The
final chapter, the third to deal with the Gunas, is the longest, and
perhaps aims to be a final summary, or recapitulation of sorts,
returning again to the fundamental questions of action, knowledge,
devotion, detachment and renunciation.
8- The Four Castes (40-44)
No man or god is free from
gunas. (40) The sequel sums up the whole Doctrine.
Duties of the four castes
ordained according- to nature. (41 -44)
41. Of Brahmanas and Kshatriyas and Vaisyas, as also of Sudras, O
Parantapa, the duties are divided according to the qualities born of
nature.
42. Serenity, self-restraint, austerity, purity, forgiveness, and
also uprightness, knowledge, wisdom, faith,—these are the duties of the
Brahmanas, born of nature.
43. Bravery, boldness, fortitude, promptness, not flying from
battle, generosity and lordliness are the duties of the Kshatriyas, born
of nature.
44. Ploughing, cattle-rearing, and trade are the duties of the
Vaisyas, born of nature. And of the nature of service is the duty of the
Sudra, born of nature.
The hard and fast hereditary
castes of India
of the present day are not meant by the Brahmans, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, and
Sudras of this chapter. In earlier days, before the ancient teaching had become
materialized, marriage was a sacred and religious contract; family life was so
understood and conducted as to provide proper environment for egos of the same
nature as the family on spiritual, psychical and other lines. Then there
existed natural castes where all lines of heredity conjoined; in these
degenerate days the castes are mixed and there are those born in castes whose
nature does not conform to the original caste whose name and privileges they
take and abuse. Nevertheless, the castes exist everywhere; but no longer does
social position or physical environment distinguish them. In all countries at
the present time, there are those in high place and power who by nature are
Sudras, and many who are Brahmans by nature are lower in our social scale, for
this is Kali Yuga when the powers of darkness are in the ascendancy. The
ancient castes performed duties which were the outcome of their several
natures, and were so recognized by all. There was no pride of caste nor
jealousy and there existed an ideal community of mutual helpfulness; hence, the
duties of the castes were “determined by the qualities which predominated in
each.” (Crosbie, Essays on the Gita, 234-235)
Devotion to one's own duty
leads to perfection. (45-47)
45. Devoted each to his own duty, man attains perfection; how one,
devoted to one's own duty, attains success, that do thou hear.
Dharma is the word which in
our language is translated as “duty,” but it has a much wider range and meaning
than that which we accord to the word “duty.” There are many who think that
duty is something that others think we should do; others again consider “duty”
to be irksome, and as actions to be performed under duress, and therefore to be
avoided; it is therefore necessary to grasp the meaning of the word “duty” as
used in the Gita. Dharma means “the sacred Law,” the fulfillment of our karmic
destiny through many incarnations, the working out and elimination of defects
which have brought us into earth life under the conditions in which we find
ourselves, which conditions we should feel and know to be the very
opportunities needed for our further progress. This is why one of the great
Teachers wrote, “Duty is the royal talisman; duty alone will lead us to
the goal.” (Crosbie, Essays on the Gita, 207)
One ought not to abandon one's
own duty. (48)
48. The duty born with oneself, O son of Kunti, though
faulty, one ought not to abandon ; for, all undertakings are surrounded
with evil, as fire with smoke. Is entire renunciation of action
possible ?
Arjuna, though own Dharma (Swadharama) is difficult to observe one should
keep in mind the fruits one would gain from it. If we start disliking our own
Dharma because it is difficult then shall we not miss the bliss of liberation?
Even if our mother is a hunchback, her love on which we survive is not
hunchback. Even if ghee has better qualities than water can fish live in ghee?
What is poison to the world is like nectar to the organisms living in it.
Therefore, even though it is difficult to observe, everyone should do only what
is prescribed for him and that which will liberate him from the worldly
troubles. To adopt other people's behaviour because it appears good is like
walking on your head instead of by your feet.
Therefore Arjuna, is it not necessary
to make a rule that one should practice one's own Dharma and avoid others? As
long as there is no Self-realisation actions are going to be there and doing
any action will always be difficult in the beginning. When every action has its
difficulties then why should we blame our own Dharma for them. If doing even
those actions which we like involves labours then how can we say that actions
prescribed by Shastras are difficult. Is there any fruit other that sorrow when
one accumulates sins by labouring one's organs and spending time of our life? Therefore
one should practice only one's own natural Dharma because it will mitigate your
labours and fetch you liberation, the highest among the four obligations of man (Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha; see notes under Ch 12).
Then God, pleased by
the great worship of observation of one's own Dharma destroys the Tama and Raja
attributes from the mind and directs one's eagerness towards Sattva attribute
resulting into the conviction that this earth and heaven are like poison. The
person then achieves the detachment of the type implied by the word
"Sansiddha" used earlier (in the Gita Shloka No 45) to explain the
meaning of detachment. (Dnyaneshwari; 18: 923-955, transl. M.R. Yardi)
Perfection in Karma-Yoga leads
to absolute Perfection. (49-50)
It has been said that the perfection reached by means of Karma-Yoga
consists in becoming qualified for jnananishtha, the Path of Wisdom ; and it is
with a view to describe, as the fruit thereof, the
naishkarmyasiddhi,—perfection in the form of absolute freedom from action,
known as jnana-nishtha,—that the Lord now proceeds to teach as follows
:
49. He whose reason is not attached anywhere, whose self is
subdued, from whom desire has fled, he by renunciation attains the supreme
state of freedom from action.
He whose reason (buddhi, antah-karana) is free from attachment to
sons, wife, and other objects of attachment, whose self (antah-karana) is
brought under his own control, from whom desire for the body, for life, and for
pleasures has fled,—a person of this sort who knows the Self attains to
the supreme perfection, to absolute freedom from action (naishkarmyasiddhi),
by samnyasa. In virtue of his knowledge of the unity of the actionless
(nishkriya) Brahman and the Self, all actions have fled from him. This is known
as the state of absolute freedom from action ; and it is a siddhi or perfections
Naishkarmyasiddhi may also mean the attainment (siddhi) of naishkavjiiya, the
state in which one remains as the actionless Self. It is supreme as
distinguished from the perfection attainable by Karma-Yoga ; it is
the state of immediate liberation (sadyo-mukti). This state is attained by
samnyasa or right knowledge,—or better still, by the renunciation of all
actions for which one is prepared by his right knowledge, and so says the
Lord in V. 13. (Baghavad Gita, with the Commentary of Sri
Sankaracharya, transl. A. Mahadeva Sastri, 1901)
The Path to Absolute
Perfection. (51-53)
51. Endued with a pure reason, controlling the self with firmness,
abandoning sound and other objects, and laying aside love and hatred ;
52. Resorting to a sequestered spot, eating but little, speech and
body and mind subdued, always engaged in meditation and concentration, endued
with dispassion
Resorting : ever accustomed to resort to such sequestred spots as a
jungle, the sandbank of a river, the mountain-cave. Eating but little : as
conducive to the serenity of thought by keeping off sleep and such other
evils. This devotee of wisdom should also restrain his speech, body
and mind. With all the senses thus quieted, he should always and devoutly
practise Dhyana or meditation upon the nature of the Self, and Yoga or
concentration of the mind on the Self. Always : this implies that he has
to do nothing else, no viantrajapa (repetition of chants or mystic formulae), etc.
Dispassion : absence of desire for visible and invisible objects. This
should be a constant attitude of the mind. (Baghavad Gita, with the
Commentary of Sri Sankaracharya, transl. A. Mahadeva Sastri, 1901)
53. Having abandoned egotism, strength, arrogance, desire, enmity,
property, free from the notion of " mine," and peaceful, he is
fit for becoming Brahman.
54. Becoming Brahman, of serene self, he neither grieves nor desires,
treating all beings alike; he attains supreme devotion to Me.
55. By Devotion he knows Me in truth, what and who I am ; then, knowing
Me in truth, he forthwith enters into Me.
By Bhakti, by the Devotion of Knowledge he knows Me as I am in the
divers manifestations caused by upadhis. He knows who I am, he knows that
I am devoid of all the differences caused by the upadhis, that I am the
Supreme Purusha, that I am like unto akasa; he knows Me to be non-dual,
the one Consciousness (Chaitanya), pure and, simple, unborn, undecaying,
undying, fearless, deathless. Thus knowing Me in truth, he enters into
Myself (Baghavad Gita, with the Commentary of Sri Sankaracharya, transl. A.
Mahadeva Sastri, 1901)
Such a person is not caught in the web of worldly things like the body
etc. His love for the world becomes dulled. He does not consider his sons, wealth
and family as his even if they go by his wishes. Then his intellect scalded by
the sense pleasures reverses into seclusion (become introspect). His conscience
does not beak the vow of not turning towards external objects. Then that seeker
grips his mind in the grip of oneness with God and turns its interested towards
Soul. At that time his desire for the worldly and beyond the world subjects
vanishes. Therefore if mind is controlled then desire also vanishes. Thus the
illusions about the realness of the world vanish and he comes to the state of
true knowledge (of the Self). His past karmas are nullified by going through
the process of enjoying or suffering for them and new karma is not created,
because the ego of being the doer of the actions has already vanished. This
state is called "Karma-samyadasha" or the state of null karmas. When
this state of null karmas is attained he meets his Guru automatically. Once he
meets his Guru, his actions and his responsibility as doer stops. The ignorance
of the seeker then is destroyed by the blessings of the true Guru. (Dnyaneshwari; 18: 956-970, transl. M.R. Yardi)
Devotion to the Lord by works
enjoined. (56-58)
56. Doing continually all actions whatsoever, taking refuge in
Me,—by My Grace he reaches the eternal undecaying Abode.
57. Mentally resigning all deeds to Me, regarding Me as the
Supreme, resorting to mental concentration, do thou ever fix thy heart in
Me.
58. Fixing thy heart in Me, thou shalt, by My Grace, cross over all
difficulties ; but if from egotism thou wilt not hear (Me), thou shalt
perish.
61. The Lord dwells in the hearts of all beings,
62. Fly unto Him for refuge with all thy being, O Bharata ; by His
Grace shall thou obtain supreme peace (and) the eternal resting place.
State of actionlessness Once the ignorance gets destroyed then the triad
of actions, the doer and the act of doing vanishes and karma is abandoned automatically.
Thus when the visible world is wiped away by destroying the ignorance which is
the root cause of all actions then the seeker realises that what he was
endeavouring to know is he himself. When ignorance goes, it takes with it the
knowledge also and what remains is the actionless consciousness. Therefore that
state of pure knowledge is called non-doing (or actionlessness). He then
remains in the state of his original form. The state of complete actionlessness
is the Siddhi of actionlessness and is naturally the most superior among the
Siddhis. There is nothing more to be gained beyond the state of actionlessness.
This state is attained by the blessings of a true Guru. Who can say that a
person whose inclination has become steady in the Self by the destruction of
duality after listening, due to his good fortune, to the advice of his true
Guru has any action remaining to be done? Without doubt, such a person has
nothing left to be done. But it is not everybody that can reach that state.
What a person, who has not yet been able to reach the state of
Self-realisation, should do is explained in the following. (Dnyaneshwari; 18: 971-991, transl. M.R. Yardi)
Devotion to the Lord is the
Secret of success in Karma-Yoga. (64-65)
65. Fix thy thought on Me, be devoted to Me, worship Me, do homage
to Me. Thou shalt reach Myself. The truth do I declare to thee ; (for)
thou art dear to Me.
Right Knowledge and
Renunciation.
66 " I destroy the darkness born of ignorance by the luminous
lamp of wisdom, abiding in their self." — (x. II.)
Qualification for instruction
in the Gita Doctrine. (67)
67. This (which has been taught) to thee is never to be taught to
one who is devoid of austerities, nor to one who is not devoted, nor to
one who does not do service, nor to one who speaks ill of Me.
68. He who with supreme devotion to Me will teach this Supreme
Secret to My devotees, shall doubtless come to Me.
13- The merit of the Bhagavad
Gita (70-78)
The merit of teaching the
Doctrine. (70)
The merit of hearing the
Doctrine. (71)
The Lord assured by Arjuna of
his grasp of the Teaching. (72-73)
Sanjaya extols the Lord and
His teachin'. (74-78)
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