CHAPTER 5- KARMASANYASAYOGA
YOGA OF RENUNCIATION
Arjuna uvaacha
Sannyaasam karmaNaam KrishNa punaH yogam cha Samsasi
Yath SreyaH ethayoH ekam thath me broohi suniSchayam
Arjuna said,
Krishna, you praised the acquirement of jnana which leads to renunciation of action and also you praise karmayoga subsequently. Tell me which of the two are conducive to my progress towards the highest goal.
Krishna has detailed about karmayoga in the chapters 3 and 4 and hence Arjuna has no confusion regarding what is karma yoga. So he is not repeating the question he asked in the beginning of the third chapter. His doubt now is that while Krishna elucidated on karmayoga he also spoke about acquiring the jnana that, all is nothing but Brahman and advised Arjuna to approach a guru to acquire jnana. This made Arjuna wonder whether jnana is better than karma. Hence Krishna starts distinguishing between the two.
Sree bhagavaan uvacha
Sannyaasam karmayogaH cha niSSreyasakarou ubhou
thayoH tu karmasannyaasaath karmayogo viSishyathe
The Lord spoke,
Renunciation and karmayoga are both the means to achieve the goal of realization. But of the two, karmayoga is superior to renunciation of action.
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 starts 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.
The word sannyaasa means giving up fully. San +nyaasa. So it could be used in renouncing the action, or the fruit of action or the sense of agency of action. In the Gita it is used in all these meanings and hence it should be understood according to the context.
Here the word sannyasa means saankhya yoga or jnanayoga, the word saankhya as used in the second chapter. Though both the paths , jnana and karma leads to the same goal the one to choose depends on the mental state of the seeker. Since Arjuna is qualified to do only karma yoga as he had not acquired jnana till then, Krishna said that karmayoga is better than jnanayoga.
The one who follows saankhyayoga is the one who has already acquired self control and has given up agency of action and sees Brahman everywhere and hence the action has no effect on him. Till then one has to do karmayoga only giving up the desire for the fruit of action by offering all his actions to the Lord. Gradually he gives up the sense of agency when he acquires the jnana that all is Brahman.
3. jneyaH sa nithyasnnyaasee yo na dhveshti na kaankshathi
nirdhvandhvo hi mahaabaaho sukham banDhaath pramuchyathe
He who does not desire, na kaankshathi nor dislikes, na dhveshti, and is ever beyond the pair of opposites, nirdhvandhavaH, is to be known as the ever renounced, nithyasannyaasee, and he is freed , pramuchyathe,easily, sukham, from the bondage, banDhaath.
A karmayogi who works without attachment has neither desire nor aversion. So he is to be considered as nityasannyasi., perpetually renounced. Thus doing everything with detachment he does not get bound by his works and his release from bondage is effortless.
Any action done with desire for the result or not done due to aversion for the same create fresh karma for which one has to experience the effect and it goes on to create bondage of life and death. When the same karma done without attachment there no fresh karma resulting from it and hence there is no bondage from such karma.
4. saankhayogou prThak baalaah pravadhanthi na pandithaaH
Ekam api aasThithah samyak ubhayoH vindhathe phalam
Only the ignorant speak of the sankhya and karmayoga as being distinct from each other and not the wise. One who follows either properly gets the result of both.
5. yath saankhyaiH praapyathe sThaanam thath yogaiH api gamyathe
Ekam saankhyam cha yogam cha yaH paSyathi saH paSyathi
The status which the follower of saankhya yoga attains is reached by a karmayogi also. Hence one who sees both together, alone has the right perception.
That is, 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. 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.
What is meant by these two slokas is this:
A jnani who has already mastered his senses and has acquired the knowledge that all this is Brahman, is a sannyasi on whom karma has no effect. Hence whether he does it or not is immaterial. But even the jnani may be doing karma such as maintaining his body till he is in embodiment or to set an example for others. But in either case he is a renounced soul as the karma does not affect him. When he gives up his mortal coil he attains moksha. The saints like Ramakrishna, Ramana and others are examples of this.
The karmayogi on the other hand does his karma giving up the attachment to the fruit and gradually gives up the sense of agency also when the karma does not affect him. Then on acquiring the state of mind that all this is nothing but Brahman, he attains moksha on leaving his body. Hence the goal of both is the same. It is like going to a place by rail or by air. But the destination is the same. This is the meaning of the above slokas.
6. sannyaasasthu mahaabaaho dhuhkham aapthum ayogathaH
yogayuktho muniH brahma na chireNa aDhigacChathi
Renunciation is difficult to attain for one who has not followed karmayoga. The sage who is established in karmayoga is able to realize Brahman soon.
Krishna here explains why he extolled Karmayoga as being the better of the two. 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. After this on contemplating on Brahman one attains it easily.
Even though both, namely, karma yoga and jnanayoga are said to lead to the same goal, the former is easier than the latter. First when a man starts thinking about himself as being something other than body, mind and intellect, the quest for the self begins.
He may get the knowledge that he is only the self which is immutable and eternal from the study of scriptures and also about his inner self or the real self that is Brahman. But due to his past karma his mind is full of desire, anger etc. Hence the mind should be cleansed of these first, through karmayoga, which makes him give up desire and hatred by dedicating all his karma and the results of karma to the Lord and sheds the sense of agency, when he is no more affected by his actions. Then only he is fit for the contemplation of Brahman.
On the other hand if he starts jananyoga by contemplation and giving up all actions, his desire and ego which have not been got rid of, will raise their ugly heads and drag him away from his goal. The sage Visvamithra was an excellent example of this. He was a kshathriya and his pride and anger pulled him away for his goal until he conquered them.
The natural doubt that may arise is that there are some who renounced 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
7. yogayuktho viSudDhaathmaa vijithaathmaa jithendhriyaH
sarvabhoothaathmabhoothaathmaa kurvan api na lipyathe
One who is established in yoga, has conquered his mind and senses and sees himself in all beings is not tainted by work.
How does the Karmayoga becomes the means of attaining self knowledge? Krishna answers this in the next sloka. 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
This sloka defines the karmayogi who can be called yoga yuktha, established in karmayoga.
Three adjectives are given which, though look similar, are not so. jithendhriyaH denotes the control of the senses, of course through the mind and intellect, which makes him vijithaathma, one who has controlled himself. By this the mind becomes pure, which is indicated by viSudDhaathma. He understands that the same Brahman who is his inner self is the self of all. This enables him to see himself in all beings. Such a yogi is not tainted by anything he does which is elucidated in the next two slokas
8.naiva kinchith karomi ithi yuktho manyetha thatthvavith
paSyan SrNvan sprSan jighran asnanan gacchan svapan Svasan
Such a yogi who has the knowledge of reality should think " I am not doing anything," while seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating going, sleeping or breathing.
9. pralapan visrjan grhNan unmishan nimishan api
indhriyaaNi indhriyaarTheshu varthantha ithi Dhaarayan
Speaking, discharging, grasping, opening and closing his eyes, he should think that the senses are interacting with the sense objects
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 and Krishna lists the common activities he engages in through his senses as `pasyansrnvan sprsan jighran,' seeing, hearing touching smelling and so on.
This has already been explained in the third chapter as ` .prakrtheH kriyamaaNaani gunaiH karmaaNi sarvaSaH,'(3.27) All actions are due to the gunas of prakrthi in all respects, and that the wise is not attached, knowing that the gunas are reacting with gunas, `guNaa guNaeshu varthntha ithi mathvaa na sajjathe.' (3.28) The same attitude is described here.
Everything except the Self are made up of gunas. So the like gunas inside are attracted towards the like gunas outside. The indhriyas are the product of the gunas which includes the n mind and intellect as they are also the products of prakrthi. Sense objects, being the effects of Prkrthi, are also made up of the three gunas. This is what is meant by indhriyaaNi indhriyaarTheshu varthantha.
10.brahmaNyaaDhaaya karmaaNi sangam thyakthvaa karothi yaH
lipyathe na sa paapena padhmapathram iva ambhasaa
One who acts without attachment reposing all actions in Brahman, is not tainted by sin like the lotus leaf by water.
The karma yogi acts without desire and attachment and offers all his actions to the Lord. He considers all the actions as the interaction between the gunas inside and gunas outside. Hence the result of actions producing sin or merit do not taint him and he remains like the lotus leaf which is not wetted by water on it.
There may arise question that when the karmayogi acts without desire and attachment naturally he would not do anything that may result in sin. Hence why should it be said that sin will accrue to him?
The Lord says in the 18th chapter, `sarvaarambhaa hi dhosheNa Dhoomena agniH iva aavrthaa,' meaning that all actions are covered with defects as the fire with smoke. It is possible to commit sin inadvertently causing harm to other beings in course of even daily actions like the imperceptible creatures may be killed by cooking , walking and other actions. Even those will not result in sin when one has renounced the agency of action.
The word Brahman here is taken to mean Brahman or Narayana because all the actions are done as an offering in the spirit of yajna. Ramanuja however explains the word as prkrthi as mentioned in the fourteenth chapter as `mama yonih mahath brahma,', meaning that the prakrthi is the womb into which the Lord puts the seed of creation. The word aaDhaaya means reposing and as Brahman has no actions all the actions belong to prakrthi. But the word has also another meaning ‘to direct towards’ and this meaning has been accepted by Sankara and others according to which all actions of a karmayogi are directed towards Brahman as an offering and hence the word Brahman denotes only the supreme reality.
11. kaayena manasaa buddhyaa kevalaih indhriyaiH api
yognaH karma kurvanthi sangam thyakthvaa aathma SudDhaye
The karmayogis act with their body, mind and intellect, giving up attachment for the purification of themselves.
12. yukthaH karmaphalam thyakthvaa Saanthim aapnothi naishtikeem
ayukthaH kaamakaareNa phale sakthaH nibaDhyathe
The karmayogi giving up the attachment for the fruit of action attains lasting peace. But the one who is not attained yoga becomes attached to the fruit of action, motivated by desire, gets bound by his actions.2
Even a non-knower of truth, that is, brahmajnana, if he acts with an attitude of surrender, without attachment, is not stained by karma like a lotus leaf by water because such yogis, with detachment, work for self purification, and attain liberation whereas the others who are attached to the results of action get bound by them.
13. sarvakarmaaNi manasaa sannyasya aasthe sukham vase
navadhvaare pure dhehee naivakurvan na kaarayan
But one who has controlled himself, renounces all actions mentally and remains happy in his body as in a town which has nine gates, not doing anything nor causing any action to be done.
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, meaning, there is no direct nor causative agency as the Self is immutable.
14. na karthrthvam na karmaaNi lokasya srjathi prabhuH
na karma phalasamyogam svabhaavasthu pravarthathe
The Lord who is the real self of all does not cause the sense of agency, nor the action nor the result of action in the universe. The nature alone prevails.
The sense of agency in man is not created by the Lord but it is his own ego that makes him think that he is the doer. The actions are also either desire motivated or done as duties according to varnasramadharma for which the doer alone is responsible. The result of actions also automatically follow and they are not decided by the will of the Lord. All these are only due to the interaction of the gunas according to prakrthi. That is why it is said that one who has the view that `guNaa guNeshu varthantha,' is not affected by his actions since the karthrthvam is absent in him and hence the karma and the phala do not adhere to him.
But if one does everything as an offering to the Lord then is the Lord becomes responsible for the action and their fruits? The next sloka answers this.
15.na aadhatthe kasyachith paapam na chaiva sukrtham vibhuH
ajnaanena aavrtham jnaanam thena muhyanthi janthavaH
Neither He accepts the sins or merits of the individual selves. The knowledge is covered with ignorance and so the individual souls are deluded.
When an action is done as the offering to the Lord the result does not accrue to the doer. So there is neither sin nor merit resulting from the action. This is what the sentence `naadhatthe kasyachith paapam na chaiva sukrtham vibhuH,' means. Even when the action is desire motivated, the result does not belong to the doer but to the action, which has already been mentioned as `karmaNyeva aDhikaarasthe maaphaleshu kadhaachana.'. (BG.2.47) So it is wrong to ascribe the result of action to the Lord and to think that He has given suffering to some and happiness to others.
Then why do the people think that they are the doers and act with the expectation of a specific result? It is due the ignorance , ajnana, which conceals the jnana and hence the delusion that one is the doer and which makes him act with the expectation of result.
16. jnaanena thu thadhajnaanm yeshaam naaSitham aathmanaH
theshaam aadhithyavath jnaanam prakaaSayathi thathparam
To those whose ignorance is destroyed by knowledge of the self, the jnana, shines like the Sun.
This ignorance that `I am the doer,' is destroyed on acquiring the knowledge, which Krishna told Arjuna to get from a guru by service, humility and enquiry, (sloka 34, chapter4)
When the Sun rises the darkness is automatically destroyed as the darkness is only the absence of light. Similarly the ignorance is only the absence of knowledge, which is the real nature of the self and at the dawn of knowledge it wholly disappears revealing the real self which was there forever.
17. thath budDhaayaH thadhaathmaanaH thannishTaaH thath paraayaNaaH
gacchanthi apunaraavrthhim jnaana nirDhootha kalmashaaH
Their intellect riveted in the self, being engrossed in the self, contemplating on the self and fixing their goal as the self, the yogis whose impurities are washed away by jnana reach the state of no return.
When the knowledge of the self dawns in the mind of seeker, the ignorance which is the cause of "I " ness and "MY "ness is removed,and he becomes jnaana nirDhootha kalamasha, all the effects of ignorance, so far obscuring his real nature, are removed, nirDhootha kalmasha. Then the karmayogi sheds sense of agency and desire for result and acts with the spirit of yajna. Armed with the knowledge that everything is Brahman, his intellect thinks of nothing but Brahman, thathbuddhi, and with all his thoughts centered in Brahman, thannishTaa, he dwells in Brahman, thadhaathmaa. Then the only goal to him is the attainment of Brahman, thath parayaaNa, the state from which there is no reverting back to the cycle of birth and death.
On attaining the state of self realization from which there is no return, what will be the nature of perception of such a jnani? This is explained in the subsequent slokas.
18. vidhyaavinayasampanne braahmaNe gavi hasthini
Suni chaiva SvapaakE cha pandithaaH samadharSanaH
Those who have the brahmajnana perceive a learned and modest Brahmin, cow, elephant, dog and the dog-eater with equanimity.
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. 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.
A Brahmin who is not only learned but also modest about it because he knows that in brahmajnana there is no such thing as "I know," tops the list. Upanishad declares that one who says he knows, knows not and one who says he does nor know, knows. The more one reads and hears about Brahman, the more he realises that Brahman cannot be understood by scriptures alone but only through direct intuition which comes only through contemplation and then also only through the grace of the Lord as the Upanishad says, `yam eva esha vrNuthe thena labhyathe,' meaning that only he whom the Lord chooses will get the real knowledge. Whom will He choose? This is explained by the entire Gita.
Then among the animals, cow is the highest in order of evolution for its meekness and love and because it feeds the whole world, more than anything else was the love of Krishna towards it for which he was known as gopala.
Among other animals elephant is supposed to be most intelligent and mighty, having a wonderful memory power. Everybody from a child to an adult loves to watch an elephant and such is the glory of the animal. Moreover no other animal obtained the grace of the Lord like Gajendhra did.
The dog is the lowliest of the animals because it represents servility and dependence. Also it is the weakest animal. But even lower is he who eats its flesh because the dog-flesh is not acceptable for eating.
The sThithaprajna sees all these with the same attitude. He knows that it is only the body which is different but not the soul because he sees Brahman everywhere.
This Gita-sloka has been illustrated nicely by an incident in the life of Sankara. He was returning from his bath in Ganges with his sishyas. A man of the low caste specified as dog-eater in the above sloka with four dogs came in front and there was not enough space for Sankara and the man to pass, not touching each other. To keep in tact his austerity in not touching any one after bath before he finished his puja, Sankara told him to move away so that he can pass. The man asked Sankara to tell him whether he wanted the body to move away or the soul? Was it the body he was afraid of polluting by the contact or the soul? Because there is no difference between the soul of himself and that of Sankara. Then Sankara was stupefied and asked him who he was. Then Lord Siva appeared to Sankara, who realized that it was the Isvara Himself who came in the form of a low caste man with the four vedas as his dogs. Then Sankara sang the Maneeshaa panchakam, giving out the non-difference of souls, comprising of five beautiful slokas.
Now the question will be, was Sankara really deluded into believing that touching the man will pollute him? This does not seem appropriate for the eminent advocate of advaita and the exponent of various Vedanta works such as bajagovindam. No. Sankara was deluded for a moment no doubt but it was not his own delusion but was created by Lord Siva to make him compose the maneesha panchakam. Moreover Sankara might have acted as he did, not because he saw any difference between men but because he, being the acharya, must set an example to the disciples to follow the achaara as otherwise they would have done as they pleased and would be ruined because they lacked the wisdom of their acharya. It is for the similar reason the saints like Paramacharya of Kanchi, Ramana and Ramakrishna were following the ritualistic practices.
19. ihaiva thairjithah sargaH yeshaam saamye sThitham manah
nirdhosham hi samam brahma thasmaath brahmaNi the sThithaah
Those whose mind abides in equanimity conquer birth while being here itself. Brahman remains the same and flawless and hence they reside in Brahman.
20. na prhrshyeth priyam praapya na udhvijeth praapya cha apriyam
sThirabudDhiH asammooDaH brahmavith brahmaNi sThithaH
One with a steady mind, undeluded , a knower of Brahman and abiding in Brahman, would not feel elated having a pleasant experience nor would be depressed on getting something unpleasant.
Krishna says that the birth has been vanquished even here in this life by those who have acquired Samathva or even mindedness, 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, nothing but Brahman everywhere, as declared by the Upanishad, Sarvam khalu idham brahma.' A brahmavid, knower of Brahman abides in Brahman, brahmani sthithah and hence he neither feels elated on getting something pleasant nor feels 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 knower of Brahman who has attained the state of seeing Brahman everywhere as detailed in the previous sloka `vidhyaavinayasampanne,' has no desires and hence looks upon all worldly experiences as something that pertains to the body, mind and intellect, which are the products of the three gunas. Since he identifies himself with the self, sukha and duhkha which do not touch the self have no effect on him. Hence he conquers birth and death while being in this embodied state because karma does not have any effect on him and does not create bondage which is the cause of birth and death.
Such a sage is described by four adjectives namely, brahmavith, brahmaNi sThithaH, sThira buddhih and asammoodaH.
He is brahmavith, knower of Brahman, meaning that he knows that everything is Brahman. The world of variegated entities are only the manifestations of the supreme reality like the different shapes and colours of the articles made of clay of which the real essence is nothing but clay, or like the various ornaments made of gold which are in essence nothing but gold. The upanishat says, `vaachaarambhaNam vikaaraH naamaDheyam mrtthikethyeva sathyam.' It means that the names are different but the reality is nothing but clay. Similarly all things are nothing but Brahman in reality.
Therefore he is brahmaNi sThithah, established in Brahman because like a goldsmith who sees only gold in all ornaments, he sees only Brahman and his thoughts are always with Brahman only.
As a result of this his intellect is sThira unwavering, not being oscillated by any other thought. Hence he is sthirabudDhiH. Consequently he is free from delusion which arise only due to ignorance of reality. Without the knowledge that everything is Brahman, one gets deluded by the opposites such as likes and dislikes, sukha and duhkha, gain and loss etc. all of which arises from an attitude of seeing the world as different from himself.
On the other hand those who possess equanimity, yeshaam saamye sThitham manah, are not deluded and they are said to cross over the samsara, the cycle of transmigration while being in their embodiment. They carry on till the body falls and attain salvation.
Nirdhosham hi samam brahma- All imperfections are due to the three gunas. Since Brahman is beyond the gunas no imperfections affect Brahman. The self is not affected by the imperfections of the body, mind and intellect. Brahman which is the Self of the self is therefore not contaminated by the imperfections. This statement serves to dispel the doubt that if the world is the manifestation of Brahman whether the imperfections of the world would adhere to Brahman.
Just as the clay is the same in all the articles made of clay and gold is the same in all ornaments Brahman is also the same not undergoing any change.
21. baahyasparSeshu askthaathmaa vindhathi aathmani yath sukham
sa brahmayogayukthathmaa sukham akshayam aSnuthe
The one whose senses are not drawn towards sense objects outside, acquires joy within himself, being engrossed in Brahman which gives him undiminished joy.
The sage who enjoys unalloyed bliss in being immersed in Brahman is referred to here by three epithets, bahyasparSeshu askthaathmaa, vindhathi aathmani yath sukham and brahmayogayukthaathmaa.
BaahyasparSeshu asakthaathmaa- He is detached, asaktha, from the sense experience outside, baahyasparSa, sparsa here meaning contact and baahya is outside. The word sparsa means touch literally but it stands for all sense contacts.
The reason why he has given up attachment to the outside world is denoted by the next epithet.
Vindhathi aathmani yath sukham- the joy he obtains from merging with the self.
He gets the supreme joy in merging with the self. Sankara says in bajagovindam, `yasyabrahmaNi ramathe chittham nandhathi nandhathi nadhathi eva.' He whose mind is reveling in Brahman he is happy, he is happy ,he is happy, meaning that the joy experienced through his brahmanubhava permeates in all three levels of being, physical, mental and intellectual. The same idea is expressed in Gita, by the sloka `macchitthaa madhgathapraaNaah boDhyanthaH parasparam , kaThayanthaScha maam nithyam thushyanthi cha ramanthi cha..'(BG.10.9) Those whose mind is engrossed in the Lord, whose whole life existence depends on Him, telling each other about Him and enlightening each other, remain contented reveling in Him.
Such a sage who is engrossed in Brahman, brahmayogayukthaathmaa ever rejoices in the bliss of Brahman which is sukham akshayam, inexhaustible joy.
22. ye hi samsparsajaa bhogaaH dukhayonaya eva the
aadhyanthavanthaH kountheya na theshu ramathe buDhaH
All pleasures born out of sense contact, , result only in pain, as they are temporary. O son of kunti, the wise never revels in those.
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, 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 man is happy when he gets an experience which is conducive to happiness. But till when? Only until something or someone is not obstructing his joy or till he desires something else. Often the same object that gives joy may turn into a thing of sorrow. This is because they are fleeting and not a source of everlasting happiness. This is why Krishna says in the second chapter that all the experience of joy and sorrow born out of sense contact come and go and they have to be endured. `maathraasparSaasthu kountheya SeethoshNa sukhadhuhkhadhaaH aagamaapaayinaH anithyaaH thaan thithikshasva.'(BG. 2.14)
The same idea is expressed here by the word aadhyanthavanthaH, meaning that they have a beginning and an end, applied to the sensual pleasures, samsprsajaa bhogaaH and hence they are he cause of sorrow, dhuhkhayonayaH. All the sensual pleasures are desire-motivated and as said in the sloka `dhyaayatho vishyaan pumsaH,' (BG. 2.62/63) they give rise to the rest of the evils that destroy man namely krodha, lobha etc. Hence, says Krishna , the wise do not delight in these pleasures of the world, as they seek the eternal joy from the experience of Brahman.
23. Saknothiihaiva yah soDum praakSatreeravimokshaNaath
kaamakroDhodhbhavam vegam sa yukthaH sa sukhee naraH
The man who is able to withstand the impulses from desire and anger while being in this world before the soul leaves the body, is the true yogi and he is a happy man.
Kenopanishad says,
Iha cheth avedheeth aTha sathyam asthi
Na cheth iha avedheeth mahathee vinashtiH(Kena-2.5)
If one knows the supreme reality in this life itself it is true existence; if not there is great loss.
Gita is the essence of Upanishads, which contain profound truth but not commonly understood without intuitive intellect. The supreme reality or Brahman, the bhagavan of the devotee, are all beyond description by words. The sages and later the saints and realized masters , out of compassion for the people who suffer in the samsara , have tried to express something which cannot be expressed in words. And as such their words are naturally relevant to the age and nature of the world in which they lived in. All their sayings are truth only and each one understands it to the limit of his intellect and mental impressions due to karma. Krishna who was bhagavan svayam, also tried to teach the meaning of upanishats in easier and lucid style.
Krishna says narah, man, who is able to withstand the impulses of kama and krodha is the yogi and is happy. Here he uses the word naraH which has a special significance. It is said that the life of human is attained after several births as other beings. The animals have no discrimination and act through impulse only, that is , have only sensory perception. Though they also feel sukha and duhkha they are helpless to avert it
On the other hand the devas have only sensual enjoyment and experience joy or sorrow as when they are cursed or oppressed by the demons but again they are helpless to get out of that stage because the heaven is only bhogabhoomi and not yoga bhoomi. Only in the world of men one is capable of elevating himself and attain mukthi, to enjoy eternal bliss freeing himself from the evils of transmigration. So a man alone can strive for spirituality.
The supreme bliss or Brahmanhood is the birthright of all and it can be sought only through human life and If one wasted the divine gift of a human life through pursuing sensual pleasures that may take him to lower births due to the desire and wrath born out of such life, he is really lost. The evolution at any stage is possible only by giving up something to acquire a higher faculty such as the fish becoming a land animal by giving up its love of water and the monkeys giving up their climbing trees to become humans etc. Similarly for a man to become divine to attain immortality and enjoy brahmaanandha , he has to give up his tendencies that bind him towards the cycle of birth and death, namely, sensual attachments. This is the purpose of life and the one who realizes it is the yogi and a sukhee.
Of course we do not know whether it is possible for us to do it in one birth. But the effort must be made as the saying goes, `gacChan pipeeliko yaathi yojanaanaam Sathaani api; agacChath vinatheyo api padham ekam na gacChathi.' Even an ant goes 1000 yojanas by consistent movement but even the Garuda does not goes even one foot by not moving. Moreover we never know how much distance we have traveled in so many births and whether this is the last.
There is a story to illustrate this. Narada was going along a forest and he came across two persons who were meditating under a tree. They bowed down to him and asked him where he was going and Narada replied that he was going to Vaikunta. Then they both asked him to find out from the Lord how many births they have yet to undergo. He agreed and went away. On returning that way again they both wanted to know the answer to their question. Narada told one of them to see a tamarind tree nearby and said that he had as many lives to go as there are leaves in that tree. He was very happy saying that since there is a definite number of leaves in the tree his lives will end soon. Then Narada met the other one who was some distance away from the first and told him that he had to go through seven more lives. But instead of feeling happy he cried saying that he thought he would get salvation in the same birth and got disheartened at his efforts to attain it. It is needless to say that which of the two would have been liberated earlier. The former represents the man portrayed in the above sloka. His equipoise and joy would take him sooner than he expected as promised by the Lord later `kshipram bhavathi Dharnmaathma Sasvath Saanthim nigacChathi.' He becomes saintly in a moment and gets everlasting peace.
24. yo anthaH sukho antharaaraamaH thaThaa antharjyothireva yaH
sa yogee brahmanirvaaNam brahmabhootho aDhigacChathi
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.
brahmabhoothaH is the one who has realized Brahman while in this embodiment. He is the yogi who has found eternal bliss in himself, anthaH sukhah and revels in it, antharaaraamah, perceiving the supreme light of the divine in himself, antharjyothiH. He attains the peace of Brahman, brahamanirvaNam.
When we identify ourselves with body mind and intellect as the result of ego born out of ignorance, the real self is obscured, like the one who is seeing through the telescope cannot see himself. But when the perception is turned inward on acquiring the wisdom, he sees himself as the pure self and of the nature of infinite bliss. This is the state described in the above sloka.
The happiness from the worldly experience is infinitesimal as compared to that of Brahmananda, as the latter does not depend on external objects. It is realized within, when the awareness of body , mind and intellect is not there. The joy of Brahman is characterized by eternal peace as opposed to the exhilaration of the worldly joy which like the high tide ebbs away when the sensation is over.
In the next two slokas Krishna gives the description of such yogis.
25. labhanthe brahmanirvaaNam rshayaH ksheeNakalmashaaH
cChinnadhvaithaaH yathaathmaanah sarvabhoothahithe rathaaH
Those whose sins have been washed away, ksheeNakalmashaaH, who is free from the opposites, cChinnadhvaithaaH , who are established in the supreme self, yathaathmaanaH and who are interested the welfare of all beings, sarvabhoothahithe rathaaH, those sages attain the brahmanirvaaNa, the joy and peace of experiencing Brahman.
The experience of Brahman clears all doubts, and destroys all karma and hence the sins are washed away as declared by the upanishad
bhidhyanthe hrdhayagranthih cchidhyanthe sarvasamsayaah kheeyanthe chaasya karmaani thasmindhrshte paravare. (see sloka42 of chapter 4 )
As mentioned is sloka 18 `vidhyaa vinayasamaanne,' the sage who attains the bramajnana has equanimity towards all beings and as he is free from the opposites of love and hate etc., he is concerned only with the welfare of all.
26. kaamakroDha viyukthaanaam yatheenaam yatha chethasaam
abhithaH brahma nirvaaNam varthathe vidhithaamanaam
Thus all around the sages, who are free from kama and krodha, who have controlled their senses and who have the knowledge of the Self, the peace of Brahman exists.
The sages who are free from desire and the resultant anger have perfect self control as the result of the knowledge of Brahman. They see only Brahman everywhere in all beings and hence there is nothing but Brahman all around.
Thus one who has realized the self while in this world always reveling in the bliss of Brahman, is free from karma leading to bondage, free from the sins that create karma and attains samathva, equipoise. But till he is liberated form the body he had to live in this world until the prarabdha is exhausted but it does not affect him as there is the peace and joy of Brahma all around him. He acts on in the world as everyone else , motivated not by desire but by concern for the well being of all. The ignorance has gone with the dawn of knowledge and there is no more any effect of maya, the product of ignorance which creates non –apprehension, aavaraNa and misapprehension, vikshepa.
27. sparSaan krthvaa bahiH baahyaan chakshuH chaiva anthare bhruvoH
praaNaapaanou samou krthvaanaasaabhyantharachaariNou
Shutting out all the sense contacts outward, fixing the eyes at the space between the eyebrows, equalizing the inward and outward breaths that move inside the nostrils,
28. yathendhriyamanobuddhiH muniH mokshaparaayanaH
vigathecChaabhayakroDhaH yaH sadhaa yuktha eva saH
Controlling his senses, mind and intellect, casting off desire, fear and anger, the sage who is intent on attaining salvation becomes liberated forever.
At the end of the chapter as usual Krishna hints at the contents of the chapter to follow, namely dhyanayoga. He has been explaining about karma yoga and jnanayoga in the foregoing chapters which stress the inner and outer control in order to attain liberation. Now it is time to answer the inevitable question about the way of doing it. The practical side of yoga is outlined in the next chapter about which a mention is made here.
sparSaan krthvaa bahih baahyaan means giving up all sensual contacts with the outside world. This does not imply shutting one self within four walls because experience of the sensual pleasures can very well be in the mind itself as made out in the sloka `dhyaayatho vishayaan pumasah,' (Ch.2.62/63) This is indicated by the phrase `yathendhriya manobudDhih,' controlling the mind and intellect, in the next sloka. Hence the first requisite for yoga of contemplation, dhyanayoga is control of the mind and intellect by turning them away from the sense contacts when the outward flow towards the sensual objects is automatically stopped.
How this can be done is indicated by the phrase vigathecchaabhayakroDhaH, which is the prerequisite to yathendhriya manobudDhi. Attachment to worldly pleasures comes from desire which in its wake gives rise to fear of losing what one desired and anger when there is an obstacle to achievement of the object of desire. So as Krishna termed desire as mahaaSano mahaa paapmaa(ch.3.37)and as dushpoora anala (ch.3.39) in the third chapter, it is the desire which is the root of all evil and when it is given up, the mind becomes controlled.
Hence the seeker of salvation, mokshaparaayana, controls his mind and intellect by controlling desire which results in the absence of sensual contacts, which means that the sense contact does not affect him.
After doing this the yogi sits down to meditation, the details are prescribed in the next chapter with a mention of basic disciplines here as chakshuH chaiva anthare bhruvoh and praanaapaanou samou krthva etc.
ChakshuH anthare bhruvoh- with eyes fixed between the eye brows. Krishna is not advising us to become cross eyed! It should not be taken literally. It denotes only concentration at one point. Raising the eyes towards the eyebrows as though gazing between them avoids distraction and also upward glance means elevationg our attention to a higher objective.
praaNapaanou samou krthvaa- When one is agitated the inward and outward breaths are not even . Making them even means that the mind is at rest.
In this state the yogi becomes yuktha experiencing the peace of Brahman and becomes liberated forever.
29. bhokthaaram yajna thapasaam sarvalokamahesvaram
suhrdham sarvabhoothaanaam jnaathvaa maam Saanthim rcchathi
Knowing Me as the enjoyer of all sacrifices and austerities, and as the supreme Lord of all the worlds and the real friend of all beings, one gets everlasting peace.
As the chapter is about karmayoga Krishna clinches the issue and ends the chapter by saying that by dedicating all work to the Lord knowing Him to be the master of all and also the true friend, one will get salvation.
Bhoktharam yajnathapasaam- The Lord is the receiver of all sacrificial offering and all austerities are directed only to Him . This will be further elaborated in chapter 9 as `yepyanyadhevathaa bhakthaaH ---` (Ch 9.23) because He is the Lord of all beings in all the worlds, being the Self of all.
Yajna here means all work done as an offering to the Lord and thapas denotes the austerities undertaken for self control.
Suhrdham sarvabhoothaanaam- He is the real friend of all. Suhrdh means Shobhanam hrdh asya asthi ithi, one who has a good heart. The Lord is the closest friend of all as He showers His grace on all without expecting anything in return. He asks only for pure heart that loves Him for His sake. He then returns the love thousand fold as a true friend. The word suhrdh is used here to denote that even though He is the overlord of all we need not fear Him and keep our distance out of reverence and awe as in the case of a supreme master because he is also our friend.