The entire knowledge of the cosmos is packed into a mere concise verses of the Gita. The Bhagavad Gita has a threefold reading: material, astral, and.
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Harmony and the Bhagavad-gita: Behold, O Arjuna, My forms by the hundreds and thousands, of different sorts, divine and of various colours and shapes! Behold the adityas, the vasus, the rudras, the two asvins and also the maruts; behold many wonders never seen before, O Arjuna! But thou art not able to behold Me with these, thine own eyes; I give thee the divine eye; behold My lordly yoga. With numerous mouths and eyes, with numerous wonderful sights, with numerous divine ornaments, with numerous divine weapons uplifted [such a form He showed].
Wearing divine garlands and apparel, anointed with divine unguents, the all-wonderful, resplendent [supreme being], endless, with faces on all sides, If the splendour of a thousand suns were to blaze out at once [simultaneously] in the sky, that would be the splendour of that mighty being. There, in the body of the God of gods, Arjuna then saw the whole universe resting in the One, with its many groups. Then, Arjuna, filled with wonder and with hair standing on end, bowed down his head to the Lord and spoke with joined palms.
I behold all the gods, O God, in Thy body, and hosts of various classes of beings; Brahma, the Lord, seated on the lotus, all the sages and the celestial serpents! I see Thee of boundless form on every side, with many arms, stomachs, mouths and eyes; neither the end nor the middle nor also the beginning do I see, O Lord of the universe, O cosmic form! I see Thee with the diadem, the club and the discus, a mass of radiance shining everywhere, very hard to look at, blazing all round like burning fire and the sun, and immeasurable.
Thou art the imperishable, the supreme being, worthy of being known; Thou art the great treasure-house of this universe; Thou art the imperishable protector of the eternal Dharma; Thou art the Ancient person, I deem. I see Thee without beginning, middle or end, infinite in power, of endless arms, the sun and the moon being Thy eyes, the burning fire Thy mouth, heating the entire universe with Thy radiance.
The space between the earth and the heaven and all the quarters are filled by Thee alone; having seen this, Thy wonderful and terrible form, the three worlds are trembling with fear, O great-souled being! Verily, into Thee enter these hosts of gods; some extol Thee in fear with joined palms: The rudras, adityas, vasus, sadhyas, visvedevas, the two asvins, maruts, the manes and hosts of celestial singers, yakshas, demons and the perfected ones, are all looking at Thee in great astonishment.
Having beheld Thy immeasurable form with many mouths and eyes, O mighty-armed, with many arms, thighs and feet, with many stomachs, and fearful with many teeth, the worlds are terrified and so am I! On seeing Thee [the cosmic form] touching the sky, shining in many colours, with mouths wide open, with large, fiery eyes, I am terrified at heart and find neither courage nor peace, O Vishnu! Having seen Thy mouths, fearful with teeth, blazing like the fires of cosmic dissolution, I know not the four quarters, nor do I find peace.
Have mercy, O Lord of the gods! O abode of the universe! All the sons of Dhritarashtra with the hosts of kings of the earth, Bhishma, Drona and Karna, with the chief among all our warriors, They hurriedly enter into Thy mouths with terrible teeth and fearful to behold. Some are found sticking in the gaps between the teeth, with their heads crushed to powder.
Verily, just as many torrents of rivers flow towards the ocean, even so these heroes of the world of men enter Thy flaming mouths. As moths hurriedly rush into a blazing fire for [their own] destruction, so also these creatures hurriedly rush into Thy mouths for [their own] destruction. Thou lickest up, devouring all the worlds on every side with Thy flaming mouths.
Thy fierce rays, filling the whole world with radiance, are burning, O Vishnu! Tell me, who Thou art, so fierce in form. Salutations to Thee, O God Supreme! Have mercy; I desire to know Thee, the original being. I know not indeed Thy doing. I am the mighty world-destroying time, now engaged in destroying the worlds. Even without thee, none of the warriors arrayed in the hostile armies shall live. Therefore, stand up and obtain fame. Conquer the enemies and enjoy the unrivalled kingdom. Verily, they have already been slain by Me; be thou a mere instrument, O Arjuna!
Having heard that speech of Lord Krishna, the crowned one [Arjuna], with joined palms, trembling, prostrating himself, again addressed Krishna, in a choked voice, bowing down, overwhelmed with fear. It is meet, O Krishna, that the world delights and rejoices in Thy praise; demons fly in fear to all quarters and the hosts of the perfected ones bow to Thee!
The Essence of Bhagavad Gita
And why should they not, O great soul, bow to Thee who art greater [than all else], the primal cause even of [Brahma] the creator, O infinite being! O Lord of the gods! Thou art the imperishable, the being, the non-being and That which is the Supreme [beyond being and non-being]. Thou art the primal God, the ancient Purusha, the supreme refuge of this universe, the Knower, the Knowable and the supreme abode.
By Thee is the universe pervaded, O being of infinite forms! Thou art Vayu, Yama, Agni, Varuna, the moon, the creator, and the great-grandfather. Salutations, salutations unto Thee, a thousand times, and again salutations, salutations unto Thee! Salutations to Thee from front and from behind! Salutations to Thee on every side! Thou, infinite in power and prowess, pervadest all; wherefore Thou art all. Whatever I have presumptuously uttered from love or carelessness, addressing Thee as O Krishna!
Thou art the Father of this world, unmoving and moving. Thou art to be adored by this world. Thou art the greatest Guru; [for] none there exists who is equal to Thee; how then can there be another superior to Thee in the three worlds, O being of unequalled power?
Therefore, bowing down, prostrating my body, I crave Thy forgiveness, O adorable Lord! As a father forgives his son, a friend his [dear] friend, a lover his beloved, even so shouldst Thou forgive me, O God! I am delighted, having seen what has never been seen before; and yet my mind is distressed with fear.
Show me that [previous] form only, O God! Have mercy, O God of gods! I desire to see Thee as before, crowned, bearing a mace, with the discus in hand, in Thy former form only, having four arms, O thousand-armed, cosmic form! O Arjuna, this cosmic form has graciously been shown to thee by Me by My own yogic power; full of splendour, primeval, and infinite, this cosmic form of Mine has never been seen before by anyone other than thyself.
Neither by the study of the Vedas and sacrifices, nor by gifts, nor by rituals, nor by severe austerities, can I be seen in this form in the world of men by any other than thyself, O great hero of the Kurus [Arjuna]! Be not afraid nor bewildered on seeing such a terrible form of Mine as this; with thy fear entirely dispelled and with a gladdened heart, now behold again this former form of Mine. Having thus spoken to Arjuna, Krishna again showed His own form; and the great soul [Krishna], assuming His gentle form, consoled him who was terrified [Arjuna]. Having seen this Thy gentle human form, O Krishna, now I am composed and restored to my own nature!
Very hard indeed it is to see this form of Mine which thou hast seen. Even the gods are ever longing to behold it. Neither by the Vedas , nor by austerity, nor by gift, nor by sacrifice, can I be seen in this form as thou hast seen Me [so easily]. Only by unswerving devotion can I be known and truly seen in this form, Arjuna, and even be entered into, O tormentor of the foe. He who does all actions for Me, who looks upon Me as the Supreme, who is devoted to Me, who is free from attachment, who bears enmity towards no creature, he comes to Me, O Arjuna!
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Those who, fixing their minds on Me, worship Me, ever steadfast and endowed with supreme faith, these are the best in yoga in My opinion. Those who worship the imperishable, the indefinable, the unmanifested, the omnipresent, the unthinkable, the eternal and the immovable, 4. But to those who worship Me, renouncing all actions in Me, regarding Me as the supreme goal, meditating on Me with single-minded yoga, 7.
To those whose minds are set on Me, O Arjuna, verily I become ere long the saviour out of the ocean of the mortal samsara! Fix thy mind on Me only, thy intellect in Me, [then] thou shait no doubt live in Me alone hereafter. If thou art unable to fix thy mind steadily on Me, then by the yoga of constant practice do thou seek to reach Me, O Arjuna!
If thou art unable to practise even this abhyasa yoga, be thou intent on doing actions for My sake; even by doing actions for My sake, thou shalt attain perfection. If thou art unable to do even this, then, taking refuge in union with Me, renounce the fruits of all actions with the self controlled. Better indeed is knowledge than practice; than knowledge meditation is better; than meditation the renunciation of the fruits of actions; peace immediately follows renunciation.
He who hates no creature, who is friendly and compassionate to all, who is free from attachment and egoism, balanced in pleasure and pain, and forgiving, Ever content, steady in meditation, possessed of firm conviction, self-controlled, with mind and intellect dedicated to Me, he, My devotee, is dear to Me.
He who neither rejoices, nor hates, nor grieves, nor desires, renouncing good and evil, and who is full of devotion, is dear to Me. He who is the same to foe and friend, and in honour and dishonour, who is the same in cold and heat and in pleasure and pain, who is free from attachment. They verily who follow this immortal Dharma [doctrine or law] as described above, endowed with faith, regarding Me as their supreme goal, they, the devotees, are exceedingly dear to Me. I wish to learn about nature [matter] and the Spirit [soul], the Field and the Knower of the Field, knowledge and that which ought to be known.
The knowledge of the Field and the Knower of that, in my opinion, is true knowledge. Sages have sung in many ways, in various distinctive chants and also in the suggestive words indicative of the Absolute, full of reasoning and decisive. Humility, unpretentiousness, non-injury, forgiveness, uprightness, service of the teacher, purity, steadfastness, self-control, 9.
Indifference to the objects of the senses, also absence of egoism, perception of [or reflection on] the evil in birth, death, old age, sickness and pain, Non-attachment, non-identification of the Self with son, wife, home and the rest, and constant even-mindedness on the attainment of the desirable and the undesirable, Unswerving devotion unto Me by the yoga of non-separation, resort to solitary places, distaste for the society of men, I will declare that which has to be known, knowing which one attains to Immortality, the beginningless Supreme Brahman, called neither being nor non-being.
With hands and feet everywhere, with eyes, heads and mouths everywhere, with ears everywhere, He exists in the worlds, enveloping all. Shining by the functions of all the senses, yet without the senses; unattached, yet supporting all; devoid of qualities, yet their experiencer, Without and within [all] beings, the unmoving and also the moving; because of His subtlety, unknowable; and near and far away is That. And undivided, yet He exists as if divided in beings; He is to be known as the supporter of beings; He devours and He generates also.
That, the Light of all lights, is beyond darkness; it is said to be knowledge, the Knowable and the goal of knowledge, seated in the hearts of all. Thus the Field as well as knowledge and the Knowable have been briefly stated. My devotee, knowing this, enters into My being. Know thou that nature and Spirit are beginningless; and know also that all modifications and qualities are born of nature.
In the production of the effect and the cause, nature [matter] is said to be the cause; in the experience of pleasure and pain, the soul is said to be the cause. The soul seated in nature experiences the qualities born of nature; attachment to the qualities is the cause of his birth in good and evil wombs. The Supreme Soul in this body is also called the spectator, the permitter, the supporter, the enjoyer, the great Lord and the Supreme Self. He who thus knows Spirit and matter, together with the qualities, in whatever condition he may be, he is not reborn.
Some by meditation behold the Self in the Self by the Self, others by the yoga of knowledge, and others by the yoga of action. Others also, not knowing thus, worship, having heard of it from others; they, too, cross beyond death, regarding what they have heard as the supreme refuge. Wherever a being is born, whether it be unmoving or moving, know thou, O best of the Bharatas [Arjuna], that it is from the union between the Field and its Knower.
Because he who sees the same Lord dwelling equally everywhere does not destroy the Self by the self, he goes to the highest goal. He sees, who sees that all actions are performed by nature alone and that the Self is actionless. When a man sees the whole variety of beings as resting in the One, and spreading forth from That alone, he then becomes Brahman. Being without beginning and devoid of [any] qualities, the Supreme Self, imperishable, though dwelling in the body, O Arjuna, neither acts nor is tainted!
Just as the all pervading ether, being subtle, is not affected, [tainted or contaminated by anything], even so, the Self pervading the whole body is not tainted. They who, through the eye of knowledge, perceive the distinction between the Field and its Knower, and also the liberation from the nature of being, they go to the Supreme. Yoga of Distinction between the Field and the Knower of the Field.
I will again declare [to thee] that supreme knowledge, the best of all knowledge, having known which all the sages have gone to the supreme perfection after this life. They who, having taken refuge in this knowledge, attain to unity with Me, are neither born at the time of creation nor are they disturbed at the time of dissolution. My womb is the great Brahma; in that I place the germ; thence, O Arjuna, is the birth of all beings! Whatever forms are produced, O Arjuna, in any womb whatsoever, the great Brahma is their womb and I am the seed-giving father.
Of these, sattva, which from its stainlessness is luminous and healthy, binds by attachment to knowledge and to happiness, O sinless one! Know thou rajas to be of the nature of passion, the source of thirst [for sensual enjoyment] and attachment; it binds fast, O Arjuna, the embodied one by attachment to action! But know thou tamas to be born of ignorance, deluding all embodied beings; it binds fast, O Arjuna, by heedlessness, sleep and indolence! Sattva attaches to happiness, rajas to action, O Arjuna, while tamas, shrouding knowledge, attaches to heedlessness only!
Now sattva prevails, O Arjuna, having overpowered rajas and tamas; now rajas, having overpowered sattva and tamas; and now tamas, having overpowered sattva and rajas! When, through every gate [sense] in this body, the wisdom-light shines, then it may be known that sattva is predominant. If the embodied one meets with death when sattva has become predominant, then he attains to the spotless worlds of the knowers of the Highest. Meeting death in rajas, he is born among those who are attached to action; and dying in tamas, he is born in the womb of the senseless.
The fruit of good action, they say, is sattvic and pure; the fruit of rajas is pain, and ignorance is the fruit of tamas. From sattva arises knowledge, and greed from rajas; heedlessness and delusion arise from tamas, and ignorance also. Those who are seated in sattva proceed upwards; the rajasic dwell in the middle; and the tamasic, abiding in the function of the lowest guna, go downwards.
When the seer beholds no agent other than the gunas, knowing that which is higher than them, he attains to My being. The embodied one, having crossed beyond these three gunas out of which the body is evolved, is freed from birth, death, decay and pain, and attains to Immortality. What are the marks of him who has crossed over the three qualities, O Lord?
What is his conduct and how does he go beyond these three qualities? He who, seated like one unconcerned, is not moved by the qualities, and who, knowing that the qualities are active, is self-centred and moves not, Alike in pleasure and pain, who dwells in the Self, to whom a clod of earth, stone and gold are alike, to whom the dear and the unfriendly are alike, firm, the same in censure and praise, The same in honour and dishonour, towards friends and foes; he who abandons the initiative in all undertakings, is called one beyond qualities.
And he who serves Me with unswerving devotion, he, crossing beyond the qualities, is fit for becoming Brahman.
For I am the abode of Brahman, the Immortal and the Immutable, of everlasting Dharma and of absolute bliss. Yoga of the Division of the Three Gunas. They [the wise] speak of the indestructible peepul tree, having its root above and branches below, whose leaves are the metres or hymns; he who knows it is a knower of the Vedas. Below and above spread its branches, nourished by the gunas; sense-objects are its buds; and below in the world of men stretch forth the roots, originating action.
Its form is not perceived here as such, neither its end nor its origin, nor its foundation nor resting place; having cut asunder this firmly-rooted peepul tree with the strong axe of non-attachment, 4.
Essence of Bhagavad Gita
Then that goal should be sought after, whither having gone none returns again. Seek refuge in that primeval Purusha whence streamed forth the ancient activity or energy. The undeluded, those who are free from pride and ignorance, who have overcome the evil of attachment, who are ever devoted to the Self, who have turned away from desires and are entirely beyond the dualities of pleasure and pain, attain that imperishable state.
Neither sun, nor moon, nor fire illumine this state on attaining which one does not return. And this is My supreme abode. An eternal portion of Myself having become a living soul in the world of life, draws to [itself] the [five] senses with the mind for the sixth, abiding in nature. When the Lord obtains a body and when He leaves it, He takes these and goes [with them] as the wind takes the scents from their seats [flowers, etc. Presiding over the ear, the eye, touch, taste and smell, as well as the mind, he enjoys the objects of the senses.
The deluded do not see Him who departs, stays and enjoys; but they who possess the eye of knowledge behold Him. The yogis striving [for perfection] behold Him dwelling in the Self; but, the unrefined and unintelligent, even though striving, see Him not. Permeating the earth I support all beings by [My] energy; and, having become the watery moon, I nourish all herbs. Having become the fire Vaisvanara, I abide in the body of living beings and, associated with the prana and apana, digest the fourfold food.
And, I am seated in the hearts of all; from Me are memory, knowledge, as well as their absence. I am verily that which has to be known by all the Vedas ; I am indeed the author of the Vedanta, and the knower of the Vedas am I. Two Purushas there are in this world, the perishable and the imperishable.
All beings are the perishable, and the Kutastha is called the imperishable. But distinct is the Supreme Purusha called the highest Self, the indestructible Lord who, pervading the three worlds, sustains them. As I transcend the perishable and am even higher than the imperishable, I am declared as the highest Purusha in the world and in the Vedas. He who, undeluded, knows Me thus as the highest Purusha, he, knowing all, worships Me with his whole being [heart], O Arjuna! Thus, this most secret science has been taught by Me, O sinless one!
On knowing this, a man becomes wise, and all his duties are accomplished, O Arjuna! Yoga of of the Supreme Spirit. Fearlessness, purity of heart, steadfastness in yoga and knowledge, alms-giving, control of the senses, sacrifice, study of scriptures, austerity and straightforwardness, 2. Harmlessness, truth, absence of anger, renunciation, peacefulness, absence of crookedness, compassion towards beings, uncovetousness, gentleness, modesty, absence of fickleness, 3. Hypocrisy, arrogance, self-conceit, harshness and also anger and ignorance, belong to one who is born in a demoniacal state, O Arjuna!
The divine nature is deemed for liberation and the demoniacal for bondage. Grieve not, O Arjuna, for thou art born with divine properties! The demoniacal know not what to do and what to refrain from; neither purity nor right conduct nor truth is found in them. Holding this view, these ruined souls of small intellects and fierce deeds, come forth as enemies of the world for its destruction.
Filled with insatiable desires, full of hypocrisy, pride and arrogance, holding evil ideas through delusion, they work with impure resolves. Giving themselves over to immeasurable cares ending only with death, regarding gratification of lust as their highest aim, and feeling sure that that is all, Bound by a hundred ties of hope, given over to lust and anger, they strive to obtain by unlawful means hoards of wealth for sensual enjoyment. I amthe lord; I enjoy; I am perfect, powerful and happy. Who else is equal to me? I will give [charity]. Bewildered by many a fancy, entangled in the snare of delusion, addicted to the gratification of lust, they fall into a foul hell.
Self-conceited, stubborn, filled with the intoxication and pride of wealth, they perform sacrifices in name, through ostentation, contrary to scriptural ordinances. Given over to egoism, power, haughtiness, lust and anger, these malicious people hate Me in their own bodies and those of others.
Entering into demoniacal wombs and deluded birth after birth, not attaining Me, they thus fall, O Arjuna, into a condition still lower than that! A man who is liberated from these three gates to darkness, O Arjuna, practises what is good for him and thus goes to the supreme goal! He who abandons the injunctions of the scriptures and behaves according to the impulses of his desires, attains neither perfection, nor happiness, nor the highest state of salvation.
Therefore, let the scripture be the authority in determining what ought to be done and what ought not to be done. Having known what is said in the ordinance of the scriptures, thou shouldst act here in this world. Yoga of the Division between the Divine and the Demoniacal. Those who, setting aside the ordinances of the scriptures, perform sacrifice with faith, what is their condition, O Krishna?
Is it that of sattva, rajas or tamas? Do thou hear of it. The faith of everyone is according to his nature, O Bharata. Man is essentially endowed with faith. What his faith is, that indeed is he. The sattvic or pure men worship the gods; the rajasic or the passionate worship the yakshas and the rakshasas; the others [the tamasic or the deluded] worship the ghosts and the hosts of nature-spirits.
Those men who practise terrific austerities not enjoined by the scriptures, given to hypocrisy and egoism, impelled by the force of lust and attachment, 6. The food also which is dear to each is threefold, as also sacrifice, austerity and alms-giving. Hear thou the distinction of these. Foods which increase life, purity, strength, health,joy and cheerfulness, which are oleaginous and savoury, substantial and agreeable, are dear to the sattvic people.
The foods that are bitter, sour, saline, excessively hot, dry, pungent and burning, are liked by the rajasic and are productive of pain, grief and disease. That which is stale, tasteless, putrid, rotten and impure refuse, is the food liked by the tamasic. That sacrifice which is offered by men without desire for reward as enjoined by the ordinance [scripture], with a firm faith that to do so is a duty, is sattvic [pure]. The sacrifice which is offered, O Arjuna, seeking a reward and for ostentation, know thou that to be a rajasic yajna!
They declare that sacrifice to be tamasic which is contrary to the ordinances of the scriptures, in which no food is distributed, which is devoid of mantras and gifts, and which is devoid of faith. Speech which causes no excitement and is truthful, pleasant and beneficial, the practice of the study of the Vedas , are called austerity of speech. This threefold austerity practised by steadfast men with the utmost faith, desiring no reward, they call sattvic.
The austerity which is practised with the object of gaining good reception, honour and worship and with hypocrisy, is here said to be rajasic, unstable and transitory. The austerity which is practised out of a foolish notion, with self-torture, or for the purpose of destroying another, is declared to be tamasic. That gift which is given to one who does nothing in return, knowing it to be a duty to give in a fit place and time to a worthy person, that gift is held to be sattvic.
And, that gift which is made with a view to receive something in return, or looking for a reward, or given reluctantly, is said to be rajasic. The gift which is given at the wrong place and time to unworthy persons, without respect or with insult, is declared to be tamasic. By that were created formerly the brahmanas, the Vedas and the sacrifices. Therefore, with the utterance of OM are the acts of gift, sacrifice and austerity as enjoined in the scriptures always begun by the students of Brahman.
Uttering Tat, without aiming at the fruits, are the acts of sacrifice and austerity and the various acts of gift performed by the seekers of liberation. The word Sat is used in the sense of Reality and of goodness; and so also, O Arjuna, it is used in the sense of an auspicious act! Steadfastness in sacrifice, austerity and gift, is also called Sat, and also action in connection with these [or for the sake of the Supreme] is called Sat.
Whatever is sacrificed, given or performed, and whatever austerity is practised without faith, it is called asat, O Arjuna! It is naught here or hereafter [after death]. Yoga of the Division of the Threefold Faith. I desire to know severally, O mighty-armed, the essence or truth of renunciation, O Hrishikesa, as also of abandonment, O slayer of Kesi!
The sages understand sannyas to be the renunciation of action with desire; the wise declare the abandonment of the fruits of all actions as tyaga. Some philosophers declare that all actions should be abandoned as an evil, while others declare that acts of gift, sacrifice and austerity should not be relinquished. Hear from Me the conclusion or the final truth about this abandonment, O best of the Bharatas; abandonment, verily, O best of men, has been declared to be of three kinds!
Acts of sacrifice, gift and austerity should not be abandoned, but should be performed; sacrifice, gift and also austerity are the purifiers of the wise. But even these actions should be performed leaving aside attachment and the desire for rewards, O Arjuna! This is My certain and best conviction. Verily, the renunciation of obligatory action is improper; the abandonment of the same from delusion is declared to be tamasic.
He who abandons action on account of the fear of bodily trouble [because it is painful], he does not obtain the merit of renunciation by doing such rajasic renunciation. Whatever obligatory action is done, O Arjuna, merely because it ought to be done, abandoning attachment and also the desire for reward, that renunciation is regarded as sattvic! The man of renunciation, pervaded by purity, intelligent and with his doubts cut asunder, does not hate a disagreeable work nor is he attached to an agreeable one.
Verily, it is not possible for an embodied being to abandon actions entirely; but he who relinquishes the rewards of actions is verily called a man of renunciation. Learn from Me, O mighty-armed Arjuna, these five causes, as declared in the Sankhya system for the accomplishment of all actions! The body, the doer, the various senses, the different functions of various sorts, and the presiding deity, also, the fifth, Whatever action a man performs by his body, speech and mind, whether right or the reverse, these five are its causes.
Now, such being the case, he who, owing to untrained understanding, looks upon his Self, which is isolated, as the agent, he of perverted intelligence, sees not. He who is ever free from the egoistic notion, whose intelligence is not tainted by [good or evil], though he slays these people, he slayeth not, nor is he bound [by the action]. Knowledge, the knowable and the knower form the threefold impulse to action; the organ, the action and the agent form the threefold basis of action. Knowledge, action and the actor are declared in the science of the gunas [the Sankhya philosophy] to be of three kinds only, according to the distinction of the gunas.
Hear them also duly. He who is free from attachment, non-egoistic, endowed with firmness and enthusiasm and unaffected by success or failure, is called sattvic. Passionate, desiring to obtain the rewards of actions, cruel, greedy, impure, moved by joy and sorrow, such an agent is said to be rajasic. Hear thou the threefold division of the intellect and firmness according to the gunas, as I declare them fully and distinctly, O Arjuna! Now hear from Me, O Arjuna, of the threefold pleasure, in which one rejoices by practice and surely comes to the end of pain!
There is no being on earth or again in heaven among the gods that is liberated from the three qualities born of nature. Of brahmanas, kshatriyas and vaishyas, as also the sudras, O Arjuna, the duties are distributed according to the qualities born of their own nature! Serenity, self-restraint, austerity, purity, forgiveness and also uprightness, knowledge, realisation and belief in God are the duties of the brahmanas, born of [their own] nature. Prowess, splendour, firmness, dexterity and also not fleeing from battle, generosity and lordliness are the duties of kshatriyas, born of [their own] nature.
Agriculture, cattle-rearing and trade are the duties of the vaishya [merchant caste], born of [their own] nature; and action consisting of service is the duty of the sudra [servant caste], born of [their own] nature. Each man, devoted to his own duty, attains perfection. How he attains perfection while being engaged in his own duty, hear now. He from whom all the beings have evolved and by whom all this is pervaded, worshipping Him with his own duty, man attains perfection. Better is one's own duty [though] destitute of merits, than the duty of another well performed. He who does the duty ordained by his own nature incurs no sin.
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One should not abandon, O Arjuna, the duty to which one is born, though faulty; for, all undertakings are enveloped by evil, as fire by smoke! Learn from Me in brief, O Arjuna, how he who has attained perfection reaches Brahman, that supreme state of knowledge. Endowed with a pure intellect, controlling the self by firmness, relinquishing sound and other objects and abandoning both hatred and attraction, Dwelling in solitude, eating but little, with speech, body and mind subdued, always engaged in concentration and meditation, taking refuge in dispassion, Becoming Brahman, serene in the Self, he neither grieves nor desires; the same to all beings, he attains supreme devotion unto Me.
By devotion he knows Me in truth, what and who I am; and knowing Me in truth, he forthwith enters into the Supreme. Doing all actions always, taking refuge in Me, by My Grace he obtains the eternal, indestructible state or abode. Here Lord Krishna addresses the significance of karma work which should be completely surrendered to divine and deals with just doing the work without expectations of the fruits. The essence lies when each and every petty work is done for Krishna. Further, the essence of Bhagavad Gita lies in next six chapters i. Its not like sitting for five, ten minutes in front of deity and judging oneself as excellent bhakta Devotee of God , but its twenty four hours remembering known as chintan.
The last main category again comprises of six chapters i. Lord even says that Gyani is my true reflection, i. It now becomes easy for us to choose any of the three means and ways to attain liberation. So, attaining liberation by becoming Karmayogi is the preferred one as clearly exposed by the Lord.
So, one can choose any of the three segregations and start firstly reading it and then implementing it practically into ones life and then only we can taste real essence of Bhagavad Gita. Download Daily Excelsior Apps Now: