Bhagavad Gita- Chapter 3 (Part-2) Karma Yogah- Yoga Of Action

BUT THE ENLIGHTENED MAN FEELS  DIFFERENTLY
    tattwavittu mahaabaaho gunakarma  vibhaagayoh
    gunaa guneshu vartanta iti matwaa na  sajjate // 3.28 //

But  he who has true insight into the respective spheres of Gunas and their actions,  holding that it is the Gunas ( in the form of senses, mind etc.) that move  among the Gunas (objects of perception) does not get attached to them, O Mighty  Arjuna.

As  a contrast to the attitude of the ignorant man explained in the previous verse,  Sri Krishna here explains the attitude of the wise man who knows that the Self  is entirely distinct from the Gunas, their classification and functions. 

The  enlightened man who has obtained insight into the categories of the gunas and  actions, attributes every action of the mind, intellect, senses and the body to  the fact that it is the product of these gunas in the shape of all instruments  of perception such as the mind, intellect and senses that are moving within the  sphere of their respective objects, which are also products of the gunas and  that he has no relation with either.   Therefore, he does not get attached to either any action or to their  fruits in the shape of agreeable or disagreeable experiences.

The  difference between the active enlightened man and the active ignorant man is  that the former is beyond the influence of the gunas and considers himself as a  non-doer while the latter is controlled by the gunas and feels that everything  is being done by him.

prakriter gunasammoodhaah sajjante  gunakarmasu
    taan akritsnavido mandaan kritsnavin na  vichaalayet // 3.29 //

The  man of perfect knowledge should not unsettle (the understanding of) the foolish  who is of imperfect knowledge, who deluded by the Gunas of nature, attach  themselves to the functions of the Gunas.

Ignorant  people perform actions with the expectation of results.  The wise, who have knowledge of the Self,  should not disturb the conviction of such ignorant persons (people of  insufficient knowledge, or men of meager intelligence) because if their minds  are unsettled they will give up actions themselves and plunge themselves into  inertia.

Therefore,  in the beginning they should be encouraged to perform actions irrespective of  their attachment to its fruits and gradually they should be taught the goal of  selfless activities for the attainment of Self-realization.

HOW SUCH PERSONS OF IMPERFECT UNDERSTANDING  SHOULD PERFORM ACTIONS?

mayi sarvaani karmaani  sannyasyaadhyaatma chetasaa
    niraasheer nirmamo bhootwaa yudhyaswa  vigatajwarah // 3.30 //

Surrendering  all actions to Me, with the mind intent on the Self, freeing yourself from the  longing and selfishness, fight unperturbed by grief.

THIS VERSE IS THE HEART OF THIS  CHAPTER CONVEYING ITS CENTRAL THEME. THE LORD REVEALS TO ARJUNA THE DEFINITE  DISCIPLINE THAT WOULD LEAD HIM TO HIS HIGHEST GOAL.

Here  the word `me' means not Sri Krishna, the person but the Supreme Self, the  Divine Being, the Supreme Lord, the Eternal and the Omniscient, the Self of all.  The Lord asks Arjuna to fight on surrendering  all activities unto Him, with the mind always concentrated on the Self. Surrendering  all actions does not mean inactivity but acting without attachment and the  sense of possession with regard to them. Actions performed with egocentric and  selfish motives become a bondage. Actions performed without attachment and desires  are not actions at all in as much as they are not capable of producing any  painful reactions.

It  also means giving up of wrong motives behind actions. Purification of motives  is possible only when the mind is made to concentrate on the Self and the  Divine glory.  Actions performed with  such mind cannot be ordinary actions but they will be activities performed for  the sake of The Lord and are the expressions of the Supreme Will through an  individual.

The  Lord further advises action without longing, ego and mental perturbance.  Longing is an expectation of a happening at a future point of time. Ego is  one's own self-estimation based on his past.   To act without ego and longing thus means acting without the memories of  the past or the anxieties about the future but to live in the present.  Even in the present there is a chance for the  man of action to waste his time and energy in unnecessarily worrying about his  activities through his inborn nature. This anxiety and worry is what is called  here as mental fever or perturbance.

The  idea is that we must engage in work by self-surrender to the Lord who presides  over cosmic existence and activity. “Thy will be done” should be our attitude  in all work. We must do the work with the sense that we are the servants of The  Lord. The word `fight' indicates individual's confrontation with circumstances  and situations in daily life.

RESULT OF SUCH ACTION BASED ON  SURRENDERING IT TO THE SUPREME

ye me matam idam nityam anutishthanti  maanavaah
    shraddhaavanto'nasooyanto muchyante  te'pi karmabhih // 3.31 //

Those  men who constantly practice this teaching of mine with faith and without  finding fault are also freed from the bondage of all actions.

Shraddha  -faith- is a mental attitude.  It is  faith in one's own Self, in the Scriptures and in the teachings of the  spiritual preceptor.  It is a combination  of the higher emotions of reverence and humility. It is the sincerity of  purpose.

Sri  Krishna advocates Karma Yoga as a path that takes one ultimately to the Supreme  because through desire less activity alone when performed with full faith and  without criticism and questioning we will be able to bring about Vasana-exhaustion  and thus make the mind purer for its meditative purposes.

The  words ‘they too are freed from the bondage of all actions’ are intended to show  that when by pursuing this discipline it is possible even for an ordinary  person to get over the binding effects of action by surrendering the results of  action to the Supreme, it should be much easier for Arjuna to attain that  state.

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