter like this beyond your control, your lamentation is unfit. Arjuna ! All these living bodies are visualized only from their birth but not beyond that and only upto their death but not beyond that. Why should one bother for such things ? Very raely does some wonderful scholar understands this wonderful soul, equally rarely does some similar scholar describe it to be wonderful, so rarely does a competent learned one understand it to be so wonderful as described. Some cannot even understand it even when it is described to them. The soul that exists in every being is never destroyable and hence your lamentation about any being is unwarranted. (Till now, it is taught that the separation of the soul from the body is not at all lamentable. Next, Krishna is going to reason in favour of Arjuna 's choicing the war.)
Also,
"Also, you need not step back even from the point of view of your natural duty. Don't you know ? Nothing other than war is the best beneficial duty to a Kshathriya . This war, as a matter of fact, fell upon you without your intention of creating it. Such a war, which is a like an open door to the heaven, can be available only to the luckiest of the kshatriyas. As such, if you shirk away from your right and virtuous act of war, you will attain the sin of repudiating from your own duty, leading to disgrace. The people will talk a lot about your such indelible disgrace. For a man respected by all hitherto, disgrace is more than death. All these warriors will think that you dreaded the war and ran away. In place of their respect commanded till now, you will receive their ridicules. They will speak deriding you in many ways blaming your war abilities. What can cause you more unhappiness?. If you are killed in the war, you will attain the heaven. Or, if you win, you will get the empire. Hence, get up making up your mind for the war.Pleasure and suffering, benefit and loss and similarly win and defeat, feeling all alike, then stand in the war whereby you won't get any sin."
Krishna further said, " Arjuna ! Till now I have explained to you about the thought of neutrality in the thought of jnaana (or Saankhya). Now, here the same as applicable to the thought of (yoga) karma or acts of duties.Understanding and practising that will relieve you from the bonds of the acts and their cycles. If one practises the theory of performing his duties without a desire over their results, the efforts in this will never go waste. Nor will it yield any negative results. Even a low level practice of it can save from you great perils. As far as the status or understanding of the effective mind is concerned, it aims at only one thing while the wavering mind has many endless interests in many different things. Who cannot have an effective mind, then? Those who are interested in the vedic prescriptions such far only as the yields from various performances are concerned. They cannot see beyond those. Their intelligence about the ultimate thing is poor. They are after desires and lure for heavenly pleasures. They are carried away by the promises of the yields of pleasure,wealth and acts leading to birth again. Such ignorant people cannot concentrate their mind on the ultimate goal."
Krishna continued. " Arjuna !The Vedas (while describing various performances and rituals) deal with the objects of the three mental tempers, namely, calmness (satva),ego (rajas)and arrogance (tamas) which are nothing but the wordly pleasures and the instruments to acquire them. You must try to stay beyond the effects of the three tempers or in other words, keep yourself away from the pleasures and their instruments. Be without any duality towards good or bad, pleasure or sorrow etc. Without minding what you get or hold or lose, contain your mind and concentrate always on the eternal thing, God. In fact, a true learned person derives no more benefit from the vedas (ie the acts ordained by them) than what a person gets from a little water source while water is abundant around him. Your freedom and right are limited only to the extent of performing the required duties without fail but never in their results or yields. Neither can you be the cause of the yields of your acts nor can you quit your duties either. This equal attitude is called yoga (In the Geetha, the word yoga is used with different meaning in different contexts. All such differences can be understood only through a thorough commentary. -T) . Stick to yoga and do your duties without being interested in them or their results and equally poised at both success and failure. Performing duties with interest in their results is far inferior to this equipoised state. Take refuge with this equipoised state of mind. Those who perform duties with their mind at their results are only pitiable. The one with an equipoised mind is never stuck either to good acts or to bad acts. As such, you must try to attain that. That yoga itself is the ability of discharging duties. Those learned ones who possess that yoga (of having an equipoised mind) discard the interest in the yields of their deeds. They get relieved from the bonds of births and attain the ultimate stance. As your mind comes out of the mire of delusion and infatuation, you will attain detachment from all that is learnt and all that is yet to be learnt too. When your mind frees itself from the effects of a variety of erudition and stands stable in perfectly concentrating on the ultimate, then you will attain that yoga ( unity with the eternity.)."
At this juncture Arjuna asked. " Krishna ! Tell me about a person of free and stable mind engaged in concentrating on the ultimate. What is his expression? What is his posture? What is his movement ?"
Krishna answered. " Arjuna ! When one eradicates all types of desires from his mind and rejoices within himself by himself, such a person is described as stableminded (sthita-prajna). A stableminded person is one whose mind is not effected by sorrows, who has no interest in pleasures, who always immurses in thoughts about the ultimate and who is devoid of passion or fear or wrath. The one whose mind is not attached to anything and who neither likes or dislikes good or bad that befalls upon him, is said to be of a stable mind. When one entirely withdraws his sensories from their bond with their objects just like a turtle withdraws its body parts under its shell, then his mind is said to be stable. In case of a person who doesn't enjoy the pleasures of the sensories, the sensories remain calm but the interest in their objects still exists. But in case of a stable-minded person or yogi, even the interest towards the objects too dies off by experiencing the ultimate pleasure. One thing to keep in mind is this ; even as a learned man tries to contain his sensories, those very sensories, as they are by nature strong and troublesome, will take control over the very mind itself. Keeping all such sensories under control, one should concentrate on Me, seeing nothing except Me. And, he whose sensories are well under his own control will become stable-minded."
" As one keeps on thinking about the pleasures of the sensories, he will develop an attachment with them. That attachment leads to desire over them, that desire gives rise to anger (due to their possible unfullfilment). This anger causes indiscrete fascination which results in weakening of retentive memory (of what is learnt about the ultimate) and that gives place to failure of intellect. Failure of intelect only brings detruction (from the attained status). Even if a person continues to enjoy the pleasures of the sensories, his mind will remain calm and undisturbed only if his mind is well under his control and his sensories do not yield to attachment or aversion. Once the mind becomes calm, all unpleasant feelings (duhkha) cease and the intellect does well in concentrating on the ultimate. For one that is unable to control his senses, a determined mind is not possible. Nor his mind dwells upon the ultimate. When the mind does not rest upon the ultimate Him, mental calmness is out of reach. And, what is serenity for a restless mind ? Whichever of the senses drags the mind, that sense itself, even all alone, will destroy the discrete intellect as forcefully as a strong wind pushing a ship on water. Hence, Arjuna ! He who entirely refrains his sensories from their objects , makes his mind become stable. Such a stable minded refrainant person (yogi) keeps himself aware about only such objects that are not cared by the common world and he does not care for those in which the material world is interested. Just like many waters flowing into an ocean from many sources cannot alter its depth level, desires swarming over a determined person too, will not win over him . He remains as calm as before. But, a sensual person cannot be peaceful enough to persue his goal towards the ultimate. He that sheds off all desires, he who remains dettached, he who is free from ego or the I-ness, will attain the ultimate peace. Arjuna , this is the nature and status of a stable intellect concentrating on Him. After attaining this status, there will not be faltering. Sticking on to this status till the last moments, one will attain the ultimate bliss."
At this juncture, Arjuna asked. " Krishna ! If knowledge is superior to performance of deeds, why do you encourage me for a horrible deed like this war? You are like obfuscating my mind with your seemingly contradictory statements. Please tell me decidedly as to which one of these two shall I follow for the best benefits."
Krishna replied. " Arjuna ! I prescribed two different courses(yoga) of status for the humans; the yoga of knowledge for the Saankhya followers and the yoga of deeds for the others (yogis). Without performing one's prescribed deeds, one cannot attain the state of deedlessness. Or, just by mere renunciation of deeds, one cannot attain the course of Saankhyas as well. (ie either not doing or total leaving away of the prescribed deeds will not bring success in reaching to the course of knowledge or course of deeds.). No being in this world remains non-performer of deeds even for a moment, since everyone is helplessly forced by his natural qualities towards doing his own deeds."
Krishna continued. " He who but controls his organs of act but lets his mind hover over pleasures of the sensories, is just a hypocratic poser. The one whose mind controls his sensories and attempts to practise the course of karma-yoga ie performing deeds without attachmment towards their yields, he excels over others. You should invariably do your deeds of duty. Performing the duty (deeds) is superior to remaining non-performing of the same. If non-performance is adopted, it will be impossible to you even to exist. Except the deeds of sacrificial rituals (i.e. yagjna) prescribed by vedic codes , all other deeds involving attachment towards their results will land a person in bondage of the cycles of births and deaths. Hence, do your duty keeping yourself detached from interest in their yields. "
Krishna continued telling about yajna. In the beginning, the creator created the humans alongwith the sacrificial rites (i.e. yagjnas) and told them - 'Ye, humans!You serve the gods through these sacrifices and the gods will grace you with suitable results. By discharging your duties towards the other side, you both sides will be blessed . '
Since the creator said so, the gods satisfied by the sacrificial rites will grace the desired pleasures to the humans. If one enjoys the pleasures graced by the gods without returning their due share through the form of sacrificial performances, he is simply a thief. Those righteous people who consume the residuals after performance of sacrificial rites are relieved from all their sins. But those who cater to their own needs not caring for sacrificial rites, are just doing sins. Arjuna ! All the beings derive from and depend on food, food comes from rains (water), rains come from sacrificial rites, those sacrificial rites come from performance of duty-bound acts, and that duty-bound act comes from the vedas, the vedas themselves come from the Eternal Soul. Thus, you understand that the omnipresent Eternal Soul lies in the sacrificial rites too and in turn lies in performance of your rightful duty too. This is the cycle of acts to be followed. He who fails in following it is only a sinful fellow of useless life. This is the case of all the general people. But, the one that stays unifying himself with the Supreme Being, staying satisfied within that act and remaining happy with and within himself, has nothing to perform. He gets nothing either by doing or not doing amy performance. Nor does such person have any relation of interest in respect of any being at all. Hence, you should always perform your duty without having any interest in their yields. By performing duties in such way, one attains the supreme Being. "
Krishna went on. " Arjuna ! The great ones like Janaka (King of Videha province) did attan the same only through this way of performance of their duties. Or, even from the point of view of wellbeing of the world (society) itself, you are to do your duty. I will explain how it is so. The people usually do what the wellknown and best people would do. They just follow their track as a matter of standard to them. Hence if a celebrated prson trods a wrong track, the rest of the world will blindly follow him taking him to be correct. As such, you, being a wellknown person, should not opt the wrong choice of desisting from your duties. In fact, all over the three worlds, I have nothing to perform or nothing to obtain from such performance or nothing unobtained as well. Yet, I very much engage myself in the deeds of my duty. If I ever do not dutifully perform my deeds, all these people will exactly and entirely follow me. If I leave my prescribed deeds unperformed, all will do so and thereby the world itself will face the danger of destruction. Then, I will be the cause for disturbance and intermixture of all orders of live. The truly enlightened or knowledgeable persons too shall, with a view to doing good to the society, perform their duty as devotedly as the common unenlightened people would do with an attachment to the yields. A learned person who is able to concentrate on the Ultimate, shall he himself perform all the deeds and he shall make others do so. He shall not create any disinclination about the duty-bound deeds, in the minds of normal people ."
Krishna continued. " Arjuna ! all the deeds that are performed are in fact are being done by the Nature's inherent qualities (Sathva = calm, Rajas =passion or ego and Thamas = ignorance) . But, the one engulfed by egoism believes that he is the real doer of the deeds. He that possesses this knowledge of relation between the qualities and the deeds understands that the qualities themselves are agents of the performance of the deeds and remains detached ( from the yields of the deeds and in turn from the bonds of the deeds.) People influenced by the qualities of the nature (predominantly by rajas ) stick to those qualities and to their duties with an interest in their yields. A totally enlightened scholar shall not disturb such unenlightened ones from their duties."
Krishna continued. " Arjuna ! Now hear what is the best course to you. " You dedicate all your deeds unto me with your thoughts all the while concentrating on me. Cast off your desire and attachment (towards yields) and undertake the war without the least hesitation. Those humans who always, with belief and without doubt, follow this course prescribed by me , shall be relieved from the bonds of the deeds. But, those who doubt this course and do not abide by this, are devoid of any bit of true knowledge and such ignorant ones are gone and fallen. All beings are steered by the nature to do their duties. Even an enlightened one too, acts according to his inherent quality of the nature. Then, what ,after all, can one's persistence (of not doing his deeds) serve?"
Krishna continued. " Favour and aversion exist in the object of every sensory. One should never yield to those two, since these two are the enemies of one's wellbeing. One's own prescribed duty, though looking inferior and difficult, is far superior to duty prescribed to others, even if it is perfectly performed by one. It is better inviting death in one's own duty. Others' duties are perilous." ( here, duty means those deeds meant for various segments of society and diferent orders of life.)
At this point, Arjuna asked. " Krishna ! Please tell me, at the behest of what does a human resort do bad deeds, as if forced by someone, though he himself is not willing to do so ? "
Krishna explained. " Simply, Arjuna , it is desire and it is itself the wrath too. This is born from the nature's quality of egoism (or passion, rajas ). Understand that this very bad and unsatiable quality is the worst enemy. This bad quality eclipses the true enlightenment just as the dust coats a mirror, as the smoke covers the fire and as the womb encases a foetus. Arjuna ! This quality of desire is like an unsatiable fire . It is a permanent opponent to a seeker of enlightenment. The enlightenment is obstacled by such a formidable a thing as this. The senses , mind and intellect are the openings to this desire. With these as its implements, it overpowers the true enlightenment and thereafter entices the soul living in the body. Because of this, you first shall control your senses and then shed off this evil that destroys your knowledge and enlightenment. (how to control such great a bad thing as desire? Krishna explans next - T ) "
" Arjuna ! The learned say that senses are strong. The mind is stronger than the senses. The intellect is still stronger than the mind. Beyond the intellect is the soul. Thus understanding that the soul is superior to and stronger than the intellect, you contain your mind through the intellect and attain destruction of your enemy in the form of desire."
Krishna went on explaining about the course of devotion named karmayoga. " Arjuna ! First I taught this eternal yoga to the Sun God. The sun god transmitted it to his son, the Vyvasvatha Manu; The Manu taught that to Ikshvaaku ( an ancient king of the solar dynasty ). Thus this course passed through the ages which is well known to the ancient kings. But, due to lapse of a great measure of time, that course of devotion became out of reach. That ancient course of devotion ( karma-yoga) is what I told you just now, due to my affection towards you that you are my friend and devotee, though it is a secret knowledge and the best of the best."
Arjuna asked . " Krishna ! Your birth is recent whereas the birth of the sun God is ancient. How should I understand that you taught this to him ? "
Krishna replied . " Arjuna ! Both you and I have had many a previous birth. I know all those but you do not know. Though I am the one that is never born, eternal and Lord of all the beings, I too manifest myself through my own mysterious power, keeping my own inherent nature in my control as my implement. As and when the virtue ( dharma ) is endangered and unrighteousness ( adharma ) prevails, I do manifest myself . To protect the right and to destroy the wicked and to uphold righteousness, I do manifest in each age . He who truly understands my divine manifestation and deeds will not get re-birth after death ; but he reaches me straight. In the past too, many holy people who were devoid off any favour or passion, who were entirely devoted to me, who took refuge with me, had persued the penance of enlightenment and got coalesced with me. I will grace the people (devotees) in such a way as they devote themselves to me. By all means and everywhere, people follow just my path. In this world, those who want the yields of their deeds propitiate other gods, as that will quickly render them the results of the deeds. I created the system of the four orders ( for humans) basing on the appropriate qualities and deeds ( Here, some foolish critics question that four Varnas cannot be created from three qualities. Note that the above sentence of Geetha never says or means that each Varna comes from one quality. Sankara's commentary answers this question. Four Varnas come from different combinations of the three qualities.-T). Though it is I who did it, understand, Arjuna , that I am not the doer of it ( I am neutral ) . I am not bounded by the deeds. Nor do I have interest in the yields of the deeds. He who comprehends me to be so, will not be bounded by the deeds. Those ancient seekers of emanicipation too acted this way with the same knowledge. So, you too shall do the deeds (action or karma) as was previously done by the ancestors . "
Krishna continued. " Even the learned are confused as to what is an action (karma) and what is not. Hence, I will explain about the action (karma) to you, by knowing which you will cast off all the evil. You should learn about proper action, improper or proscribed action and inaction too. The subject of action is very mysterious. He that sees inaction in proper action and he that sees proper action in inaction as well, is the learned one among the men . He is the doer of all the deeds and he is the one that concentrates on the ultimate. He whose entire efforts are devoid of element of desire, whose deeds are burnt down to ashes by the fire of enlightenment, he is refered to as the enlightened by the scholars. One, though totally involved in actions, is not the true doer of the deeds, provided he does not mind the yields and remains ever satisfied and never clings to any wordly affair. A person (saankhya yogi) who is of a contained mind, who renounces all attachments, who has no desires , shall not incur any sin even by just performing the deeds merely required for his physical existence or sustinence. He who becomes satisfied with whatever he gets per chance, he who is beyond all the dualities, he who is devoid of jealousy and who is equable to success or failure, is absolved of all his own actions. All the actions of sucha a person, who cast off interest in the yoelds of deeds, who is devoid of any attachment, who always engages himself in concentrating upon the Ultimate and who performs the actions for the purpose of discharging his duties (yajna ), get dissolved (ie won't have any efect on him.)."
Krishna now continues to explain the term yajna used above, clarifying its various senses of expression.
Krishna continued. " Arjuna ! A yogi who sees everything as nothing but the part of the Ultimate (brahma),attains the very ultimate by performing the prescribed ceremonial sacrifices, in which propitiations, the offer (havis), the offeror (hotha), the insstruments of the offer (sruk,sruva etc), the fire (agni) where the offer is poured, the action of offerring (hutam) , all are nothing but the ultimate (brahma) itself. Some yogis ( here, persons who cast off interest in yields) practise the sacrifice in the form of worship of God (in various assumed forms). And some other do so by meditating on the Ultimate with the concept of oneness of both the soul and the supreme soul (for these yogis, meditation is itself the sacrifice and the concept is its equipment). Some yogis do sacrifices by giving oblations of their senses in the fires of restraint . And some other yogis perform sacrifices by offering the objects of the senses as the oblations in the fires of the very senses. Some yogis perform yet another different sacrifice by offering as oblations the very acts of the senses and life ( seeing etc and breathing etc) in the fire of their meditation which itself is ignited by enlightenment. Some other yogis practise performance of different sacrifices of their own, such as, the sacrifices of material donations (alms, choultries etc), sacrifices of austerity (humble living etc) or sacrifices of meditation (restraint, virtue, concentration on the ultimate etc). And some yogis, effortfully rich in restrictions and various penances, perform sacrifices in the form of knowledge of recital of the scriptures . Some yogis oblate the Apaana (one of the five forms of life in human being viz Praana, Apaana, Vyaana, Udaana and Samaana. These five stay at five places in the body respectively, heart,anus, entire body, throat and naval.) in the Praana and some oblate the Praana in the Apaana. And some who are experts of Praanaayaama (breath cintrol) and who observe food restrictions, stop the movements of both Praana and Apaana; and oblate the Praanas in the Praanas themselves. all these various yogis well know the concept of sacrifices and they cast off their sins by the respective sacrifices they adopted and practised . Arjuna ! Thus, (by performing any type of sacrifices) only those who consume the nectar of remnants of the sacrifices reach the ultimate. For one devoid of any sacrifice at all, even this world is not successful , what to talk of the next one ! In this way, sacrifices are of various types as evolved from the scriptures. Action or deed (karma) is the base for all these sacrifices. If you understand this, you will be absolved (of the worldly ties). Of these sacrifices mentioned above (sacrifices through material, actions and knwoledge), the one done through knowledge is higher than the one done with materials. All actions end with attainment of true and ultimate enlightenment. You shall know of such ultimate enlightenment from the learned and enlightened by respectfully submitting yourself to them and praying for it whence thwy will teach you that. By possession of that enlightenment, you will never again thus fall into delusion . And from that, you will see the entire beings within yourself and thereafter in Me (supreme soul) too. Even if you happen to be the worst sinner with all the sins, you can cross this sea of sin only with the help of the boat of enlightenment. The fire of enlightenment burns down all the actions into ashes (relieves one from the effects of actions), just like a raging fire burns all the fuel (wood etc) into ashes . No other sacred thing is equal to enlightenment. An expert of yoga ( karmayoga) attains it by himself, in due course of time. A restraint ( with contained senses) person with deep dedication can attain enlightenment . And after attaing that enlightenment, he will soon attain the ultimate and serene peace (unifies with the supreme soul). On the other hand, an irresolute person of no enlightenment and dedication gets ruined. He wins neither this world nor the next one. Arjuna ! A person is not bound by his actions, if he renounces the yields of the deeds, yet performing them; if all his uncertainities are dispelled by his enlightenment; and if he could well restrain his own self (mind) . Hence, Arjuna ! You shatter into pieces the uncertainty in your mind sprouting up from your ignorance . Stick to the karmayoga ( of abiding by your duty) and get up for the war. "
After listening to Krishna 's elaborate discourse, Arjuna sought a clarification. " Krishna ! On one hand, you admire renunciation of actions. On the other, you appreciate sticking to them too. Which of these two is better for attaining good ? Tell me clearly and decisively. " ( Here, Arjuna 's question appears to be repetition of his earlier one in ch 3. but the meaning of these two questions in these two different contexts is different. Then, it was a question about why encouraging for war? Now, it is a question about which course is better. )
Krishna began clarifying. " Renunciation of actions (Saankhya yoga or sannyaasa- performing actions without feeling the doership or without feeling any difference between him and the ultimate) and performing the deeds (karma yoga - performing actions without interest in yields, but all the while feeling that he is the doer of those deeds, he and the ultimate are different.) both bring good. But, of these two, karma yoga is better . He (the karma yogi), who is not averse to anything, who does not lure for anything, who is devoid of duality (pleasure and sorrow etc) , is said to be a true renouncer . He easily gets relived from the bond (of the deeds). Only the ignorant say that Saankhya or sannyaasa is different from Karmayoga,but the learned never say so. One will attain the yields rewarded by either , even by perfectly practising one of them (ie, though these two are independent courses, their end yield is the same - attaining the supreme soul.). The status attained by the adopters of Saankhya-yoga is attained by the adopters of the Karma-yoga too. He who understands the Saankhya-yoga and Karma-yoga as one and the same ( as far as their yields are concerned) is the real understander of those two. Yet, it is difficult to master Sannyaasa (Saankhya-yoga) without practising karma-yoga. A dedicated karma-yoga practiser will shortly attain the ultimate. A karma-yoga practiser, of a clean and controlled mind, of restrained senses, of identification of the soul in himself as well as in other beings with the supreme soul itself, is never bonded by his very actions. As to the practiser of Saankhya-yoga, he understands that the senses are applying themselves to their jobs and feels that he is not at all doing anything, though he too sees, hears,touches,smells,eats, moves,breaths,speaks,catches,leaves and blinks."
Krishna continued, talking about the karma-yoga practiser again. "A practiser of karma-yoga, who performs all his actions dedicating them to the ultimate soul and not evincing any interest in their yields, is not attached to his actions as not as a lotus leaf to water on it. The karma-yoga doers perform their actions with their body or mind or intellect or senses without a feeling of attachment, only for (internal) self purification. A doer without inclination towards the yields will renounce the yields and attain the serene peace whereas one with inclination towards yields due to the force of desires will be bound by the deeds."
And Krishna tells about saankhya-yoga follower now. " A Saankhya-yoga adopter restrains his senses; mentally renounces all actions; and just resides in the body ( house with nine openings) feeling neither that he is doing nor that he is causing to do. "
" The supreme Lord did not create for the beings, the deeds or their doership or even the linkage to their yields. But, what acts here is , the nature. The Lord does not share the yields of anybody's good deeds or bad deeds. But the beings misunderstand here, because of their intellect is eclipsed by their ignorance. But, when the true enlightenment dispels that ignorance, it makes open the ultimate realisation like a Sun throwing light in the dark places. Those whose demerits and sins are washed off by their enlightenment, whose mind and intellect coalesce with the supreme soul, who think and meditate solely upon that, reach the ultimate status from where they never return. "
" Scholars with such enlightenment as said above, have an equal feeling towards a learned and humble Braahmana or a cow or a tusker or a dog or an outcaste. Those with their mind at such an equal outlook, are said to have won the entire universe in this birth itself. The ultimate supreme soul is equable and devoid of any taint. Hence, such people too dwell in that supreme soul. A person with steady intellect and unerring knowledge, understanding and dwelling in the supreme soul, neither pleases with dear things nor displeases with undesired things. The one who conjoins his soul with the supreme soul, does not care the bodily and wordly affairs, but only experiences the bliss within himself, leading to that undecaying eternal pleasure. Arjuna ! All those pleasures coming from the senses and their objects, are in fact, sources of displeasure (ruin). And, they exist only for a limited period . A truly learned man does not appreciate them. He who could restrain the effects of lust and anger even while he is alive, is the real yogi and he attains the real pleasure. He who meditates upon the omnipresent, he who pleases within himself with the supreme soul, he who identifies nothing different from the supreme soul, that Saankhya-yoga adopter will become one unified with the ultimate and attains the ultimate bliss (of emanicipation or moksha). Those with profound understanding of the supreme soul, those devoid of any sins, those beyond any duality, those who could apply their contained intellect on the supreme soul, those who wish wellbeing of all the souls, will attain such ultimate bliss. For the yogis with conditioned mind, devoid of desires or anger, everywhere is this ltimate pleasure. "
Now Krishna tells about meditation and its results. " Arjuna ! Dispelling all external pleasures; fixing the look in the middle of the brows; balancing through breath-control the Praana and Apaana that pass through the nose ; restraining senses, mind and intellect ; concentrating upon the final bliss; sheding desire, fear and anger; a yogi becomes verily emanicipated. One attains the ultimate bliss, by understandng me as the receptor of all the sacrifices and penances and as the supreme Lord of all the universe."
Krishna continued. " Arjuna ! A true yogi (karma yogi) or sannyaasi (Saankhya yogi) is one who performs the actions of his duty without recoursing to their yields; but one cannot become a sannyaasi by merely renouncing one's fire-rituals or one cannot become a yogi by just withdrawing from all the actions. Also, understand that what is termed sannyaasa is the yoga itself. Because one who cannot cast off the deviations (towards wordly affairs) of his mind can never be a yogi at all. For a person concentrating on the ultimate, the karma (performance of actions without minding the yields) is the instrument for taking the course of yoga. Once he took the course of yoga, renunciation of all aims and intentions is the instrument to emanicpation. One is said to be set in the course of yoga, when he remains un-bonded with the objects of the senses or with actions and when he renounces all courses of thoughts of his mind."
" One should extricate oneself (from the cycle of birth and death). One should not let oneself down to ruining. Because, one is the only saviour of oneself and one is the very enemy of oneself too. For him whose soul controls his body and senses, he himself is his saviour. For one who cannot contain his senses and body, he himself is his enemy (In simple words, body, senses and mind kept under control are instrumental in emanicipation but those very same things otherwise destroy the goal of emanicipation.). For the intellect of a person with soul concentrating on the ultimate, remaing unaffected by dualities like cold and heat or pleasure and sorrow or shame and honour, the ultimate soul is ever within the reach. A yogi who thouroughly understands the grace of the ultimate both in its abstract and qualitative sense, who remains with equanimity, whose senses are well controlled, is said to have attained the ultimate. For such a one, earth or stone or gold are just a dross. Really great is he, whose feeling is equal even towards a friend, a beloved, an enemy, an unrelated one, a neutral, a detestable and a relative too."
Krishna continued describing the methodology of meditation for a yogi . " A meditating yogi should without interruption stick to his meditation upon the ultimate, alone in a lonely place, keeping all his senses and mind under control, without resorting to acquisition of instruments of material pleasure and without any desire over wordly things. First, a yogi shall arrange his seat for meditation like this. At a clean place, a steady seat of his own, neither too high nor too low, shall be placed on which shall be spread a darbha (= kusha - a sacred grass) mat, a deer skin and a cloth in that order. Sitting on that seat, withdrawing the senses and thoughts, concentrating the mind, shall a yogi practise his meditation for internal self-purification . A meditating yogi shall sit atraight erect with the head, the neck and the torso in a line; steady with no bodily movements; looks aiming at the edge of the nose; not looking in any other directions. A yogi shall remain concentrating upon Me, with his mind tied up and intellect twining with me, without any fear or doubt, all the while sticking to the rules of brahmacharya, seeing nothing but Me. Thus practising yoga, a steady-minded yogi shall attain the ultimate bliss and peace from Me. Arjuna ! This course of meditation (dhyaana-yoga) is not possible for one who eats too much or for one who does not aet at all. It is impracticable to one who sleeps too more or to one who keeps just awake. This meditation yoga demolishes the afflictions of such an its practiser that adopts proportionally suitable extents of food,movement, sleep, waking and application in actions- all with suitable qualities. When a yogi's well-contained mind always sticks on to the ultimate; when he casts off all his worldly interests, when he is devoid of any desire for pleasures, then he is said to have attained maturity in the yoga . A stable flame of the lamp at a windless place is a similie to narrate the status of the unwavering mind of a yogi who meditates upon the ultimate. A yogi feels the bliss by experiencing the ultimate soul within himself with the aid of his own purified soul to which his mind lies bound to by continuous practice of the yoga. That eternal bliss is beyond the senses, felt only by a fine intellect. Attaining which a yogi will never fall off that status of experiencing the true form of the ultimate. He who attains this status, sees no other benefit more beneficial than that; never gets affected even by a great calamity. "
" Arjuna ! One should understand that suach a status as I told of now, that which detaches one from all one's afflictions, is the (result of) yoga. That yoga should be strived for, with an undissipatingly committed intellect. One shall entirely shed off all desires which come from thoughts; shall refrain with one's mind the senses from all their jobs . With the help of the stable intellect, one shall gradually attain wantlessness in due course . The mind shall be made bound to the ultimate and other thoughts shall be allowed. What and what the naturally wavering mind freely runs at, it should be withdrawn from that and that and should be strictly controlled . It should be tamed to aim at the ultimate alone. A yogi with a calm and stable mind, sheds off the effects of ego, becomes conjoined with the ultimate and experiences that eternal bliss. Thus always unifying himself eith the ultimate, a yogi, free from all vice, enjoys that bliss forever. One attaing this status through yoga, sees himself in every being and sees every being within himself due to his equillibrium towards all the beings ( and all the effects ). For him that sees Me in everything and everything in Me, I am there to grace him and he shall never miss Me. A yogi who identifies himself with the ultimate seeing Me stationed in all the beings is said to be applying himself verily to Me even if he applies himself to all activities like others. Such a yogi who sees every being like himself and who feels the pleasure and sorrow of all others with equality to his own, is considered the best."
Arjuna raised a querry at this point. " Krishna ! I do not see that stability is possible to this yoga through which you said equipoise can be attained, because of instability of the mind itself. The mind is , as it is, very wavering and a strong disturber. I feel its restriction is as difficult as restriction of the wind itself."
Krishna answered. " True, Arjuna ! No doubt. The mind is very much unstable. It is very difficult to tame it. but, it can be controlled through detachment and practice. I too opine that the yoga is definitely beyond the reach of a person of an untamed mind . For one with a refrained mind and continuous effort, it is attainable through strong practice."
Arjuna further asked, " Krishna ! If a person of uncontrolled mind, despite his commitment, fails from attaining the goal of the yoga, what happens to him? Which end shall he reach ? Will he miss the pleasures as well as the yogic bliss thus becoming a dejected one like a shattered cloud ? This is my doubt about what you said . You may kindly clarify this, as none other than you can do that."
Krishna answered. " Arjuna ! One doing pious things for attaining the ultimate, will never meet with a bad fate. He suffers no disasters either in this world or in the next one. A yogi failing from the yoga ( due to any reason ) will dwell in the higher abodes for a long time and thereafter takes birth in the lineage of pious and rich people. Or, he may straightaway (without enjoying higher abodes) take birth in the lineage of learned yogis itself. However, such a birth is very very difficult to achieve. After such a re-birth, the intellectual culture of his previous birth devolves upon him, whereby he will try with manifolded efforts to achive the yoga goal. He will effortlessly be dragged away by the culture of practice of his previous birth. Even one who is desirous of knowing about the yoga too, will enjoy the fruits of all the deeds done with a vested interest in their yields. But, a yogi, through his efforts of this birth too may attain the ultimate, by casting off all the evils, as the effect of intellectual culture accumulated for many previous births. A successful yogi stands better than one who undergoes the penance prescribed for his order. He is considered superior to the intellectual pedagogues. His status is higher than that of those who perform their duty-bound deeds. Hence, Arjuna ! You too shall become a yogi. Among all (types of) the yogis too, I opine him as the best, who submits to me with dedication and with his mind all filled with but Me."
Krishna continued. " Arjuna ! Now hear me, I will explain to you how you can know of me beyond doubt, through immursing in the yoga with your mind firmly set on Me and taking refuge with Me. I will tell you all about jnaana and vijnaana, after learning which, there will be nothing to learn in this (Note: The God is worshipped with two concepts, abstract and visible. Knowledge of these two concepts is referred to as jnaana or experience and vijnaana or knowledge respectively.)"
" One among thousands of humans tries for attaining the ultimate. Among all those blessed yogis trying that way too, just only a certain one will truly know about Me. My nature is of eight segments, namely, earth, water, fire, air, sky (space), mind, intellect and ego (consciousness) . This eight-way nature of mine is called the apara or exterior (jada or static) nature. Yet another facet of my nature, named para or interior (chethana or current) nature is there and you shall understand that this life-essence interior nature holds this entire creation. Learn that all the beings source from these two natures. I am the prime cause of the evolving and dissolving of this entire universe. Arjuna ! There is nothing beyond Me that causes anything. All this universe is vested in Me just like the jewels held together by a thread."
" Arjuna ! I am the taste in the water; I am the light in the sun and the moon; I am the Oam in the vedas; I am the sound in the sky; I am the ego (consciousness)in the humans; I am the smell in the earth ; i am the spark in the sun; I am the life in all the beings; I am the penance in the hermits; I am the eternal source of all the beings; I am the intellect in the learned; I am the valour in the valourous; I am the strength, that is devoid of lust or favour,in the strong; I am the desire, that is not against the virtue, in all the beings . Also, understand that all those entities arising from the three qualities of the mind ie satva(calm), rajas(ego) and tamas(arrogance) are from me. Yet, nor am I in them, nor are those in Me. All the creatures are delluded by the entities arising from the three qualities and hence do not comprehend me to be beyond these qualities. My divine delusion comprising these three qualities is unsurmountable. Only those who take refuge in me can overcome that and the cycle too. Those who are evil doers, who are of unworthy character, whose intellect is suppressed by the delusion, whose temperments are devilish and demonic, cannot even submit themselves to me . Virtuous people of four types take refuge in me, Arjuna ! Those inflicted by troubles, those dedicate themselves to learn about the ultimate, those desirous of attainng their interests in this world or the next one and those who are learned . Of this four categories, the learned or enlightened one with stable devotion and consistently concentrating on me is the best. An enlightened one is a dear one to me and I am a dear one to him too. All refugees of these four types surely deserve merit, but I opine that an enlightened one is Me Myself. Coalescing his mind and intellect with me, he stays in Me, ie the ultimate abode. After passing through many births, then will an enlightened one submits to me comprehending that only Vaasudeva (ie I) is in the entire universe. such a great soul is very very rare. Some people with their knowledge carried away by their respective desires, take refuge in some other gods driven by their own nature and following the respective codes of worship. It is I that causes a stable devotion for a desirous devotee towards that form of god that he choices to worship with dedication. Equipped with that devotion, that devotee fullfils the worship of that god and obtains the desired fruits which in fact are delivered verily by me. But, those fruits begotten by those feeble intellects lasts for a limited period of time only. Those who dedicatedly worship other gods will reach those other gods and my devotees will reach me too. People of uncomprehensive intellect cannot understand my ultimate and eternal entity ; they think that I, who in fact am beyond senses and mind, assume a form like a common being. Shielded by my divine delusion ( yoga maaya), I am not open to one and all. As such, the ignorant people cannot know me to be the ultimate and sourceless. Arjuna ! I know about all the beings that had gone, that are living now and that will exist in future too. But, none ( except my staunch devotee) knows me. In this world, all the beings fall into an illusion because of the effect of duality (feelingslike pleasure and sorrow) which itself arises from favour and aversion. Those people of virtuous deeds, whose evils are eroded, who are free from the illusion of duality and whose dedication and determination are unswerving, they submit themselves to me. Those who take refuge in me for emanicipation from the cycle of birth and death, will thoroughly comprehend about the brahma (ultimate), adhyaathmam ( entire beings) and about karma (entire deeds or actions - god's intention of creation etc). Those who know , even at their last moments, about me along with the adhibhootam , adhidyvam and adhiyajna (all these terms are explained in the next chapter -T ), will attain Me.
Hearing many new words from Krishna 's last statement, Arjuna asked . " Krishna ! What is that brahma ? what is that adhyaathmam? What is that karma? What is that adhibhootham ? and what is that adhidyvam too ? Who is the adhiyajna here and how does it stay in this body ? How are you known even at the last monents by the persons whose mind is concentrated on the ultimate? "
Krishna heard the series of Arjuna 's questions and began to answer. " Arjuna ! Brahma is the eternal and ultimate soul (abstract paramaathma). Adhyaathmam is the soul being . Karma is the activity like creation of all beings etc by the supreme soul. Adhibhootham is the entity that takesbirth, exists and perishes. Adhidyvatham is the prajaapathi(creator) who himself is a factor of the ultimate soul. Adhiyajna in this body is I myself, occupying every body. He who meditates solely over me even during his last moments and leaves the body will surely reach my abode. Whichever entity that a dying being thinks of at the time of shedding this body, he is influenced by that thought and always assumes the form of that entity. Hence, you keep on thinking of me at all times. And go for the war now. You will undoubtedly reach Me Myself by pinning your mind and intellect on to me. a person always meditating on the ultimate divine purusha through a mind indulged in practice and yoga without any other thoughts, will reach the divine ultimate purusha himself. He who meditates on, the omnipresent, the originless, the supreme lord, the minuter than the minutest, the supporter of all, the one with unintellectable form, the one as resplendent as the sun, the one beyond and dispelling all ignorance, even at the time of dying, with a stable mind and dedicated devotion, stationing the life (praana) at a place between the brows with the strength of his yoga - will reach that eternal and ultimate purusha ( supreme soul).".
Krishna continued. " Arjuna ! Now I will tell you briefly about that ultimate abode - which the vedic scholars describe as eternal; which the effortful renouncers devoid of passion do reach; and to reach which the seekers observe celibecy . He who withdraws all the senses, who contains his mind in the heart (hrit), who stations his life (praana) at the top of his head (sahsraara ), who immurses in hi smeditation, who silently prays on the syllable 'oam' (pranava) and who meditates upon Me while leaving his body, will reach the ultimate abode. I am easily reachable to a yogi who, always incessantly thinks of me with his mind not running at other things and who always indulges in his yogic meditation on me. Those great souls who reach Me, the ultimate abode, will never return to a temporal re-birth that is full of aflictions. All abodes upto the one of brahma are limited by time and their attainers are to return to re-birth. But, after reaching me, one will not return to re-birth. Scholars wellversed with the day and meausurement of time say that a thousand divine ages ( i.e. 1000 x 4 human ages kritha, thretha, dvaapara and kali, totalling to 4,32,00,00,000 human years ) is one day time to the brahma. An equal period is one night time for him. At the beginning of the brahma's day, all the beings are born out from the exterior nature (apara nature or brahma) and at the beginning of brahma's night, all the beings get dissolved into the same exterior nature. This set of beings dissolve at the beginning of the night of the brahma and take birth at the beginning of every day of the brahma. However, beyond that exterior nature, there is yet another abstract and originless entity which does not cease to exist even as all the beings get ceased. This abstract entity is described as akshara (eternal) . That is said to be the ultimate abode and those who reach that ultimate abode of mine will never return. Arjuna ! That ultimate purusha, who ranges over the entire universe and in whom do all the beings reside, becomes reachable only through devotion that turns to no other things."
" Arjuna ! I wil now tell you about the course ( ruled by different deities ), through which, after leaving their bodies , the yogis attain either returning (terminating) or non-returning (permanant) abodes.
The yogis with the enlightenment about the brahma who leave their bodies reach the abode of ultimate brahma passing through that resplendent path ruled over by the resplendent fire through which they are lead by the ruling deities (godheads) of the entities - day,the light fortnight and the six months of the northern path of the sun ( ie uththaraayana or the summer solstice). And, a yogi (performer of actions with interest in yields) leaving his body reaches his eligible abodes (of enjoyment) passing through that path lead by the ruling deities of the entities- namely- smoke,night, dark fortnight and the six months of the sun's southern course (ie dakshinaayana or winter solstice) . But, he returns to re-birth from those abodes after the prescribed duration of his stay there. These two paths (or courses) , the white or lighted one (devayaana = course to gods) and the black or dark one (pitriyaana = course to manes ) - are the permanent ones in the creation. The one going along the former one will not return, while the one going along the later one will return ( to the cycle of birth and death). Any enlightened one knowing about these two paths will never fall into delusion. Hence, stick to yoga ( effort to realise Me) all the while. A yogi who learns and understands this will reach the original ultimate abode, surpassing the yields obtained by the prescribed practises like recital, sacrifices,penance and alms etc."
Krishna went on . " Arjuna ! As you are faithful to Me, I will teach you all this greatest and privatest knowledge of jnaana (experiencing the ultimate) and vijnaana (knowing about the ultimate) , understanding which you will be absolved of your evil. This is the best of knowledge, this is the highest secret, this is the sacred and ultimate, this is easy to practise - once known, this gives perceivable results, this is virtuous and this is the eternal thing. People who are not devoted to this virtuous goal, do not reach Me but return to the cycle of birth and death. My unmanifestable entity is the source of all this entire creation. All the beings reside in Me I am not in them ( ie 'I am, those are'; but not - 'those are not, I am not'.). Even the status of the beings in Me is not permanent too. Imagine my divine and mysterious power. Though it is My intention that creates and holds the beings, My trace is not permanently stationed in them ( this seemingly contradiction only means that - the creation appears to be in Me, but in fact it is temporary, I am the the sole thing existing.). Just as the great entity of wind always stays and moves all over the sky ( ie space), understand that all the beings lie in Me. At the end of creation ( 100 years of brahma), all the beings dissove into my natre ( mahath or great brahma) and at the beginning of creation, I will re-hoist them. Thus, per my nature, I again and again create the entire beings who themselves are unknowingly ruled over by their own nature. But, Arjuna ! Those actions of Me do not bind Me, as I am like neutral and uninterested in those actions ( of creation or destruction ). Under My supervision, My nature creates the entire mobile and immobile creation and the creation goes on recycling due to this reason ( ie My nature and my supervision.).
" People, with incompetent intellect; with unworthy and unrealisable thoughts, deeds and inference; assume the dellusive, devilish and demonic temperments. But, great souls realise that I am the origin and source of the beings and they submit themselves to me with their mind directed at no other things, adopting my divine nature ( temperment of serenity, craving for god). Such determined devotees always serve me with all their efforts, immursing in meditating on Me, singing of Me, bowing Me and worshipping Me. And some enlightened yogis worship me through the sacrifice of jnaana either with the understanding that I am the only entity in the universe or with the understanding that I exist in various entities differently everywhere."
" Arjuna ! I am the sacrificial performance of all types such as krathu or yajna. I am the syllable svadhaa( used while offering to the manes). I am the herbs and fuels used in the sacrificial fires. I am the chant. I am the ghee ( ghritha - boiled and clarified butter).I am the fire. And I am the (thing given as ) oblation too. I am the mother, father and grandsire of this creation ( The creation and its source come from me.)I am the sacred. I am the one to be known. I am the renowned knowledge pranava (Oam). I am the vedas, Rik , yajus and Saama. I am the recourse to all. I am holder of all. I am the controlling Lord of all. I am the recorder of everything in the universe. I am the abode of all. I am the saviour of all. I am the ( friendly ) guide of all . I am the source of all. I am the dissolvent of all. I am the base of all. I am the container of all. I am the everlasting core seed of all this creation. I release heat, I take and release ( water ) rain, I am the (death-removing) nectar, I am the death itself, I am that what is transient and I am that what is eternal too."
" Those who worship me through performance of the sacrificial rites prescribed by the three vedas, consuming the holy soma juice and thereby casting off their sins, pray for the divine abodes. They reach the divine heaven and enjoy the divine pleasures there. After enjoying the vast heavenly pleasures as long as their virtues last, they return to the mortal abodes. Thus, those bound by the scriptural worships and interested in pleasures of higher abodes, do go (to heavenly abodes) and do come back( to mortal abodes ). I take care of wellbeing of those who, think of Me without their mind going towards other things, worship Me with true neutral devotion and engage themselves always in My service. Those devotees who dedicatedly worship other entities too, are in fact worshipping verily Me, though their approach is in contrary to the true course of worship. I am the Lord and the receptor of offers of all the sacrificial performances. But those who worship other entities do not understand me truly and thereby fall down ( to lower fruits). Those who worship the gods do reach the abodes of the gods; who worship the manes do reach the abodes of the manes; who worship the demi-god spirits (occult worship) do reach abodes of those demi-god spirits. I bodily receive whatever a pure-minded true devotee of Me offers to me with perfect reverence, be it a leaf, be it a flower, or, be it a little water. Arjuna ! whatever you do or eat or offer as oblaton or give or worship, you perform your every action in dedication to Me . Thus adopting the yoga of performing the actions in my name , you are relieved from the bondage of your actions that gives good or bad fruits. thus relieved, you will reach Me. I am equal and equable towards all the beings. None is dear to Me or I am averse to none. Yet, those who worship Me with dedicated devotion reside in Me and I Myself reside in them. Even a person of the worst conduct, is to be reckoned good if he worships me with pure dedication, since he undertook the right resolution. Arjuna ! You shall surely understand that My devotee soon becomes virtuous and attains the eternal serenity but he never becomes ruined. Those who take refuge in Me will reach the ultimate abode, be they women or vyshyas ( third order in society) or shoodras (fourt order in society) or even such beings of very detestable birth . Such being the case, then, what to talk of the pious devotees among the braahmanas or kings ? You, having come to this temporal and afflicted mortal abode, worship Me and surrender to Me. You keep your mind targetting Me, you keep on worshipping Me, you supplicate to Me, you offer sacrificial rites to Me and you keep yourself immursed in dedication to me. That way, you will attain verily Me ."
Krishna went on with his discourse to Arjuna . " Arjuna ! Hear the best from me which I wish to impart to you for your good, due to your faith in Me. Even the sages or the gods do not know my roots because I am the source of those sages and gods, by all means. Whoever among the mortals knows me to be the birthless, the originless and the Lord of all universe, that one of great enlightenment is relieved off all the evil. From me, do come all the various temperments and several entities of the beings such as intellect, knowledge, unerring inference, truth,forbearance, restrain, pleasure, sorrow, birth, decay, fear, fearlessness, harmlessness, equanimity, contentment, penance, alms, fame and disgrace. All the beings in this creation come from the Manus (Vyvasvatha etc) , the four ancient sages (Sanaka etc) and the seven divine sages (Athri etc, varying with the Manus) who are my devotees and who all themselves are but entities born out My intention. He who knows my this divine excellence and power becomes perfectly stable in yoga (of dedication) , no doubt about this. Scholars with knowledge and dedication devote themselves to Me, understanding that I am the source of everything and all is run by me. Those such scholars derive pleasure and contentment through submitting to Me, dedicating their lives to My worship, enriching one another with knowledge about Me and always discussing Me. In case of those that stick to Me always and worship Me with love and dedication, I grace them with an able intellect that can realise My true excellence , whereby they reach Me. Out of my kindness to them, I reside in their intellect for their benefit and dispel the darkness of their possible ignorance with the resplendent light of knowledge."
Arjuna heard all that and asked Krishna . " Krishna ! All the sages describe you as the ultimate brahma, ultimate abode, ultimate sacred, the divine , the birthless, the sourceless, the eternal soul and the supreme Lord. The divine sages Naarada, asitha, devala and Vyaasa told alike. You yourself now tell me the same. I believe all this that you tell me is just true. O Lord! Neither the gods nor the demons know your true form. You only know of you. You are the source and holder of all the beings whatever they be. You are the Lord of all the abodes. You only may tell me about your divine and mysterious excellences with which you range through the entire abodes. O yogi ! How can I realise you by thinking of you always? Which and which entities shall I identify as yours and aim my mind at them ? Tell me in detail about your cosmic excellence and yogic power. I am not at all getting satiated with hearing your divine discourse. "
Krishna replied. " Arjuna ! I will describe my divine excellences picking only some of them randomly, as there is no end to such description of my excellences. Arjuna ! I am the soul of all the beings. I am the one in the hearts of all the beings. I am the beginning , middle and end of the beings. I am Vishnu among the twelve Aadithyas ( sons os Adithi). I am the sun among the radiant objects. I am the energy among the maruths. I am the moon among the skylights. I am the Saama among the Vedas. I am Indra among the gods. I am the mind among the senses. I am the life among the living beings. I am Shankara among the eleven rudras. I am Kubera among the yakshas and Raakshasas. I am Agni among the eight Vasus. I am mount Meru among the mountains. I am Brihaspathi among the preceptors. I am Skanda (Kumaara) among the war generals. I am the sea among the water holders. I am Bhrigu among the sages. I am the single syllable oam among the words. I am the silent prayer among all the forms of sacrifice. I am Himavaan among the stationary bodies. I am the Ashvaththa (Peepal) among the trees. I am Naarada among the divine sages. I am Chithraratha among the Gandharvas. I am sage kapila among the accomplished and celebrated yogis. I am the Uchchyshravas (Indra's horses) in horses and Iraavath among the tuskers, both being born along with the nectar. I am the king among the mortals. I am the (Indra's) bolt among the weapons. I am Kaamadhenu (in the heaven) among the cows. I am Manmatha (Cupid) among sources of birth. I am Vaasuki among the reptiles . I am Anantha among the Naagas. I am Varuna among the lords of waters. I am Aryama among the Pitris (manes) . I am the Yama among the rulers. I am Prahlaada among the Demons. I am the Time among the reckoners. I am the lion among the wild beasts. I am GaruDa among the birds. I am wind among the blowers (or purifiers, as almost all texts say.). I am Raama ( Raama in Raamaayana here, not Parashuraama-T) among the weapon-wielders. I am the alligator among the aquatic beings. I am Ganga among the rivers. I am the start, middle and end of continuous creation process. I am Theology ( spiritual enlightenment - brahma vidya) among the educations (knowledges). I am the impartial argument (vaada) among the discussions. I am the first letter (The short A in Samskritham language = 'u' in cub. ) . I am the dvandva (= conjunction of two or more nouns eg, Raamakrishnau = Raama and Krishna) among the compound words. I am the infinite Time itself. I am the omnipresent Dhaatha (= supporter or holder) himself. I am the death that consumes everything. I am the source of the beings to come into existence. I am Keerthi, Shree,Vaak, Smrithi, Medha, Dhrithi and kshama among the females ( These are the names of daughters of Daksha and Prasoothi) . I am the Brihat saama among the Saama hymns. I am Gaayathri among the meters. I am Maargasheersha (ninth lunar month) among the months. I am the spring among the six seasons. I am gambling among the deceitful. I am the splendour among the splendid. I am victory and determination among the victorious and persevering ones. I am the sathva (calm) temperment among the amiable. I am Vaasudeva among the Vrishni clans. i am Arjuna among the Paandavas. I am Vyaasa among the sages. I am Shukra among the wise. I am the punishment among the regulators. I am the policy among the winners. I am silence among secrets. I am the enlightenment in the enlightened. I am the source seed of all the beings. Among the entire mobile and immobile creation, there is no such thing that exists devoid of Me. "
Krishna continued. " Arjuna !There is no end to the listing of my divine eminence. But, I told you thus about that, as a brief mention. Understand that, whatever energetic or strong or splendid object that exists is nothing but a symbolic entity emanted out of a trace of my cosmic eminence. Yet, what use is it of, if you know still more about that ? Put in a simple statement, I occupy the entire universe with a minute trace of my cosminc excellence."
After hearing the elaboration about god's cosmic eminence, Arjuna asked Krishna . " Krishna ! By hearing from you about the secret knowledge which you imparted to me purely out of your grace upon me, my delusion is shed off. I have heard from you about the origin and dissolution of the beings. I heard a vivid description of your infinite divine excellence too. What you told about yourself is true.I wish to behold your divine and cosmic manifestation. If you consider me fit to see that my Lord, please hoist your form to me. "
Krishna replied. " Arjuna! You may see My various divine forms running into their hundreds and thousands, with various colours and structures. You can see Aadithyas, Vasus,Rudras, Ashvis, Maruths and many more astonishing entities which you did never see earlier. You can see in Me here, the entire mobile and immobile creation at a place. But, you are not able to see Me with your material vision. I hereby grace you with cosmic vision to see my cosmic eminence. "
Sanjaya continued to Dhritharaashtra. " O king! Having said thus to Arjuna , Krishna - the supreme Lord of the yogis - hoisted his resplendent cosmic manifestation to Arjuna's vision. That form consisted many an eye, many a face, many an astonishing bodies, many a divine ornamentation, many an up-held divine weapon , many a divne fabric, many a divine annointment . That form full of all bewilderments, ranged in all directions infinitely. If a thousand suns shine in the sky at the same moment, the collective resplendence may be compared to resplendence of that form of the great soul Krishna . Arjuna witnessed in the supreme Lord Krishna 's form, the entire universe segmented severally. Then, struck with astonishment, fear and bewilderment,Arjuna - experiencing an electrifying thrill running through his mind while his hair stood up right on end - bowed and said to him, holding his folded hands at the forehead.
" Oh! Lord!Here I see in you, all the gods, hosts of all beings. I see Brahma , Shiva , sages and the divine serpents too. I see your infinite form pervading everywhere with infinitely many hands,faces,bodies and eyes. I cannot identify the beginning or end or middle of your universal cosmic form. I see you adorned with crown, mace and discus. I see you looking like an unbeholdable and immeasurable vast expanse of radiance resplendent everywhere with such shining as that of a scalding sun and a flaming fire. I believe you to be the eternal, originless and undecaying entity that stays beyond all abodes. You are the ultimate thing to be known of. You are the saviour of the eternal virtue forever. I see your cosmic form here, with no beginning or end perceived, with innumerable hands, with the sun and the moon as its eyes, with its faces as flaming as fire and its horrible splendour scalding this world. All the space between the sky and the earth, as well as all the cardinal locations, is occupied by your form itself alone. All the abodes are terrified at the sight of your frightful form. All the gods are falling into you. Some are singing of you with folded hands. The sages and the Siddhas are immensely applauding you. All the hosts of gods like Rudras , Aadithyas, Vasus , Saadhyas, Vishvas , Maruths , Gandharvas, Yakshas, Siddhas, Pithris and Ashvis and the demons too are staring at your form with bewilderment. All these worlds, as I myself am, are shuddering with terror, by the sight of your unimaginably gigantic form with its infinetely many faces, eyes,legs,hands,fangs and bodies. At the sight of this horrible form of you with many colours in it, with its height touching the sky , with its widely opened mouths and shining large eyes scaring the onlookers to the bone, my mind and courage are blown off and I cannot even stand by myself. Once looking at your frightening faces that flame like the fire at the time of desrtuction, with their deadly fangs protruding, I cannot even keep my senses. Please grace me with your kindness. It is as wonderful as terrifying to see all the Kouravas, all the kings, Bheeshma , Drona , Karna along with all the fighters of my side, are falling helplessly into your terrific faces while some of them are stuck between the fangs. Their heads are broken into pieces. Similar to many rivers flowing into the sea, all these mortal warriors are falling into your flaming faces. Just like a herd of locusts speedily flying into a burning fire to meet their end, all the entities too are quickly falling into your faces. Your burning faces are stretching out their fierce flames to consume all the abodes. Your splendours of various levels and ranges are scalding the entire world filling the entire space with their fluorescence."
" Krishna ! Please tell me who you are with this terrific form. I wish to learn about you, the originless. I cannot estimate what you are at. "
Krishna answered . " Arjuna ! I am the Time. I am the death that kills the people. I stand enraged now here to destroy these people. Even if you stay away from this war, all these opponent warriors of you are not going to survive. Hence, get up to fight. Earn fame by killing your enemies and enjoy the flourshed empire. All these enemies are already killed by me. You simply remain as an instrumental pretext in seeing them killed. You shed your distress and fight to win against the warriors like Drona , Bheeshma , Jayadratha , Karna and others who are already killed by me. You fight the war and you will win over your enemies."
Hearing Krishna thus order, Arjuna answered woth a choking voice, trembling all over with fear, bowing to Krishna with folded hands. " It is fitting that the world is pleased and enthralled with singing about your fame and greatness. The frightened Demons run away helter-skelter and the Siddhas applaud you. You are above and beyond the prime source of this creation. Then, how can they keep from praising you, the ultimate far beyond both the transient and eternal , O Lord of Lords! You are He that is eternal and origin of all sources. You are the recourse to this entire creation. You are the omnicient and you are the one to be known of. You are the highest abode. You are the resident that fills all this creation. You are the gods Vaayu,Yama,Agni, Varuna, Candra, Prajaapathi and his source too. I bow to you, Lord of Lords, again and again, in multitude. You are the entirety itself and your eminence is unending and immeasurable. I bow to you from before, behind and every side. With a feeling that you are my kin and friend, I often called you Krishna , friend, Yaadava and this is due to my abreast closeness with you or due to mistake , but all out of ignorance of true identity of your eminence. I often jeered at you or might have even misbehaved with you treating you as my friend while eating, enjoying or moving around. I appologise for all that I may have done so either privately or openly. You, in fact, are the father of this entire mobile and immobile world . You are the most revered one, you are the most excellent one and you are teacher of the teachers. No one is even equal to you in the three abodes, what to talk of about one that is superior to you ? I prostrate before you and pray for pardoning all my acts, O Lord, as mercifully as a father does those of a son, as a friend does those of a friend and a dear husband does those of a dear wife. I am as much thrilled as afraid of seeing your cosmic manifestation that I saw never before. My mind is shaken to the roots. Please show me your earlier form and grace me. I only wish to see you in the crowned four-handed form bearing the discus and mace. Please transform into that form from this terrible cosmic manifestation. "
Krishna said , " Arjuna ! I am pleased with you and hence hoisted to you my original cosmic form to you with my natural yogic power . Except you, none has ever before seen this originless, unending universal manifestation packed with resplendence. Barring you,no other person is able to see this form of me, even through the recital of vedas, performance of sacrifices, donation of all kind of alms, great penances or any other virtuous deeds. Fear not by seeing my form as ghastly as this. Nor shall you be amazed."
Sanjaya continued to Dhritharaashtra. " O king! Saying thus, Krishna transformed into his normal form and again consoled Arjuna who was still not his own self. Arjuna could compose himself a little bit and said to Krishna . " Krishna ! Now, after seeing your normal human form, I am able to regain my senses and I am becoming my usual self. "
Krishna said. " Arjuna ! It is highly impossible to see this form of me that you have just seen. Even the gods are ever curious to behold it. As you saw me now, a visin of tht form is not achievable even through study of vedas or practice of penance or sacrifices or alms. I am intelligible, attainable and conjoinable only through purely dedicated devotion . One can reach me, by performing his duty-bound deeds with the results dedicated to me, by taking refuge with me, by devoting himself to me, by detaching himself from all bonds (of deeds, relations, ties,linkages etc) and by not holding aversion to any of the beings."
Sanjaya continued to dhritharaashTra. Arjuna asked then . " Krishna ! Of your devotees that worship you with stable concentration comprehending you as one with a form and those that worship you comprehending you to be a formless and undecaying one, who are better than the other ? "
Krishna replied in elaboration didactically explaining about devotion at its various levels and in its various ways. " Those are considered the best of the yogis who, repose their mind on Me, engage in My devotion always and evince the highest dedication in Me. And those, who control their senses - who treat every being with an equal outlook - who opt for the wellbeing of every one - who worship Me comprehending Me to be omnipresent, unintelligible to the intellect, neutral, untransient and undecaying - will surely reach Me. But, worshipping the unmanifest is more difficult in practice because for a being dwelling in a mortal body with senses, it is extremely difficult to concentrate on the unmanifested entity."
" For those - who dedicate all their actions to Me, take refuge with Me, worship Me with un swerving dedication, who repose their intellect in Me, I wii be the saviour to soon extricate them out of the ocean of this wordly cycle of births and deaths."
Krishna continued about worshipping of Him with an imagined form. " Arjuna ! You concentrate both your mind and intellect on Me alone. That leads you to Me, no doubt about this. If you are unable to stabilize and concentrate your mind, you try to attain me by adopting various practices that are vogue for that purpose ( for example, thinking about Him always with various imaginations). If you are not competent even to adopt such practices, you indulge in rendering service of My worship. You can reach me even by performing acts My worship too. Still, if you are unable even for these acts of worship or practice of concentration, you refrain your body, sensories and mind and then renounce in my favour the results of all your deeds. Arjuna ! Understand that the system of practising various ways to attain me is inferior to erudite knowledge about Me. And this subject knowledge about Me is inferior to concentration on Me. And this concentration is inferior to renunciation of the results of your deeds in My dedication. And it is this renunciatory dedication that soon brings you the ultimate peace. Such a devotee of Me will be a dear one to Me, who never abhors any being for any reason, who always loves all the beings, who shows mercy on all, who avoids ego, who uproots attachments, who possesses patience, who treats pleasures and pains alike, who is always content, who indulges in efforts to attain Me, who refrains his mind, who bears a firm decision in his efforts. I love such one who neither troubles those around him nor feels troubled by those, who is devoid of such petty feeling as joy, jealousy, fear and anger. Such a one will become dear to me, who is devoids of any wants, who is pure in body, mind and deeds, who is able to stick to My path, who remins neutral to all wordly affairs, who renounces his ego in all efforts of deeds and whose mind never entertains any feeling of sorrow. My dear one will be he, who is not subject to he feeling pleasure by any gain, who never abhors anything, who never laments over anything, who never desires for anything, who remains always in my dedication and who never minds either good deeds or bad deeds at all. He will be dear to Me, Arjuna , who is equipoised towards his friends and foes, who receives honour and dishonour alike, who remains unperturbed by cold or heat or comfort or trouble, who avoids attachments to wordly affairs and who looks all with the same mind. I love such a staunch devotee Me, who immurses in My thoughts, who treats praise and despise alike, who remains content with whatever is available to him, who does not stick to any permanent residence of his own and whose intellect never wavers from Me. Only such of my devotees who sincerely adopt themselves to this prescribed virtuous and eternal path of Me with Me as their sole goal, are very much dear to me."
After elaborating about devotion, Krishna began to teach Arjuna about the body and the soul. He continued , " Arjuna ! This physical body is termed Kshetra ie the place of residence. And he that knows about it and its nature is termed Kshetragjna, ie "the knower of the kshetra." It is thus that these two entities are described by those with knowledge about both of these. Also, the soul that resides in a body too is termed Kshetragjna. Arjuna ! Understand all the souls residing in every physical body as simply Me Myself. I opine that a true knowledge is the one about the soul and its resident. Now, I will explain to you, What is meant by the description Kshetra or body, what it is like, what its courses are and where it is from. This, of course, was earlier variously elucidated by many a sage in many a hymn and was dealt with even in discussions of knowledge of the saints through decisive and logical presentations.
Briefly and simply put, what we call body is an admixture of
Now, Krishna goes on to explain about the instruments needded for attaining the true realisation. " Arjuna ! Humility, simplicity,harmlessness,patience, sincerity, serving on the elders; purity - of mind,word and deed; stability of mind; restraining - of thought, word and deed; detachedness towards objects of sensories, identifying oneself different from the physical body; a proper analysis of the demerits and the sufferings accompanying birth,old age, desease and death; uninterestedness in and delinkedness from bondages like wives and children, euanimity towards getting the desired or undesired, an unsverving devotion towards me, inclination towards solitude, disinclination from people immursed in wordly affairs; a constant thrive towards realisation; an understanding that God is the ultimate thing to realise about - all these things, Arjuna , taken together are called true knowlwdge. Every other thing else is false inference."
Krishna went on. " Arjuna ! I will now tell you about the knowable thing that only can be realised with these instruments. Learning about that leads to salvation. That knowable thing is distinct from both what is known as perceivable and what is known as not perceivable. That ultimate divine thing is originless and birthless. It has its hands and legs extended everywhere you can thnk of, its heads and eyes exist everywhere, its ears exist all over the universe. This is so because that ultimate soul pervades all the universe. It extracts all the objects of the sensories but it is not limited with possession of sensories. It has no interest in the universe yet it verily bears that. It is itself devoid of any qualities but enjoys the fruits of such qualities when it has itself linked with the nature. It lies within and beyond the beings. It is the mobile one and the immobile one too. It is undetectable due to its ultramicrocosmic nature. It is here in the vicinity and it is there in the yonder. It looks as if distributed among the beings but in fact remains unsegregated. It is the maker, bearer and destroyer of all the beings. The ultimate soul is that resplendent one that makes all the shiners shine. It is beyond all illusionary inferences. It is the knowable, it is the knowledge and it is the thing to be attainable even. it stations itself in the hearts of all the beings. Arjuna ! Thus I briefly explained about the body,the soul, the knowledge and the knowable. My devotee who realises this will realise about Me Myself."
Krishna further continued. " Arjuna ! You must understand that the soul (Purusha) and the nature (Prakrithi) both are originless and timeless. All the courses ie changes and all the qualities ( sathva,rajas,tamas) are derivatives of nature. Nature is the agent in creating the causes and their results. Soul is the agent in enjoying the pleasures and pains. The soul, getting linked to the nature, receives the results of the three qualities that emanate from the nature. This link of the soul with the nature's qualities is the reason for the soul's taking births in different sources, mean or high. That ultimate soul stationing in this body is described as the spectator,commander,manager, supporter and experiencer. Arjuna ! He who knows this way about the soul and the nature along with the qualities, will never suffer rebirth despite his all the while involving in doing the wordly deeds. Scholars attain this, by realising the soul within themselves verily through the soul itself, some through the practice (yoga) of knowledge (Saankhya), some through that of meditation and some through that of their prescribed deeds. However, some others who are not as able as these three classes, do so by following the teachngs of these scholars whereby those too reach over to the other shore of the ocean of the birth-death cycle. Arjuna ! Understand that whatever being in this world that exists, mobile or immobile, is an outcome of the conjunction of the body (kshetra) and the soul (kshetragjna). Even as all such beings perish, the ultimate soul remains undisturbed. He who knows this is the real learned one. Such a learned one sees the omnipresent soul to be equipoised with all the beings and hence will not bring down himself and reaches the ultimate course. A real learned one understands that all the deeds all over are performed by the nature itself and he never feels that he himself is the doer of the deeds. He attains the ultimate soul (brahma) the moment he realises that all the diversity of the beings is in fact one unity lying in the ultimate soul and that it emanates from the very ultimate soul itself. Arjuna ! Due to its timelessness and originlessness, the unchanging ultimate soul never does any deed or is never bound by the yields of any of the deeds, despite its stationing in the body. For example, the sky pervades all over but it is not affected by any of the things due to its undetectable microcosmic nature. Another example is the sun. He alone shines himself while making other things visible. similarly, the soul lies in all the bodies and make them exist and run (with life). This is the knowledge of the body and the soul and those who understand this through their inner realisation, will reach the ultimate status.
Krishna continued his discourse to Arjuna . : Arjuna ! Now, I will deliver on to you that highest one of all the knowledges through which all the great sages relieved themselves from this worldly cycle and reached the ultimate abode. Those who identified themselves with me through this realisation will never take birth even during the next creation or never suffer any trouble even during the destruction of the entire creation.
" Arjuna ! That great prime nature, which is mine, is the source for creation wherein I implant the seeds and therefrom emanate all the beings. That nature is the bearing mother and I am the seeding father for all those beings that come into existence through various species. My friend! The three qualities , namely, calmness (Saththva), arrogance (Rajas) and ignorance (Thamas), which come from the nature, confine the unchangeable soul in the body. Of the three qualities, the first one , calmness (saththva), is pure, stable and enlightener. It ties binds the soul with inclination towards knowledge and contentment (=sukha). The second quality, arrogance (Rajas), comprises desire and gives rise to greed and attachment. This quality ties the soul with inclination towards actions (deeds). The third quality, ignorance, comes from false inferences. It is deceptive to all the souls and ties them with recklessness, unattentiveness and laziness. When the quality calmness (saththva) prevails, all the organs and intellect become longing for discrete knowledhe and true realisation. When the quality arrogance (Rajas) prevails, there develope in the being such haracteristics as greed, attachment, desire, discontentment and interest in deeds with a view to enjoy their yields. And when the third quality, ignorance (Thamas) prevails, the being is burdened with such inferior qualities as indiscreteness, disinclination towards prescribed deeds, carelessness and infatuation . If a being ceases to exist during prevalance of the quality named calmness (saththva), he reaches the serene abodes of the best learners. He that dies during prevalance of the quality named arrogance (Rajas) will take rebirth among those humans who are interested in the rigt deeds. Dying during prevalance of the third quality named ignorance (Thamas) will lead the being to take birth among inferior classes of beings . When deeds are performed under prevalance of the quality calmness, the yields are pure ones like discretion and realisation. When done under prevalance of arrogance, the yields are troublesome ( recycling between performance of the deeds and enjoyment of their fruits ). For deeds done under prevalance of the third quality named ignorance, the will only be unrealisation. The quality of calmness gives place to realisation, arrogance to greed and ignorance gives place to false inference, unattentiveness and infatuation. People possessed with the quality calmness reach higher abodes (divine), those with the quality of arrogance attain middle abodes(human) and those with the quality of ignorance reach the inferior abodes ( forms of insects,animals,birds etc). If one assumes the role of a spectator and understands that the doer of all the deeds is not different from the three qualities and that My status is beyond the three qualities, he will attain my status ie Me. By surpassing these three qualities that are the sources of this physical body, a being is relieved of the bond of birth, decay and death and he enjoys the eternal status. "
Here, Arjuna raised a query. " Krishna ! What are the characteristics of the one who surpassed these three qualities? How does he behave ? And, how can he surpass them at all ? "
Krishna replied. " Arjuna ! ( Answer to the first question - T )Such a person does not detest when these three qualities prevail in him and cause realisation or inclinedness or false inference in him. Nor does he aspire to them when they cease to exist in him. He simply realises that the qualities are acting by themselves and remains like a neutral spectator without being disturbed by the qualities ( Answer to the second question - T ). For him, pleasure and pain are alike. He remains dedicating upon the supreme soul. He sees earth, stone and gold as equal. Dear and undear are the same to him. He receives praise and despise equally. He sticks to his stand unmoved. He minds both honour and dishonour in the same manner. Friends and foes are equal to him. He renounces his doership in all the deeds that he performs. Such a one is said to have surpassed the three qualities. Arjuna ! ( answer to the third question - T) He who dedicates himself to me with the practice of unserving devotion can pass over the three qualities and stands fit to attain the ultimate abode. As it is, Arjuna , I am the base of the undecaying, blissful and eternal Brahma as well as to the eternal virtue and ultimate bliss."
Krishna went on describing the Supreme Lord . " Arjuna ! It is metapharically described about a ( an abnormal ) banyan tree that it is ever-existing, that it has its roots upwards above, that it has its trunk grows below downwards and that all the scriptures (Vedas) are its leaves. He who knows about that banyan tree is said to possess all the knowledge of the sacred scriptures. The branches of that banyan tree spread downwards and upwards too. The three qualities develope the branches and the objects of the sensories are the budding leaves of those branches. The sucker roots of that banyan tree range upwards as well as downwards and bind the being in human world with the deeds and their yields. ( When explained, the metaphar becomes clarified like this. The tree of the creation ( = Samsaara ie bith-death cycle ) is unlike the normal trees.It is unending and continuous. It has its roots upwards ie it emanates from the Supreme Lord in the ultimate abode. It has its trunk downwards ie it has its source in Brahma that exists in a comparatively lower abode. Its branches grow downwards as well as upwards ie all the beings that come into existence lie in these lower abodes as well as in the upper abodes. Its branches are developed by the qualities and the objects are the budding leaves of the branches ie the birth of the beings is a result of their deeds done out of the effect of the three qualities and those beings enjoy the five objects of the five senses. Its sucker roots range upwards as well as downwards and bind the being in human world with the deeds ie the chapters of intellect, namely ego (I-ness),attachment (mamakaara) and culture (vaasana) cause the humans perform their deeds and thereby award fitting yields. Other than human beings have no duty to perform deeds and it is only for human beings to take care of their prescribed duties. All other beings are only to enjoy or suffer the good or bad yields of the deeds done earlier. Still clearer explanation can be seen in those many commentaries on the Geetha. -T).
Krishna continued. " Arjuna ! Those bound to the worldly attachments cannot understand the state and form of this strange banyan tree of creation as is now described(=samsaara), ince it has no beginning or ending or constant stature. One should chop off this strongly established tree with the sharp sword of detachedness (vyraagya or viraaga or virakthi) and only then should strive for that not-to-return-from course to the ultimate abode surrendering himself to the Supreme Lord from whom all this untraceable lineage of creation sources out. That eternal course to that abode (of the Supreme Lord )is open only to those who are devoid of pride and infatuation, who overcome the malice of ataachments, who overpower the desires, who constantly immurse themeselves in the devoted concentration upon the supreme Lord,those who do not err from the path of realisation and who are beyond dualities like pain and pleasure. That sureme abode of Me, Arjuna , is not one that is enlightened by the sun or moon or fire ( in fact, these are enlightened by him) . Thos who attain that ultimate abode will never return ( to the cycle) . The original soul(jivaathma) that lies within the body of every being is nothing but a trace of Me. It is this soul that takes with it the mind and the five senses that lie in the basic nature (prakrithi). The soul in the being ( jeevaathma) carries away with it the mind and five senses from its occupied ( leaving) body to the occupying ( entering) body just like the wind carries the smell from its source ( ie the sooksma shareera is stationed in the sthoola shareera by tthe soul.) It stands linked with the mind and the five sensory organs ie eye,nose,ear,skin and tongue and enjoys the objects of the senses ( Here, it is to be understood that the word enjoy only denotes that the soul appears to be enjoying the objects just due to its linkage with qualities and senses, but in fact the soul is neither doer nor enjoyer. Refer to Katha upanishat. - T). The ignorant ones cannot realise the stature of the soul in the body or its reception of the results or its conjunction with qualities or its leaving the body at all. Only those with the eye of realisation can perceive this. The discrete and effortful learned ones can see this soul stationed within themselves but the unlearned cannot see that despite their efforts ( due to lack of purity of intellect.) The splendour in the sun that enlightens the entire world, the splendour in the moon and that in the fire, are nothing but mine. I lie in the earth and bear all the beings with my power. I become moon, the source of life ( = rasa) and vitalise all the plant kingdom ( which is the source of food to all - T). I assume the status of the ventral fire (fire = Vyshvaanara,the fire God, here it is the power to consume the food )in the beings and consume the food of four varities ( food that is taken in by biting, drinking, chewing and sucking . Till now, in the last few lines, the Supreme Lord is described to be the source of all such powers to create, enlighten,bear, nourish and enliven the beings. T)."
Krishna went on . " Arjuna ! I lie within the hearts of all the beings. All those forms of intellect like rememberance, knowledge and clarification of ambiguities are only from Me. It is only I that am known through all the Vedas. I am the only source of the Vedas, I only know them and and I am the only establisher of the correct interpretation of the Vedas. There are only two beings namely, transient ( = kshara ie temporal) and resident ( =akshara ie permanent). All the physical bodies are that transient being and the residing soul in them is the permanent being. A different entity, beyond these two, named the Supreme Lord ( = Paramaathma), stands pervading and bearing all the abodes is the real Lord ( = Eeshvara). Since being beyond that transient and permanent beings (=souls), I am described as The Supreme Lord (= Purushoththama ie the ultimate soul) both in the scriptures and in the world. That unerring learned one who knows Me to be the Supreme Lord as described till now, is said to know of everything and he prays to me always by all means. Arjuna ! I taught you this most secretive science about Me. By comprehendig this, one becomes learned and fruitful.
The kingdom of the beings is of two divisions - one, of those with divine disposition and the other, of those with demonic disposition. I have elaborated about the divine traits already. Now listen about the details of the demonic disposition and its traits. Those with a demonic disposition cannot have inclination towards righteousness or disinclination from unrighteousness. They do not at all possess purity (of body and mind) or right practices or truthfulness. They hold that this world is false and that it has neither a support nor the Lord to support it. They simply say that the creation of beings is an outcome of lustful acts of male and female sources. By taking such a view, those poor intellectuals with their cursed thought become unwanted to everyone and adopt cruel and fierce deeds resulting only in trouble and endangerment to the world. These ones with such demonic straits hold their vanity and pride. They surrender to the unsatisfiable greed . They follow the false paths due to their negative inference and act in all the affairs in such a manner where there is no place to purity. They remain bound by numerous passions falling prey to anger and greed. They desire to grab the resources through unrightfulmeans just for the purpose of their own physical enjoyment.
Conjured by the power of their ignorance, they always feel like " I enjoyed this desire. I will enjoy that one . I have this much wealth. I will have those riches too. I killed this enemy of me. I will kill my other enemies too. I am superior to all. I am enjoying all the things. I am an accomplished one. I am strong and able. I am safe and comfortable. I am great. I am from an honourable lineage. I am the leader of all. Who is comparable to me? I will perform the sacrificial rites. I will give the alms. I will please myself."
Their intellect is subject to many a false notion and they get themselves caught in the net of infatuation. They remain lured and stuck to the physical enjoyments finally leading to a fall in the fierce and filthy hell. Full of conceit, proud and taking pride in their physical riches and thereby possessed with their resultant arrogance,they pose to be performing rituals like sacrifices only for the sake of appearence but not according to the manner they are to be done in. They believe in their ego, ability, arrogance,lust and anger whereby they jealously detest at Me, the very soul that exists in themselves as well as in others. To such cruel and mean people who jealously cavil at Me, I always award birth only in unworthy, inferior and demonic classes , in this creation. Getting born in demonic births, one after the other, they proceed only to attain still further inferior status ending with the hell, just without realising Me. Arjuna ! The entrance into the course of that hell is of three types, each of which causes destruction to the soul. They are lust anger and greed. Hence, one should avoid these three. One that is devoid of these three hell-leading traits performs what is good to himself and can reach the highest abode ( ie Me - T.) He that performs rituals or any deeds as he pleases, irrelevant to the prescribed code of procedures, will attain neither suitable good yield nor comfort nor salvation. Hence, it is the code of scriptures and knowledge that should stand as a standard to you while deciding the question of things to do and things not to do. You should do your deeds only after knowing about deeds prescribed by such standard of codes.
( Note: In this chapter, I used the words arrogant, passionate and egoistic interchangeably, to mean raajasa people- T )
After hearing the importance of procedure prescribed in the codes for performance of the rituals, Arjuna asked Krishna . " Krishna ! What about the status of those who perform the rituals with all dutifulness but not in accordance with the code of the scriptures? Can their practice be named as that of calmness(saththva) or arrogance(rajas) or ignorance(thamas) ?"
Krishna clarified. " Arjuna ! By the very nature of the beings, their dutifulness ( = inclination towards performing the deeds) is of three varities- namely- calm (saathvika), arrogant (raajasa) and ignorant (thaamasa). I will tell you about it. Every one has his dutifulness according to his intellectual disposition. A person has his own dutifulness and he becomes what that dutifulness makes him. People with calm temperment worship the divine bodies. Those with arrogant temperment worship the demonic class of bodies like Raakshassa and Yakshas. Those with ignorant temperment worship still inferior and unpleasant class of bodies or demi-god spirits like Prethas and Pishaachas. ( Refer to chapter 9 for the respective yields of the worshipping - T). You understand that those people are of demonic disposition who resort to severe but non-scriptural penance (thapas) under influence of their vanity, ego,lust and attachment. Such ignorant people simply end in straining their body, the set of elements therein and Me Myself stationed in the very body. The food favoured preferred by the people is of three kinds. So are their rituals (yagjna), penance (thapas) and alms (daana) accordingly. Know about the differences among them. Calm (saathvika) people prefer such pleasant foods like tasty liquids and milk-products which are nourishing to the body abd can increase longevity, intellect,strength,pleasure and comfort to them. People with passionate (= egoistic) disposition prefer pungent, sour, saucy, scorched and hottish food which cause desease, discomfort and malice. Those people with ignorant disposition (thaamasa) prefer such detestable foods as residuals, leftovers, stinking, spittles and other unfit materials. (This is the difference in food preferred by the three classes of people. -T)
" As to the calm people, they perform only the code-guided and prescribed rituals without interest in their yields all the while just believing that it is their duty to perform those rituals. Rituals performed by the egoistic ones (raajasas) are so done with a vested interest in their yields and for the sake of appearance. The rituals performed by the ignorant people (thaamasas) are marked with such qualities as lack of correctness in procedures, lack of proper ecchantings, lack of commitment and lack of donation of food,fee and presents (This is the difference in rituals performed by the three classes of the people -T).
" As to penance, it is of three types. Bodily penance, verbal penance and mental penance. Bodily penances comprises - 1) worshipping of Gods, elders, scholars and teachers, 2) purity of body, 3) straightforwardness, 4) celibacy and 5) harmlessness . Verbal penance includes 1) pleasant, true,amiable and friendly speech and 2) recital of the Vedas. Mental penance includes - 1) clarity of the mind, 2)calmness, 3) taciturnity, 4) mental containment and 5) purity of mind .
" If penance of all these three types is performed by people devoid of any attachment, with utmost commitment but without any interest in their yields, that penance is calm penance ( saathvika penance). If performed with a view to earning honour or greatness or admirability or under the influence of vanity, that penance is an egoistic one ( raajasa penance). If a penance is performed by people blindly following stringent practices, straining themselves as well as with an intention to harm others, such a penance is an ignorant penance ( thaamasa penance) ( This is the difference among the penance of the three classes of people -T).
" Now, about alms donated by the people of the three classes. A calm alms (saathvika alms) is one that is given, with a belief that it is but a duty to do so, at appropriate time and place, to an eligible recipient, but not as a return of favour. An egoistic alms (raajasa alms ) is one that is done with an intention of receiving a return favour, or with a view to gaining some yield out of it or with unwillingness or with an unpleasant mind. An ignorant alms is one that is given to an improper recipient at improper place and hour, without respect or with derision towards the alms or the recipient. ( This is the difference among the endowments made by the three classes of the people. -T).
( The following jargon of technical and symbolic words of Philosophy used till the end of this chapter is patent only to Samskritham language, ie, Oam,Thath and Sath. Translation using correct substitutes is impossible -T)
A three-way reference was made to the Supreme Lord ( Brahma) namely, Oam, Thath and Sath. The supreme Lord himself created in the beginning the Vedas, Braahmanas as well as the other people and the sacrificial rituals too. It is for this reason that all the acts of sacrifice, penance and alms of the learned Vedic scholars done in accordance with the codes commence with the ricitation of the syllsble 'Oam'. Those who desire to attain salvation perform all their rituals, penances and t alms according to procedure, without evincing any interest in the yields, simply by saying 'Thath'. ( With the feeling that everyhing is His-T). The word Sath is used to mean true. It means superb intellect too. It is also used to mean the best and appropriate act. This word 'Sath'also indicates the commitment towards rituals and penance. And any uninterested act relating to rituals,penance or God is also described by the very word 'Sath'.
Arjuna ! Whatever ritual or penance or endowment or other performance done without respect and commitment is termed 'Asath' ( = not Sath). That brings no good either in this world or in the next world.
( This is the eighteenth and the last chapter of Geetha. This is the longest one too. this deals mainly with renunciation and salvation but a lengthy discussion of the three qualities or straits is done with respect to their relation to many things. Finally, the discourse ends with reiteration of importance of performance of rightful deeds.-T)
Then, Arjuna asked Krishna . " Krishna ! I wish to separately know the true essence of renunciation (sannyaasa ie renunciation of deeds) and relinquishment ( thyaaga = disowning of the interest in results of the deeds ). "
" Krishna answered. " Arjuna ! Scholars opine that renunciation means non-performance of such deeds whose yields are to satisfy one's desires ( ie to leave away deeds intended to fetch desires and peforming only such formal rituals whose yield is not to attain any desire -T). Some discrete learned ones say that relinquishment (=thyaaga) means disowing of interest in the yields of all the deeds in toto, yet performing all the prescribed deeds. Some say that all the deeds have some inherent malice with them and hence all the deeds are to be left away. But, some others maintain that rituals, penances and endowments are not to be dispensed with. Arjuna ! Of these two, hear my opinion regarding relinquishment (thyaaga). Relinquishment ia of three types. Sacrificial rituals, penance and alms are not to be dispensed with. They must and should be performed. These three activities ennoble the learned ones. All these acts as well as other prescribed deeds shall be performed but without interest in their yields. This is my ipinion and the best opinion too about relinquishment. It is not proper to do away with the prescribed deeds ( though one may leave prohibitted and desire-oriented deeds). Leaving them away due to improper interpretation is ignorant act of relinquishment (thaamasa relinquishment). Leaving away the deeds thinking them to be impracticable out of fear of the involved physical labour, is egoistic relinquishment and that brings no results that a true relinquishment does. Performance of the deeds with the belief that it is just the prescribed duty and without attachment or interest in their yields is infact the calm relinquishment ( saathvika relinquishment). A real relinquisher is one with a calm mental disposition and who does not detest from such deeds as are said to be desire-oriented and does not get attached to the deeds prescribed as mandatory. It is imppssible for a body-bearing physical being to do away withh all the deeds but he who disowns the yields of the deeds is the real relinquisher. Those who do not relinquish the ( interest in the) yields, will have after death their fruits of their deeds in three varaities - desired, undesired and mixed. But, no such fruits need be enjoyed by the real relinquishers ( of the interest in the yields).
" Arjuna ! the Saankhya school of thought lays down five reasons for accomplishment of deeds. Here those from Me. Those five reasons are - the body ( the base), the inner soul (doer), the various instruments ( mind, intellect, organs), the various actions ( bodily and mental) and the Providence ( traces of culture of earlier deeds ). It is these five reasons that lie behind any act of a person, be it a prescribed one or not, be it done bodily or verbally or mentally. This being the true status, he who, owing to his poor intellect, considers himself to be the doer (of the deeds) is simply unable to see the truth. He who does not possess the ego and whose intellect does not gets attached with the deeds and other worldly affairs, he remains unbound by any sin even of he (unintentionally) causes harm to the entire world.
" The instigation for performing the deeds comprises three elements - the knowledge, the knower and the knowable. And the performance of the deeds too comprises three elements - the doer or the agent, the instrument and the action. Basing on the three traits (qualities, calm=sathva, egoism or arrogancae= rajas, ignorance =thamas), the Saankhya thought describes each of the three elements - knowledge, action and doer - as three different ones. Hear those too. Such knowledge, that makes one see the same eternal Supreme Lord wholesomely stationed in variously different beings, is called the calm knowledge (saathvika knowledge). Such knowledge, that makes one think that the variously different beings are variously different from one another,is called the egoistic knowledge ( raajasa knowledge). And, such mean and illogical knowledge, that makes one think that the physical body is the essence and makes one attached to it, is described as ignorant knowledge (thaamasa knowledge ). ( Thus, three types of knowledge are defined -T)
Such action, performed by one without interest or attachment towards the yields, that obeys the prescription of the codes, that is not done out of favour or hatred, is described as calm action ( saathvika action). Such action, feeling the labour in its performance, performed by one desirous of enjoying its yields, or to satisfy his e .go, is called egoistic action (raajasa action). And an ignorant action ( thaamasa action) is one that is taken up out of false assumption, without considering its evil fruits such as cruelty and harm . ( Thus, three types of action are defined. - T).
Such a doer or agent of the deeds, who is devoid of attachment, who is devoid of egoistic thoughts, who is rich in stability and alacrity , who remains unaffected both by accomplishment and failure, is said to be a calm doer ( saathvika doer). Such a doer, who is desirous of enjoying the yields of the deeds, who is greedy, cruel and impure, who is affected by sorrow and pleasure, is said to be an egoistic doer ( raajasa doer). Such a doer, who is unrestrained, uncultured, inactive,wicked,treacherous,unruly,harmful,sorrow-sricken and dilatory, is said to be an ignorant doer (thaamasa doer). ( Thus, three types of doers are defined -T).
Krishna went on further detailing the various forms of intellect based on the three qualities.
" Arjuna ! Hear each of the three varaities of intellect and steadiness ( some interpret this as retentiveness -T ). The calm itellect is that one which is truly well aware of - the active (involving in the second or third order of life but all the while concentrating on Him) and inactive ( shedding off the wordly life and adopting ascetic life for attaining Him) courses; things to do and things not do; desirable and undesirable things; and bondage and salvation. That intellect, which miscomprehends about - what is right and what is not; and what is to be done and what is not to be done. An ignorant intellect is one , which comprehends the wrong to be the right and understands everything the way in contrary with the correct one. ( Thus, three types of intellect are defined -T)
That steadiness of mind, which, with unerring concentration and meditation, holds and directs the activities of mind, breath and organs in the right way, is the calm (saathvika) steadiness. An egoistic (raajasa) steadiness of mind is one, with which, one is deeply attached to and interested in the yields of deeds and sticks on to the objects of virtue and desire. An ignorant steadiness of mind is one, possessing which a man poor intellect cannot shed off sleep, fear, sadness, sorrow and pride . ( Thus, three types of steadiness or retentiveness are defined -T).
" Arjuna ! Now, I will tell you about the three types of pleasure (sukham). The calm pleasure is that, which one enjoys through constant practice of meditation on Him, by which one attains the end of all troubles, which appears in the beginning as detestable as poison but in the end becomes like ambrosia and which arises from the serene state of mind after realisation about the self. The egoistic pleasure is that one, which emanates from conjunction of sensories and their objects, looking like nectar in the outset but ends looking like poison in the end. The ignorant pleasure is one which is throughout delusive to the self, arising out of sleep, laziness and unattentiveness. ( Thus, three types of pleasure are defined. -T).
" Arjuna ! There is not even a single being that is without these three qualities born out of the nature, be it on this earth, or be it in the heaven or be it among the divine bodies . The duties of Braahmanas, Kshathriyas , Vyshyas and Shoodras are seggregated according to these nature-born three qualities which arise from their repective natures (svabhaava). A Braahmana's natural duty comprises - tranquility, forbearance, penance, purity, forgiveness, straightforwardedness, realisation ( of self), knowledge and faith in God, Vedas and life post mortem. A Kshathriya's natural duty comprises valour, heroism,courage, ability ( to protect the right), fearlessness in wars, donation and leadership. A Vyshya's natural duty consists of - agriculture, cattle breeding, commerce and business. A shoodra's duty is to serve the remaing three orders of the society ( ie to provide ancilliary services to the three executive wings - T). Everyone accomplishes the objects of life by committing to his own natural duty. Hear how one attains accomplishment by being committed to his own natural duty. A human being attains accomplishment by offering the worship of performance of his own duty to the Supreme Lord from whom all the beings originate and who pervades over everything. One's own natural duty, though devoid of some worthy qualities, is superior to others'duty adopted by one, regardless of however finely the latter is executed. He who sticks to is own natural duty does not incur any sin or malice. One's natural duty, despite its having some evils, is never to be abandoned. For that matter, all duties are blemished by some evil or other, just like the fire is blemished by the smoke.
( Now, Sannyaasa or renunciation, ie gjnaana or saankhya is being elaborated - T).
Krishna continued. " Arjuna ! One devoid of attachment in all the wordly affairs, having restrained one's own self, devoid of desires, will attain the ultimate accomplishment through renunciation (sannyaasa). I will briefly tell you how one that attains this accomplishment obtains thereby the ultimate brahma too, which is nothing but the highest level of
realisation . The one that becomes eligible to assimilate with the Spreme Brahma is he, who - possesses a pure intellect, who subdues his own self with intellectual steadiness, who sheds the objects of the senses, who overpowers favour and hatred, who resorts to solitude, who consumes limited and pure food, who restrains his body, speech and mind, who always immurses in meditation on Him, who sticks to detachedness, who sheds attachment and remains tranquil by abandoning ego, strength,pride,lust,anger and instruments of pleasure. Thus getting assimilated with the Brahma, one does not long for anything or does not lament over anything. He bears equipoised attitude towards all the beings and accomplishes the highest devotion to me. With that devotion, he knows fully about Me and My powers. That knowledge renders upon him full realisation of Me and he soon after coalesces with Me. One who takes refuge with Me and performs one's deeds regularly, will attain the ultimate abode out of My grace."
" Arjuna ! You heartfully renounce ( interest in yields of ) all your deeds in Me, take to the practice of equipoised intellect and always keep your mind unswervingly meditating on Me. Thus dedicating your mind onto Me, you will overcome all obstacles. If you do not obey this due to your ego, you will destroy yourself. If you think, relying on your ego, that you should not fight in this war, all that effort of you is futile, as your own nature will direct you into your right course ie war. Arjuna ! What your intellectual failure makes you wish not to do, you will involuntarily do that , bound by your own duty arising out of your own nature. The all-pervading God stations Himself in the hearts of all the beings. with His delusion, He runs all the beings asif they are mounted on a rotary machine. You take refuge with him by all means. Due to His grace, you will attain peace and ultimate abode. "
Krishna was about to conclude his discourse. " Arjuna ! Thus I taught you this knowledge which is more mysterious than the mysterious. You think thoroughly about it and do as you like to do. Since you are very dear to Me, I will again tell you My beneficial word. Hear the best word from Me which is the innermost and most secretive. You keep your mind decicated to Me. Be my devotee. Worship Me. Obey Me. I promise you that you will surely attain Me, since are very dear to Me. You dedicate all your actions to Me and take refuge in Me alone. I will relieve you of all sins. you do not worry. This great knowledge is never to be rendered onto anyone that is devoid of penance, that is not a devotee of the Lord, that is not interested to receive and that who cavils at Me. But, he who bears the utmost devotion to Me and delivers this great secretive knowledge to My devotees, will, no doubt, ( shed off all his doubts and will )reach Me verily. Except such one, no other person in this world is dearest to me, nor will any one ever be. He who studies this virtuous discourse delivered to you by Me is considered to be performing sacrifices of knowledge in My worship. He who listens this with faith and without cavilling will be relieved of the cycle and will reach the abodes eligible to people who did pious deeds. "
Thus ending his scintillating discourse, Krishna asked Arjuna . " Arjuna ! Did you receive all that I taught with concentrated mind? Did your intellectual flaw cease to exist ? "
Arjuna replied in all obedience . " Krishna ! I shed off the flaw of my faltering intellect. I regained the right senses. I stand here, devoid of all doubts that cast on me hitherto. I am ready to do as you said."
Sanjaya continued to Dhritharaashtra . "O King! Thus, I heard the great conversation between Arjuna and Krishna which left me goose-pimpled. Thanks to the grace of sage vyaasa, I could hear this discourse of unreachable knowledge directly from the mouth of the master of the yogis Krishna himself. Sir! I again and again think about the great talk of Krishna and Arjuna and become pleased again and again. Thinking and again thinking of that great manifestation of Krishna , I as much wonder as please again and again. I believe that wealth, victory and right policy do permanently establish themselves in that place where the valourous archer Arjuna and the yogic master Krishna together stand."
Thus, Sanjaya concluded his report to Dhritharaashtra about Krishna 's teachings to Arjuna .
* * * THE BHAGAVADGEETHA IN THE MAHAABHAARATHAM ENDS * * *
"After praying to Naaraayana, Nara, Sarasvathi and Vyaasa, then one should recite the Jayam."
DEDICATED TO MY DEAR NIECE VYSHNAVI KRISHNA