Bhagavat Gita a detailed study-chapter4The truth about action

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13. chaaturvarNyam mayaa srshtam guna karmavibhaagaSaH

thasya karthaaram api maam vidDhi akarthaaram avyayam

 

The four orders of society are created by Me according to the differences in their attitude and actions. Though I am the creator know me to be a non-agent of action and immutable.

 

 

Why should there be any difference in the activities of the .people if all are following the same path? The answer is given by Krishna that the difference is due to the propensities which differ according to the inborn qualities. "They were created by Me," says the Lord ,"according to the mode of prakrthi predominant in each, and apportioning duties corresponding duties to them, " and this is he basis of classification of the four orders of society, namely, braahmana, kshatriya, vaisya and sudra. So the Bhagavatgita very clearly specifies that the caste system was man made and does not have he authority of scriptures. Chaahurvarnyam mayaa srshtam gunakarma vibhaabasah, and not by birth as already explained in the previous chapter, sloka10.

 

Krishna reiterates the same idea in the chapter 18 slokas 41 to 44 where the different attributes of the four orders of society and their actions are elaborated which serves as the commentary on the word guNa karma vibhagaSaH.

 

The word aptitude is very important in classifying men which is in accordance with their natural instincts and interests depending on the texture of the three guNas operating on them. This determines m not only the class to which one belongs but also defines his svadharma. This aspect of avadharma is also expounded in the 18th chapter later.

 

The meaning of the second line seems to create ambiguity. Saying that I am the creator and yet I am not the agent of action and I am immutable sounds self contradictory. But it is not so. He is the creator in the sense that everything originates from Him. He is the karmaphaladhatha and hence He causes the birth of everyone according to their karma and in the varna suited for exhausting their karma. But He is not the kartha in the sense that it is not according to His whims and fancies but it is the karma of the individual that determines his birth. This idea of non-agency of the Lord is made clear by the next sloka.

 

14. na maam karmaNi limpanthi na me karmaphale sprhaa

ithi maam yo abhijaanaathikarmabhiH na saH baDhyathe

 

Actions do not affect Me nor do I have desire for the fruit of action. The one who knows Me as such is also not bound by actions.

If the Lord is the creator, will the fruit of His action accrue to Him? No, says Krishna.

Na maam karmaani limpanthi na me karmaphale sprha. Neither the action nor the fruit adhere to Him. This can be explained as follows: The expression `I' actually means the Self only and taken in that sense, the agent of action is the Self because without the self the action can never take place, but the Self is only saakshi bootha, a witness-self. And therefore the self is neither the doer nor the enjoyer. Similarly the Lord who is the inner self of all is not affected by the actions of the individual beings. The ancient seers knew this and identifying themselves with the Lord their real Self they discharged their duties with detachment and with the welfare of the world at heart.

15.evam jnaathvaa krtham karma poorvaiH api mumukshubhiH

kuru karma eva thasmaath thvam poorvaiH poorvatharam

krtham

Knowing this, the aspirants for mukthi in the past, performed their actions. Hence you also act as the ancients did previously.

This sloka is a sort of summary to the previous slokas in the chapter. Krishna cited the example of the rajarshis like Janaka who were doing nishkama karma and also showed that He Himself does karma for the sake of protection and sustenance of the world. Those who knew that the Lord has no agency and is not affected by the action or its result will also be freed from karma , says Krishna. Hence he advises Arjuna to do karmayoga as those before him did.

In order to follow the path of Karmayoga the seeker must be very clear as to which actions will lead him to bondage and which will secure release from bondage. Krishna has been insisting on the importance of doing one's duty and cited the example of the ancients in by-gone days. The reason for doing so is due to the fact that it is difficult to decide which actions are to be done and which are to be given up. This is elaborated in the next few slokas.