Bhagawad Gita Ch.3 Ver.16-22 [Swamy Chinmayananda]

[Guest guest]

HE, WHO LIVES IN UNISON WITH THIS WHEEL-OF-ACTION, IS CONTRIBUTING TO THE

HARMONY OF LIFE. WHAT HAPPENS TO HIM WHO DISOBEYS?

 

evaM pravartita.n chakraM naanuvartayatiiha yaH .

aghaayurindriyaaraamo moghaM paartha sa jiivati .. 3\.16..

 

16. He who does not follow here the wheel thus set revolving, is of a sinful

life, rejoicing in the senses. He lives in vain, O Son of Pritha.

 

Every member in the entire kingdom of the minerals, the vegetables and the

dumb-creatures, instinctively follows this principle of Yajna and

contributes thereby to the smooth running of the Universal-Wheel-of-Action.

Among living creatures, man alone has been allowed the FREEDOM OF ACTION to

contribute to the harmony, or to bring about discord in the smooth running

of this cosmic mechanism. So long as the majority of a generation manage to

live abiding by the Law-of-Harmony they shall grow from strength to

strength, opening up fields of happiness for themselves. Such periods are

called the golden eras of their social and cultural life.

 

But, this faithful obedience is not always possible, for all of them, at all

times. At certain periods of history, man, as a social being, comes to

revolt against this Eternal Law, and then, life starts slipping away from

its peaceful domain of constructive growth, and shatters itself in tearful

ruin. Such ages are the dark ages of despair and restlessness, war and

pestilence, flood and famine.

 

The question naturally arises as to why the bright day of the world slowly

sets itself to bring in the dark night of chaos. The explanation is given

here in the Geeta.

 

A community is made up of its individuals. However much we may glorify the

achievements of the community as such, we cannot totally ignore the

contributions made by the units constituting the community --- the

individuals. If the individuals are perfect, the community works smoothly.

But, if the units are wrongly composed, then the entire healthy growth and

strength of structure in the total collapses. The individuals' negative

existence starts with their pre-occupation with their senses. In their

limited recognition that they are themselves nothing more than their body,

they become pre-occupied with its nourishment and fattening. As a body, they

cannot perceive the Higher 'ways of life'; nor can they entertain any goal

other than seeking satisfactions for their mere animal passions.

 

In such an era, nobody would come forward to work in the redeeming noble

spirit of Yajna, without which, no "favourable circumstances" (rain), could

be created for the "productive potentials" (Devas) to manifest themselves as

nourishing joy. Seekers of sense (Indriya-ramah), they compete among

themselves, each seeking with lustful greed, his own selfish happiness, and

they, often unconsciously, bring about a discordant rhythm in the

Wheel-of-Action. Such people are considered by the Geeta as "living in sin,"

and the Divine Song asserts, "they live in vain."

 

NOW THE LORD HIMSELF SUPPOSES ARJUNA TO ASK THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: "IS THE

WHEEL-OF-ACTION, THUS SET IN MOTION, TO BE FOLLOWED BY ALL, OR BY HIM ONLY

WHO HAS NOT YET ATTAINED FIRM FAITH IN THE PATH OF KNOWLEDGE?"

 

yastvaatmaratireva syaadaatmatR^ip{}tashcha maanavaH .

aatmanyeva cha sa.ntushhTastasya kaaryaM na vidyate .. 3\.17..

 

17. But the man who rejoices only in the Self, who is satisfied with the

Self, who is content in the Self alone, for Him verily there is nothing

(more) to be done.

 

The Wheel-of-Action explained above is generally applicable to the majority

of seekers, and actions in the world undertaken in a spirit of Yajna

integrate their personality and make them more and more prepared for the

highest vocation in life, meditation. Through selfless work, an individual

gains an increasing amount of inner poise and when such a single-pointed

mind is brought to function at the meditation seat, the meditator gains the

experience of transcending his limited ego. To such a perfected one, work is

not a training to purify himself but it is a fulfilment of his own

God-realisation.

 

It is a fact that we are egged on to activity seeking and demanding a better

SATISFACTION and a complete CONTENTMENT. Satisfaction and contentment are

the two wheels of the life-chariot. In order to gain a better satisfaction

and to reach nearer the point of contentment we are goaded to act in the

outer world, to earn and to save, to hoard and to spend. But the man of

perfection, who on transcending his limited identification with his

matter-envelopments, when he gets himself ushered into the All-perfect Realm

of the Spirit, he comes to feel so satisfied with the State of Self-hood

which he thereby attains, that he experiences a complete sense of

contentment in the very Divine Nature, and that provides eternal

satisfaction for him.

 

Where satisfaction and contentment have arrived, there, in that bosom,

desires cannot arise at all; and where the desires are not, there cannot be

any action. Thus, the effects (Karya) are not possible in him; the effects

of the spiritual 'ignorance'and 'desires,' 'thoughts' and 'actions.'

Naturally, in such an individual there cannot be any "obligatory duty"; all

work has been at once fulfilled in him. Thereafter, he is free to act, or

not to act, to serve, or not to serve, and lives as a God-man upon the

earth.

 

MOREOVER:

 

naiva tasya kR^itenaartho naakR^iteneha kashchana .

na chaasya sarvabhuuteshhu kashchidarthavyapaashrayaH .. 3\.18..

 

18. For him there is here no interest whatever in what is done, or what is

not done; nor does he depend upon any being for any object.

 

An ordinary man is whipped up to action either because of his anxiety to

gain a profit or because of his fear that by not doing work he will be

incurring a loss. But an individual, who has the subjective experience of

the spiritual stature in him, who has, therefore, discovered an Eternal

satisfaction in his own Self, and who has reached perfect contentment

therein, will have no more action to perform, for he has nothing more to

gain through activity, nor can he have any fear of losing anything in the

world due to non-performance of any action. Such an individual, rooted in

the experience of the Self, and depending upon nothing --- neither any being

nor any object --- for his joy and bliss, has discovered the "Subject"; the

objects-of-the-world are essentially nothing other than the "Subject," being

tossed on the waves of agitations in the mind.

 

'YOU HAVE NOT ATTAINED TO THE RIGHT KNOWLEDGE, ALL-PERVADING LIKE THE FLOOD

WATERS, (II-46) WHEREFORE":

 

tasmaadasak{}taH satataM kaaryaM karma samaachara .

asak{}to hyaacharankarma paramaap{}noti puurushhaH .. 3\.19..

 

19. Therefore, always perform actions which should be done, without

attachment; for, by performing action without attachment, man attains the

Supreme.

 

We have already noticed that Krishna pre-supposes no knowledge in his

friend, nor does he thrust upon Arjuna bare statements that are to be

blindly believed and silently swallowed by him. Proselytisation is not the

technique of Vedanta. Hindus are strangers to it. Every strong statement of

fact is preceded by a line of logical thoughts explained at length. Till now

Krishna was explaining the 'wheel-of-action,' and after exhausting the

exposition of this entire theory, he, in this stanza, is crystallising his

conclusions encouraging Arjuna to act.

 

Therefore, always perform actions which are obligatory in your present

social status, in your domestic situation, as a member of your community and

the nation. Even here, Krishna is repeating his warning to Arjuna that he

must be careful in all his activities, to keep his mind away from all

dangerous "attachments." The Lord has already explained how "attachments"

directly help to form tendencies in the mind and deepen fresh

vasana-impressions within.

 

"FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS ALSO YOU SHOULD PERFORM ACTION":

 

karmaNaiva hi sa.nsiddhimaasthitaa janakaadayaH .

lokasa.ngrahamevaapi saMpashyankartumarhasi .. 3\.20..

 

20. Janaka and others attained Perfection verily by action only; even with a

view to protecting the masses you should perform action.

 

Thus, the wise Kings of yore, such as Janaka and Ashwapati, had tried to

attain Perfection, (Samsiddhi), by the 'Path-of-Action.' They were men of

right understanding as they tried to liberate themselves through right

actions performed in a spirit of detachment and self-dedication. They had

set an example to the world by their achievement through an immaculate life

of service.

 

Krishna means that Arjuna too, a prince by birth, and one who has taken upon

himself the entire responsibility of mobilising and fighting the war, should

respect his Prarabdha and act diligently without running away from the

battle-field as he had earlier intended to do. This is the only method by

which he can gain a complete vasana-exhaustion in himself. Born as a king,

he had a greater responsibility towards the community, than any other

member. Therefore, it was his duty that he should keep to his post and work

diligently.

 

A creeper will never grow in a desert. It is nature's law that every living

creature finds itself in the most conducive outerworld conditions. Thus

viewed, because of the very fact that he had manifested himself as a son of

his father in the family of kings, nature had judged that the most conducive

circumstance in life for Arjuna was the life of a prince, daring dangers,

fighting enemies, and generally ordering peaceful and progressive growth for

the society.

 

"WHO SHOULD SECURE THE WELFARE OF THE WORLD? AND HOW?" THE ANSWER FOLLOWS:

 

yadyadaacharati shreshhThastattadevetaro janaH .

sa yatpramaaNaM kurute lokastadanuvartate .. 3\.21..

 

21. Whatever a great man does, that other men also do (imitate) ; whatever

he sets up as the standard, that the world (people) follows.

 

Man is essentially an imitating animal. This is a psychological truth. The

moral rejuvenation of a society in any period of history can take place only

because of the example set up by the leaders of that nation. Students can be

disciplined only when teachers are well-behaved; the minor officials cannot

be kind and honest when the rulers of the country are corrupt tyrants.

Children's behaviour depends entirely upon, and is ever controlled by, the

standard of purity and culture of their parents.

 

With this Krishna raises his next argument on why Arjuna should act in the

world. Unless he diligently acts, the chances are that the entire community

will follow the low standard of retreat from action set up by him and thus

they will ultimately invite a general decadence of culture in life.

 

Now, to emphasise the point and to make a lasting impression upon Arjuna of

the teaching so far given (III-4 to 21), Lord Krishna indicates himself as

an example. The Lord, though already a liberated soul (Mukta), is acting

diligently, without attachment, as a model, for his generation to rise up

above the slothfulness of the age into vigorous activity.

 

The very creed of Krishna is "active resistance to evil." His non-violence

is not the instinctive incapacity of the day-dreaming coward who cannot

stand up against injustice and fight for the accepted principles of national

culture. There could not have been any doubt now left in the mind of Arjuna

regarding the efficacy of the 'Path-of-Action' advised to him.

 

"IF YOU HAVE A DOUBT AS REGARDS THE NECESSITY FOR WORKING FOR THE PROTECTION

OF THE MASSES, WHY DO YOU NOT OBSERVE ME? WHY DO YOU NOT FOLLOW MY EXAMPLE,

AND TRY TO PREVENT THE MASSES FROM GOING ASTRAY, SETTING UP FOR THEM AN

EXAMPLE IN YOURSELF?"

 

na me paarthaasti kartavyaM trishhu lokeshhu ki.nchana .

naanavaap{}tamavaap{}tavyaM varta eva cha karmaNi .. 3\.22..

 

22 There is nothing in the three worlds, O Partha, that has to be done by

Me, nor is there anything unattained that should be attained by Me; yet, I

engage Myself in action.

 

Being a Perfect-Man, a true Yogi, Krishna had no more desire for achieving

or gaining anything in the world. Had He wanted a kingdom all for Himself,

He could have easily carved out one, but He was in the battle-front only

with a sense of duty towards the noble and the righteous cause the Pandavas

stood for.

 

The life of the Lord till the very moment of the Mahabharata war had been a

perfect life of complete detachment and even then --- even though there was

nothing He had not gained, nor had He anything further to gain --- He was

spending Himself constantly in activity, as though work was to Him a

rapturous game of enthusiasm and joy.

 

[To be continued...]