Chapter Four
Krishna is eager to grant Arjuna knowledge of the highest spiritual truths, or even a rare mystical vision; but Arjuna has been asking for Krishna to simply get him out of his present difficulties. Of course these difficulties are not minor – he is caught in a family tragedy that has developed into a vicious conflict. If he cannot extricate himself, he knows that he will have to take part in a catastrophic battle that no one wants.
So when Krishna begins to tell Arjuna about the “secret teachings” he will be privileged to hear because he is Krishna’s favorite devotee and friend, it hardly registers in Arjuna’s consciousness. His reply is confused. “How could you have taught any secret wisdom to the sages of old?” he asks.
At this point Krishna reminds Arjuna again of the process of rebirth. They have both been reborn many times, but naturally Arjuna does not remember his past lives because he has no access to this kind of knowledge. Krishna remembers his former births, but he is no ordinary being. He reveals that he has chosen to take on human birth many times for the welfare of the world. Whenever dharma, the law of life’s unity, declines, he wraps himself in his maya and takes on a finite form. Thus he returns age after age.
Vishnu, the preserving or sustaining person of the Hindu Trinity, is not mentioned here, but Krishna is usually looked upon as an incarnation of this aspect of God. As the Lord, Krishna explains, he dwells in every being, but he is manifested with special power in his incarnations or avatars. Avatara literally means descent: Vishnu is believed to descend and incarnate himself on earth from age to age to reestablish divine law (dharma). Without such intervention the entire created universe would go into decline. The natural course of creation is to go through cycles of regeneration and decay, but Vishnu – Krishna – has compassion for all the suffering of the world, and comes himself to protect the good and destroy evil. Thus Vishnu has a special relationship with all beings: he personifies the aspect of God who so loves the world that he comes into it to reestablish the purity and happiness of the Golden Age.
Krishna here reveals a little of his hidden, divine nature. He tells Arjuna that mystical union with him is possible through devotion, by which one can enter the state of divine love in which one sees God in every creature. Krishna also takes on the role of creator. It is he who has patterned the world along the lines of guna and karma.
This mystic aspect of Krishna’s being dominates the Gita. In the Mahabharata, Krishna is a princely ally who is wise and daring in his support of his friend Arjuna. But the author of the Gita is not concerned with this Krishna; he turns his attention to the mystery of Krishna’s divine nature as an aspect of Vishnu. In this sense Krishna is the inner Self in all beings. His name comes from the Sanskrit root krish, “to draw to oneself, to attract.” He is the “attractive one,” the “Lord of loving attraction.” By another etymology, the word Krishna means “the dark one.” The author of the Gita sees revealed in him the ultimate Godhead, the supreme being. But this reality is often veiled, and then Krishna is seen as an ordinary human being – or, rather, as an exceptionally gifted man, but not as God.
Many of Krishna’s words make most sense when we realize that when he speaks of himself, he is often not describing a transcendental reality so much as trying to tell Arjuna about the Self in every human being. When he says, for example, “Actions do not cling to me because I am not attached to their results,” he means, “Arjuna, actions do not cling to your real Self.” The Self in us is not touched by action; whatever we do, it remains unsullied. “Those who understand this” – about themselves – “and practice it live in freedom.”
The latter part of this chapter turns from lofty mystical topics back to Arjuna’s immediate problem. Krishna begins to talk about action, and work, and things that should be done and should not be done. It is essential, he reminds Arjuna, to act wisely, with detachment. The wise never act with selfish attachment to the fruit of their labor; they give their best in fortune and misfortune alike. Such people act in freedom.
The next section deals with the various kinds of yajna – worship or offering – that may be performed by spiritual aspirants of differing temperaments. Hindu rituals often involve making an offering to the gods by pouring an oblation into the sacred fire. Here the image is the same: whatever is offered is symbolically thrown into a consuming fire that carries the offering to God. The offering may be as obvious as worldly goods, or as subtle as knowledge or meditation: in any case it requires a measure of self-sacrifice. Yajna is a basic action, necessary to life, and those who do not perform some kind of selfless service find no home in this world or the next.
The final verses of chapter 4 introduce a new principle. In the last chapter, Krishna mentioned the path of spiritual wisdom as an alternative to the path of action or karma yoga. Now he reveals that wisdom is the goal of selfless action: knowing is the fruit of doing. The goal of all karma yoga or yajna is liberation and spiritual wisdom. The fire of spiritual awareness burns to ashes even a great heap of karma; thus true knowledge is the greatest purifier of the soul.
Krishna ends by exhorting Arjuna to cut through the doubts that still stifle him. This is the first – but not the last – mention that Krishna makes of Arjuna’s doubting heart. There has been no indication so far that Arjuna has taken in and accepted Krishna’s words. But even though Arjuna continues to drag his feet, Krishna does not abandon him. –D.M.
4: Wisdom in Action
KRISHNA
1 I told this eternal secret to Vivasvat. Vivasvat taught Manu, and Manu taught Ikshvaku. 2 Thus, Arjuna, eminent sages received knowledge of yoga in a continuous tradition. But through time the practice of yoga was lost in the world.
3 The secret of these teachings is profound. I have explained them to you today because you are my friend and devotee.
ARJUNA
4 You were born much after Vivasvat; he lived very long ago. Why do you say that you taught this yoga in the beginning?
KRISHNA
5 You and I have passed through many births, Arjuna. You have forgotten, but I remember them all.
6 My true being is unborn and changeless. I am the Lord who dwells in every creature. Through the power of my own maya, I manifest myself in a finite form.
7 Whenever dharma declines and the purpose of life is forgotten, I manifest myself on earth. 8 I am born in every age to protect the good, to destroy evil, and to reestablish dharma.
9 Those who know me as their own divine Self break through the belief that they are the body and are not reborn as separate creatures. Such a one, Arjuna, is united with me. 10 Delivered from selfish attachment, fear, and anger, filled with me, surrendering themselves to me, purified in the fire of my being, many have reached the state of unity in me.
11 As they approach me, so I receive them. All paths, Arjuna, lead to me.
12 Those desiring success in their actions worship the gods; through action in the world of mortals, their desires are quickly fulfilled. 13 The distinctions of caste, guna, and karma have come from me. I am their cause, but I myself am changeless and beyond all action. 14 Actions do not cling to me because I am not attached to their results. Those who understand this and practice it live in freedom. 15 Knowing this truth, aspirants desiring liberation in ancient times engaged in action. You too can do the same, pursuing an active life in the manner of those ancient sages.
16 What is action and what is inaction? This question has confused the greatest sages. I will give you the secret of action, with which you can free yourself from bondage. 17 The true nature of action is difficult to grasp. You must understand what is action and what is inaction, and what kind of action should be avoided.
18 The wise see that there is action in the midst of inaction and inaction in the midst of action. Their consciousness is unified, and every act is done with complete awareness.
19 The awakened sages call a person wise when all his undertakings are free from anxiety about results; all his selfish desires have been consumed in the fire of knowledge. 20 The wise, ever satisfied, have abandoned all external supports. Their security is unaffected by the results of their action; even while acting, they really do nothing at all. 21 Free from expectations and from all sense of possession, with mind and body firmly controlled by the Self, they do not incur sin by the performance of physical action.
22 They live in freedom who have gone beyond the dualities of life. Competing with no one, they are alike in success and failure and content with whatever comes to them. 23 They are free, without selfish attachments; their minds are fixed in knowledge. They perform all work in the spirit of service, and their karma is dissolved.
24 The process of offering is Brahman; that which is offered is Brahman. Brahman offers the sacrifice in the fire of Brahman. Brahman is attained by those who see Brahman in every action.
25 Some aspirants offer material sacrifices to the gods. Others offer selfless service as sacrifice in the fire of Brahman. 26 Some renounce all enjoyment of the senses, sacrificing them in the fire of sense restraint. Others partake of sense objects but offer them in service through the fire of the senses. 27 Some offer the workings of the senses and the vital forces through the fire of self-control, kindled in the path of knowledge.
28 Some offer wealth; others offer sense restraint and suffering. Some take vows and offer knowledge and study of the scriptures; and some make the offering of meditation. 29 Some offer the forces of vitality, regulating their inhalation and exhalation, and thus gain control over these forces. 30 Others offer the forces of vitality through restraint of their senses. All these understand the meaning of service and will be cleansed of their impurities.
31 True sustenance is in service, and through it a man or woman reaches the eternal Brahman. But those who do not seek to serve are without a home in this world. Arjuna, how can they be at home in any world to come?
32 These offerings are born of work, and each guides mankind along a path to Brahman. Understanding this, you will attain liberation. 33 The offering of wisdom is better than any material offering, Arjuna; for the goal of all work is spiritual wisdom.
34 Approach those who have realized the purpose of life and question them with reverence and devotion; they will instruct you in this wisdom. 35 Once you attain it, you will never again be deluded. You will see all creatures in the Self, and all in me.
36 Even if you were the most sinful of sinners, Arjuna, you could cross beyond all sin by the raft of spiritual wisdom. 37 As the heat of a fire reduces wood to ashes, the fire of knowledge burns to ashes all karma. 38 Nothing in this world purifies like spiritual wisdom. It is the perfection achieved in time through the path of yoga, the path which leads to the Self within.
39 Those who take wisdom as their highest goal, whose faith is deep and whose senses are trained, attain wisdom quickly and enter into perfect peace. 40 But the ignorant, indecisive and lacking in faith, waste their lives. They can never be happy in this world or any other.
41 Those established in the Self have renounced selfish attachments to their actions and cut through doubts with spiritual wisdom. They act in freedom. 42 Arjuna, cut through this doubt in your own heart with the sword of spiritual wisdom. Arise; take up the path of yoga!