विवेचन सारांश

Do your duty selflessly, and set an example to others

Śrī Bhagavān explains that if HE does not engage HIMSELF in performing HIS prescribed duties relentlessly, people will follow HIS actions, and will neglect their duties. Śrī Bhagavān is constantly involved in creating, maintaining, and dissolving the creations, without any desire for gain from this world. 

HE expects the same selfless attitude towards prescribed duties from others, in order to inspire the common man. There is a chain reaction, where enlightened people emulate Śrī Bhagavān; these enlightened people are imitated by intelligent people; the intelligent people are then imitated by educated people with some knowledge; and finally, these educated people are imitated by common people. This cycle would continue only if everyone performed their prescribed duties. Unfortunately, many people do not follow this principle, which causes suffering for common people at large. However, according to the Theory of Karma, they cannot escape the consequences of neglecting their prescribed duties.

In society, many people preach one thing but act contrary to their words. For example, a father tells his son not to smoke and to focus on his studies, and to also spend his spare time studying religious scriptures like the Gita. But if the father himself smokes, his words are contradicted by his actions, making them hollow, and his son is likely to follow suit. Because words are hollow, and actions are solid, Śrī Bhagavān sets an example through HIS actions to be emulated by common man, through the described chain system.

Śrī Bhagavān says that if HE stopped working, there would be anarchy in this whole Samsara. This would cause the growth of uncultured, immoral people worldwide, leading to ruin. People would imitate HIS actions, not HIS words. In society, selfish people set morally bad precedents, even sometimes in the name of religion. An action by any renowned person would generate a chain reaction. 

This is an indirect answer to Arjuna's question - why is he being pushed to such ghastly karma to fight? Arjuna's action was bound to initiate such a chain reaction, with others imitating him. It is incumbent upon an enlightened person to make efforts to tell others what is right on time without worrying about its implications. When Draupadi's modesty was being enraged, it was Vikarna who raised his voice against it. Although he had to face humiliation, he raised his voice on time.

An enlightened person and an ignorant person may work with the same zeal, but the difference is in attitude. The enlightened person works selflessly for the welfare of the world, whereas the ignorant person remains focussed on self-benefits and material gains. An ignorant person does not mean a dull person; he may be sharp at worldly activities, but will be ignorant spiritually. Śrī Bhagavān advises that a knowledgeable person should not create any discord in the intellect of an ignorant person performing prescribed duties for material gains, as it may distract them from doing the work. The wise person should continue to perform the prescribed duties unattached and inspire ignorant people to realize gradually the futility of work for sense gratification only. Realization that material gains are short-lived will come sooner or later, and a wise person knows it.

If a spiritually ignorant person visits temples and prays for selfish gains, a wise person should not preach to him that such a practice is useless and give lectures about moksha. It will discourage the ignorant person from visiting the temple. There was an instance in the life of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu when he was camping in a temple with his disciples. A villager regularly visited the temple to recite the Gita, offer Prasadam to Shri Bhagavān and only after that he would take food. On that particular day, a disciple of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu overheard the villager reciting Sloka 8-9, chapter 5

Naiva kiñchit karomīti yukto manyeta tattva-vit
paśhyañ śhṛiṇvan spṛiśhañjighrann aśhnangachchhan svapañśhvasan
pralapan visṛijan gṛihṇann unmiṣhan nimiṣhann api
indriyāṇīndriyārtheṣhu vartanta iti dhārayan

The disciple noted that there were errors in pronunciation, and asked the poor villager to stop as he was hurting Śrī Bhagavān with such erroneous pronunciation and would be subjected to HIS wrath. The villager stopped reciting the Gita, and started crying that unknowingly he had hurt Bhagavan. As he skipped reading the Gita, he couldn’t offer Prasadam to Śrī Bhagavān and didn’t take his food either. The day passed and everybody, including Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, slept. In the dream, Śrī Bhagavān told Chaitanya Mahaprabhu that HE was hungry because of one of his disciples. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu woke up and enquired from his disciples. The disciple narrated the event, and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu asked him to apologize to the villager. The disciple saw the villager still sitting in the corner with tears in his eyes, and brought thim to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.  He consoled the villager saying his devotion to Śrī Bhagavān was far superior, and requested him to continue reciting the Gītā and offer Prasadam as his practice all these years; it is acceptable to Śrī Krishna.

In this Sloka Śrī Bhagavān advises the same - not to unsettle a performer to modify him, and create any discord with a performer though his actions may not comply with scriptures.

All actions are performed by the three Gunas of nature (sattva, rajas, and tamas). The bewildered soul nurtures a false ego and misidentifies itself with the body. It perceives itself as the doer of all activities, even though these are carried out by the modes of material nature. Prakṛti is an intelligent power. Unless a person rises above this ego, he remains ignorant and cannot distinguish between Prakṛti and the soul. One has to rise above the Ahankar to remove ignorance. The soul is an inactive observer.

An enlightened person understands that karma is created through the interaction between the senses and objects of perception and that the soul is separate from these and therefore not entangled with them. Verses 28 and 29 highlight the differences in nature and thought processes between an enlightened and ignorant person. 

The enlightened person remains detached from karma, understanding the true nature of actions, while the ignorant person falsely believes himself to be the doer and becomes attached to karmic results. An analogy can be drawn to a player of a computer game who thinks he is in control, when in fact it is the software, created by a genius, that is directing the actions. Similarly, it is Prakṛti, a creation of Paramātmā, that is responsible for all actions. An ignorant person becomes a mere tool in the hands of Prakṛti, or Maya, while an enlightened person works for Paramātmā and is free from the bondage of karmic influences. In practical life, people fluctuate between different moods and reactions, akin to dancing to the tune of the Gunas of Prakṛti.

• Sattva Guna: pride in knowledge, brightness
• Rajas Guna: pride in success in actions
• Tamas Guna: pride in inertia, ignorance, and hypocrisy

Śrī Bhagavān advises Arjuna to surrender his ego and carry out his duties. HE encourages Arjuna to focus his mind on HIM and to engage in battle without any desire or mental inhibitions, as war is a duty of a Ksatriya, and not a crime. Actions performed without attachment to their fruits pave the way to liberation, freeing individuals from the bondage of desire. By keeping the mind fixed on the divine, one can attain equanimity and remain unaffected by success or failure. It is emphasized that performing one's duties without selfish motives, for the well-being of the world, leads to both personal and global welfare. Gratitude should be shown to those who accept selfless service.

An ignorant person, who doubts and searches for faults in HIS teachings causes his own ruin. Such deluded persons are bereft of discrimination and knowledge. As per the scriptures, the main purpose of this human life is to advance spiritually to attain Paramātmā finally, the prerequisite for this is Shraddha with an unsuspecting mind. The ignorant person is not spoiling this life alone, but future lives too, getting mired in the cycle of death and birth. Such ignorant people tend to spoil the society spiritually. It is to be noted that Paramātmā is not vindictive or threatening those who doubt HIS teachings. HE says so out of compassion, wishing to see the welfare of all HIS creatures.

For eg. A soldier failing to attack an enemy crossing the boarder, thinking of  non-violence is not dharma. His Svadharma is to follow the Army command and kill the enemy. Another connotation of this Svadharma is the dharma of the soul/Jeevatma, which is a fragment of Paramātmā. Our Svadharma is to reunite our soul with Paramātmā, of which it is a part.

If the soul is our jeevatma, our body, mind, intellect and the senses are para or external. They are always involved in sense gratification. Whatever they do for sense gratification should be considered as paradharma.

In chapter 2, Sri Paramātmā tells Arjuna, that he will accrue no sin by performing his Svadharma, and fighting the war. Rather the performance will liberate himself. If he does not fight the war, which means if he fails in his Svadharma, he will incur sin. Therefore, following ones Svadharma is very important. By doing karthavya karma or Svadharma with nishakama Bhava, one will be liberated. 

• Senses are superior to gross body
• the mind is superior to senses
• intellect is superior to mind
• the Jeevatma is superior to intellect.