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