Mahabharata: Vol. 5 (19 page)

‘“Arjuna asked,
‘O Keshava! What are the signs of a person who has attained samadhi and
whose intellect doesn’t waver? How does he speak, how does he sit and how
does he walk?’

‘“The lord said,
‘O Partha! A person is said to be unwavering in intellect when he banishes
all desires from his mind. He is content within his own atman. He is not disturbed
by unhappiness and he is beyond desiring happiness. He has overcome attachment, fear
and anger and he is known as a sage who is unwavering in his intellect. In
everything, he has no emotion, regardless of whether something pleasant or something
unpleasant has been attained. He is not pleased, nor is he dissatisfied and in him,
wisdom is established. Like a tortoise withdraws its limbs, such a person withdraws
his senses, in every way, from sensual objects. In him is wisdom established.
Sensual objects are withdrawn from the body of a person who is starving himself;
¹²³
but not desire. In him,
¹²⁴
who has seen the paramatman, even desire is restrained. O Kounteya! Even if a
learned man takes care, the turbulent senses violently steal his mind. He who is
devoted to me, controls all those
¹²⁵
and focuses his mind on me. If a person can so control his senses, in him is
wisdom established. If a man thinks about sensual objects, this gives birth to
attachment about those.
¹²⁶
From attachment is created desire and desire gives birth to anger. Anger gives
birth to delusion and delusion leads to confusion of memory.
¹²⁷
From confusion of memory comes loss of intellect and loss of intellect results
in destruction. But he who has controlled his mind is freed from attachment and
hatred.
¹²⁸
Having used himself to control his senses, he uses these to enjoy objects and
satisfy himself. When there is such serenity, in him is eliminated all unhappiness.
Because in the mind of someone at peace, wisdom is quickly established. He who has
no control, has no intellect. He who has no control, has no thought.
¹²⁹
Without thought, there is no peace. How can there be happiness for someone who
has no peace? The wind rocks a boat on the water. Like that, the mind follows a
sense
¹³⁰
devoted to objects and even a single sense robs him of wisdom. O, mighty-armed
one! Therefore, he whose senses have been withdrawn from objects in every way, in
him has wisdom been steadily established. When it is night to ordinary beings, the
controlled person is awake then. When ordinary beings are awake, the sage perceives
that as night. Just as the waters enter an ocean and leave the full ocean
undisturbed, like that, all sensual objects enter that person, but leave him at
peace, unlike those attached to desire. A man who gives up all desire and exists
without longing, without ego and without a sense of ownership, he attains peace. O
Partha! This is the state of being established in the brahman. If one
attains this, one is not deluded. Even at the end,
¹³¹
established in this state, one attains union with the
brahman.’”’

‘“Arjuna said,
‘O Janardana! If in your opinion knowledge is superior to action, then why
are you engaging me in this terrible action? These mixed words seem to be
confounding my intellect. Tell me definitely that one thing that is best for
me.’

‘“The lord said,
‘O pure of heart! I have said it before that in this world, there are two
paths. There is jnana yoga for those who follow sankhya and there is karma yoga for
yogi
s.
¹³³
Without performing action, man is not freed from the bondage of action. And
resorting to
sannyasa
¹³⁴
does not result in liberation. No one can ever exist, even for a short while,
without performing action. Because the qualities of nature
¹³⁵
force everyone to perform action. The ignorant person who exists by controlling
his organs of action,
¹³⁶
while his mind remembers the senses, is said to be deluded and is a
hypocrite.
¹³⁷

O Arjuna! But he who restrains the
senses through his mind and starts the yoga of action with the organs of action,
while remaining unattached, he is superior. Therefore, do the prescribed action.
¹³⁸
Because action is superior to not performing action. And without action, even
survival of the body is not possible. O Kounteya! All action other than that for
sacrifices shackles people to the bondage of action.
¹³⁹
Therefore, do action for that purpose, without attachment. Earlier,
¹⁴⁰
Prajapati
¹⁴¹
created beings, accompanied by a sacrifice
¹⁴²
and said—with this,
¹⁴³
may you increase, and may this grant you all objects you desire. Through
this,
¹⁴⁴
cherish the gods and those gods will cherish you. By cherishing each other, you
will obtain that which is most desired. Because, cherished by the sacrifice, the
gods will give you all desired objects. He who enjoys these without giving them
¹⁴⁵
their share, is certainly a thief. Righteous people who enjoy the leftovers
¹⁴⁶
of sacrifices are freed from all sins. But those sinners who cook only for
themselves live on sin. Beings are created from food and food is created from rain
clouds. Rain clouds are created from sacrifices and sacrifices are created from
action. Know that action is created from the Vedas and the Vedas are created
from the brahman. Therefore, the omnipresent brahman is always
present in sacrifices.
¹⁴⁷
In this way, the cycle goes on and he who does not follow this, is addicted to
his senses and lives a sinner’s life. O Partha! He lives in vain. But the
man who takes pleasure in the atman, is content with the atman and is satiated with
the atman, has no duties. In this world, he has no need for action, nor anything to
lose from inaction. He doesn’t need the refuge of any being for anything.
Therefore, be unattached and always perform prescribed action. Because a man who
performs action when unattached attains the highest liberation.

‘“‘Janaka
¹⁴⁸
and others attained liberation through action. One should perform action with
an eye to preserving the worlds. Whatever a great man does, ordinary people also do
that. Whatever he accepts as duty, others also follow that. O Partha! In the three
worlds, I have no duties. There is nothing I haven’t attained, there is
nothing yet to be attained. Yet, I am engaged in action. O Partha! If I ever relax
and stop performing action, then men will follow my path in every way. If I
don’t perform action, then all these worlds will be destroyed. I will be
the lord of hybrids
¹⁴⁹
and responsible for the destruction of these beings. O descendant of the
Bharata lineage! Ignorant people perform action by being attached to that action.
But the wise perform similar action unattached, for the welfare and preservation of
the worlds. The wise will not befuddle the minds of the ignorant who are attached to
action. Being knowledgeable, they will themselves perform all action and keep
them
¹⁵⁰
engaged. All action is completed, in every way, through the qualities of
nature.
¹⁵¹
He who is deluded by the ego, thinks that he is the doer. O mighty-armed one!
But he who truly knows the division of the qualities
¹⁵²
and different types of action
¹⁵³
knows that qualities manifest themselves in senses and does not get attached.
¹⁵⁴
Those who are deluded by nature’s qualities are attached to action by
senses and organs. The omniscient should not disturb
¹⁵⁵
those ignorant and misguided people. Focusing your mind on the supreme being,
vest all action in me. Be without desire, without ownership and without fever
¹⁵⁶
and fight. People who, faithfully and without finding fault, always follow this
view of mine, they too are freed from the bondage of action.
¹⁵⁷
But know that those who in an attempt to find fault don’t follow this
view of mine, they have no sense and all their knowledge will be deluded and
destroyed. Even a wise person acts according to his own nature. Nature drives all
beings. Why should one use restraint?
¹⁵⁸
For each sense, in its respective area, attachment and aversion are certain.
¹⁵⁹
But don’t be overcome by
those. They are
obstacles. One’s own dharma,
¹⁶⁰
even if followed imperfectly, is superior to someone else’s dharma,
even if followed perfectly. It is better to be slain while following one’s
own dharma. Someone else’s dharma is tinged with fear.’

‘“Arjuna said,
‘O descendant of the Vrishni lineage! By whom are these men compelled?
Despite being unwilling, it is almost as if they are forced into evil
action.’
¹⁶¹

‘“The lord said,
‘This is desire. This is anger. These are born from the rajas quality.
These are insatiable and great sins.
¹⁶²
Here,
¹⁶³
know them to be enemies. Like smoke covers the fire, like dust covers the
mirror, like the womb covers the foetus, in that way, this
¹⁶⁴
is covered by that.
¹⁶⁵
O Kounteya! This is the perennial enemy of the wise. Knowledge is covered by
this desire that is insatiable like the fire. All senses, the mind and intellect,
are its
¹⁶⁶
seat. This
¹⁶⁷
uses these
¹⁶⁸
to veil knowledge and delude beings. O bull among the Bharata lineage!
Therefore, you should first control your senses. Destroy this
¹⁶⁹
that is like sin and is the destroyer of knowledge.
¹⁷⁰
It is said the senses are
superior.
¹⁷¹
The mind is superior to the senses. Intellect is superior to the mind. That
¹⁷²
is superior to intellect. O mighty-armed one! In this way, use intellect to
realize that which is superior to the intellect. Use your inner strength to calm the
atman
¹⁷³
and destroy the enemy that is difficult to defeat, in the form of
desire.’”’

‘“The lord said,
‘I instructed this eternal yoga
¹⁷⁴
to Vivasvat
¹⁷⁵
and Vivasvat told it to Manu. Manu told it to Ikshaku. In this way, handed down
by tradition, the royal sages
¹⁷⁶
knew this.
¹⁷⁷

O scorcher of foes! In this world,
because of the long passage of time,
this yoga has been
destroyed.
¹⁷⁸
You are my follower and friend.
¹⁷⁹
Therefore, today, I will tell you that old yoga, because this is excellent and
secret knowledge.’

‘“Arjuna said,
‘Your birth was later and Vivasvat’s birth was earlier. How will
I understand that you instructed this earlier?’

‘“The lord said,
‘O Arjuna! Many are the births that you and I have been through. I know
them all. O scorcher of foes! You know not. I have no birth. I am indestructible. I
am the lord of all beings. But even then, though existing in my own nature, I come
into existence through my own resolution.
¹⁸⁰
O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Whenever dharma goes into a decline and
adharma is on the ascendance, then I create myself. To protect the righteous and to
destroy the sinners and to establish dharma, I manifest myself from yuga to yuga.
¹⁸¹
O Arjuna! He who thus knows the nature of my divine
¹⁸²
birth and action, he is not born again when he dies, but attains me. Many,
purified through the meditation of knowledge, have immersed themselves in me and
sought refuge in me, discarding attachment, fear and anger. O Partha! Whoever
worships me, in whatever way, I entertain them in that way. Everywhere, men follow
along my path. In this world, people who desire success in their action, worship
gods. Because in the world of men, success through action occurs quickly.
¹⁸³
In accordance with gunas and action, the
four varnas were
created by me.
¹⁸⁴
But despite being the creator of these, know me to be constant
¹⁸⁵
and not the agent.
¹⁸⁶
Actions do not touch me, nor do I desire the fruits of action. He who knows me
in this fashion, is not tied down by action. Knowing this, those who sought
liberation in the past, performed action. Therefore, you perform action alone, the
path followed by predecessors in earlier times. Even the wise are confused about
what is action and what is inaction.
¹⁸⁷
Therefore, I will tell you what action
¹⁸⁸
is. Knowing this, you will be freed from evil. Action itself has to be
understood and prohibited action must also be understood. Inaction must also be
understood. Because the path of action is difficult to comprehend. He who perceives
inaction in action and perceives action in inaction, he is wise among men, has yoga
and has the right to all action.
¹⁸⁹
He
whose efforts are always devoid of desire for fruit and
ego,
¹⁹⁰
he whose actions have been burnt by the fire of knowledge, the learned call him
wise. He who has given up attachment to action and its fruit is always content and
without refuge.
¹⁹¹
Even when he is immersed in action, he does nothing. Without attachment,
controlled in mind and senses, having discarded all ownership
¹⁹²
and performing action only through the body,
¹⁹³
he does not attain the bondage of sin. Satisfied with unsought gains,
¹⁹⁴
beyond opposites,
¹⁹⁵
bereft of envy and regarding success and failure equally, even if he performs
action, he is not bound down. Beyond attachment, free
¹⁹⁶
and with a mind established in knowledge, when he performs action for a yajna
alone,
¹⁹⁷
everything is destroyed.
¹⁹⁸
The receptacles used for offerings
¹⁹⁹
are the brahman.
The oblations are the brahman. In the fire
that is the brahman, the offerer, who is the brahman, performs the sacrifice. He who
sees thus and is immersed in the brahman in all action attains the brahman alone as
a destination.

‘“‘Other
yogis perform divine yajnas.
²⁰⁰
Others use the yajna as an offering to the fire that is the brahman.
²⁰¹
Others offer senses like hearing as offerings to the fire that is
self-control.
²⁰²
Others offer sounds and other objects to the fire that is the senses.
²⁰³
Others offer all action of the senses
²⁰⁴
and action of the breath of life
²⁰⁵
as offerings to the fire of self-control,
²⁰⁶
lit up through knowledge. Some use the yajna of offering gifts, others use the
yajna of penance. Some use the yajna of yoga and still others, firm in their resolve
and careful, use the yajna of knowledge.
²⁰⁷
Others offer the prana breath in the apana breath
²⁰⁸
and the apana breath in the prana breath.
²⁰⁹

Others restrain the flow of the prana
and apana breath and practise pranayama.
²¹⁰
Others control their food and offer the senses to the breath of life.
²¹¹
All these, learned in the yajnas, become sinless through yajnas. The
leftovers
²¹²
of sacrifices are like amrita and those who partake of these attain the eternal
brahman. O best of the Kuru lineage! Those who don’t perform yajnas have
no existence in this world, forget other worlds. Many yajnas of this type are
prescribed in the brahman’s mouth.
²¹³
Know them all to be the outcome of action. Knowing this, you will attain
liberation. O scorcher of foes! A yajna performed with knowledge is superior to a
yajna full of objects.
²¹⁴
O Partha! All actions and their fruit end in knowledge. Attain that knowledge
by prostrating, questioning and serving. The wise, those who are versed with the
truth, will instruct you in wisdom. O Pandava! Knowing that, you will never fall
prey to this kind of delusion again. Through this, you will see all the beings in
your atman and then in me. Even if you are a greater sinner than all the other
sinners, you will cross all oceans of sin with the boat of knowledge alone. O
Arjuna! Like a raging fire burns to ashes pieces of wood, like that, the fire of
knowledge burns all action to ashes. In this world, there is nothing as pure as
knowledge. With the passage of time, he who is accomplished in yoga, himself attains
that
²¹⁵
within his heart. Knowledge is attained by the faithful, the unwavering and
those who control their senses. Having attained knowledge, they quickly achieve
supreme peace.
The ignorant, the faithless and the doubting are
destroyed. For the doubting person, this world, other worlds and happiness
don’t exist. O Dhananjaya! He who has offered up all action through yoga
and he who has used knowledge to slice away doubt, actions cannot bind such a
person—who is focused on the atman. O descendant of the Bharata lineage!
Therefore, use the sword of knowledge to slice away this doubt in your heart,
resulting from your own ignorance. Follow yoga!
Arise!’”’

‘“Arjuna said,
‘O Krishna! You are asking me to give up all action and you are also
asking me to practise yoga.
²¹⁷
Between these two, tell me decidedly which one is better.’
²¹⁸

‘“The lord said,
‘Renunciation and action both lead to liberation. But of these two, karma
yoga is superior to renunciation of action. O mighty-armed one! He who does not
desire and he who does not hate, know him to be a perpetual sannyasi.
²¹⁹
Freed from opposites,
²²⁰
he is happily freed from bondage. The ignorant,
²²¹
not the wise, speak of renunciation and action as distinct.
²²²
If one of
these is followed properly, the fruits of both
result. Whatever place is attained by the followers of knowledge is also attained by
those who practise action. He truly sees, who sees renunciation and action as
identical. O mighty-armed one! Without action, renunciation is only the cause of
unhappiness.
²²³
The sage who uses yoga attains the brahman quickly. He who practises yoga, he
who is pure of heart, he who has controlled his body, he who has controlled his
senses, he who sees his own atman in the atman of all beings, he is not tied down,
even if he performs action. The wise who follow yoga know that they are not doing
anything even when they see, hear, touch, smell, eat, go, dream
²²⁴
or breathe, speak, discard, accept, open and close.
²²⁵
They think of the senses circulating among the senses.
²²⁶
He who establishes himself in the brahman
²²⁷
and giving up attachment, performs action, is not touched by sin, like water on
the leaf of a lotus. To purify their hearts, yogis give up attachment
²²⁸
and perform action only with their bodies, minds, intellect and senses.
Attached to yoga and discarding attachment to fruits of action, they attain
perpetual peace.
²²⁹
Those who do not follow yoga and are attached to fruits because of desire
remain in bondage. Discarding all action through his mind,
²³⁰
the person who controls his body, the city with the nine gates,
²³¹
remains in happiness. He doesn’t do anything himself. Nor does he
cause anyone to do anything. The atman
²³²
doesn’t create
ownership in the body, nor action.
Nor does it create a relation with the fruits of action. Nature
²³³
acts. The omnipresent lord doesn’t accept the sins or the good deeds
of anybody. Knowledge is shrouded in ignorance. That is why beings are deluded. But
in those in whom that ignorance has been destroyed by the knowledge of the atman, in
them that knowledge expresses the great truth,
²³⁴
like the sun. Those whose intellect is focused on that,
²³⁵
egos are focused on that, devotion is focused on that and adherence is focused
on that, those in whom sins have been destroyed through knowledge, those beings are
not reborn.
²³⁶
The wise look equally upon a brahmana who is learned and humble, a cow, an
elephant, a dog and an outcaste.
²³⁷
Those whose minds are established in equality overcome the earth in this
world.
²³⁸
Because the brahman is equal and without fault, therefore, they
²³⁹
remain established in the brahman. Established in the brahman, such a person
learned in the brahman, is poised in intellect and without delusion, not delighted
at receiving something pleasant, or agitated at receiving something unpleasant.
Unattached to external objects, his mind focused on the brahman, he obtains the
happiness that vests in the atman. He enjoys eternal bliss. Pleasures from touch
²⁴⁰
have a beginning and an end and are the reason for unhappiness. O Kounteya! The
wise person does not obtain pleasure from these. In this,
²⁴¹
before giving up the body, he who can tolerate
the forces
of desire and anger is a yogi and such a man is happy. He whose happiness is
inside,
²⁴²
he whose pleasure is inside and he whose light is inside, that yogi alone has
realized the brahman and obtains liberation in the brahman. Those who are without
sin, without doubt, controlled in mind and engaged in the welfare of all beings,
such rishis attain liberation in the brahman. Freed from desire and anger,
controlled in mind and knowing the atman, such sages attain liberation in the
brahman all around them.
²⁴³
Banishing external objects of touch from the mind, focusing the eyes between
the two eyebrows, controlling the prana and the apana breath equally within the
nose,
²⁴⁴
poised in the senses, mind and intellect, beyond desire, fear and anger,
wishing liberation, such a sage is always free. Knowing
²⁴⁵
me to be the enjoyer of all yajnas and penance, the lord of all the worlds and
the well-wisher of all beings, attains peace.’”’

‘“The lord said,
‘An ascetic
²⁴⁷
and a yogi is he who performs prescribed action without attachment to the
fruits of the action, not someone who gives up sacrifices
²⁴⁸
and action. O descendant of the Pandu lineage! What is known as asceticism,
know that to be yoga. Because without giving up desire, no one can become a yogi.
For a sage desirous of ascending to yoga, action is said to be
the means. For a person who has ascended to yoga, tranquillity
²⁴⁹
is said to be the means. When a person who gives up desire loses addiction to
sensual outcomes and is also not attached to action, then he is said to have
ascended to yoga. Use the atman to raise the atman. Do not lower the atman. The
atman is the atman’s friend and the atman is the atman’s
enemy.
²⁵⁰
The atman which has been used to conquer the atman is the atman’s
friend. For someone who has failed to control the atman, the atman harms like an
enemy. For someone who has controlled the atman
²⁵¹
and is tranquil,
²⁵²
the paramatman
²⁵³
is undisturbed with cold, warmth, happiness, unhappiness and respect and
disrespect. He whose atman is satiated with knowledge,
²⁵⁴
who is undisturbed and has conquered his senses, and he who looks upon a lump
of earth, stone and gold equally, is said to be yogi who has achieved union. Equal
in treatment towards well-wisher, colleague,
²⁵⁵
enemy, neutral,
²⁵⁶
arbiter, a hateful person, friend
²⁵⁷
and a righteous person or a sinner, he
²⁵⁸
is superior.