Arjuna said: O mighty-armed (Krishna), the controller of senses, slayer of Keśī, I aspire to know the essence of sannyāsa (renunciation); equally so, of tyāga (relinquishment, abandonment) separately.

Arjuna is entering the end part of his presentation, the last phase of Kurukshetra dialogue. Arjuna is quite in tune with Krishna’s masterly exposition, raising pertinent questions all along. His enquiry now marks the beginning of the last chapter, alluding that sannyāsa is the ultimate message of their dialogue. Accordingly, the seeker too has to focus on what it means in essence. Arjuna wants Krishna to clarify the concepts of sannyāsa and tyāga. In fact, Krishna has been exposing only these. Still Arjuna needs a confirmation on the subject, before Krishna concludes his exposition. Krishna’s interpretations of the concepts of yajña (3.9, 4.33), sannyāsa (5.3), actionlessness (3.4, 4.20), etc are novel, emphasizing inner evolution rather than external development. Arjuna wants to be free of any doubt or ambiguity. In fact, most of our scriptures take to the way of exposition through question and answer, to bring clarity in the seeker’s understanding.

Lord Krishna said: Some wise people regard renunciation as the relinquishment of desire-motivated actions. Some discerning experts hold that tyāga consists in abandoning the results of all actions. “All actions are to be abandoned as evil,” say some thinkers. Again, some others hold that sacrifice, charity and austerity should not be forsaken at all.

Arjuna’s question is very profound, paramount in the discussion of spirituality. So, Krishna wants to give an authoritative clarification on the subject. Hence he sets forth the views current on the subject of renunciation and relinquishment, before expressing his own judgement in the matter. Sannyāsa (renunciation) is covetable, no doubt, but only of actions motivated by desires. Activity is a compulsion of Nature, with its three guṇas – sattva, rajas and tamas – always at play. None can escape their hold. Hence sannyāsa can only be of the desire-motivated actions. Others, equally given to deliberating on the subject, hold that renunciation should only be of the results, because it is our clinging to the results that creates bondage, and actions as such cannot be renounced. The views do not end here. Some wise people argue that all actions are equally evil-ridden and hence deserve to be renounced outright. Actions, they hold, have no power to bestow real benefit, elevation or fulfilment! But, this view is corrected by others who are also equally wise and illumined. They feel any such blanket renunciation of actions is neither feasible within the orbit of Nature, nor harmonious with oneself and the society around. So, we must distinguish between secular, demeaning actions and divine, ennobling ones. Thus yajña (sacrifice), dāna (charity) and tapas (austerity, practice of regulations and restraints) are not to be renounced at all. Instead, one should be given to them more and more every time. All these are yet others’ views! Kṛṣṇa’s interpretation follows.

O the best amongst Bharatas (Arjuna), listen to my considered view about relinquishment. Relinquishment, O brave (tiger) among men, is declared to be of three kinds.

Krishna, besides being a fighter, was an administrator and ruler as well. He thus shows his administrative excellence also, in dealing with Arjuna’s question. That is how he speaks so well in setting forth his view. After arraying the thoughts current then on the subject, Krishna presents his well thought out, more elevated ideas and evaluations. How effectively does Gita, considered a unique śāstra, reflect the manner in which a subject is to be discussed and evaluated! Krishna first says that his view is different about tyāga, relinquishment. He does not refer to sannyāsa. He has always explained that Nature works through three guṇas, each of which has its role to play. No facet of human life can claim exception in the matter. So, tyāga, Krishna says, will also have to be of three kinds – sāttvika, rājasa and tāmasa. As humans themselves embody three guṇas, their tyāga also will be correspondingly of three types.

Sacrifice, charity and penance are not to be eschewed, abandoned. They are to be performed. For those given to the habit of introspection, yajña, dāna and tapas are purificatory.

Yajña, dāna and tapas are not to be eschewed, abandoned. They are to be performed. For those given to the habit of introspection, yajña, dāna and tapas are purificatory. Krishna is clear and firm that yajña, dāna and tapas are sublime pursuits, which have the spiritual potential to purify human mind. He adds that only the wise and reflective ones achieve this purification. Yajña, dāna and tapas are, in a way, like other pursuits. The difference is solely in the attitude with which the activities are done. The aim should be to gain inner purity and expanse. This will transpire only when the performer reflects earnestly over what he does. It is the attitude and aim that shape an act. Right from the morning, one is steeped in secular activities. Yajña, dāna and tapas are also performed by the same physical limbs and senses. While secular actions please the senses, the divine ones purify the mind. The discreet alone succeed in culturing the right attitude and aim to ensure such purity. This is a great assessment; warning as well!

Even these actions should be performed leaving delusional clinging and the desire for gain. This is my well-considered view, O Partha.

Krishna emphatically states that like all secular acts in life, the divine ones such as yajña, dāna and tapas also are to be performed without delusional clinging (saṅga) towards their results. Once this is ensured, the difference between secular and divine acts, inasmuch as their spiritual effects are concerned, totally ceases, and the whole life becomes pure and divine (3.19). Krishna’s primary instruction is to avoid saṅga in all thoughts and actions. Once this is done, all activities equally become divine, with no need to specially take up yajña, dāna and tapas. In fact, sannyāsa is a result of such comprehensive spiritual enrichment and sublimation (4.23). One, who has left his clinging and does everything with ease, poise and delight, will need no further religious or spiritual merit for his inner enrichment and fulfilment. This itself makes life pure, sublime and lofty. The process is inward and the result is wholesome.

It is not proper to renounce a rightly guided and necessary action. Renouncing any such action due to delusion is widely considered as tāmasa-tyāga.

Krishna has already said that relinquishment of actions (karma-tyāga) is threefold. He continues the thread and explains the subject further. First he discusses the tāmasa renunciation. To renounce actions altogether is impossible, as Nature with its three guṇas is holding one and all under the spell of ceaseless activity. As long as we have regular food, and it is digested and absorbed into the system, energy will be built, which has to be utilized in the form of various activities. This is a ceaseless cycle. Hence no physical renunciation of activity is ever possible. Yet, being deluded, making no attempt to redress the plight through inner unaffectedness, some feel they have the option to physically drop all activity. This is tāmasa-tyāga. The deluded fail to understand their inner personality and what happens to it by such wrong moves!

To abandon activities fearing that they will cause bodily strain and discomfort, is rājasa-tyāga, and by doing it one will not get the benefit of true relinquishment.

Renunciation is very sublime, divine and spiritual. It should not be linked to any other note or objective. One who takes to renunciation will generally have the sole object of inner elevation, expansion and enlightenment, which bestow utmost freedom, called liberation. Spiritual freedom is from the shackles caused by mind and intelligence. Being so, to bring ideas like avoiding bodily strain, affliction, etc. as a persuasion for renunciation, is a folly. Nonetheless, people often resort to renunciation thinking that the activities are troublesome. In fact, Arjuna's initial response was like this. He found battling with his own relatives, grandfather and teacher too painful. And the escape, he felt, was to renounce the entire scene and mission. Krishna felt it was gravely wrong and admonished him. Arjuna responded, reflected upon what Krishna said and changed his stand. The renunciation Arjuna had proposed was rājasa.

O Arjuna, when a properly regulated action is performed because it has to be done, abandoning saṅga (delusional clinging) and desire for gain, that renunciation is considered sāttvika.

This is a very sublime, paramount revelation, to be noted with all attention and concern. True relinquishment, says Krishna, does not consist in leaving or not acting, but in living and acting without attachment and desire. How? This is the truth to be grasped by true spiritual enlightenment. The whole relinquishment is thus a process of getting enlightened about activity and its relevance, not eschewing it altogether. This is, no doubt, a very intriguing statement. Nonetheless, therein lie true spiritual wisdom and relinquishment! Undue identity towards activity and the clinging to the results it fetches, are the factors causing heaviness and affliction. Once you are able to drop these by proper spiritual enlightenment, activities will be inspiring, relaxing and fulfilling. In this process, tyāga is of the false identity with the result and the clinging to desired outcome. Relinquishment happens when ignorance and delusion enslaving the mind are detected and overcome.

A relinquisher endowed with sāttvika qualities is wise and free of doubts. He neither dislikes unpleasant action, nor clings to the pleasant one.

Krishna explains further the nature of the sāttvika tyāgī, so that one can understand the inner sublimity to be cultivated. Sāttvika tyāga is not physical abandonment. It is based on mind and its attitude towards activity and its results. Let the act and its result be pleasing or displeasing, rewarding or disappointing, a sāttvika tyāgī will not have undue clinging or revulsion towards them. This naturally means that he gains a depth and loftiness, which insulate him from affectation and agitation. With such a frame of mind, he can do any kind of action to the best of his capabilities. He accepts and conforms to Nature. The focus is on working for whatever it is worth, and not on the like or dislike, success or failure. This overall attunement and harmony keeps his mind pure and joyful. Work becomes pleasant. Besides bringing the objective results, the work itself becomes a spiritual pursuit, a means for spiritual progress, for the sāttvika tyāgī.

For the embodied one, it is not possible to relinquish activities in full. He who relinquishes the fruits of actions is considered a tyāgī.

Krishna restates here what he mentioned earlier (3.5): To eschew actions is impossible for anyone who has a body. The world is vibrant and active everywhere, every time. Nothing remains inactive or still. Even the huge planets and celestial bodies are spinning in their trajectories. So, do not think in terms of inactivity or abandoning active life at all. If this be so, what is the factor which we can relinquish? Krishna’s answer is quite clear. The results which actions aim at in varying degrees, should not cause any kind of possessiveness or affectation. This is certainly possible, and sufficient too. Krishna thus summarily states that what has to be relinquished, in any circumstance, is not action, but the “subjective result” – the impact on the mind brought about by the objective result. By acting alone one preserves his well-being. Every part of the body needs its specific movement. To deny it is absolutely wrong, dangerous too.

The result of an action is threefold: Desirable, undesirable and mixed. These accrue to the non-relinquishers, but never to the renunciates.

What Krishna refers to as result of action is not the objective outcome of one’s effort, which is inextricably linked to performance. The mind responds to every result, expected or not, feeling it is desirable, undesirable or a mixture of both. Even the thought of the future outcome – whether it will be desirable or undesirable – makes the mind anxious and unsettled. Every action is an effort to bring about a certain outcome. Without such outcome, no action can be conceived of or undertaken. As an action progresses, its objective result also gets formed. Completion of the action is the emergence of its outcome. Thus action and the objective outcome are inseparable. Where is the question then of abandoning the outcome at all? Therefore, what Krishna speaks about as relinquishing the result, is only the mental responses to the objective fruition. This subtle distinction should be understood and kept in mind very well while reading Gita. Krishna says that these subjective outcomes cling only to those who have possessiveness, desire and ego, and not to renunciates.

O mighty-armed (Arjuna), know from Me the five causes for the right fruition of all actions, as explained in Sāṅkhya or kṛtānta (the philosophy dealing with the knowledge that transcends all actions):The body which is the seat, the actor (kartā), various instruments (senses), diverse efforts, and Providence - the fifth.

Krishna wants Arjuna to know the science of action and how it fruitions, as ascertained by Sāṅkhya, which delineates everything to be known. Sāṅkhya is the highest and final wisdom. In its discussion, it reveals what constitutes action and how it is transcended. All actions, as Krishna has already said, end up in knowledge (4.33); they are a means and process of knowledge. So discussion of action is also discussion of knowledge.Sāṅkhya details altogether five factors, which shape an action to fruition. Without these, no action can be performed and result gained. The first in the series is the ground to commence an activity. The second factor is the doer or performer, with the knowledge about what is to be done and how. He sets up facilities to act, and begins the action. Apart from our senses, various external instruments are also employed for the purpose. For instance in agriculture, spade, pickaxe, crowbar, shovel, tractor, harvesting machine, etc. – all these are employed as part of the whole process. Even when all of them are applied in time discreetly, an unpredictable element, the fifth, reigns in the fruition. Krishna calls it daivam, the Providential element, the supra-worldly factor beyond human ingenuity. But Providence alone does not do anything, nor does human alone. A combination of both is necessary at every stage - before, during and after every action. We can only ensure that all the four factors in the human domain are well applied. But Providence will prevail, as the unpredictable factor every time. That is why Krishna emphasizes the need for an equal attitude to the desired, undesired and mixed outcomes of actions. However, actions will fruition. But, occasionally partial or adverse fruition may also occur. True insight and dexterity demand that one is prepared for any eventuality.

Whatever action, proper or improper, the human undertakes by his body, speech and mind, these five are its causes.

In verse 18.11, Krishna categorically stated that to relinquish activity is impossible for the embodied. Therefore, tyāga can be only of the results the actions bring about. Thus to think of karma-tyāga is not the right attitude or course for anyone. Since the fruition of an action is inseparable from the action itself, naturally, the question arises: What are those results Krishna is referring to? In fact, the pursuit of an action implies the pursuit of its outcome too. Action completed is equally the emergence of its outcome. Krishna said (18.12) that the result an action produces is threefold – desirable, undesirable and a mixture of the two. Obviously, the reference is not to the objective results, but to the mind’s responses to them. When we perform an action, if we complete the performance properly, can we not also achieve the expected result? Why should the result be variant like the desired, undesired and combined? The question is very relevant. So, Kṛṣṇa clarifies that in the fruition of any action, together with the performer, there are four other factors that come to play. And one of them is daivam, meaning the providential factor, which is beyond the human. This is what makes all actions unpredictable, as discussed in the 2nd chapter, while introducing karma-yoga (2.40). Some actions may bring partial or no result at all, called abhikrama-nāśa, loss of effort itself, as in agriculture. Some others may lead to adverse result (pratyavāya), as in the sphere of medicine and treatment. Thus Kṛṣṇa’s is a unique explanation of the science and philosophy of action and its fruition, which brings into focus how an action is performed, what contributory factors act in the process, how each works, and what kind of unpredictability each action carries. The explanation is more to understand the action-outcome process, and enrich our mind and intelligence accordingly. For, only then we shall be able to act more confidently, wholeheartedly, with stability. A dedicated performer must be ready to meet any outcome and yet go ahead with the sequence of action-performance-fruition. It is very enlightening to note that Kṛṣṇa cites Sāṅkhya as the source for his analysis. Remember also the truth contained in verses 5.8, 14, 15 elucidating the very fate of action itself, not to speak of the result.

That being so, due to impure and unrefined intelligence, he who views the pure impersonal Self as the doer, verily does not see at all. He is of perverted vision (mind).

Krishna points to the impersonal, non-acting Self, the inmost core of our personality, as he had explained right at the outset, while responding to Arjuna’s request to enlighten him (2.12). Then it was to show that everyone is immortal, undying. Here the emphasis is on ‘non-acting-ness’, because Arjuna is bothered by the cruel war he is out to fight. Krishna says action and fruition are there, but not at the inmost level of the performer. One’s body is visible, gross, consisting of matter and energy. But this entire structure changes inside the body, when you reach the plane of mind, intelligence and further. It is beyond the ken of matter and energy. How can then action done in the physical level involve the unphysical, spiritual level of one’s being? To think it can, is but the result of ignorance, even perversion – a denial of the Self!

He, who has outgrown the sense of doership (ego), and whose intelligence does not get tainted, even if he kills all these people, he does not verily kill, nor does he get bound (by his killing).

Krishna confirms that all actions and processes transpire only peripherally in our being (2.20,21). In the core level no movement or vibration ever takes place. There is no scope for it either. It is like the non-acting space permeating the rest of the four bhūtas (elements). After getting exposed to this truth, one has to become enlightened and remain unaffected, says Krishna. Doership is a notion the mind fosters about actions. The mind spins and weaves thoughts and assessments like ‘I am doing, I have done, I want the result, I am enjoying’, etc. These are fallacious, as the five factors alone do all actions, as stated already. Non-action, akartṛtva, alone reigns undimmed inside. Realizing this fact, even if one has to kill the whole world, says Krishna, he will not have verily killed, and no bondage will have accrued to him. So powerful and paramount is the realization of the non-acting Self! This is a radical pronouncement. But it is the fact, the spiritual truth, a seeker can realize without doubt. Action is a perception our senses instrument. That senses cannot perceive by themselves is another fact. Inner mind alone employs senses and gains perceptions. Mind also generates experiences, which have their full relevance, value and effect. They even supersede sensory findings. Intelligence is the last word in any experience or knowledge. That no action is done deep inside one’s personality is a verdict of intelligence. That is how Kṛṣṇa makes this assertion. The message of Bhagavad Gītā is a straight line drawn between verse 1.45 and 18.17. Earlier Arjuna bemoaned that he and his army were out to commit a colossal sin, motivated by greed for kingdom and royal comforts. He felt he was a killer and sinner. Kṛṣṇa showed that it was not so (2.20, 21). One who knows his inmost Self never kills or causes another to kill someone. One is not the body, but the Self, which is non-acting, unbound, ever free. Count on this inmost fact, supreme truth. Be free from all shackles the mind and intelligence hatch! Greed and possessiveness are the factors to bring bondage to one. Dropping ego and undue clinging is what gives freedom from such bondage!

Knowledge, the object to be known, and the knower - threefold is the persuasion for action. Instrument of action, action (itself) and the actor - these three form the essence of activity.

Krishna enters into the subtleties of the mind’s working. You cannot experiment with the mind as you do with the objects of the world. Yet, it causes all our activities, observations and findings. So, an understanding of the mind, its working, and the effects it produces, is indispensable. Krishna makes the reader probe into the mind by analyzing how the inner personality works. In any knowing process, there are three constituents – the object to be known, the subject knower and the outcome called knowledge. Interaction between the knowing person and the knowable is what results in knowledge. Equally so, the instruments for action, the processes these effect, and the actor wielding the instruments, are the three to shape the action-process and its outcome. By reflecting on these subtleties, mind’s applicational ability grows making it more and more dexterous and effective!

Knowledge, action and actor are threefold, based upon their guṇas, as discussed in the system classifying guṇas. Listen duly to those also.

Krishna classifies everything of the mind and intelligence into three – sāttvika, rājasa and tāmasa – as he does with the other concepts and processes. By taking up such inner subtle differentiations, he is making the seeker and the student of Gita go into the depth of the subject and gain the resultant benefits in the field of spiritual wisdom and excellence. The discussion is very inspiring and enlightening. It also has its delightful quality. Being a poetic presentation, the whole subject can be sung melodiously and pleasantly. Then absorption becomes very interesting and facile. This is an analysis the old Sāṅkhya system of thought dealing with guṇas has presented. Krishna says he will explain the subject and process in detail, making the exposition of enumerational science easy to understand, inspiring to introspect and practise. On the whole, it is very enriching and empowering. This analysis based on three guṇas makes spiritual pursuit direct and practicable for all.

Know that knowledge to be sāttvika, by which one perceives the singular, imperishable and undivided Presence in all the manifold beings.

Krishna defines sāttvika knowledge first. Knowledge does not end with what senses perceive. Senses themselves cannot do any work. Mind employs and empowers them to comprehend. Even the sensory perception is something that transpires inside the body. Senses perceive only the gross objects. But beings are not just gross. The inner sentient presence alone animates and activates their body. And that is extremely subtle and hence pervasive like space. Mind, intelligence, etc. do hint at such a presence, which is imperishable, unlike the body. So, along with the grossness senses report, the mind should grasp the imperishable inner presence too. When this transpires, it becomes sāttvika knowledge. In the gross level, all beings are divided and separate. And in the subtle level, they are undivided and singular as Krishna has stated earlier (2.12,24; 6.29,30; 9.4, etc.).

Know that to be the rājasa knowledge, whereby one perceives separateness and plural attitudes and expressions in all beings.

In sāttvika knowledge, prime importance is given to something subtler than what the senses perceive. But in rājasa knowledge, all that has no place and purpose. “Senses perceive objects as separate, and there is nothing more to think about them. Each being has its body, and each body is separate and independent. To bother beyond this is an indulgence in vain. Let us be governed only by what the senses see.” – This is rājasa knowledge. Rājasa knowledge totally denies inner growth, expansion and elevation, which are the only factors making human life different from that of other animals. The rājasa people think: “Any probe and assessment beyond the sensory findings will only confuse one, bringing instability and imbalance. Let us not indulge in any such line of thinking. By arguing that there is a presence inside the visible body, and that is subtle and pervasive, what do we gain? It is like measuring the thickness of a shadow! What earthly purpose is there in such a probe or finding? One has to be practical and purposeful in what he does.”

That knowledge, which clings to a single task or proposition as though it is everything, which is unreasonable and trivial having no basis on Truth, is said to be tāmasa.

The tāmasa people are narrow, obstinate and relentless in their preferences. They lack the comprehensive intelligence to grasp the real nature of the world. As a result, they become inflexible, incorrigible, harsh and even murderous. Tāmasa mind feels that in the name of devotion, anything can be done. Animal slaughter in temples to propitiate God came into vogue from tāmasa devotees. They feel that anything can be done to please their Deity. Even human slaughter was resorted to in a bid to please God. God is living in one and all. So, to think of killing any being in an effort to please the Lord, who lives also in the being brought to be slaughtered, is wrong, deceptive and self-defeating. But this fact will appeal only to those given to understanding the ethics and propriety of action. Tāmasa mind will never entertain any comment or evaluation about its thoughts and faith. Tamo-guna does not allow comprehensive understanding, flexibility and reason.

An action which is motivated, performed without attachment, desire and hatred, and not motivated by results, is said to be sāttvika.

After explaining the three kinds of knowledge, Krishna takes up action, and first explains what makes an action sāttvika. Human mind is capable of imbibing and displaying plural notes. Once we understand this, every one can apply his own viveka in making his choice. One will know what kind of action he is involved in, and who are the different kinds of people he has to interact with. Krishna’s words are enlightening and directional alike. Of the four basic refinements Krishna enjoins, the first is to adhere to the guidance and exhortations of Gita or other śāstras. This is a sāttvika propulsion. The second is to drop all saṅga, delusional clinging, to whatever one does. The third is to perform without desires or hatred. The fourth is not to be unduly swung by performantial results. Let the actions, done with full application, fruition in their natural way and sequence. Be content and ready to accept any outcome. Contentment relates solely to the mind, not to any objective factor.

An action which is motivated by desire, or performed with pronounced ego and excessive strain (undue effort looking at the personal gain), is said to be rājasa in nature.

Krishna next defines rājasa action, which is more common in the society than the sāttvika counterpart. The sāttvika, of course, holds the balance of the society, like the centre of a circle. Any circle subsists on its centre. For rājasa people, the real motivation for work is desire and greed, as clarified earlier (14.7). None will proceed to work without a strong desire for some personal gain. Even a fool, says a proverb, will not attempt an act without seeing a clear purpose before him. This is the stand of the rājasa, given to enhancing and strengthening desire into powerful greed. Equally strong are the ego and possessiveness they cherish while doing any task. Ego-centric actions are very involving, fetching various stresses and strains. They make the actor restless. Increasing agitation is a recurring consequence of ego! Rājasa mind thrives on all these.

An action undertaken from delusion, without considering the consequence, the waste of resources, the harm it may inflict, and disregarding one's own capacity, is said to be tāmasa.

Tāmasa action, points Krishna, is blind and cyclonic in its effects. Tamo-guṇa always clouds the mind and intelligence. As a result, the one under its influence thinks not about the relevance and consequence of whatever he takes up and pursues. He cares to think little about the harm, chaos and waste his action involves. A tāmasa person is given to act with expectation, and is impatient to get the fruits thereof, no matter whether it harms anyone. To finish the task is the only concern he has and cares for, because of his saṅga (delusional clinging) to the fruits. Often the action he undertakes is beyond his potential and scope. He wants to bite off more than he can chew. Blind hopes about gain and success overpower him so much that nothing deters his execution. Delusion and deluded actions dominate his thoughts, feelings and aims.

Free of delusional clinging (attachment) and ego, imbued with will (inner strength) and fervour, whoever remains unaffected by the success and failure of his effort, is said to be the sāttvika performer.

Krishna now takes up the subject of kartā, the performer, which also he classifies into three. All these are with reference to the same mind and intelligence, which constitute the inner personality. How well does Krishna lead the seeker into his own inner depths, making him delve into the subtle variety of sentient vibrations they host and display! It is a very profound mind-intelligence based analysis, any wise person will be inspired to harness. Sattva-guṇa first takes away the saṅga, delusional clinging, from the mind of the performer. No claim like ‘I am doing and I want this’, etc. will haunt the mind. Freed of all constrictions, the sāttvika performer will have the best of will and fervour. More important is his unconditioned outlook towards fruition and non-fruition of his actions. He is ready to accept whatever comes. And that readiness makes his vision clear making him focused on his work. Imagine how much such a sterling quality can grace the performance and its outcome!

The one who is passionately desirous of the fruits of his action, greedy, and (hence) given to even violent and impure moves, swinging repeatedly between elation and depression, is called a rājasa performer.

Rajo-guṇa is noted for engaging one in incessant activity, craving to enjoy its immediate results. In the process it may even instigate him to hurt others. Under its sway, the performer is given to impure thoughts and attitudes in achieving his ends. The ambition to get things done makes him averse to any kind of moderation. For the rājasa people, life becomes meaningful only when it evokes thrills to the mind and senses. To indulge in and swing between varied emotions is their nature. The sorrow that accrues if the expected joy is not gained, urges them further to keep up the passion for activity and the results it promises. The rājasa kartā does not let any ethical considerations affect his thoughts and performance, so that he can remain undeterred in his execution. He thinks, “To yield to restraints is to deny the pride and joy of acting. An actor, to be successful, has to be ambitious and passionate.”

Immoderate, vulgar, obstinate, fraudulent, malicious, lazy, melancholic and procrastinating – these are the descriptions of a tāmasa kartā.

Although everyone has his body and mind, the inspirations and instigations they give rise to are incredibly various. It is amazing to think of them and perplexing to encounter them. But the world always consists of people given to these ignoble urges. In most of the cases these proclivities are congenital. By timely discretion and self-effort, these congenital tendencies can be changed. Often people do not care to do it. The society thus remains a baffling assortment. Just like the sāttvika people, the rājasa and tāmasa people also thrive. The right way for the sāttvikas will be to recognize this fact, and remain well resolved to spread their own sublime influence, judiciously dissuading and resisting adverse notes. Such moderation and dissuasion are a constant societal need. More important is the call to recognize the unwelcome traits and eliminate them from oneself. In this, none should be indifferent or procrastinating.

O Dhananjaya, listen to what is going to be told unreservedly and severally, about the three-fold distinction caused by the guṇas in intelligence and will.

O Dhananjaya, listen to what is going to be told unreservedly and severally, about the three-fold distinction caused by the guṇas in intelligence and will.O Partha, that intelligence, which is able to distinguish between ‘involvemental action’ and ‘freedom from action’, what is ‘to be done’ and ‘not to be done’, what is ‘to be feared’ and wherein lies ‘fearlessness’, what is ‘bondage’ and where lies ‘liberation’, is sāttvika.

Krishna enters into a very delicate explanation on how even the intelligence, noted for its rationality and penetration, is subject to the triple guṇas generate. Intelligence can reason wrongly or rightly according to its own tendencies. A preconceived notion may condition its effort, and lead to harmful and dangerous assessments and conclusions. Therefore, great care and caution are necessary. To understand anything in detail is one thing. But to follow that knowledge and implement it faithfully in thought, word and deed is altogether different. The second part comes under will (dhṛti). The threefold distinction guṇas bring about is also applicable to will. Krishna wants everyone to understand the intricacies of human psyche and cultivate the right kind of ingenuity. It is a very rare discussion, providing immense benefit not only to the seeker but to all concerned. Pravṛtti, actional involvement, and nivṛtti, its reverse, namely withdrawal from action, dis-involvement, are two basic spiritual concepts to be clearly understood. So too bondage and freedom. How to be fearless in place of fearful, also needs to be known and pursued distinctly by the intelligence. It is a cultural reformation the intelligence has to undergo to be truly enlightened and effective. Sāttvika quality implies illumination and strength the intelligence imbibes, whereby it is able to gain the desired clarity and excellence during interactional life. Finally the intelligence must efficiently discern where lies bondage and what leads to liberation. Earlier in the 4th chapter, Krishna had taken up an analysis of what is karma (action), and what constitutes akarma (non-action) (4.17,18). This is in a way an extension therefrom.

O Partha, that intelligence, which is able to distinguish between ‘involvemental action’ and ‘freedom from action’, what is ‘to be done’ and ‘not to be done’, what is ‘to be feared’ and wherein lies ‘fearlessness’, what is ‘bondage’ and where lies ‘liberation’, is sāttvika.

Krishna enters into a very delicate explanation on how even the intelligence, noted for its rationality and penetration, is subject to the triple guṇas generate. Intelligence can reason wrongly or rightly according to its own tendencies. A preconceived notion may condition its effort, and lead to harmful and dangerous assessments and conclusions. Therefore, great care and caution are necessary. To understand anything in detail is one thing. But to follow that knowledge and implement it faithfully in thought, word and deed is altogether different. The second part comes under will (dhṛti). The threefold distinction guṇas bring about is also applicable to will. Krishna wants everyone to understand the intricacies of human psyche and cultivate the right kind of ingenuity. It is a very rare discussion, providing immense benefit not only to the seeker but to all concerned. Pravṛtti, actional involvement, and nivṛtti, its reverse, namely withdrawal from action, dis-involvement, are two basic spiritual concepts to be clearly understood. So too bondage and freedom. How to be fearless in place of fearful, also needs to be known and pursued distinctly by the intelligence. It is a cultural reformation the intelligence has to undergo to be truly enlightened and effective. Sāttvika quality implies illumination and strength the intelligence imbibes, whereby it is able to gain the desired clarity and excellence during interactional life. Finally the intelligence must efficiently discern where lies bondage and what leads to liberation. Earlier in the 4th chapter, Krishna had taken up an analysis of what is karma (action), and what constitutes akarma (non-action) (4.17,18). This is in a way an extension therefrom.

O Pārtha, that intelligence which wrongly understands the ‘right’ and the ‘wrong’, what is ‘to be done’ and what is ‘not to be done’, is rājasī.

It is not enough if the intelligence is sharp and perceptive. It should reason out matters properly. Rajo-guṇa distorts thinking leading to all kinds of violation. Duryodhana exemplifies this the most. Totally intolerant of the prosperity and excellence Pandavas achieved in Indraprastha, Duryodhana invited Yudhiṣṭhira for a dice-play in Hastinapura. With the help of his uncle Shakuni, an expert in foul-play, he got Yudhiṣṭhira stake his kingdom, brothers, himself and their wife Draupadi, and lose them one after another. Then Duryodhana sent Pandavas with Draupadi on a 12-year forest exile followed by one year incognito life. Completing it all, when Yudhiṣṭhira asked for the kingdom back, Duryodhana refused, stating they could fight and get it back. He violated all norms of ethics and propriety, rejecting the advice of Bheeṣhma, his own parents, and Vidura to mend his ways. The delusion and havoc rajo-guṇa causes are untold indeed!

When under the shroud of delusion, the intelligence considers the ‘wrong’ as ‘right’, and perceives everything contrary to what it is, then that intelligence is tāmasa.

When tamo-guṇa dominates, one’s thinking becomes totally perverted. Distortion misleads the mind and intelligence right from the start, and one regards the wrong as right. All the arguments follow this initial jumbling. Karna’s behaviour right from the beginning exemplifies this kind of perversion. His appearance during the Hastinapura princes’ archery display, which Drona, their teacher, had arranged after their tuition was complete, was uncalled for. His going to Parashurama for learning archery, not disclosing his identity, was another tāmasa trait. To speak lies and seek truthful tuition from a great teacher is the gravest travesty one can think of. Karna, having done nothing to deserve it, accepted the Angarajya crown from Duryodhana. Feeling obligated to Duryodhana ever since, calling him the most ardent friend, indulging in severest wrongs and excesses for his sake, show how tamo-guṇa overpowers one’s intelligence, landing him into grave crime and torment.

The will and drive by which one holds the activities of the mind, life forces and senses in unswerving yoga, O Pārtha, is sāttvika dhṛti.

Krishna treats 'will' as an independent aspect of personality. Generally, 'will' is regarded as part of the mind-intelligence function. Krishna here strikes a distinction, making the seeker culture his will to embellish the inner personality. People generally apply their will to perform unusual physical feats with their limbs, as in circus, gymnastics, etc. or to practise silence, fasting, āsanas, mudras and the like. Krishna says sāttvika will is employed to restrain and regulate sensory functions, breathing, and mental functions to remain anchored in yoga. One has to penetrate into his inner being and instil purity, refinement and sublimation, ending up with spiritual absorption, as detailed in the 6th chapter. There Krishna speaks of inner restraint and regulation to such an extent that the seeker must be able to sit thinking nothing, and be absorbed into the Self - the highest use of will (6.25).

O Arjuna, the will by which one diligently pursues dharma, artha and kāma, but with strong delusional clinging and greed for results, is rājasa dhṛti.

O Arjuna, the will by which one diligently pursues dharma, artha and kāma, but with strong delusional clinging and greed for results, is rājasa dhṛti. The object of human pursuit is the fourfold puruṣārtha – dharma, artha, kāma and mokṣa. They denote ethics and propriety in doing everything. One must first learn the righteous course of life (dharma). Then, the resources earned by righteous means (artha) should be utilised to meet the proper needs of living to fulfil the legitimate desires (kāma). The process should finally lead one to mokṣa, which is characterised by freedom from all the shackles (constrictions, limitations and bondages) felt within. This is the proper course of a meaningful, ethical life. In rājasa will, the emphasis right from the beginning is only on the first three objectives, disconnecting them from the last. By so doing, human life becomes a rudderless ship, a centreless circle. The desired focus and stability will be deplorably missing. For, these three objectives themselves will not be able to complete and fulfil life at all. Alas, what is the fate then? An unfulfilled life, led in vain! The despair and vacuum assailing then will be ineffable. This is due to lack of timely intervention and compulsion from sāttvika wisdom and caution.

O Pārtha, the will due to which one, misguided and vicious, does not give up dream, fear, grief, despondency, pride and passion, is tāmasa.

O Pārtha, the will due to which one, misguided and vicious, does not give up dream, fear, grief, despondency, pride and passion, is tāmasa. As sāttvika and rājasa wills have their impulsions and persuasions, the tāmasa has its too, by dint of which one cannot get rid of various negative traits. It is intriguing to note how the same mind promotes absolutely opposite urges, cravings and tendencies. Krishna lists a variety of these, all of which keep one inescapably bound to indulgences, habits and ways, weakening and destructive to the individual and society alike. Tamas is as much an undeniable part of creation as rajas and sattva are. Yoga is based on the principle of moderation, as Krishna has explained earlier (6.17). It is more a value and discipline one has to comprehend with discrimination and foster tenaciously with fondness and resolve. Only then, it will take the upper hand in the seeker and reduce the impact of tamo-guṇa and its deleterious effects. Though all the three guṇas are present in every one, Nature does allow one to change their proportion and predominance, employing his own choice and resolve – a point to be grasped discreetly!

O chief of Bharatas (Arjuna), listen from me now the three kinds of happiness (sukha). That happiness (sukha) is considered sāttvika, wherein one rejoices through spiritual practice and begets end of misery, which is like poison to start with, but like nectar in the end, which is born from the placidity of Self-knowledge.

O chief of Bharatas (Arjuna), listen from me now the three kinds of happiness (sukha). That happiness (sukha) is considered sāttvika, wherein one rejoices through spiritual practice and begets end of misery, which is like poison to start with, but like nectar in the end, which is born from the placidity of Self-knowledge. Having defined the triple causes of action as knowledge, knowable and knower (18.18), Krishna went on to explain knowledge, action and actor, classifying each of these three into sāttvika, rājasa and tāmasa (18.20-28). Thereafter he said that intelligence and will also fall into three kinds (18.29), detailing the three types in each (18.30-35). He now elucidates the three kinds of happiness, sukha. Imagine how much the discussion means in providing insight into the subtle modifications and workings of what we simply refer to as the mind and the intelligence! The analysis makes one greatly enlightened about the assorted qualities and functions the same inner personality embodies. This should enable one to know of what kind he is, and how to improve and enrich himself. Surely, this is an extraordinary psycho-intellectual analysis, a unique science and art, revealing the invisible inner personality of the human, making the spiritual student a master in dealing with himself and becoming what he aspires to be. Kṛṣṇa now adds that happiness (sukha) too is sāttvika, rājasa and tāmasa, as are the other five he listed. Needless to say that a discreet seeker and yogic student should strive unquestionably for sāttvika happiness. It can be had only with sufficient discrimination and dedicated effort. When gained, it has the power to terminate unhappiness of all kinds for ever. It may seem like poison at first, but in the end it will be like nectar. Sāttvika happiness results when intelligence reflects and radiates the inmost Self. It is fully experiential unlike heaven and the like, which cannot be experienced while living. Self-contemplation holds the key to unalloyed happiness. How does sāttvika happiness seem like poison at first? A point to be studied and understood well by the seeker! Unlike non-humans, human beings enjoy lavish freedom of thought, speech and sharing, and hence they excel in amazingly plural ways of being good and helpful as well as bad and hurting. Non-humans have a certain nature each, and they conform to it exclusively. They display the real beauty of existence, especially in the background of huge lush green forests they live in. Humans verily embody all the tendencies of non-humans, leading to unpredictable chaos, confusion and violence, warranting adequate check and balance. This leads to enforcement of law and order, something absent in the non-human domain. This apart, to improve quality and refinement of life, practices like sensory moderation, mental sublimation, etc. are necessary. But people always take to these with unwillingness and unpleasantness. They crave for unrestricted, unbridled enjoyment, corroding the senses, adversely affecting the upkeep of the body. Real joy and freedom in any field is obtained only by undergoing rigorous discipline and self-restraint. However distasteful the disciplines may appear initially, once they are undergone properly, the mind is sure to feel stronger, happier and integrated. Disciplines are extremely important for one’s inner growth and enrichment. Sāttvika sukha is not generated by the senses. So, it does not make the mind scattered or outgoing. It comes from expansion, purification and elevation of the mind. It is in the nature of a placidity that arises when the mind and intelligence are in touch with the inmost being (ātma-buddhi-prasāda-jam).

The happiness born of contact between the senses and the objects, nectar-like to begin with, but like poison in the end, is held to be rājasika.

Rājasa sukha is just the reverse of sāttvika, in that it is solely external and gross, which senses generate by contact with the objects around. In sāttvika happiness, the whole process is inner, in the mind-intelligence level, linked to the imperishable Self. The difference is significant. Sāttvika sukha follows an inner refinement process, guided by and resulting in spiritual enlightenment. In rājasa sukha that factor is totally lacking. Rājasika individual looks only to the outer world objects, seeking sense interactions with them. He considers these to be the summum bonum of life. Every thought or argument he indulges in, is to this end. He gets worn out with such unbridled sensory indulgences. He becomes irritable, dejected, trapped in the sense-object network. That is why it is described as nectarine first and poisonous thereafter. What a grave plight rajas drives one to!

The pleasure (sukha) that deludes one in the beginning as well as in the end, which is born of sleep, lethargy and inattention, is regarded as tāmasa.

In contrast to sāttvika and rājasa sukhas, the tāmasa sukha is perverted, degrading to human dignity and esteem. It binds one by delusion, as mentioned earlier (14.8). Instead of redressing the suffering by intelligently getting at its very source, the tāmasa minds prefer to be in a state of delusion and stupor, even by resorting to intoxicants and narcotics. They argue that these are gifts of Nature. But these only weaken and destabilize the user. Taking to drugs to escape mental stress is also tāmasa. All these are devastating to the body. Courting excessive sleep and lethargy with the help of drugs, has also the same delusional effect. When Arjuna had a total mental and intellectual downfall in Kurukshetra, he sought redress from Krishna. Krishna treated the plight at its very source by providing enlightenment. Arjuna revived himself exemplarily. What a noble, harmless and elevating instance!

Either upon the earth or in the heaven and amongst gods, there is none who is not subjected to the workings of these three qualities (guṇas) born of Nature.

Krishna summarizes the entire discussion on the three qualities (guṇas) engendered by Nature. The revelation should guide seekers and students in their path. It is equally beneficial to those who give knowledge its due place in human life and interactions. There is no being, says Krishna, in the world here, in the heavens above or among gods, who is outside the ken of Nature's guṇas. To be born here is itself an outcome within the scheme of Nature. Copulation, the entry of sperm into the uterus, fertilization that follows, growth of the foetus, and then child-birth – all these are processes and outcomes effected by Nature. The growth and expression thereafter are equally under the same Nature's laws, where all the three guṇas with their distinct effects come to play. One has to recognize and accept this truth heartily and live in tune with it, finding full harmony. In modern society, we find gruesome acts of murder committed despite strict laws against such cruelty and intolerance. One loving another, finding his love not reciprocated, chooses to kill the other. How can a beloved be an object of murder for the lover? Can any human think of killing his beloved, whatever be the wrong or defect the beloved has? There seems to be a power or influence which rules over the mind, intelligence and ego of the human. One can argue in any way and blame another. But the questions are deeper. What is the remedy, rescue, hope and consolation for the distressed mind? The earth on which we live is surrounded by myriad celestial bodies in space. Each of them spins and moves with its rhythm, without colliding with another. What is the Master Intelligence that has designed, and is preserving the whole sequence and order? It is under its intricate system that every act is performed and perpetrated. The question always remains: What makes one act the way he does? Kṛṣṇa confirms that every being anywhere in creation is under the grip of Nature’s three guṇas. It is the guṇas that make one think, speak and act the way he does. As all the non-humans are gripped by their own nature irresistibly, so the human also is, a fact the devout thinker cannot ignore or devalue. At the same time, a human has his option and scope for self-correction. Kṛṣṇa-Arjuna dialogue in Kurukṣetra transpired over 5000 odd years ago. The mind and its propensities thrive even today without any change. Criminal laws are meant to act after committing the crime. They have no power or scope to prevent criminality as such. It is here that texts like Bhagavad Gītā have their marked influence and inspiration. Kṛṣṇa is firm that no external restraint will work. Everyone has to restrain himself from within (3.33, 6.5). Multi-pronged exhortation and enlightenment alone are thus the lasting safeguard. Arjuna had asked: “Propelled by what one commits sin?” (3.36) Kṛṣṇa made it clear that it is passion and greed that, like blazing fire, make one act sinfully. He also added that desire and hatred lie coiled up within the senses, mind and intelligence. One has to draw the greater power from the inmost level and overcome them. He can strive for and succeed in this, no doubt. Human life is meant for achieving this in time. Arjuna was about to retreat from Kurukṣetra. Listening to Kṛṣṇa’s enlightening instructions, he changed his stand. Any day, enlightenment is the greatest correction, persuasion and inspiration to enrich one’s life, to put it on the right path to fulfillment!

Activities of brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas and śūdras are well divided on the basis of their qualities shaped by Nature's guṇas.

Krishna had earlier (4.13) referred to the fourfold constitution of human society based upon the varied conjunctions of the three guṇas. This is necessary for the efficient conduct of the society's multiple affairs, ranging from production of food, goods and services to public administration, education, research, medicine, treatment and the like. Not all can fit into every one of these, nor can one fit into all. So an ideal variety in tendencies, aptitudes and skills is desirable, nay inevitable. Krishna elaborates on the idea and explains how the fourfold constitution of the society works, each group taking up one field of activity with choice and exclusiveness, complementing the predilections of others. Each field has its own importance in the society. Brāhmaṇa, kshatriya, vaiśya and śūdra are the four groups. Everyone of them generally takes to the group in which he is born; but sometimes there will be exceptions too. What matters is one's own aptitude and nature, not in which group he is born. Remembering that all activities are equally important for the society, and all the diversities are expressions of the same Soul, there should not be any conflict.

Mental discipline, sensory control, austerity, purity, forbearance, straightforwardness, knowledge, realization of the knowledge, and unflinching faith in the spiritual truth – these constitute the natural activities of a brāhmaṇa.

Krishna speaks of nine qualities adorning the brāhmaṇa. All these make him more an introvert than extrovert. The brāhmaṇa is given to wholesome pursuit of spiritual wisdom. His focus is within his own body, which finally takes him to the indwelling Self. All the disciplines and virtues to root him in his inner pursuit will be his wont and mainstay. He will not foster the usual material desires. On the other hand, he will be given mainly to inner refinement and enrichment. His study, contemplation and austerity will be such as to help him stabilize and excel in his spiritual pursuit. His gentle nature, lofty interests and amiable behaviour will warrant unsullied appreciation and respect from the society. It is for the society to ensure that his life and pursuit flourish and fulfil their destined role. For, in that rest the society's welfare and progress also!

Valour, splendour, determination, skill, not running away from the battlefield, charity and lordship – these constitute the natural activities of a kshatriya.

Brāhmaṇa's contribution to the society is in striving with his mind, intelligence and heart. His is a life of recession and absorption, generating balance, brilliance and harmony in the society. His sedentary life, however, has its relevance only when a substantial number of people given to vibrant, ethical action are there, watchful to mend matters. Kshatriyas constitute this vibrant group. Krishna lists seven qualities and skills shaping this valiant fighter community. They have a blend of valour, resolve, skill and brilliance with lordship, benevolence and readiness to subdue the mischievous and the violators. Unlike non-humans, humans need stern administration to enforce law and order. Otherwise, the individual freedom and potentials will turn destructive. Police and military consist of those with the kṣātra spirit, resolve and readiness to enforce corrective measures any time when needed, based on the tenets of law and administration.

Agriculture, animal husbandry and trade – these form the natural activities of a vaiśya. Service to others is the natural pursuit of a śūdra.

Agriculture, animal husbandry and trade – these form the natural activities of a vaiśya. Service to others is the natural pursuit of a śūdra. Agriculture, trade, commerce and industry are indispensable for the prosperity and progress of human society. Farming alone produces food for people. Trade and commerce fulfil the task of procuring and reaching agricultural produce to people for their consumption. Industries too are equally needed to produce goods and services, which consumers avail of for ameliorating the quality of their life. People with the requisite tendencies and motivation alone can take up these tasks with fidelity and effectiveness. Only then the society can be strong and cohesive. Here comes the role of vaiśyas with farming and industrial aspirations. It is Nature that imbues and preserves these traits. Those with physical might to help and serve others as well as public institutions are also inevitable. All the four – brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas and śūdras – have equal place, importance and purpose to make the society wholesome and prosperous.

Performing attentively one's own activities, man attains spiritual fruition. Listen as to how one, engaged in his own duty, reaches perfection.

Krishna presented the inner constitution of the individual as well as the psycho-structure of the society, showing how the individual activities should contribute to the society’s needs, making the nation strong, resourceful and sufficient in every way. Whatever be one’s activity, it should be devoutly done. At no time should one feel he is lower or higher, creditable or not so, less rewarded or more. Everyone verily conforms to his own tendencies and skills, contributing whatever he can. It is also spiritually fulfilling. In such a background all are equal, each contributing in one manner or another to the overall wellbeing. If thus all strive to make their contribution ceaseless and wholesome, the aggregate benevolence will be unimaginable. That is what makes the society stable, sustaining and powerful. The society is what its members make it. Krishna will now show how such dedicated objective perseverance brings individual subjective perfection too.

By devoutly offering one’s own action (and pursuit) to That (Source), from which all beings have emerged, and by which all this is pervaded, man attains perfection.

Krishna explains how the performance of one’s activity can verily be made a full means of worshipping the Supreme - a point calling for immense introspection and assimilation. This is an extension of what was said earlier (9.26): Take a leaf, flower, fruit or mere water, and offer it with devotion. The Supreme partakes of it (the devotional aspect of the offering) with great relish. Here, Krishna widens the scope and means of devotion. Think first wherefrom has the whole creation sprung forth, and what permeates it. The heart then expands and emotions become lofty as well as sublime. In place of offering one small article or another, offer all actions - sensory, oral, mental and intellectual. And worship the Supreme with all that, making the worship ceaseless and wholesome. By this does one attain spiritual perfection! The heart of the seeker imbibes expanse and ecstasy!

Better is one’s own pursuit as ordained by his dharma, even if imperfect, than the dharma or pursuit of another, though performed well. No sin is incurred by one who remains engaged in activity consonant with one’s own nature.

In the context of such consistent and wholesome devotion (18.46), to think one’s duty is inferior to another’s is wrong. All activities spring from one single Nature and constitute the world aggregate. It is like the mouth and rectum or the head and feet in our body. All are equally important and serve their respective purposes alike. Any kind of comparison will be irrelevant and harmful. The objective should be to rise above all divisive thoughts and abide in supreme oneness. Even if one’s activity is not noble or lofty, conducting it wholeheartedly, rather than aspiring to somehow do another’s, is the ideal option. For, both good and bad constitute the amalgam called world! Earlier, Krishna had emphasized: Even if one courts death in performing his ordained activity, it will be better than attempting to do another’s (3.35). Total dedication makes all activities equally divine and rewarding.

One should not abandon his own natural pursuit even if it has a taint of evil. All activities are indeed enveloped with evil, like fire with smoke.

Krishna goes a step further to point out the true nature of all activities. He shows that ultimately viewed, no action is to be unduly preferred or abhorred. It is parochial to think of any differential approach, letting in the trap of discomfort and narrowness, as it happened with Arjuna in Kurukshetra. He preferred to abandon war and be an ascetic. Krishna clarified matters for him. Remember: We are in the last lap of the dialogue that followed. Krishna raised Arjuna’s mind and reason from the so-called dvandvas like good and bad, virtue and vice, making him float in the ecstasy of oneness. He says that all undertakings in the world are associated with one kind of evil or another. Therefore, do not discredit the task you are naturally given to by inheritance, compulsion or chance, and think of adopting another. To do so will be a grave mistake, a real sin, causing downfall! Avoid such pitfall by all means.

With dis-attached intelligence in all situations, one who is self-regulated and free of cravings, attains the supreme perfection of naiṣkarmya (non-doership) through sannyāsa (renunciation).

If “one’s activity, though involving evil, should not be abandoned” (18.48), then what happens to the sinfulness involved in its execution? Krishna answers the question in all heartiness and authority. The dialogue hereafter contains a variety of absolute statements, all of which bear upon life, activity, spiritual pursuit and liberation. The seeker should imbibe deeply the message contained in these. Spiritual excellence sparkles greatly in all of them. What one does, matters not. How he does it, shapes the performance. Everywhere, in everything, be free from delusional clinging; this is the message Krishna gives to redress and redeem the performer. Have self-control. Foster no desire at all. Then through the very pursuit of action, one will be led to the great spiritual goal of naiṣkarmya-siddhi (attainment of non-actingness or non-doership), the rarest and highest in spiritual life. What more does one need? Be an embodiment of spiritual magnificence! Here what counts is not action, but the asaṅgatva (absence of delusional clinging) the performer fosters about it.

Know from me in essence, O son of Kunti, how one, having gained the naishkarmya-siddhi, attains Brahman. This is the ultimate jñāna-niṣṭhā, the exclusive practice of spiritual wisdom.

We are approaching the climax of the Krishna-Arjuna dialogue meant to redress Arjuna’s delusion and grief. Krishna presents and clubs three basic concepts here. One is naishkarmya-siddhi or “non-actional fulfilment” he had referred to earlier (3.4). Next comes Brahmic attainment. The third is the ultimate jñāna-niṣṭhā or exclusive pursuit of wisdom. Naishkarmya-siddhi is the deep inner state, where one feels non-doership, like not doing anything for any purpose at all. The interest in being active secularly or spiritually drops completely, as hinted earlier (3.17,18, 4.23, 5.8, etc.). The dawning of exalted knowledge-maturity makes him feel he has nothing to gain or give. Such a one is irresistibly driven to the superior jñāna-niṣṭhā. It is not sannyāsa or anything allied to it; instead it is a display of full inwardness, brought by the wisdom gained by sādhanā, the ultimate outcome involving the whole personality of the seeker.

Integrated with pure intellect and regulating the mind with will; giving up sensory thrills like sound, etc., eschewing desire and dislike; being given to aloneness (not resorting to crowd); eating but little; regulating activities of speech, body and mind; constantly pursuing contemplation; taking refuge in dispassion; abandoning egotism, clout, arrogance, lust and rage (hatred); not accepting gifts; possessing nothing; and composed; – such a one is said to be fit to become Brahman.

Kṛṣṇa has presented a 17-limb intense pursuit, calling it the supreme wisdom discipline. Each limb has to be studied, assimilated and applied assiduously. The whole effort is to be focussed only on inward application. Here the student and teacher become one; the answerer and examiner are the same. What a beautiful, exacting and exhaustive presentation! In Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, Uddhava, Kṛṣṇa’s closest devotee, on knowing that his Lord was preparing to leave his body, went to him and submitted: “My dear Lord, I am not able to keep away from your lotus feet even for half a second. Therefore, please take me also with you wherever you go.” Kṛṣṇa said: “I understand your problem. But none can take another while he departs from the world. The best will be for you to leave everything and everyone including Dvārakā. Go to Badarikāśrama in the Himalayas, and live an austere life there, pursuing the exclusive jñāna-niṣṭhā. Enjoying the cool mountain breeze and bathing in Alakanandā river, spend the rest of your life in ceaseless spiritual contemplation!” Uddhava found he was unable to leave everything due to his false identification with the body and its relations. He therefore asks Kṛṣṇa to instruct him thoroughly, so that he could get rid of the shackles of his mind and intelligence and follow his Lord’s command. It is thus that Kṛṣṇa began to instruct his closest devotee Uddhava about the exclusive jñāna-niṣṭhā he refers to here. It is a niṣṭhā (discipline) where the mind and intelligence wholesomely pursue only spiritual thoughts and contemplation in solitude. Nothing is a hardship if one takes to it as his beloved choice. Thus, to repair oneself to solitude, plunging into the inner depths, to dissolve all bodily and mental activity into its inner Source, is a fulfilling mission. For the true seeker, it can only be a very dear turn of events. Like the other facets of sādhanā, this intensified phase is also within the seeker’s reach. One does not normally come to know, much less think, of applying it to oneself. Kṛṣṇa reveals it as a significant part of his wholesome instruction. Uddhava shows clearly how it can be adopted with timely resolve and dedication. In jñāna-niṣṭhā the mind and intelligence rise to the exalted degree of spiritual attainment, resulting in the ecstasy of full freedom. Sannyāsa itself is a phase of life one adopts to commence his wholesome jñāna-niṣṭhā. It has its sovereign place, role and reward. However, real sannyāsa consists in renouncing the ego, desire, greed and possessiveness. As the mind generally clings to these, so with enlightenment, it can also abandon the same and be free. It is verily a process of refinement, elevation and expansion!

Having become Brahman, one is ever cheerful, does not grieve or crave for anything. Feeling equal towards all beings, he begets transcendental devotion to Me (the Supreme). By devotion he comes to know Me (the Supreme) - what and who I am, in essence. Knowing Me thus in essence, he next enters into the Supreme.

By the exclusive jñāna-niṣṭhā, when one attains and becomes Brahman, the whole discussion, being complete, should naturally stop. There will be no further addition or extension. But Krishna strikes a significant difference. He describes the Brahma-bhūta as ever cheerful, not given to grief or desire. Such sameness and evenness have been dealt with earlier in many contexts. What is then the difference here? Earlier it was a pursuit, practice of a quality, wherein the seeker reflects his striving, by virtue of which he intends to reach somewhere. But here no such yearning or aim is fostered. Whatever transpires is a natural sequence, development. Just as when the shutter of a dam is opened, water gushes forth as a river, here too with the Brahma-bhūta something significant and tangible transpires. Even though he yearns not for any quality or attainment, he still becomes accomplished. Krishna calls it transcendental devotion. The earlier stages imply deliberate efforts and practices. But here, without any effort or yearning, parā-bhakti (supreme devotion) springs and flows in abundant measure! This bhakti makes one know the supreme Reality; what it is in essence, and what extent it has. Knowing the Supreme thus in essence, he enters into its domain with all ease and felicity! The entry into the supreme is not a physical process or a result of any particular action or procedure. It is a fruition that takes place effortlessly, as a natural consequence of the knowledge the seeker gains. He understands the whole world to be a direct display of the Supreme. And in that extensiveness, he, as an individual, already reigns. Yes, he is one with the Supreme. No further entry is necessary. Entry is effected by the knowledge his intelligence gains. It is all knowledge, and knowledge alone!

By always doing all activities with wholesome reliance on Me (the Supreme), one attains by My grace, the eternal, imperishable Abode.

Krishna began answering Arjuna's questions on sannyāsa and tyāga, but covered various concepts, explaining the three kinds of action, actor, knowledge, will, etc. He then discussed the fourfold classification (varṇa), which sustains the society. One can, however, follow whatever act one is given to naturally or dictated by occasion or circumstances, but with wholesome spiritual attunement. That will then lead to perfection, thence to the transcendental note of devotional fullness and ecstasy. Krishna now makes some sovereign propositions, each of which can bestow fulfilment. As the first of these, Krishna says one should do all his activities, but taking refuge totally in the Supreme. If he does so, he will, by the grace of the Supreme, attain the perpetual spiritual abode, earmarked for human life! In this, all plural evaluations about karma are dropped, as everything inheres in and is for the Supreme. This overwhelming attitude divinizes everything!

Mentally renouncing all actions to Me (the Supreme), regarding Me as the Supreme, let your mind, resorting to buddhi-yoga (anchoring the intelligence in the inmost Reality), abide constantly in Me.

Though Arjuna asked about the essence of sannyāsa and tyāga, Krishna spoke only about tyāga, relinquishment. But here he brings sannyāsa. By offering all actions to their very source, the Supreme, one attains sannyāsa, renunciation, says Krishna. Sannyāsa means leaving, whatever be the manner of achieving it. By offering all actions to their very source, the performer renounces their ownership and is freed of all the impacts of their results. The mind will be absorbed in the Supreme only when the intelligence picks up introspection over whatever Krishna has stated and explained. Krishna’s summary revelation is evenness in sukha-duḥkhas. All interactions bring sukha and duḥkha alone, alternately. So too, all material and metaphysical dualities result only in sukha-duḥkhas. Evenness to them makes one win over worldliness (5.19). And the performer gains inner spiritual abidance.

With the mind resting on Me (the Supreme), you will surmount all hardships by My grace. But if egoistically you do not heed these words, you will be led to ruin.Resorting to ego should you think ‘I will not fight’, your decision is in vain. For, Nature will compel you to fight.

Krishna is removing the various layers covering the ultimate truth. Yes, he is uncovering the inner personality of the human. As for hardships and sufferings, each of them is caused by the Supreme, which has brought the world into existence. By resting on the Supreme alone one can surmount all challenges and persecutions. As are the obstacles, so is the artful way of surmounting them; it takes place with the grace of the Supreme, within its own domain. Do not doubt. Kṛṣṇa warns: Due to ego, if Arjuna does not heed his words, then Arjuna, like any other, is bound to perish. Kṛṣṇa further adds: “As you sought redress from me, I am instructing you on the truth of life and matters related to it. If in responding, you show resistance, then Nature will ruin you. “Surely, in distress as you are, you want me to redress the plight. When I heartily tell you what you need, accept and act upon it. Otherwise you will no doubt be in peril.” How affectionately, but firmly, does Kṛṣṇa speak, like a devout teacher! Kṛṣṇa clarifies further: “Your resistance and dislike, Arjuna, are meaningless, irrelevant. For, everyone is born with his nature. And that strongly binds him. It is true you have a measure of freedom. But it has to be rightly applied. One can move only in a very tiny circle, within the huge circle of creation and the Supreme.” What is the true nature of human will-power then? It is like a cow walking freely around a peg to which she is tied with a rope. She can go around, but only to the extent the rope on her neck permits. Without understanding this, if one begins to gloat over the freedom and ingenuity he has, it will be too puerile. He will only be led to sheer downfall!

O Kunti’s son (Arjuna), that which you are unwilling to undertake due to delusion, you will still perform irresistibly, bound by karma born of your own nature.

Krishna explains why Arjuna’s resistance in the matter of fighting will be of no avail. Every one, he says, is held by his own inner constitution, born of and compelled by his birth and consequent growth. As are the bodily features inherited at birth by each, so too are the basic psycho-intellectual factors imbibed from birth and acquired thereafter. Mind and intelligence have a measure of freedom; but it is not absolute. So, one will not be able to shirk the inheritance altogether. Propelled by it, each will be forced to be active in his own field. 'I shall not fight nor be active' is at best a feeling or wish expressed than a possible course. It results more from delusion, than from any worthy evaluation. Thus Arjuna cannot escape the kshatriya spirit and involvement. To imbue varied tendencies and inspirations to individuals, holding them firmly, is the intricate task of Nature, meant to preserve and promote the world order. To think of interfering in its sublimity is not desirable.

O Arjuna, God dwells in the heart of all beings. Reigning there, by His inscrutable power (māyā), He makes everyone whirl around, as in a revolving machine (yantra-ārūḍha).Seek refuge under Him alone, with all your emotional notes (bhāvas). By His grace, you will attain supreme peacefulness as well as the eternal Abode.

Krishna has referred to Sarvaloka-maheśvara - Lord of all worlds (5.29), Bhūta-maheśvara - Lord of all creations (9.11), Loka-maheśvara - Lord of the world (10.3) Maheśvara - the supreme Lord (13.23), Parameśvara (13.28) and Īśvara (13.29, 15.8, 15.17). In some of these, he identifies the Self with the Lord. In one, he identifies the Self with the Lord. Here now he refers to the Lord as such. Thus he clarifies that the Self in the body is the supreme Lord. All these expressions equally refer to the Lord and the Self alike. The Lord resides in the heart of all, revolving all creatures as if they were mounted on a wheel. There is no power besides the Indweller, to rule, guide or regulate one’s life. In fact, Kṛṣṇa has denied any kind of control or command by the Lord about anyone’s activities. Everywhere one’s own nature is at work independently (5.14, 15). What an absolute pronouncement about the Lord, in whichever manner He is conceived. As the Lord is seated in our heart, all we have to do is to seek Him within, as the Indweller. This inner process consists in offering all bhāvas (thoughts, feelings and attitudes) at the Self’s altar. Then, by His blessings one will attain the eternal Abode. What started with offering leaf, flower, fruit and water (9.26) broadened to cover all activities (18.46). Now it has receded into one’s own within, to offer all that the mind, heart and intelligence bring about, without reservation, to the indwelling Lord, imperishable Self. In this, all become equal, with no difference of birth, education, social status or else. All are equidistant from the indwelling Lord. Let none speak of any discrimination in the matter. Realize and employ the freedom, scope, potential and predilection heartily, and win the inner interminable abode. The goal is within, the approach and attainment too!

Thus by me is imparted to you the Knowledge, which is a secret greater than all other secrets. Discreetly reflecting on this fully, act as you wish.

Krishna earlier delineated various thought processes, values and disciplines. He now concludes with some summary statements, lifting the mind from the labyrinth of multiple considerations and focussing on the Self alone! In fact, this is a very safe process of turning within, eschewing all thoughts of sin and virtue, good and bad, etc. It is the Lord, dwelling within, who motivates everyone to think, speak and act. Turn to Him, the singular inner source, for all correction, elevation and fulfilment. In doing so, no feeling, attitude or goal should hinder. This inner surrender, refuge and reliance alone will remove all distress. Have no doubt or deflection. Krishna then asks Arjuna to critically evaluate what he heard, and decide what he should do. As an instructor, he gives no order or command. This is the best and most laudable note of Sanatana Dharma, Indian spiritual philosophy, which distinguishes itself in every way!

Listen again to my supreme word, the most secret, which I shall explain for your good, as you are most dear to me.

Krishna has disclosed to Arjuna many secrets, describing them as deep and royal (9.2), then the most hidden (15.20). In this chapter he has imparted the still greater secret (18.63). Here he discloses the greatest of all secrets, adding that he is motivated to reveal it because of his intense fondness for Arjuna. Descriptions like these are bound to evoke additional interest in the seeker. Greatest spiritual truths transcend all conventional standards and safeguards, which are too hard to follow, but yet tormenting to neglect. Hence to disclose the topmost secret is extremely rare, rather a great challenge! Krishna feels confident that Arjuna will follow his words faithfully - an apt complement to Arjuna's initial confession and demand, where he placed Krishna as his Instructor, confessing he was his accredited disciple (2.7). It is then natural for Krishna to lift him from his quagmire, bestowing the highest spiritual enlightenment. Moreover, it makes the abstruse spiritual path of seeking easy, practical, safe and rewarding!

Be engrossed in My thoughts and devoted to Me (the Supreme); offer sacrifice to Me, and prostrate before Me. Then indeed will you attain Me. I swear upon this truth, as you are dear to Me.

Arjuna was all lost in Krishna's words and promise. He was all empty within. He only saw Krishna's lips, awaiting their ambrosial flow to fill his emptiness – the enchanting handiwork of Guru-śiṣya bond, climaxing the spiritual instruction with its ultimate redemptional note! What is that supreme secret Krishna is going to disclose marking the finale of his long exposition? In that he has dealt with the ethics of life, especially in having to fight with relatives, friends, more so with the revered grandfather and the teacher – a task unnerving and agonizing to everyone! The confrontation, consternation and paradox it presents are indescribable. It is the most tormenting conflict and challenge to the emotional mind. The solution, if at all, could lie only with an illumined intelligence. The dialogue marks the elevating inner pilgrimage of the intellect from the quagmire it huddles in, to the abode of clarity shining with the undimmed splendour of the imperishable Soul. Yes, this is what the war-field dialogue was then, and is even now! Kṛṣṇa speaks from the Guru’s pedestal, where Arjuna has placed him. He is talking to Arjuna, who has become his faithful disciple. The only factor tying them together is the Guru-śiṣya bond. It is so sublime and wholesome that nothing can break it. All laws of the world have to give way to the Guru-śiṣya bond. Arjuna was standing committed to this bond. He had no world or Kurukṣetra before him. Kṛṣṇa’s words alone shone for him. He was ready to absorb his Teacher’s words. The receptivity is unimaginable, and its self-effacing effect supreme! It is to such a disciple that the Guru Kṛṣṇa speaks. All will do well to reflect on this total submission, acceptance and the enlightening note it delivers! “Let your mind be engrossed in Me”, began Kṛṣṇa. “Be devoted to Me. If you sacrifice, it should be to Me and Me alone. Prostrate before Me in full submission. By this, you will attain Me; you will become Me. This is true, I promise, as you are dear to Me,” says Kṛṣṇa. What more does an earnest seeker yearn for? For him, there is no God or any other refuge or succour. Guru and his words are the only panacea to fill him to the full!

Abandoning all considerations of dharma (ethics and codes of life), take refuge in Me alone. I shall redeem you from all sins. Grieve not!

Krishna reinforces what he has already stated in the way of all-fold surrender and attunement. Any kind of dharma, code of conduct, is based upon the prevalence of its opposite, namely adharma, violation of such a code. Can the wholeness of creation be such as to allow any division? In the whole of our body, is there any part preferable or detestable? Are not dual and plural considerations, when deeply thought of, inappropriate and disharmonious by their very nature? To begin with, right and wrong may help. They train one to dismiss the inferior half and take to the loftier half. But when, by that practice, one has become stable in rightfulness, where will be the need to think of wrong and sin? The very differentiation falls. That is the state of transcendental oneness, non-dualness. This is what Krishna described (in the previous verse) as a singular, wholesome pursuit, where the Guru alone becomes the sole objective, refuge and anchor. From such a wholesome devotional mind, can any susceptibility for wrong sprout? In other words, any thought and pursuit of many is disturbing, deterring to sound seeking. On the other hand, the thought of oneness, wholesomeness, is easy, safe and sustaining. It rids the mind of fear, doubt and indecision. The real import of the verse should not be missed. Krishna who gave this promise is no more available. But Bhagavad Gita still reigns in full glory and relevance. How? It is because of the intrinsic truth and worth of the very statement it makes! Krishna asks for leaving all ideas of many. And in their place install, preserve and pursue the idea of one, oneness. In that case, is there any question of making a choice or discrimination? When one seeks refuge under ONE, that itself is liberating, liberation! How can the one bind itself? Only when there exists a second factor, an interaction between the two will be possible. Here now there is altogether only one. Being so, it is free, unfettered. It is not that Krishna will come to liberate the seeker. No liberating will be necessary. The thought and nurturing of oneness has itself the intrinsic effect of freeing oneself, in full, instantly. This is how scriptural revelations work, triumph and redeem! So Krishna’s statement stands by virtue of its own worth and truth. The outcome is irresistible indeed!

This gospel is never to be instructed to one who is not austere, is not a devotee, does not want to listen to these words, or who envies Me (the Supreme).

Krishna has completed his exposition. Any instruction a Teacher gives has its basic relevance and applicability. Krishna's last words of wholesome surrender, refuge, are not a blanket sanction to do whatever one wishes. They are specifically meant for one like Arjuna, who has sought refuge under Krishna seeking supreme good (śreyas), and who embodies unconditional faith in what Krishna imparts (2.7). To such a one, the last two verses are a full nectar. But what about rest of the people? Krishna is firm to deny transmission of his words to the undeserving. Arjuna was a seeker of śreyas, the ultimate good, felicity. What Krishna said is the real means for him, not for others. Thus Krishna warns that his instruction is not to be imparted to those who lack the requisite austerity, devotion and willingness to hear, and who are judgemental about or despise what they hear. What a great caution!

He who exposes this most secret Truth among My devotees, cherishing supreme devotion to Me, reaches Me (the Supreme), no doubt.

Having completed the exposition of śreyas, felicity, as Arjuna sought (2.7), Krishna gives his valedictory remarks. In this, he raises the message from its limited personal status to a broad-based, ever-relevant, eternal one! When it began, it was a war-field discussion. As it progressed, enlarged, diversified and became conclusive, it assumed its eternal dimension, encompassing the whole world. Consequently Krishna wants the message to be reached to as many seekers as possible. He who undertakes this mission, cherishing it himself and wishing to delight others with its inner nourishment, deserves all approbation and reward. It is a mission society needs always. And not many will be willing and equipped to conduct it with relish. Majority of people chase sensory knowledge and objects, and the prosperity they fetch. Spiritual wisdom, knowledge of the Subject, is rarely sought and given. The one imparting it surely reaches the Supreme.

There is none among humans, who does something more dear to Me than what he (the exponent of the Gita) does. Nor will there be anyone on this earth dearer to Me.

Krishna categorically states that the dissemination of Bhagavad Gita is such a noble, indispensable mission for the world to ensure its welfare, cohesion and stability. Unless spiritual wisdom, the knowledge of the Subject, guides and balances the object-knowledge, there will be chaos, disharmony and destruction. If humans, with their untold potential for tampering with Nature, behave without enlightenment, life on earth will become calamitous. The only safeguard against this is the influence of spiritual knowledge. This is where Gita message becomes ever indispensable for the world. Whoever devotes his life to this benevolent mission, says Krishna, is dear to him. He also adds that none dearer than such a one was born, nor will be born. What a great statement! It speaks volumes about spiritual wisdom, how it is indispensable to ensure welfare, stability and peace of the world.

He who will study faithfully this dharmic (righteous) dialogue of ours, by him I shall be worshipped with the oblation (offering) of knowledge, Jñāna-yajña. This is My considered view.

Krishna now speaks about the one who studies the Gita message faithfully, with a view to absorbing and pursuing it with austere resolve. Such a one, he says, performs jñāna-yajña, knowledge-sacrifice, which makes him dear to Krishna. The sacrifice wherein oblations of materials are made into blazing fire, reciting divine mantras, is the usual sacramental Vedic ritual. As against this, knowledge-sacrifice (jñāna-yajña) consists of reading or listening to spiritual dissertations bringing to light the intricacies of realizing the imperishable Presence within one's own body. Krishna has already explained that knowledge-sacrifice, jñāna-yajña, is greater than material sacrifices (4.33). All actions, secular or divine, have their finale and fulfilment in spiritual wisdom alone. ‘Brahmavid-āpnoti param’ is the last word of Vedic Upaniṣhads. The knower of Brahman attains the supreme object of life.

Whosoever listens to this discourse with attention, and is free from envious distractions, also becomes liberated. He attains the auspicious worlds of the holy performers.

Krishna has explained the merits of exposing this dialogue to those interested in listening to it faithfully. Equally so, he has evaluated the merit of studying the discourse with faith and attention. He now speaks about whoever listens to the exposition, wherever and whenever it takes place. By this Krishna completes the real benefits of exposition and reception. Those who listen with attention to the exposition of the dialogue will also be freed. They will rise to the worlds reserved for those given to holy and noble deeds. Thus even listening to Gita gets a befitting reward. In short, everything about the Kurukshetra dialogue is holy and rewarding. To publish the dialogue, comment on it, introduce or gift its copy to anyone – all these are benedictory. What a consoling and fulfilling note! With the discussion coming to an end, Krishna knew how his exposition of guiding, elevating and enlightening humanity, is ever relevant!

Have you listened to this, O Pārtha, with unswerving mind? Has your delusion resulting from ignorance been completely removed, O Dhanañjaya?

It was overpowering sympathy that caused untold grief in Arjuna making him refuse to fight. It was overwhelming kindness that made Krishna intercept Arjuna’s thoughts and emotions by timely exhortation. Krishna instilled full spiritual wisdom to redress Arjuna’s grief and fulfil his quest. The message he wanted to deliver having been complete, Krishna wants to wind up the discourse, and so enquires whether Arjuna had heard the instruction with due attention, and his doubt, delusion and resistance had gone for ever. True spiritual discussion is to assuage all grief and fill the mind with contentment and fervour. Equally so, it is to remove all doubts and oscillations of the intelligence. Spiritual instruction becomes effective and fulfilling only when it showers these benefits. Krishna wanted to make sure that his attempt was fruitful and Arjuna was fulfilled. Only when the disciple is benefited, the Teacher’s role is complete.

Arjuna said: By your grace, O Krishna, my delusion is gone, memory (of my true identity) is regained; I stand with doubts dispelled. I shall do as you say.

How quick and complete is Arjuna’s response! He first acknowledges Krishna’s grace on him, in having delivered excellently such a relevant and explicit message. He was deluded, but the delusion is gone for good! Arjuna should not have reacted and behaved the way he did. He had totally forgotten that he was a kshatriya and it was in pursuit of his dharma that he had come to the battlefield, to contend those who opposed him and the values he and his army held. All other considerations should have been subservient to this. But everything went topsy-turvy and the whole memory had slipped. Now he has gained it back and is stable. He no more has any doubt. In the battlefield, he should think only of vanquishing the opponents. He would do this valiantly.

Sanjaya said: Thus have I listened to this wonderful dialogue between the great Soul Krishna and Pārtha, causing my hair to stand on end.

Sanjaya said: Thus have I listened to this wonderful dialogue between the great Soul Krishna and Pārtha, causing my hair to stand on end. Huge armies were surrounding the scene of the dialogue. But all of them being away from the chariot, could not hear what Krishna and Arjuna spoke. However, Sanjaya, whom Vyasadeva had appointed as the narrator for King Dhritarashtra, was close by to witness everything in the battlefield. The dialogue was a singular episode in the whole war events. It was a wonderful, profound and secret message, seldom spoken and heard!

Thus have I listened to this wonderful dialogue between the great Soul Kṛṣṇa and Pārtha, causing my hair to stand on end. By virtue of Vyāsa’s grace, I heard this most profound secret Yoga directly from Kṛṣṇa, the Lord of Yoga (Yogeśvara), who himself narrated it.

Huge armies were surrounding the scene of the dialogue. But all of them being away from the chariot, could not hear what Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna spoke. However, Sañjaya, whom Vyāsadeva had appointed as the narrator for King Dhṛtarāṣṭra, was close by to witness everything in the battlefield. The dialogue was a singular episode in the whole war events. It was a wonderful, profound and secret message, seldom spoken and heard! Unlike the fiery scenes and war cries of pitched battles, here was a patient verbal exchange, holding immense importance and relevance to Sañjaya and the blind King. Sañjaya’s presence as a listener was important for ensuring the credibility of the message. Moreover, he was the only additional person to know all that transpired at that time. Therefore, his feelings are very important in assessing the relevance and utility of the exposition. Vyāsadeva only reproduces Sañjaya’s words. The whole dialogue, says Sañjaya, was very profound. By Vyāsadeva’s grace he was able to be present on the scene and hear and see all that transpired. It is enlightening and delightful alike. The illustrious Arjuna was the seeker, enquirer, who occasioned the dialogue. On the other side stood Kṛṣṇa holding the reins of the powerful horses, turning back all along to speak to Arjuna, sitting on the chariot with his weapons down. Kṛṣṇa exposed the entire subject of Yoga. On hearing his words, Sañjaya describes him as Yogeśvara, the Lord of Yoga, the Master of Yoga. To have been present there is a rare fortune. Vyāsadeva’s blessings alone enabled him for this. Thus to Arjuna’s acknowledgement (18.73), Sañjaya adds his admiring compliments. What a great finale!

By Vyāsadeva’s grace, I have heard this supreme and most confidential Yoga (teaching) directly from Krishna, the Lord of Yoga, who was speaking it Himself.

By virtue of Vyāsa’s grace, I heard this most profound secret Yoga directly from Krishna, the Lord of Yoga (Yogeśvara), who himself narrated it.

O King, recalling repeatedly this wonderful, sacred dialogue between Keśava (Krishna) and Arjuna, I am thrilled again and again.

Remember how the Gita dialogue was prefaced. Sanjaya had begun his narration to Dhritarashtra, as Vyasadeva enjoined, first by describing the subcontinent of Bharata, its distinctions. Then the war began. He instantly rushed to Kurukshetra, to be a witness. Nine days passed. On the tenth day, Arjuna de-seated the invincible Bheeshma from his chariot. Unable to contain the sight, Sanjaya ran to the King, to announce the episode. Dhritarashtra was totally unnerved. Seeking consolation, he asked Sanjaya to tell him whatever transpired in the battlefield before the actual war commenced, expecting some dharmic discussion on Pandavas’ side before the war. In answer, Sanjaya narrated the Kurukshetra scenes, including the Krishna-Arjuna dialogue, exceptional and exclusive by any standard. He feels like recalling it again and again, and is thrilled by its message. The whole discussion, he feels, is pure, holy, elevating and expanding.

O King, remembering again and again the extremely astonishing form of Lord Hari (Krishna), I am delighted again and again in great wonderment.

Sanjaya’s effusion for what he saw and heard continues. He says, the wonderful form of Lord Hari comes to his mind again and again and he rejoices over it. It is an exquisitely rare wonderment, the like of which cannot be thought of. Nine days passed. Sanjaya must be referring to the Viśvarūpa Krishna revealed to Arjuna. Dream is individualistic. All the sights and sounds perceived in it are inner creations of the Consciousness animating and activating the body. In Kurukshetra, Krishna induced the dream-like vision into Arjuna. Though the Cosmic Form frightened Arjuna, it served the purpose of enlightening him about the indispensable nature of the impending war and his role in it. How well did Krishna fulfil Arjuna’s desire, thereby enlightening him about the inevitable war! It was a visual demonstration of what was going to transpire. Vyasadeva’s grace empowered Sanjaya also to see the unparalleled Form.

Wherever is the Master Yogin Krishna, wherever stands Arjuna wielding the bow, there will reign prosperity, victory, glory and the ultimate righteousness. This is my firm conviction.

An enviable acme to the great, holy dialogue! It comes from Sanjaya, who was no party to the dialogue, only a unique witness to it. His pronouncement carries its special relevance, revealing what the dialogue means to the world, even today. The exposure, no doubt, benefited Arjuna. And he instantly got transformed from the retreating spirit to a full resolve to fight. Was this not the immediate object of the dialogue? The war was over in 18 days. It was 5100 odd years ago. But the dialogue has lived with renewed relevance decade after decade, for centuries and millennia. What has made it survive so? Sanjaya has a full answer. The world is ever a baffling complex. Often it poses as an enigma, paradox and quagmire! Not many can meet and outlive these. So, weakness, doubt and indecision always result. But we cannot disregard life. What is the redress then? Sanjaya holds a perpetual answer: Krishna, the Yogesvara, with full ethical and spiritual knowledge and insight to resolve the distress, must be there. Nothing will be insurmountable then. But Krishna, as he had vowed, will not physically take up weapons and act or interfere. So, an Arjuna, to act diligently should be there to complement. He should not turn meek or retreat. He must hold his bow up with buoyant resolve. Heeding Krishna’s exhortation and guidance, he must act without any apprehension or fear. Human society is an assortment. Its majority will be meek, and some will also be like Duryodhana, sticking to unrighteous selfish aims, indulgence and self-aggrandizement. They will not heed elders’ advice or correction. Such people have to be confronted in their own style and resolve, as Krishna made Arjuna do. The active field, karma-kshetra, has to be handled with stern action, but backed by the insight and guidance of jñāna. A close bond between rational intelligence and emotional mind must be there. To make this prevail is the real spiritual mission! This alone will bring prosperity, welfare, progress and fulfilment to the society, nation as well as the globe. What a beautiful finale. Selfishness has no place in Bhagavad Gita; selflessness, societal outlook, national and global welfare alone have! Sarva-bhūta-hite ratāḥ is the watchword for the wise and the illumined. Yes, the wise have to be constantly interested in the welfare of all beings, not of humans alone! Humans constitute a very small, negligible percentage of earth’s beings. They should not claim precedence over others. Their food, nourishment, attire, dwelling comforts – these come from various other sources. Indebtedness to them is indispensable. No neglect can and should be shown in this. Then alone peace and contentment can be preserved. All laws are meant to enforce this co-existence and harmony with the earth, water, air and other elements as well as the beings these host so kindly. Human life, if at all, should only add to the solidarity and benevolence of Nature in all its aspects, not to its disharmony in any manner. To make sure that this reigns, the society has to be enlightened and guided ceaselessly. For, enlightenment is the greatest persuasion for humans in any field of life and activity. In Sañjaya’s statement, all these factors shine distinctly. Devout study and assimilation of Bhagavad Gītā is bound to make one spiritual and also an ascetic, a renounced person given to loka-saṅgraha. Loka-saṅgraha is the great mission of bringing back the drifting minds to their auspicious moorings and retaining the desired societal balance and harmony, which build national and global prosperity and welfare!