Gita Saar - A Muslim Perspective Part 1-D: Chapter-III - The Unitive Way of Action (Karma Yoga)

Chapter - III

THE UNITIVE WAY OF ACTION

(Karma-Yoga)

Chapter III presents a revised and eternal status to action, which is unavoidable and absolutely necessary. It has to be met by a factor that is even beyond the ontological reasoning of the Samkhyas and the Yogis of the earlier Chapter. This is indicated in the last verse of this Chapter where a neutral immobilization of spirit is recommended.

Now that we have seen in the previous Chapter the weight Krishna attaches to reason, let us keep our reasoning faculties open at all times. If you do so, you will find that this Chapter gives a definite answer to who is actually speaking from Krishna’s mouth. Is it the Absolute God who is speaking to Arjuna? Is it a mere mortal like us who is speaking? Or is it somebody else? The clue lies in the following three verses of Gita:

There is nothing in the three worlds, O Partha, that should be done by Me, nor anything unattained that might be attained; yet I continue to work. 

(III.22)

For if I did not continue to work unwearied, men all around would follow My path. O Son of Pritha. 

(III.23)

If I should cease to work, these worlds would perish; and I should cause confusion and destroy these people. 

(III.24)

Let us sustain the puzzle for some more time till we reach that stage of the commentary.

[1]

Arjuna said:

If you are of the opinion, O Janardana (Krishna), that reason is superior to action, why then in an action that is ghastly do you enjoin me, O Kesava (Krishna)?

Krishna had explicitly stated reason to be more superior to action in the previous Chapter. Arjuna picks on that point as he was unable to fathom how fighting (as an action) could be justified by reason. In the following verses you would see that even fighting for upholding truth is defined by Krishna as justifying reason.

[2]

By words that appear to be mixed up you seem to confound my reasoning: Tell me after taking a decision of that one (way) by which I may obtain merit. 

We know from our study of earlier chapter that Arjuna was having no inclination to fight. He refers to waging war as ‘ghora’ (terrible, harsh, ghastly) and asks Krishna not to use flowery words. Although Krishna has no intention of confusing Arjuna by any jugglery of words, Arjuna asks him to further simplify what he is saying.

Arjuna is influenced by Krishna so much so that he has decided to come with him. Yet what Krishna has told him seems to have further confounded his thoughts. He was a kshattriya and was used to fighting. Natural reaction upon accepting spiritual teachings of Krishna would have been to refrain from all fighting. We have seen in history how the same happened with Ashoka. When Arjuna tried to put forward the same logic, Krishna made it obligatory on Arjuna to fight. 

In the previous chapter, Krishna had told Arjuna that by dying he was sure to attain heaven and by winning he was to get the enjoyments of the earth. He had also heard a discourse on the need to apply reason. Verse 56 had even described people of well-founded reason as those unaffected by mishaps, who on happy occasions too evince no interest, rising above attachment, anxiety or anger. Towards the end we had also seen Krishna talking of peace. Apparently these do not gel with the qualities of a warrior that Arjuna was expecting. This was in contrast to the teachings given by Arjuna’s guru in warfare – Drona - who had taught him to concentrate only on the target, whoever that is, and think of nothing else. Krishna tells Arjuna that more than killing or getting killed, the cause for the fight is more important. This has perplexed Arjuna who asks Krishna to give him a conclusive opinion. 

[3]

Sribhagavan uvacha

There are two kinds of disciplines in this world as declared in ancient times by me. O Sinless One (Arjuna) by the unitive way of wisdom (jnana-yoga) of the samkhyas by the unitive way of action (karma-yoga) of the yogis.

When Arjuna speaks of Krishna, he calls him by various names. But when Krishna is replying, Vyasa has always used the word Sribhagavan uvacha, thereby proving that Vyasa was aware that a higher Power was replying. We have seen till now and will see more proofs later that this higher power is the Manifest Self of God (Paramatma) and not the Absolute God. 

This is in confirmation of the wordings of various Upanishads which have stated that the Manifest Self of God ceaselessly works to lead the entire creations towards the worship of the Absolute God. In the aforementioned verse, this Manifest Self or the original Noor or spirit created by God tells Arjuna that the two kinds of disciplines in this world have already been communicated in the ancient times. The fact that this Manifest Self had been communicating in the past also confirms the possibility of existence of other revealed scriptures before Gita. Vedas surely are one. If there have been other revelations before the Vedas, they are either lost or become part of a more voluminous writing as Gita is part of the Mahabharata.

Two ways are told through which we can attain union with the Manifest Self. Since Krishna, the historic character is not speaking, and it is the Manifest Self of God who is speaking here, we can safely conclude these observations as timeless and for all people of all ages.

The two paths that lead us to God are samkhya yoga and karma-yoga of the yogis. One is the samkhya yoga or the analytical study through applying wisdom and reason and the other is the karma-yoga through following the path of the action of the yogis. At this point, the commentators have erred. For instance, Nataraj Guru says: “It is not wisdom and action that are contrasted here; it is yoga giving primacy to wisdom that is compared with yoga giving primacy to action. These two hoary and respectable traditions have existed side by side implicitly or explicitly from the most ancient times.” A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (henceforth we will call him ACBSP), the founder-Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) has given altogether different meaning. He calls samkhya yoga as “the analytical study of the nature of spirit and matter,” which “is the subject matter for persons who are inclined to speculate and understand things by experimental knowledge and philosophy.” ACBSP has called the other class of men to be working in Krishna consciousness. He further says “both the yogas are interdependent, as religion and philosophy.”

Unfortunately there is no discussion of the Krishna consciousness taking place here. The words that are used are “karmayogena yoginam”. Yoginam means “those who are named or called Yogis”. Does it mean to say that anybody who calls himself a yogi or aspires to become a yogi, his actions will be termed as karma yoga? That will mean including all those yogis as well who are cheats and scoundrels, and who are just yogi by name! When Krishna is talking about reaching the Absolute and is actually fighting an army in which there are several so-called Yogis, this meaning can never be taken.

Fact is that neither two different conflicting Yogas are described here as mentioned by Nataraj Guru nor two interdependent actions are being talked about, as said by ACBSP. The second unitive action that leads us to God is through following the karmas (actions) of those who are named yogis, meaning to say those who are named as yogis by God Himself. And reading the Vedas will give us the names of those yogis, who would descend to take birth on earth. The same yogis have been called Purushottama (the best among men) elsewhere.

Since the Manifest Self knew that despite all Its attempts to introduce the names of Yogis, following whom we could have reached the Almighty, people had forgotten the real purpose of why these Yogis were introduced. They had started worshipping them, built baseless stories around them, and instead of elevating themselves to their levels, brought the personalities of these yogis down to their own level, as per which they seemed to roam about fathering children and appeared to have even more vices than the ordinary mortals. Despite this, they were worshipped so much that their misguided followers were ready to wage a war on Krishna, who taught of applying reason and wisdom so as to understand them properly.

That is why there is so much stress on applying wisdom and reasoning. People of the period, and that included the supposedly-religious heads like Bhishma and Dronacharya, wanted the old order to continue - that of their forefathers - without testing it on the basis of logic and reasoning. Can there be more than one God? Can the God introduce people who are full of vices? They were never bothered about all this and told the stories that were built around them in public gatherings. Unfortunately, this continues to this day, as we even see absurd rituals like the funeral processions of the living people being carried out to please these Devatas and women tilling the fields at night - fully naked - so as to please Indra to grant rain.

There is no doubt that Krishna is confident that applying wisdom sincerely would lead nowhere else but to One God. Also, he is confident that treading the path of those who are named yogis by God would also lead to the same result. But the path has to be followed and the named yogis should not be worshipped, as was happening in Krishna’s time or as is nearly being done by the followers of the Ahlulbayt today. 

Another point to note is that this verse clarifies the true character of Arjuna. None other than the Manifest Self of God has called Arjuna as the ‘sinless one’. If the Manifest Self has said so, it means that Arjuna had committed no sin till that date, be it in public or in private. Not only this, Arjuna had never allowed sinful thoughts to come to his mind. You have to accept this if you accept Gita as God’s word which, we maintain, is absolutist in nature.

[4]

By refraining from initiating activities a person does not come to have (the attainment of) transcending action (naishkarmya) nor can one by renunciation alone come to perfection.

This line is wrongly understood by some commentators, whose work we have seen till now. A very common nature of people in general is described here, who prefers neutrality when faced with a conflicting situation. But when the conflict is between good and bad, religiosity and pseudo-religiosity, justice and injustice, truth and untruth, God does not like the conduct of those who prefer to remain neutral.

The aforesaid lines can be more easily understood through understanding the situation at the time of Mahabharata. Krishna’s army had come to a conflict with those who called their own way of following religion as true. Evidently, there were two clear paths to be chosen. There must have been people who preferred to remain neutral. Proof of this can be seen by Arjuna’s own conduct who puts down the bow and says that he would prefer to become a roaming ascetic than fight with his own near and dear ones. After giving discourse on applying reason in the preceding verse, Paramatma or the Manifest Self (through the mouth of the material body of Krishna) says that through renunciation, one cannot come to perfection. Inaction, or refraining from initiating action - both have been condemned in clear words. Contrary to this, Paramatma wants his true followers to go a step ahead and instead of refraining from initiating activities, they should, through their attitude, stance, words and deeds, act to make this world a better a place to live – a world where God is worshipped as he deserves to be worshipped, truth and justice prevail and injustice, crime, inhumanity, torture, corruption, hatred, killing of innocents and all such vices are wiped out. This will happen only when man understands the true path to God and treads on it to attain higher levels of spirituality.

An example of exactly similar nature is available in Quran as well. Prophet Mohammad and his followers were faced with an army of the infidels. At this time, there were several Quraish who were refraining from taking sides by giving various pleas. Some would say that since they are engaged in the act of serving water to those distant travellers who came to Kaaba for Hajj, they are exempt from fighting. The Manifest Self of God denounced their actions in Quran saying that what they were doing was merely shirking their duty. 

[5]

Not even for a single instant can one ever remain engaged in no action at all. By virtue of modalities (gunas) born from nature, all are made to engage in action helplessly.

Says ACBSP: “It is not a question of embodied life, but it is the nature of the soul to be always active.” True the modalities (gunas) born from nature are such that man has to inevitably get involved in action. But it is up to us whether our actions are in the right direction or not. 

Therefore, those who claim they would commit no action at all and confine themselves to a life of inactivity, which is talked about in the previous verse, are on the wrong as this will be contrary to the nature of life. This is the word of Gita. This is reason enough for all self-proclaimed sanyasis of today who consider living in caves and forests as sanyasa to ponder and reflect. At no time can they lead a life without action. Why then run away from the society? Why not perform actions that would eventually lead to God?

Some sanyasis would say they live in caves and forest so they perform actions that would eventually lead to God. If you have read the reasoning that Krishna has given till now, you must have realized that to reach God, it is prerequisite that the lower self is not allowed to gain supremacy. What is the guarantee that it would not happen in the forest? What is the guarantee that a man in forest would eventually elevate his self to desired levels? Fact is that if man is leaving the world, the world is very much in his mind. Otherwise, why would he leave it? The real challenge is to live a life of detachment while staying in the society.  

[6]

He who sits controlling the organs of activity while ruminating mentally over items of sensuous interest, such a lost soul is said to be one of spurious conduct.

This verse is a clear criticism of those who take to renunciation (sanyasa). It is the duty of all the humans to refrain from doing wrong and to take the side of truth and justice, and sanyasis are no exception. This has been mentioned already in the 4th verse. In fact, by renouncing the world, they are even renouncing their duty to act against injustice and untruth. Moreover, there are many who say they are controlling the organs of activity by taking sanyasa, but are actually ruminating mentally over items of sensuous interest. And that is why God calls such people as “lost souls” and their conduct as “spurious”.

[7]

He, on the other hand, who keeps the senses under control by means of the mind, and then commences unitive activity while still unattached, he excels.

All senses that lead a man to the pursuit of materialistic desires or those desires that are prohibited by God need to be checked first by means of the mind (intellect). This is utmost necessary for a person before he proceeds on the path that leads him to get united with God. Use of reason and following the path shown by the divinely designated yogis will help him attain that unity with God. He will live in the society and pursue all activities like earning a living, having a marital life and having children, but without having an attachment to them. Such a person is said to have excelled in life.

The reason described by God here in Gita is the same why several staunch Muslims do not allow non-believers to read Quran. Quran is said to be the Revealed Book that shows the way to get united with God. But those who are still engaged in worldly pursuits and allow their senses to go out of control will not be able to understand what it says. Therefore, imaan (faith) was termed necessary for anyone to read Quran. However, we do not agree with this dictate. There is no guarantee that all the Muslims who are reading Quran are doing so with equal faith. There are all type of Muslims, some of whom are the worst creatures of God. True that there are some spiritually inclined Muslims as well but if merely reciting the kalima and entering the fold of Islam becomes enough Quran would not have severally criticized the hypocrites in Islam. With self-confessed professors of faith indulging in activities that reveal that they have made themselves slaves of their senses, such a ruling becomes meaningless.

[8]

Do engage yourself in action that is necessary; activity is indeed better than non-activity and even the bodily life of yours would not progress satisfactorily through non-action.

Says ACBSP: “There are many pseudo meditators who misrepresent themselves as belonging to high parentage, and great professional men who falsely pose that they have sacrificed everything for the sake of advancement in spiritual life. Lord Krishna did not want Arjuna to become a pretender. Rather, the Lord desired that Arjuna perform his prescribed duties as set forth for kshatriyas…So called renunciation for the purpose of maintenance is never approved by the Lord, nor by any religious scripture. After all, one has to maintain one’s body and soul together by some work. Work should not be given up capriciously, without purification of materialistic propensities. Anyone who is in the material world is certainly possessed of the impure propensity for lording it over material nature, or, in other words, for sense gratification. Such polluted propensities have to be cleared. Without doing so, through prescribed duties, one should never attempt to become a so-called transcendentalist, renouncing work and living at the cost of others.”

We will put it in this way! In verse 5, it was stated: “Not even for a single instant can one ever remain engaged in no action at all.” This means that since action is part and parcel of the human life, God wants all of us to live a life of activity, and not lead a life that renounces the world physically. Unfortunately, the commentators have not dared to say so for fear of opposition from those who leave the world and start living in caves or other secluded places. As we will know later, the purpose of life - as per Gita - is not just to become a better person but to endeavour to make this world a better place to live. This is not possible if we take to living a life of a sanyasi. Had all the men on Krishna’s side and also Krishna himself would have taken to sanyasa, who would have fought the might of the pseudo-religious teachings that Bhishma and Dronacharya were propagating. Fact is that all the great prophets and saints, including Krishna himself, have toiled hard, faced torture and hardships, yet stood upright against mighty powers that propagated injustice and untruth. How easy would it have been for Krishna to start living in a cave, and asking his followers to queue up to listen to his sermons? Yet he didn’t do it, because it was not the desired thing to do.

That is why God, after asking us to forego the worldly pursuits and materialistic desires and to remain unattached to the world, now asks us to “perform our prescribed duty, for doing so is better than not working. One cannot even maintain one’s physical body without work.”

[9]

Outside of activity with a sacrificial purpose, this world is bound by action. Even with such a purpose, do engage in work, O Kaunteya (Arjuna), freed of all attachments.

We have said earlier that Gita cannot be understood without understanding the socio-religious tendencies of the people of the time. A detailed study of the Vedas and the Upanishads can only help us reach the right conclusions.

There are innumerable examples in the Upanishads, many of them written a shade prior to the time of the battle of Mahabharata, which tell us that people had started associating karma (action) with the ritualistic context of the agnihotra (burnt offering). It is unfortunate that commentators like NG still persist with the same idea, thereby vitiating the entire teachings of Gita. Says he: “Karma (action) primarily suggests to the Indian mind ritualist action whether worship of the ancestors or the gods (Devatas). Worship of the ancestors, as it constitutes now normally the purva-paksha (the side of the anterior sceptic) of the Gita revaluation, was referred to already by Arjuna the disciple and condemned indirectly as being non-Aryan in II.2. Aryan ritualism proper is concerned with the pleasing or propitiation of Indra and other gods (Devatas) through burnt offerings. Although the word karma covers all activity, the attention is focused here more particularly on sacrificial ritualism.”

It is clear that commentators till today are in dark about the real purport of the war of Mahabharata. This is because they are yet to understand the real content of their own scriptures. 

We have shown in the BOOK, through our translations of passages from the Rig Veda and the Yajur Veda, how commentators like Rishi Dayananda Saraswati believed that the entire Vedas are full of ritualistic offerings and sacrificial rites to please Indra and the rest of the Devatas. When they are groping in dark about the identity of Indra and the rest of the Devatas, how can we accept that they can be true in their observations pertaining to them? Secondly, it is these translations that make people like ACBSP infer that Gita too talks about following those rituals as karma; if they had not done so, they would have more problems explaining the differences that appear to arise from their inferences from Gita and the Vedas. 

On the other hand, we have shown in the BOOK that the Vedic mantras have been wrongly translated and even you, while using a Sanskrit-English dictionary, can come to the true meanings, and can henceforth understand the Divine personalities of Indra and the rest of the Devatas in a different light. It is evident that the misguided translations were result of centuries of deviation. So much so that in various Upanishads, sages like Yajnavalkya are seen trying to teach the priests of the time the real inherent meanings behind the rituals, but to no avail. Also we find that during most of the times, Yajnavalkya is seen imparting his teachings to the priests in the courts of kings of the time, signifying firstly that it were the priests who were the most misguided and secondly, the usual place to find the priests was in the courts, where they were lavished with gifts by the kings. 

Paramatma knew that people had taken to understand karma in a different way. Therefore, he elaborates on the subject and says that outside of the activity with a sacrificial purpose, there are several other actions that a man has to perform. But we must notice that these sacrifices have not been altogether rejected, perhaps so because they are the source of remembering Indra and the rest of the Devatas, who are actually the identified yogis that guide us to God. But it is essential that the activities with a sacrificial purpose and the rest of the good deeds in life that a man has to perform should be performed without any attachment to worldly desires or things.

[10]

In ancient times, having created the peoples, with sacrifice as pertaining to them (necessarily), Prajapati (the Lord of the peoples) said: “By this shall you grow and multiply: let this be to you the milch-cow of all desires.”

The Manifest Self of God, who is doing the talking here, institutes a very vital point to the understanding of the Gita as well as the Vedas. We have said in the previous verse that God has not discounted the sacrificial offerings at all, which were meant for the Devatas. He now says that these sacrifices were instituted by the Prajapati himself and were not an act of deviation with time, as we ourselves have mentioned only a little earlier. The deviations, if they occurred were that people had forgotten the relation of these Devatas with the Absolute God, removed the Absolute God from these sacrifices altogether or had become benefit-oriented. These physical sacrifices were to remember the sacrifices that the Devatas would give at a future time. At a time when the human faculty was not fully evolved and the art of writing not fully developed, the purpose of initiating these sacrifices and relating them with the Vedic hymns was to safeguard the Vedic text from distortions. Naturally, priests had learnt the hymns by heart, as they were to recite them at the time of offering sacrifices and this guaranteed that the hymns remained free from distortions till now when the forces of Light are going to make one more attempt to lead people to the right direction – through revealing the true path that leads to God. 

People of yore performed rituals to get their desires fulfilled. That the Devatas are fulfillers of our desires is obvious. So much so that even today it is only to Indra that we pray when there is less or more of rain. On the other hand, even today, most of the children that are begotten, and perhaps all the worldly and religious desires of Shia men and women are obtained through praying to Husain and Ali (AgniDeva and VayuDeva in the Vedas).

[11]

With this do you gratify the devas and they the devas gratify you; thus gratifying reciprocally you shall reach to supreme merit.

It is sorry that commentators like NG have taken verses like this to mean that gods (actual word used in Sanskrit is ‘Devas’) are as helpless as men. So much so that the Kural of the Tamils says that the gods would perish if there was no rain, because there would be no food with which to worship them. (Tiru-k-kural,18). They also cite a passage from Brhad-aranyaka Upanishad (i.iv,10): “Verily, indeed, as many animals would be of service to a man, even so each single person is of service to the Devas. If even one animal is taken away, it is not pleasant. What then, if many?”

However, these commentators have probably missed the passages from this very Brhad-aranyaka Upanishad which tell us that the Absolute God first created the Manifest Self, which was the first of worshippers of God. Thereafter, the one Noor or Light of Devatas was created viz. Brahma. It was only then that the rest of creations in the cosmos were created. It has also been mentioned, even in this Gita, that our bodies are more closely related to the Devatas than we know ourselves; spirit inside us itself has relation with the Paramatma (Divine Spirit) through these Devatas. Several Vedic mantras, as translated by us in the BOOK, also reveal that the entire cosmos will be winded up by the God, when the last of these Devatas will be killed. Traditions related to Prophet Mohammad too talk of the same happening upon the killing of the last – the 14th – of the Ahlulbayt. And the aforementioned verse explicitly states that supreme merit is achieved only when gratified by the Devatas.

The purpose why the Devatas were created was to lead and show the way as to how to worship the God. The last Chapter of Yajur Veda explicitly tells that all creations like the sun, the moon, the heavens, the four quarters, and the earth are perpetually engaged in the worship of God. If there is a collective body that does not worship God, they are the Jinns and man. By offering sacrifices to the Devatas, we please the Devatas and they in turn please us by showering bounties on us. The Devatas get pleased with our acts of worship because their ceaseless endeavour is to bring as many men, and perhaps the entire mankind, towards the worship of God. This is also the purpose of their very creation.

This can be further explained by another example. We know now that when these Devatas came to dwell on this earth for the last time, their names on earth were different (like Mohammad, Ali, Hasan, Husain and others). Their endeavour always was to lead us to God. But Zulmat or the satanic forces continued to work against them with great intensity. The maximum number of supporters that Husain could get to fight the armies of Yazid was 72. Prophet Mohammad had more followers visibly, but they all were not as devout as the supporters of Husain. Rest of the Ahlulbayt could not even muster as many friends as Husain. And the narrations from Prophet say that when Mahdi (the Kalki Avatar) would arrive, there would be 313 men on his side, thus showing that the number of the true believers of God has always remained small. 

Gita also talks of our materialistic pursuits being directly related to the decay of the world. The purpose of the Devatas is to prolong the life of this world as much as possible by leading people towards the right path. That is why Krishna fought the evil forces of his time. Husain even sacrificed his life, along with that of his family members and friends, in order to uphold the principles of truth and justice. However, when evil will go beyond control, it is believed, and it is mentioned both in the Vedas, the Upanishads and the Puranas, and also in the sayings of Prophet Mohammad, then the last of the Avatar will come in the Kaliyuga. This last Avatar will be the 14th Ahlulbayt (the 12th Imam) of Muslims or the 12th Aditya or Kalki Avatar of the Hindus. When he will be here, all vices and sins would vanish and there would be righteousness all around. Naturally, it won’t be possible for him to do all this alone. And he will need as many friends and supporters from amongst us, to achieve his objective. That is why it has been said that the Devatas are pleased when they see more people worshipping the God. 

[12]

Those devas shall bestow on you all gratifications you desire: one who eats what is given to them without giving in turn to them, he is a thief indeed.

Unable to understand the real identity of the Devatas, the commentators are misled. On one hand, they wish to prove that Hinduism believe in only one Absolute God, but are compelled to translate Devatas as gods. Therefore they sometimes refer to them as smaller gods as well, which cannot be accepted by anybody who brings his reasoning to play. Therefore, NG tries to give another explanation, which is in fact more absurd than the first. He says: “Prajapati is still speaking; and the multiplicity of gods referred to in this verse are only incidental extra characters brought in for the purposes of discussion only.” This is ridiculous! Does it not amount to saying that God talks rubbish and there are passages in Gita that are just for the purpose of discussion, and actually have no meaning? No word of God, we reiterate, is without a purpose, not the least the characters. Moreover, NG himself has been translating the word ‘Deva’ as gods till now, but when he is unable to explain this particular verse, he goes on to give this illogical argument.

ACBSP calls these Devatas as demigods and says that they are “empowered administrators of material affairs. The supply of air, light, water and all other benedictions for maintaining the body and soul of every living entity is entrusted to the demigods, who are innumerable assistants in different parts of the body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Their pleasures and displeasures are dependent on the performance of yajnas by the human being. Some of the yajnas are meant to satisfy particular demigods; but even in so doing, Lord Vishnu is worshipped in all yajnas as the chief beneficiary. It is stated also in the Bhagavada-Gita that Krishna Himself is the beneficiary of all kinds of yajnas: bhoktaram yajna-tapasam. Therefore, ultimate satisfaction of the yajnapati is the chief purpose of all yajnas. When these yajnas are perfectly performed, naturally the demigods in charge of the different departments of supply are pleased, and there is no scarcity in the supply of natural products.”

ACBSP is close to our view, that Devatas are Divine Personalities, who are empowered administrators of all affairs. Yet as regards to the true character of the Devatas, he too is in dark. Therefore, he just confines them to be the assistants or in charge of the different departments. Truth is that the Devatas are the true masters of the world and this designation is given to them by none but God Himself. There is an Upanishad which clearly states that God, pleased with the utmost worship and sacrifices given by the Devatas, gave them the power to create the cosmos and the entire things that it contains that are present on this earth. Likewise, the God will wind up the cosmos when the last of the Devatas is killed. Their purpose of creation is to worship and to show us the way to worship the God. Since everything that is created has been created for them and out of their power, if we eat a portion of that without offering a part to them, we have committed a theft as we have eaten what truly belongs to them, that too without seeking their grace.

[13]

The good man who eats of the remnants of a sacrifice is absolved of all faults; they, however, eat of evil (itself) the sinners who cook with themselves (alone) for motive.

ACBSP has translated this verse as follows: 

The devotees of the Lord are released from all kinds of sins because they eat food which is offered first for sacrifice. Others, who prepare food for personal sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin.

Says he in explanation: “Others, who prepare food for self or sense gratification, are not only thieves but also the eaters of all kinds of sins. How can a person be happy if he is both a thief and sinful? It is not possible.”

Nataraj Guru says: “The verse goes on to say that one-sided enjoyment or “eating” if sin itself - which means only something that is not good – is to be understood as a kind of spiritual poison, according to the subtle dialectics of the Gita. There is an interplay of opposite values here which should not be missed by the reader.”

The point to be noted here is that if the food that is cooked without remembering these Devatas becomes an act of evil and the person who does so becomes a sinner, how can our prayers be accepted without remembering these Devatas. It is unfortunate that despite such clear indications available, we have not tried to explore more about the identity of these Devatas till now.

[14]

Food is the cause of beings, and from rain food is produced; sacrifice has its effect in rain and sacrifice has its origin in action.

When there is an epidemic disease, an antiseptic vaccine protects a person from the attack of such an epidemic. Likewise, food offered to the Devatas and then taken by us makes us sufficiently resistant to material affection, and one who is accustomed to this practice is called a devotee of the Lord. 

The verse explicitly says that the sacrifice has its effect in rain and therefore Indra, Agni, etc. are directly responsible for causing of rain. This explains why Indra is prayed when the rains do not occur. We have seen the Upanishads too have directly linked food and rain that we get to the Devatas, particularly to IndraDeva. Since this Chapter was to talk about action and reason, Krishna brings Arjuna back to the subject of action by saying that sacrifice (a part of the actions that we are supposed to do) is responsible for rain as well. See this in the light of another statement of Gita which says that men of evil are leading to the decay of this world and you will realize how much each of us is important for the sustenance of this world. That is why it has been said when each animal is taken away (by Zulmat from the path of Light), it is painful to the Devatas.

Unfortunately, though, in order to make IndraDeva happy so that rain comes in plenty, people are doing ridiculous and shameful activities like taking out a funeral procession of a living person or riding on a donkey all through the town or village. Reports have also come to light from Baijpur village in Banke district in South West Nepal that dozens of women ploughed their fields fully naked during the night so that IndraDeva feel happy and showers rain on them. Surely, IndraDeva is not going to feel pleased with such activities. He will be pleased if we offer our worship and obedience to God and not to him.

All the four Vedas are full of praise of IndraDeva, which shows that during the period of the Vedic age people loved and respected IndraDeva so much so that he was the main theme of the hymns that were sung day and night, in solitude as well as in public ceremonies and religious functions. IndraDeva used to listen to their prayers, and bestowed his bounties on the believers; there are numerous passages in the Upanishads and the Vedas which tell us that the entire cosmos, including the earth, sun, moon, water, fire and wind are controlled by the Devatas in their Light or Noor state. 

Their praise and worship for IndraDeva gradually got transferred into worshipping him and rest of the Devatas (like Siva and Devi). Since this worship was more for material benefits and half-hearted, they even accepted the absurd stories as true that were propagated by few with vested reasons. Absurdity grew to such levels that the later day commentators had to altogether deny the presence of Devatas. 

[15]

Know that action arises from Brahma and that Brahma traces his being to the Imperishable. Therefore the all-pervasive Absolute is eternally bound up with sacrifice.

We have maintained till now that people of time had forgotten the Imperishable Absolute God and had begun to worship the Devatas. What Krishna did all through his life was to show us the true place of Devatas, in between the Imperishable Absolute God and us. The same is being said here where it is clearly stated that BrahmaDeva traces his origin from the Imperishable and all sacrifices must culminate in the worship of the Absolute. [We have shown in the BOOK that BrahmaDeva is the name given to the Light or Noor that was created by the Manifest Self, which divided 14-fold to have 14 Lights exactly similar to the one light from which division took place.

From our study of Brhad-aranyaka Upanishad, we are now fully aware of the creation process that started with Brahma and then subsequent Devatas were created. There is no room for doubt that Brahma is nothing else but what is referred to as Noor-e-Mohammadi, the one Noor that divided into several Noors exactly similar to each other and also similar to the Noor from which division took place; when these Noors descended in human bodies one after another, they were called Ahlulbayt [People of the House (of God)]. Vedas and Upanishads have prophesied the events and happenings when this Noor-e-Mohammadi would take birth in human form. They have also referred to the Devata who would take birth in future as IndraDeva. 

You have also seen that Kabir Das had described Mahesh, Vishnu and Brahma as three stages of the same process of creation. Brahma’s stage was succeeded by the creation of the 14 Devatas, who are identical to each other and also identical to Brahma. Consequent to this, the entire cosmos was created; that is why it is said that action arises from Brahma. Through Brahma, the sacrifice even reaches the all-pervasive Absolute. 

Contrary to the aforementioned translation by Nataraj Guru, ACBSP has translated this verse differently. He says: 

Regulated activities are prescribed in the Vedas, and the Vedas are directly manifested from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Consequently the all-pervading Transcendence is eternally situated in acts of sacrifice.

This apparent difference in meanings is not visible when we find that the Vedas actually talk about Brahma and these Devatas in great detail. 

[16]

He who fails to lead a life here under that does not conform to the rotation of such a wheel, such a man of vicious life-time lives, O Partha (Arjuna), in vain (indeed).

ACBSP has translated this as follows: 

One who does not follow in human life the cycle of sacrifice thus established by the Vedas certainly leads a life full of sin. Living only for the satisfaction of the senses, such a person lives in vain.

Now we know that the Vedas preach nothing but identifies the traits of the personality of Devatas when they would come to live on this earth. The sacrifices they would give too are mentioned in detail. All our sacrifices are meant for the Devatas and through the Devatas they go to Brahma and through Brahma to the Paramatma and the Absolute. It is clear from these words of Krishna that he too is confirming the relationship of the Devatas to Brahma and Brahma to the Manifest and the Absolute on one hand and the relationship of the Devatas with us on the other. This is exactly what we unearthed during our study of the Vedas and Upanishads in the BOOK. 

Krishna has explicitly stated in the aforementioned verse that one who fails to lead a life as per the likings of these Devatas and do not perform necessary actions that come under the umbrella of karma, is leading a life full of sin. Such a person is living only for the satisfaction of the senses and hence his life is lived in vain.

This verse explains the purpose of all the rituals and oblations that were introduced by Prajapati (we saw earlier that it was Prajapati who had commenced the sacrifices; you have seen in the BOOK that Prajapati too is the name of one of the Devatas). The purpose was to remember the Devatas and their sacrifices (who sacrificed their lives for a cause). Eventually, the purpose was to identify the Devatas when they would come to live on the earth, so that we get to know the right path shown by them that will lead us to God.

[17]

But for him who happens to be attached to the Self alone, who finds full satisfaction in the Self, for such a man who is happy in the Self as such, too, there is nothing that he should do.

A man who is altogether aloof from ritual sacrifices and who only feels satisfied by remaining connected with the Manifest Self is described.  They are men who are not under the influence of the senses or modalities of nature.

These are men who do not need ritualistic sacrifices to identify their existence in relation to the Manifest Self of God or Paramatma. Self inside each of the animate and non-animate beings in this world traces its origin and relationship to the Manifest Self that was created by God, as mentioned in the Brhad-aranyaka Upanishad. It is clearly stated that we can lead our self to both ends – either to get united with the Manifest Self of God or to get associated with the material world. Those who are able to do the former achieve salvation. It has already been said earlier that such people become immortal in the next life. 

We have also inferred from various Upanishads and Puranas that the Noor or spirit of 14 Devatas or Ahlulbayt also has a direct link with the self inside our body. This is perhaps the reason why the entire cosmos will perish when the last of the 14 Ahlulbayt or the Kalki Avatar, who is also the 12th and last Aditya, will be killed. This is the view held by both Muslim and Hindu scriptures. 

A little later in Gita, you will read lot more about this relationship between our self and the Divine Spirit (the Manifest Self of God) through the Devatas. Be prepared to read more on the subject. The subject has been dwelt in length because this itself was the cause of the war of Mahabharata; on one side were those who wanted to bestow their true position to the Devatas and on other side were those who had elevated them as gods and had built stories around ‘gods’ of the manner they liked and didn’t allow these ‘gods’ to have any say in their acts of life. 

[18]

Neither is there anything indeed for him resulting from work done nor any from work omitted here nor is there either for him any dependence in respect of anything derivable from any being whatsoever.

ACBSP translates this in the following manner: 

A self-realized man has no purpose to fulfill in the discharge of his prescribed duties, nor has he any reason not to perform such work. Nor has he any need to depend on any other living being.

Eventual purpose is to reach God. For a man whose self has attained union with the Manifest Self or Paramatma, it does not matter much if he performs the ritual sacrifices or omits performing them. This person is at a much higher level of spirituality, where mundane rituals and offerings do not matter anymore. 

[19]

Therefore, always remaining detached, engage yourself in actions that are necessary; indeed performing actions with detachment man attains to the supreme.

This verse continues the conversation that was left in the previous verse. A person who has realized the self does not show any attachment to other living beings, even so they are his wife or children. He is independent of all attachments (and even aversions). It has already been said earlier that such a person remains neutral in all situations. He believes that he is from God and has to return to Him. Anything and everything that will come his way will be ordained from God Himself. He does good to others without expecting anything in return and only because God desires so. He works to earn a living because God has given him the responsibility of feeding the family. And he loves his wife because she is the creation of God, who by His will, has come to live with him. He loves his children because it is through them that his progeny will multiply and do good deeds; and perhaps live to be on the side of any of the Devatas, when they come to live on earth. This is far higher level of spirituality than leaving wife and children and going to live in the forest. Every act has to be performed as a duty to God; even abstinence from certain acts is performed for the same purpose. 

This is the detachment that is being talked about here and not the renunciation that is synonymous with present day sanyasis. Through this detachment alone can a person engage in actions that are necessary to perform; indeed performing actions with detachment man attains to the Supreme God.

The meaning gets clear if we understand the verse in this manner. Otherwise, commentators like Nataraj Guru have remained perplexed. See what he says: “The use of the word tasmad (therefore) here cannot be fully justified inasmuch as the two previous verses refer to a man who need not act. Its use here can be justified only on the assumption that the two previous verses refer to exceptions to the rule by way of digression.” 

See how commentators have groped in the dark for meanings, which become clear with our explanation. When they have been unable to come to a concrete meaning they have gone to the extent of finding errors in the text. They have called verses 14 and 15 to be having some vagueness and say: The “multiplicity of gods referred to in this verse (12) are only incidental extra characters brought in for the purposes of discussions only.” At another point in verse 14, NG says that Prajapati has been introduced for “literary requirements”.

Fact is that the word used in Sanskrit is Devatas, which has been wrongly translated as gods. We have already shown in the BOOK who these Devatas are. If you have read the BOOK, we are sure you are aware Prajapati too is the name given to one of the Devatas at a certain time of creation. 

Our view is that if we believe Gita or Vedas to be revealed text then we will have to take each and every line of it as correct, unless we acknowledge that the text has got distorted with time. Who are we to point a finger on God’s usage of words? Our view is that not a single word or phrase from God can be meaningless. And if we are unable to understand them properly it is due to fault in our own intellect or understanding capabilities. Thankfully, by the grace of God, we are now in position to find solutions to several mysteries that have perplexed the commentators of these sacred books and also the readers.

[20]

Janaka and such others reached perfection even performing acts. Again, having due regard for the integration of the world too, you have to act.

Janaka and many others like him attained perfection not through taking sanyasa but through living in this world and doing acts that are necessary. Since they were self-realized souls who ruled the world, they had no obligation to perform various actions. But they lived in this world and performed actions with regard for the betterment of the rest of mankind. If all the self-realized people confine themselves to corners, who will show the true path to the rest of the people?

This verse again talks about the point that we raised earlier. Elsewhere in Gita, it has been mentioned that leading a materialistic life will lead to the decay of this world. This verse says the same, in another fashion. Even if we are bound by materialistic desires and do not perform acts as ordained by God, we have to remember that even for continuing our pursuits of material world, it is necessary that the world continue to exist. If the world disintegrates, we too won’t be there to continue our materialistic exploits. Therefore, Krishna says clearly that action in accordance with the God’s Will is necessary even for this purpose. Or else the world is decaying and is sure to collapse one fine day!

[21]

Whichever may be the way of life that a superior man may adopt, that very one is by other people too (followed). What he might make his guiding principle, the world too behaves even according to the same.

This further explains why Janaka and such others performed all actions, even when they were at a level when it was not essential for them to do so. In spite of attaining high spiritual level, if Janaka and others continued to perform those acts, it was because they knew they were at a level at which others look up to them for guidance and follow them. Otherwise, they had already created union of their self with the Divine Self and it was not obligatory for them to perform those actions anymore.

Says ACBSP: “People in general always require a leader who can teach the public by practical behaviour. A leader cannot teach the public to stop smoking if he himself smokes. Lord Caitanya said that a teacher should behave properly before he begins teaching. One who teaches in that way is called acharya, or the ideal teacher. Therefore, a teacher must follow the principles of sastra (scripture) to teach the common man. The teacher cannot manufacture rules against the principles of revealed scriptures. The revealed scriptures, like Manu-samhita and similar others, are considered the standard books to be followed by human society. Thus the leader’s teaching should be based on the principles of such standard sastras. One who desires to improve himself must follow the standard rules as they are practiced by the great teachers. The Srimad-Bhagavatam also affirms that one should follow in the footsteps of great devotees, and that is the way of progress on the path of spiritual realization. The king or the executive head of a state, the father and the school teacher are all considered to be natural leaders of the innocent people in general. All such natural leaders have a great responsibility to their dependents; therefore they must be conversant with standard books of moral and spiritual codes.”

All that ACBSP has said is true even though the true meaning of aforementioned verse still eludes him.

Taking ACBSP’s argument forward, we claim that the teacher, particularly one appointed by God, should be such that he should be better than all the rest in all respects, he should be more knowledgeable than all the rest, his conduct should be better than all the rest, he should perform greater sacrifices than the rest and should perform oblations in a better manner. We invite you all to study the life of the Devatas when they came to live on this earth with names like Mohammad, Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Husain. See whether or not they are better than all the rest in the characteristics that we have described? You will yourself realize that they were Divine Teachers, perfect in all manners, sent as torchbearers of knowledge and guidance. 

There is another argument that can be added. We have seen so many teachers who were extremely revered by their followers until their true nature got exposed. We see people around us who keep moving from Guru to Guru, when they are dissatisfied with the previous one. With such a complex human mind that we all possess, who would guarantee what’s cooking in the heart and mind of the person. History has seen countless examples when people, out of their zeal and in their quest for truth, rallied around a wrong person. It becomes essential therefore that a teacher of Divine Teachings must be one who’s conducted is authenticated by none else but Paramatma himself. That is the reason why so much of preparations were made to introduce these Devatas. That is why their purity was guaranteed not only in Upanishads but also in Quran. And even Jesus called their coming as the coming of the Spirit of Truth. 

[22]

There is nothing in the three worlds that I am obliged to do, O Partha (Arjuna), nor anything unaccomplished to be accomplished, while still remain active (in principle).

ACBSP translates this as follows: 

O son of Prtha, there is no work prescribed for Me within all the three planetary systems. Nor am I in want of anything, nor have I a need to obtain anything – and yet I am engaged in prescribed duties.

Action as a means for sustenance of the world is the topic that is being discussed here. Previously too such wordings have been used where the speaker has sneered at those who lead a life of inactivity. Here, Manifest Self (Paramatma) is talking about those who shirk action or what is their prescribed duty on earth. 

Let us ponder once again regarding the identity of the speaker in Gita? Is he God Himself, as most commentators have understood from these verses? Yes and no! The speaker is clearly not the Absolute Non-Manifest Imperishable God. Several Upanishads have clearly stated that this Non-Manifest Absolute God is the name of a Power that is formless and unfathomable. The same is the view of the Muslims about Allah. Allah is not the name of a Muslim God. Instead, the syllable ‘Al’ means ‘The’ and ‘Ilah’ means ‘God’. Therefore, Allah will mean ‘The God’. If there is one God of the Universe, that God is The God of the Muslims. Muslims believe that the God just has to say ‘kun’ (let it be) and what He wishes come into play. Does this mean that the God keeps wishing for this or that all the times? He doesn’t have to because His ‘kun’ created a system right at the beginning of this cosmos which continue to work in this ever expanding universe. This system was so scientific that experts of various fields are still trying to understand one or the other of them. 

Fact is that the later day commentators have not clearly understood the relationship between the Absolute Non-Manifest God and the Manifest Self of God, which is very much a creation of the Absolute God, just as Manifest Self created Brahma (which resulted in the creation of the Devatas) and this was followed by the creation of human beings. The Devatas (made of Noor or Spirit) are ceaselessly at work showing the path that leads to the worship of Absolute God. Puranas and Vedas, and also Quran confirm there will surely be a time when the entire world including all the humans will return to the straight path from which they had got deviated. Paramatma or Holy Spirit (Rooh or Atma), when put inside Krishna, made him the Avatar or Messenger of God. The same Noor, when inside Jesus, made him the Messenger; the Christians wrongly concluded that the trinity ended on Jesus alone. We already know, courtesy the Upanishads, that the Atma (Spirit or Rooh) is 7-fold. The most celebrated incident repeatedly told in the Vedas and Upanishads is when all the 7 Spirits (Noors) would come down to earth in 14 bodies in people speaking same language in the distant land of Arabia. Jesus too had foretold of the coming of Ahlulbayt (the 7 spirits who together constitute the Paramatma) by calling them as the ‘Spirit of Truth’. The last of these 14 bodies – the Kalki Avatar – too has taken birth and will shortly present himself in front of this world.

[23]

If I should not remain active (in principle) never relaxing, men in every walk of life, O Partha (Arjuna), would take to my way.

This verse further says why it is essential for all to act, even if they have realized the Self and attained union with God. What’s more, acts are essential even for the Manifest Self of God Itself. 

[24]

These (various) worlds would fall into ruin should I refrain from activity and I would become the agent of evolutive confusion (samkaraa) killing in effect the peoples. 

Here, we should remember that the entire conversation is taking place in the backdrop of two conflicting armies ready to wage war. A little earlier Arjuna had conveyed to Krishna his willingness to relinquish arms through these words: 

If you are of the opinion, O Janardana (Krishna), that reason is superior to action, why then in an action that is ghastly do you enjoin me, O Kesava (Krishna)?

And it is then that the Manifest Self starts talking about the merits of action, thereby showing that actions which are being talked about are not rituals or mundane actions but more serious in nature.

Thus, the purpose of discourse becomes clear. It is the duty of all of us to perform actions that are for the betterment of this world. Just eating and drinking and working for livelihood is not sufficient. After all, God does not perform these activities at all. Neither does the Manifest Self, perhaps. Then what acts does this Self perform? It is constantly and ceaselessly acting to lead more people to the worship of God, remove vices from amongst us and to let truth and justice prevail. It is due to these activities that the Manifest Self says: 

These worlds would fall into ruin should I refrain from activity and I would become the agent of evolutive confusion.

Without the Manifest Self, Zulmat and its agent - the Satan - would have his way and men would fall into anarchy and even the personality of God would lead them to confusion. Through Its ceaseless actions, the Manifest Self is able to bring about a harmony in this world. It guides some towards the right path, shows direction to others, and sends Prophets who punishes those who have deviated beyond a point. It is the duty of the men as well to see that Zulmat or Tamas (the satanic powers) do not have their way and the lofty principles and values cherished by God reign supreme. 

This war between the Devatas trying to lead people towards the God and the satanic powers trying to lead them towards vices continues till this day. It has already been foretold and it is also our belief that Devatas will eventually be victorious. That is why all the religions of the world are of the opinion that truthfulness and justice will return to this earth in the near future.

Come! Let us work to fulfil the words of the Manifest Self that created us. God wants man to defeat Zulmat, its agents and its allies. 

We would like to initiate another argument here to prove our point further. Is it not that the God is Almighty? Is it not possible for Him to kill Satan within seconds, who is working to insinuate materialism and evil desires? Yes, it is! But there are few things that are even outside the nature of God to do. For instance, He is just by nature and act of injustice cannot be expected from Him. He is the Creator of the entire world and favoritism cannot be expected of Him. Even He becoming “the agent of evolutive confusion (samkara) killing in effect the people” is something that is beyond His personality. Likewise, breaking a promise or not keeping to His words is against His nature. 

Those who have read the story of evolution of Satan in Quran know that when the angels said to the Manifest Self: “Are you creating those who would commit bloodshed and kill each other in this world”, the reply was “What I know you know not” which meant there will always be those who will not fall to these vices and will continue to worship God. The Manifest Self of God is bound by that promise that Satan extracted from It as the aftermath of this discussion and has let him loose till the Day of Judgment. Till then, the fight between good and evil will continue to exist. People from common men like us will have to rise and defeat the forces of Zulmat from encroaching within our selfs. Then only will the promise of the Manifest Self get fulfilled.

To those who are unaware of truth, it would appear as though it is God who is pitted against the Satan. Fact is that Satan is an inconsequential creation and has no power to stand in front of God or for that matter the Manifest Self of God. Since it is clearly mentioned that the Manifest Self was created before all else, it would mean that the Manifest Self was created even prior to Satan. Also, it would imply that Satan too owes its origin to the Manifest Self. There is no doubt that the Manifest Self can vanquish Satan within a matter of few seconds. Then why does the Manifest Self not kill Satan? You will have to go back to the wordings of the conversation between God and Satan in Quran to understand this. When Adam was created, the Devatas were already in existence. Satan was aware that his origin was due to the Manifest Self. Until this Manifest Self decided to create man, Satan was a devout worshipper. This shows that Satan’s problems were with the man. When it was asked from the Manifest Self whether It would create beings who would disobey and kill each other, Manifest Self said that It was better aware. It shows that the Manifest Self knew that a day would come when Satan will face defeat at the hands of this very man. From then on, Satan started working on leading the men astray whereas the Devatas, who comprised the Manifest Self, took upon themselves the task of fulfilling the words uttered by the Manifest Self. Till now, it might appear that the Satan has emerged victorious. But the Devatas and all the spirits who have got united with the Self are ceaselessly working to lead us to the right path. The words of the Manifest Self are about to come true. Man is going to defeat Satan and his forces. And once that will happen, the last of the fourteen Devatas would arrive to lead the victory procession and to celebrate the vanquishing of Satan. All evils would be destroyed. There will be happiness all around. People would forsake their respective religions and return to the One Path of the Absolute God. And Satan would get exposed as a representative of the forces of Zulmat (Tamas or Darkness) created by none else but the Divine Spirit, so that a test can be initiated for us. The Kalki Avatar or Mahdi is waiting for men from amongst us to rise and defeat the satanic forces. Once we will do so, he will arrive.

[25]

In the same manner as people uninstructed would take to activity with attachment to work, O Bharata (Arjuna), the instructed man likewise should act without attachment, interested (merely) in world order. 

ACBSP translates this as follows: 

As the ignorant perform their duties with attachment to results, the learned may similarly act, but without attachment, for the sake of leading people on the right path.

Here, God says it more clearly what we had inferred from the earlier verse. It is the duty of all men to ceaselessly strive to bring others to the right path unmindful of what the results are going to be. Eventual purpose should be to create a world order, wherein there would be no injustice, no cruelty, no crime, and no evil. It is therefore the duty of Arjuna as well as all God-fearing men to take the side of the truth and justice, even if it leads to mortal conflict, where they may or may not be victorious. Unmindful of the results, they must perform their duties.

This brings us to another discussion involving reason. Most Muslims are of the opinion that the 14th Ahlulbayt – the Mahdi - will arrive to make the entire world righteous and devout to God. Hindus are of the opinion that the Kalki Avatar would lead the world to piety, righteousness and justice. Christians and Jews too have similar views. 

From the amount of stress that has been given to action in Gita and other similar works, we have reasons to conclude that all these opinions are slightly on the wrong. Could it be possible that when we all are waiting for the Mahdi or Kalki Avatar to arrive and rid us of our vices, Mahdi or the Kalki Avatar is waiting for us to initiate action and then he would come to lead and show the way? Ponder and think! Is it that we ourselves are the cause of delaying the arrival of Mahdi or Kalki Avatar on this earth? We have to identify the truth and tread on the True Path. The test is of us and not of the Devatas (Ahlulbayt). We have to defeat the Zulmat and its agents and not the Devatas (Ahlulbayt). 

[26]

The person who is wise should not give room for disruption in the way of thinking of those who have not attained to wisdom but by behaving unitively he should render every kind of action enjoyable.

At the time of Mahabharata people had ascribed rituals to all the Vedic verses, which were chanted for specific purposes and through performance of certain acts. Even sacrifices were offered to Devatas. This was not wrong as God Himself says so in verse 10: 

In ancient times, times, having created the peoples with sacrifice as pertaining to them, Prajapati says: “By this shall you grow and multiply: let this be to you the milch-cow of desires.” Verse 11 says: “With this do you gratify the devas and they the devas gratify you; thus gratifying reciprocally you shall reach to supreme merit.” Verse 12 says: “Those devas shall bestow on you all gratifications you desire: one who eats what is given to them without giving in turn to them, he is a thief indeed.

Unfortunately, people continued to perform these acts but forgot the real purpose why they were initiated into these acts: that was to lead them to God. Paramatma here says that the wise are those who do not allow themselves to be disrupted by the activities of such people but they at all times remain united with the Manifest Self; their enjoyment is in keeping the self at such levels of purity that is able to commute with the Manifest Self. 

[27]

Irrespective of the occasion, it is nature that through the gunas accomplishes every act. One possessed of egoism, however, thinks himself as the actor.

Here and in the next two verses it is explained how the individual self is not really, and is incapable of being, an active agent in any item of action that it might accomplish at a given moment or place. Gunas or the positive characteristics are inherent in the nature of a person and it is up to him that he realizes that. The spirit soul bewildered by the influence of false ego thinks himself the doer of activities that are in actuality performed under the supervision of the Supreme Lord. This materialistic person has no knowledge that ultimately man and not his activities alone are in control of the God. The person in false ego takes all credit for doing everything independently, and that is the symptom of his nescience. He does not know that this gross and subtle body is the creation of material nature, under the order of the Supreme God, and as such his bodily and mental activities should be engaged in the service of God.

[28]

On the other hand, O Mighty Armed (Arjuna), the one who knows the principle underlying guna as distinct from karma holding the view that modes inhere in objective modes, is not affected.

This verse has been translated in a more comprehensible manner by ACBSP: 

One who is in knowledge of the Absolute Truth, O mighty-armed, does not engage himself in the senses and sense gratification, knowing well the differences between work in devotion and work for fruitive results. 

[29]

Those confounded by the gunas of nature become attached to objective gunas existing in works. Such men who are not all-wise and are dull should not be unsettled by those who are all-wise.

ACBSP’s translation will enable us to understand this verse better: 

Bewildered by the modes of material nature, the ignorant fully engage themselves in material activities and become attached. But the wise should not unsettle them, although these duties are inferior due to the performers’ lack of knowledge.

[30]

Renouncing in Me (the Absolute) all works, coming to me without expectations or possessiveness, with a full awareness about the Self, do fight with fever gone. 

ACBSP translates this as follows: 

Therefore, O Arjuna, surrendering all your works unto Me, with full knowledge of Me, without desires for profit, with no claims to proprietorship, and free from lethargy, fight.

The verse clearly indicates the purpose of the Bhagavad Gita. The Lord – the Manifest Self - instructs that one has to acquire full knowledge of this (Manifest) Self to discharge duties. Fighting for uplifting the cause of justice and truthfulness and against the evil forces that are bent on creating anarchy in the Kingdom of God is must but with certain preconditions. One has to surrender all the works to Him, without any expectations or possessiveness, and become fully aware of the God, and then, shedding his lethargy, he should fight.

Says ACBSP: “Arjuna was therefore ordered by Sri Krishna to fight as if the Lord were his military commander. One has to sacrifice everything for the goodwill of the Supreme Lord, and at the same time discharge prescribed duties without claiming proprietorship. Arjuna did not have to consider the order of the Lord; he had only to execute His order.”

ACBSP is right here but there is need for a small clarification. If we believe Gita to be a book of eternal teachings we will have to believe that the order to fight is not just to Arjuna or to a set number of people living at a particular time, but whenever the peace of the God’s world is being threatened through evil deeds, truth is being trampled and/or acts of injustice and cruelty are being performed on some of His creations, it is the duty of all of us to fight, like Arjuna, and remember this as a command from His Majesty, that need to be executed. However, we expect our readers to not be naive enough to start fighting others. You have to first fight within you and only when you are at a certain level of purity, you become fit to fight at orders of the true representative of your Lord.

[31]

They too, whoever adhere to this doctrine of mine, men full of faith and free from any mistrust in respect of it, they gain release from works.

ACBSP translates this in these words: 

Those persons who execute their duties according to My injunctions and who follow this teaching faithfully, without envy, become free from the bondage of fruitive actions.

This verse clearly explains the argument that we initiated in the description of the previous verse. The word “They” or “Those” is used and not “You”, thereby signifying that the order to fight is not just a directive to Arjuna but to all those who are believers in this doctrine of God, viz. Gita. Meaning is clear: the purpose of life is not just to worship God alone but strive for the benefit of all His creations including fellow human beings. Humanity or service to fellow human beings is the most desired attribute of worship. No true worshipper of God can see evil and remain quiet, see injustice without raising a voice of dissent and see innocent human beings trampled by the powerful and mighty without rising up in their support. The fact that we - the self-confessed believers of those who raised a war against the mightiest of the armies of their times - be it Rama or Krishna, Mohammad, Ali or Husain - have ourselves become cause of evil on earth is extremely sad. It is not important if we are victorious - like Rama or Krishna - or get killed in the process - like Husain.

All those who execute their duties according to God’s injunctions and who follow His teachings faithfully, without any mistrust in respect of it, are the gainers while, as per verse 32, those who do not do so, are losers.

[32] 

On the other hand, those soulless ones who look upon this my doctrine with mistrust and adhere not to it, know them as shut away from all knowledge and as lost.

ACBSP has to be translated in the following manner: 

But those who, out of envy, disregard these teachings and do not follow them are to be considered bereft of all knowledge, befooled, and ruined in their endeavours for perfection.

Howsoever a great person may he be on earth, if he is disobedient of God’s teachings, there is no hope of perfection of life for him. 

NG adds yet another point in his commentary: “These verses indicate that Krishna’s teachings had some strangeness even in the days of Vyasa’s composition. People questioned his revaluation of ritualism and of action. Krishna here affirms his strong stand on his revalued teaching.

The word anasuyantah (those who do not envy, cavil or dis-adopt) of verse 31 pleads for a sympathetic hearing of the new doctrine. The same attitude of asuya repeated in verse 32 condemns dis-adoption of the teaching more vehemently. In effect it calls dis-adopters utter fools, even fated to be destroyed. It is reminiscent of ‘ye generation of vipers’ in the Bible. No teaching of any profound doctrine is possible when there is dis-adoption between the teacher and the taught.”

NG is right that people of the time were unable to comprehend Krishna’s teachings fully. Our view too is that it was this difference of opinion and not a fight over possession of a certain demographic area that was the cause of the battle of Mahabharata. But there are still people, and this include the philosophers and commentators of Gita, who have been unable to truly understand the ritualism and action that Krishna was speaking about. 

People had digressed from the desired path and the Divine Self took another Avatar as Krishna to show them the way. A previous verse in this Chapter has clearly stated that the Manifest Self continues to perform and if It won’t do that, the worlds would fall into ruins. Therefore the Manifest Self felt the need to send another Avatar, with a view to guide people and show them the true path, through the body of Krishna. One clear example of Its continued performance is that no period has remained bereft of Messengers, who tried all they could, to show us the true path to self-realization and to reach God. 

[33]

Even a man of wisdom behaves in conformity with his own nature. All creation goes on subject to nature. Of what avail is control?

ACBSP has translated this verse as follows: 

Even a man of knowledge acts according to his own nature, for everyone follows the nature he has acquired from the three modes. What can repression accomplish?

How deep the teachings of Gita are can be understood from the fact that despite translating this verse correctly, most commentators have erred on understanding its purport. 

To understand this verse correctly, we must re-read the verse 27, which says: 

Irrespective of the occasion, it is nature that through the gunas accomplishes every act. One possessed of egoism, however, thinks himself as actor.

It is the nature of a child that he cries, when he first comes into this world. This rule is so universally common that if the child doesn’t cry, it is accepted that something is wrong. Likewise, there are various other attributes that are part of the nature of the innocent soul when it takes birth in human form. We know from our study of Vedas and the Upanishads that the spirits of all of us form part of the spirits of those Divine Personalities, who themselves are creations of the Supreme Spirit i.e. Paramatma. That is why the spirit that dies clean goes on to unite with the Divine Spirits, while the spirit that becomes corrupt and loses its true identity in this world is unable to unite with the Divine Spirits and takes birth in the shape of various creatures, in order to satisfy its urge to sustain itself. This is so because the spirit needs energy to sustain itself and for that it needs food and get food, it needs a body. It has been said earlier that food is required by all beings. Even Quran confirms that food is required when it talks of boiling water and pus as food in hell, fruits of choice, streams of milk and honey and other things as food in heaven and even clears doubt about those who died in the path of Lord (attained Shahadat and thus freedom from repeated cycle of life and death) by saying that such spirits that sustenance (food) from their Lord, lest you doubt how they get food when they have become free from taking birth in anybody in this world. 

Even though a child brings certain gunas or characteristics from its previous births to the next birth, it is more or less pure at the time of birth. This soul starts getting corrupt due to external influences. However, the nature of that soul is pure and it can remain pure if it sheds away all the evils from it and remain united with the Higher Self within it. That is why a child, till a certain age, is seen as innocent by all religions. 

God says in this verse that it is the nature of human beings that they feel bad when they see evil and injustice and elated when they see justice prevailing and evil being vanquished. To stand up in favour of truthfulness is also human nature. That is why you always see a child speaking truth. The real benefit of devotion to God and following a religion is that it enables a person to follow his pure nature and suppress the tendencies that are alien to his true nature. And the test of the man in this world is to discard the satanic influences from creeping into him; influences that make him behave in a manner that is alien to his pure nature. Therefore, there is no point in trying to suppress the nature. Be on the side of truth. ‘Rise up, Arjuna, and fight!’

[34]

Attraction-repulsion abide mutually as between the senses and their sense-objects. One should never come under their sway. They indeed are one’s path-hindering factors.

ACBSP translates this as follows: 

There are principles to regulate attachment and aversion pertaining to the senses and their objects. One should not come under the control of such attachment and aversion, because they are stumbling blocks on the path of self-realization.

Attachment and repulsion are two factors that forbid a man from behaving as per his true nature. There could be attachment to the wife or children, attachment to the materialistic life on this earth or attachment to lifestyle that a man is leading or wish to lead. Likewise, there could be repulsion due to personal animosity, repulsion due to somebody’s caste, creed or religion, or repulsion to a certain way of life. Sometimes our inherent beliefs, those with which we grew up, create either attachment or repulsion to certain person or groups of persons, to certain thought or collection of thought i.e. religion. 

Two chief reasons why the people of Krishna’s time didn’t accept his teachings were attachment to the forefather’s way of religion and repulsion due to the fact that Krishna was of a darker race, while the Aryans belonged to a fairer race. These are just two examples; several other acts of attraction-repulsion becoming path-hindering factors can be given from Mahabharata itself.

You will soon find attachment or repulsion are going to be the two main causes of this commentary not being accepted by some sections. We invite all of you to read it after shedding the tendencies of attachment and repulsion, and you will surely understand it better.

[35]

Better is activity rightly conforming to one’s own nature though lacking in superior quality than activity foreign to one’s own nature although it may be well done. (Even) death by the performance of what fits one properly has merit. Activity foreign to oneself is fraught with danger. 

This explains the aforesaid argument further. It is always better to act according to the true tendencies of one’s nature. For instance, certain materialistic ways of devotion may not be the ideal way to reach God, but they are in any way better than not doing anything, as that will be against the true nature of Man. The fact that Lord brings the subject of death again indicates that He is all the while talking about the armed conflict with forces of oppression, cruelty, evil and injustice; fighting against whom is part of human nature. The example of a child has already been given before. Therefore, even death by the performance of what fits one properly has merit. And if one doesn’t raise a voice of dissent against these destructive forces, then one is fraught with danger, even though he may be of view that by not doing so he has safeguarded himself from the wrath of evil. This is so because maintaining that view too would be either because of attachment to certain things or repulsion to few others.

[36]

Arjuna said:

Then impelled by what does man lead such a life of sin even against his will, O Varshneya (Krishna), as if forcibly enjoined?

The discourse of Lord on human nature confuses Arjuna and he asks a question. He is unable to understand that if the human nature is to act in righteous manner, to fight evil and to pray to God, then what is it that makes him do evil, as if he is forcibly asked to do so.

It is sorry to see that the commentators have even taken the questions asked by Arjuna as conclusive statements, even though it is clear that Arjuna appears to be confused and is merely asking questions that may come to the mind of a confused man. For instance, NG says: “The word annichchhann (not wanting to) shows there is in nature itself a penchant to do evil.” This is not true as this is part of a question asked by a bewildered mind and not a conclusive statement, as has been taken by NG.

But it is the modalities of nature, under whose influence a man commits a sin. Next verse elucidate it better. 

[37]

Sribhagavan said:

Such is desire; such is anger, born out of the modality (guna) called active, affective (rajas), all-devouring, all-vitiating; know this to be the enemy here.

Krishna had earlier explained attraction and repulsion as two things that prohibit rightful action. Now he says that desire and anger are enemies of man, and are mahasano (all-devouring) and mahapapma (all-unholy or all-sinful). Such tendencies are extremely harmful and one should strive to fight them always – a message that is for all eternity.

[38]

As smoke shrouds fire, as a mirror (is beclouded) by dirt, as the foetus is enclosed in the amnion, likewise by such is This surrounded.

ACBSP says: 

As fire is covered by smoke, as a mirror is covered by dust, or as the embryo is covered by the womb, the living entity is similarly covered by different degrees of lust.

NG says that ‘This’ here refers to the spirit of man, which seeks freedom and truth. ACBSP translates this as lust in the form of sex, but we find no correlation of it to earlier verse. We are of the opinion that ‘This’ is reference to the true and pure nature of a person, which is directly related to the Manifest Self. This is also called spirit or self. Desire and anger, born out of active, affective, all-devouring and all-vitiating modality (guna) envelope the pure souls as smoke shrouds fire, as mirror is covered by dust and as the foetus is covered by womb. That is why they are referred to as ‘enemy’ in the previous verse.

Moreover, it has been said in Gita elsewhere that salvation can only be achieved when one transcends all these modalities of nature and become one with the Higher Self within him. Such a person, it is said, starts showing the characteristics of God Itself.

[39]

Wisdom is enveloped by this which is the eternal enemy of the wise, remaining in the form of desire, O Kaunteya (Arjuna), which is a fire too that is difficult to satiate.

As desire and anger, born out of active, affective, all-devouring and all-vitiating modality envelope the pure souls, the wisdom or ability of a person to take rational decisions get clouded and consequently what remains is just desire that leads a man to endless pursuits of material wealth and is always difficult to satiate.

[40]

This is said to be lodged in the senses, mind and in reason. By means of these, this (desire) bewilders the embodied one by veiling his wisdom.

Desire seats itself in the entire personality of man, including his senses, his mind and his reasoning capacity. The man becomes a puppet pursuing only material goals. These two evils are enemies of man to such an extent that, not to speak of common men, even the wisdom of the embodied one may get veiled, thereby bewildering him.

[41]

Therefore, O best of Bharatas (Arjuna), mastering first the senses, slay this which is of sin which can destroy both pure and practical wisdom.

Controlling the senses is being discussed again. Desires cannot be subjugated unless one learns to master the senses; that is why it is advised to master the senses first and then slay the material desires which lead to sin and which are potent enough to destroy both pure and practical wisdom. Anger too has to be kept in check.

We have already discussed that jnana (pure wisdom) is to know that the nature of human beings is to remain on the side of truth. Vijnana (practical wisdom) is acquired through knowledge and experience. Both these gets destroyed if one allows his senses to go astray.

Moreover, we have read in the BOOK how the Devatas have been described as the masters of our organs of senses and action. If we accept them as our masters, not only in words but also in practicality, and start following the path shown by them, all the sins would get destroyed.

[42]

It is taught (in ancient tradition) that the senses are beyond (transcendental); beyond the senses is the mind, beyond the mind is reason and beyond reason is He (the Absolute).

Says ACBSP: 

The working senses are superior to dull matter; mind is higher than the senses; intelligence is still higher than the mind; and he (the soul) is even higher than the intelligence.

We have tried to form our meanings based on the meanings given by NG and ACBSP. God says it is no new knowledge that senses are superior to the body as a whole; the body being fallible. Mind is even superior to the senses and intelligence is even superior to that. Through intelligence, one reasons and distinguishes between good and evil. Reason, therefore, is superior to intelligence. And beyond the reason is the soul, which is part of the Supreme Spirit (Paramatma). Therefore, it is through reasoning that the soul identifies Paramatma or gets united with It.  

[43]

Thus knowing Him to be beyond reason, immobilizing the atma by the atma, O Mighty-Armed (Arjuna), kill that enemy in the form of desire (so) difficult to encounter.

ACBSP says: 

Thus knowing oneself to be transcendental to the material senses, mind and intelligence, O mighty-armed Arjuna, one should steady the mind by deliberate spiritual intelligence and thus – by spiritual strength – conquer this insatiable enemy known as lust.

The Atma is far superior to reason and it ought to be immobilized. But how will one do that? The Atma (spirit) can only be immobilized by the Atma (Paramatma or Divine Spirit); that is, common man can immobilize his Atma through the personality of those Divine Atmas (Devatas), who are directly associated with Paramatma. Desires that are so difficult to encounter can be subjugated only through that. After all, the Divine Atmas are the commanders of the 14 spheres (as per Brhad-aranyaka Upanishad) and are masters of our organs of senses and action (as per other Upanishads).

Thus ends in the Upanishads of the Songs of God, in the Science of the Wisdom of the Absolute, in the Dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna, the third chapter entitled Unitive Action.