Arjuna: O Krishna! If the path of understanding is more advisable than the path of action, O
Krishna, then why do you urge me to commit this heinous sin? These contradictions confuse me. Tell me
clearly which is the higher path? (1-2)
Arjuna’s questions are not only his personal questions; they are the questions of the seeker inside
each one of us. They were also the questions of Prince Gautama till he became the Buddha. He gave
up all worldly attachment, and searched in all earnestness and honesty. But he searched outside,
and reached a dead end. At that point his cup emptied, he turned within, and found the answers.
It is indeed a strange paradox that we must search so far out to find something so close within. Of
course, much like the Buddha the answers have to come to us since they are already in us, but till then
let us track Arjuna’s journey.
Arjuna could shorten his long journey if he engages with his Spirit. However, his questions stand in the way. Lord Krishna attempts to answer them. He is the master of sixteen arts, and has answers to all questions. Though, the answers may quench Arjuna’s intellect but if they do not quench his Spirit, what good would it do!
Moreover, in the relative world of the mind questions allow more than one answer, and hence, Zen says that answers are always open to doubt.
Accordingly, a Zen master refused to take questions from a newly arrived disciple saying, “When the fruit is ripe it will fall.”
Not long before the disciple’s attention turned inward where he experienced his inner silence. As he touched his inner silence, he touched the silence of the universe. There were no thoughts and no
questions. In Zen tradition true knowledge is transmitted through the medium of non vernal
language.
Of course, there is an answer to every question but unless the seeker can absorb, it is like explaining Einstein’s theory of relativity to a child.
Khalil Gibran points, “The real teacher leads you not to himself, but to the threshold of your own mind.” The seekers who struggle with something other than their mind waste their lives.
Krishna: A two-fold way has been taught by me. Both approach the same goal; the path of knowledge for the contemplating man whereas the path of action for the man of work.(3)
Arjuna’s intellect does not allow him to reconcile the two approaches suggested by Lord Krishna. One enters the room from the left and the other from the right. The introvert enters through the door of emotions while the extrovert enters through the door of intellect. They both meet inside the room and join hands. It is not about which approach is better, but their convergence.
For instance, all the seekers want to reach the top of the hill. One takes a spiral route, the other a
zigzag one and the third makes a beeline, but eventually they all converge atop the hill. Hence,
to come to terms with reality a Hindu must be aware of the essence of Prophet Mohammed,
Christ, Buddha and vice versa.
All the prophets and incarnations mouthed the same source. But as human beings were at different levels at different times, they said the same thing in different ways. Hence, some superficial differences appeared on the surface. Unfortunately, these were used to split the human race. If we desire world peace we have to reconnect the dots. We have to bear in mind that no single prophet revealed everything, for the subject was too vast, and their duration on earth was too short to cover it completely. Besides, most of their effort was wasted in facing aggression and suffering.
Neither by renunciation is perfection attained, nor by the mere avoidance of work does he attain freedom from action. (4)
All the ideas of renunciation are myths because the one who gives up is the ego. But it is difficult to give up the ego because we have learnt to live with it, and identified with it.
A person stressed by work thinks by giving up work he will attain peace. Even the one who avoids work lives in distress – both the dreamer and the idler suffer from non-fulfillment of their dreams.
But if a seeker tunes into the frequency of the Spirit, it does not matter what he wears or where
he sleeps for there remains nothing to renounce.
The whole world belongs to the Spirit, and it is free to enjoy everything.
It is impossible for one to exist even for a moment without action. The impulse of nature compels man to act. Do your duty, for action is superior to inaction. (5)
The senses can be restrained. But if desires still linger in the mind then it gives way to selfdeception. (6)
The one who desires worldly pleasures and the one, who renounces them, both stand on the same
footing because both nurture desire.
The so called ascetic suppresses his desires by battling his senses. By killing his senses, he destroys the channels which wire him to his Spirit. He turns a beautiful garden into a dry desert, and then expects to find the fragrance of flowers in it. In any case, suffering does not transform a person.
The one who dons saffron robes claiming to have renounced everything harbors lust within.
He wastes his life neither being a house holder nor a yogi. After years of penance a celibate returned to a city and fell in love with the first woman he saw. He got so angry with himself that he tore out his eyes. Desire lives in the mind, and not the senses. After all, psychological complications arise from the illusions of the mind that are mistakes for reality.
Lord Krishna elucidates:
He is superior whose senses are restrained, and who engages them without attachment. (7)
We can enjoy the best things in life and yet be detached from them. Though Prince Rama lived in
the lap of luxury yet he was detached from it. It was just an accident of birth that he was born in a
royal household, but when the time came to move on, he was equally at home in the hardships of
wilderness.
It is not about whether we live in a thatched hut or a palace, but our attachment to them. If we are detached then it does not matter where we sleep.
Shri Mataji elucidates,
“When you are a master of everything and nothing has a hold over you, then
the senses are not dead but under control, and can be used at your will, whenever the need be.”
Action is higher than inaction, therefore, perform your allotted task. Even the life force in the body cannot be sustained without action. (8)
For sure, the mind can never be inactive even for a moment. It generated positive and negative thoughts that propel action. Action is the mantra that makes the mind tick. It is not possible to exist without breathing, the heart cannot help but pump, the eyes cannot help but see, the ears cannot help but
listen, and the mind cannot help but chatter. Our survival instinct compels us to nurture and protect
the body. Thus, we are impelled to perform action.
The difference between a realized soul and an ordinary person is that the former (akarmi) works
without the ego whilst the latter tires himself out thinking he is working and is responsible.
The world is in the bondage of work, except work done as a sacrifice. Therefore, O Arjuna, do
your work as a sacrifice, free from attachment. (9)
As we sacrifice fuel to get heat, as we sacrifice one activity to gain energy for another, likewise, we
have to sacrifice our desires to gain liberation from the bondage of work.
As we identify with the actors in a movie we tend to take sides with the protagonist. The ‘I’ present in an action identifies with it, and assumes a life of its own. It feels happy when its game plan succeeds and unhappy if it fails. For instance, when we rotate a wheel and release it, it continues to rotate for a while by virtue of its previous momentum. Similarly, the ‘I’ is propelled by the momentum of its projections. Lord Krishna is the axis, and Arjuna is the ‘I’ in the periphery. But the ‘I’ does not know itself. The ‘I’ cannot know itself till it gets detached. The way to detachment is if the ‘I’ does work as a sacrifice. Thereafter, he
enters the axis, and the periphery disappears.
When Prajapati Brahmadev created beings through sacrifice, he ordained, “Through sacrifice you will fulfill your desires. By sacrifice you should please the Gods and they in turn will bless you, thus you will attain the highest good. (10-11)
Pleased with your sacrifices, the Gods will bestow upon you the joy of your desires. He who eats after offering is auspicious. He, who only makes food for himself, eats in sin. He who enjoys these gifts without giving them in return is a thief. (12-13)
The family thrives in the glow of a mother’s sacrifice. She does not seek recognition but works lovingly behind the scene to get things done. She gives the best to her children before serving herself. On the other hand, a person who thinks only of himself, and ignores the welfare of others eats in sin. In professional life too, a leader who is secure attributes the credit of his success to the team. His sacrifice sets an example, and also inspires the team for the next rung.
We are who we are because of the values we abide by. Without sacrifice it is not possible to uphold those values or ideals. And that is what Lord Krishna wants to get into Arjuna’s head – the greatest sacrifice is the sacrifice of the ego.
Indeed, it is most auspicious to sacrifice. Shri Mataji reveals, “If you understand auspiciousness you can overcome the binding of matter. You will not value matter but auspiciousness. What is auspicious is nothing but the blessing of God. You feel the blessing of God. When you seek auspiciousness, you seek his hand. He is your shepherd.”
From food are beings formed. From rain is food formed. From sacrifice rain comes and sacrifice comes out of work. The sacrificial works originate from the Vedas, and the Vedas originate from the indestructible Supreme Being. Therefore it is evident that the Supreme Being is always present in the sacrifice. (14-15)
We are wired to be together to love one another without expectation and to give without taking.
Nature does it all the time without even our knowing. When drops of rain kiss the earth, she
rejoices. What she receives she keeps in trust.
In springtime she repays what she held in trust – sacrifice is the nature of her love. Whatever nature sacrifices keeps growing.
The natural engineering of trees provides fruits and flowers, but there is no expectation or feeling
that ‘I give.’ We should be grateful nature for its bounties. When we feel the beauty of thankfulness we feel the Spirit. We do not think the bounties are ours – we are giving what nature has given us. If the ocean did not yield its water to the clouds, there would be no rain. Without rain there would be no food; without food, there would be no life.
To satisfy the ego we repress nature, and thus feel apart from it. But if we engage with it, and pull the weeds to give love to the little seeds, we understand the seeds we sow are the fruits we will harvest. Likewise, if we plant seeds of love, the world will change.
The one, who does not help to turn the wheel thus set in motion, is lost in sensual indulgences, and sins; his life is wasted. (16)
The bees draw pollen from the flowers and give honey. It is a wonder how far they travel to give one drop of honey! But do they know what they give us? The giving does not know the receiving end.
In order to enjoy the honey we have to tend the flowers. But those who only want to enjoy the honey without tending the flowers eat in sin.
We can pay back nature’s debt by giving vibrations, (vital energy) to flowers and also human beings to balance them. But if we steal from nature without giving in return we become victims of our own actions.
William Blake said it all;
“Everything that lives,
Lives not alone;
Not for itself.”
Likewise, to find oneself one has to lose himself in the service of others. Those who make offerings in temples, churches and mosques but forget their suffering brotherhood, what would they avail from their offerings?
Whereas, the one who abides in his spirit, wherein he is content therein, and is not bound by any duty; he has nothing to gain from the actions he engages, nor anything to gain from actions he does not engage. He has no self-interest left in any being. (17-18)
Therefore, engage in all work that has to be done without attachment, for he ascends to the Divine who engages in action without attachment. (19)
King Janaka and other noble kings attained perfection by the path of action. Do your work with the good of the world in mind. Whatever a great man does, others follow his foot-steps. Whatever ideals he sets, the world follows. (20- 21)
We may not be fortunate to have witnessed the great incarnations like Raja Janaka, (the father of Sita), Lord Krishna, Lord Rama and Lord Jesus Christ, but their teachings continue to move the needle of our compass.
They may appear to be childish biblical tales to a skeptic, but as Lord Jesus Christ pointed we have to become like children to enter the kingdom of God. God is pleased with the innocence of his children, not their cleverness. Our innate purity is like the innocence of a child who respectfully faces the father, and then the love of Motherhood pours.
King Janaka exemplified the prime importance of work as sacrifice. Though he was an enlightened soul yet he continued to perform the function of kingship in the spirit of sacrifice. His example negates the practices of ascetics who seek enlightenment through renunciation of work. Both Zen and the Gita repeatedly emphasize that work is indispensable for self realization. Without work how will we know
whether we are detached from work?” How will the ascetic sitting in the Gobi desert know that
he is detached from thirst?
There is no work in the three worlds for me to accomplish, nor is there anything more for me to
attain which has not been attained. Yet I continue to work. If I did not work it would be detrimental,
for all beings attune to the movement of my path. (22-23)
If I did not perform action then these worlds would fall into ruin, and I would be responsible for not checking it. (24)
Lord Krishna cites his own example – to protect dharma he trumped the anti-Dharma forces. Likewise what was the mission of Christ or Buddha? Did they want to rule over people? Did they seek ego gratification, fame or wealth? They continued to perform action not for any hidden agenda, but out of sheer compassion. In our own times, we witnessed Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi’s compassion; she worked day and night to give realization to thousands. She redeemed, comforted and counseled them, and for all this she never charged anything.
As the ignorant perform action with attachment to work, so should the wise perform actions, but
without attachment, for the good of the world. (25)
The ignorant get stuck at the point that whatever karma they are doing they will earn the ‘punyas’ (merits). But Lord Krishna does not say that. He says whatever karmas you have to do, perform without attachment for the good of the world, but leave the result to the divine.
The wise who performs detached action for the good of the world should not mislead the ignorant
who perform action with attachment to work, but should inspire them to emulate them. (26)
All actions take place by the modes of nature (Prakriti), but the one deluded by the ego mistakes
himself to be the doer. (27)
Our temperamental attitude and genes are the modes of nature. They influence our behavior
patterns. People act according to their temperamental aptitude, and not birth. Human attention under the spell of the modes of nature loses its moorings, and mistakes itself to be the doer.
Rahim says;
“The giver is someone else,
He showers his gifts through day and night.
People mistake and extol me.
My eyes abashed, are lowered.”
He, who knows the true relation between the modes of nature and action, understanding that
the modes act upon the modes; he does not get attached. (28)
As we see through the layers of colors, it enables us to enjoy the painting. Likewise, as we
see through the layers of the modes, it enables us to enjoy the modes acting upon the modes on the
canvas of the mind.
Just as fragrance is the innate nature of flowers likewise unconditional love is the innate human
nature. Just as flowers do not choose whom to give fragrance likewise human nature does not
need a cause to love. Just as flowers yield their pollen to the bees without asking anything in
return, likewise unconditional love does not ask anything in return. Just as the Sun rays fall on the
leaves, and create chlorophyll, similarly, the modes act upon the modes. A person who does not
get attached to the modes is free to pursue his true nature.
The one who is deluded by the modes of nature gets identified with the works produced by them.
The wise should not confuse them. (29)
Despite all the technology and scientific advancement we get robbed by the modes – and that kicks off the drama of life! But a wise person knows what he is up against, and keeps guard. He witnesses the drama of life without getting involved in it.
However, witnessing should not be confused with paying attention. We deliberately pay attention to something but witnessing is a state where we witness the whole thing like a drama. For instance, when we are standing in the water we are afraid of the waves but when we are in the boat then we are not afraid of it.
With your attention fixed on me, offer all works to me. Free from desire, despondency and ego, fight. (30)
Those who full of faith and without any mental deliberation heed my teachings are liberated from the bondage of work. But those who doubt my teachings, and mentally deliberate on them, know these deluded beings to be foolish and lost. (31-32)
As we become more and more cyber we inadvertently project mental conceptions, and much like a digital persona play them out. But if their play cuts through our emotional net we get burnout. Business Schools teach us to be successful but they do not teach us how to be peaceful.
A mind space that constantly churns ideas cannot be peaceful. We think our ideas are original but in
reality they are borrowed from books, media, intellectuals and entrepreneurs. Nonetheless, the
space could still be ours if we strip away all the received ideas.
No amount of reasoning can satiate a doubting mind. It seeks proof of everything. But the intellect
can also be used to edit the truth – it is selective in what it includes and what it excludes. History is
edited by vested interests to erase their past sins or to glorify their deeds. When Michelangelo finished
painting the vault of the chapel the pope found it too plain and instructed him to embellish the colors
with gold. Michelangelo responded, ‘Holy Father, in those days men did not wear gold, and those
who are painted are not rich, for they were holy men who despised wealth.’ But the Pope wanted
him to think like him.
Not just clerics, but politicians, entrepreneurs, and media czars aspire to make us think like them. The
intellect can manipulate and be manipulated. It makes no difference how advanced one is. For instance, the Germans were the most advanced nation, yet it did not stop them from being manipulated by Hitler. He put his mind into their mind, and made them think like him.
Likewise, when dogmas can be superimposed onto the mind, one can be driven to commit the most
heinous crimes. Take the case of the Islamic Fundamentalist’s software that is programmed like
a one-way street to heaven. They believe those who do not follow Islam are non-believers, and
should be converted, or else eliminated. Their software does not include feelings. The intellect can dictate the way we think but it cannot dictate the way we feel.
No doubt, rationality is an important tool for understanding but it only perceives the partial
reality. Wisdom lies in understanding the limitation of rationality. To go beyond it, we need
something more – faith in something far greater than ourselves.
Bound by nature, all beings work according to it. Likewise, an enlightened being acts in accordance
with his nature. Hence how can repression work? (33)
As we explore how life is sustained on earth, we discover that an apple falls on earth according
to the same law of nature that juxtaposes the earth on its orbit around the sun. Human beings are also
governed by the same law. It goes to show that our physical, mental, spiritual and emotional self have
no meaning unless they are equations of the same. We cannot repress this unifying law.
Both attachment and aversion are embedded in the sensory response to the object of the senses.
No one should come under their spell because both are impediments to ascent. (34)
It is better to pursue one’s own dharma even though it is imperfectly practiced, than to pursue
another’s dharma with perfection. It is better to die in pursuit of one’s dharma because the
dharma of others gives way to involution. (35)
It is better to abide in our own Dharma because it sustains our evolution. However, the fruits of Dharma do not ripen quickly. Those who eye for quick returns become merchants of Dharma. They leave their Dharma behind for that of others, and in the bargain not only lose their own power of sustenance but also fail to profit from the other’s Dharma.
Arjuna questions;
O Krishna! Though against his wishes, as if by some pull, by what is man consumed to commit
sin? (36)
Lord Krishna replies;
It is the desire arising from the mode of nature (Rajo-guna). This desire is anger; it is all consuming, insatiable and sinful. Know it to be the enemy. (37)
Like smoke veils fire, dust veils a mirror, and the womb veils the embryo, similarly, it is veiled
by desire. (38)
The dust that settles on a mirror eclipses the shine of truth. As we wipe it off, the truth shines upon it
again. Hence, let us not dismiss the saints who say, ‘look yourself in the mirror within.’
Everyone carries a mirror within. When we look at it we see the person who deceives us – that person
is none other than the ego. The ego tells lies, and curates it as truth. But do we break the mirror
because it exposes our secret? No, we gain a new understanding that as it is the ego that is driving
the mind on the wrong track. Hence, we must take over the driver’s seat from it, and get back on
track.
O Arjuna! This insatiable fire of desire that veils wisdom is ever the enemy of the wise. (39)
The senses, the mind and intellect are its seat. Prevailing upon these, it veils wisdom and deludes
the self. (40)
If we close our eyes it does not mean it is night. If we hide the truth it does not mean it does not exist. If desires eclipse wisdom it does not mean it does not exist. When clouds blow over a lake the reflection of the surroundings on the lake appear deluded, but as they disappear we get a glimpse of the surroundings. Though, the illusory appearances continue outwardly, they no longer lead us astray.
O Arjuna! At the outset, bring your senses under control, and kill this enemy, which destroys wisdom and discretion. (41)
We are guided by either rationality or emotions. But both land us into a ditch. Of course, it is not rationality or emotions that will get us out – we have to pull ourselves out with the light of wisdom.
Wisdom is a fulcrum between the head and the heart that gives us balance. For instance, when we
climb atop a mountain we don’t remember the ditch we fell into – we enjoy the beautiful view
and that’s how we rise within ourselves!
The senses are considered superior and subtler than the gross body, subtler than the senses is the mind, and subtler than the mind is the intelligence, but even beyond it is the Spirit. (42)
A dispute arose between the various organs of the body as to who was superior. The limbs claimed that without them the body cannot obtain food, the mouth claimed that even if the food was obtained, the body could not eat it without its help. The stomach boasted without its digestive power, the body would not consume it. The heart boasted that till it pumped the blood the cells could not receive it.
The spirit seated in the body watched in amusement and slowly started to depart, and thereby the life force started withdrawing from the organs. They cried out in pain, and begged forgiveness.
O Arjuna! Thus realizing it to be beyond the intellect, knowing the Spirit by the Spirit, and controlling the mind, destroy this enemy that is in the form of desire. (43)
Much like a computer, the mind lacks the capacity of awareness, and therefore cannot change its program. But the Spirit has the capacity of awareness, and can see the program, and change it too.
Though the Spirit resides in the heart her love reflects in every cell of the body. Likewise, her
love also reflects on the mind. As she detoxifies the mind, it becomes a great instrument of
spreading her love.
