Bhagawad Gita Ch.4 Ver. 23-29 [Sri Adi Shankara]

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[i would like to express my profound thanks to Shri

Shankar, from Botswana, whose continuous work is

making us to read this great text full of wisdom]

 

23.0 'Giving up attachment to the fruits of works'

(IV.20)-in this verse is set forth 'the absence of

work' for one who, due to operative work, continues to

work as some occasion or other for it arises. He does

this in spite of ahis realization that the inactive

Brahman is His Self and, as such, renunciation of all

works is appropriate for him. In fact he has had the

perception that there is neither a real agent, nor

work, nor purpose to be served by it. In spite of his

continuing to work, 'he does nothing at all' (Bhagavad

Gita IV.20). Of such a sage as this:

 

23. Whose attachment has vanished, who has been

liberated, whose mind has been established in

knolwedge and who works as a sacrifice, all works are

dissolved.

 

23.1 'Whose attachment has vanished' means one who

is attached to nothing whatsoever. He has been

liberated, all bondage due to righteousness and

unrighteousness having fallen off. His mind has been

established in knowledge. He works as a sacrifice.

Hence, together with 'ends' or fruits all his works

'are dissolved'-they perish. This is the idea.

 

 

24.0 Why does the work that is done fail to produe

its result, and instead get wholly dissolved?

Because,

 

24. The means of the sacrificial offering is

Brahman; Brahman is the oblation placed in the fire of

Brahman and by Brahman is the sacrifice made. This

sacrificer, who concentrates on the act that is

Brahman, reaches Brahman alone.

 

24.1 The means by which the Brahman-Knower offers

the oblation in the fire, is seen by him to be Brahman

only. He sees it as nothing but Brahman, just as in

the nacre one sees the total absence of silver. Thus

is affirmed the fact that the instrument of offering

is Brahman alone, as one may say that what seems to be

silver is only nacre. The words Brahman and arpana

are uncompounded. The sense is: that which the plain

man takes to be the instrument is Brahman only for the

Brahmna-Knower. So is oblation Brahman-i.e., what is

taken to oblation is only Brahman for him.

'Brahmna-fire' is a compund. The fire in which the

oblation is offered by the agent is also Brahman.

That agent, the sacrificer, too is Brahman. His

action, namely, the sacrifice or hutam, is also

Brahman. the fruit he has to reap too is Brahman.

The action of offering is also Brahman. He who

concentrates thereon, is the agent who repairs to

Brahman.

 

24.2 Thus even the work performed by one seeking

the world's welfare is, metaphyscially, no work at

all; for, the knowledge of Brahman has wiped out all

his Karma. the picturing of knowledge as a sacrifice,

even in regard to the renouncer of all works, all of

whose works have ceased to be, is eminently in order.

Its object is the laudation of right perception. This

laudation takes the form of identifying auxiliaries,

well-known in the context of sacrificial rites, with

Brahman in the spiritual context of the sage who has

won the realisation of the supreme Truth. Otherwise,

the exclusive description of these auxiliaries alone

as Brahman will be pointelss since all things, in

reality, are Brahman. Therefore, for the sage who

knows all the world to be Brahman there is no work to

perform. All ideas of auxiliaries of work have ceased

to hold good for him. A rok like sacrifice is

unthinkable in the absence of ideas relating to

auxiliaries. The normal experience is that works like

the fire-sacrifice are invariably preceded by notions

conveyed by Sruti, of deities to whom offerings are

made, and also by the conceit of agency and the desire

for the fruits of works. They are not preceded by the

dissolution of these distinctive ideas or the absence

of the conceit and the desire referred to.

 

24.3 But the text refers to work marked by the

disappearance of ideas relating to fruit, work, and

auxiliaries due to all-dissolving Brahman-knowledge.

Therefore, this is no work at all. thus has it been

elucidated in 4.18, 20; 3.28; 5.8; etc.

To demonstrate this, the Lord dissolves in these texts

the ideas of difference among work, auxiliaries, and

fruit. And in the context of the fire-sacrifice

prompted by desire, its character as 'desire-pompted'

is seen to be wiped out when the desire in question is

dissolved. Also, it is a matter of experience that

deliberate or spontaneous works produce distinctive

results. In the present context also, for the sage

whose sense of difference among auxiliaries, work, and

fruit is dissolved by Brahmna-knowledge, work or

apparent movements of limbs cease to be work. Hence

the statement 'all works are disssovled' (4.23).

 

24.4 Some interpreters assert: Brahman is the

auxiliaries of sacrifice. It seems that Brahman alone

assumes a five-fold character as the auxiliaries and

performs work. the idea of being the instrument etc.,

of work does not cease; rather the idea of being

Brahman is instilled into them, just as in an image

the idea of being Visnu is instilled, or in a name,

the idea of being Brahman (vide Chandogya Upanishad

7.1.5).

 

24.5 Well, thsi might have been the case, if the

context had not, as its theme, the glorification of

knowledge as sacrifice. Of course here knowledge as

sacrifice refers to right perception , and relatively

to numerous activities as sacrifice. The Lord lauds

knowledge in the words, "Knowledge as sacrifice is

superior to material sacrifice" (4.33). The

articulation in 4.24 secures the character of

sacrifice for knowledge as already explained. But,

for those who hold that just as in the case of the

idea of Visnu vis-a-vis an image, the idea of Brahman

too has to be instilled into the sacrificial

auxiliaries, the theme of the context will cease to be

Brahman-knowledg either expressly or by implication;

for them knowledge will refer only to sacrificial

auxiliaries.

 

24.6 Nor can the fruit of emancipation be secured

by means of a cognitive construction. On the other

hand, the text asserts, "By him will Brahman be

attained." The achievement of emancipation without

right perception is self-contradictory. This stance

also runs counter to the contextual theme which is

right perception, vide 4.18. The conclusion , too,

rests on this theme. This Chapter conlcudes with the

laudation of right perception in 4.33 and 4.39.

Therefore, it is illogical to argue that, all of a

sudden, the instilling of the ideas of Brahman in

sacrificial auxiliaries is taught as that of Visnu in

an image. Hence the meaning of the verse 4.24 is as

set forth by us.

 

25.0 Now having high-lighted right perception as

sacrifice, other sacrifices too are introduced for

belauding that perception in the verses that follow:

 

25. Some yogins offer sacrifices to deities; others

sacrifice in the fire of Brahman by means of the

sacrifice itself.

 

25.1 'Sacrifice offered to deities' is that by

means of which the deities are propitiated. To that

alone some 'Yogins' or activists attend. This is the

sense. 'In the fire of Brahman'-Brahman being what

the following passages affirm: Truth, knowledge, the

Infinite is Brahman (Taittriya Upanishad 2.1);

experiential knowledge, bliss, is Brahman

(Brhadaranyaka Upanishad 3.9.28); that direct and

immediate entity is Brahman, the Self innermost (Ibid.

3.4.1). These and similar passages affirm that

Brahman is beyond all empirical attributes like hunger

and thirst (Brhadaranyaka Upanishad 4.4.22). That

which is Brahman the fire-the receptacle of

oblation-is Brahmanfire, in whihc 'some'

Brahmna-knowers offer 'sacrifice'. Sacrifice here

means the Self. Metaphysically this Self is the

supreme Brahman. But it is conjoined to adjuncts like

the intellect. On it are superimposed the attributes

of all these adjuncts. It takes on the character of

an oblation. Some activists deliberately cast it in

'that fire'. The sacrifice in that fire means the

perception of the self with adjuncts as the Supreme

Brahman devoid of all adjuncts. This sacrifice they

perform. The idea is that the renouncers devote

themselves to the perception of the identity of

Brahman and Atman.

 

26.0 This sense of right perception introduced in

verse 4.24 etc., is subsumed under sacrifices to

deities in order to glorify it in the verse 4.33:

"Scourge of foes! the sacrifice by knowledge is

superior to material sacrifice."

 

26. Others sacrifice the senses, hearing etc., in

the fires of restraints; yet others sacrifice objects

like sound in the fires of the senses.

 

26.1 Some Yogins sacrifice senses, hearing etc., in

restraints. The plural is used because each sense has

a corresponding restraint. The restraints are the

fires. The meaning is that they practise restraint

alone. Others sacrifice objects, sound and so forth,

in the fire of the senses. Cognition of objects by

means of senses they deem a sacrifice.

 

And,

 

27. Yet others sacrifice all sense-activities and

all activities of vital breaths in the fire of

self-restraint, kindled by knowledge.

 

27.1 'Activities of the senses and those of vital

breaths'-the vital breath is air in the living body.

Its activities are bending, extending and so forth. A

set of Yogins, sacrifice i.e., offer these in the

Yoga-fire of self-restraint, self-restraint being

deemed the Yoga-fire. As a lamp of light is kindled

with oil, so is the Yoga-fire by discriminative

knowledge. 'Offering there' means total dissolution.

 

28. Other ascetics, subject to severe disciplines,

sacrifice their material possessions, their penances,

spiritual exercises, prescribed lessons, and

knowledge.

 

28.1 'Those who sacrifice materials' expand, in the

spirit of sacrifice, their wealth in holy places. The

ascetics who deem their penances as sacrifice

constitute the next group. Those who deem

breath-restraints, withdrawals, etc., as sacrifice

their spiritual exercises. Similarly others deem

their methodical prescribed study of the RgVeda adn so

forth as a sacrifice. Those reckon knowledge a

sacrifice who deem their masterly knowledge of sastras

itself as such. They are tireless in application;

their disciplines are 'sharp', i.e. sharpened to the

utmost severity.

 

29. Some intent on breath-control, blocking the

movement of the in-breath and out-breath, sacrifice

the in-breath in the out-breath, and, similarly,

sacrifice the out-breath in the in-breath.

 

29.1 In 'the out-breath', in its movements, they

'sacrifice'-cast-the movements of the in-breath; they

practise a phase of breath-control, called the

in-filling. So in the in-breath they sacrifice the

out-breath, they practise the phase called the

emptying out. The movement of in-breath refers to its

exit through mouth and nostrils. In contrast, the

downward movement is that of the out-breath.

Restraining these two movements, those who are devoted

to the practise of breath control perform the

kumbhaka, the immobilization of breath. This is the

idea.

 

 

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