The Bhagavad Gita (8 page)

“Remember, Arjuna, that life in the body and senses is not an end in itself, but only a passing phase. Truly, if the eye does not help one visualize God in everything it sees, it is better to be blind. If the ear drags one into filthy cacophony, it is better to be deaf. The senses should not be instruments that plunge you into muck; they should serve your interests, control your appetites, and help you dwell in Divinity.

35  “And do not think, Arjuna, old comrade, that it would be easier to abandon your present responsibilities. One’s duty in life is one’s
dharma.
This essentially means that you have to live by your inner Truth rather than your selfish desires. One must do one’s duty. No matter how devoid of merit your responsibilities and commitments may seem, they are preferable to the responsibilities of another, no matter how well you may perform them. You, Arjuna, are a warrior-prince by birth and training. If you now try to avoid your duty and mutate into a
sanyasi
(spiritual ascetic) merely because you face doing some things that you imagine are painful, you will be violating your inner Truth (your conscience, your
dharma),
which is the root basis of your life! It is even better to die doing one’s own duty than attempt to do the duty of another.”

36    Arjuna’s head droops, and then he asks, “What is this awful force that drags us even against our will into selfish deeds?”

37    Krishna replies: “That awful force is
desire.
Desire is the force that drags you — selfish desire, which rises from your action-oriented nature. Selfish desires are insatiable; the more you feed them the more they crave. That is what I meant by ‘bottomless pit.’ Desires never say, ‘Enough.’ And anger is always linked with desires, and anger corrupts everything. This desire-anger duo is your direst, most formidable enemy here on earth.

38  “Desires cloud your spiritual light and bury your power of discrimination. As a flame is covered by smoke, and a mirror is covered with dust, and an embryo hidden in the womb, true knowledge is concealed by desire. For spiritually advanced people, desire is like smoke and is easily blown away to reveal the light of knowledge. For worldly-caught people desire is more like dust that requires vigorous wiping so the light can shine. For really dull persons desire so enfolds them they are like an embryo buried in darkness; only time and a new birth will bring light. Note, Arjuna, that in all these levels of spiritual attainment it is desire that shrouds the glow of one’s True Self Within.

39  “Greed is but desire swollen to grotesque size. The wise one knows that desire is the eternal, insatiable archenemy, and tries to steer clear of it. But despite one’s best efforts, desire still puts on many disguises and sneaks furtively into the heart and mind.

40  “The key bastions of this fiercely destructive enemy have to be found out before you can lay siege to them. Marauding desire has captured, and now firmly occupies, all three bodily stations: the senses, the mind, and the intellect. From these three field headquarters desire attacks and kills wisdom and discrimination, and shrouds the
Atma
within.

41  “Therefore, Arjuna, O fond friend and greatest of warriors, attack these marauders, these desires. Recapture your senses, mind, and intellect (higher mind,
buddhi,
which we will deal with later) and use them for Divine purposes. When you kill desire the splendor of
Atma
will shine.

42  “And know the strategic positions you should occupy in this war. Desire holds more firmly to the subtle (the more refined and difficult to notice) than to the gross. The senses are more subtle than the body; the mind more subtle than the senses; and the intellect more subtle than the mind. Far above all is the
Atma,
subtlest of all, which is beyond any and all desire.

43  “Therefore, Arjuna, realizing the truth of your True Self
(Atma)
is your principal weapon for eradicating desire. Self-realization is the true spiritual knowledge (called
jnana).
This level of knowing is beyond all your lower qualities, no matter how fine, including your mind and even your intellect. Let your very highest Self, your true nature, rule. Control your self with your Self.”

  1  Krishna then says, “I taught these same eternal truths to Surya (the Sun God), Arjuna. He passed them on to his son Manu, the very earliest man, and he to his son Ikshvaku, who was the first king, so that he could better handle his worldly duties.

2-3  “Handed down in this way through the ages, eminent sages learned these great secrets. But through time, the right type of people became scarce, and the practice of this knowledge dwindled. I use the word
secrets
not because these truths are hidden but because so few people are prepared to hear them today. I’m giving these
truths to you now, Arjuna, because I love you and you are worthy to receive this grace.”

  4  Arjuna looks puzzled, and interrupts, “But Krishna, how can a modern man instruct an ancient one? We have been close friends for many, many years, and I love you dearly, Krishna, but you are only five or six years older than I am. You were born ages, eons after Surya and those others. They are from a past so distant it is beyond imagination. Why do you say it was
you
who taught this in the beginning? And please don’t just tell me it was you in an earlier life! That makes it even more strange.”

  5  Krishna laughs within Himself, knowing the right moment has come. “Arjuna,” He says, “people say the sun rises and sets, but it does not ‘rise’ or ‘set,’ it is merely out of their sight. I am like that. I am not born nor do I die, but ordinary mortals, seeing me ‘coming’ and ‘going,’ think that I am born many times. For the sake of simplicity, let me say that you and I have both passed through many, many births. In this present lifetime you have forgotten them while I remember them all. I am aware of the continuity of My existence as
Atma
down through the countless ages, but you are unaware of your
Atma,
your lasting reality. That is the difference between us.”

  6  “And know also, Arjuna, that as the Divinity in all creatures and all of nature, I am birthless and deathless. And yet, from time to time I manifest Myself in worldly form and live what seems an earthly life. I may appear human but that is only My
maya
(power of illusion), because in truth I am beyond humankind; I just consort with nature, which is Mine.

7-8  “Whenever goodness and
dharma
(right action) weaken and evil grows stronger, I make Myself a body. I do this to uplift and transform society, reestablish the balance of goodness over wickedness, explain the sublime plan and purpose of life, and serve as the model for others to follow. I come age after age in times of spiritual and moral crisis for this purpose.

9  “Strange? Yes. It is difficult for most people to comprehend that the Supreme Divinity is actually moving about in human form. But for those few who dare to learn the secret that it is I, Divinity, who is the Operator within them, their own Self, My coming in human form is a rare opportunity to free themselves from the erroneous belief that they are their bodies.

10  “Thus freed from this delusion these special ones seek refuge in Me, the
Atma.
They become absorbed in Me, always thinking and remembering the Divinity within themselves. Purified of their selfishness, fear, and anger by the fire of this great knowledge, they, as many before them, reach the Supreme goal. For all intents and purposes these special ones become one with Me. This is absolutely true; give up any doubts.

11  “You may think this is partiality, but I have no favorites. Whatever path a person travels to Me is My path. In whatever way a person approaches Me, I return like for like. If they treat Me as father or mother, I treat them as My children. If they serve Me as master, I accept their services as their Lord. If they worship Me as a child, I approach them as a child. Those who pine for Me, I pine for. To those who see Me as friend I am friend. Even for those who perceive Me as enemy I approach as an enemy. All paths lead to Me, Divinity.

12  “Most who long for success in worldly pursuits pray to the gods (the minor deities) that their needs be fulfilled. In truth, any desire is a form of prayer, and often results in quick success. The higher the ideal, however, the more arduously one has to pursue it and the longer one must wait.

13  “In the beginning, I established the evolutionary system in nature whereby beings evolve toward spiritual perfection. I then established four groupings of people for the harmonious working of societies and the progress of humankind. These classifications correspond to progressively higher levels of consciousness and moral and spiritual attainment. All societies have generally similar groupings. The system sometimes unfortunately veers from its proper course, but know that the basic pattern is valid for the social harmony and clarity of purpose in all societies.

“And know, Arjuna, that although people are, at their core, all one, there are differences within them based on their
karma
(the consequences of their previous actions), and based on their natural makeup. And know that even though I am the author of these distinctions, I (the
Atma
within) am untouched by them because I am beyond all
karmas,
all consequences of My actions.”

14  
“Karmas
do not cling to Me
(Atma)
because, as I mentioned, I am not concerned with the fruits of My actions. Anyone who really understands this principle of
Atma,
the True Self Within, is likewise not bound by the consequences of their own actions.

15  “This is not a new discovery. The ancient seekers of liberation were well aware of it. They carried out all their worldly actions without any sense of ego, incurring no
karmic
consequences. Do the same, Arjuna.

16-17  “But even great sages sometimes were perplexed as to what is action and what is inaction. I will tell you which actions
(karmas)
you should perform and which ones to avoid. This secret can actually free you from the wheel of death and rebirth.

18  “The truly wise person (the
jnani,
the
yogi,
the
Sthithaprajna,
or Illumined One) is the one who recognizes inaction in action, and action in inaction. He or she sees that where there is apparent action taking place at the worldly level, there may be true inaction within the individual; likewise, where there is no apparent worldly action taking place, there may be considerable action occurring on the inner level.

“Arjuna, truly wise persons are in the world but not of it. They may be very busy with earthly matters but their heads and hearts stay in solitude. They are connected in this way to the
Atma
within. These are the wise ones untouched by
karma.

“Those who are ignorant of the True Self, thinking instead that they are the body and the doer, may attempt to renounce worldly actions, but at the inner level they still have the turmoil resulting from their attachments and desires. That inner turmoil is itself action, and thus they are still incurring
karmic
consequences even while supposedly not acting.

19  “The truly wise act without scheming for the fruits of their actions, and are therefore without inner turmoil.
This breaks the chain of
karma.
All their selfish desires have been consumed in the fire of knowing that they are not the body or the doer, but are indeed the
Atma,
the True Self Within.

20  “These ideas are new to you, dear friend, so listen closely. The wise ones I have been describing are ever-content and need nothing. They have abandoned all external supports. This is true personal freedom. They act, but to them the actions are adorations of Divinity. Disentanglement from desire for the fruits of their actions is the key to their success.

21  “Expecting nothing, hoping for nothing, abandoning everything, they keep the mind and senses under control. Having conquered desire they incur no negative
karma
even while acting in the world.

22  “These wise ones have transcended the pairs of opposites; they are the same in success or failure, indifferent to loss or gain; they never bother to compete or compare, are free of envy, and contentedly shoulder whatever comes to them. They too are not bound by
karmic
consequences even though performing worldly actions.

23  “All your
karma
melts away when you are unattached, when your mind is purified in the knowledge that all life is one, and when you perform your duties in the spirit of sacrifice as an act of devotion, an offering.”