Sampoorna Mahabharata • సంపూర్ణ శ్రీమహాభారతము • Episode 655

Episode 655: BG Chap 3

Only when domesticated, the elephant’s aggressiveness will reduce & it will obey. If it is chained forcibly, it will break the chain and create havoc. Likewise, the senses must be tamed through viveka-jnana (wisdom) & restrained. If they are forcibly restrained, then at a weak moment they break the chains & rush vehemently to sensory objects.

Note that the mind, which is the king of the senses, should not be allowed to wander freely. If it is given freedom, then restraining other senses serves nothing. Hence, the elders address the person who renounces actions without achieving mind-restraint as stupid (vimudha) or of ill-conduct (durachara).

yastvindriyāṇi manasā niyamyārabhatē’rjunakarmēndriyaiḥ karmayōgam asaktassa viśiṣyate

Firstly, the aspirant should bring his mind under control. He must stay away from wicked thoughts & evil intents. Then he must restrain the 5 jnanendriyas. Through the karmendriyas he must engage in good deeds i.e., duties ordained by the Vedas, helping others & other noble deeds. Such deeds must be pursued without any expectation. This is karma-yoga. They must be completed with dedication but without attachment.

The aspirant who accomplishes this is greater as compared to one who forcefully restrains his senses & abstains from actions.

Jnanendriyas are those that create the awareness, ‘this is a pot’, ‘that is a cloth’ etc. in us. They are the 5 sense organs. Karmendriyas are organs engaged in action (legs, hands, mouth, genitals & anus). The 10 indriyas & the mind should be used only for good deeds, without any expectation. Then Jnana will dawn.

niyataṁ kuru karma tvaṁ karma jyāyō hyakarmaṇaḥśarīrayātrā’pi ca tē na prasiddhyēdakarmaṇah

Arjuna! Unfailingly complete your obligatory duties. Because action is superior to inaction. Remaining inactive makes even basic body maintenance difficult. Also, you will fail in completing any worldly deed.

Earlier Arjuna asked, ‘In what lies my wellbeing- Sānkhya-path or Karma-path?’ Here the Lord gives a direct reply -
‘In your present state, Sānkhya-yoga is not the right path for you. You must adhere to the Karma path. Perform actions without desire. This will gradually lead you to Jnana. To say that you will not participate in the war & will renounce duties is incorrect. Such detachment is not long-lasting.

Renouncing action is not great. Facing the impediments but completing it is great. For sustaining the body, actions such as eating, drinking, breathing, sleeping are crucial. Abandoning them invites death. Those who lack Jnana cannot stay without action. Their wellbeing lies only in Karma-yoga.

Some abandon actions due to laziness, lack of faith, fear or doubting their capabilities. But Arjuna did not seek to abandon his duty of fighting on any of these grounds. He thought- ‘It is stated that actions trap one in bondage. The sin of killing my Gurus and relatives will lead me to wretched births & trap me. Even though war is the mandated duty for Kshatriyas & hence not sinful, I see it as a bondage, for, even good deeds lead to better births. Be it a good birth or a bad birth, - a birth creates bondage. Hence, I do not want to engage in action & invite bondage’. Krishna offers a reply for it-

yajñārthāt karmaṇō’nyatra lokō’yaṁ karmabandhanaḥtadarthaṁ karma kauntēya! muktasaṅgassamācara

Your thought that actions trap the person in bondage is correct. However, not all actions are the cause of bondage. Actions done for the sake of yagna cannot cause bondage.

Yagna commonly means Yaga. But that interpretation is not apt here as it could lead to the fault called repetitiveness. Yagna and karma (action) are synonyms. So, Yajnārtha karma cannot be ‘actions done for sake of yagna (action)’.

Vedas say Yagnō vai vishnuḥ (Yagna is Vishnu). So, the word Yagna should be interpreted as Paramatma/ Ishvara. Actions done for the sake of the Supreme Lord are Yagnartha karma.

Actions performed as an offering to the Lord without expecting any results cannot bind the person. They purify the performer’s mind. Gradually knowledge dawns on him & he obtains liberation.
On the contrary, actions done not as an offering to the Lord but with an expectation of some desires, bind the performer.

sahayajñāḥ prajā ssṛṣṭvā purōvāca prajāpatiḥanēna prasaviṣyadhvam ēṣa vō’stviṣṭakāmadhuk
At the time of creation, the creator created living beings along with karma (duties).

By birth every human being has some mandated duties. Ex., serving the parents and serving Guru. Lord Brahma, devised these duties for the upliftment of the humans.
After creating humans & their mandated duties, he said, ‘For your upliftment I have created these duties. Performing them will fulfill your cherished desire. Like the wish-fulfilling cow, they will grant you what you seek’. Hence abandoning actions is inappropriate.