bhagavtgita-chapters6and7--adyaya4cntinued and 5

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Chapter - 6 - The fire of knowledge -adhyaya4 continued

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The knowledge of what is action and what is inaction

resulting in the perception of action in inaction and vice versa, is

like a fire. He, whose actions are devoid of desire, offers all his

actions in this fire. Such a man alone can be called a panditha, a man

of discrimination. He is never an agent of action, kartha, because he

has renounced the desire for the fruits of his actions . He is ever

content, being dependent on nothing for his happiness and even though he

may seem to work like others he is actually inactive, because of his

total detachment.

 

 

 

He who is free from all expectations reaps no merit, punya,

even from good actions nor sin as all his actions are pure. A mere act

does not produce punya or papa but only the motive behind the act makes

it sinful or otherwise. Even killing need not be a sin if it is to

protect others from getting killed. At the same time even a virtue like

speaking the truth may result in sin if by telling the truth someone

will come to harm. Arjuna was urged to fight and it was an act of

dharma. Seetha did not tell the truth about Hanuman in order to protect

him and it was no sin. On the other hand we have a story of a hermit who

went to hell because he told the truth.

 

He was sitting in his asram when a cow fled past him to

escape from its pursuers and when they asked him he pointed out the

direction the cow has taken as he had vowed to speak the truth. Thus he

incurred the sin of killing a cow. Krishna says,

niraaseeryathachiththaathma thyaktha sarvaprigrahah, free from

expectations, controlling himself mentally and physically, renouncing

all possessions, incurs no sin or acquires no merit, for all his actions

are consumed in the fire of knowledge. This means that his actions do

not result in bondage because he is yadrchchaalaabhasamthushtah, content

with his lot, dvndvaatheethah, beyond dualities like sukha and duhkha,

gain and loss and likes and dislikes. And he is vimathsara, without

envy, in short he is equanimous, samah siddhaavasiddhou.

 

 

 

An ascetic who is samah is devoid of elation and depression

and takes what comes with out being affected by it. He is always

convince. that he is not the doer but it is his gunas which are

interacting with those outside. Only other people ascribe agency to him.

Thus in spite of continuing his regular activities to maintain his body

and soul together he does nothing at all. All his actions get dissolved

and do not produce any result that affects him. The reason for this is

given by Krishna as gathasangasya mukthasya jnanaavasthithahethasah

yajnaayaacharathah karma samagram pavileeyathe, he is gathasanghah, one

whose attachments have vanished, mukthah, liberated and jnanaavasthitha

chethaah one whose mind is established in knowledge. His action itself

is a yajna.

 

 

 

In the third chapter of the Gita it was said that all

actions except those done with the spirit of yajna produce bondage.

Here Krishna elaborates on the different kinds of yajna to explain the

meaning of yajna. All the actions done in accordance with

varnasramadharma without selfish interest are yajnas. Different types of

yogis follow different means of attaining salvation which are described

here as yajnas

 

 

 

Why does the action fails to produce result that affects the

doer but gets dissolved? The reason is given in the verse brahmaarpanam

brahmahavih brahmmaagnou brahmanaa hutham brahmaiva thena ganthavyam

brahmakarmasamaadhinaa. To the enlightened who have acquired the

perception that sarvam khalu idham brahma, all this is brahman, all

their activities are done with a spirit of yajna .The means of a yajna

like the ladle with which the offering is put in the fire,

brahmaarpanam, the thing that is offered, havih, the fire itself,agnih,

the one who does the yajna and the yajna itself, everything is Brahman.

The word brahmaarpanam is used not as a compound but as arpanam brahma,

the means of yajna is Brahman. This sacrificer who concentrates on the

act that is Brahman reaches Brahman alone, brahmaiva thena ganthavyam

brahmakarmasamaadhinaa. One whose intellect is established in Brahman is

one having brahmakarmasamaadhi and the goal to reach for him is Brahman.

All his actions lead him to Brahman-realisation. This verse implies that

the right perception of Brahman everywhere in everything is the means

of emancipation. Such jnana itself becomes the fire that consumes all

the karma of the doer so that he experiences no more samsara as a

result of his karma.

 

 

 

In the foregoing verse the jnani who acts with

brahmabhaavana, seeing Brahman in everything was described. This denotes

the enlightened soul who is niraseer

yathachitthaatmathyakthasarvaparigrahah who is doing only saareeram

kevalam karma.. He is desireless, has renounced all possessions and is

self-controlled and his actions are only to keep the body and soul

together till the time comes to shed his mortal coil when, he attains

salvation. What would be the lot of one following the rituals of

varnasramadharma but with detachment and without desire?

 

 

 

Daivamevaapare yajnam yoginah paryupaasathe, some yogis do

the karmanushtaana like worship of the Lord in any form and other

activities as laid out in the Vedas according to varna and asrama as

yajna. Here the word yogi refers to the one who does all these

activities with detachment and without desire, shedding the thought of

‘I’ and ‘Mine.’ The yajna here is deva yajna

which includes yaga, ,japa and worship to deities as prescribed in the

Vedas..

 

 

 

There are five kinds of yajnas to be performed by a

grhastha, man of the world. They are brahmayajna, the study of Vedas

and acquiring the knowledge of Brahman, devayajna, the performance of

worship like japa, homa and the other activities done to propitiate the

divine, pitryajna like sraaddha and others done towards the pitrs,

manes, manushya yajna which are services of charity, hospitality and

welfare of mankind and bhootha yajna, kindness and service to living

beings other than humans. Deva yajna has been mentioned above and

brahma yajna is denoted by brahmmaagnou apare yajnam yajnenaiva

upajuhvathi, others offer their selves in the fire of brahman being

endowed with the awareness of their identity with Brahman.

 

 

 

The knowledge of their real self being nothing but Brahman

as the advaita contends, or that their real Self is the Lord of whom

everything including their individual self is the body or part of Him,

as professed by visishtadvaita, gives the perception that the world is

not as it appears to be but only Brahman in reality. The purpose of

mentioning this kind of yogis as distinct from those described at the

outset by the verse ‘brahmaarpanam brahmahavih----- ‘ is

to show that while the former is an enlightened soul the latter refers

to the state prior to enlightenment as the knowledge that the world is

not as it appears to be leads to the awareness of Brahman everywhere.

 

 

 

Next Krishna elaborates yet another kind of discipline ,

namely, self control, indriya nigraha. which when done as a yajna leads

one to samaadhi. When mind is integrated in Brahman it is samaadhi. For

that to happen the mind must turn away from the sense experience. This

control of the mind from running after sense objects is described as a

yajna of which three stages are required.

 

 

 

Srothraaneendhriyaanyaadhaou samyamaagnishu juhvathi, sacrifice

the ear and other senses in the fire of restraint. Restraining the

senses is described as offering them in the fire of restraint. Once the

senses are restrained when they contact the sense objects it is like

sacrificing the sense objects like sound, in the fire of senses,

sabdhaadheen indhriyaanyanyeindhriyaagnishu juhvathi. The sense objects

do not create any reaction as the senses are restrained already. The

next stage is when all the activities of the senses sarvaaneendhriya

karmaani and of the vital breaths praanakarmaani are sacrificed in the

fire of aathmasamyama, self restraint, kindled by knowledge.

Jnanadheepithe.

 

 

 

Aathmasamyama is the state of samaadhi when there is no

activity of the senses or vital breath because the mind is integrated in

Brahman consciousness. It is akin to the deep sleep state where body,

mind and intellect do not exist and hence no activity can be ascribed to

them, yet it is different, since it is not under the influence of

ignorance as in deep sleep but it is full of awareness born out of

jnana. This is what is implied by the word jnanadheepithe., illumined by

jnana.

 

 

 

There is yet another discipline which is commonly

understood by the term yoga and that is now described as yogayajna. It

is known as ashtaangayoga elaborated by Pathanjali in Yogasuthra. It is

so called because of its eight angas , limbs. They are, Yama, Niyama,

Aasana, Praanaayasma, Prathyaahaara, Dhaarana, Dhyaana and Samaadhi.

 

 

 

1. Yama - Ahimsaastheyabrahmacharyaaprigrahaa yamaah â€" This

consists of ahimsa, nonviolence mental and physical, sathyam,

truthfulness in thought, word and deed, astheya, not appropriating

something that belongs to others, brahmacharya, celibacy, aparigraha,

non- possession.

 

 

 

2. Niyama â€" souchasanthoshathapasvaadhyaayesvarapranidhaanaani

niyamaah - Soucha, purity of body and mind, santhosha, contentment

and joy, thapas, spiritual disciplines like upavasa and vratha,

svaadhyaaya, learning the scriptures conducive to salvation,

isvarapranidhaana, worship of the Lord.

 

3. Aasana - Sthirasukhamaasanam â€" A comfortable posture , but

not too comfortable to induce sleep! The yoga discipline prescribes the

kind of posture in which the head, neck and spine are in a straight line

and the eyes looking towards the nose, neither open nor closed.

 

 

 

4.Praanaayama â€" Svaasaprchvaasayorgathivichchedhah â€"

Breath-control exercises.

 

 

 

5.Prathyaahaara - Indhriyaanaam prathyaahaarah - Withdrawing the

senses from the sense objects and merge them in the consciousness of

the Self.

 

 

 

6. Dhaarana - Desabandhah chitthasya dhaaranaa.- concentrating on a

particular object for a long time is dhaaranaa. In this context it means

concentrating on Brahman.

 

 

 

7. Dhyaanam - Thathra prathyayaikathaanatha dhyaanam â€"

Dhaaranaa continued for long duration of time with continuous

meditation like the trickling of oil, thaoladhaaraavat, is dhyaana.

 

 

 

8. Samaadhi - When the object of meditation, the act of meditation

and the meditator, all the three merge into one it is called Samaadhi.

Here the consciousness that I am meditating is absent and there is only

the presence of the object of meditation and nothing else.

 

 

 

Finally Praanaayaama itself is given the status of yajna,

specifying the methods of breath control and Krishna concludes the

enumeration of the different kinds of yajna by saying that all the kinds

of yajna specified so far are effective in destroying the sins of the

doer. Unless all the actions are performed with the spirit of yajna and

the result of actions are accepted as the prasadha or grace of the Lord

and shared equally there is no way to get released from the bondage.

Yajnasishtaamrthabhujah yaanthi brahma sanaathanam On the other hand

those who follow this discipline outlined above attain salvation.

 

 

 

Krishna winds up the explanation about various kinds of

yajna by claiming that jnanayajna is superior to dravya yajna, that done

by offering material things, which implies the yajnas prescribed in the

Vedas in the karmakanda. The reason for this is given by Krishna as

sarvam karmaakhilampartha jnane parisamaapyathe. All the vedic karmas

though they produce good results are nevertheless binding and cause

rebirth. Only when the same karma is done without attachment and ego,

shedding the thought of ‘I’ and ‘Mine’

becomes the means of self realization, the ultimate goal of life. This

is implied by the statement ‘ all actions without exception

,sarvakarma akhilam, culminate in knowledge., jnane

parisamaapyathe.’

 

 

 

What does Krishna means by the terms jnanayajna and jnana?

The real knowledge or rather awareness of Brahman, the Absolute Reality,

is termed as jnana, .yatjnaathvaa na punarmoham evam yaasyasi pandava,

by knowing which one does not revert back into delusion such as the one

Arjuna was experiencing because that gives the insight to perceive all

beings in oneself as well as in Brahman. This is the awareness that

everything is in God and God is in everything. Jnanayajna denotes the

way to acquire this jnana and consists of the yogic disciplines like

learning the scriptures, practising the self control and cultivating

viveka, discrimination and vairagya, detachment.

 

 

 

To get this knowledge Krishna directs Arjuna to approach a

guru with full faith and humility and ask him with genuine interest,

tadviddhi pranipaathena pariprasnena sevayaa. Two questions may arise

with respect to this advice of Krishna to Arjuna.

 

1. Was that a proper time and place to ask Arjuna to approach a guru in

order to acquire wisdom because the intention of Krishna in giving out

the Gita was to make Arjuna fight the ensuing battle?

 

2. What was the utility of the eighteen chapters of Gita if even after

hearing it Arjuna still needed a guru to acquire jnana?

 

 

 

Krishna , like a surgeon performing an emergency operation

to remove a bullet, preached Gita in order to remove the delusion in the

mind of Arjuna and gave him a glimpse of the highest knowledge

which made Arjuna to rise up to the occasion and fight As the surgeon

relinquishes the post operative treatment to the physician, Krishna

advises Arjuna to approach guru to continue his learning if he so

wishes.

 

 

 

.The Gita was forgotten by Arjuna as soon as he started

fighting when his natural propensity surfaced and he became a kshathriya

and nothing else Arjuna asked Krishna after the war to tell him the Gita

again but Krishna replied that He Himself had forgotten what He said

because Arjuna was not ready for jnanayoga and what was given to him at

the outset of the war was only an emergency treatment

 

Krishna did not want to impart the jnana Himself because the

spiritual instruction should be given in a proper manner in order to

culminate in self-realisation The disciple has to approach the guru in

obeisance, pranipaatha, and with humility and obedience, seva and

learn through exhaustive questioning, pariprasna. Then the guru who is a

jnani and tathvadarsi, a realized master, will impart the knowledge of

Brahman. What is implied here is that unless the student has humility,

faith and healthy enquiring mind he cannot acquire spiritual knowledge.

 

 

 

Then Krishna completes the discourse on jnana by extolling

the glory of it. The perception of all beings right from the creator to

a blade of grass as nothing but Brahman becomes the raft that takes one

beyond all sins. Even a worst the sinner will cross over the sea of

sins, says Krishna, if he acquires jnana, api chedhasi paapebhyah

sarvwebhyah paapakrththamah sarvam jnanaplvenaiva vrjinam

santharishyathi, which means that the sinner would not acquire jnana

unless he .becomes pure due to some merit acquired in his previous life

like Valmiki. He may be punished for his misdeeds in this life but. Will

attain release from his karma after he sheds his mortal coil.

 

 

 

How does jnana destroy sin ? the answer is proffered with

an example. Yathaidhaamsi samiddho agnih bhasmasaath kuruthe Arjuna,

jnaanaagnih sarvakarmaani Bhasmasaath kuruthe thathaa, as a kindled fire

reduces all fuel to ashes the fire of knowledge reduces all work to

ashes.. The idea is that the knowledge which gives right perception robs

all karma of the power to produce result. Here ‘ all

karma’ means the karma accumulated in the past lives which

has not yet started to produce result and that which is done after the

dawn of knowledge, sanchitha and aagaami karma. The karma which has

caused the present birth praarabdha, has to be exhausted.

 

 

 

There is no greater purifier than jnana, which like fire

burns all impurities due to karma. All the other purifying agents,

internal like yama, dama, dhyana, japa and the rest and external like

visiting temples, religious austerities, bathing in the holy rivers and

so on are only the means of acquiring jnana. ‘Pavithraanaam

pavithram yo mangalaanaam cha mangalam, ‘says Bhishma in his

discourse on Vishnusahasranama. The Lord is purity in the pure and

auspiciousness in the auspicious .So the knowledge of the Lord who is

the Supreme Self is the purifier of all .One who practices Karmayoga and

dhyanayoga, yoga of action and yoga of meditation acquires this

knowledge in course of time, thath svayam yoga samsiddhah kalenaathmani

vindhathi, through sraddha, absolute faith,. provided he is intent on

it, thathparah and through self control, samyathendhriyah, when he

attains the supreme peace instantaneously.

 

 

 

The secret of success even in the worldly pursuits comes

only to him who is sraddhaavan, thathparah and samyathendhriyah. When

for instance a man aims to become a great business magnate, he requires

these three qualifications. He must have faith in his endeavour as

otherwise half hearted effort will not fetch the desired result, he

must be intent on his pursuit and he must have absolute control over

himself and be ready to sacrifice all his other pleasures for the sake

of his success in business. As mentioned in an earlier chapter, all the

principles taught to the management trainees in modern days are found

in Bhagavatgita.

 

 

 

That liberation follows from the right perception is the

unshakable doctrine established in all the sasthras. There can be no

doubt regarding this and the one who doubts this and has no faith can

never hope to attain happiness either in this life or the next,

asraddhadhaanascha samsayaathma vinasyathi, naayam lokoasthi na paro na

sukham samsayaathmanah Without faith nothing can be achieved as for

instance when you ask for directions to a place you have to have faith

in the one who directs you. Similarly one who has no faith in scriptures

or in the word of the saints will not acquire wisdom. A man who digs for

water will get it only if he digs deep enough in one place and not if he

tries in different places giving up each one after a little effort .

 

 

 

True knowledge, jnana cuts away all the knots of the heart

created by ignorance and uncertainty and the results of his karma do not

bind him who has burnt them away in the fire of knowledge through the

practice of Karmayoga, yoga sannyastha karmaanam jnanasamchinna

samsayayam aathmavantham na karmaani nibhadhnanthi. The Upanishad

declares bhidhyanthe hrdhayagranthih cchidhyanthe sarvasamsayaah

kheeyanthe chaasya karmaani thasmindhrshte paravare. The knots of the

heart hrdhayagranthi are the misconceptions due to non-perception

which are cut asunder, all doubts vanish and all karma is destroyed for

the one who experiences the Brahmasaakshaathkaara.

 

 

 

Thasmaath ajnaanasambhootham hrtstham jnanaasinaathmanah,

cchithvainamsamsayam yogamaathishta utthishta bhaaratha, says Krishna,

‘slaying the doubt in your heart born out of ignorance with the

sword of jnana, stand up to do your duty,’ The lack of

discrimination regarding what is right and what is wrong creates a doubt

in the mind and one cannot decide whether or not to perform an action.

This is due to the ignorance of what is real and what is not, which is

the cause for the accumulation of karma. As a result of this one goes

through the cycle of birth and death, suffering the ills of samsara as

a consequence. This lack of discrimination is represented by the doubt

in the heart, which jnana alone can destroy. This jnana can be acquired

only through Karmayoga and dhyanayoga., performing one’s duties

without attachment in the spirit of Yajna and at the same time

contemplating on the Lord, the Supreme Self.

 

 

 

The two disciplines enunciated so far, namely, Karmayoga

and dhyanayoga or acquiring jnana through contemplation are not

mutually exclusive but they appear to be so to Arjuna because he is not

able to understand them properly. This necessitates the fifth chapter

of the Gita where Krishna points out that the two are not mutually

contradicting but only indicate two different stages..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter - 7. The Yoga of

Renunciation-adhyaya5

 

 

 

 

 

Arjuna now wants to know which of the two disciplines,

sannyasa , renunciation or karmayoga, performance of work without

attachment is more beneficial for him. Here Krishna, the supreme

physician stars prescribing the medicine suited to the patient and says

that though both sannyasa and karma yoga are equally effective Karmayoga

is to be preferred, implying that in his case Arjuna needs only

karmayoga.

 

A karmayogi who works without attachments has neither desire nor

aversion. So he is to be considered as nityasannyasi., a perpetual

renouncer, ‘jneyassa nityasannyaasi yo na dveshti na

kaankshathi.’ Thus doing everything with detachment he does not

get bound by his works, sukham bandhaath pramuchyathe, his release from

bondage is effortless.

 

 

 

But saankhya and yoga which here denote, jnana yoga and

Karmayoga, are not mutually exclusive and it is thought so only by the

ignorant. The wise know that they are not different but both produce

the same result ,’ekamapyaasthithassamyag ubhayorvindhathe

phalam.’ A karma yogi acts with detachment acquired with the

knowledge that everything is transitory and in the process gains

wisdom. The karma yoga is termed as yoga because it leads to real yoga,

the union with the Reality. So figuratively it is also renunciation.

One who renounces the result of karma gradually reaches a stage when he

will renounce the karma also.

 

 

 

Krishna here explains why he extolled Karmayoga as being

the better of the two, ’Sannyaasasthu mahaabahoduhkam aapthum

ayogathah,’ renunciation is very difficult to win without

Karmayoga, which consists in dedicating the works to God without craving

for the result. This in turn brings detachment. The natural doubt that

may arise is that we see some who renounce the world relinquishing all

their karma like Ramakrishna or Ramana and they become realized masters

without pursuing karmamarga. But we see only their present embodiment

which is but a continuation of several lives, this being the last.

This point is elucidated by Krishna Himself in the next chapter of the

Gita.

 

 

 

How does the Karmayoga becomes the means of attaining self

knowledge? Krishna answers this in the next sloka. ‘ Yogayuktho

visudhdhaathmaa vijithaathmaa jithendhriyah

sarvabhoothaathmaboothaathmaa kurvannapi na lipyathe.’

Established in yoga, his mind purified and self controlled he sees

himself in all beings and therefore he is not tainted by his work. That

is, he is not doing anything for his benefit alone but works for the

welfare of all, which attitude has been described in the previous

chapter as acting in the spirit of yajna. The knower of Truth who sees

only non-work in all work is alone fit to renounce the world. He knows

that it is only his senses which operate in whatever he does ‘

indhriyaaneendhriyaartheshu varthantha ithi dhaarayan,’ and

Krishna lists the common activities he engages in through his senses as

‘pasyansrnvan sprsan jighran,’ seeing, hearing touching

smelling and so on.

 

 

 

Even a non-knower of truth, that is, brahmajnana, if he acts

with an attitude of surrender, without attachment, ‘

brahmanyaadhaaya karmaani sangam thyamkkthvaa karothi yaha,’ is

not stained by karma like a lotus leaf by water because such yogis,

with detachment, work for self purification, ‘yoginah karma

kurvanthi sangam thyakthvaathmasudhdhay,’ and attain liberation

whereas the others who are attached to the results of action get bound

by them, ayukthah kaamakaarena phalesakthah nibhadhyathe.

 

 

 

But the man of wisdom , having renounced all actions by

discriminative intelligence, perceiving action as inaction sits in the

body as a monarch inside a citadel with nine gates, the nine openings of

the body through which all experience is gained. The self is the Lord

of the castle with which the sage identifies himself and hence he does

no work nor he causes any work to be done, ‘navadhvaare pure

dhehii naiva kurvannakaarayan.’ Meaning there is no direct nor

causative agency as the Self is immutable.

 

 

 

The possible doubt that if the embodied self does nothing

or causes nothing to be done, who then operates both as a direct and

causative agent is answered that ‘na karmaphalsamyogam

svabhaavasthu pravarthath..’ It is the prakrthi constituted of

the three gunas which operates as mentioned earlier ‘guna

guneshu varthantha.’ Neither the merit nor the sin accrues to

the Atman, the Self and the notion of working or enjoying or causing

other to do so is due to ajnana, ignorance, ‘ajnaanenaavrtham

jnaanam thena muhyanthi janthavah.’ When the ignorance is

destroyed by jnana the same jnana illumines the Reality which shines of

its own accord like the Sun, theshaam aadhithyavath jnanam

prakaasayathi thathparam.’ When the Sun rises the darkness

ceases to exist. Similarly on the rise of jnana the ignorance cannot

remain.

 

 

 

‘Thadbhudhdhayasthadhaathmaanah thannishtaasthath

parayanaah gachchanthyapunaraavrththim jnaana

nirdhoothakalmashaah.’ With the intellect established in

Brahman, identifying the Self with Brahman, surrendering all actions

to Brahman and with the sole aim to realize their true Self as Brahman

they do not enter into embodiment again.

 

 

 

What would be the perception of the sage who has realized

the Self? What has been described in the next few slokas is

reminiscent of what has been said in the second chapter about

Sthithaprajna. ‘Vidhyaavinayasampanne braahmane gavi hasthini

suni chaiva svapaakecha pandithaah samadharsinah.’ The sages

perceive the same Reality in

 

a brahmin, learned but modest, in a cow and in an elephant and also in

a dog and the one who eats dog’s flesh. The listing here of the

highest form of intellect to the lowest is to show that the sage has the

same love towards all creatures and should not be taken literally as

grading the creation in anyway.

 

 

 

Krishna says that the birth has been vanquished even here

in this life by those who have acquired Samathva or even mindedness,

‘ihaiva thairjithassargah yeshaam saamye sthitham manah.’

There is no plurality in Brahman as it is one only without a second,

‘ekameva adhvitheeyam.’ The sage resides in Brahman alone

and therefore he sees no plurality but but Brahman everywhere. ‘

Sarvam khalu idham brahma.’ A brahmavid, knower of Brahman

abides in Brahman, brahmani sthithah and hence they neither feel

elated on getting something pleasant nor feel depressed on meeting with

the unpleasant. He is termed as sthirabudhdhih, one whose intellect is

steady in other words, sthithaprajnah, who is described in the second

chapter of the Gita as ‘dhuhkheshvanudhvignamanaah sukheshu

vigathasprhah.’ Such a man of wisdom abides in Self and for him

there is no work to be done anymore. As Krishna declared in the third

chapter of the Gita he has nothing to gain from action or non-action,

‘Naiva thasya krthaarththena naakrtheneha kaschana.’

 

 

 

The sage whose inner equipment, anthahkarana , is unattached

to the external objects is united with Brahman and enjoys inexhaustible

bliss, ‘sa brahmayogayukthaathma sukham akshayamasnuthe.’

The man of discrimination having known the supreme Reality does not

delight in objective enjoyment. The enjoyment born of sense contact is

short lived and brings sorrow in its wake, ‘ ye hi samsparsajaa

bhogaah duhkhayonaya eva the aadhyanthavanthah kountheya na theshu

ramthe budhah.’ Sankara says in Bajagovindam ‘viddhi

vyaadhyabhimaanagrastham lokam soka hatham cha samastham, Life is

extremely fickle and short but even the short duration is not peaceful

but wrought with disease and other afflictions due to ego-centric

desires. A yogi who abides in Brahman experiences the peace of Brahman

while living in this world, experiences the infinite joy within

himself, revelling in himself illuminated by the inner light.

‘Yo antharsukho antharaaraamah thathaa antharjyothireva yah sa

yogi brahmanivaanam brahmabhootho adhi gachchathi.. Such yogis with

their sins washed off ,kheenakalmashaah, their doubts cut through,

chchinna dvaidhaah and self controlled, yathaathmanah, are intent on

promoting the welfare of all beings.

 

 

 

While stressing the need for practising Karmayoga with

total mental dedication to the Lord, Krishna goes on to elucidate the

yoga of meditation, the direct means of right perception which he

explains fully in the next chapter of the Gita. Keeping out the external

contacts, fixing the eyes between the eyebrows and equalizing the

inhalation and exhalation, controlling the senses, mind and intellect,

free from desire, fear and anger, the yogi is eternally liberated. He

attains peace knowing the Lord the indweller of all beings, the

supervisor of the fruits of all actions, Himself remaining the silent

witness.