Gita 4.6

 

ajo ‘pi sann avyayatma

bhutanam isvaro ‘pi san

prakrtim svam adhisthaya

sambhavamy atma-mayaya

 

Meaning

 

Though I am unborn, of imperishable nature, the Lord of all beings, yet, subordinating My nature (prakriti), I manifest Myself, through My Yogamaya (divine potency).

 

Explanation

 

The Supreme Lord Krishna assumes forms suitable to time, place and circumstances in regards to celestial being the demigods and terrestrial being humans. He manifests himself as if He were of their nature according to His desire. Being unborn He yet incarnates in many forms whenever and wherever He chooses whereas for material beings they are forcefully born impelled by their karma or the bondage caused from reactions to past actions. Next the time of manifestation for the avatars or incarnations will be indicated. He incarnates Himself, as Lord Rama or Krishna etc., displays His sports as a child, and an adolescent and then continues to be an adolescent with a healthy and handsome body, without undergoing any change for hundreds of years. He works, as a chariot-driver of Arjuna, and obeys him, yet His Lordliness, over Arjuna and other beings remains intact. That is why, in spite of being a charioteer, He preaches him, the gospel of the Gita. Lord Rama carries out the order of His father, Dasaratha and goes into exile for fourteen years, yet His Lordliness over Dasaratha and other beings, has not suffered, in the least.

 

Gita 4.7

 

yada yada hi dharmasya

glanir bhavati bharata

abhyutthanam adharmasya

tadatmanam srjamy aham

 

Meaning

 

Whenever, there is a decline in righteousness and an upsurge in unrighteousness, O Arjuna, I then manifest Myself.

 

Explanation

 

No fixed time schedule has been mandated for Lord Krishna to manifest Himself in His avatar forms or authorised incarnations but he declares beginning with ‘yada yada’ which means that: whenever or wherever dharma or righteousness decreases and unrighteousness increases and becomes dominant, at that time Lord Krishna or any of His authorised incarnations descends and becomes manifest.

When righteous, innocent, weak: pious and spiritual people, are exploited by unrighteous, cruel, strong, wicked and mundane people, and when moral values are lost and immorality prevails-that state, is the state of a decline of righteousness, and upsurge of unrighteousness. Whenever, there is a decline of righteousness and rise of’ unrighteousness, then the Lord manifests Himself for the destruction of unrighteousness and for the establishment of righteousness. When actions are performed with a selfish motive i.e., for reward, there is a decline of righteousness; and when a man, having deviated from his duty performs forbidden action there is rise of unrighteousness. It is desire, which is the root of all unrighteousness, sins and injustice etc. Therefore, God manifests Himself, in order to root out this desire and propagate the principle of the performance of actions, without expectation of any reward.

 

Gita 4.8

 

paritranaya sadhunam

vinasaya ca duskrtam

dharma-samsthapanarthaya

sambhavami yuge yuge

 

Meaning

For the protection of the good as for the destruction of the wicked and for the establishment of righteousness, I manifest myself from age to age.

 

Explanation

 

The purpose of incarnation is explained here. When there is dearth of dharma and abundance of adharma the Lord manifests Himself to protect the good and to punish the wicked. God manifests Himself, in order to protect the good, because they destroy unrighteousness and propagate righteousness. Reasons of Lord Krishna’s avatars or incarnations are: 1) for protecting the virtuous 2) for destroying the wicked 3) for re-establishing dharma or eternal righteousness which had become obscured.

Those who, because of many desires, remain absorbed in vices, such as falsehood, fraud, deception and dishonesty etc. Those who exploit the virtuous and good persons; those who remain engaged in doing evil to others; those who do not know what ought to be done and what ought not to be done; and those, who always condemn God and the scriptures, such persons, of demoniac nature, have been called wicked. The Lord manifests Himself for the destruction of such wicked persons.

 

Gita 4.9

 

janma karma ca me divyam

evam yo vetti tattvatah

tyaktva deham punar janma

naiti mam eti so ‘rjuna

 

SYNONYMS

 

Meaning

He who thus knows in reality the true nature of My divine birth and action, and he having abandoned the body, is not reborn; but he comes to Me, O Arjuna.

 

Explanation

The Lord is beyond birth and death, He is birth-less and imperishable. His manifestation in human body is not like the birth of common men. He manifests Himself of His own accord in order to stage the drama of human life, for the welfare of beings. It is because of the Lord’s divine nature that He descends to this mortal world, in order to shower His grace upon beings. Those who know this fact become His devotees and then remain absorbed only in His adoration or devotion. This devotion, leads to salvation. Similarly, when a man knows the divine nature of His actions then his actions also become divine viz., pure and then these lead him, as well as others, to God-realization (salvation) as he renounces his affinity for the world. It is the affinity, which is an obstacle to salvation or God-realization.

Carelessness and indolence in the performance of actions and the desire for fruit of actions are the main stumbling blocks to God-realization. If actions are performed without the desire for fruit in rendering service to others, the affinity for actions is renounced and we realize our affinity for God which is naturally eternal.

Gita 4.10

 

vita-raga-bhaya-krodha

man-maya mam upasritah

bahavo jnana-tapasa

puta mad-bhavam agatah

 

Meaning

 

Being freed from attachment, fear and anger, being fully absorbed in Me and taking refuge in Me, many, many persons in the past became purified by knowledge of Me–and thus they all attained transcendental love for Me.

 

Explanation

In the previous verse Lord Krishna declares that those that truly know Him attain Him. Now the question may be raised,  is there any requirements necessary for attaining Him or does it mean that oneness with Him in His abode transpires automatically with knowledge of Him. To clear this up Lord Krishna states: vita-raga-bhaya-krodha meaning completely freed from passion, fear and anger. Passion is attachment to the opposite sex and children and family life. Fear is abhorrence of frightening situations due to lack of faith in God. Anger is a state of mind that blows up when one’s ardent desires are frustrated by obstacles. This clearly indicates that jnana yoga or the cultivation of knowledge is essential for the mind to control the senses.

All three paths of attaining salvation is mentioned here, the path of action, path of knowledge and path of love. All paths are fundamentally meant to purify our mind and make it steady and single pointed.

 

 

 

 Bhagavad Gita for Executives – Chapter 3 Summary – Part 2

Common people who attach importance to wealth and position, follow the examples set by millionaires and leaders, regarding them as great, though they may not be really so. The rich people and leaders, resort to evil practices such as falsehood, forgery, dishonesty, thefts and corruption, to gain riches, fame and status in society. The common people, who consider them great, follow those evil practices. Thus, evils become rampant in the society. Great and noble men, such as teachers, preachers, priests, leaders and rulers etc., who hold positions of honour in society, should perform their duties very carefully, so that they may leave a good impression upon the common people, who may follow the standards. Leader’s lives have to be an example for others to emulate. By saying that if He does not act, the world will follow suit, Krishna means that the mortals will not be guided towards the right path and will destroy themselves pursuing the sensual pleasure with no restraint. No one will be interested in doing anything but expect results without working for it. When Lord Krishna took birth, seemingly as a human being, as the son of the great righteous King Vasudeva, he conducted Himself in all ways and manners as appropriate for his position in society as a prince of the royal Kshatriya or warrior class. If Lord Krishna acted otherwise all mankind would begin to imitate Him thinking that such actions were virtuous. All actions of wise men are naturally performed for the welfare of the world. They have also no egoistic notion, that they are engaged in the welfare of others. An ignorant person performs action to reap its fruit, a wise man is neither attached to the fruit of action, nor has any duty to perform. So, it is possible for him to be indifferent to action. Therefore, the Lord directs him to act, without attachment.

Krishna gives three qualifications to attain freedom from action and bondage. It is to be noted that freedom from action is not inaction. First, one should follow the teaching about karma yoga by Krishna and act upon it, secondly he should have absolute faith that this is the right path and thirdly he should not complain about it. Those who do not follow the Lord’s teaching are under delusion regarding worldly knowledge. They are devoid of discrimination, because they cannot distinguish the real from the unreal, righteous from unrighteous, salvation from bondage and so on. They remain ignorant, like animals. Spiritual intelligence is what determines the light of knowledge in the material existence. In the absence of spiritual knowledge, darkness and ignorance prevails and knowledge becomes erroneous and defective.

If it is so beneficial to follow the teachings of the Lord then why is not everyone following them? All actions are performed, either according to one’s own nature or according to the Lord’s principles, (scriptural injunctions). One’s nature can be of two kinds, either free from attachment and aversion, or having attachment and aversion. Actions, which are performed out of attachment and aversion, bind a man because they make his nature impure. On the other hand, actions which are performed according to God’s principles, lead to salvation, because these purify one’s nature. The way to evolve spiritually involves the control of desires and aversion. We contact the outer world through our senses which create desire for the pleasant sense experience and aversion for the unpleasant. This desire and aversion leads one to action, either to acquire the desired object or to shun the undesired one. Thus the attachment to result through desire and aversion create further karma and one gets bound by that and goes through the cycle of birth and death.

The duty of another person according to his profession, stage of life, etc., may outwardly seem full of merit, be easy to perform, be attractive, provide riches, comforts, honour and praise etc., and enable one to live with comfort throughout his life, yet is forbidden. On the other hand, one’s own duty, may be devoid of merit, be difficult to perform, not appealing and not providing riches, comforts, honour or praise etc., and may be painful, yet these should be performed without expecting any reward, as these leads to salvation. Therefore, a person should always perform his duty, without expecting any reward, without a sense of ‘mine’ and without attachment. Lord Krishna is convincing Arjuna that having taken birth in the warrior class and fighting is his duty he had to treat alike victory and defeat, gain and loss, and pleasure and pain. The body, senses, mind, intellect and matter etc., are meant for performing duty alone. Those who do not deviate from their duty in spite of suffering pain are admired and honoured. Patriots, who suffered tortures, went to jail and were hanged, in order to make the country independent, are praised and honoured even today. On the other hand, those who are sent to jail, because of their crimes are condemned and dishonoured.

A person believes that worldly objects provide him pleasure, so he has a desire to acquire them in order to enjoy pleasure. This desire gives birth to attachment. So long as this process continues, he cannot get rid of sinful acts. Craving for perishable objects, is called desire, while the need for God-realization, which may appear to be like desire, is not really desire. The reason is, that desire is never satisfied, but it is strengthened by sense enjoyments, while the need of God-realization is fulfilled having realized God.

The three analogies given to describe the obscuration of wisdom by desire are significant. First is the fire being obscured by smoke? This denotes a nature predominant of Sattva where the wisdom is slightly obscured as the fire with smoke. Once the smoke clears of its own accord the fire becomes visible. Similarly a person who is of satvic temperament needs only a little help from the sastras or his guru to clear his ignorance which is only slight like smoke that conceals the fire. The next example of mirror covered with dust refers to one who has more rajas and tamas due to karma accumulated in the past lives. It takes time for a mirror to become covered with dust. This can be removed only through persistent effort like cleaning a mirror with a cloth. That is, the wisdom can be acquired only through diligent spiritual discipline. The third example of the foetus being concealed in the womb is applicable to those whose nature is predominant of tamas. The ignorance is so great that it can be removed only in course of time just as the baby is born only at the appropriate time.

It is said in the Manu-smrti that lust cannot be satisfied by any amount of sense enjoyment, just as fire is never extinguished by a constant supply of fuel. The fire of desire devours everything which comes into its contact. “The richer a man grows, the more he hankers after worldly prosperity. A poor man, may desire to gain only a few rupees, but when he gains them, he has desire for a hundred and then a thousand, and after that a million and then a billion and trillion and then the ownership of the entire universe. Yet, this form of desire will not be satiated. It is only, by contentment, that this desire can be subdued. In fact it is not wealth, but desire for wealth, which is an obstacle to God-realization. This desire deprives the rich and the poor equally, of God-realization, as it can never be satiated. A man can only get rid of it by renouncing it.

Everyone, likes loving and true words, and hates harsh and false words. It means that every person has the knowledge (discrimination) of good and bad, virtue and vice, right and wrong. In spite of this knowledge, an ignorant person uses harsh language, tells a lie and does not perform his duty scrupulously, because his discrimination is concealed by desire. The main obstacle to the practice of spiritual discipline is the desire for pleasure which is born by the contact of senses with sense-objects. This obstacle lingers for a long time. Wherever a seeker indulges in pleasure, there his spiritual progress is arrested. All actions are performed, with the body, senses, mind and intellect. If desire resides in these, it hinders the performance of spiritual actions. Therefore, a Karma yogi (man of action), having abandoned attachment and the fruit of actions, performs actions, only by the body, senses, mind and intellect, for the purification of the self. So long as, a man is swayed by his senses, he cannot have an eye on the goal of life. Without having an eye on the goal of life i.e., without attaining it, desire cannot be totally killed. So, first the Lord urges to control the senses, in order to kill desire.

The five senses are the main impediments to spiritual development and are arranged in a hostile formation against it. As long as the senses are primarily occupied in the pursuit of pleasure the realisation of the Atma will never happen. Yet the mind although fickle is capable of controlling the senses but if the mind is also inclined to enjoy the senses then realisation of the Atma will never manifest. But the intellect is superior even to the mind as it possesses the discriminative faculty. This means that the mind may be tranquil but if the intellect is inclined towards the channels of sense activities there will be no possibility again for realisation of the Atma. A question may be posed what if all the three, the senses, the mind and the intellect were tranquil and passive? The unvarying answer is that Kama or lust which arises from desires covertly resides deep within the heart and is always craving for sense gratification. This kama is so powerful that it will assert its mastery over them all and domineering them will have them fully pursuing the objects of the senses for sense gratification in the phenomenal world obscuring the light of knowledge and the realisation of the Atma. That which is the most powerful with its domain in the spiritual phenomena is the Atma.

Now in conclusion Lord Krishna establishes the fact that one should try their utmost to destroy the powerful enemy known as kama or lust. Knowing that kama is the mightiest enemy one must, by withdrawing the senses, keeping the mind steady and the intellect resolute in sattva guna the mode of goodness then slay this enemy kama which will attack your mind and senses in various ways causing one to fall into delusion before one becomes powerless to resist. Kama is extremely difficult to overpower and is tenacious and formidable yet if one dedicates all actions to Lord Krishna with their mind fixed on Him they can overcome it. So knowledge of Vedic wisdom and meditation on the Supreme Lord are the combined panacea to neutralise kama from its location in the senses, mind and intellect and then destroy the great enemy. This path of selfless action, unattached, without conception of rewards should be practiced according to one’s capacity and knowledge as a means of gradually achieving renunciation.

At the beginning of the third chapter, Arjuna asked Lord Krishna, “If You think that knowledge is superior to action, why do You urge me, to do this savage deed (war)?” In response to his question, the Lord, from the fourth to the twenty-ninth verses, lays emphasis on the performance of actions, by which a man attains equanimity. In the thirtieth verse, He says that surrendering all actions to Him, with a discriminative insight, free from desire and egoism he should perform actions without mental agitation. In the thirty-first and thirty-second verses, He declares the benefit of following His preaching and the harm in not following it. In the thirty-fifth verse, He declares, “Better is death in one’s own duty.” In the thirty-sixth verse Arjuna asks, “By what is a man impelled to commit sin?” The Lord replies, “It is desire, all devouring and most sinful, which is the enemy,” and ordered Arjuna to slay this enemy.

 

Gita 3.41

tasmat tvam indriyany adau

niyamya bharatarsabha

papmanam prajahi hy enam

jnana-vijnana-nasanam

Meaning

Therefore, O best of Bharata (Arjuna), first control the senses then, kill, this sinful destroyer, of wisdom and realization.

Explanation

So long as, a man is swayed by his senses, he cannot have an eye on the goal of life. Without having an eye on the goal of life i.e., without attaining it, desire cannot be totally killed. So, first the Lord urges to control the senses, in order to kill desire.

The term ‘Jnana’ stands for discrimination (what should be done and what should not be done). The term, ‘vijnana’ stands for Self-realization.

The first step towards fighting the enemy consists in locating him. Krishna points out that the senses, mind and intellect are abode of desire and hence the control of these is the only way to vanquish and destroy this foe of man who hides behind the senses, mind and intellect using them as his fortress deludes the embodied soul by obstructing jnana and vijnana, knowledge and realization.

Gita 3.42

indriyani parany ahur

indriyebhyah param manah

manasas tu para buddhir

yo buddheh paratas tu sah

Meaning

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.

Explanation

Senses are superior to body or objects of senses. It means that senses know the objects but objects do not know senses. Senses live without objects, but without senses, the existence of objects is not proved. Senses, do not know the mind, while the mind knows all the senses. Every sense, knows only its own objects, but does not know the objects of other senses. Ears can perceive only sound, but cannot perceive touch, form, taste and smell. Similarly, tongue can only taste, nose can only smell, eyes can only see, and skin can only touch. But the mind knows the five senses, and their objects. Therefore, the mind is superior, more powerful, and more subtle, has a wider range of activity, than senses and is their illuminator. The mind, does not know the intellect, but the intellect knows the mind and senses. The intellect, knows whether the mind is quiet or turbulent and whether senses function properly or not. It means that the intellect knows the mind and its thoughts, as well as the senses and their objects. Therefore, the intellect is greater, more powerful more subtle and has a wider range of activity, than the mind and is its illuminator. The master of intellect is ego; therefore, a person says ‘My intellect’. Intellect is an instrument and ‘ego’ is the doer. The instrument depends, on the doer.

The five senses are the main impediments to spiritual development and are arranged in a hostile formation against it. As long as the senses are primarily occupied in the pursuit of pleasure the realisation of the Atma will never happen. Yet the mind although fickle is capable of controlling the senses but if the mind is also inclined to enjoy the senses then realisation of the Atma will never manifest. But the intellect is superior even to the mind as it possesses the discriminative faculty. This means that the mind may be tranquil but if the intellect is inclined towards the channels of sense activities there will be no possibility again for realisation of the Atma. A question may be posed what if all the three, the senses, the mind and the intellect were tranquil and passive? The unvarying answer is that Kama or lust which arises from desires covertly resides deep within the heart and is always craving for sense gratification. This kama is so powerful that it will assert its mastery over them all and domineering them will have them fully pursuing the objects of the senses for sense gratification in the phenomenal world obscuring the light of knowledge and the realisation of the Atma. That which is the most powerful with its domain in the spiritual phenomena is the Atma and is designated by the pronoun sah.

Gita 3.43

evam buddheh param buddhva

samstabhyatmanam atmana

jahi satrum maha-baho

kama-rupam durasadam

Meaning

Thus knowing oneself to be transcendental to material senses, mind and intelligence, one should control the lower self by the higher self and thus–by spiritual strength–conquer this insatiable enemy known as lust.

Explanation

Now in conclusion Lord Krishna establishes the fact that one should try their utmost to destroy the powerful enemy known as kama or lust. Knowing that kama is the mightiest enemy one must, by withdrawing the senses, keeping the mind steady and the intellect resolute in sattva guna the mode of goodness then slay this enemy kama which will attack your mind and senses in various ways causing one to fall into delusion before one becomes powerless to resist. Kama is extremely difficult to overpower and is tenacious and formidable yet if one dedicates all actions to Lord Krishna with their mind fixed on Him they can overcome it. So knowledge of Vedic wisdom and meditation on the Supreme Lord are the combined panacea to neutralise kama from its location in the senses, mind and intellect and then destroy the great enemy. This path of selfless action unattached without conception of rewards should be practiced according to one’s capacity and knowledge as a means of gradually achieving renunciation.

A man can know the world, by dissociating himself from it, and the Lord, by identifying himself with Him, because he (the self) is different from the world, while he has identity with God. But he accepts his identity or affinity, for the world, in order to acquire worldly things, which is never possible. Similarly, he accepts that he is different from God which is also not a reality. Spiritual desire, is necessary, in order to root out worldly desires. When spiritual desires grow up mundane desires, automatically, perish. When mundane desires, are rooted out, spiritual desire is satisfied viz., God, Who is ever attainable, is attained. God always pervades everywhere, but a man does not realize Him, because of his entanglement with worldly desires.

 

 

 

Gita 3.35

sreyan sva-dharmo vigunah

para-dharmat svanusthitat

sva-dharme nidhanam sreyah

para-dharmo bhayavahah

Meaning

It is far better to discharge one’s prescribed duties, even though they may be faulty, than another’s duties. Destruction in the course of performing one’s own duty is better than engaging in another’s duties, for to follow another’s path is dangerous.

Explanation

This is not only an oft quoted sloka (verse) but also often misinterpreted. Those who want to perpetuate the caste system quote this to suit their purpose. The meaning of the sloka, “one’s own duty, though devoid of merit is preferable to that of another, though more meritorious”, is often misconstrued to mean that one should stick on to the work or kind of life with which he is born and should not strive to come up in life. It really means the work suited to one’s own nature, which may change as the individual changes. It is not uncommon to find that a person qualified to be an engineer, for instance, turns out to be a successful businessman because he has the inborn talents to become one or a man giving up his successful profession and choose a less lucrative one because his attitude has changed. So ‘svadharma’ is what naturally comes to you and not something which others do, however tempting it may appear to be.

One would like to switch their duties for another’s but it is very risky. Engaging in one’s own duty one possesses the correct inner mentality to accomplish it; but for engagement in another’s duty the correct inner mentality would not be present even if the external action was performed perfectly. There might be worry or indecision and questions regarding some aspects of another’s duty and unresolved these would lead to inner conflict which is very detrimental for one’s consciousness and atma tattva or soul realisation. This is Lord Krishna’s meaning.

The duty of another person according to his profession, stage of life, etc., may outwardly seem full of merit, be easy to perform, be attractive, provide riches, comforts, honour and praise etc., and enable one to live with comfort throughout his life, yet is forbidden. On the other hand, one’s own duty, may be devoid of merit, be difficult to perform, not appealing and not providing riches, comforts, honour or praise etc., and may be painful, yet these should be performed without expecting any reward, as these leads to salvation. Therefore, a person should always perform his duty, without expecting any reward, without a sense of ‘mine’ and without attachment. Lord Krishna is convincing Arjuna that having taken birth in the warrior class and fighting is his duty he had to treat alike victory and defeat, gain and loss, and pleasure and pain. The body, senses, mind, intellect and matter etc., are meant for performing duty alone. Those who do not deviate from their duty in spite of suffering pain are admired and honoured. Patriots, who suffered tortures, went to jail and were hanged, in order to make the country independent, are praised and honoured even today. On the other hand, those who are sent to jail, because of their crimes are condemned and dishonoured.

Righteousness (Dharma), wealth (artha), desire (kama) and the Final Liberation (Moksha) are the four pursuits (purusharthas) of human life according to Bharatiya (Indian) culture.

In the ancient Indian tradition, life of 84+ years was considered, with each of the four stages being 21 years. Some have revised these into four stages of 25 years, seeking a life of 100+ years. The purpose for this life planning is to attain the direct experience of Self-realization, Yoga or enlightenment here, in this world, in this very life. While our lifestyles may have changed since then, the basic idea of these four stages is as sound today as it was then.

Age: Ashram or Stage:

0-25 – Brahmacharya/Student: The celibate student time of youth is for learning the foundation of lifestyle. The focus is on healthy, positive training and discipline, learning about spiritual, community, and family life. This is a period of formal education. It lasts until the age of 25, during which, the young male leaves home to stay with a guru and attain both spiritual and practical knowledge. During this period, he is called a brahmachari, and is prepared for his future profession, as well as for his family, and social and religious life ahead.

• To be celibate and live a simple life, free from sense pleasure and material allurement.

• To serve the guru (spiritual teacher) and collect alms for him.

• To hear, study and assimilate the Vedas.

• To develop all the appropriate qualities: humility, discipline, simplicity, purity of thought, cleanliness, soft-heartedness, and so on.

25-50 – Grahasta/Householder: The householder phase of life is when one lives with spouse and children, fulfilling worldly interests and duties. It is a time of giving, living, learning, and loving in family and community. Religious or spiritual practices are done in the context of worldly life and service to others. This period begins when a man gets married, and undertakes the responsibility for earning a living and supporting his family. At this stage, Hinduism supports the pursuit of wealth (artha) as a necessity, and indulgence in sexual pleasure (kama), under certain defined social and cosmic norms. According to the Laws of Manu, when a person’s skin wrinkles and his hair greys, he should go out into the forest. However, in real life, most Hindus are so much in love with this second ashrama that the Grihastha stage lasts a lifetime!

• To make money and to enjoy sensual pleasure according to ethical principles.

• To perform sacrifice and observe religious rituals.

• To protect and nourish family members (wife, children, and elders) and members of the other ashramas such as brahmachari, vanaprastha and sanyasi.

• To teach children spiritual values.

• To give in charity, and especially to feed holy people, the poor, and animals.

50-75 – Vanaprastha/Hermitage: This is a time for shifting focus more towards inner spiritual practices of meditation, contemplation, and prayer. Relationships with grown children and community are more in the role of a matured mentor. Lifestyle is more simplified, and the couple may retreat to a quieter place for deeper practices. This stage of a man begins when his duty as a householder comes to an end: He has become a grandfather; his children are grown up, and have established lives of their own. At this age, he should renounce all physical, material and sexual pleasures, retire from his social and professional life, leave his home, and go to live in a forest hut, spending his time in prayers. He is allowed to take his wife along, but is supposed to maintain little contact with the family. This kind of life is indeed very harsh and cruel for an aged person. No wonder, this third ashrama is now nearly obsolete.

• To generally devote more time to spiritual matters.

• To engage in austerity and penance.

• To go on pilgrimage.

75-100+ – Sanyasa/Renunciate: The elder person now retreats from active involvement in all worldly goals, seeking only spiritual goals in this final phase. No longer having political, professional, or social engagements, there is a further shift towards being an elder teacher of spiritual knowledge. At this stage, a man is supposed to be totally devoted to God. He is a sanyasi, he has no home, no other attachment; he has renounced all desires, fears and hopes, duties and responsibilities. He is virtually merged with God, all his worldly ties are broken, and his sole concern becomes attaining moksha, or release from the circle of birth and death. When he dies, the funeral ceremonies are performed by his son and heir.

• To fully control the mind and senses, and to fix the mind on the Supreme.

• To become detached and fearless, fully dependent on God as the only protector.

• To teach and preach the importance of self-realisation and God-consciousness, especially to the householders, who often become distracted from their spiritual duties.

This applies to all of us: While we are a diverse world of cultures, religions, philosophies, and attitudes, this simple framework of life planning has great value for all of us. Regardless of how we may have lived the stages of life that are already behind us, being aware of, and committed to the current and later stages of life can bring great comfort and clarity as we progress on the path of Self-realization.

Peace and order will prevail in society, only if and when all people do their respective duties efficiently. The students of schools, and colleges should lead a life of purity and simple living. The householder should lead the life of an ideal Grihastha. He should practise self-restraint, mercy, tolerance, non-injury, truthfulness and moderation in everything. Those who find it difficult to lead the life of the third and the fourth Asramas should, remaining in either of the other two Asramas, gradually withdraw themselves from worldly life and practise selfless service, study and meditation.

However what is the real situation in our country these days?

• How many youngsters below the age of 25 can claim to be virgins and learning and practicing spirituality?

• Householder stage has to be devoted to earn wealth (arth) only through rightful means (dharma). However the events we notice these days is highly disappointing with the news of rampant corruption in every section of our society whether it is Government departments or business.

• Above the age of 50 or when you become a Grandfather, one should realise that it is time to retire and slowly start delegating responsibilities to the next generation. But what we observe today is people clinging on to their jobs or positions even beyond 60 years of age by whatever means they can adapt to.

• Can you guess the age of many of our ministers today? Half the cabinet of our current Prime Minister, including himself is far beyond the age for sannyasa. There is a chief minister in our country who is above 90 and have no plans to handover the reign to the next generation.

When people do not follow the ashrama dharma, then adharma or injustice prevails. We have many such examples from Mahabharata to illustrate this important point. Generally it is considered that the Pandavas represent the side of ‘dharma’ and Kauravas the side of ‘adharma’. How come this happen when we have great teachers and scholars in their side. 

• Bhishma was the great Grandsire for both Pandavas and Kauravas. Even though he took an oath never to be the king, essentially ruled the kingdom throughout his life. Considered a great scholar and an expert on ‘rajadharma’ he kept quiet on many occasions when voice should have been raised particularly when the daughter-in-law Draupadi was being disrobed in public. There are many such incidents that can be quoted which clearly depict all the injustice happened during Bhishma’s period. Why such heinous events took place in the presence of a stalwart like Bhishma? Because he was not following the ashrama dharma. Bhishma would have been past his 100th birthday when the Kurukshetra war started and it was way past his time to retire and lead a life of renunciate. Instead he was leading the war as Supreme commander, a clear indication of the violation of established practices by the scriptures.

•        Drona was the preceptor for both Pandavas and Kauravas. A great teacher who taught them ‘dhanurvidya’ (weapon and warfare training) and responsible for teaching the young princes traditions and moral values. He was the commander of the Kaurava forces when Bhishma retired hurt for the next 5 days of the war. However most unfortunately he was not following the ‘varnasrama dharma’, hence breaking the traditions and practices set forth by the great lord Krishna. As a Brahmin his ‘dharma’ was studying the Vedas, performing Vedic rituals and practicing dharma. His duties include teaching the insights of the Vedic literature which deals with all aspects of life including spirituality, philosophy, yoga, religion, rituals, arts and culture, etc. or being a priest. By not performing his prescribed duties and taking part in war – job of a Kshatriya, Drona violated the principles of Dharma.

• Similar violations could be assigned to his brother-in-law Kripacharya as well as Ashvatthama, his son.

Even in our society we see such anomalies these days which are a clear reflection of deterioration of moral and ethical principles and must be corrected if we have to attain the so called ‘ramarajya.

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Gita 3.26

na buddhi-bhedam janayed

ajnanam karma-sanginam

josayet sarva-karmani

vidvan yuktah samacaran

Meaning

Let not the wise disrupt the minds of the ignorant who are attached to action, they should not be encouraged to refrain from work, but to engage in work in the spirit of devotion.

Explanation

It may be put forth that if one feels compassion for the ignorant, one should give them knowledge of ‘atma-tattva’ or soul realisation which is the highest. Lord Krishna neutralises this argument by stating ‘na vicalayet tan’ meaning one should not try to impart knowledge to them. The ignorant should not be influenced to refrain from performing their duties by superior instructions about the atman or soul that they are not qualified to understand. The spiritually wise in Vedic knowledge should inspire the ignorant to perform their duties with attentiveness and care. If the minds of the ignorant become disturbed and unsettled then they may lose faith in working altogether and with actions stopped and knowledge not rising the ignorant would lose out in both ways.

An ignorant person performs action to reap its fruit, while, a wise man is neither attached to the fruit of action, nor has any duty to perform. Great men have greater responsibility, because common men follow them. Therefore, the Lord urges the wise man, that he should not perform any such action or make any such utterance, as may lead the ignorant to a downfall, which has been called here ‘as buddhibhedam’ (unsettlement in the minds). Therefore, a wise man should perform virtuous actions, for the welfare of other people, so that they may be inspired to perform their duty, without any desire for fruit.

Gita 3.27

prakrteh kriyamanani

gunaih karmani sarvasah

ahankara-vimudhatma

kartaham iti manyate

Meaning

All actions are performed, in all cases, by the modes of nature (prakriti). He whose mind is mesmerised by egoism thinks, “I am the doer.”

Explanation

A question may be raised that the spiritually wise may sometimes perform actions that are also performed by the ignorant then what is the difference? Lord Krishna clarifies this point with the word prakriti meaning the material nature which is impelling actions through the medium of the three gunas being the modes of prakriti known as sattva or goodness, rajas or passion and tamas or ignorance. One who is perplexed by false ego believes that they are the physical body and that the physical body is the doer of all their actions. The Lord declares that all actions are performed by the modes of nature, not by the self.

An action done with the sense of egoism, can never lead to salvation, because egoism is the root of all misfortunes, of birth and death. There were many rulers and leaders in the world who thought and believed that they are indispensable and without them chaos would persist in society. Today they all are resting in the cemetery and the world moves on. Therefore a seeker instead of attaching importance to the performance of action should attach importance to discrimination. This discrimination is then transformed into Real-Knowledge.

Gita 3.28

tattva-vit tu maha-baho

guna-karma-vibhagayoh

guna gunesu vartanta

iti matva na sajjate

Meaning

But the enlightened one, who knows to distinguish the gunas and their works, is not attached, with the view that the gunas are operating on their respective counterparts.

Explanation

The three modes of goodness, passion and ignorance (Sattva, Rajas and Tamas), are born of nature. The entire universe, including the body, senses, mind, intellect, creatures and objects etc., is constituted of the three modes. Out of ignorance, a man by assuming his affinity for these modes, becomes a doer of actions i.e., by regarding the actions and objects, as his own and he becomes a doer. But, when he realizes that the self is different and is an illuminator, he cannot think that he is a doer. A train, having received power from the engine, runs with the help of a driver. The engine supplies power but the train reaches its destination only when the driver drives it. The engine has no senses, mind and intellect. Therefore, it needs a driver (man) with senses, mind and intellect. But, a man has an engine in the form of body and has also senses, mind and intellect to drive it. But the senses, mind and intellect function having received inspiration from the source of light. First, light is reflected in the intellect, from the intellect it goes to the mind, from the mind it goes to the senses, and then the engine (body) functions. Intellect, mind, senses and the body-these are modes and their illuminator is the self which is not connected with them. So long as a seeker has affinity for the world, he can’t be an enlightened soul. The reason is that a man can’t know the world so long as he is attached to it. The world can be known only when he disconnects himself from the world – this is the rule. Similarly a man cannot know God by assuming himself apart from God. He can know Him only by identifying himself with Him – this is the rule. The reason is that really we are different from the world and are identical with God. The body is identical with the world while we (self) are identical with God.

If we renounce our affinity for Nature, through discrimination, it is known as ‘Jnanayoga’ (Discipline of Knowledge). If this affinity is renounced by performing duty, for the welfare of others, it is known as ‘Karma yoga’ (Discipline of Action). When we renounce our affinity for nature, we realize Yoga, (i.e.) union with God. Otherwise, it is merely Jnana (knowledge) and karma (action). Those who realize this real affinity for God, having renounced the affinity for nature, are, ‘tattvavit’ (enlightened souls).

Gita 3.29

prakrter guna-sammudhah

sajjante guna-karmasu

tan akrtsna-vido mandan

krtsna-vin na vicalayet

Meaning

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.

Explanation

This body is a gift of the material nature, and one who is too much attached to the bodily consciousness is called ‘mandan’, a lazy or ignorant person. Ignorant men think of the body as the self. Social work, nationalism, and altruism are some of the activities of such persons and are always busy in the material world; for them spiritual realization is a myth, and so they are not interested. Those who are enlightened in spiritual life should not try to agitate such materially engrossed persons.

In this way after presenting the distinctions between one who is spiritually wise in Vedic knowledge and those who are acting in ignorance; Lord Krishna advices the wise not to unsettle the minds of the ignorant.  For the ignorant being completely infatuated by prakriti or material nature are totally attached to all their actions thinking always that they are performing a particular action for the express purpose of being able to enjoy a particular delight. They are unable to perform actions as a matter of duty without desiring rewards. Even though the actions of the ignorant do not lead them to salvation, the very fact that they are performing actions is in itself good. Administering superior knowledge to them may cause them to refrain from their duties altogether. Eventually in the course of their lifetime there will be a glimmer of comprehension and understand the futility of attachment for such actions.

Gita 3.30

mayi sarvani karmani

sannyasyadhyatma-cetasa

nirasir nirmamo bhutva

yudhyasva vigata-jvarah

Meaning

Therefore, O Arjuna, surrendering all your works unto Me, with mind intent on Me, and without desire for gain and free from egoism and lethargy, fight.

Explanation

The Lord urges us to surrender all our actions to Him, without having the least affinity for those actions. In fact, all actions of the world are performed by Lord’s power. By thinking so, when a seeker performs actions, those actions instead of leading him to bondage, steer him to salvation. Every person knows that he cannot keep the body, senses, mind, intellect and material objects etc., under his control, according to his desire. These belong to nature while the self is a fragment of the Lord. So, real surrender consists in accepting these as of the Lord’s, rather than his own. Therefore, ‘surrender’ means, the renunciation of assumed affinity, for objects and actions, by attaching importance to discrimination. By the expression ‘adhyatmacetasa’, the Lord means to say, that one should have a spiritual aim (of God) rather than a mundane one. The man, who has fixed his aim, has a discriminative insight. In fact, a man’s aim or necessity is, to attain the imperishable, (spiritual) while his desire is to gain the perishable. A seeker should decide upon the aim of his life, instead of having a desire.

The word ‘sannyasa’ means renounce. What is to be renounced? Lord Krishna is explaining Arjuna to renounce all actions and instead dedicate his actions as yajna or worship, as an offering to the Supreme Lord. One should try to be guided by the Lord in every action they perform. One should think that they are being guided by the Supreme Lord at all times. Relinquishing both desire and attachment and thereby being free from any ego conceptions of I-ness or my-ness and any conceptions of ownership; one should cheerfully perform all actions for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord. In this way Lord Krishna is instructing Arjuna to free himself from delusion and to fight. Here ‘fight’ only means do your duty, whatever it may be.

When a seeker has God-realization as the only goal of his life, all his possessions and things, whether superior or inferior, are surrendered to God. Having surrendered his actions and objects, he surrenders his desire, the sense of ‘mine-ness’ and grief, which appear in him, to God. Thus, he becomes a staunch devotee with exclusive devotion. Therefore, the Lord in this verse orders Arjuna to perform his duty of fighting, so that he may come to know his defects also.