Naasatho vidhyathe bhaavo naa bhaavo vidhyathe sathah, says Krishna. What exists can never cease to exist and what does not exist  can never come into existence. This sounds like high philosophy but  this can be applied to our everyday life. Most of our  problems arise because we imagine something to be real when it is not. We  identify ourselves with our body ,mind ,and intellect while the real  ‘I’ is different from all these. This  can  be verified through a simple exercise by trying to answer the question  Who am I ? The  obvious answer would be ‘ I .am so and so.’ But that is only your name. You may  say that I am father of so and so or husband of so and so. But it is only your relationship. Even when you say I am a professor or I am an intellectual, it only denotes your professional and intellectual status. So, who are you in reality ? We commonly speak about our body  as when we  say “My body aches all over.” This proves that you are not your body. Similarly when we use expressions like “My mind is upset” or “My intellect has failed to grasp this” it is obvious that we are separate from our mind and intellect.  

             That the real self must be something different from our body, mind, and intellect  we are able to perceive with no difficulty at all .But  there is another ‘I’ which  we have to reckon with , and that is our ego, which is the consciousness that I am.  Even this is absent when we are in deep sleep because we are not aware of ourselves then. But there is some entity who is aware of our existence even at that  stage   which makes us say  that we had a sound sleep. This is the real ‘I’ which is even different from our ego .This is what Krishna calls  avinaasi or sariri. Except that , everything else can be termed as transitory or antavantah.

             All our experiences, joy and sorrow, heat and cold etc are also  transitory ,which have to be endured. There is no stoicism involved in this  as we cannot fail to see  that all our problems or difficulties pass after some time whether we face them boldly or  cringe away in fear. That is what Krishna means when He says  that all experiences are due to the contact of the senses with the sense objects and they are fleeting and transitory aagamapayino anityaah and advises Arjuna to bear with them patiently .They have nothing to do with the real ' I 'which is the pure self, different from body mind and intellect.

            The real self is  thus shown to be different from body, mind and intellect.  Krishna tells Arjuna that it is impossible for him to kill anyone. Bhishma  and Drona have existence beyond their bodies which are only outer covering and when one dies he only sheds off this body to acquire another as we discard our old clothes to put on new ones.

              This sounds alright if death occurs at old age when the body has become jeerna or old. But how can this analogy of discarding old clothes and putting on new ones be applied when death occurs at young age or childhood when the body cannot be termed as old? Jeerna here means that it had served its purpose. A body is acquired for the purpose of exhausting  a particular karma and when the result of that karma has been experienced, that body has served its purpose and becomes jeerna. The residue of karma cannot be exhausted in that body and hence it is shed to acquire a different one suited for the purpose. So death is not something to be feared or grieved  about at any age

*

            Now what is the nature of the real ‘I’ ? Najaayate mriyate vaa  kadhachit naayam bhootva bhavita va na  bhooyaha .  Never is it born or dies nor does it have ‘being’ after it is born. Its nature is indicated as ajah, nityah, saswatah, puranah . It is unborn ,eternal ,everlasting and ancient and is not destroyed when he body is killed. When it could simply be termed as permanent or eternal why does Krishna employs so  many epithets? In Sanskrit literature not a single word is tautologous but  carries different implications A thing may be unborn but it may have an end. A classical example given for this in Vedanta is that of prior non-existence or praagabhaava. Before something ,say, a pot, is created, there was its non-existence which is known as its praagabhaava. This can be termed as unborn as it has no beginning. But it has an end when the pot comes into existence .So it is not eternal or everlasting An example of something which has a beginning but no end is what is known as posterior non-existence or dwamsa. When the pot is destroyed  it is its dwamsa or destruction which  has a beginning but no end.  So it is said to be born but deathless. .Nityah  is eternal while saaswata means without decay. The self which is the real ‘I’ remains always as it is .But it is also puraana  ancient. Hence the self or Atman cannot be destroyed by natural elements like water fire etc., nor by destructive weapons sastra because it is nithya and sarvagatah all pervading. Krishna uses two more adjectives ,namely,sthaanu and achala ,steady and immovable. Again we see that the words sthaanu and achala are not synonymous as the word sthaanu  denotes something stable like a tree which , however, may be moving or chala. So the adjective achala is used to denote immobility which is obvious of something that is all pervading as it has nowhere it can move to. 

            Something that is eternal, immobile  is commonly understood to be a perceivable entity. But this is denied of the self by saying that it is avyakta  unmanifest .It is not something that can be experienced through  the senses. Perhaps that it could be intellectually understood is also dismissed by the expression achintyoayam  unthinkable or  beyond the comprehension of the intellect “. Therefore ,”  Krishna tells Arjuna , “You should not grieve.”

           Bhagavatgita is like  milk  which is easily digestible for infants while Upanishads are like food for adults which is not so easy to digest , which is why the former is called Dugdham gitamritam mahat .Highest  vedanta is administered in easy doses by mixing it with brutal commonsense. For instance , after describing the nature of atman now Krishna comes down to the mundane  affairs and says “ Even if you do not understand the nature of the self and still think that people die  when their bodies are destroyed even then you should not grieve because jaathasya hi dhruvo mrityuhu dhruvam janma mritasyacha. Death is certain for those who are born  and  birth is certain for those who die .What we understand as life is therefore a very small section of the whole existence of which  both the beginning and the end are not perceived  except the middle , which we understand as the life of an individual. So, says Krishna tatra kaa paridevana "Why lament about it?

            In accordance with the trend of the Gita , Krishna again ascends the pinnacle of wisdom and says-Aascharyavat pasyati kaschidenam aascharyavat vadati thathaiva chaanyaha ; aascharyavatchainam anyahsrunoti srutvaapyenam veda nachaiva kaschit Krishna explains that the self in incomprehensible. Some see it as something of a  wonder some speak of it as a wonder, others hear about it as something wonderful, but even after hearing about it no one understands. The rare ones who have experienced Atman or Brahman  view it as a great wonder in the sense that it is something beyond perception, being  beyond the comprehension of the sense organs. Among those, only few are able to tell others about it , and  when they do  they refer to it as something wonderful because it  exceeds verbal description. Those who listen about it are also  wonderstruck on hearing about it and it is still more difficult to find one who understands this  as it really is.

            Perhaps thinking that Arjuna may find all this perplexing , Krishna lapses back to the worldly expression by reminding him that, being a kshatriya, it is his duty to fight a righteous war  as only a fortunate few get  this sort of  an unsolicited opportunity. Krishna further adds that if Arjuna turns away from such a duty not only he will incur sin but also earn infamy, which is worse than death for a hero like him The Mahaarathas like Bhishma will despise him while his enemies like Duryodhana will ridicule him.

            It will be interesting to note that both the wise  and the wicked have no doubts about what they want to do. Only the  average man who is averse to wickedness but  lacks the courage to do good is perpetually in doubt! Arjuna represents an average human being , that is , people like us! So what Krishna tells next applies to all of us whenever we are in a dilemma, to do or not to do anything. He says , Sukhaduhkhe same kritva  laabhalaabhau jayaajayau tatho yudhdhaaya yudhyasva, hinting at karmayoga which He is going to elaborate in the subsequent chapter .Karmayoga is termed as selfless action .This  path is praised by Krishna as being without pitfalls by saying nehaabhikramanasoasthi pratyavaayo na vidyate because even a little of karmayoga  practised  diligently produces result in the form of freedom from  the perils of samsara.

            The  essential condition for practising karmayoga is an intellect directed towards one ideal with determination. Otherwise thoughts run in all directions dragged by desires towards innumerable goals. Such people even if they are well versed in Vedas look upon the scriptural texts only as the gateway to heaven or to a better life on this earth and exhaust their intellectual skills in flowery speeches to prove their ends. That is why Krishna calls the Vedas as being  traigunyavishayaaha and asks Arjuna to transcend the three gunas  because they are of as much use to one with  enlightenment  as  a small reservoir of water , when the whole area is flooded This can be construed in two ways .To an enlightened one  the karmakanda of the veda  which  is the ritualistic portion  that secures enjoyment in this world and the next is like  water in the well when  the whole area is flooded. But if we take veda to mean the entire scripture including  wisdom of  Upanishads it may be interpreted thus: Even when the entire land is flooded the well can contain only as much water as it can hold .So too one can comprehend only as much as his intellect can grasp, which fact has been proved by the controversies in interpreting the vedantic passages. This may very well be the meaning of the term vedavaadharathaah.

            Karmayoga or selfless action is now explained by Krishna  who says karmanyevaadhikarasthe maapaleshu kadachana , maakarma palaheturbhooh maate sangoasthu akarmani “You have right over action only and not  the fruit of action. Your action should not be motivated by desire for fruit ,nor should you be attached to inaction.”  Swami Vivekananda said ‘work for work’s sake duty for duty’s sake’ meaning that one should do work for its own sake and not out of desire to get the result  .But the question is ,Will anyone do anything unless he wants the result? Certainly not! There is nothing wrong in starting a work with a specific result in mind  but  Karmayoga  consists in not getting attached to the result. This is not as pessimistic as it seems to be but sheer common sense. When we  begin a work we cannot help fixing a goal to achieve as otherwise we would not have started at all. But once started we should concentrate on the action only without worrying about  the result constantly as the anxiety will reduce our efficiency .On the other hand , if we put our heart and soul into the work we are doing, the result will automatically follow, and even if it does not, due to some factor on which we have no control,  we will not feel frustrated as we have already had the satisfaction from the work itself .This is what Swami Vivekananda meant by ‘work for work’s sake.’ To give up the attachment to the fruit of action is Karmayoga as advised in the Gita .It applies not only to the mumukshu,. one who aims for realization but also to the man of the world ,wherein lies the value of Gita The work which is assigned to you in this birth in accordance with your karma is  your duty that has to be discharged. This is what Krishna means when He says Maa te sango astu akarmani,  “You should not give up work altogether.” This provides the answer to the question “If  I should give up the result why should I act in the first place?

            Then comes the question , “How should I act in order to follow the path of Karmayoga?” Pat comes the answer Yogasthah kuru karmaani sangam tyaktwaa. Sangam,  attachment towards the fruit of action brings the attitude of samatwa in which one becomes  neutral towards success as well as failure, siddhi and asiddhi. So Krishna asks  Arjuna to have equipoise of mind. Skill in action lies in the practice of Karmayoga Yogahkarmasu kausalam  endowed with which  the wise get free from shackles of birth and attain immortality ‘Janmabhandhavinirmuktah padam gachchantyanaamayam. When the mind gets free from delusion which is the cause of joy and sorrow by wrong identification of oneself with the body there is no more confusion of conflicting thoughts and the intellect comes to rest, steady, and with no distractions, in the absolute reality and one attains Samaadhi  realization. Krishna has thus skillfully maneuvred the conversation to a point in order to make Arjuna ask the question Sthithaprajnasya kaa bhaasha. Then  He starts the description of the man of realization.

          Having heard of  the state when the intellect becomes firmly established in Brahman or Atman , Arjuna now asks the question already created in his mind by Krishna. He wants to know the definition of  Sthitha prajna. sthithaprajnasya kaa bhaasha samadhisthasya Kesava ,sthithadheeh kim prabhashetha  kimaseetha vrajetha kim? Arjuna wants to know  the signs by which he can identify  the man of realization and asks Krishna to tell him the way such a person speaks, sits and walks. This is not as absurd as it looks when translated literally. One may ask - what will be the difference between the way an ordinary man of the world speaks,sits  and the man of stable mind sthithaprajna? He will also walk with two legs , speak in the same language of the human beings , and sit as we do. But what Arjuna means exactly is as follows:-

1. The sthitha prajna has no interest in things which matter most to people in general. So what will he talk about.
2. Where will he reside? Will he stay amidst  others or will he go away to some solitary place?
3. How will he carry on his life  in general?

These questions are answered  by Krishna in detail:

      Prajahaati yadhaa kaaman sarvaan  Partha manogathaan  atmanyaivatmanaa thushtah sthithaprajnastatdochyate. One is known as sthithaprajna when he gives up all desires that arise in his mind and rejoices in his own self. Let us see what this means.  Thushtah means happy and contented. When does a man become so? Let us take, for example an instance where one learns that he has become a father of a boy. He has been desirous of getting a child so long and now the desire is satisfied. So he is happy but  only until he starts desiring for some other thing , like providing  for his son etc. Hence the joy lasted only as long as no other desire has started in its stead. This proves that happiness comes not out of satisfying a desire but only in the absence of any other desire. Therefore if one wants to remain happy he should lengthen the gap between one desire and the next

      Swami  Chinmayananda used to give an equation for happiness as follows:

Number of desires fulfilled

------------------------------------ p;&   =  the quotient of happiness.

Number of desires entertained

.

   When the denominator becomes zero the value of the quotient is infinity. So it follows that  only  the absence of desire will result in infinite happiness. This can be verified through experience. Generally one’s childhood is always remembered as the happiest part of our lives except  for some unfortunate beings. If we analyse as to why it was so,  we could see that in our childhood we had very few simple desires which were mostly fulfilled. As we grow older we multiply our desires so fast that it becomes impossible to satisfy all of them even during the whole span of life. Atmanyaivaatmanaatushtah,  revelling in the joy of one’s own self. Man runs after sense objects expecting  them to provide happiness which is a myth. If  so, the same object will not be the source of happiness  for one and give sorrow to another and  the same  source of happiness will not bring sorrow at a different time.  External object does not bring joy or sorrow but our joy or sorrow depends on the way we react to it. Hence happiness must come from within, which explains  the reason why  the man of realization  is always happy.  He is experiencing the bliss , which is the real nature of the Self .He is happy within  because he has given up all his desires . Therefore he does not react to the circumstances that gives joy or sorrow to the ordinary man. He has no attachment nor repulsion for sukha or duhkha, joy or sorrow because he is devoid of passion fear and anger. So he , whose mind neither rejoices with , nor recoils from good and evil , is  a  sthithaprajna  the one whose mind is stable.

       Now the question is, how does he manage to become detached so as not to be affected by sukha or duhkha nor by  good or evil? The answer is given thus Yadhaasamharathe chaayam koormangaaneeva sarvasah indriyaneendriyaarthebyah thasya prajnaprathishtithaa. Just as a tortoise withdraws its limbs into its shell he withdraws his sense organs from the sense objects .This does not mean that he goes on in the world shutting his eyes  ears etc. but he does not allow the sense objects to affect him. The damage is done only  when the mind runs after the senses as is seen later in the discourse when Krishna says Indriyaanaamhi charathaam yanmanoanuvidheeyathe thadasyaharati prajnaam vayurnaavamivambhasi. When the mind follows the senses  it takes away one’s determination like a boat which is carried away by the wind .The sense objects turn away from him who is not attracted towards them  but still the propensity to enjoy the sensual pleasures remains , though not encouraged , until the final consummation with the Supreme. Rasavarjam rasoapyasya param drshtwaa nivartathe.

      ‘Arise, awake, stop not till the goal is reached’,  thunders the Upanishad. But before proceeding  we should know the pitfalls we will encounter  on the way in order to be guarded against them. But this is more easily said than done. Indriyani pramaatheeni haranti prasabham manah , says Krishna , even for a wise man vipaschithahwho tries hard yatato hyaapi Kountheya purushasys vipaschithah.

  Krishna  now traces the descent of man  from the state of infinite bliss which is his real nature. dhyayato vishayaan pumsah sangastheshoopajaayate. This is the first step by which one descends from his mansion of bliss. When we think about an object  continuously we get attached to it. This is sanga .Then we start desiring it sangat sanjaayate kaamah, which, when thwarted , results in anger kaamaat krodho abhijaayate. Then  comes sammoha  delusion. When the intellect is clouded with anger one is not .able to think straight. That is, we imagine something which is not there and that is delusion. sammohaat smrti vibramah.’. From sammoha arises confusion of memory. When angry we forget whom we are talking to,and what they have been to us in the past. In the Sundarakanda of the Valmiki Ramayana, Hanuman says kruddho hanyat guroon api,.angry man will not hesitate to kill even his elders or even his preceptor. This will happen because  he forgets everything except the cause of his anger, not caring whom he hurts. The confusion of memory results in the loss of reason  buddhinaasah  due to which he comes to ruin. As Krishna  elaborates later, kaama or desire is the principal enemy of man  followed by the other forces of destruction , namely , anger , delusion pride,  avarice and jealousy. So the only way to avoid downfall is to cultivate placidity of mind. This is achieved by self control. Raagadveshaviyuktaistu vishayaanindriyaischaran aatmavasyairvidheyatma prasaadam adhigachchati. A man of discrimination enjoys the sense objects through his senses but does not cling to them, being free from likes and dislikes. With the attainment of the placidity of mind all the sorrows come to an end , that is to say, he is free from the woes of samsara.

      The description of a sthithaprajna comes to a close with a portrait of  the man of wisdom , one whose senses are completely restrained from their objects and who, having given up all desires moves freely without attachment, ego and possessiveness. Vihaaya kaaman yassarvaan puman charati nissprhah ;nirmamo nirahankarah  sa shaantim adhigachchati. In him all enjoyments merge  themselves like  the rivers entering the ocean. Rivers are continuously  falling into the ocean which remains unperturbed , maintaining its own level. So too , a sthithaprajna remains calm while enjoying the sense experiences without being affected by them Aapooryamaanam achalaprathishtam samudramaapah pravisanti  yadvat ;tadvat yam kaamaah pravisanti sarve sa shaantimaapnoti na kaamakaamee.’ Krishna concludes his portrayal of the sthithaprajna now.  That, which is night to all beings the realized man keeps awake and that in which all beings keep awake is night to the seer. This does not mean that  a sthithaprajna is a night owl! The  state of Divine knowledge and supreme Bliss is like night to the ignorant whereas it is as clear as the day to a jnani. On the other hand the ever changing, transient worldly happiness does not mean anything to him. Yaa nisaa sarvabhoothaanaam tasyaamjaagarti samyami,yasyaam jaagarti bhoothaani sa nisaa pasyayo muneh.’This , says Krishna , is the braahmee sthithih,  the state of  realization, having reached which, one never lapses back into delusion. He remains in it till the end of his life, and shedding his mortal coil ,he attains Eternal Bliss.

 Thus ends what can be termed as the Yoga of Knowledge and Krishna starts expounding the  Karmayoga.

            Krishna told Arjuna to fight  and do his duty without  attachment ,  which itself is baffling to Arjuna in his present state of mind , and in the same breath Krishna  explains the path of renunciation by describing the state of the sthithaprajna. Arjuna now raises a legitimate doubt about the real intention of Krishna and says vyamisreneva  vaakyena buddhim mohayaseeva me meaning,  “I don’t think that this is your intention but it looks as though you want to confuse me, by  extolling about the path of knowledge after insisting the importance of doing my duty.” He asks Krishna that if the path of jnana is superior, why should Krishna goad him to fight, which  is dreadful, tatkim karmani ghore maam niyojayasi Kesava. Then Arjuna asks Krishna not to beat around the bush and tell him which is good for him, sankhya the  path of knowledge or yoga the path of action.    

            Like an eminent physician Krishna has given Arjuna a shot in the arm to bring down the fever of despondency by describing to him the state of  realization in which  one attains peace. This has brought him out of his delusion about dharma dharmasammoodachetaah ,  but he is now confused as to what is good for him , the path of knowledge or that of  action. Anyway, confusion is better than delusion! Now the doctor is ready to treat the patient by milder doses of medicine and Krishna gave Arjuna a glimpse of the ideal to be attained in order to take his mind away from  his dilemma, namely, katham Bhishmam aham sankhye Dronam ca ishubhih pratiyothsyami “How can I fight Bhihma  and Drona.” Now Arjuna is ready to take normal advice as he is out of his delirium.

            There are two courses of spiritual discipline, says Krishna, the path of knowledge and the path of action .This is not left to the choice of the individual. One cannot decide that from tomorrow onwards he will give up all actions and follow the path of  renunciation unless he is capable of doing so. Here it should be noted that Krishna has not repudiated the superiority of knowledge to action but what He means is that the two are to be practised by different agents.

            Unless one is ready for renunciation it is not possible to give up action. If Krishna has confirmed that the path of knowledge is superior, Arjuna would have been delighted because it is exactly what he wanted. The path of karma which involved fighting is what he detested. Krishna is not going to help him to take an easy way out and tells him that mere abstention from work is not renunciation. Man does not attain freedom from karma  by giving it up because it is virtually impossible to remain inactive. How a man acts depends upon his propensities  and if he controls his senses and refrain from action he will be mentally dwelling on the sense objects . Such a  man is vimoodaatma and mithyaachaara, says Krishna, he is a deluded person and a hypocrite.Therefore action is superior to inaction.

            Now what is Karmayoga? Yastvindriyaani manasaa niyamyaarabyate Arjuna karmendriyaihi karmayogam asaktah sa visishyate , says Krishna. One who controls his senses through his mind and does his allotted duty with detachment is a karmayogi .This  is not as easy as it seems to be. Krishna gives a clue. Do everything  with the spirit of sacrifice, because,  man is bound  by his action except when it is performed  for the sake of sacrifice yajnaarthaath karmano anyathra loko ayam karmabhandhanah. The word yajna is translated as sacrifice which normally taken to mean the ritual of yaaga as  enjoined in the Vedas. But it is the spirit with which it is done is meant here and not the mere ritual.

            Yajna was created along with man, says, Krishna, so that man can prosper by it. Anena prasavishtyadhvam eshavo asthu ishtakaamadhuk, ‘You shall prosper by this; may this yield the enjoyment you seek.’ Yajnaas elaborated in the karmakanda of the Vedas are supposed to yield the fruit  for which  they were performed. The same done without attachment brings about release from the bondage of karma. To understand this one has to know something about the way yajnaas are performed.           

            Yajna in those days was a cooperative endeavour undertaken for the welfare of the society. It was done by the people from all the varnas, which were formed on the basis of  the division of labour and not birth. Brahmanas were so called because they were the custodians of the knowledge of the Vedas which culminates in the realization of Brahman. The word Brahman in Sanskrit denotes the Absolute Reality, veda and yajna. Hence they were in charge of conducting the yajna, or the priests. Kshathriyas were those who protect the people from enemies and maintain law and order. The king, a kshathriya was usually the yajamaana, the master of the ceremony, as he had the authority to organize. Vaisyas were the men of trade who supplied the commodities needed by the society an they were in charge of providing the materials for the yajna. Sudras were the unskilled labourers doing the manual work. All contribute their share towards the success of the yajna and  what is left over as the result of the yajna is distributed equally to all.

            Now, if we examine the words of Krishna, ishtaan bhogaan hi vo devaah dhasyanthe  yajnabhaavithaah, ‘fostered by sacrifice the gods will give all the desired results’ which only mean that if we do our duty towards devas, the powers behind  the natural elements they will be kind to us and bestow   their bountiful blessings.. We seem to be learning this the hard way, judging by the state of affairs at present.

            Krishna then sets out to describe the wheel of creation. Annaath  bhavanthi bhoothaani parjanyaath annasambhavah yajnaath bhavathi parjanyah yajnah karmasamudhbhavah, All beings are evolved from food; production of food is dependent  on rain; rain ensues from sacrifice, and sacrifice is rooted in action and yajna, which is  Brahmodbhava, has its origin in the Vedas. The fact that every action culminates in Brahman is denoted by karma brahmodbhavam viddhi brahmaaksharasamudbhavam; thasmaath sarvaghatham brahma nithyamyajne prathishtitham. Vedas  proceed from akshara, the indestructible reality, Brahman. Hence the all pervading reality, Brahman   is always present in sacrifice, yajna.

            Krishna further insists the necessity of doing one’s duty and says that one who does not perform his duty with a spirit of sacrifice is aghaayuh,indhriyaaraamah, sinful and sensual, and his life is worthless. These words emphasise the importance of working in harmony with the world, selfless and without attachment, which is Karmayoga, elaborated subsequently.

            Karmayoga alone is to be followed by one who has not attained jnana. To a sthithaprajna, however, there is no duty because  he has no desire for anything as he does not depend upon any thing for his happiness, being delighted  in the Self alone. Aatmanyevachasanthushtah thasya kaaryam na vidhyathe. Therefore, Krishna advises Arjuna to do his duty without attachment in order to attain the Supreme; asakthohyaacharan karma paramaapnothi poorushah. Here Krishna   cites he example of Janaka, the father of Sita , who was an example of karmayogi. It is said that  Janaka  was not at all perturbed when someone told him, just to test his detachment, that his palace was in flames. He seemed to have said that he owned nothing in this world as  everything belongs to God. And that God’s will be done. Janaka and others like him, says Krishna attained perfection without renouncing their works. They went on doing their duty for the welfare of the world because yadhyadhaacharathi sreshtah thaththadhevetharo janaah, the world follows the doings of the foremost man and conforms to the standards set by him.

            It should be remembered that throughout  the discourse of Gita Krishna was not talking as the son of Devaki but only as the Supreme Self .In the same vein He is saying now Na me Partha asthi karthavyamthrishu lokeshu kimchana naanavaptham avaapthavyam vartha eva cha karmani , “There is nothing for me to do in all the three worlds but still I am incessantly working though there is nothing to be obtained by me by doing so.” Krishna gives two reasons for doing so. First as Krishnavasudeva, He is the leader of His times and in accordance with His own saying ‘yadhyadhaacharathi sreshtah’ He is bound to set an example to others. Secondly, speaking as the Lord Almighty, if He stops His work, namely sustaining the world He Himself created there will be chaos all around. Even to a nonbeliever it is an undisputable fact that the world follows a certain order and functions in a pattern which requires some Super Intelligence, call it God or by any other name, but its existence is unquestionable. So, when Krishna says ‘uthsedhyuh ime lokaah na kuryaam karma chedhaham’  “If I cease to act these worlds will perish” He is talking as the Supreme Self.

            Krishna, even as a son of Devaki, was an example of a sthithaprajna, when we consider the exploits and behaviour, which no ordinary human being is capable of. He was portrayed in Bhagavatha in exactly the same way as He himself describes a realized soul, jeevanmuktha  in Bhagavatgita. Rama says to Kaikeyi ‘Rshibhisthulyam maam vidhdhi’, “Know me to be similar to a sage”, to show His equanimity on being told to give up the throne and go to the forest. Krishna lived as He said in Ramaavathaara.-(It is not the other way round like  some people say. It is partly in answer to Arjuna’s question in the seccnd chapter of the Gita, ‘sthithadheeh kim prabashetha samaaseetha vrajetha kim’, “ How does a sthitha prajna  speaks, acts and lives,” Krishna now says, Sakthaah karmanyavidhvaamso yathaa kurvanthi bhaaratha kuryaathvidhvaan thathaasakthah chikeershshurlokasangraham,  the enlightened one would act in exactly the same way as an unenlightened  but without attachment.

            But should  not the wise teach the unwise to be detached? No, says Krishna, because it would only unsettle mind of the latter to give advice before he is ready for it. So a  wise man should only encourage the worldly men to do their duty and should not turn them away from it.

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            Those who do not have the knowledge that all actions are the result of interaction of gunas within us and  the gunas of the objects outside, are deluded by egoism and think ‘I am the doer.’ The wise who have the true insight into the respective  spheres  of gunas, the modes of prakrthi, and their actions, do not get attached to their actions ‘gunaa guneshu varthantha ithi mathva na saajjathe.’ Though the actions of the enlightened seem to be no different than the others it is the attitude that differentiates them. The life of Krishna was an excellent example of this fact. ( vide: mypage-epic-yadhavaabhyudhaya, where significance of Krishnaavathaara will be brought out.)

            How to cultivate the attitude ‘gunaaguneshu varthantha?’  W hen one gets anger he thinks “I am angry” and does not say that his  anger is the interplay of  rajas and thamas  in him towards those outside When one learns to stand apart and views his actions as an outsider  he will be aware of the gunas, the constituents of his body and mind, moving among those of the sense objects outside, producing the various emotions, with which he identifies himself. Krishna shows the way to do this ‘Mayi sarvaani karmaani sanyasyadhyaathmachethasaa niraaseernirmamao bhoothva.’  “Dedicate all your actions to Me,” He says “with your mind fixed on Me, the self of all, thus freed from desire and ego, act on in the world.” 

            The doctrine of Karmayoga, about which Krishna is advising Arjuna, is based on the scriptural authority and has to be followed, says Krishna, by those who are sraddhaavanthah and anasooyanthah, unenvious and devout.  Those who find fault with this teaching(asooyanthah) or have no faith will be deluded  and lost. We see that even in worldly affairs as when one wants to find his way to a destination, one must have faith in following the directions given or he gets lost. It is much more so if one aspires for spiritual progress. But Krishna talks with compassion and says that it is not very easy to exercise self control necessary for Karmayoga because even a man of knowledge tends to act according to his natural  inclinations depending on the three gunas within. Sadhrsam cheshtathesvasyaah prakrtherjnanvaanapi. Hence external restraint is of no use unless the inner equipment, consisting of mind and intellect, is trained with the discipline of discrimination and detachment, viveka and vairagya. So, Krishna tells Arjuna, a man should never allow raga and dvesha, attraction and repulsion  to overpower him because they are like highwaymen on the path of perfection. Indhriyasyindhriyasyaarthe ragadveshou vyavasthithou thayornavasamaagaccheth thou hyasya paripanthinou.

             Thus the root of all evil as explained in the sloka  dhyaayath vishayaan pumsah while describing the sthithaprajna are  pinpointed here again. Then comes the oft quoted stanza of the gita, sreyaan svadhrmo vigunah paradharmmth svanushtithaath svadharme nidhanam sreyah paradharmo bhayaavahah.  This was not only oft quoted but also often misinterpreted. Those who want to perpetuate the cast system quote this to suit their purpose. The meaning of the  sloka, ‘one’s own duty, though devoid of  merit is preferable to that of another,  though more meritorious,’  is often misconstrued to mean that one should stick on to the work  or kind of life with which he is born and should not strive to come up in life. They quote the words paradharmo bhayaavahah, another’s duty is fraught with fear. .

            There is no other word more misunderstood in sanskrit than the word svadharma,.  It really means the work suited to one’s own nature, which may change as the individual changes. It is not uncommon to find that a person qualified to be an engineer, for instance, turn out to be a successful businessman because he has the inborn talents to become one, or a man giving up his successful profession  and choose a less lucrative one because his attitude has changed. So svadharma is what naturally comes to you and not something which others do, however tempting it may appear to be.  Here in the context  Arjuna wanted to give up his svsdharma  which is that of a warrior and Krishna points out that to leave his duty as a kshathriya is dangerous as he will come to ruin as he is not fit for other life, say, that of a sanyasi.

            Arjuna expresses a wish to know more about the highwaymen, raga and dvesha  so that he can avoid them. He observes that men commit sin as though impelled by some great force even though they know that it is wrong and asks Krishna the reason for this. A sin is something which you feel guilty of doing. Every one has an intellect which tells him what is right and what is wrong.  A sinner is the one who goes and does something fully well knowing that it is wrong.

            Kama and krodha, coupled as one, is the formidable enemy of man, says Krishna. Kama esha krodha esha rajogunasamudhbhavah , born out of rajas. The craving for something is kama which changes to krodha when obstructed. Hence they are not two but one,. Incited by which, man commits sin. The knowledge of right and wrong becomes obscured by this craving for the object of desire and hence Kama is called jnaninah nithyavairi, the perpetual foe of man. Wisdom becomes obscured by desire as the fire is by the smoke, mirror by dirt and the embryo by the womb. Dhoomenaavriyathe vahnih yathaadharso malenacha yatho ulbena aavrtho garbah thathaathenedhamaavrtham. Aavrtho jnanamethena jnaanino niyhyavairinaa. The desire  is insatiable like fire. This is why it is termed as a formidable and perpetual enemy of man. Desire never becomes extinguished by fulfilling it. On the other hand it only increases like fire being fed with fuel.

    The three analogies given to describe the obscuration of wisdom by desire are significant. First is the fire being obscured by smoke. This denotes a nature predominant of satthva where the wisdom is slightly obscured as the fire with smoke. Once the smoke clears of its own accord the fire becomes visible. Similarly a person who is of saathvik temperament needs only a little help from the sastras or his guru to clear his ignorance which is only slight like smoke that conceals the fire. The next example of mirror covered with dust refers to one who has more rajas and thamas due to karma accumulated in the past lives.  It takes time for a mirror to become covered with dust. This can be removed only through persistent effort like cleaning a mirror with a cloth. That is the wisdom can be acquired only through diligent spiritual discipline. The third example of  the foetus being  concealed in the womb is applicable to those whose nature is predominant of thamas. The ignorance is so great that it can be removed only in course of time just as the baby is born only at the appropriate time.

            The first step towards fighting the enemy consists in locating him. Krishna points out  that the senses, mind and intellect are abode of desire and hence the control of these is the only way to vanquish and destroy this foe of man who hides behind the senses, mind and intellect using them as his fortress deludes  the embodied soul by obstructing jnana and vijnana, knowledge and realization

            Krishna then proceeds to show the way to control the body, mind and intellect  in order to conquer desire. Indhriyaani paraanyaahuh indriyebhyah param manah manasasthu paraa bhaudhdhiih yo budhdheh parathasthu saha evem bhudhdheh param bhudhdhvaa samsthabhyaathmaanamaathmanaa jahi sathrum mahaabhaaho kaamaroopam dhurasadham. The senses are said to be greater than the body but greater  than the senses is the mind. Intellect is greater than the mind but the Self is the greatest of all. Therefore the inaccessible enemy in the form of desire can only be destroyed by resorting to the support of the Atman, the Self.

            To understand this we must examine the process by which the desire overpowers man. Does Krishna advise that one should wish for nothing in life and live like a vegetable? No! It is absolutely alright to have a wish for something or enjoy anything with which the senses come into contact. But, as already explained in the previous chapter only when the mind dwells upon the object it becomes desire. So mind is more powerful than the senses. But even then the intellect  has got the power to turn one away from the object of desire. To do this the intellect should identify itself with the self and not with the mind. This is what Krishna means by saying,  samsthabhyaathmanamaathmana, controlling the intellect  by the power of the. Self, Atmashakthi. How to acquire this  is explained by Krishna  in the subsequent chapters of the Gita.  .      

              The discipline of knowledge along with renunciation of result through yoga of action has been explained so far in the previous chapters. Now Krishna sets out the authenticity of Karmayoga by tracing it back to the Sun. He says ‘imamvivasvathe yogam prokthavaan aham avyayam,’ “I taught this immortal yoga to the Sun.”  Krishna further says that this yoga was known to the rajarshis, who were the descendents of the Sun and it became extinct  in course of time. The yoga is ancient and a supreme secret  and Krishna tells Arjuna that He will  impart the knowledge to Arjuna as he is   a devotee and a friend.

            Now, Arjuna, who has been hitherto considering Krishna as the son of Devaki, though with great reverence and adoration,  comes  out with a legitimate doubt. He expresses his disbelief that Krishna had expounded the yoga to the Sun as the birth of Krishna was much  later than the Sun, who was of ancient origin. The reply  was  ‘bahooni me vyatheethaani janmaani  thava chaarjuna, thaanyaham veda sarvaani na thvam veththa paramthapa,’  “You and I have passed many births, I remember them all ; You do not remember.”

            Now for the first time Krishna reveals His true identity as the Self of all., though it was hinted at in the third chapter of the Gita ‘mayi sarvaani karmaani sanyasya.’  The Supreme Self  is  the sarvajna, omniscient, not being  contaminated by karma and it is only the individual transmigratory self, jiva, who  has limited knowledge due to karma. The pure self has no karma as Krishna asserts in the third chapter ‘na me partha asthi karthavyam.’  As if sensing the question in the mind of  Arjuna that if Krishna is none other than the Supreme Self why should He be born at all, Krishna explains the purpose of His incarnations that, ‘ajopi sannavyayaathma bhoothaanaam isvaropi san prakrthim svaam adhishtaaya sambhavaami aathmamaayayaa,’  though He is unborn and the immutable Self  and the Lord of all beings He manifests Himself resorting to His own Maya, wherever there is a decline of dharma, ‘yadhaayadhaahi dharmasya glaanirbhavathi,’ for the  purpose of protecting the good and punishing the evil ‘paritkhraanaayasadhoonaam vinaasaaya cha dhushkrthaam.’

            To understand the true nature of the Supreme Self, ‘janma karma cha me dhivyam’ is the right knowledge and one who acquires this transcends the cycle of birth and death, thyakthvaa dheham punarjanma nethi maamethi,’ and attains the brahman-hood. This is the path of emancipation which existed from time immemorial and many have attained it by  jnanathapas, the austerity of knowledge, which consists of getting rid of desire, fear and anger, veethraagabhayakrodhaah,  through  utter dependence on the Lord, perceiving Him in everything  ‘manmayaa maamupaasrithaah.’ Thus they attain the status of the Lord, which signifies the state of  salvation, Mukthi.

            The words manmayaa maamupaasrithaah does not indicate partiality on the part of Krishna because He is now talking as the Supreme self. The  sloka that follows makes this clear. Ye yathaa maamprapadhyanthe thaan thathaiva bajaamyaham, He says. In whatever form  one seeks the Lord,  He  appears in the same form to the devotee. The criticism of Hinduism being pantheistic is proved wrong by this. There is only one God who can be called by any name or conceived in any form, provided the worshipper remembers that He is not limited to that name or form. The Lord who is everywhere, in and out of all being is naturally present also in the particular form  in which one thinks of Him. So Krishna affirms  that all men follow His path only, mama varthmaa anuvarthanthe manushyaah paartha sarvasah’

            In this world men seeking  the fruition of their activities worship the minor gods, says Krishna , kaankshanthah karmanaamsidhdhim .yajantha iha devathaah. Who are the minor gods referred to here? It does not mean any particular deity but imply only the limited  power  which men seek to fulfil their desires, and the activities undertaken for that purpose are desire motivated. It is like asking a millionaire for  a few coins. But the actions  that are prescribed in the veda for desired ends definitely bear fruit in this life itself,  though transient. Kshipram hi maanusheloke sidhdhirbhavathi karmajaa. But the result of the desire motivated actions need not and often do not bring happiness. A man who diligently pursues a course of action in order to amass wealth is also a worshipper of a minor deity, namely, money . The action undoubtedly gives the desired result but the effect of it may turn out to be quite the reverse. Under the circumstances can a man, who is engaged in desire motivated activity, be considered as  following the path of the Lord? The answer to this is given later in the seventh chapter of the Gita, in the sloka, ‘udhaaraassarva evaithe’ 

            Why should there be any difference in  the activities  of the .people if all are following  the same path? The answer is given by Krishna that the difference is due to the propensities which differ according to the inborn qualities. “They were created by  Me,”   says the Lord ,”according to  the mode of prakrthi predominant in each, and apportioning duties corresponding duties to them, ”  and his is he basis of classification of the four orders of society, namely, braahmana, kshatriya,  vaisya  and sudra. So the Bhagavatgita very clearly specifies that the caste system was man made  and does not have he authority of scriptures. Chaahurvarnyam mayaa srshtam gunakarma vibhaabasah,  and not by birth as already explained in the previous chapter..

            If  the Lord is the creator,  will the fruit of His action accrue to Him? No, says Krishna, Na maam karmaanimlimpanthi na me karmaphale sprha. Neither the action nor the fruit adhere to Him. This can be explained as follows: The expression ‘I’ actually means the Self only and taken in that sense  the agent of action is the Self  because without it the action can never  take place, but the Self is only saakshi bootha, a witness-self. And therefore it is neither the doer nor  the enjoyer. Similarly the Lord who is the   inner self of all  is not affected  by the actions of the individual beings. The ancient seers knew this and identifying themselves with the Lord their real Self they discharged their duties with detachment and with the welfare of the world at heart. So, Krishna tells Arjuna that he should also follow the footsteps of his ancestors and do his duty.

            Karmayoga had been explained by Krishna in the previous chapter and here He elaborates on karma and akarma, action and inaction. In order to follow the path of Karmayoga the seeker must be very clear as to which actions will lead him to bondage  and which will secure release from bondage. Krishna has been insisting on  the importance of  doing one’s duty and  cited the example of  the ancients in by-gone days. The reason for doing so is due to the fact that it is difficult to decide which actions are to be done and which are to be given up. Even the sages are deluded in respect of  the questions as to what is action and what is inaction, kim karma kim akarma ithi kavayo api athra mohithaah, says Krishna, and tells Arjuna that He will instruct him on this subject so that he can follow the path of Karmayoga without being riddled with doubt.

            The average man seems to have no doubt at all in this matter because to him action is exertion of some kind and inaction is immobility. But there are not only karma and akarma, action and inaction, but also  vikarma, prohibited action. What is laid  out in the Vedas  are  karma in accordance with one’s nature and position in this world. These have to be done but without attachment. At the same time one ought to know what are the actions prohibited by the Vedas and should avoid them. For example a thief may say that stealing is what comes to him naturally and demanded by his  status in the society because he is not trained for any other work. This kind of activity is denoted by vikarma. On the other hand there are certain actions which need not be done and abstaining from them will be akarma.

            To put this in a simple language, any work that brings a result that affects the doer is karma and that which does not affect the doer in anyway is akarma. A man of divine wisdom, jnani, does not think that h is doing anything because he does not identify himself with the body, mind and intellect and does not possess ahamkara, ego. As mentioned in the last chapter he considers his actions as the interaction between  the gunas in him an those outside, gunaaguneshu varthantha ithi mathvaa na sajjathe. Only the man whose intellect is clouded with ego thinks that he is the doer.

            This  idea can be well brought out by  a story  about  sage Vyasa and Krishna. Once Krishna told a gopi to take food for Vyasa who was at the other side of river Yamuna. But she was not able to cross the river as Yamuna was in spate. Krishna told her to pray that if Krishna was a nithya  brahmachari the river should part. Probably the gopi had her own doubts but she had explicit faith in Krishna and did as he told her and the river parted and she went to the other side and gave the food to Vyasa. But  again there was flood and she could not go back . Then Vyasa told her that if he was  nithya upavasi the river will part. This time the girl was really perplexed because just then he ate the whole food brought by her and termed himself a nithya upavasi. She expressed her doubt to Vyasa and also told him what Krishna  said about Himself.. Vyasa explained that  both of them being jeevanmukthas  the function of their bodies did not touch their real Self.  The real ‘I’ which is the pure Self is neither the doer nor the enjoyer.

            Then Krishna starts elucidating the truth about action that has to be known. The wise men sees action in inaction and vice versa. The one who can do this is yuktha, integrated and krthsnakarmavith, has the real knowledge of action, karmanyakarma yafpasyeth akarmani cha karma yah sa bhudhdhimaan manushyeshu sa yukthah krthsnakarmavith.

            This appears to be a  self contradicting statement on the surface but it is not so in reality. Seeing akarma in karma  is with respect to the actions done without attachment giving up the desire for the fruit of such actions. This could be understood by the above story of Vyasa and Krishna. Since the result of such actions do not affect the doer who identifies himself with his Self and not with his body, mind and intellect. Another example of seeing akarma in karma is the incident that happened in the life of Jadabharatha cited in Bhagavathapurana.

             Bharatha,  a king in  ancient times left his kingdom in pursuit of knowledge and led an ascetic’s life. But due strange circumstances he became attached to a deer cub and had to take another birth as a deer, in which due to the wisdom acquired in his previous janma he shed his body and was born as an enlightened  sage in his next and last birth.  Once he was asked to carry the palanquin of King Rahugana, which he did without hesitation as he was totally devoid of ego. When his gait did not match that of others the king got irritated and  seeing his well built body, sarcastically remarked that perhaps it was too much of a burden for him. Bharatha replied “I do not have any strain because I am not doing any work.”  When he said ‘I’ he meant his Self and not his body. So this is a case of seeing akarma in karma.

            But more perplexing is the idea of seeing karma in akarma. The word inaction, akarma is usually understood as abstention from action or keeping still. Bur even when we are keeping quiet our mind is active. So it appears that inaction is when even the mind is silent  or in a state of Samadhi. But it is not as simple as that. The great sages who are found even today in Himalayas doing meditation are in fact engrossed in great activity, namely bringing blessings to mankind. The classical example can be Lord Ranganatha who is reclining on His Seshasayana . As Krishna Himself said in the previous chapter, utseedheyuh ime lokaah kuryaam karma chedhaham, If the  Lord is really inactive  the world will collapse. Also identifying the Lord with the anatharaathma , the real Self, there can be no activity without the Self, which in reality is not the doer. This is karma in akarma.

             This idea can be very simply verified in daily life. When we are moving in a vehicle, provided the movement is very smooth and not felt as such,  it looks as though we are still and the other objects outside are rushing in the opposite direction. Similarly when we look at a distant object  it looks as though it is stationary whereas it may be moving and the movement is not visible due to the distance. The difference between a man of wisdom and a man of the world is  similar to that between  a man of scientific knowledge  who knows that the earth is moving  and an ignorant man who thinks  that  it does not.

            The knowledge of what is action  and what is inaction  resulting in the perception of  action in inaction and vice versa,  is like a fire. He, whose actions are devoid of  desire,  offers all his actions in this fire. Such a man alone can be called a panditha, a man of discrimination. He is never an agent of action, kartha, because he has renounced the desire for the fruits of his actions . He is ever content, being dependent on nothing for his happiness and even though he may seem to work like others he is actually inactive, because of his total detachment.

            He who is free from all expectations reaps no merit, punya, even from good actions  nor sin as all his actions are pure. A mere act does not produce punya or papa but only the motive behind the act makes it sinful or otherwise. Even killing need not be a sin if it is to protect others from getting killed. At the same time even a virtue like speaking the truth may result in sin if by telling the truth someone will come to harm. Arjuna was urged to fight  and it was an act of dharma. Seetha did not tell the truth about Hanuman in order to protect him and it was no sin. On the other hand we have a story of a hermit who went to hell because he told the truth.

             He was sitting in his asram when a cow fled past him to escape from its pursuers and when they asked him he pointed out the direction the cow has taken as he had vowed to speak the truth. Thus he incurred the sin of killing a cow.  Krishna says, niraaseeryathachiththaathma thyaktha sarvaprigrahah, free from expectations, controlling himself mentally and physically, renouncing all possessions, incurs no sin or acquires no merit, for all his actions are consumed in the fire of knowledge. This means that his actions do not result in bondage because he is yadrchchaalaabhasamthushtah, content with his lot, dvndvaatheethah, beyond dualities like sukha and duhkha, gain and loss and likes and dislikes.  And he is vimathsara, without envy, in short  he is equanimous, samah siddhaavasiddhou.

            An ascetic who is samah is devoid of elation and depression and takes what comes with out being affected  by it. He is always convince. that he is not the doer but it is   his gunas which are interacting with those outside. Only other people ascribe agency to him. Thus in spite of continuing his regular activities to maintain his body and soul together he does nothing at all.  All his actions get dissolved and do not produce any result that affects him. The reason for this is given by Krishna as gathasangasya mukthasya jnanaavasthithahethasah yajnaayaacharathah karma samagram pavileeyathe,  he is gathasanghah, one whose attachments have vanished, mukthah, liberated and jnanaavasthitha chethaah one whose mind is established in knowledge. His action itself is a yajna.

            In the third chapter of the Gita it was said that all actions except those done with the spirit of yajna  produce bondage. Here Krishna elaborates on the different kinds of yajna to explain the meaning of yajna. All the actions done in accordance with varnasramadharma without selfish interest are yajnas. Different types of yogis follow different means of attaining salvation which are described here as yajnas

            Why does the action fails to produce result that affects the doer but gets dissolved? The reason is given in the verse brahmaarpanam brahmahavih brahmmaagnou brahmanaa hutham brahmaiva thena ganthavyam brahmakarmasamaadhinaa. To the enlightened who  have acquired the perception that sarvam khalu idham brahma, all this is brahman, all their activities are done with a spirit of yajna .The means of a yajna like the ladle with which the offering is put in the fire, brahmaarpanam, the thing that is offered, havih, the fire itself,agnih,  the one who does the yajna and the yajna itself, everything is Brahman. The word brahmaarpanam is used not as a compound but as arpanam brahma, the means of yajna is Brahman. This sacrificer who concentrates on the act that is Brahman reaches Brahman alone, brahmaiva thena ganthavyam brahmakarmasamaadhinaa. One whose intellect is established in Brahman is one having brahmakarmasamaadhi and the goal to reach for him is Brahman. All his actions lead him to Brahman-realisation. This verse implies that the right perception of Brahman everywhere in everything  is the means of emancipation. Such jnana itself becomes the fire that consumes all the karma  of the  doer so that he experiences no more samsara as a result of his karma.

            In the foregoing verse the jnani who acts with brahmabhaavana, seeing Brahman in everything was described. This denotes the enlightened soul who  is niraseer yathachitthaatmathyakthasarvaparigrahah  who is doing only saareeram kevalam karma.. He is desireless,  has renounced all possessions and  is self-controlled and his actions are only to keep the body and soul together till the time comes to shed his mortal coil when, he attains salvation. What would be the lot of  one following the rituals of varnasramadharma but with detachment and without desire?

             Daivamevaapare yajnam yoginah paryupaasathe, some yogis do the karmanushtaana like worship of the Lord in any form and other activities as laid out in the Vedas according to varna and asrama as yajna. Here the word yogi refers to the one who does all these activities with detachment  and without desire, shedding the thought of ‘I’ and ‘Mine.’ The yajna here is deva yajna which includes yaga, ,japa and worship to  deities as prescribed in the Vedas..

             There are five kinds of yajnas to be performed by a grhastha,  man of the world. They are brahmayajna, the study of Vedas and acquiring the knowledge of Brahman, devayajna, the performance of worship like japa, homa and the other activities done to propitiate the divine,  pitryajna like sraaddha and others done  towards the pitrs, manes, manushya yajna  which are services of charity, hospitality and welfare of mankind and bhootha yajna, kindness and service to  living beings other than humans. Deva yajna has been mentioned  above and brahma yajna is denoted by brahmmaagnou apare yajnam yajnenaiva upajuhvathi, others offer their selves in the fire of brahman being endowed with the awareness of their identity with Brahman.

            The knowledge of their real self being nothing but Brahman as the advaita  contends, or that their real Self is the Lord of whom everything including their individual self  is the body or part of Him, as professed by visishtadvaita, gives the perception that the world is not as it appears to be but  only Brahman in reality. The purpose of mentioning this kind of yogis as distinct from those described at the outset  by the verse ‘brahmaarpanam  brahmahavih----- ‘ is to show that while the former is an enlightened soul the latter refers to the state prior to enlightenment as the knowledge that the world is not as it appears to be  leads to the awareness of  Brahman everywhere.

            Next Krishna elaborates yet another kind of discipline , namely,  self control, indriya nigraha. which when done as a yajna leads one to samaadhi. When mind is integrated in Brahman  it is samaadhi. For that to happen the mind must turn away from the sense experience. This control of the mind from running after sense objects is described  as a yajna of which three stages are required.

         Srothraaneendhriyaanyaadhaou samyamaagnishu juhvathi, sacrifice the ear and other senses in the fire of restraint. Restraining the senses is described as offering them in the fire of restraint. Once the senses are restrained when they contact the sense objects it is like sacrificing the sense objects like sound, in the fire of senses, sabdhaadheen indhriyaanyanyeindhriyaagnishu juhvathi. The sense objects do not create any reaction  as the senses are restrained already. The next stage is when all the activities of the senses  sarvaaneendhriya karmaani and of the  vital breaths praanakarmaani are sacrificed in the fire of aathmasamyama, self restraint, kindled by knowledge. Jnanadheepithe.

            Aathmasamyama is the state of samaadhi when there is no activity of the senses or vital breath because the mind is integrated in Brahman consciousness. It is akin to the deep sleep state where body, mind and intellect do not exist and hence no activity can be ascribed to them,  yet it is different, since  it is not under the influence of ignorance as in deep sleep but it is full of awareness born out of jnana. This is what is implied by the word jnanadheepithe., illumined by jnana.

            There is yet another  discipline which is commonly understood by the term yoga and that is now described  as yogayajna. It is known as ashtaangayoga elaborated by Pathanjali in Yogasuthra.  It is so called because of its eight angas , limbs. They are, Yama, Niyama, Aasana, Praanaayasma, Prathyaahaara, Dhaarana, Dhyaana and Samaadhi.

1. Yama -  Ahimsaastheyabrahmacharyaaprigrahaa yamaah – This consists of  ahimsa, nonviolence mental and physical, sathyam, truthfulness in thought, word and deed, astheya, not appropriating something that belongs to others, brahmacharya, celibacy, aparigraha, non- possession.

2. Niyama – souchasanthoshathapasvaadhyaayesvarapranidhaanaani niyamaah  -  Soucha,  purity of body and mind, santhosha,  contentment and joy, thapas, spiritual disciplines like upavasa and vratha, svaadhyaaya, learning the scriptures conducive to salvation, isvarapranidhaana, worship of the Lord.

3. Aasana  -  Sthirasukhamaasanam – A comfortable posture , but not too comfortable to induce sleep! The yoga discipline prescribes the kind of posture in which the head, neck and spine are in a straight line and the eyes looking towards the nose, neither open nor closed.

4.Praanaayama –  Svaasaprchvaasayorgathivichchedhah – Breath-control exercises.

5.Prathyaahaara -  Indhriyaanaam prathyaahaarah  -  Withdrawing the senses from the sense objects and  merge them in the  consciousness of the Self.

6. Dhaarana  -  Desabandhah chitthasya dhaaranaa.-  concentrating on  a particular object for a long time is dhaaranaa. In this context it means concentrating on Brahman.

7. Dhyaanam   -     Thathra prathyayaikathaanatha dhyaanam – Dhaaranaa continued for  long duration of time  with continuous  meditation like the trickling of oil, thaoladhaaraavat,  is dhyaana.

8. Samaadhi  -  When the  object of meditation, the act of meditation and the meditator, all the three merge into one  it is called Samaadhi. Here the consciousness that I am meditating is absent and there is only the presence of the object of meditation and nothing else.

            Finally Praanaayaama itself is given the status of yajna, specifying the methods of breath control and Krishna concludes the enumeration of the different kinds of yajna by saying that all the kinds of yajna specified so far are effective in destroying the sins of the doer. Unless  all the actions are performed with the spirit of yajna and the result of actions are accepted as the prasadha or grace of the Lord and shared equally there is no way to get released from the bondage. Yajnasishtaamrthabhujah yaanthi brahma sanaathanam On the other hand those who follow this discipline outlined above attain salvation.

            Krishna winds up the explanation about various kinds of yajna by claiming that jnanayajna is superior to dravya yajna, that done by offering material things, which implies the yajnas prescribed in the Vedas in the karmakanda. The reason for this is given by Krishna as sarvam karmaakhilampartha jnane parisamaapyathe. All the vedic karmas though they produce  good results are nevertheless binding and cause rebirth. Only when the same karma is done without attachment and ego, shedding the thought of ‘I’ and ‘Mine’ becomes the means of self realization, the ultimate goal of life. This is  implied by the statement ‘ all actions without exception ,sarvakarma akhilam, culminate in knowledge., jnane parisamaapyathe.’

             What does Krishna means by the terms jnanayajna and jnana?  The real knowledge or rather awareness of Brahman, the Absolute Reality, is  termed as jnana, .yatjnaathvaa na punarmoham evam yaasyasi pandava, by knowing which one does not revert back into delusion such as the one Arjuna was experiencing because that gives the insight to perceive all beings in oneself as well as in Brahman. This is the awareness that  everything is in God and God is in everything. Jnanayajna denotes the way to acquire this jnana and consists of the yogic disciplines like learning the scriptures, practising the self control and  cultivating viveka, discrimination and vairagya, detachment.

            To get this knowledge Krishna directs Arjuna to approach a guru with full faith and humility and ask him with genuine interest, tadviddhi pranipaathena pariprasnena sevayaa. Two questions may arise with respect to this advice of Krishna to Arjuna.

1. Was that a proper time and place to ask Arjuna to approach a guru in order to acquire wisdom because the intention of Krishna in giving out the Gita was to make Arjuna fight the ensuing battle?

2. What was the utility of the eighteen chapters of Gita if even after hearing it Arjuna still needed a guru to acquire jnana?

            Krishna , like a surgeon performing an emergency operation to remove a bullet, preached Gita in order to remove the delusion in the mind of Arjuna  and gave him  a  glimpse of the highest  knowledge  which made Arjuna to rise up to the occasion and fight As the surgeon relinquishes the post operative treatment to the physician, Krishna advises Arjuna to approach  guru to continue his learning if he so wishes.

            .The Gita was forgotten by Arjuna as soon as he started fighting when his natural propensity surfaced and he became a kshathriya and nothing else Arjuna asked Krishna after the war to tell him the Gita again but Krishna replied that He Himself  had forgotten what He said because Arjuna was not ready for jnanayoga and what was given to him at the outset of the war was only an emergency treatment

            Krishna did not want to impart the jnana Himself because the spiritual instruction should be given in a proper manner in order to culminate in self-realisation The disciple has to approach the guru in obeisance, pranipaatha, and  with humility and obedience, seva and  learn through exhaustive questioning, pariprasna. Then the guru who is a jnani and tathvadarsi,  a realized master, will impart the knowledge of Brahman. What is implied here is that unless the student has humility, faith and healthy enquiring mind he cannot acquire  spiritual knowledge.

            Then Krishna completes the discourse on jnana  by extolling  the glory of  it. The perception of all beings right from the creator to  a blade of grass as nothing but Brahman becomes the raft that takes one beyond all sins. Even a worst the sinner will cross over the sea of sins, says Krishna, if he acquires jnana, api chedhasi paapebhyah sarvwebhyah paapakrththamah sarvam jnanaplvenaiva vrjinam santharishyathi, which means that the sinner would not acquire jnana unless he .becomes pure due to some merit acquired in his previous life like Valmiki. He may be punished for his misdeeds in this life but. Will attain release from his karma after he sheds his mortal coil.

             How does jnana destroy sin ? the answer is proffered with an example. Yathaidhaamsi samiddho agnih bhasmasaath kuruthe Arjuna, jnaanaagnih sarvakarmaani Bhasmasaath kuruthe thathaa, as a kindled fire reduces all fuel to ashes the fire of knowledge reduces all work to ashes.. The idea is that the knowledge which gives right perception robs all karma of the power to produce result. Here ‘  all karma’   means  the karma  accumulated  in the past lives which has not yet started to produce result and that which is done after the dawn of knowledge, sanchitha and aagaami karma. The karma which has caused the present birth praarabdha, has to be exhausted.

            There is no greater purifier than jnana, which like fire burns all impurities due to karma. All the other purifying agents, internal like yama, dama, dhyana, japa and the rest and external like visiting temples, religious austerities, bathing in the holy rivers  and so on are only the means of acquiring jnana. ‘Pavithraanaam pavithram yo mangalaanaam cha mangalam, ‘says Bhishma in his discourse on Vishnusahasranama. The Lord is purity in the pure and auspiciousness in the auspicious .So the knowledge of the Lord who is the Supreme Self is the purifier of all .One who practices Karmayoga and dhyanayoga, yoga of action and yoga of meditation acquires this knowledge in course of time, thath svayam yoga samsiddhah kalenaathmani vindhathi, through sraddha, absolute faith,. provided he is intent on it, thathparah and through self control, samyathendhriyah, when he attains the supreme peace  instantaneously.

             The secret of success even in the worldly pursuits comes only to him who is sraddhaavan, thathparah and samyathendhriyah. When for instance a man aims to become a great business magnate, he requires these three qualifications. He must have faith in his endeavour as otherwise  half hearted effort will not fetch  the desired result, he must be intent on his pursuit and he must have absolute control over himself and be ready to sacrifice all his other pleasures for the sake of his success in business. As mentioned in an earlier chapter, all the principles  taught to the  management trainees in modern days are found in Bhagavatgita.

            That liberation follows from the right perception is the unshakable doctrine established in all the sasthras.   There can be no doubt regarding this and the one who doubts this and has no faith can never hope to attain happiness either in this life or the next, asraddhadhaanascha samsayaathma vinasyathi, naayam lokoasthi na paro na sukham samsayaathmanah   Without faith nothing can be achieved as for instance when you ask for directions to a place you have to have faith in the one who directs you. Similarly one who has no faith in scriptures or in the word of the saints will not acquire wisdom. A man who digs for water will get it only if he digs deep enough in one place and not if he tries in different places giving up each one after a little effort .

            True knowledge, jnana cuts away all the knots of the heart created by ignorance and uncertainty and the results of his karma do not bind him who has burnt them away in the fire of knowledge through the practice of Karmayoga, yoga sannyastha karmaanam jnanasamchinna samsayayam aathmavantham na karmaani nibhadhnanthi. The Upanishad declares bhidhyanthe hrdhayagranthih cchidhyanthe sarvasamsayaah kheeyanthe chaasya karmaani thasmindhrshte paravare. The knots of the heart hrdhayagranthi  are the  misconceptions due to non-perception  which are cut asunder, all doubts vanish and all karma is destroyed for the one who experiences the Brahmasaakshaathkaara.

            Thasmaath ajnaanasambhootham hrtstham jnanaasinaathmanah, cchithvainamsamsayam yogamaathishta utthishta bhaaratha,  says Krishna, ‘slaying the doubt in your heart born out of ignorance with the sword of jnana, stand up to do your duty,’ The lack of discrimination regarding what is right and what is wrong creates a doubt in the mind and one cannot decide whether or not to perform an action. This is due to the ignorance of what is real and what is not, which is the cause for the accumulation of karma. As a result of this one goes through the cycle of birth and death, suffering  the ills of samsara as a consequence. This lack of discrimination is represented by the doubt in the heart, which jnana alone can destroy. This jnana can be acquired only through Karmayoga and dhyanayoga., performing one’s duties without attachment  in the spirit of Yajna  and at the same time contemplating on the Lord, the  Supreme Self.

             The two disciplines enunciated so far, namely, Karmayoga and dhyanayoga  or acquiring jnana through contemplation are not mutually exclusive but they appear to be so to Arjuna because he is not able to understand  them properly. This necessitates  the fifth chapter of the Gita where Krishna points out that the two are not mutually contradicting but only indicate two different stages..

          Arjuna now wants to know which of the two disciplines, sannyasa , renunciation or karmayoga, performance of work without attachment is more beneficial for him. Here Krishna, the supreme physician stars prescribing the medicine suited to the patient and says that though both sannyasa and karma yoga are equally effective Karmayoga is to be preferred, implying that in his case Arjuna needs only karmayoga. 

A karmayogi who works without attachments has neither desire nor aversion. So he is to be considered as nityasannyasi., a perpetual renouncer,  ‘jneyassa nityasannyaasi yo na dveshti na kaankshathi.’ Thus doing everything with detachment he does not get bound by his works, sukham bandhaath pramuchyathe, his release from bondage is effortless.

             But saankhya and yoga which here denote, jnana yoga and Karmayoga, are not mutually exclusive and it is thought so only by the ignorant. The wise know that they are not different but  both produce the same result ,’ekamapyaasthithassamyag ubhayorvindhathe phalam.’  A karma yogi acts with detachment acquired  with the knowledge that everything is transitory  and in the process gains wisdom. The  karma yoga is termed as yoga because it leads to real yoga, the union with the Reality. So figuratively it is also  renunciation. One who renounces the result of karma gradually reaches a stage when he will renounce the karma also.

             Krishna here explains why he extolled Karmayoga as being the better of the two, ’Sannyaasasthu mahaabahoduhkam aapthum ayogathah,’  renunciation is very difficult  to win without Karmayoga, which consists in dedicating the works to God without craving for the result. This in turn brings detachment.  The natural doubt that may arise is that we see some who  renounce the world  relinquishing all their karma like  Ramakrishna or Ramana and they become realized masters without  pursuing karmamarga. But we see only their present embodiment  which is but a continuation of  several  lives, this being the last. This point is elucidated by Krishna Himself in the next chapter of the Gita.

            How does the Karmayoga becomes the means of attaining self knowledge? Krishna answers this in the next sloka. ‘ Yogayuktho visudhdhaathmaa vijithaathmaa jithendhriyah sarvabhoothaathmaboothaathmaa kurvannapi na lipyathe.’  Established in yoga, his mind purified and self controlled he sees himself in all beings and therefore he is not tainted by his work. That is, he is not doing anything for his benefit alone but works for the welfare of all, which attitude has been described in the previous chapter as acting in the spirit of yajna. The knower of Truth  who sees only non-work in all work is alone fit to renounce the world. He knows that it is only his senses which operate in whatever he does ‘ indhriyaaneendhriyaartheshu varthantha ithi dhaarayan,’ and Krishna lists the common activities he engages in through his senses as ‘pasyansrnvan sprsan jighran,’ seeing, hearing touching smelling and so on.

            Even a non-knower of truth, that is, brahmajnana, if he acts  with an attitude of surrender,  without attachment, ‘ brahmanyaadhaaya karmaani sangam thyamkkthvaa karothi yaha,’ is not  stained by karma like  a lotus leaf by water because such yogis, with detachment,  work for self purification, ‘yoginah karma kurvanthi sangam thyakthvaathmasudhdhay,’ and attain liberation whereas  the others who are attached to the results of action get bound by them, ayukthah kaamakaarena phalesakthah nibhadhyathe.

            But the man of wisdom , having renounced all actions by discriminative intelligence, perceiving action as inaction sits in the body as a monarch inside a citadel with nine gates, the nine openings of the body through which all experience is gained. The self is the  Lord of the castle with which the sage identifies himself and hence he does no work nor he causes any work to be done, ‘navadhvaare pure dhehii naiva kurvannakaarayan.’  Meaning there is no direct nor causative agency as the Self is immutable.

            The possible doubt that if  the embodied self does nothing or causes nothing to be done, who then operates both as a direct and causative agent is answered  that ‘na karmaphalsamyogam  svabhaavasthu pravarthath..’  It is the prakrthi constituted of the three gunas   which operates as mentioned earlier ‘guna guneshu varthantha.’  Neither the merit nor the sin accrues to the Atman, the Self and the notion  of working or enjoying or causing other to do so is due to ajnana, ignorance, ‘ajnaanenaavrtham jnaanam thena muhyanthi janthavah.’ When the ignorance is destroyed by jnana the same jnana illumines the Reality which shines of its own accord like the Sun, theshaam  aadhithyavath jnanam prakaasayathi thathparam.’  When the Sun rises the darkness ceases to exist.  Similarly on the rise of jnana the ignorance cannot remain.

            ‘Thadbhudhdhayasthadhaathmaanah thannishtaasthath parayanaah gachchanthyapunaraavrththim jnaana nirdhoothakalmashaah.’  With the intellect established in Brahman,  identifying  the Self  with Brahman,  surrendering all actions to Brahman and with the sole aim to realize  their true Self as Brahman they do not enter into embodiment again.

             What would be the  perception of the sage who has realized the Self?  What has been described in the next few slokas  is reminiscent of what has been said in the second chapter  about Sthithaprajna. ‘Vidhyaavinayasampanne braahmane gavi hasthini suni chaiva svapaakecha pandithaah samadharsinah.’  The sages perceive the same Reality in

a   brahmin, learned but modest, in a cow and in an elephant and also in a dog and the one who eats  dog’s flesh.  The listing here of the highest form of intellect to the lowest is to show that the sage has the same love towards all creatures and should not be taken literally  as grading the creation in anyway.

            Krishna says that  the birth has been vanquished even here in this life by those who have acquired Samathva   or  even mindedness, ‘ihaiva thairjithassargah yeshaam saamye sthitham manah.’  There is no plurality  in Brahman as it is one only without a second, ‘ekameva adhvitheeyam.’ The sage resides in Brahman alone and therefore  he sees no plurality but but Brahman everywhere. ‘ Sarvam khalu idham brahma.’  A brahmavid, knower of Brahman  abides in Brahman, brahmani sthithah  and hence  they neither  feel elated on getting something pleasant nor feel depressed  on meeting with the unpleasant. He is termed as sthirabudhdhih, one whose intellect is steady in other words, sthithaprajnah,  who is described in the second chapter of the Gita as ‘dhuhkheshvanudhvignamanaah sukheshu vigathasprhah.’  Such a man of wisdom abides in Self and for him there is no work to be done anymore.  As Krishna declared in the third chapter of the Gita he has nothing to gain from action or non-action, ‘Naiva thasya krthaarththena naakrtheneha kaschana.’

            The sage whose inner equipment, anthahkarana , is unattached to the external objects is united with Brahman and  enjoys inexhaustible bliss, ‘sa brahmayogayukthaathma sukham akshayamasnuthe.’  The man of discrimination having known the supreme Reality does not delight in objective enjoyment. The enjoyment born of sense contact is short lived and brings sorrow in its wake, ‘ ye hi samsparsajaa bhogaah duhkhayonaya eva the aadhyanthavanthah kountheya na theshu ramthe budhah.’ Sankara says in Bajagovindam ‘viddhi vyaadhyabhimaanagrastham lokam soka hatham cha samastham, Life is extremely fickle and short but even the short duration is not peaceful but wrought with disease and other afflictions due to ego-centric desires.  A yogi who abides in Brahman experiences the peace of Brahman while living  in this world, experiences the infinite joy within himself, revelling in himself  illuminated by the inner light. ‘Yo antharsukho antharaaraamah  thathaa antharjyothireva yah sa yogi brahmanivaanam brahmabhootho adhi gachchathi.. Such yogis with their sins washed off ,kheenakalmashaah, their doubts cut through, chchinna dvaidhaah  and self controlled, yathaathmanah, are intent on promoting the welfare of all beings.

            While stressing the need  for practising Karmayoga with total mental dedication to the Lord,  Krishna goes on to elucidate the yoga of meditation, the direct means of right perception  which he explains fully in the next chapter of the Gita. Keeping out the external contacts, fixing the eyes between the eyebrows and equalizing the inhalation and exhalation, controlling the senses, mind and intellect, free from desire, fear and anger, the yogi is eternally liberated. He attains peace knowing the Lord the indweller of all beings, the supervisor of  the fruits of all actions, Himself remaining the silent witness.

                               Bhagavatgita- Chapter 8 – Yoga of meditation

            Karmayoga is normally prescribed to the householder who has to discharge his duties which are obligatory in his stage of life. But by the same process he can scale the height of  the yoga of meditation. The karma done without attachment giving up the fruit therein purifies the mind preparing him for the practice of dhyanayoga, Yoga of meditation. He is commended by Krishna as being the yogi and a sanyasi at the same time. ‘ Anaasrithah karmaphalam kaaryam karma karthi yah sa sannyaasee cha yogi cha. ‘  Renunciation , sannyaasa means giving up and he who does it is a sannyaasi. Yoga is the concentration of mind and he who has it is a yogi. So by merely giving up rituals and obligatory  duties does not make one a sannyasi or an a yogi. The rejection of the agency , the feeling that I am the doer is common to both yoga and sannyasa. Without mental renunciation yoga is not possible

            This raises a question whether renouncing the world and becoming a sannyaasi is not approved by Krishna. .It is not so. .Only to the one who has not yet scaled the height of yoga of meditation need follow Karmayoga which serves as the means to attain his goal.  ‘Aarurukshormmuneryogam karmakaaranamuchyathe yogaaroodasya thasyaiva shamahkaaranamuchyathe.’  When he has already ascended to the height shamah , quiescence, which means withdrawal from all work is the means of salvation.

            But how to know that one has scaled the height? The answer is given as   ‘yadhaahinendhriyaartheshuna karmasvanushajjathe sarvasankalpa sannyaasee yogaaroodasthadhochyathe.’ When one becomes detached from the sense objects and also from all works seeing no purpose to be realised by him through them, then, he is said to be a yogaarooda, one who has reached the peak of yoga. This is because once the desires  are discarded , renunciation of work follows.

            When the peak is reached self is lifted up by itself. ‘Udhdhareth aathmanaathmaanam naathmaanam avasaadhayeth  aathmaivahyaathmano bandhuh aatmaiva ripuraathmanah ‘  No external aid can help in elevating oneself which includes the learning of sasthras . All the external means to meditation like study of sasthras, japa , chanting and others can only help in purifying our internal equipment to make us ready to concentrate. But to attain yoga an subsequent liberation  one has to transcend the body mind and intellect, the latter termed as the inner equipment, and identify with one’s self. This could be achieved only through Self alone. This is what has been implied by udhdhqreth aathmanaathmaanam.            The diffidence that whether this could be done is dispelled by the words ‘ naathmaanam avasaadhayeth,’ elevate the Self and not push it down, which means ‘do not give up.’ Self alone is the friend, aathmanyaivaathmano bandhuh, aathma here meaning the inner self  Aathmaiva ripuraathmanah, the self alone becomes the enemy.     Here  the word self means not the aathma but the mind and intellect.

            In interpreting the words like yoga, aathma and other similar ones having a generally understood meaning , one must be careful and construe their meaning according to the context in which they are mentioned. Many distorted versions are only due to the failure of doing so or deliberate misinterpretation. To the one who has controlled himself the Self , aathmaa, becomes a friend because he identifies himself with his Self and not with his body, mind and intellect, which constitute non-self. On the other hand if he identifies  himself with his non-self it prevents him  from realizing his Self and becomes his enemy..

            The yogi who has subdued his senses and mind, remains peaceful and becomes rooted in the Supreme Self. ‘Jithaathmanafprashaanthasya  paramaathmaa samaahithah.’ . To him the duality like heat and cold or joy and sorrow do not exist and he treats gold, stone and mud alike. He alone can be termed as a yogi whose mind is saturated with jnana and vijnana, ‘jnanavijnanathrpthaathma’ unmanifest and manifest Brahman, who is immutable, kutastha  having mastered the senses, ‘vijithendhriyah’

            The experience of heat and cold belongs to the body and felt through the indhriyas. When the mind attaches itself to the indhriyas the  sensations give rise to joy or sorrow. The sage who is detached from the body and mind through jnana and vijnana is not affected by anything that happens to him and hence he is kutastha,  immutable and unshakable like the anvil of the ironsmith which , even though repeatedly hit does not undergo any change like the piece of iron that is placed on it, which alone  changes in shape being red-hot. The Self is called kutastha as is unaffected by the changes in  the body, mind and intellect which are like red-hot iron, full of raga. (raga means colour especially red, signifying rajas.) So the one who has identified with the Self remains unaffected by the changes which pertain only to body, mind and intellect.

            Such a sage, a sthithaprajna, has samabudhdhih, same attitude towards everyone whether he is a suhrd, mithra , ari, udhaaseena ,madhyastha, dhveshya or bandhu likewise towards righteous and unrighteous A suhrd is one who does good without expecting anything in return. While mithra is one who befriends for a purpose. Ari is an enemy or adversary and udhaaseena is an indifferent person. Madhyastha is a mediator,  dhveshya is one who hates you  and bandhu is a relation. In short he treats all alike without having likes and dislikes. It is interesting to note that the words mithra and ari  are juxtaposed with one another and so are the words dhveshya and bandhu. This implies that the pairs are interchangeable. A mithra  who is friendly for some specific purpose can become an ari , an adversary when the purpose is not fulfilled.             Similarly a bandhu will soon become dhveshya. One who shows bitterness or hatred towards you is often a relative as we see around us in this world. As these characteristics belong to the non-self, the yogi ,who is united with his Self is not bothered about it. He ignores the container and sees only the content

            So long Krishna has been elaborating on the state of yogaarooda, the one who has scaled the heights of meditation. Now He starts to  give the guidelines to reach that state, namely the discipline to be followed by a aarurukshu, one who is desirous of reaching that state.

           'Yogee yunjeetha sathatham aathmaanam rahsi sthithah Ekaakee yatha chitthaathmaaniraaseeraparigrahah.' One who wishes to meditate should keep himself  scclded as meditation is not possible in a crowd. He should be alone,ekaakee. Nowadays group meditation has become popular and this may appear to be a bit out of place but the words rahasi sthithah and ekaakee are used to indicate that the meditation should be done in a place and time o as to have no disturbance or interruptions.That is why in those days  the sages retired to the forest to do thapas..

            But simply by retiring to a secluded place will one be able to meditate. This is a common misconception. When we try to insist the importance of persistent contemplation of God to develop bhakthi we often hear people say  " How can we think of God all the time living in the world pressed by our family commitments? It may be possible if we are allowed to go to a secluded spot away from family atmostphere."  What they do not understand is that even if they go to Himalayas they take thieir thoughts with them. This is what exactly Krishna told Arjuna in th eighteen chapters of the Gita when he wanted to go away from the battlefield. Then what should an aspirant do?The answer is given in the next line ' yatha chitthaathmaa  niraaseeh aparigrahah.'

            One who wishes to scale the heights of meditation should be  yathachitthaathmaa, self-controlled, niraasee,without desire and aparigrahah,without possessions.This does not mean renouncing the world physically but mentally, like King Janaka., by giving up clinging attachments to wordly pleasures and possessions.

            Next Krishna elaborates on the physical aids to meditation. The spot must be clean, conducive to spirituality, the seat must be firm to reduce anxiety and covered with kusa grass, a hide and a cloth in that order.These conditions have to be understood in the context of the period of Gita and should not be confused with the modern times. The point stressed here is that the seat on which you meditate must be comfortable and secure just enough to enable you to concentrate.

             Similar idea is presented in the description of  the posture in meditation. 'Samamkaayasirogreevam dhaarayannachalam sthirah samprekshya naasikaagram svamdhisaschaanavalokayan.' This sloka is translated as 'holding the body, head and neck evenly ans steadily, the resolute yogin fixes his gaze on the tip of his nose, not looking around.' This instruction is not given so as to make the mitator cross-eyed or stiff-back! It only means thatone should not be distracted by body movement or by outward objects. Fixing the gaze at the tip of the nose signifies the position of the  half-closed eyes as being kept open one will be tempted to look around and closing them may induce him to sleep!

            With tranquillised inner sense and  indriyas under control the yogi should direct his thoughts on the Supreme Reality. Thus he gets peace  which will culminate in emancipation, nirvana.

            To get into such state that enables one to meditate some disciplineary measures in life are necessary. Eating and sleeping should be moderate. 'Naathyasnasthu yogo asthi na chaikaanthm anasnathah.'  Too much eating is bhoga which is contrary to yoga. Eating too little will make one weak physically as the saying goes, 'sariram aadhyam khalu dharmasadadhanam,' it is yoga saadhanam also. Same thing goes for sleep. So a yogi should be moderate in all his activities

            Now how would  an aspirant come to know that he has become integrated in yoga? 'Yathaa viniyatham chittham aathmanyevaavathishtathe nissprhah sarvakaamebhyah yukth ithyuchyathe thadhaa.' The mind of such a yogi will be completely absorbed in the Self and free from cravings  for objects of desires  The mind of  the yogi is compared to the flame of a lamp steady when there is no wind,'Yathaadheepo nivaathastho nengathe sopamaasmrtha.'

            At this stage the mind rejoices in the Self alone, where there is  a bliss that is endless, 'aathyanthikam,' discerned only by the intellect, being  beyod the grasp of the senses, atheendhriyam. Reaching that state there is nothing more to be gained and even  an immense grief does not affect such a yogi. This yoga , is termed as duhkhasamyogaviyoga yoga,'  disjunction from  the conjunction with duhkha ,by Krishna. He further says that this yoga has to be practised with an undijected mind,' anirvinna chethasaa.'.

            The natural rejoinder to this would be " How can I practise this?" Krishna anticipates this and answers it Himself. First one has to give up alldesires born of thoughts,'sankalpaprabhavaan kaamaan thyakthvaa sarvaan aseshathah,' by controlling the senses with the mind on all sides, ' mansaivendhriya graamam viniyamya samanthathah.'  Slowly and gradually, 'sanaih sanaih' the mind should be trained to concentrate on Brahman . It is easily said than done. True,says Krishna, but you have to withdraw the mind from wherever it wanders. The nature of the mind is that if you control it in one direction it runs in another. So draw back the mind persistently when it runs from one object to the other.

             Usually we find that when you sit down to japa, for instance before you chant the name, say, Rama, the mind wanders to the Ramanextdoor and by the time it has dwelt on his history past and present  and you become aware of  its wanderings you would come to the end of your japa.  So, says Krishna, 'yatho yatho nischarathi manah chanchalam asthiram thathsththo niyamyaithath aathmanyevavasam nayeth.'  Withdraw the mind the moment it wanders and concentrate on the Self and again when it stars to run bring it back . Reining the mind thus it finally does your bidding..

            A yogi who can do this easily attains the  union with Brahman and enjoys infinite bliss.He sees himself in all beings and all beings in himself because  everything is in Brahman and Brahman is in everything. Such ayogi is called samadharsanah, sees unity everywhere.We see multilicity because we identify ourselves with body mind and intellect and the rest as something other than ourselves. When one identifies with his Self

which is the same Self everywhere there is no duality.

            Krishna ends up the discourse of dhyanayoga by saying  'the one whosees Me everywhere and all in Me never loses me nor I ever lose him. He is established in Me and abides in Me always no matter what he is doing.' The same idea Sankara expresses in Bajagovindam, 'Yogaratho vaa bhogaratho vaa sangaratho vaa sangaviheenah yasya brahmani ramathe chittham nandati nandatinandatyeva.'    One whose mind is established in Brahman is always in bliss whether he is in meditation or engaged in worldly pursuits whether he is in company or alone. Such ayogi  who looks on all as his own Self is deemed the highest.

            Krishna has been talking about the state of yogaarooda whichis rather difficult to understand by the uninitated  and Arjuna was like us  and to him it is next to impossible to control the mind and bring it to the state of one-pointedness. He says, 'chcnchalam hi manah krishna pramaathi balavaddhrdam thasyaaham nigraham manye vaayoriva sudhushkaram.' The mind, he says,  is  very unsteady,turbulent,tebnacious and powerful. Therefore I consider that the control of the mind is asa difficult  as controlling the wind, which is to say that it is impossible.

            We are under the control of the mind and not vice versa. So like arjuna we feel that it is next to impossible to control our mind.But even in everyday life without any spiritual pursuit one has to exercise certain amount of control mentally, orally and physically in order to live a happy and peaceful life. As our speech and action  are only the external manifestation of our thoughts the reins of control must be applied to our mind before the thoughts get transferred into words or action.This is what has been emphasised in the second chapter of the Gita by'dhyaayatho vishayaan pumsah---'(BG2-62,63.)

            Do not despair, says Krishna, 'asamsayam mahaabhaaho mano dhurnigraham chalam abhyaasena thu kountheya vairaagyena cha grhyathe,  in the oft -quoted and one of the most important slokas of the Gita. Ofcourse the mind is  fickle and uncontrollable. But it can be controlled by abhyasa and vairagya. Dispassion, vairagya comes from renouncing the desires of the world as mentioned in an earlier sloka'sankalpaprabhavaan  kaamaan---' and the abhyasa consists in withdrawing the mind slowly and gradually on  each and every occasion when it plays truant, as made out in the earlier sloka 'yatho yatho nischarathi--.'

            In the beginning of the 6th chapter of the Gita  it is said 'aarurukshormuneryogam karma kaaranam uchyathe.'   In the beginning to renounce the desires karmayoga is practised. To do action without attachment to the fruit results in the removal of desire. When the agentship is given up and all actions are done as the work of the Lord, one feels that he is the instrument in His hands. In the modern times it is fitting to give the analogy of  a computer to explain karmayoga. The computer does the work it is programmed for though very efficiently, more or less like a sentient being, yet it is only an instrument. Similarly we are programmed according to our karma an dif we do our work efficientlywithout attachment to the fruit like the computer, which has no desire of its own we will be the instrument of God through which His grace flows.

            When the desires are removed one gets detachment, vairagya and the mind is no more agitated and become the slave of the yogi . But till one achieves this constant practice,abhyaasa is essential. The phrase 'vairagyena cha,' is significant because no amount of practice will be fruitful without dispassion. Only  because of the absence of vairagya the mind is dhurnigraha and chala. Therefore Yoga is not  possible without controlling the mind but  can be achieved easily by one who ceaslessly trying with his mind under control, ' Asamyathaathmanaa yogo dhushpraapa ihti me mathih vasyaathmanaa thu yaththaasakyo avaapthum upaayathah.'

            Now Arjuna comes out with another question. Suppose an aspirant starts meditation wth full faith and tries to control his mind unsuccessfully nd before he accomplishes it his life is cut short.What will be the fate of such a person ? Should he start his spiritual practie from the beginning in his next life? Or is he lost like a torn cloud deprived of both ,the Self realisation and the hdeavenly enjoyment which he would have if he had proceeded in the karma marga, meaning kamykarma?

            Here Krishna as the Supreme Self gives the assurance, 'na hi kalyanakrth kaschith durgathim thaatha gachchathi,' that none who strives for self redemption ever comes to harm. The what happens to a yogabhrashta, one who has strayed from the path of      Self realisation  and meets his end of life? Krishna says, ' praapyapunyakrthaam lokaan ushithva saasvatheessamaah sucheenaam srimathaam gehe yogabhrashto abhijaayathe..'

The man who has slipped from yoga goes to the meritorious worlds and stays there for long time and then takes birth in ahome of a householder who conform to vedic ordinances and who are rich in resource. There due to poorvajanma vaasanas he is drawn towards yoga and when the obstructing vasanaas are weakened he pursues the yogic path.

            Depending upon the state upto which he has advanced in yoga he perhaps gets birth in the family of wise yogins though it is rare because this happes only to a near perfect yogin like Jadabharatha  who are very rare. Being born in the family of yogis he acquires memory of ideas accumulated in his previous birth and strives harder to reach perfection.

            The idea is that one need not lose courage and confidence as to whether he will be able to achieve perfection in this life. Whatever we do comes to our aid later and we start  from where we left. This is because the spiritual vasanaas once acquired never perish and even when one slips back they always come to him at the right time as in the case of Ajamila . So the right time to start is now!

            Even he who seeksto comprehend the essence of yoga and begins to tread the pathof yoga goes beyond the realm of the friuts of karma specified in the vedas like heaven, jijnaasurapi yogasya sabdabrahmaathivarathathe.' Sabdabrahma means the vedas and refers to those who follow karmakaanda of the vedas. . It is relevant here to compare the words of Krishna 'thrigunyavishayaa vedaah nisthrigunyo bhavaarjuna,'(BG-2-45) So how much more would be the gain of the one who has fully undestood Yoga and follows the practice of Yoga! 'prayatnaath yathamaanasthu yogii samsuddhakilbhishah anekajanmasamsiddhah thatho yaathi paraam gathim.' The yogi who strives hard and who has been perfected through the efforts of many lives attais the supreme goal free of all sins.

            Krishna ends up by saying that the yogi is superior to those wo do penance, who master the vedas and who follow the karmamarga, and even among them the one who worships the Lord with full faith knowing Him to be his inner self is considered  to be the foremost .

           END OF PART I-Adhyayas 1to 6