Arjuna addresses Lord Krishna:
You praise both the renunciation of work and the performance of auspicious work. Of these two, tell me for certain, which is the higher path. (1)
Lord Krishna responds:
Both renunciation of work and the performance of auspicious work are paths to the Supreme. But of the two, the performance of auspicious work is better than their renunciation. (2)
O Arjuna! He who neither abhors work nor has expectations, such a one is understood to have renounced, because free from the dualities he is easily released from bondage. (3)
The ignorant, not the wise, speak of renunciation (Sam-khya) and performance of auspicious work as different. He, who practices one, enjoys the fruit of both. (4)
This double statement of Lord Krishna baffles. One tends to discard it as a puzzle or view it with an eye of suspicion. Indeed, Lord Krishna’s divine diplomacy arouses curiosity. One has to laser sharpen the attention and struggle through a thick blanket of fog to understand that it is his dharma to fix his disciple’s attention in a position to ascend.
The idea of renunciation appeals to those who live in overindulgence. They go on changing their indulgences, and being disappointed in them they go in reverse gear, and renounce everything they did before. The idea of renunciation comes to them because they think they are hanging on to something. But if they are not hanging on to overindulgence there is nothing to renounce.
Of course we cannot ignore relationships and worldly needs – we have to lead a balanced life in its entirety, and that’s only possible if we transform in our awareness. The Sufi poet Rumi said it all, “Yesterday I was clever so I wanted to change the world. Today, I am wise so I am changing myself.”
Lord Krishna holds the doing of auspicious works to be the higher path. He states, works of charity, welfare and sacrifice should not be renounced but be performed without attachment or desire for fruit. Some interpret auspicious work as unselfish. They think that unselfishness in work implies the giving up of work tainted with desire for fruit. In fact, people who do work thinking it to be unselfish are under a myth because unselfishness is a mental concept. As long as there is ego nothing can be unselfish because the ego takes the credit or discredit.
Some people practice charity because they think it is a ticket to heaven. A Chinese emperor devoted his life to charitable works. He enquired of Bodhi Dharma, “How much merit have I accumulated?”
Bodhi Dharma answered, “None.”
The emperor was not amused, “I have devoted my life for charitable works: opened schools, hospitals, monasteries, sent missionaries and you say I have accumulated no merit?”
Bodhi Dharma explained, “There is no merit because merit exists only in the mind. You had made great effort to do charitable work but the desire to accumulate merit was your ulterior motive.”
Zen talks of the deed, not of merit. The wind just takes the water of the ocean and gives it to the parched earth without any expectation. The thought that today I fed so many hungry people feels good. However, it is man’s nature to give and he gives for himself. Those who think that they are doing for others harbor a sense of martyrdom. Likewise, those who think that they are making a sacrifice for their family or they are sacrificing their family stand on the same pedestal. When we are part and parcel of the whole then who is the ‘other’?
If we try to pacify one finger of the body with the other then whom are we obliging?
The state which is attained by those who renounce is also attained by those who perform work (karma yoga). The one, who understands that both the paths are akin, perceives the truth. (5)
But it is difficult to renounce without yoga, O Arjuna! Not long after the one who pursues yoga attains to the Supreme Being. (6)
He who is established in yoga, whose intellect and attention is illuminated by the light of the Spirit, whose senses are under his control, such a realized soul, who has experienced that the Spirit is in all beings; such a person though engaged in work, is not bound by it. (7)
The enlightened one is conscious that he does nothing at all; in seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, tasting, walking, sleeping, breathing, speaking, emitting, grasping, opening and shutting eyes, is aware that only the senses are engaged with the outside objects. (8-9)
Within us lies a power that allows us to discover our inner self. As we feel our inner self we also feel the self in others. At a deeply fundamental level, the separate parts of the universe are wired in an infinite way through the collective Spirit. It is truer to say that as we reflect the collective Spirit, we feel the Spirit of others within ourselves.
As we become sensitive to our divinity, we become sensitive to the divinity in others. Not just that, we also become sensitive to the Divine play. Thus, it becomes possible to enjoy the play! It leaves us completely satisfied, secure and emancipated. Though we do the same things as everyone else, eat the same food, wear the same apparel, and live the same style, yet we are not attached to anything. When delicious food is offered, we do not refuse, but there is no hankering after it.
He, who works, offering all works to God, without attachment, is not stained by sin, like a lotus leaf is untouched by water. (10)
A yogi engages in work without attachment, with his body, mind, intellect and senses attuned to the purification of the self. (11)
A realized soul renounces the fruits of works, and thus attains inner peace, whereas the one who is not connected to the divine performs work with the expectation of fruits, and therefore gets into bondage. (12)
As we make friends with nature, we enjoy the sweet fragrance of lotuses. The amazing quality of a Lotus is that though it rises from the water, its leaves are untouched by it. Similarly, we could be in the chaos of the world without being affected by it. Neuro-scientific studies help us in this direction. Their studies reveal that when a person accumulates experience, there is a strong growth of synaptic connections in the brain. In other words, the synaptic connections give birth to the conditional part of the mind.
These synaptic connections are conditionings that glue the attention to the mind. How can a seeker loosen these connections? Lord Krishna offers a simple solution – perform work without expectation of the fruit.
A realized soul, who has attuned his senses, and renounced all works from his mind, he dwells in the city of nine gates. He neither does anything nor causes anything to be done. (13)
The city of nine gates refers to the body. The nine gates are the senses; two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, the mouth, and the two organs of excretion. However, these nine gates merely do the job of sensors; it is the mind that indulges in the pleasure of the senses. It coins logic to justify its indulgence.
For instance, Freud propounded a theory that sexual repression caused psychological disorders, and hence, others like him who were obsessed with sex joined him, and took to all kinds of perversions.
Just as one needs a sharp edge to shine a diamond likewise, one needs a sharp instrument to purify the mind. But the mind cannot be purified by itself – the Spirit has to do the job. It’s love works like a magnet, and attracts whatever is necessary for our ascent, and deflects whatever is against it. We don’t fight the mind but we naturally don’t do things that go against our evolution.
The Supreme Being does not act or mediate for beings, nor does he connect work to their fruit; it is nature that works it out. (14)
The energy field of the individual attracts its corresponding energy field. These energy fields connect works with their fruits. For instance, it is the nature of the wind to absorb the water from the ocean and form clouds. It is the nature of the clouds to shed the water. It is the nature of earth to absorb the water, and it is the nature of the seed to suck nourishment from the earth and sprout. It is the nature of the sprouts to harvest sun’s energy to make chlorophyll through the process of photosynthesis. It is the nature of the cow to graze upon chlorophyll and yield milk. It goes to show that nature fuels the whole chain – the Supreme Being does not connect fruit to the work, he does not reward, nor is he responsible if things don’t come our way. Hence, we should not blame God if things don’t work our way. However, it is his Shakti that does all the living work.
The Chinese called it the Tao, Christ called it the Holy Ghost, Islam refers to it as the ‘Ruh’, the Hindu scriptures name it the ‘Adi Shakti’. The cosmos is a web spun by the Adi Shakti or the Feminine Principle through her vibrations. Based on their intensity these vibrations work out various computations and permutations in three temperaments or modes. According to Lord Krishna the human temperament is its nature (sva-bhava). For instance, it is the sva-bhava of a newborn to turn to its mother for milk. Similarly, it is the sva-bhava of the human temperament to turn towards their creator for fulfillment.
In the human temperament, the Feminine Principle works through its reflection described as the Kundalini. Lord Krishna did not so clearly say about the process of Kundalini awakening and the ultimate state of yoga. Perhaps, he thought the seeker would find out from the scriptures of seers like Markandeya, who lived thousands of years before him. When he describes the “breaking process” of a realized soul, who is a subtler personality (one who has achieved great maturity after Self Realization painfully gained after long austerities), he is referring to the sucking in of the subtler prana shakti which enlightens the thought of a yogi because the yogi has achieved the subtler state, and he is in connection with the essences of all the elements.
The Supreme Being neither takes on the sins nor merits of anyone. Because wisdom is eclipsed by ignorance, beings are deluded. (15)
There are so many different ways of looking at the Supreme Being. Perhaps, we have made a huge mistake in understanding him. According to Lord Krishna, he does not punish our sins or reward our good deeds. Our good and bad deeds are recorded by our Kundalini in a recording tablet. The Koran refers to the recording tablet as a book recorded by the soul; “Here is your book; read it. Enough for you this day that your own souls should call you to account” (17;12)
When a person dies, his next birth is determined according to the balance sheet of his karmas. But when their ignorance is dispelled by the light of truth, then their wisdom reveals the Supreme Being like the sun. (16)
In the darkness of ignorance, we see all kinds of ghosts that eclipse us from reality. However, as we open the window, the light of the sun dispels the ghosts of darkness. The choice to rectify our misdeeds rests in us. If we follow the path of wisdom, we can dispel the ghost of ignorance. “A man’s success is gauged by his self-mastery,” says Leonardo Da Vinci, “the depth of his failure by his abandonment.”
With his mind attuned to the Supreme Being, his attention absorbed in Him, with Him as the sole object of devotion; his wisdom dissolves all sins, and he attains the supreme state from where there is no return. (17)
A droplet that falls from a palm leaf into a stream cannot know the immensity of the ocean. But after the stream reaches the ocean, the drop dissolves and is drenched in the joy of the ocean. Likewise, when our attention gets absorbed in God, we are drenched in his joy. The sins bleached onto us get washed away, and we get released from the cycle of birth and death.
A realized soul looks upon a learned and wise Brahmin, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and an outcast with an even eye. (18)
As fire is found in wood, water is hidden in springs, oil is hidden in oil seeds, and likewise, consciousness is hidden in all beings. The brain does not produce or store consciousness. It is presumably the receiver and transmitter of consciousness, just like a TV set that receives signals from a specific electromagnetic frequency.
Homo sapiens can remote control consciousness the way they like. They can experience the joy in life through the play of consciousness or go against its laws and be miserable. But animals do not have that choice because they are unaware of the power behind their existence. They are bound by its laws, and hence, cannot change their nature. But human beings have the possibility to change their nature. The one who attunes his nature with the living process feels the same process in all forms of life, and hence, knows that whoever tortures the other wounds himself.
This is best illustrated in the episode of Arjuna’s elder brother Yudhishtira. A dog trailed Yudhishtira on his journey to Heaven. The door keeper of Heaven refused entry to the dog, “Heaven has no place for dogs.” But Yudhishtira refused to enter Heaven till his dog was allowed, “It’s not only animals that are imperfect, human beings also have failings.”
The one, who has attained equanimity of mind, though abiding in the body, overcomes the world. The Supreme Being is unblemished and is alike in all, thus a person of enlightened wisdom abides in Him. (19)
Every form of life evolves in its best interest according to the fundamental law of the universe. The one who has attained equanimity of mind understands that more than the survival of the fittest, it is the survival of the compassionate that is responsible for the survival of Homo Sapiens. Thus the fundamental law of the universe is none other than the law of compassion.
As a seeker abides in it, he experiences the compassion of God within. The compassion of God flows freely to everyone, but the one who is compassionate is its best instrument. He who does not delight upon gaining what is dear, nor is crestfallen upon receiving what is unpleasant, whose wisdom is enlightened, and who has attained the state of doubtless awareness; such a person abides in the Supreme Being. (20)
Lord Krishna reveals the keys to unlock the mind. But there is no key that puts the mind to sleep. Even in dream consciousness, the mind creates a world of its own and comes alive with the same intensity as the feeling in the external world. For instance, it feels as excited driving a Rolls Royce as in reality. However, upon waking up, the excitement ceases. Likewise, in waking consciousness, the feeling of pleasure and pain is transitory – it has a beginning and an end. Zen calls this phenomenon MU or emptiness because it believes it does not exist. An enlightened being understands this, and hence he does not suffer.
There are basically four kinds of suffering in the world – the suffering of birth, old age, illness, and death. But there exists a deeper suffering – the suffering of the Spirit. The Spirit has suffered the tyranny of the ego for many births and yearns to shake off its yoke. He, whose attention is not drawn by external objects, basks in the joy of his spirit. Meditating on the Supreme Being, he enjoys eternal divine bliss. (21)
People judge others because they cannot see themselves. As they judge without seeing the complete picture, they misread others. After all, by looking at their faults, ours do not go away! It is not possible to internalize our attention if it is glued to the external world. But no sooner than our attention is glued to God, his attention starts looking after us in miraculous ways.
O Arjuna! The pleasures that arise from the sensory contact are a source of sorrow. They are transitory. A wise person does not indulge in them. (22)
There are days we wake up joyful like the morning raga. However, on reaching our workplace, its harmonious notes blow out of the window because someone takes our parking space. Our sensory reaction stimulates a biochemical flow in our brain that overpowers us. We are enslaved by our likes and dislikes – if a reaction is positive, the mind looks forward to its reoccurrence, or else shuns it. It goes to show that we are not free people. Some believe that their freedom rests in self-indulgence. They argue, ‘what’s wrong’. This is one extreme. The other extreme is people who shun transient pleasures and, believing themselves to be martyrs, achieve a state of non-reaction through deliberation. Thereby, they kill their natural human potential to ascend. But the secret lies in balancing our emotional, intellectual, spiritual, and physical quotients. A balanced person is integrated. He is mindful of the transitory stimulations and does not get stirred by them.
He who while living on this earth, before giving up his body, overcomes the pangs of desire and anger, he is a yogi – a man of joy. (23)
We have evolved from an amoeba to the human stage after many cycles of birth and death. But our evolution remains incomplete till we reunite with our Spirit. Those who do not achieve this union carry forward their karmas to the next life. After death, the mind continues with the content of desires. In the animal bodies, the instrument of ascent is incomplete, and hence, they cannot be enlightened. Likewise, the priorities of a yogi are very different from those of the ignorant. For instance, the ignorant can live with all kinds of sins that a yogi cannot. A yogi negates all that is anti-divine (adharmic), whereas, the adharmic person is oblivious of dharma. Thus, a yogi overcomes all the afflictions of the mind and is drenched in the joy of his own Spirit while still in the body.
The one who tastes the bliss of his spirit, who basks in the spirit, and reflects its light; his divinity shines, and abides in the Supreme Being. (24)
The one whose sins are dissolved, who is free of doubts, whose senses are under control, who is benevolent to all beings, he abides in the joy of the Supreme Being. (25)
Benevolence is the gift of the Spirit—it has no script. But too often it is mistaken as pity for others. No, one is filled with compassion for others. Compassion is always covered by forgiveness, and it is without attachment, feeling of superiority, ulterior motive, or expectation of any return. But really what makes them active words is the fact that they need to be practiced on someone. Through practice we understand that individual life that we call our own is precious only in so far as we accord the same value to the life of all beings, including those who oppose our faith.
Abraham Lincoln in his words, “…with malice towards none and charity for all…” touches on the very essence of compassion without prejudice of judgment. According to a study published in the “Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 2015,” practicing acts of compassion releases oxytocin, which is a hormone connected with strong social bonds, overall happiness, and longevity.
The one who has overcome anger and desire, whose mind is free from afflictions, who has attained self-realization, he is close to the Supreme Being. (26)
Who withdraws his attention from external objects, concentrating between the eyebrows, balancing the inhaling and exhaling of breath, who has mastered his senses, mind and intellect, devoid of desire, fear, and anger, aspiring for salvation, he attains liberation. (27-28)
Without oxygen, we cannot live; likewise, without meditation, we cannot see our attachments. Of course, if we can see our attachment, we know what to do about it. Lord Krishna reveals how to be a lamp unto ourselves.
For one, the attention should be withdrawn from external objects. Next, the process of breathing in and out should be equalized. The breath is the vehicle of thought. The mind resides on the cusp of thoughts. As a thought rises and falls, there is a small gap in between. In this gap, we come to the present. It is possible to widen this gap by equalizing the process of inhaling and exhaling.
At the advent of Lord Krishna, the time was not ripe for the opening of the seventh chakra (Sahasrara). According to Nadi Granth, this had to happen in Kali Yuga—the Age of Aquarius—where, in the midst of chaos, the seventh chakra would open. Upon the opening of the seventh chakra, one experiences collective consciousness, and hence, it is unnecessary to focus attention on the sixth chakra between the eyebrows.
The state of thoughtless awareness is described as Nirvichar Samadhi. Thereafter, the light of the spirit bestows the state of doubtless awareness called Nirvikalpa Samadhi, and thus one attains liberation. However, the state of samadhi should not be mistaken for going into the unconscious. On the contrary, when our awareness heightens, the unconscious comes into our conscious mind.
The one who recognizes me to be the enjoyer of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all worlds, the friend to all creatures; he attains the state of eternal peace. (29)