Bhagavad Gita- Chap 18(Part-2) Moksha Sannyaasa Yogah- Yoga of Liberation by Renunciation

APPLICATION OF THE TEACHING TO  ARJUNA'S CASE

sarvakarmaanyapi sadaa kurvaano madvyapaashrayah
    matprsaadaadavaapnoti shaashwatam padamavyayam // 18.56  //

Doing  all actions, always taking refuge in Me, by My grace, he obtains the eternal,  indestructible state or abode.

Performing  all actions and taking refuge in Him mean rendering selfless service in society  which should be without the sense of agency and with a sense of dedication to  Him.  In an individual to the extent his  mind and intellect are available for the spiritual truth; he is under the grace  or blessings of The Lord. An individual thus working in the field of activity  reaches the Immortal   State, the state of  Perfection.

The  above three verses indicate that the ultimate goal of the paths of knowledge,  devotion and action is the realization of the seeker's oneness with the  Supreme. This is the Integral Sadhana synthesizing the methods of Devotion, Work and Knowledge through disciplining  body, mind and intellect.

All  disciplines pursued from the body level to control the mind and make it turn  towards the Ideal are called KARMA YOGA.

All  methods to canalize the emotions for controlling the mind and make it  contemplate on the Higher are called BHAKTI YOGA.

All  the study and reflection, detachment and meditation practiced at the  intellectual level whereby the mind is enabled to experience the Infinitude is  called JNANA YOGA.

Practicing  all these three Yogas is disciplining the human personality in all its three  layers of body, mind and intellect which transforms the perceiver, feeler and  thinker in the man. This is the outstanding contribution of Gita to the Hindu  culture.

chetasaa sarvakarmaani mayi sannyasya matparah
    buddhiyogamupaashritya macchittah satatam bhava // 18.57  //

Mentally  renouncing all actions in Me, having Me as the highest goal, resorting to the  Yoga of discrimination you ever fix your mind on Me.

macchittah sarvadurgaani matprasaadaat tarishyasi
    atha chet twam ahamkaaraan na shroshyasi  vinangkshyasi // 18.58 //

Fixing  your mind on Me, you shall by My grace overcome all obstacles; but if from  egoism you will not hear Me, you shall perish.

Mentally  renouncing all actions in Me and having Me as the highest goal: Both the ego  and egocentric anxieties for enjoying the rewards are to be renounced and then  actions are to be performed keeping The Lord as the goal.

Resorting  to the Yoga of discrimination: To discriminate the right from the wrong and  pursuing the path of selfless action is the Buddhi Yoga.

Ever  fix your mind on Me: One who surrendered himself before The Lord and serves all  his creatures can alone fix his attention constantly on Him. A devotee who  carries out all his activities in dedication to Him experiences the Immutable State of the Self.

Most  of our obstacles in life are imaginary due to false fears and anxieties. By  constantly remembering The Lord and through His grace all the obstacles on the  path can be overcome. But because of ego and egocentric desires if the path  shown by The Lord is not to be followed by the seeker then he will by his own  ideas and emotions become incapable of achieving anything worthwhile; he will  perish, says Sri Krishna.

In  the following verses Sri Krishna tries to go over the philosophical ideas to Arjuna  to solve the problem of his despondency and motivate him to accomplish his  immediate task ahead.

yadahamkaaram aashritya na yotsya iti manyase
    mithyaisha vyavasaayaste prakritistwaam niyokshyati  // 18.59 //

If  filled with egoism, you think ‘I will not fight’, vain is your resolution; for  your nature will compel you.

swabhaavajena kaunteya nibaddhah swena karmanaa
    kartum necchasi yanmohaat karishyasyavasho'pi tat  // 18.60 //

O  Kaunteya, bound by your own karma (action), born of your own nature, that which  from delusion you wish not to do, even that you shall do helplessly against  your will.

Sri  Krishna tells Arjuna that if he is under the impression that he would not fight  due to self-importance, self-conceit and the temporary illusion of escapism, it  would merely be an exercise in futility because being a Kshatriya, his Rajasic  temperament will dominate and force him to fight.

The  Lord continues that in spite of his determination not to wage war Arjuna will  be compelled to fight by the power of his own nature ordered by his Karma or  vasanas existing in him at that moment. This is the law of life.

eeshwarah sarvabhootaanaam hriddeshe'rjuna  tishthati
    bhraamayan sarvabhootaani yantraaroodhaani maayayaa  // 18.61 //

The  Lord dwells in the hearts of all beings, O Arjuna, causing all beings, by His  illusive power, to revolve, as if caught in a machine.

The  relations of our inborn nature and its fateful compulsion are regulated by the  Divine who dwells in our hearts and guides our development. The power that  determines events is not a blind, unthinking will which we call fate or  destiny. The Spirit that rules the cosmos, The Lord who presides over the  evolution of the cosmic plan, is seated in the heart of every being and will  not let him rest.

The  Supreme is the inmost self of our existence. All life is a movement of the  rhythm of His life and our powers and acts are all derived from Him. If, in our  ignorance, we forget this deepest truth, the truth will not alter. If we live  consciously in His truth, we will resign all actions to God and escape from our  ego. If we do not, even then the truth will prevail. Sooner or later we will  yield to the purpose of The Lord. The Supreme desires our free co-operation.  When we become the media for the light of God, He uses us for His work.

As  puppets are moved by a string-puller seated behind the scene, so also the  created beings move and act on the stage of the world under the control of the  Lord seated in the hearts of all. Compare this with 9.10.

tameva sharanam gaccha sarvabhaavena bhaarata
    tatprsaadaatparaam shaantim sthaanam praapsyasi  shaashwatam // 18.62 //

Take  refuge in Him alone with all your soul, O Bharata. By His grace you will gain  Supreme Peace and the Everlasting abode.

We  must be conscious of the Divine on all the planes of our existence. Arjuna is  called upon to understand the will of God and do his duty. He must change the  whole orientation of his being; give up self-conceit, for all creatures are  under the control of the Supreme Lord. He must put himself at the service of  the Supreme. His illusion will then be dispelled; the bond of cause and  consequence will be broken. He will attain shadow less light, perfect harmony  and Supreme Blessedness.

iti te jnaanamaakhyaatam guhyaad guhyataram mayaa
    vimrishyaitadasheshena yathecchasi tathaa kuru // 18.63  //

Thus  has the wisdom more profound than all profundities been declared to you by Me. Reflect on it fully,  and then do as you choose.

This  verse can be considered as the conclusion of The Lord's discourses to Arjuna in  the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Sri Krishna says that he has declared to Arjuna  (through him to the entire humanity) all the essential features of the right  way of living and its noble endeavors for which there is nothing more to add.

This  knowledge is more secret than all the secrets because it is not easy for one to  understand the Gita way of life and its vision of the goal in all their  implications unless one is initiated into them. Even the very sharp intellect  will fail to feel the presence of the subtle, eternal and infinite Self. Sri  Krishna advises Arjuna to think and reflect over what all He had declared and  thereafter take such decision as he thinks proper without blindly accepting  what has been told to him. Teaching is not indoctrination. Thus The Lord leaves  the decision to act and lead a higher life to Arjuna's own free and sweet  choice after considering all the points brought to his notice.

There  is no compulsion involved and free choice is the characteristic of Hinduism as  the human personality cannot grow morally and ethically through coercion. The  Supreme does not impose His command; we are free at any moment to reject or  accept the Divine call. The integral surrender should be made with the fullest  consent of the seeker. God does not do the climbing for us but supports us  whenever we stumble, comfort us when we fall. He is prepared to wait till we  turn to Him. Thus The Lord's approach is counseling but not commanding. The  scriptures serve the purpose of telling man what he should do and what he  should not. It is up to man himself to choose the right and to reject the wrong

Next time we will proceed from the Verse 18.64

HARIH OM

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