Bhagavad Gita

16. He who follows not here the wheel thus set in motion, who is of sinful life, indulging in senses, he lives in vain, O son of Pritha. He who ought to perform action, but who, indulging in sensual pleasures, does not follow the wheel of the world * The unseen form \vhich a sacrifice is suits become manifested ; it being, in said to assume between the time of its short, the connecting link between the performance and the time when its re- two, the cause and the effect. go THE bhagavad-gIta. [Dis. Ill thus set revolving by Isvara. on the basis of the Veda and sacrifices, ■■'- he lives in vain. The main drift, therefore, of this section (iii. 4-16) is that action should be performed by the ignorant man, for whom it is intended. In iii. 4-8, it was taught that till he attains the qualification for Devotion to the knoAvledge of the Self, the man who knows not the Self and is therefore qualified (for action only) should resort to Devotion to action as a means of attaining Devotion to knowledge ; and, further, there were incidentally propounded (in iii. 9-16) many reasons why the man who knows not the Self and is (therefore) qualified for action should perform it. Mention, too, has been made of evils arising from a neglect of action.

Karma = Yoga is not meant for the Self=knower. Now, the Lord Himself supposes Arjuna to ask the following question: Is the wheel, thus set in motion, to be followed by all, or by him only who has not yet attained to devotion in the path of knowledge which the Sankhyas or Self-knowers tread and which is attainable by the ignorant by means of devotion in the path of action already described ? In answer to this question, or with a view to afford, of his own accord, a clear understanding of the teaching o the sastra, He proceeds to show that what is intended to be taught in the Gita-sastra is the same truth that is embodied in the following passage of the sruti : " The brahma«as (the devotees of the Brahman, the Self), knowing this, the Self, and free from illusory *.(.«., he who does not follow the .ionning the sacrifices therein enjoined, wheel by studying the Vedas and per- as commanded by /svara. knowledge, shake off all desires of progeny, &c., cherished, of necessity, by those who are still subject to illusion; and they lead a mendicant life for the barest r necessaries of life. They have nothing else to do than resort to devotion to Self-knowledge." (Bri. Up. 3-5-1). ,

17. That man, verily, who rejoices only in the Self, who is satisfied with the Self, who is content in the Self alone, — for him there is nothing to do. But that man — a sa;«nyasin, the Sankhya, one devoted to Self-knowledge — whose joy is in the Self, not in the objects of the senses ; v.'ho is satisfied only with the Self, not with food-essence, &c. ; who is contented in the Self ; — all others derive contentment from possession of external things, whereas, disregarding these, he is content in the Self only and has no desire for anything; — for such a man, for the man who knows the Self, there is nothing to do. 18. For him, there is here no interest whatever in what is done or what is not done. Nor is there in all beings any one he should resort to for I any object. For the man thus rejoicing in the Self, no purpose is served by action. — Does, then, any evil called sin (pratyavaya) arise from inaction ?— No evil whatever, either by way of incurring sin, or by way of losing the Self, arises in this world from inaction. Nor is there, in all beings from Brahma (Prajapati) down to the sthavara or immovable objects, any whose support he has to gain by action. He has no object whatever to gain, for which he_has to depend

THE BHAGAVAD-GITA. [DiS. III. upon any particular being : if he were to have any object in view, then he would have to exert himself to gain that object. Arjuna qualified for Karma yoga. You have not attained to the right knowledge, which corresponds to the all-spreading flood of water {vide ii. 46). Wherefore: perform the action which should be done ; for, performing action without attachment, man reaches the Supreme. Performing action, without attachment, for the sake of the Isvara, man attains moksha, through attaining purity of mind (sattva-suddhi). The wise should set an example to the masses. For the following reason also (shouldst thou perform action): others tr}- to attain perfection. Even with a view to the protection of the masses thou shouldst perform (action). The wise kshatriyas of old, such as Janaka and Asvapati''' tried by action alone to attain moksha (sawsiddhi). If they were persons possessed of right knowledge, then we should understand that, since they had been engaged in works they tried to reach moksha with action, i. e., without abandoning * \ide Chhandogya-Upanishad v. 11.4, et. seq. action, ■■'• with a view to set an example to the world. If, on the other hand, such men as Janaka were persons who had* not attained right knowledge, then, (we should understand), they tried to attain moksha through action which is the means of attaining purity of mind (sattva-suddhi).

If you think that obligatory works were performed by the ancients such as Janaka ^because they were ignorant, and that it does not follow from that fact alone that action should be performed by another who possesses right knowledge and has done all his duties, — even then, as subject to your prarabdha-karma (the karma which has led you to this birth as a kshatriya), and having regard also to the purpose of preventing the masses from resorting to a wrong path, you ought to perform action. Who should secure the welfare of the world ? And how ? The answer follows : 21. Whatsoever a great man does, that alone the other men do ; whatever he sets up as the standard, that the world follows. Whatever authority the chief among men follows, whether in relation to the spiritual or temporal matters, the same is regarded as the authority by his followers. If you have a doubt even as regards the necessity there * Tho-,;°h such persons as Janaka ware birth) which caused them to be born as men of right knowledge, they had no kshatriyas, they went on in their spiri- right to enter the fourth order of sa);mya- tual career without renouncing works,

sa, as they were kshatriyas. In obedience lest, otherwise, the masses would follow therefore to their prarabdha-karma(i.f., their example. It is, however, proper the karma which led them to that birth that they should attain moksha in virtue and which had to be worked out in that of their right knowledge. 94 THE BHAGAVAD-GITA, [DiS. III. is for the protection of the masses, why do you not observe Me*? the three worlds, O son of P;'itha, nor is there anything unattained that should be attained; yet I engage in action. I have nothing to achieve, for, there is nothing unattained. 23. For, should I not ever engage in action, unwearied, men would in all matters follow My path, O son of Pritha. My : I being the chief among men. And what harm is there in that ? — The Lord says : 24. These worlds would be ruined if I should not perform action ; I should be the cause of confusion of castes, and should destroy these creatures. If I should not perforni action, then there would be no action conducive to tlie continuance of the universe, and all these worlds would fall into ruin. Moreover, I would be the author of confusion of castes, and thereby destroy these creatures. Thus, though working for the welfare of the creatures, I would bring about their ruin, — which would be unbecoming of Me, their lord.

The wise man's action as contrasted with that of Suppose, on the other hand, you — or suppose (for that matter) any other man thinks that he has achieved his ends ir t. e., why do you not follow My ex- from going astray by setting an example ample and try to prevent tlie masses yourself. and has realised the Self, even he should work i for the welfare of otliers, though for liimself he may have nothing to do. 25. As ignorant men act attached to work, O iiharata, so should the wise man act, unattached, from a wish to protect the masses. The ignorant expect the result of their action thus: "The result of this action shall accrue to me." The wise man : he who knows the Self. ■ / For me, or for any other person who, knowing the Self, thus seeks the welfare of the world, there is nothing to do except it be with a view to that welfare of the world at large. , To such a man who knows the Self, the following advice is oflfered : 26. Let no wise man cause unsettlement in the minds of the ignorant who are attached to action ; he should make them do all actions, himself fulfilling them with devotion.

An ignorant man who is attached to action believes " I should do this action and enjoy its result." No wise man should unsettle that firm belief. — What then should he do ? — Himself doing deligently and well the actions which the ignorant have to do, he should make them do those actions. In what way is an ignorant man attached to actions ? 27. Actions are wrought in all cases by the energies of Nature. He whose mind is deluded by egoism thinks ' I am the doer.' Nature (Praknti, Pradhana) is the equipoised state of the three gu«as or energies, viz., sattva (goodness), yajas § Even he should perform action in view of the welfare of others. 96 THE BttAGAVAD-GlTA, [DiS. III. (activity), tamas (darkness). It is by the gu/ias or the modifications of Nature, manifesting themselves as the body and the senses, that all our actions, conducive to temporal and spiritual ends, are done. The man whose mind (anta/jksLVSLua. ) is variously deluded by aha;/2kara, by egoism identifying the aggregate of the body and the senses with the Self, i. e., who ascribes to himself all the attributes of the body and the senses and thus thoroughly identifies himself with them — he, by nescience, sees actions in himself: as regards every action, he thinks " I am the doer."

But as regards the wise man : 28. But he who knows the truth, O mightyarmed, about the divisions of the energies and (their) functions, is not attached, thinking that the energies act upon the energies. He who is versed in the classification of the energies (gu»as) and their respective functions holds that the energies as sense-organs move amid the energies as senseobjects, but not the Self. Thus holding, he forms no attachment (for actions). 29. Those deluded by the energies of Nature are attached to the functions of the energies. ^,/He who knows the All should not unsettle the unwise who know not the All. /^ • The foolish believe " we do action for the sake of its result." These men who are attached to action look only to the results of their actions. The man who knows the All — the man who knows the Self — should not of himself unsettle such men, /. ^., he should not disturb their conviction. How an aspirant for Moksha should do actionsHow then should action be performed by the ignorant man who seeks moksha and who is qualified for action only ? The answer follows : 30. Renouncing all actions in Me, with thy thought resting on the Self, being free from hope, free from selfishness, devoid of fever, do thou fight.

To me, Vasudeva, the Divine Being, the Supreme Lord, \ the Omniscient, the Self of all, surrender all actions, with the wise thought that "I, the agent, do this for the Isvara's sake as His liege." Fevcy : anguish, grief. 31, Men who constantly practise this teaching of Mine with faith and without cavilling, they too are liberated from actions. Men who always follow this teaching of Mine without cavilling, /. e., without cherishing any feeling of envy towards Me, Vasudeva, the Supreme IMaster (Parama-Guru) — they too are released from actions, i. e., from dharma and a-dharma, from the merit and demerit of actions. practise it not, — know them as deluded in all knowledge, as senseless men doomed to destruction. Influence of man's nature on his conduct. Then, why do they, not following Thy doctrine, perform others' duties and neglect their own ?Thus opposed to Thee, why are they not afraid of the sin of transgressing Thy command ? 33. Even the man of knowledge acts in conformity with his own nature ; (all) beings follow (their) nature; what shall coercion avail ? Nature (praknti) is the sawskara (the latent self-reproductive impression of the past acts of dharma and a-dharma) manifesting itself at the commencement of the present birth. Even the man of knowledge acts according to his own nature ; it needs no saying that an ignorant man acts according to his own nature. Thus all living beings follow their own nature. What shall coercion in the shape of prohibition avail ? That is to say, to Me or to anybody else, nature is irresistible.

Scope for man's personal exertion. (Objection) : — If every beiftg acts according to its own nature only, — -and there is none that has no nature of its own, — then, there being possibly no scope for personal exertion, (purushakara), the Teaching (sastra) would be quite purposeless. (Ansicei') : — The Lord replies as follows : 34. Love and hate lie towards the object of each sense ; let none become subject to these two ; for, the}' are his enemies. As regards all sense-objects, such as sounds, there necessarily arises in each sense love for an agreeable object, and aversion for a disagreeable object. Now I shall tell you where lies the scope for personal exertion and for the Teaching (sastra). /He who would follow the Teaching should at the very commencement rise above the sway of affection and aversion. For, what we speak of as the nature (prakriti) of a person draws him to its course only through love and aversion. He then neglects his own duties and sets about doing those of others. When, on the other hand, a person restrains these feelings by means of their enemy", then he will become mindful of the Teaching only, no longer subject to his own nature. Wherefore, let none come under the sway of these two ; for, they are his adversaries, obstacles to his progress in the right path, like thieves on the road.

Now, the man who is led by love and aversion may misunderstand the Teaching ; he may think that one man may follow the duty (dharma) of another because the latter is also a duty. But it is not right to think so : 35. Better one's own duty, though devoid of merit, than the duty of another well discharged. Better is death in one's own duty ; the duty of another is productive of danger. For a man to die doing his own duty though devoid of merit is better than for him to live doing the duty of another though perfectly performed.. For, the duty of another leads to danger, such as hell (naraka). Desire is the enemy of man. Though the source of evil has been pointed out in ii. 62, &c., and in iii. 34, yet with a view to elicit a concise and clear statement of what was but desultorily and vaguely expressed, — for, the exact cause being known, he might exert himself to exterminate it, — Arjuna asks : * Viveka-jnana or Right knowledge is jnana or illusory knowledge, the source the enemy; for, it is inimical to mi7/y<i- ofaflection and aversion. 100 THE BHAGAVAD-GITA. [DiS. III.

36. But by what dragged on, O Varshneya, does a man, though reUictant, commit sin, as if constrained by force ? Dragged on and constrained : as a servant by the king. Vdrshneya : one born in the family of the Vnsh«is. The Lord says : Listen, I shall tell you who that enemy is, of whom you ask, — who the source of all evil is : [Vasudeva is here called the Lord ( Bhagavat ), because He is one in whom the six attributes of unimpeded dominion, &c., ever abide collectively and in perfection, and who possesses a complete knowledge of the origin of the universe &c. Says the Vish;m-Pura»a : " 'Bhaga' means the six attributes — perfect dominion, might, glory, splendour, dispassion and salvation." fvi. 5-74). *' He is called the Lord (I^hagavat), who knows the origin and the end, the coming and going of beings, what is wisdom and what is ignorance." (vi. 5-78.)] The Blessed Lord said : 37. It is Desire, it is Wrath, born of the energy of Rajas, all-devouring, all-sinful; that, know thou, is the foe here. The enemy of the whole world is desire, from which all the evil comes to living beings. When obstructed by some cause, desire is transformed into wrath. Whence wrath is desire itself. It is born of the energy of Rajas. — Or, desire itself is the cause of the energy of Rajas ; for, when desire arises, it rouses the Rajas and urges the person to

3^ — 39] KARMA-YOGA. lOI action. We often hear the cry of riiisejr.ble pei'sons^who are engaged in servitude, &c., under the impulse of the Rajas, — saying ' I have been led to act so by desire.' It is very sinful ; for it is only when urged by desire that a man commits sin. Wherefore, know that this desire is man's foe here in sawsara. He now illustrates how it is our foe : 38. As fire is surrounded by smoke, as a mirror b}' rust, as the fcetus is enclosed in the womb, so is this covered by it. As a bright fire is surrounded by dark smoke co-existent with it so this is covered with desire. What is the thing referred to by ' this ' and which is covered with desire ? — The answer follows : 39. Covered, O son of Kunti, is wisdom by this constant enemy of the wise, in the form of desire, which is greed}' and insatiable. The wise man knows even before suffering the consequence, that he has been led by desire to evil ways, and therefore he feels ever miserable. Whence desire is a constant enemy of the wise, not of the ignorant. For, the latter regards desire as a friend at the time he thirsts for objects, and it is only when suffering results from it, — but not before,— that he learns the truth that he has been rendered miserable by desire. Wherefore it is a constant enemy of

the wise alone It is insatiable and greedy ; it never has enough, i.e., it finds nothing enough for itself, i.e., there is no limit to its consuming power. 01 TH£ BHAGAVAI>-GtTA.. JDlS. III. The soHt of desire. He now tells us where is seated desire which, by en^'eloping wisdom, forms the eiiemj' of the whole world. The seat of the enemj- being knov^Ti, it is e^y to kill it. 40. The senses, mind, and reason ai'e said to ht its saaal ; veiling wisdom through these, it deludes the embodied. Its satt: the seat of desire. Tliesc : the senses, mind (manas), and reason (buddhi). Mow to kill out desire. ^.. Therefore, O Jord of the Bharatas, restrain the senses "first, do thou cast off this sinful thing wrhich is destructrve of knowledge and wisdom. "[»mna is the knowledge of the Self and other things acquired from the 5astra (scripture) and from a teacher (acharya). Wi-jndiia is the personal experience of the things so taught. Do thou cast off from you the destroyer of jiiana and vijnana which lead to the highest good. It has been taught, '• first master the senses, and cast off desire, thy enemy." Now it may be asked, — Where should one take one's stand and cast off desire? The answer follows :

42. They say that the senses are superior : superior to the senses is mind : superior to mind is reason ; one who is even superior to reason is He. The senses are five, the sense of liearing, etc. When compared with the physical body, which is gross, external, and limited, the senses are superior as they are comparatively more subtle and internal, and have a more extensive sphere of action. So say the wise. Superior to the senses is mind (manas, the impulsive nature) which is composed of thoughts and desires, of errors and doubts, (sa«kalpa and vikalpa). Superior to mind is reason (buddhi) characterized by determination (nischaya). So, He who is behind all things visible, inclusive of reason, the Dweller in the body, whom — it has been said — desire, seated m the senses and other ijuarters, bewilders by enveloping wisdom, — He, the Self, the witness of reason, is superior to reason. 43. Thus knowing Him who is superior to reason, subduing the self by the self, slay thou, O mighty-armed, the enemy in the form of desire, hard to conquer. Thus understanding the Self who is superior to reason and subduing the self by the self, i. e., steadily composing the self by means of the self, ■■'• do thou slay desire. It is difficult to conquer desire, on account of its compjex and incomprehensible nature.

* The regenerated or purified mind self-composure (manas-samiidhana)— (A), (self, manas) is the means of attaining

Tradition of Jnana = Yoga. This Yoga of Devotion to knowledge taught in the last two Discourses, accompanied with renunciation and attained by means of Karma- Yoga, — this Yoga in which the Vedic teaching regarding the life of activity and retirement (Pravntti and Niv/'itti) is comprehended, — it is this Yoga which forms the subject of the Lord's teaching throughout the Gita. Thinking, therefore, that the Vedic Doctrine has been concluded, He extols it by relating its pedigree. The Blessed Lord said : I. I taught this imperishable Yoga to Vivasvat ; Vivasvat taught it to Manu ; Manu taught it to Ikshvaku. This Yoga, treated of in the two preceding Discourses, I taught to the Sun (Vivasvat) at the commencement of Evolution in order to infuse strength into the kshatriyas, the rulers of the world. It is only when possessed of the strength of this Yoga, that they can protect the brahma;ias, the spiritual class. And when the spiritual and ruling classes are well maintained, it is possible to maintain the world. That Yoga is imperishable, because of its imperishable results. Indeed, Moksha, the fruit of this Yoga of complete devotion to right knowledge, never perishes. Vivasvat taught it to ^lanu; and Manu taught it to his son Ikshvaku the first ruler.

2. This, handed down thus in succession, the King-sages learnt. This Yoga, by long lapse of time, has been lost here, O harasser of foes. This Yoga, thus handed down in regular succession among the kshatriyas, the king-sages — men who were at once kinjjs and saj^es — learnt. The tradition of this Yosra has now for a long time been broken here, O Arjuna, who harassest thy foes, like the sun, by the heat of thy prowess. Seeing that the Yoga has been lost by falling into the hands of the weak who could not control their senses, and seeing also that the people have not been able to attain the object of life, 3. That same ancient Yoga has been today taught to thee by Me, seeing that thou art My devotee and friend ; for, this is the Supreme Secret. This knowledge, this Yoga, is the Supreme Secret. In order not to leave in anybody's mind an impression that an inconsistent statement has been made by the Lord, and with a view to avoid that impression, Arjuna asks as though he were to raise an objection : 4. Later is Thy birth, and prior the birth of Vivasvat ; how am I to understand that Thou taughtest this Yoga in the beginning ?

Thy birth is later, in the house of Vasudeva ; Vivasvat's (Aditya's) birth is prior, in the beginning of evolution ; how, then, am I to reconcile the statements that Thou taughtest this Yoga in the beginning (to Vivasvat), and that Thou, the Io6 THE BHAGAVAD-GITA. [DiS. IV. self-same person, hast now taught it to me ? To remove — as was the aim of Arjuna's question — from the ignorant the impression that Vasudeva was not the Onmipotent and the Omniscient, the Blessed Lord says : The Blessed Lord said : 5. Many births of Mine have passed, as well as of thine, O Arjuna ; all these I know, thou knowest not, O harasser of foes. Thou hiowest not, because thy power of vision is obstructed by thy past action, good and bad (dharma and a-dharma). I, on the other hand, know them, because I am by nature eternal, pure, wise, unbound, and My power of vision is unobstructed. How, then, canst Thou, the eternal Lord, have a birth, in the absence of dharma and a-dharma ? — Listen : 6. Though I am unborn, of imperishable nature, and though I am the Lord of all beings, yet ruling over My own nature, I am born by My own Maya.

Though I am unborn, though by nature my power of vision (J7;ana-5akt:i) is undecaying, though I am by nature the Lord of all creatures from Brahma down to grass, yet ruling over My Nature— the Prak/ati, the Maya of Vish;m, which is made up of the three energies of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, to which this whole universe is subject, and by which deluded the whole world knows not Vasudeva, its own Self,— I appear to be born and embodied, through my own Maya, but not in reality, unlike others. 4 — lO.] J NAN A- YOGA. IO7 The purpose of Divine Incarnation. When and for what purpose is He so born ? — The answer follows: 7. Whenever there is a decay of religion, O Bharata, and an ascendency of irreligion, then I manifest Myself. Religion: Dharma as embodied in the institution of castes (van/a) and religious orders (asrama) which are the means of attaining worldly prosperity and salvation. Whenever there is a decay of religion (Dharma),... I manifest Myself through Maya. For what purpose ? 8. For the protection of the good, for the destruction of evil-doers, for the firm establishment of religion, I am born in ever\- age.

The good : those who are in the right path. g. Whoso knows thus My divine birth and action in truth is not born again on leaving this body; he comes to Me, O Arjuna. My birth is an illusion (Maya). It is Divine, peculiar to Isvara, not of ordinary nature (aprakrita). He comes to Me : He is liberated. Jnana-Yoga is the sole means to moksha. This path of salvation is not recent, but it was in vogue even in ancient times : 10. Free from passion, fear and anger, absorbed in Me, taking refuge in Me, purified by the fire (tapas) of wisdom, many have reached My being. I08 THE BHAGAVAD-GITA. [DiS. IV. Ahsovhed in Me', knowing Brahman, i. e., seeing their identity with Isvara. Taking refuge in Me, Paramesvara, the Supreme Lord, i. e., firmly devoted to wisdom only. Jnanatapas : religious austerity (tapas) in the form of j;/ana or knowledge of the Highest Self, Paramatman. — This compound indicates that Devotion to knowledge is quite independent of all other austerities (tapases). — Having attained to highest purity by means of this fire of austerity {tapas), many have attained moksha. Divine dispensation of worldly benefits and salvation.

Then, Thou cherishest the feelings of affection and aversion, since Thou awardest moksha, Thy Being (identity with Thy Self), to a few only, not to all ? — The answer follows : II Howsoever men approach Me, even so do I reward them ; My path do men follow in all things, O son of Pritha. I reward men by granting them the things they desire, just in accordance with the way in which they seek Me and the motive with which they seek Me ; for, they do not seek for moksha. One cannot indeed pursue pleasure and at the same time seek for moksha. Wherefore, I reward seekers of fruits by securing to them their selfish ends ; I reward the unselfish, who do their prescribed duties and seek for moksha, by granting them knowledge ; I reward men of knowledge who have renounced the world and seek for moksha, by granting them moksha ; similarly, I reward men in distress by relieving them from distress. Thus do I reward all, just in the way they seek Me./ But never do I reward any from affection or aversion, or from delusion. In all things, men follow My path, the path of the tsvara. who

10 — 12.] JNANA-YOGA. lOQ exists in all forms/'= [Here 'men' stands for all those f who are engaf^jed in works prescribed according to their respective ends.] {Question) : — If Thou, livara, art free from affection and other evil passions, then, since Thou art gracious to all creatures alike and able to grant every desire, why do they not all desire moksha and seek Thee, with the knowledge that Vasudeva is all ? {Ans7t>er) : — Listen why it is so : 12. They who long" after success in actions sacrifice here to the Gods ; for, soon in this world of man accrues success from action. They who long after success in action sacrifice to the Gods, such as Indra and Agni. The sruti says : "He who, on the other hand, worships a separate God, thinking, ' He is separate from me and I am separate from Him' — he knows not. He is to the Devas as cattle (to men)." (Bn. Up. 1-4-10). For/quickly is the fruit of action reaped in this world of men by those who, wuth selfish ends in view, sacrifice to external Gods, performing the works enjoined on them according to their caste (var;?a) and order (asrama). , ' It is for this world of men that Vedic injunctions are meant. — By the expression " soon in this world of man " the Lord implies that even in other worlds actions produce results : the only difference being that it is only to this world of men that injunctions based upon castes and religious orders apply.

* 1. f., whether it be for a selfish end that abides as the Self in every form.— (A) or for moksha, every one should follow ... , , ... , . , ., 1 Not men only, but other bemgs as the Lord, in the path of works or of knowwell. — (A) ledge. It is the Supreme Lord Himself no THE BHAGAVAD-GlTA. [DiS.lV. Caste as a divinely ordered human institution. What is the foundation of the law that the respective duties of the several castes and religious orders obtain only in this warld of men, but not in other worlds? — Or the question may be put thus : It has been said that men, split up into the communities of several castes and orders (varwas and asramas), should follow Thy path in all things. Why should they necessarily follow Thy path only, but not that of any other ?— The answer follows : 13. The fourfold caste has been created by Me according to the distribution of energies and actions; though I am the author thereof, know Me as non-agent and immutable. The four castes (van.'as, lit., colours) have been created by Me, tsvara, according to the distribution of energies (gu7zas) and of actions. The energies are Sattva (goodness). Rajas (foulness, activity), and Tamas (darkness). The actions of a brahmawa ( priest ), in whom Sattva predominates, are serenity, self-restraint, austerity, &c., (xviii. 42). The actions of a kshatriya (warrior), in whom Rajas predominates and Sattva is subordinate to Rajas, are prowess, daring,.

&c., (xviii. 43). The actions of a vaisya (merchant), in whom Rajas predominates and Tamas is subordinate to Rajas, are agriculture, etc. (xviii. 44). The actionof a 5udra (servant), in whom Tamas predominates acid Rajas is subordinate to Tamas, is only servitude. Thus have been created the four castes according to the distribution of energies and actions. This fourfold caste does not exist in other worlds. Hence the limitation "in this world of man." (iv. 12).

1 2 — 15.] JNANA-YOCA. Ill (Objection) : — Oh ! then Thou art the author of the act of creating the four castes, and as such Thou art bound by its effects ; wherefore, Thou art not the eternal Lord nor the eternally unbound. (Answey): — Though I am the author of this act when viewed from the standpoint of Maya, still, know thou that I am in reality no agent and therefore not subject to sawsara. Action without attachment does not bind the soul. Since I am not in reality the author of those actions of which you think Me to ba the author, 14. Actions pollute Me not, nor have I a desire for the fruit of actions. He who knows Me thus is not bound by actions. For want of egoism (ahawkara), these actions do not pollute Me by necessitating incarnation ; nor have I a desire for the fruit of these actions. On the other hand, it is but right that actions should pollute those men of the world (sa;«sara) who are attached to their actions, thinking themselves to be the authors thereof, and longing for the fruits of such actions. As I have none of these, (viz., desire and attachment), actions cannot pollute ]Me. Any other person, too, who knows Me to be his Self, who thinks "I am no agent, I have no longing for the fruits of actions," — his actions too will not necessitate incarnation.

Knowing that ' I am no agent, I have no longing for the fruits of actions,' 15. Thus knowing, men of old performed action in the hope of liberation ; therefore do thou 112 THE BHAGAVAD-gItA. [DiS. IV. also perform action as did the ancients in the olden time. As the ancients performed action, do thou also perform action ; do not sit quiet, nor renounce action. If thou art ignorant, do thou perform action to purify the self. If thou art wise and knowest the truth, do thou perform action for the protection of the masses. It was performed by the ancients such as Janaka in the olden time : it is not a recent institution. The real nature of action and inaction. If action should be performed here (in this world of man) I shall perform it on the authority of Thy word. Why shouldst thou add that it was performed by the ancients in the olden time? — (In reply the Lord says:) Listen. For there is a great difficulty in (understanding) action.— -How ? i6. What is action ? What is inaction ? — As to this, even the wise are deluded. I shall teach thee such action, by knowing which thou shalt be liberated from evil.

Even the wise are deluded as to what is action and what is inaction. Wherefore I will explain to you the nature of action and of inaction, knowing which thou shalt be released from the evil of samsara. Neither shouldst thou think thus: " It is familiar to all that action means movement of the body, and inaction means absence of it, to sit quiet. What is there to be learnt about them ? " The answer follows : 15 — 18.] JNANA-YOGA. ^^i, \ 17. For, thou hast to know somcthin<:^ even of action, something to know of unlawful action, and something to know of inaction ; hard to understand is the nature of action. For there is much to be learnt about the action which is enjoined by the scripture, about the action which is unlawful, and about inaction. In fact, it is hard to understand the true nature of action (enjoined), of inaction, and of unlawful action. What, then, is the true nature of action and inaction, about which much has to be learnt, and which you have promised to teach ? — Listen : 18. He who can see inaction in action, who can also see action in inaction, he is wise among men, he is devout, he is the performer of all action.

' Action ' means what is done, an act in general. Inaction can be seen in action, and action in inaction, since both inaction ( niv;itti ) and action (prav/'itti) presuppose an agent." In fact, all our experience of such things as action and agent is possible only in a state of avidya, only when we have not yet attained to the Real (vastu). He who sees inaction in action and who sees action in inaction, — he is wise among men, he is devout (yukta, yogin), and he has done all action. — Thus is he extolled who sees action in inaction and vice versa. * It has been said that action should be it presupjKJses no agency of the Self. For seen in inaction and vice versa because in action or inaction, Pravritti or Xivritti is both an agent is presupposed. This cannot resorted to only be/ore obtaining a knowbe objected to on the ground that nivritti ledge of the Real Self, as a means of or inaction is resorted to only when the attaining it.^(.\.) One real Self is known, and that therefore 114 THE BHAGAVAD-GITA. [DiS. IV. (Objection) : — What means this incongruity, " who can see inaction in action and action in inaction" ? Surely action can never be inaction, nor can inaction be action. How can one ever reaHze such an incongruity ?

{Answer) : — This objection does not apply to our interpretation. To an ignorant man of the world, what in reality is inaction appears as action, and what in reality is action appears as inaction. With a view to teach what their real ndture is, the Lord says, " He who can see inaction in action," &c. Hence no incongruity. It must be a bare truth that the Lord means to teach here, inasmuch as He has said that he who realizes this view of action and inaction is zvise, and has introduced the subject by saying that there is much to be leavnt about action and inaction, (iv. 17). It has also been said that ' by knowing which thou shalt be liberated from evil ' (iv. 16) ; and certainly freedom from evil cannot be achieved by means of false knowledge. Wherefore, we should understand that action and inaction are misunderstood by all living beings and that the Lord, wishing to remove this false view of them, teaches " He who can see inaction in action " &c. Moreover, inaction cannot be said to be located in action or contained in it, as jujube (badara) fruits in a vessel, nor can action be said to be located in inaction ; for, inaction is but the absence of action. Wherefore (the meaning of the Lord must be that) action and inaction are not rightly understood by people and that the one is mistaken for the other, as the mirage is mistaken for water, or as the mother-of-pearl is mistaken for silver.

(Objection) : — Action is ever action to all ; it never appears to be anything else ? l8J J NAN A- YOGA. II5 {Answey) : — Not so. When a ship is in motion, the motionless trees on the shore appear, to a man on board the ship, to move in the opposite direction ; distant and moving bodies which are far awny from our eye appear to be motionless. Similarly, here, (in tlie case of the Self) inaction is mistaken for action, and action for inaction. Wherefore, to remove this false impression, the Lord says " He who can see inaction in action " &c. Though such an objection has been more than once answered, people who have long been subject to great misconceptions are deluded often and often, forget the truth though often and often taught, and often and often raise objections based on false premises. Wherefore, seeing how difficult the Real is for us to know, the Lord often answers such objections. The truth that the Self is actionless, so clearly taught by sruti, smnti, and reason, has been taught here also in ii. 20.-24 ! '^"'^ ^^ ^^'^^^ ''•'^° ^2 taught hereafter. It is, however, a deep-rooted habit of the mind to connect action with the actionless Self, though it is contrary to His real nature; wherefore, " even the wise are deluded as to what is action and what is inaction" (v. i6). Action

pertains to the physical body (deha) etc., but man falsely attributes action to the Self and imagines " I am the agent, mine is action, by me shall the fruit of action be reaped." Similarly, he falsely imputes to the Self the cessation of activity which really pertains to the body and the senses, as also the happiness which results from that cessation (of activity) ; he imagines ' I shall be quiet, so that I may be happy, without worry and without action; and I do nothing now, I am quiet and happy." To remove this false

ii6 THE bhagavad-gIta. [Dis. IV. impression, the Lord says " He who can see inaction in action," &c. Now, action which belongs to the body and the senses, while yet retaining its own nature as action, is falsely imputed by all to the Self who is actionless and immutable; whence even a learned man thinks " I act." Hence the passage means: — He who sees inaction in action, i.e., he who has the right knowledge that action, which is commonly supposed by all to pertain to the Self, does not really belong to the Self, just as motion does not really pertain to the trees (on the shore of the river) which appear (to a man on board the ship) to move in the opposite direction ; and he who sees action in inaction, i.e., he who knows that even inaction is action, — for, inaction is but a cessation of bodily and mental activities, and like action it is falsely attributed to the Self and causes the feeling of egoism as expressed in the words " quiet and doing nothing, I sit happy;"- — he who can realize the nature of action and inaction as now explained is wise among men ; he is devout (Yogin), he is the performer of all actions. He is released from evil ; he has achieved all.

This verse has been interpreted in a different way by some commentators. — How? — The obligatory duties (nityakarma), performed for the sake of Isvara, do not produce any effect and may therefore be figuratively termed inaction, i.e., they are equivalent to inaction; and neglect of those duties produces evil and may therefore, only figuratively, be termed action, i. e., it is equivalent to action. Accordingly, they have interpreted the verse thus: — He who regards the obligatory duties (nityakarma) as inaction, since they do not produce any effect — ^just as a cow may be said to be no COW when she does not serve the purpose of yielding milk, — and he who regards the neglect of obligatory duties as an action, since it produces evil such as hell (naraka), he is wise among men, &c. This interpretation cannnot hold good. As such knowledge cannot lead to libaration from evil, the Lord's statement that " by knowing whicli thou shalt be liberated from evil " (iv. 1 6) would prove false. Even though it be granted (for mere argument's sake) that liberation from evil accrues from the performance of obligatory duties (nityakarma), it can never be granted that it will accrue from the mere knowledge that they do not produce any effect. Certainly it is nowhere revealed (in sruti) that liberation from evil accrues from the knowledge that obligatory duties do not produce effects or from a knowledge of those obligatory duties themselves.

It cannot be urged that it has been taught here by the Lord.* The same argument holds good also against their view as to seeing action in inaction. Indeed, this precept enjoins, (they hold), not that neglect of obligatory duties (nitya-karma) should be regarded as action, but only that obligatory duties should be performed. Moreover, no good can result from the knowledge that F non-performance of obligatory duties leads to evil. Neither can non-performance (which is non-existent in itself) of obligatory duties be enjoined as an object on which to fix our thought.! l^or by a false knowledge which regards

* For, in words "by knowing which + Just as we are to fix our idea of thou shalt be Uberated from evil, " (v. i6) Vishnu on a symbol such as an idol. The the Lord refers to knowledge of the things symbol alleged to be presented here to there, spoken of, but not to the particular fix our thought upon, is an abhava or k knowledge that obligatory duties pro- nonentity, duce no effects. I Il8 THE DHAGAVAD-GiTA. [DiS. IV' inaction as action can a man be released from evil, or said to be wise and devout and to have performed all actions: and such a knowledge deserves no praise. False knowledge is itself the evil ; how can it release us from another evil ? Darkness does not expel darkness. [Objection) : — The knowledge that inaction is action or that action is inaction is not an illusion, but a figurative idea based upon the fact of productiveness or unproductiveness of effects. (Ansji^ey) : — No. For, nowhere is it taught that even such a figurative idea regarding action and inaction is of any good. Neither is any purpose served by thus ignoring the immediate subject of discourse and speaking of something else. It is, moreover, possible to express more directly the fact that obligatory duties do not produce effects and that their omission leads to hell. What, then, might be the purpose served by such an ambiguous circumlocution as "he who can see inaction in action, " &c.

? Such an explanation is tantamount to saying that the Lord wanted to confound others by these utterances. It is not necessary to mystify the doctrine (of obligatory duties) by means of symbolic language, nor is it possible to maintain that it can be easily understood if expressed often and often and in more ways than one. For, the same doctrine is more clearly expressed in ii. 47, and needs no reiteration. It is only what is high and worthy of our effort that is worth kndwing, but not the worthless. No knowledge is v/orth acquiring ; nor is its object ■■'- — which is unreal — worth knowing. No e^'il can arise from non -performance ; no existence can arise from non-existence. It has been said here, " Of the unreal no

* The object of illusory knowledge, such as action (karma). l8 — 19] JNANA-YOGA. II9 being there is," ( ii. 16), and in the sruti " How can the existent arise from the non-existent?" (Chha. Up. 6-2-2J. To say that an existent object arises from the non-existent is tantamount to saying that non-existence itself becomes existence and vice versa, which cannot be maintained as it is against all evidence. The scripture (silstra) cannot enjoin an act wliich is productive of no good; for, such an act is painful in its performance, and no pain would ever be deliberately incurred. Since it is admitted that omission of such duties leads to hell, it would simply amount to this, that Revelation (sfistra) is of no good, since performance as well as omission of duties therein enjoined alike result in pain. Moreover, he who admits that obligatory duties produce no efTects and at the same time liolds that they lead to salvation, lands himself in a self-contradiction. \\'herefore, this verse admits only of a literal interpretation, and we have interpreted it accordingly. Who is a sage ? The realization of inaction in action and vice versa is extolled as follows : 19. Kc whose engagements are all devoid of desires and purposes, and whose actions have been burnt by the fire of wisdom, him the wise call a sage.

The man who has realized the truth described above, whose works are all free from desires and from purposes (sankalpa) which cause those desires, who performs mere deeds without any immediate purpose, — if he be engaged in worldly action, he does so with a view to set an example to the masses ; if he has renounced worldly life, he performs 120 THE BHAGAVAD-GiTA. [DiS. IV. deeds only for bodily maintenance, — whose actions good and bad, are consumed in the fire of wisdom which consists in the realization of inaction in action and vice versa : him the wise who know Brahman call a real sage {pandita.). The Sage's worldly action as an example to the masses. He who can see action in inaction and vice versa, (i. e,, who has realized the true nature of action and inaction), is, by virtue of that very realization, free from action ; he renounces (the world) and engages in no action, — only doing what is required for the bare existence of his body, — even though he had been engaged in action before realizing the truth. ^ On the other hand, there may be a person who, having started with action and having since obtained the right knowledge of the Self, really abandons action with all its accessories, as he finds action of no use; but who, finding that for some reason he cannot abandon action, may continue doing action as before, with a view to set an example to the world at large, devoid of attachment to action and its result, and therefore having no selfish end in view ; such a man really does nothing. His action is equivalent to inaction, since all his actions are consumed in the fire of knowledge. To teach this, the Lord says :

20. Having abandoned attachment for the fruits of action, ever content, dependent on none, though engaged in actions, nothing at all does he do. He who has abandoned all concern for action and all attachment for its results in virtue of the knowledge of the truth explained above, who is always content, longing for no objects of senses ; who seeks nothing whereby to achieve any end of his {i. c, to secure enjoyments in this birth or the next) ; who, for want of any selfish end in view, might give up action with its accessories ; but who, finding it impracticable to get away from action, engages in action as before with a view to set an example to the world or to avoid the displeasure of the orthodox, — such a man, though 1 engaged in actions, really does nothing at all, since he is ^ endued with knowledge of the actionless Self. The Sage's action for bodily maintenance. He who, unlike the one just spoken of, has, even before engaging in action, realized his identity with Brahman (the Absolute) abiding within all as the innermost actionless Self ( the Pratyagatman ) ; who is free from desire for objects of pleasure, seen or unseen ; and who, therefore, finding no use in action which is intended to secure such objects of pleasure, renounces all action with accessories, except what is necessary for the bare bodily maintenance ; such a devotee, steady in his devotion to knowledge, is liberated. To teach this, the Lord says :

21. Free from desire, with the mind and the self controlled, having relinquished all possessions, doing mere bodily action, he incurs no sin. He from whom all desires have departed, by whom the mind and the body (the self, the external aggregate of causes and effects) have been controlled, by whom all property has been disowned, who does mere bodily action (action necessary for the bare existence of the body), without attachment even for that action, — he incurs no sin which will produce evil effects. Even dharma is a sin, — in the 122 THE BHAGAVAD-GlTA. [DiS. IV. case of him who seeks hberation,— inasmuch as it causes bondage. He is liberated from both (dharma and a-dharma), i. c, he is liberated from sawsara. Now, what does the phrase ' mere bodily action ' (sarirakarma) mean ? Does it mean action which can be performed by means of the body only ? Or does it mean action required for the bare existence of the body ? One may ask : What is the good of this enquiry ? What if' bodily action ' means ' action done by means of the body ' or ' action necessary for the bare existence of the body ' ?

We reply as follows : Firstly : If [ mere bodily action ' means ' action which can be performed by means of the body only ', the words would imply that e\en he who, by means of the body, does an unlawful action productive of some visible or invisible results, incurs no sin. Then this teaching would contradict the teaching of the sastra. And to say that he who does by means of the body a lawful action productive of some visible or invisible results incurs no sin is to deny something which even the opponent would never advance. Moreover, the qualifications ' doing bodily action ' and ' mere ' Avould imply that sin accrues to him who in speech or thought performs actions enjoined or prohibited by the sastra, respectively called dharma and a-dharma. To say, then, that he who does a lawful act in speech or thought incurs sin would be to contradict the scripture ; and to say that he who does an unlawful act in speech or thought incurs sin is a useless reiteration of what is known. Secondly: If, on the other hand, "bodily action" be interpreted to mean ' action ref^uired for the bare existence

of the body,' then the teaching amounts to this : He who in deed, speecli and thought does no other action, lawful or unlawful, productive of results here or hereafter ; who, in deed, speech or thought, performs in the eye of the world just those acts which are required for the bare existence of the body without even such attachment for those acts as is implied in the words " I do," he does not incur sin. Since it cannot even be imagined that such a man can do any wrong which may be called sin, he is not subject to rebirth ; he is liberated without any let or hindrance, since all his actions have been consumed in the fire of knowledge. — Thus, there is here only a reiteration of the results of the right knowledge, which have bsen described already (in iv. 18). The phrase ' mere bodily action' thus understood gives no room to objection. Since an ascetic who has disowned all property does not own even the articles of food and other things required for the maintenance of the body, it would follow that the body should be maintained by begging or such other means Now the Lord points out such means of obtaining food and other things required for the maintenance of the body as are sanctioned b}' the texts like the following :

" What is not begged for, not previously arranged for, what has been brought to him without his effort..." [Baudhdyana-Dharmasntra, 2-8-12). 22. Satisfied with what comes to him by chance, rising above the pairs of opposites, free from en\y, equanimous in success and failure, though acting he is not bound. He who is satisfied with whatever he may obtain by 124 "^"E BHAGAVAD-GITA. [DiS. IV. chance, without his effort or request, who is not affected in mind by the attack of such pairs of opposites (dvandva) as heat and cold, who cherishes no feelings of envy and jealousy, who is calm whether he obtains or not such things as might come to him without effort, — such a devotee, feeling no pleasure or pain whether he obtains or not food and other things required for the maintenance of the body, seeing action in inaction and vice versa, ever steady in his knowledge of the true nature of the Self, always disowning agency — " I do nothing at all, energies act upon energies," — in all acts of the body, etc., while begging or doing anything else for the bare existence of the body, — thus realizing the nonagency of the Self, he really does no act at all, not even the act of begging. But as he appears to act like the generality of mankind, agency is imputed to him by people, and so far he is the agent in the act of begging and the like.

From his own point of view, however, as based on the teaching of the scriptures which are the source of right knowledge, he is no agent at all. Thus, though he performs the act of begging and the like required for the bare existenfce of the body, and though with reference to these acts agency is imputed to him by others, he is not bound, since action and its cause, which are the source of bondage, have been burnt in the fire of wisdom. This is only a reiteration of what has been already said (iv, 19, 21).

The Sage's worldly action does not bind him. It has been shown in iv. 20 that that man does no action who, having started in life with action, has since realized the actionless Self as one with Brahman and has seen the non-existence of agent, action and results, but who, though competent to renounce action, yet, on account of something preventing him from doing so, has continued in action as before. Of him who, as thus shown, does no action, the Lord Says : 23. Of the man whose attachment is gone, who is liberated, whose mind is established in knowledge, who acts for the sake of sacrifice, — his whole action melts awav. That man from whom all attachment is gone, from whom all cause of bondage, dharma and a-dharma, has fled away, whose mind is ever fixed in wisdom alone, who acts with a view to the parformance of a sacrifice " — his action with its result is dissolved away, is reduced to nothing. For what reason, then, is all action which he does, entirely dissolved, without producing its natural result ? — Listen why. 24. Brahman is the offering, Brahman the oblation ; by Brahman is the oblation poured into the fire of Brahman ; Brahman verily shall be reached by him who always sees Brahman in action.

The man who has realized Brahman sees that the instrument by which the oblation is poured in the fire is nothing but Brahman ; that it has no existence apart from that of the Self, just as silver has no existence apart from that of the mother-of-pearl (mistaken for silver). What (in the illustrationj appears as silver is nothing but the mother-ofpearl. What people look upon as the instrument of ofTler-^ * With a view to please Lord, Narayawa (Yajiia= Sacrifice, Vish«u).— (A). ing is, to one who has realised Brahman, nothing but Brahman. Brahman is the oblation : i. e., what is regarded as oblation is to him nothing but Brahman. So the fire wherein the oblation is offered is nothing but Brahman ; and it is by Brahman that the offering is made, i.e., the agent is none other than Brahman. The act of offering: is nothing but Brahman ; and the result, the goal to be reached by him who always sees Brahman in action, is nothing but Brahman. Thus, the action performed by him who wishes to set an example to the world is in reality no action, as it has been destroyed by the realisation of Brahman in action. This representation as a sacrifice (Yaj?za) of the right knowledge possessed by him who has given up all rites and has renounced all action is quite in its place, as serving to extol that right knowledge.

For him who has realised the Supreme Reality, the instrument of offering and other accessories connected with the actual sacrifice are nothing but Brahman, who is one with his own Self. Else, it would be to no purpose to speak specifically of the instrument and other accessories of a sacrificial rite as Brahman, when everything is Brahman. Wherefore, to one who realises that all is Brahman, there is no action. Moreover, all idea of the accessories of action is absent; and indeed, no act of sacrifice is ever possible in the absence of such an idea. Every sacrificial rite, such as Agnihotra, iz associated with an idea (derived from the revealed texts) of the accessories of action such as a particular God or Gods to whom the oblation should be offered, and with egoism on the part of the agent and his attachment for the results. No sacrificial rite is ever found unassocialed with the idea of the accessories of action

and results, unaccompained with egoism and a longing for the results. But this (wisdom-sacrifice) is an action wherein all idea of the instrument and other various accessories of action, all idea of action itself and of its results, has been replaced by the one idea of Brahman. Whence it is no action at all. This is shewn in iv 18, 20 ; iii. 28; v., 8^ Thus teaching, our Lord here and there tries also to remove ^ all idea of duality, i, c, of action, its result and its accessories. It is admitted in the case of the Kamya-Agnihotra — the sacrifice of Agnihotra performed for some selfish purpose— that it ceases to be a Kamya-Agnihotra in the absence of that purpose. So also we are given to know that actions produce different results according as they are performed deliberately or otherwise. Accordingly, here too, in the case of the wise man in whom the idea of Brahman has replaced all idea of duality — such as, the instrument and other accessories of the act of offering, the act itself and its results — his action, though appearing as such externally, ceases to be action. Whence it is said " the whole action melts away " (iv. 23).

In interpreting this passage, some say : — Wliat we call Brahman is the instrument of action and so on. And in fact it is Brahman that manifests Himself in the five forms, — such as action and its accessories, — and does the action. In this case, the idea of the instrument and other accessories of action does not cease to exist. On the other hand, it is taught that the idea of Brahman should be fixed upon action and its accessories in the same way that the idea of Vish;m is fixed upon an idol or the idea of Brahman is fixed upon ' name.' {VideChh. Upanishad, 7-1-5). Indeed, even this view would be f>ossible if this particu- 128 THE BHAGAVAD-GITA. [DiS. IV. lar section of the discourse were not here concerned with the praise of the Wisdom-sacrifice ( juana-yajna). On the other hand, our Lord will here speak of the several acts of worship termed yajuas (sacrifices) and then praise wisdom, the right knowledge, in these terms : " Superior is the wisdom-sacrifice to the sacrifice with objects." (iv. 33). And it has been shewn that the verse is intended to represent wisdom as a sacrifice (z^^W^ p. 126). But, with those who maintain that the idea of Brahman should be fixed upon the sacrificial rite and all its accessories, just as the idea of Vish;m is fixed upon an idol or the idea of Brahman on 'name' — the Brahma-vidya (knowledge of Brahman), which has been hitherto spoken of, cannot be the aim of the teaching here ;

for, this verse would be mainly concerned, according to their interpretation, with the instrument, etc., connected with a sacrificial rite. Moreover, moksha cannot be obtained by that knowledge which consists in fixing the idea of Brahman on a symbol (such as a sacrificial rite). It has been here said that Brahman is the goal to be reached. It is indeed opposed to truth to maintain that moksha can be obtained without knowledge.

Such interpretation is also opposed to the context. Right knowledge is the subject of which this Discourse treats {vide. iv. 18), and the concluding portion of the Discourse treats of the same subject, as shewn by the closing verses. The Discourse indeed concludes by extolling right knowledge (iv. 33. 39). Accordingly it is not right to maintain that, all on a sudden, and without reference to the present topic, it is here taught that the idea of Brahman should be fixed on a sacrificial act just as the idea of Vish;/u is fixed on an idol. Wherefore this verse should be interpreted as has been done by us. Sacrifices effected by action. After representing the right knowledge as a sacrifice, the Lord proceeds to enumerate other kinds of sacrifice with a view to extol the right knowledge : 25. Other yogins resort to sacrifices to Gods ; in the fire of Brahman others offer the Self by the Self. Some yogins, devotees to action, perform only sacrificial rites in devotion to the Gods, while others who know Brahman, the Absolute, sacrifice the Self by the Self in the fire of Brahman. The oblation (ahuti) in this latter sacrifice is yajua, the Self, — for ' yajua,' is enumerated among the terms synonymous with ' atman ' — who is in reality one with Brahman, but who is conditioned by the upadhis (such as buddhi) with all their attributes superimposed upon Him. This oblation of the Self is poured by the Self into Brahman, — here termed fire, the place into which that oblation is poured, — as described in the following texts :

" Brahman is the Real, Consciousness, the Infinite." (Tait. Up. 2-1). " Brahman who is Consciousness and Bliss." (Bn. Up. 3-9-28). " Brahman who is immediately cognised by all, and who is the Innermost Self of all " (B;'i. Up. 3-2-1). Brahman is devoid of all characteristics of mundane existence (sawsara) such as hunger and thirst, inconceivable in any particular form or aspect, as taught by the Scripture in 130 THE BHAGAVAD-GITA. [DiS. IV. the terms, "It is not thus, it is not thus." (Bn. Up. 4-4-22). To know the conditioned Self as identical with the unconditioned Brahman is to sacrifice the Self in Brahman. This is the sacrifice which is performed by those who, having renounced all action, are ever steady in their knowledge of the identity of the Self with Brahman. This Wisdom-Sacrifice ( described in iv. 24 ) is here enumerated along with the Gods-Sacrifice (Daiva-yajila) and others, with a view to extol it (iv. 33). 26. Others offer hearing and other senses in the fires of restraint ; others offer sound and other objects in the fires of the senses. Some yogins offer hearing and other senses in the fires of restraint (samyama) ; — the plural ' fires ' is used because the restraint differs with each sense ; — they are ever engrossed in restraining their senses; while others sacrifice the objects of senses in the fires of the several senses, i. c, they regard it as a sacrifice to direct their senses only to the unforbidden objects of senses.

27. And others sacrifice all the functions of the senses and the functions of the vitality in the wisdom-kindled fire of the Yoga of Self-restraint. • Wisdom-kindled : kindled by discriminative wisdom, as a lamp is kindled by oil. The functions of pra«a, the vital air in the individual's body, are expansion, contraction, etc. I The functions of the senses and of the vital air are completely dissolved while the yogin concentrates the mind on the Self. 28. Others are sacrificers by their wealth, 25 — 3l] JNANA-YOr.A. I3I sacriticers by austerity, sacrilicers by Yogas, sacrificers by reading and knowledge, ascetics of rigid \o\vs. Of others, some sacrifice by way of giving away their wealth to the deserving ; some by austerity ; some by Yoga, comprising such practices as Pra«ayama (restraint of \ital airs) and Pratyahara (withdrawal of the mind from external objects) ; some by way of repeating Vedic texts such as the /?ig-Veda according to prescribed rules ; some by way of studying the contents of the Scriptures (sastra). 29. Others offer pra»a ( outgoing breath ) in apana (incoming breath), and apana in pra;;a, restraining the passages of pra;/a and apana, absorbed in pra;?ayama (restraint of breath).

Some practise the kind of pra«ayama called Puraka (filling in) ; some practise the kind of Pra«ayama called Rechaka (emptying) ; some are engaged in the practice of Pra«ayama called Kumbhaka by impeding the outward passage of the air through nostrils and the mouth, and by impeding the inward passage of the air in the opposite direction. 30. Others, with regulated food, offer life-breaths in life-breaths. All these are knowers of sacrifice, whose sins are destroyed by sacrifice. Regulated : limited. Whatever life-breath has been controlled, into it they sacrifice all other life-breaths ; these latter become, as it were, merged in the former. 31. Eating of ambrosia, the remnant of the 132 THE RHAGAVAD-GITA. [DiS. IV. sacrifice, they go to Eternal Brahman. This world is not for the non-sacrificer ; whence the other ? — O best of Kurus. Performing the sacrifices mentioned above, they eat, at intervals, of prescribed food in a prescribed manner. Food so eaten is called ambrosia, anirita (immortal). If they w wish for moksha, they go to Brahman in course of time, not at once, as we should understand for consistency's sake. Even this world, which is common to all beings, is not for one who performs none of the sacrifices mentioned above. How can there be to him another world which can be secured only by superior means ?

32. Thus manifold sacrifices are spread at the mouth of Brahman. Know them all as born of action. Thus knowing, thou shalt be liberated. Thus various sacrifices, such as those mentioned above, are spread at the mouth of Brahman, i.e., are known from the Vedas through such passages as the following : " We sacrifice pra;;a in speech." Know that they are all born of V the not-Self, — of action in deed, speech and thought, — for the Self is actionless. If you realise that " these are not my actions, I am actionless, I am unconcerned," you will be released, by this right knowledge, from evil, from the bond of sa/wsara. Wisdom = sacrifice is superior to other sacrifices. Right knowledge has been represented as a sacrifice in iv. 24. Then several sacrifices were taught. Knowledge is now extolled as compared with these latter kinds of sacrifices which are all means of attaining the several objects of human pursuit. ^^. Superior is wisdom-sacrifice to the sacrifice with objects, O harasser of thy foes. All action, without exception, O son of Pritha, is comprehended in wisdom. The sacrifice performed with material objects produces material effects, whereas wisdom-sacrifice does not. Wherefore wisdom-sacrifice is superior to the sacrifice performed with material objects. For, wisdom, which is the means to moksha, comprehends all action. So says the sruti :

"Just as (in the game of four dice) the three dice are comprehended in the fourth termed kjdta, so whatever good people do, all that reaches him. Any other man who knows that which he knew (obtains the same result.) — (Chha. Up. 4-1-4)- How and where one should seek wisdom. By what means is this grand wisdom to be obtained? 34. Know this: by long prostration, by enquiry, by service, those men of wisdom who have realised the truth will teach thee wisdom. Know thou by what process it is obtained. Go to the ? teachers (Acharyas) and humbly prostrate thyself before them. Ask them what is the cause of bondage (bandha) and what the means of deliverance ; what is wisdom (vidya) and what nescience (avidya). Do service to the Guru. Won over by these and other marks of respect, the teachers who, knowing the truth as well as realising it themselves, will impart to thee their wisdom, — that wisdom which has been described above. Some only, but not all, know as , well as realise the truth. — By this the Lord means to say that that knowledge alone which is imparted by those who 134 "^HE BHAGAVAD-GITA. [DiS. IV.

have realised the truth — and no other knowledge—can prove effective. Then alone the following statement will hold good : 35. Knowing which, thou shalt not again thus fall into error, O Pan^ava ; and by which, thou wilt see all beings in thy Self and also in Me. Having" obtained the wisdom imparted by them, you will not be again subject to confusion as you now are. 'By this wisdom you will also immediately perceive all beings, from Brahma (the Creator) down to grass, in your own Self. You will then realise that "these beings exist in Me." You will also see them all in Me, Vasudeva, thus : " And these beings exist in the Supreme Lord;" i.e., you will realise that unity of the individual Soul (Kshetraj»a) and the Isvara Avhich is so clearly taught in all the Upanishads. / Wisdom, a consumer of all sins and actions. Moreover, see how excellent knowledge is : 36. Even shouldst thou be the most sinful of all the sinful, thou shalt verily cross all sin by the bark of wisdom. With the boat of this knowledge, verily, you can cross the ocean of sin. For one who seeks liberation, even dharma proves to be a sin.

How does wisdom destroy sin ? — Here is an example : ^y. As kindled fire reduces fuel to ashes, O Arjuna, so does wisdom-fire reduce all actions to ashes. Just as a well-kindled fire reduces fuel to ashes, so does the fire of wisdom reduce all actions to ashes, i.e., it renders them impotent. The fire of wisdom cannot indeed literally reduce actions to ashes as fire reduces fuel to ashes. Accordingly we should understand that right knowledge is the cause which renders all actions impotent. But the actions l)y which this body has been brought into existence will come to an end only when their effects will have been fully worked out ; for, those actions have already commenced their effects. Thus/^visdoni can destroy only such actions as have not yet begun to produce their eflfects, whether they are actions done in this birth before the rise of knov/ledge and along with knowledge, or those done in the many previous births. 38. Verily, there^ exists here no purifier equal to wisdom. He who is perfected by Yoga finds it in time in himself by himself. The seeker of moksha who has perfected and regenerated himself by Yoga — by Karma- Yoga and by Samadhi-Yoga — ^ will after a long practice, himself find spiritual wisdom in himself.

The surest means to wisdom. The surest means of acquiring wisdom is taught as follows : 39. He obtains wisdom who is fall of faith, who is devoted to it, and who has subdued the senses. Having obtained wisdom, he crc long attains to the Supreme Peace. A man full of faith obtains wisdom. But he may be slow; whence it is enjoined that he should ever be intently devot- 136 THE BHAGAVAD-GiXA. [DiS. IV. ed to the means of obtaining wisdom, such as constant attendance on the Teachers (Gurus) '■=. A man of faith and devotion may not have mastery over the senses ; whence it is also enjoined that he should withdraw his senses away from their engrossment in objects. Such a man of faith, devotion and self-control is sure to obtain wisdom. Mere external acts (iv.34), such as long prostration before the Guru, may fail to produce the required effect, since they may be tinged with hypocrisy. But hyprocisy is impossible when a man is full of faith and so on. Whence these are the certain means of acquiring wisdom. — What is the result of this acquisition of wisdom ? — The answer follows : Having obtained wisdom, he swiftly attains the Supreme Peace, called Moksha. That the right knowledge quickly leads to moksha is an established truth clearly taught by all sastras as well as reason.

Wisdom the killer of doubt. Thou shalt not doubt this, for doubt is most sinful. — How? — Listen : 40. The ignorant, the faithless, and one of doubting self, is ruined. There is neither this world, nor the other, nor happiness, for one of doubting self. The man who knows not the Self is ruined, as also the man who has no faith in the teachings and the words of his Guru, and the man whose mind is full of doubts. No doubt the ignorant and the faithless are ruined, but not to the same extent as a man of doubting mind. He is the most sinful of all.— How ? — Even this world which is * And listening to their teachings. &c. common to all men is not won by a sceptic, nor the other world, nor happiness ; for, even these things come within the sweep of his doubt. Wherefore thou shalt not doubt. Wherefore ? — For, 41. Him who has renounced actions by Yoga, whose doubts have been cloven asunder by wisdom, who is self-possessed, actions bind not, O Dhana;»jaya. He who sees the Supreme Being renounces all actions — dharma and a-dharma— by virtue of Yoga or knowledge of the Supreme Being. He attains this stage when his doubt has b3en cloven asunder by the realisation of the oneness of the Self with the Isvara. As he traces all actions to the interactions of the energies (gu/eas), actions do not bind him ; they do not produce any effects (good or bad) in the case of him who, in virtue of his Yoga, has renounced all ' actions and is ever watchful over his self.

Since that man who, in virtue of the practice of karmayoga, has all his doubts cut asunder by knowledge which arises as a result of all impurity having been washed away, is not bound by actions because they have been consumed in the fire of wisdom, and since that man is ruined who entertains doubts as to the practice of karma and knowledge, 42. Therefore with the sword of wisdom cleave asunder this doubt of the Self lying in the heart and born of ignorance, and resort to Yoga. Arise, O Bharata. Doubt is most sinful. It is born of ignorance and lies in the buddhi. Kill it by wisdom, by right knowledge of the Self. [The word " atmana/i " means ' of the Self,' ' concerning the Self,' but not ' cherished by thyself.' Arjmia's doubt here is about the Self. If Arjuna could ever think that one man's doubt is ever to be cut by another, then the Lord might say ' kill thy doubt ' as opposed to anothe/s doubt. Even if Arjuna has been asked to kill the doubt concerning the Self, it implies also that the doubt is one cherished by i\rjuna.] Knowledge is destructive of all evil, such as grief, folly, and the like. Having thus slain doubt, the cause of thy ruin, apply thyself to Karma- Yoga, the means of acquiring right knowledge. Now arise and fight, O descendant of Bharata.

Which is better for the ignorant, Karma = Yoga In iv. i8, 19, 21, 22, 24, 32, 33, 37 and 41, the Lord has spoken of the renunciation of all actions ; and in iv. 42 He has exhorted Arjuna to engage in Yoga, in performance of action. Owing to the mutual opposition between performance of action and renunciation thereof as between motion and rest, the two cannot be accomplished by an individual at one and the same time. Neither have two distinct periods of time been prescribed for their respective observance. By inference, therefore, only one of them forms Arjuna's duty ; so that thinking that, of the two, — performance of action and renunciation thereof, — he should resort to the better of the two to the exclusion of the other, Arjuna asks (v. i) of the Lord with a desire to know which is the better of the two. {Objection): — As going to speak of entire devotion to J/2anayoga on the part of him who has realised the Self, the Lord has taught, in the passages quoted above, that such a man has to renounce action, but not he who has not realised the Self. Since performance of action and renunciation of action thus pertain to two distinct classes of people respectively, Arjuna's question with a view to know which of the two is better than the other is irrelevant.

140 THE bhagavad-gIta. [Dis. V. (Answey):— Yes; from your standpoint the question is irrelevant. But from the questioner's (Arjuna's) own standpoint, the question, we say, is quite relevant. — How ? — In the passages quoted above, tlie Lord enjoins renunciation as a duty (in the form " Let the wise man renounce") ; and it cannot be enjoined as a duty unless it (the term 'renounce') is more important than the agent {i.e., the term 'wise') ; so that this injunction of renunciation should be extended so as to apply to that man also who has not realised the Self, because renunciation is elsewhere enjoined on him also." It cannot be made out that renunciation of action is here intended for that man only who has realised the Self.f Thus arguing, Arjuna thinks that an ignorant man may either perform action or renounce it. But, owing to the mutual opposition of the two courses as shown above, only one of them can form the duty (of an individual at a time). And inasmuch as it is the better one of the two that should be followed, but not the other, the question with a view to know which of the two is the better is not irrelevant.

The question is not with reference to the enlightened. That this is the meaning of Arjuna's question is also evident from an examination of the meaning of the words in reply. — How ? — The reply runs as follows : "Sawmyasa and Karma- Yoga both lead to the highest bliss ; but Karma- I •' Whtn he is full of vairagya or in- to enjoin renunciation, it cannot at the difiercnce to all worldly concerns. — (A). sametimeenjoin that renunciation should t The Mima);isakas hold that a single be resorted to by the wise alone Else it proposition can embody but a single in- would involve the fallacy of a double injunction. Accordingly, if the proposition junction in a single proposition. "The wise should renounce '.' be meant Yoga is the better of the two" (v.2). We should now ascertain: Is it in reference to the Karma- Yoga and the KarmaSawnyasa resorted to by a man who has realised the Self that it is said that they lead to the highest bliss as their result, and that the Karma- Yoga is for some reason the better of the two ? Or is it in reference to those resorted to by a man who has not realised the Self that the statement is made ? — What then ?'•• — Listen: As a man who has realised the Self resorts to neither Karma- Yoga nor Sawnyasa, it is not right to speak of them as alike leading to the highest bliss, or of the superiority of his Karma- Yoga to his Karma-Sawnyasa.

If, for a man who has realised the Self, Karma-Sa;;myasa and its opposite — Karma- Yoga (performance of action) — were possible, then it would have been right to speak of them as alike leading to the highest bliss or to speak of the superiority of his Karma- Yoga to his Karma-Sa;;myasa. Inasmuch as, however, neither Karma-Sawnyasa nor Karma- Yoga is possible for a man who has realised the Self, it is not right to speak of them as alike leading to the highest bliss, or to say that Karma- Yoga is better than Karma- Sa;;myasa.

Karma- Yoga and Samnj'^asa inapplicable to the {Question) : — Are both Karma- Yoga and Karma-Sa;/myasa impossible, or is only one of them impossible, for a man who has realised the Self? If only one of them, is it KarmaYoga or Karma-Sa;/myasa ? What is the reason for the impossibility ? * How is the former supposition liable suppositions are repeated in the Bhato objection? or how is the latter reason- shya, but they have been omitted in the able? — ( Anandagiri ) f Here the two translation]. 142 THE BHAGAVAD-GITA. [DiS. V. (Answer) : — Since the man who has realised the Self is free from illusory knowledge, Karma- Yoga which is based upon illusion must be impossible for him. Here, in the Gita-5astra, in the sections treating of the real nature of the Self, it is said that a man who knows the Self, who knows himself to be the Self that is devoid of all changes of birth, &c., and is actionless, and whose illusory knowledge has been replaced by right knowledge, — that such a man has to renounce all actions, ever dwelling in the true actionless Self; and it is further said that, owing to the opposition between right knowledge and illusory knowledge as well as between their effects, he has nothing to do with KarmaYoga, the reverse of Karma- Sa;/myasa, presupposing an active Self and based on the idea of agency caused by illusory knowledge. Wherefore it is but right to say that, for him who has realised the Self and who is free from illusory knowledge, Karma- Yoga which is based upon illusory knowledge is impossible.

(Question) : — What, then, are the sections treating of the real nature of the Self in which the man who knows the Self is said to have no action to do ? (Answer) : — In ii. 17, inii. 19 and ii. 21, and in other places here and there, the man who has realised the Self is said to have no action to do. (Objection) : — Karma- Yoga is also taught here and there in the sections treating of the real nature of the Self, e.g., in ii. 18, 31, 47, &c. How, then, can Karma- Yoga be said to be impossible for a man who has realised the Self ? ( Answer ) : — It is so, because there is an opposition between right knowledge and illusory knowledge as well as l)etween their efFects. In iii. 3 it is said that the Sankhyas who have realised the true nature of the Self apply themselves to devotion in the path of wisdom — ever dwelling in the actionless Self — as distinguished from devotion in the path of action which is intended for those who have not realised the Self. The man who has realised the Self has no longer any object to gain, since he has achieved all. In iii. 17 it is said that he has no more duties to perform. In such passages as iii. 4 and v. 6 Karma- Yoga is enjoined as an accessory to the acquisition of the knowledge of the Self, while in vi.

3 it is said that the man who has obtained right knowledge has no longer anything to do with KarmaYoga. Further, in iv. 21 all action is denied to him except that which is required for bodily maintenance ; and even with reference to such acts of hearing and seeing as may be required for mere bodily maintenance, the man who knows the true nature of the Self is directed in v. 8 always to meditate with a concentrated mind on the idea that ' it is not I that do it.' It is not possible to imagine even in a dream that the man who knows the Self can have anything to do with Karma-Yoga, so opposed to right knowledge and entirely based upon illusory knowledge. Wherefore it is the Sawnyasa and the Karma- Yoga of the man who has not realised the Self that are spoken of (in this connection) as leading alike to moksha. This Sawmyasa, which consists in ' renouncing a few actions only while yet there is an idea of agency,'- is different from the one already spoken of, from the

* He thinks that he has yet to learn the gnhasthas or the second religious what the Vedantas or the Upanishads order (asrama). This sort of renunciation teach, to reason about it and to meditate is thus partial and is meant to afford to upon it. He has renounced only those the aspirant greater leisure to apply him- actions which are specially enjoined on self to the acquisition of spiritual wisdom. 144 THE BHAGAVAD-GITA. [DiS. V. renunciation of all actions, — which is resorted to by the man who has realised the Self. The former becomes very difficult of performance as it is further associated with ' yama ' and ' ni-yama ' and the like (which are the various forms of self-control). Karma- Yoga is comparatively easier ot performance and is therefore spoken of as the better of the two. Thus an examination of the meaning of the words in reply leads also to the same conclusion as has been arrived at before as regards the meaning of Arjuna's question. At the beginning of the Third Discourse, Arjuna, seeing that knowledge and action could not coexist in one man, asked the Lord " tell me that which is the better of the two;" and in reply the Lord declared decisively that devotion in the path of knowledge was meant for the Sankhyas — the renouncers, the Sawnyasins, — and that devotion in the path of action was meant for the Yogins. And from the statement "nor by mere renunciation does he attain perfection," ( iii. 4 ) it is clear that, in the view of the Lord, renunciation with knowledge is a means of attaining perfection. And Karma- Yoga, too, must lead to perfection, inasmuch as it has been enjoined (iv. 42). Arjuna now asks with a view to know as to which one of them. Karma- Yoga or Sa;«nyasa, is better for a man who has no knowledge.

I. Renunciation of actions, O l\r\shn?i, Thou praisest, and again Yoga. Tell me conclusively that which is the better of the two. Thou teachest renunciation of those actions which are enjoined in the 5astras, and Thou teachest also that performance of those very actions is necessary. I have, there- fore, a doubt as to which of them is better, performance of (prescribed) actions or renunciation of those actions. It is the better course which must be followed. Wherefore tell me conclusively that one, — it beinj; impossible for one man to resort to both at the same time, — be it performance of actions or renunciation of actions, by which you think I may attain to perfection. Karma = Yoga suits the ignorant better than To state His own opinion with a view to clear the doubt, the Lord says : The Blessed Lord said : 2. Renunciation and Yoga through action both lead to the highest bliss; but, of the two. Yoga through action is esteemed more than renunciation of action. Sa;«nyasa and Karma-yoga, renunciation of actions and performance of actions, both lead to moksha, as giving rise to (spiritual) knowledge. Though lx)th lead to moksha, yet, of the two means of attaining moksha, Karma- Yoga is better than mere — i. e., unaccompanied with knowledge — Karmasa»myasa. Thus the Lord has praised Karma- Yoga. '•'•

Wherefore ? — The answer follows : 3. He should be known as a perpetual rcnouncer who neither hates nor desires ; for, free from the -The Lord does not of course mean that is a far higher path than Karma-Yoga, Karma-Voga is superior to true Karma- though the latter is easier tliaii, and there- samnyasa. True Karma-saHinyasa, that fore perferable to, that Karma-samnyasa which is jccouipanieJ with knowledge, which io unaccompanied with knowledge. 1^.6 THE BHAGAVAD-C-iTA. [DiS. V. pairs of opposites, O mighty-armed, he is easily set free from bondage. The Karma- Yogin who neither hates pain and the objects causing pain, nor desires pleasure and the objects causing pleasure, should be known as a perpetual renouncer (sawmyasin), though he is engaged in action. Sankhya and Yoga lead to the same goal. (Objection) : — Sawnyasa and Karma- Yoga, which are meant for two distinct classes of people and are opposed to each other, should, properly speaking, be mutually opposed in their results also. They should not, on the other hand, both lead to moksha alike. (Answer) : — the Lord says: 4. Children, not the wise, speak of Sankhya and Yoga as distinct. He who is rightly devoted to even one obtains the fruits of both.

It is children who speak of Sankhya and Yoga as producing distinct and opposite results. But the wise, men of knowledge, believe that they produce but one harmonious result. He who rightly observes even one of them, Sankhya or Yoga, obtains the fruits of both. Both lead to the same result, vis., moksha. Wherefore, there is no diversity in the result. (Objection) : — Having started v/ith the words ' Sa»myasa ' and 'Karma- Yoga', how is it that He speaks of Sankhya and Yoga — with which v\-e are not at present concerned — as producing the same results ? (Aiisuj^y) : — There is no fault here. Arjuna indeed asked tlie (luestion witli reference to simple Sa/z/nyasa and simple Karma- Yoj^a. But the Lord, without leavin*; these, has added to them some additional conceptions of His own and has answered the question, speaking of tliem under other names, Sankhya and Yoga. In the opinion of the Lord, Sa;/myasa and Karma-Yoga are themselves termed Sankhya and ^'oga when knowledge of the Self (j/nina) and equanimity ( samabuddhitva) are respectively added to them. Hence no irrelevant topic. How can a man obtain the results of both by the right observance of only one ? — The answer follows :

5. That state which is reached by Sankhyas is reached by Yogins also. He sees, who sees Sankhya and Yoga as one. Sankhyas are those who are devoted to knowledge and have renounced the world. They reach the state called moksha. The same state is reached by Yogins also, — but indirectly, through the attainment of true knowledge and renunciation, — by those who perform their duties as a means of attaining knowledge,' dedicating them to the Isvara, and having no selfish end in view. That man sees rightly who sees that Sankhya and Yoga are one, as leading to an identical result. {Question) : — If so, Sawnyasa must be .superior to Yoga. How then is it that it has been declared that Karma- Yoga is better than Karma-sa;/myasa. [Anstver) : — Listen why it is so. It is the simple Karmasawnyasa and the simple Karma- Yoga with reference to which you have asked me " which one is the better of the two?" In accordance with the question, My answer has 148 THE BIIAGAVAD-GiTA. [DiS. V. been given — without having regard to knowledge — that Karma- Yoga is superior to Karma-sawnyasa. But that Sawnyasa which is based upon knowledge is regarded by Me as Stinkhya, and Silnkhya itself is the true (paramartha) Yoga. It is only by a figure that the Yoga through Vedic rites is called Yoga or Sawmyasa, inasmuch as it conduces to that (true Yoga or Sa;/myasa).

Karma Yoj^a is a means to Samnyasa. How is it that the aim of the Karma- Yoga is that (true Yoga or Samnyilsa) ? — Listen : 6. But renunciation, O mighty-armed, is hard to attain except by Yoga ; a sage equipped with Yoga ere long reaches Brahman. Renunciation (Sawnyasa) here spoken of is the true (paramarthika) Sa;.'myasa ; and Yoga is the Vedic KarmaYoga (performance of \'edic ritual) dedicated to the Isvara and entirely free from motives. A sage (muni) is so called because of his meditation (manana) on the form of the Isvara. ' Brahman ' here means renunciation (sawnyasa, which is now being spoken of), because renunciation consists in the knowledge of the Highest Self (Paramatman) ; and the sruti says : What is called "Nyfisa" is Brahman ; and Brahman is verily the Great." {Tait. Up. 4-78). A sage equipped with Yoga soon reaches Brahman, the true renunciation, which consists in steady devotion to right knowledge. Wherefore, I have said that Karma- Yoga is better. A sage's actions do not affect him. When the devotee resorts to Yoga, as a means of attaining right knowledge : 7. He who is equipped with Yoga, whose mind is quite pure, by whom the self has been conquered, whose senses have been subdued, whose Self has become the Self of all beings, — though doing, he is not tainted.

He who is equipped with Yoga, whose mind (atman, sattva) has been purified, who has conquered the body (atman, the self) and the senses, who sees rightly, whose Inner Consciousness, the Self, has formed the Self of all beings from Brahma down to a clump of grass, — he will not be tainted, i.e., he will not be bound by actions, though he may continue to perform them for the protection of the masses, /. e., v.ith a view to set an example to the masses, A sage's actions are really no actions. Neither does he really do anything. Wherefore, 8 — g. 'I do nothing at all'; thus should the truthknower think, steadfast, — though seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, going, sleeping, breathing, speaking, letting go, seizing, opening and closing the e3-es, — remembering that the senses move among sense-objects. The truth-knower is he who knows the true nature of the Self, who sees the Supreme Reality. — When and how should he think so, e\'er intent on the truth ? — The answer is given thus : ' though seeing, &c.' The duty of the man who, thus knowing the truth and THE BHAGAVAD-GITA. TDlS. V. thinking rightly, sees only inaction in actions — in all the movements of the body and the senses — consists in renouncing all actions ; for, he sees the absence of action. The man, for instance, who thinks of quenching his thirst in a mirage, mistaking it for water, will not, even after knowing that it is no water, resort to the same place for the purpose of quenching his thirst.

Karma=Yogin is untainted by the results of But as to the man who is not a truth-knower and is engaged in action : 10. He who does actions, offering them to Brahman, abandoning attachment, is not tainted bv sin, as a lotus leaf b}- water. He offers all actions to the Is\-ara, in the faith that ' I act for His sake', as a servant acts for the sake of the master. He has no attachment for the result, even for moksha. The result of actions so done is only purity of the mind, and nothing else. II I3y the body, by the mind, by. the intellect, by mere senses also, Yogins perform action, without attachment, for the purification cf the self. Mere : free from egotism, resolute in the faith that ' I act only for the sake of the Lord, not for my benefit.' 'Mere' should be construed along with 'body' &c., -y^ith each one of them separately. Yogins are those who are devoted to works, free from egotism in all their acts, without attach- inent for their results. They act only for the purification of the mind, (sattva). Wherefore, as thy duty lies only there, do thou only perform action.

12. The steady-minded one, abandoning the fruit of action, attains the peace born of devotion. The unsteady one, attached to the fruit through the action of desire, is firmly bound. The steady- minded man who, resolved that " I do actions lor the sake of the Lord, not for my benefit," abandons the fruit of action attains the peace called moksha, as the result of devotion, through the following stages : first, purity of the mind ; then, attainment of knowledge ; then, renunciation of all actions ; and lastly, devotion to knowledge. But he who is unsteady is led by desire and is attached to the fruit, thinking ' I do this act for my benefit.' He is firmly bound. \\'herefore, be thou steady-minded. The blissful embodied life of a sage. But as to the man who sees the Supreme Being, 13. Renouncing all actions by thought, and Self-controlled, the embodied one rests happily in the nine-gated city, neither at all acting nor causing to act. Actions are either tlie obligatory duties (nitya-karma«i), or those arising on the occurrence of some special events (naimittika-karma;n), or those intended for securing some special ends, and which are only optional (kamya-karma;n),or those v.hich are forbidden (pratishiddha-karma»i). The man who

152 THE "CHAGAVAD-GITA. [DiS. V. jhas subdued the senses, renounces all actions in speech, 1 thought, and deed, by discrimination, by seeing inaction , in action, and rests happily. He rests happily because he ; has given up all action in speech, thought and deed, because he is without worry, because his mind is calm, because, excepting the Self, all interests (foreign to the Self) have departed from his mind.v^Where and how does he rest ? — In the body which has nine openings : seven in the head, being the organs of sensation ; two nether ones for the passage of the urine and the dung. As having these nine openings, the body is said to be a nine-gated city. It is like a city, with the Self for its Monarch, inhabited by the citizens of the senses, mind, intellect, as well as their objects, — all working for the sole benefit of their Lord and producing consciousness of various objects. In such a nine-gated city the embodied one rests, having renounced all action. [Objection) : — Of what use is the qualification " he rests in the body"? Every man, be he a sawnyasin or not, rests in the body only. So, the qualification is meaningless.

[Answer): — He that is ignorant identifies himself with the mere aggregate of the body and the senses, and thinks : " I rest in a house, on the ground, on a seat." Such a man, regarding the mere body as himself, cannot indeed cherish the idea that he rests in the body as in a house. But in the case of a man who regards the Self as distinct from the aggregate of the body, &c., the idea that he rests in the body is quite possible. And it is also right that he should renounce by thought— by knowledge, by discriminative wisdom — -the action attributed to the Self through ignorace, but which really pertains to the not- Self. Though a man has attained discriminative wisdom (/. e., has realised his true Self as distinguished from the not-Self) and has renounced all concern with action, still, it may be said that he rests in the nine-gated city of the body as in a house, inasmuch ayfils \ personal consciousness (of resting) arises only with reference to the body in virtue of the traces of the unspent portion of the prarabdha-karma— the karma which brought the present body into existence — still continuing to be felt./Thus the qualification ' he rests in the body ' has a meaning, as pointing to a distinction between the respective standpoints of the wise and the ignorant.

{Objection) : — It is true that he renounces the actions of the body and of the senses attributed falsely to the Self through ignorance ; still, the power of acting and of causing to act may be inhere.it m the Self and may remain in him who has renounced actions. (Aiisury): — The Lord says: He nsicher acts himself, nor causes the body and the senses to act. {Question) : — Do you mean that the power of acting and of causing to act is inherent in the Self and that it ceases by renunciation, like the motion of a moving person ; or that the power is not inherent in the Self ? (Answ:)') : — The power of acting or of causing to act is not inherent in the Sslf ; for, the Lord has taught that the Self is unchangeable (ii. 23), and "though seated in the body, he acts not, nor is he tainted" (xiii, 31). Thesruti says, "It thinks as it were and moves as it were." (B/i. Up. 4-3-7). Nature is the source of activity. 14. Neither agency nor objects does the Lord 154 "^^^ BHAGAVAD-GITA. [DiS, V* create for the world, nor union with the fruits of actions. But it is the nature that acts.

The Self, the Lord (of the body), does not create agency i. e., does not of Himself urgs any one to action, ' do this.' Neither does the Self create cars, jars, mansions, and other objects of desire. Nor does the Self unite him who makes a car or the like with the fruit of the act. ) {Question): — If the Self in the body does not Himself act nor cause others to act, what then is it that acts and causes others to act ? { [Anscvev) : — ^Listen. It is Nature, Svabhava, Prakriti, \ Maya, ' the Divine Maya made up of gu;^as ' -■' ( vii. 14 ). 15. The Lord takes neither the evil nor even the good deed of any ; wisdom is enveloped by unwisdom; thereby mortals are deluded. Of any : even of His devotees. [Question) : — With what object then is done by devotees any msritorious act,— an act of worship, sacrifice, or charity, the offering of an oblation into the fire, or the like ? [Answer): — The Lord says in reply: Discriminative knowledge is enveloped by ignorance. Thereby the ignorant mortal creatures in sa;//sara are deluded and think, " I act, I cause to act, I shall enjoy, I cause to enjoy," and so on.

16. But to those whose unwisdom is destroyed by wisdom of the Self, like the sun wisdom illuminates that Supreme. * That is 10 say, Mtmaii forms the agpnt, through avidya— (A), the enjoyer, and the Lord of Creation, When that unwisdom bywhich the mortals are enveloped and deluded is destroyed by wisdom or discriminative knowledge (jf the Self, then, as the sun illuminates all objects, so wisdom illuminates the whole of the Knowable, the Supreme Reality. The sage has no more births. The Supreme Reality having been illuminated by wisdom, 17. With their consciousness in That, their Self being That, intent on That, with That for their supreme goal, they go never again to return, their sins shaken off by means of wisdom. Fixing their consciousness in Brahman and realising that the very Supreme Brahman is tiieir Self, they renounce all actions and dwell in Brahman alone, — the Supreme Brahman being their highest goal, their delight being solely in the unconditioned Self. ^-In the case of such men, all sins and other causes of mundane existence (sawsara) are destroyed by wisdom described above, and they depart from here, never returning to embodied life. The sagfe sees the One in all beings.

How do those wise men see truth whose ignorance of the Self has been removed by knowledge ? — Listen : 18. In a Brcihma;?a endued with wisdom and humility, in a cow, in an elephant, as also in a dog and in a dog-eater,''^ the wise see the same. Humility is tranquillity, the condition of a well-disciplin- * .\ chaik/ala, an outcaste. 15^ THE BHAGAVAD-GITA. [DlS. V. ed soul. Of the creatures mentioned, the highest is the brahma/^a who is spiritually regenerated and highly Sattvic {iic, in whom the energy oi Sattv a predominates). Next comes thecow, not spiritually regenerated, and Rajasic [i.e., in which the energy of Rajas predominates). Last come the elephant, &c., which are purely Tamasic (the energy of Tamas predominating). In all of them the_sages see the same, the One who is immutable in Himself and quite untouched by Sattva and other energies, or by the tendencies born of those energies, whether Sattvic, Rajasic, or Tamasic. The sage is liberated while still on earth. [Objection) : — They (the sages just spoken of) are sinful persons, whose food should not be eaten by others. For, the Law says : "Where one's equals are honored in a different manner, and where parsons who are not one's equals are honored in the same manner as oneself, a dinner must not be eaten." (Gautama's Institutes, xvii. 20.)

{AnsK>er) : — They are not sinful ; for, ig. Even here birth is overcome by them whose mind rests on equalit}^ Spotless, indeed, and equal is Brahman ; wherefore in Brahman the}' rest. Even while living here on earth, birth has been brought under control by those sages who see the One, and whose intuition (anta/j-kara«a) rests unwavering on the equality [i. c, homogeneity) of Brahman in all creatures. Though, to the ignorant, Brahman in such impure bodies as those of l8 — 19.] SAMNYASA-YOGA. I57 dog-eaters and the like appears to be contaminated by their impurities, yet He is unaffected by them and is therefore spotless. Further, He is not hetero^^eneous either, o\vinf( to any heterogeneous attributes inherent in Himself; for, consciousness (chaitanya) has no attributes. And the Lord speaks of desire and the like as tlia attributes of the Kshetra — of the body, of the not-Self (xiii 6), — and He speaks also of the Self as beginningless and without attributes (xiii. 31). Nor are there what are called ' ultimate particulars (antyaviseshas) ' as the basis of individual distinctions in the Self, since no evidence can be adduced to prove their existence in relation to tlie several bodies. '•'■ Hence Brahman is homogeneous and one. Wherefore they (the sages) rest in Brahman only. Not in the slightest can blemishes of bodies affect them, since they liave no egotism and do not identify themselves with the aggregate of the body and the like. It is only to those who are egotistic and who identify the Self with the aggregate of the body and the like, that the institute quoted above is applicable, since it refers to persons who are the objects of honor. In honoring and giving gifts, some special qualifications are taken into account, such as a knowledge of Brahman, a knowledge of the six auxiliary sciences (a;/gas), a knowledge of the four Vedas and the like. But Brahman is free from all attributes, good

■* According to the Vaiseshika system are thus enumerated : — The atoms of of philosophy ' niityn-viscsha' is that in- Earth, of Water, of Light, and of Air ; definable peculiar attribute inherent in ^Ikasa (ether), Time, Space, /I tman (soul) an eternal substance which distinguishes ^'"d Manas (mind). The nntyii-viseshas it from another eternal substance. It is '" '''o .4tman is only inferrible from a that in an eternal substance which marks distinction in the Self, for which W-danta its individual identity. The existence of sees no evidence. Distinctions in the such an attribute is only inferred in order ^°'^y cannot certainly point to distinctions to account for a distinction which is other- '" '^"^ S^'f since a yogin can simultane- wise perceived. The eternal substances °"s'>' assume, various bodies. 158 THE BHAGAVAD-GITA. [DiS. V. and bad. Hence the statement ' they rest in Brahman.' a Moreover, the institute quoted above is taken from a section which is concerned with works (Karma), whereas this portion of the GIta (from v. 13 to the end of the adhyaya) is a section treating of 'renunciation of all works. The sage is free from grief and rejoicing. Because Brahman, the Self, is blemishless and homogeneous, therefore,

20. He who knows Brahman can neither rejoice on obtaining the pleasant, nor grieve on obtaining tho unpleasant, — steady-minded, undeluded, resting in Brahman. Pleasant and unpleasant objects can cause pleasure and pain to them only who regard the body as the Self, not to him who sees thepure Self, since the latter never comes by pleasant and unpleasant objects. He is undoubtingly conscious that t_he Self is one, homogeneous, and spotless in all creatures. He is free from delusion. He rests in Brahman described above ; that is, he does no action, he has renounced all action. The sage's infinite joy. Moreover, resting in Brahman, 21. With the self unattached to external contacts, he finds the joy which is in the Self; with the Self engaged in the contemplation of I>rahman he attains the endless joy. When his intuition (antaA-kara«a) is uncontaminated by attachment to things contacted by the senses, to the sound and other sense-objects which are all external (to the Self), the sage realises the joy which there is in the Self. When his intui^on ( anta/i-kara«a ) is engaged in Yoga, in Samadhi, in a deep and steady contemplation of Brahman, then the sage attains the imperishable bliss. Therefore, he who seeks for the endless joy of the Self should withdraw the senses from the momentary pleasure of external objects.

For the following reason also he should withdraw (the senses from external objects) : — 22. For, those delights which arc born of contacts are only generators of pain, having a beginning and an end, O son of Kunti ; a wise man rejoices not in them. The pleasures that are caused by contacts of the senses with sense-objects are only generators of pain, since those delights are caused by nescience (avidya). We do find that all troubles arising in the body (adhyatmika), etc., are traceable to them (delights) only. As in this world, so in the other, — as the word 'only' indicates. Seeing that there is no trace of joy in the sawsara, the devotee should withdraw the S2ns23 from the mirage of sense-objects. Not only do the delights cause pain, but also they have a beginning and an end. The contact of a sense with its object marks the beginnin^j)f a pleasure, and their separation its end. Delights are temporary, occurring in the moment of interval (between the origin and the end). A^nian who possesses discrimination and who has realised the Supeme Reality does not rejoice in them. It is only quite ignorant persons that are, like cattle and the like, found to rejoice in the sense-objects.

i6o THE bhagavad-gIta. [Dis. v. The path of Nirvana. And there is also a wicked thing, an enemy on the path to Bliss, a most difficult thing to deal with, the source of all evil, very difficult to ward off, so that, very mighty efforts should be made, says the Lord, to repel the enemy : 23. He that is able, while still here, to withstand, before liberation from the body, the impulse of desire and anger, he is a Yogin, he is a happy man. While still here : while yet living. Before liberation fioiii the body : up to the point of death. By thus marking death as the limit, the Lord teaches that the impulse of desire and anger is unavoidable during life, since its causes are innumerable, and that till the very moment of death it should not be trusted.. Desire (Kama) is the longing for a pleasuregiving agreeable object of our experience when coming within the ken of our senses, heard of, or remembered ; and anger (krodha) is the aversion for the disagreebale, for the cause of pain, when being seen, heard of, or remembered. The impulse of desire (kama) is the agitation of the mind (anta/i-kara//a) as indicated by hairs standing on end and by a joyful countenance ; and the impulse of anger is the mental agitation indicated by the trembling of the body, by perspiration, lip-biting, fiery eyes, and the like. He who can withstand the impulses of desire and anger is a Yogin, and he is a happy man here on earth.

What sort of a man resting in Brahman attains Brahman?— The Lord says : 24. Whoso has his jo}' within and his pastime within, and whoso has his light within only, that 23 — 26] SAMNYASA-YOGA. l6l Yogin attains Brahman's bliss, himself becoming Brahman. Within: in the Self. He attains the bliss (nirva«a) in Brahman, — /. c, he attains moksha, — while still living here on earth. 25. The sages attain Brahman's bliss, — they whose sins have been destroyed and doubts removed, who are self-controlled and intent on the welfare of all beings. Sages (/?ishis) : men of right knowledge and renunciation. Intent, &c. : injuring none. 26. To the devotees who are free from desire and anger, who have controlled their thought, and w^ho have known the Self, Brahman's bliss exists everywhere. Those who have renounced all actions and attained right knowledge are liberated, whether living or dead. Realisation of the Lord by Dhyana-Yoga. It has been said that those who, renouncing all actions, remain steady in right knowledge obtain instant liberation. It has often been and will be declared by the Lord that Karma- Yoga, which is performed in complete dev^otion to the Lord and dedicated to Him, leads to moksha step by step : fiyst the purification of the mind, then knowledge, then renunciation of all actions, and lastly moksha. And now, with a view to propound at length the Dhyana-Yoga, the proximate means to right knowledge, the Lord teaches the

l62 THE BHAGAVAD-GITA, [DiS. V. Dhyana-Yoga in the following few aphoristic verses : 27-28. Shutting out all external contacts and fixing the sight between the eye-brows, equalising the out-going and the in-going breaths which pass through the nostrils, controlling the senses, mind and intellect, having moksha as his highest goal, free from desire, fear and anger, — the sage who ever (remains thus) is verily liberated. The sound and other sense-objects enter the mind within through the respective organs. These objects which are external are kept outside when a man does not think of them. A sage (muni) is one who is given to contemplation (manana) and who renounces all actions. Keeping the body in the posture described, he should always look up to moksha as his supreme goal. When the sage leads constantly this kind of life, renouncing all, he is no doubt liberated : he has nothing else to do for liberation. What has he — he whose mind is thus steadily balanced — to know and meditate upon in the Dhyana-Yoga ? 2g. On knowing Me, — the Lord of all sacrifices and austerities, the Great Lord of all worlds, the Friend of all beings, — he goes to Peace.

I am Naraya/ja, the Lord of all sacrifices and austerities, both as their author and as their Devata {i. c, as the God whose grace is sought by their means). I am the Friend of all, doing good to them without expecting any return for it. Lying in the heart of all beings, I am the dispenser of the fruits of all actions and the witness of all cognitions. On knowing Me, they attain peace, the cessation of all saw^sara.

Dhyana-yogfa is incompatible with works. At the close of the next preceding Discourse, DhyiinaYoga — Yoga by meditation, — which is the proximate means to right knowledge has been taught in a few aphoristic verses (v. 27-29). Here commences the Sixth Discourse which occupies the position of a commentary thereon. Now, action, (karma) is an external aid to Dhyana-Yoga ; and a i:^)ihastha, (householder) on whom action is enjoined, should perform it till he is able to attain to Dhyina-yoga ; and bearing this in mind, the Lord extols action in vi. i. {Objection) : — '•■Now, since action which is enjoined should be performed throughout life, what is the meaning of the limitation, ' till he is able to attain to Dhyana-Yoga' ? (Ansii'ey): — This objection does not apply here, because of the specification that, ' for the sage who wishes to attain to Yoga, action is the means' (vi. 3) ; and because it is also said that he who has attained Yoga has only to resort to renunciation (sama). If it were meant that each of them — he who wishes to attain to Yoga as well as he who has attained to Yoga — should resort to both action and renunciation, then it would be useless to specify that action and renunciation are respectively intended for him who wishes

* The Samuchchaya-Vadin maintains action if it should produce the intended that knowledge should be conjoined with result. 164 THE BHAGAVAD-GITA. [DiS. VI. to attain Yoga and for him who has attained Yoga, or to divide them into two distinct classes. {The opponent) : — Among reUgious devotees (asraniins=gnhasthas), one class comprises persons who wish to attain Yoga, another class comprises persons who have alreadyattained Yoga, while the rest are those who neither wish to attain Yoga nor have attained Yoga ; and it is but right that the first two classes should be specified and shown separately as distinguished from the third. * (Answer): — No; the words 'for the sanie devotee (in vi. 3) and the repetition of ' yoga ' in the clause ' when he has attained to Yoga ' imply this, that the same person who at first wished to attain to Yoga has only to renounce action when he has attained Yoga, this renunciation leading to the fruition of Yoga. Thus, no action forms a necessary duty throughout life. Failures in Yoga are also spoken of here (vi. 37, 38). If, in the Sixth Discourse, Yoga were meant for a grihastha, then there could be no occasion for the supposition of his ruin, inasmuch as he, though a failure in Yoga, may obtain the fruit of Karma. An action done, whether interested {kamya), or obligatory and disinterested (juYj^), must produce its effect ; — (it cannot of course produce) moksha, which, being eternal, cannot be produced by an action. We have also said i that the obligatory duty (nitya-karma), as taught by so great an authority as the Veda, must produce a result

* The opponent drives at this conclu- sthas, renounce Karma, though they sion, that while the first and third classes may practise Yoga with a view to realise of aspirants are bound to perform Karma, the true nature of the Self, those who have attained Yoga should i Vide commentary on iv. i8. not, as belonging to the order ofgriha- of its own, since, otherwise, the Veda would serve no purpose. Neither would it be proper to speak of agnhastha as a failure in both ways ; for he would still perform Karma and there would therefore be no occasion for a failure therein. {The oppoiunt): — The Karma which has been done has been oflered to the Lord ; wherefore, such Karma can bring in no result to the author. {Ansii>er)'.—^o\ for, the offering of Karma to the Lord must lead to still greater results. {The oppojunt) : — It leads only to moksha. — The offering of all actions to the Lord, when conjoined with Yoga, leads to moksha and to no other result ; but, since he has failed in Yoga, it is but right to suppose that such a man will be ruined. {Ansiver): — No; for, the verses vi. 10,14, enjoin renunciation of action. It is not possible to think of any kind of wife's aid at the time of Dhyana ; if it were possible, then it might be argued that loneliness is enjoined (vi. 10) with a view to prohibit that aidf . And what is taught in vi. 10 — "without desire, without property" — is not compatible with the life of a gnhastha. The question (vi. 38), too, regarding him who may prove a failure in both ways would not arise.

{The opponent) : — In vi. i, a man of action (Karmin) is said to be both a Sa>;myasin and a Yogin, and it is further said that he who does no action or keeps no fire cannot be a Yogin or a Sa»/nyasin. {Ansiver): — No; vi. i, merely extols the abandonment of t That is to say, Dhyina-\j)ga _as he cannot fulfil the conditions laid down taught in "the se^el is not meant for a fn vi. lo, 14, etc. grihastha who is engaged in works; for l66 THE BIIAGAVAD-GITA. [DiS. VI. attachment for results of actions, performance of which forms an external aid (bahiranga) to Dhyana-Yoga, {i. e. which leads one to DhyAna-Yoga in due course). -y^lt is not he alone who is without fire and without action that is both a Sa7;myasin and a Yogin, but also one devoted to action, who, abandoning attachment for the results of actions, performs them for the purification of the mind (sattva-suddhi). Thus by way of praise the latter is said to be a Sawmyasin and a Yogin. / It is, moreover, not proper to hold that one and the same proposition,"'' both praises the abandonment of attachment for results of actions and forbids the fourth order. Further, the Lord cannot contradict the sruti, the smriti, the Pura;/as, the Itihasa and the Yoga-sastras, which clearly teach that a man who is without fire and without action — i.e who is literally a sa7;znya.sin — is a Samnyasin and a Yogin. To forbid the fourth order would contradict what the Lord Himself teaches in iv. 13, xii. 16, 19, ii. 71.

Therefore, for the sage who wishes to attain Yoga and has already entered on the career of a grihastha, action (such as the Agnihotra) performed without a desire for its fruit becomes, by v/ay of purifying the mind, a means to Dhyana-Yoga. On this ground he is said to be a Sa7;myasin and a Yogin by way of praise. The Blssed Lord said : I. He who, without depending on the fruits of action, performs his bounden duty, he is a Sa7»nyasin and a Yogin : not he who is without fire and without action. * I'icle note 1 on p. 140. He who desires the fruits of actions is dependent thereon ; but different from him is the man in question ; he is not dependent on the fruits of actions. He who is thus free from a desire for the fruits of actions and performs action, such as the Agnihotra or fire-sacrifice as a bounden duty (nitya-karma), — not as a kamya-karma or action done with a motive, as a means of attaining some immediate specific end in view, — he who performs actions thus is superior to those who perform actions in a different spirit. With a view to impress this truth, the Lord says that he is a Sa;/myasin and a Yogin. He should be regarded as possessing both the attributes, the attributes of renunciation (sa/«nyasa) and steadfastness of mind (Yoga). Not he alone should be regarded as a sa;/myasin and a Yogin who is without fire and without action, who neither lights sacrificial fires nor engages in other actions, such as austerities and the like which require no help of sacrificial fires.

{Objection) : — In the sruti, in the sninti, and in the yogasastras, it is plainly taught that a Sa«myasin or a Yogin is one who is without fire and without action. How is it that the Lord teaches here a strange doctrine that he who lights fire and performs actions is a Sa//myasin and a Yogin ? [Ansic'cr) : — This is not to be regarded as a fault ; for, it is intended to represent a devotee to action as a Sa»myasin and a Yogin in a secondary sense of the two terms. He is regarded as a Sa/;myasin because of his renunciation of the thoughts concerning the fruits of action ; and he is regarded as a Yogin because he performs action as a means of attaining to Yoga or because he abandons thoughts concerning the fruits of actions as causing unsteadiness of 1 68 THE bhagavad-gIta. [Dis. VI. mind. Thus, it is only in a secondary sense that the two terms are applied to him. It is not, on the other hand, meant that he is in reality a Sawnyasin and a Yogin. The Lord, accordingly, says : 2. Do thou, O Pan^ava, know Yoga to be that which they call renunciation ; no one, verily, becomes a Yogin who has not renounced thoughts.

Do thou understand that the Yoga, which consists in performance of action, is that which those who are versed in the sruti and the smnti declare to be sawmyasa, the true renunciation which consists in the abandonment of all action as well as its fruit. (Question) : — On what point of similarity between KarmaYoga which consists in the performance of action (pravntti) and the pure Sawnyasa which consists in abstaining from action (nivntti) is the representation of identity of the former with the latter based ? (Answey) : — There is of course a certain amount of similarity between Karma- Yoga and pure sa/zmyasa so far as the agent is concerned. For, he who is a pure Sa;;myasin, who has renounced all actions as well as their accessories, abandons thoughts (saw/kalpa) concerning all actions and ^ their fruits, — those thoughts causing the desires which impe' one to action. A follower of Karma- Yoga, too, renounces thoughts of results, while he performs actions. This the Lord teaches in the following words : No devotee to action who has not given up the thought of reward can be a Yogin, a man of steadfastness ; for, the thought of reward causes unsteadiness of mind. That is to say, that devotee to action