Bhagavatgita a detailed study chapter 18-Liberation through renunciation

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12.anishtam ishtam miSram cha

thriviDham karmaNaH phalam

 

Bhavathi athyaaginaam prethya na thu sannyaasinaam

Kvachith

 

The

three kinds of results of karma. namely unpleasant pleasant and mixed accrue

after their death only to those who are not thyagis but never to the renounced

souls.

 

The

meaning of the above is that the fruits of karma adhere only to those who

perform them with desire and attachment and not to those who have renounced the

fruit and act without attachment.

 

But

what happens to the result of the karmas of the renounced souls who realize

Brahman and are not born again? Al the results of their good karmas are spread

out in the world and shared by the good souls.

 

Then

Krishna analyses the work, karma itself to

enable Arjuna to understand the effect of karma on sannyasa. Though the terms

thyaga and sannyasa are used to denote jnanamarga and karma marga respectively,

as Krishna himself has said in chapter5, saankhayogou

prThak baalaah pravadhanthi na pandithaaH, which means that

Only

the ignorant speak of the sankhya and karmayoga as being distinct from each

other and not the wise. One who follows

either properly gets the result of both. Hence Krishna

is now describing the cause of karma and

its fruits.

 

 

13.panchaithaani mahaabaaho

kaaraNaani niboDha me

 

Saankhye krthaanthe prokthaani siddhaye sarvakarmaNaam

 

Oh mighty armed, know from Me these five causes for

the fulfillment of all actions cited in the sankhya which lead the actions to

their end.

 

Sankhya

here means the upanishats expounding Brhamavidhya. samyak khyaayathe paramaathma anena ithi saankhyam, thatthvajnanam, the

knowledge of the Self. Krishna explains the

causes for the actions in order to denote that the Self is not the agent of actions

nor the recipient of the fruit of action.

 

14. aDhishTaanam thaThaa karthaa

karaNam cha

prThakviDham

 

viviDhaaScha prThakcheshTaa dhaivam chaivaathra

panchamam

 

Seat

of actions, the doer, the instruments of action, which are different and

various movements and finally the divinity as fifth,

 

Whatever action is undertaken by man, with his body,

mind or intellect, whether right or wrong, that is, enjoined by the

sasthras or forbidden, there are five

causes that help the accomplishment of an action. They are, the seat of action,

the agent, sense organs, different and distinctive functions of the vital air

and all movements and functions of the organs

of action and the mind, and the divinity as the fifth.

1.

aDdhishtaanam

The seat of action is the body, which is the

conglomeration of the five elements because all actions are performed only

through the body, words or mind.

2.

karthaa

The agent is the individual self who is also the

knower. The term individual self means the self identified with body, mind and

intellect.

3.

karaNam

The sense organs are the instruments of action and

also all external aids for action.

4.

cheshtaa

The functions of the vital airs that sustain the

body and the sense organs and all movements due to the karmendhriyas and also mental functions are the movements.

5.dhaivam

The divinity the supreme self is the inner ruler who

is the main cause in completing an action.

 

15.SareeravaangmanobhiH yath kama aarabhathe arjuna

 

Nyaayyam vaa vipareetham vaa panchaithe thasya

hethavaH

 

Whatever

action a man undertakes by his body, speech and mind, whether they are enjoined

by the sastras or against the sastras, these five are the causes of them all.

 

All

the karma which give the result of punya or papa fall under kaayika vaachika and

maanasa, that is , those done by body, by speech and by mind. Those which are

termed as nyaayyam, the right

actions are those which should be done according to one's varna and asrama and what has been enjoined

in the Vedas. The vipareetham means

that which are against the varna

and asrama and prohibited by the Vedas. The five causes mentioned in the

previous sloka are necessary for any karma to give its result. The implication

is that those done without the attitude that "I am the doer" do not give result

meaning, the result of that karma does not adhere to the one who has given up

the sense of agency.

 

16. Thathraivam sathi karthaaram

aathmaanam kevalam thu

yaH

 

paSyathi akrtha budDhithvaath na sa paSyathi dhurmathiH

 

Such

being the case, one with untrained mind who sees the Self which is alone,

(unattached) as the doer of action he does not see, because of impure

intelligence.

 

Unless

the intellect is trained by the learning of sastras and by disciplining of the

mind it will not be free from the ignorance. Due to this, the Self which is

reflected through such intellect appears as though it is the doer and

experiencer , kartha and bhoktha. One who has this notion of the

Self which is free and not affected by actions or its result, does not see the truth

and Krishna calls him dhurmathi, one of impure intellect.

 

Kevalam means one only or alone, that is free from

shackles of karma. Hence the term kaivalya mukthi denotes the state of being

freed from bondage.

 

17.yasya naahamkrtho bhaavaH budDhiryasya

na lipyathe

 

Hathvaapi sa imaan lokaan na hanthi na nibaDhyathe

 

The one to whom no sense of agency belong is not

tainted by the actions and he is not bound even if he kills all these men.

 

Now we are reminded about the context of the

discourse , namely Arjuna standing in front of the Kourava army hesitating to

do his duty as a kshathriya fighting for dharma. The word imaan lokaan

here means `these people.' Krishna says this

to make Arjuna understand that he is not the slayer of Bheeshma etc. but only an instrument in the hands of the

Lord as it was said by Krishna in the adhyaya11, `mayaivaithe nihathAh

poorvameve nimitthamAthram bhava savyasAchin, ` that is the men in front were

already killed by the Lord and Arjuna was only a pretext for the destruction.

 

One who acts as the instrument in the hands of the

Lord has no ego and does not think that he is doing anything, neither does he

desire for the result of action. The intellect of such a person is not tainted

by anything he does and even by killing the men as his duty demands he is not bound

by his action. This is not an argument to justify killing by such men as the

terrorists because they do not act as the instrument of God, being filled with the sense of hatred and

cruelty. This has relevance only to a soldier who kills others on the side of

the enemy, not because he has any hatred towards them but does so only to protect

his country , which is his duty.

 

Now Krishna

explains how the action is induced and what are the constituents of action.