The Bhagavad Gita - Chapter 3
The Path of Action
On 5th July 2020, my dear Dad passed away and moved on to the next realm. The Bhagavad Gita, a book sacred to Hinduism, was by far his most cherished text and he studied it up to the very end. In his memory, I am committing to write 18 pieces - one for each chapter - and will attempt to capture the essence of this great text. No prior knowledge of Hinduism is necessary and I shall steer clear of jargon as much as possible. If you haven’t already, do subscribe below to get all the pieces straight to your inbox.
A quick recap
In Chapter 2 we saw Krishna start to provide answers to Arjuna’s dilemma (see Chapter 1). In one of the longest Chapters of the Bhagavad Gita, he told Arjuna about the Soul’s immortality, as well as how the wise maintain a calm and composed outlook by applying eternal knowledge and not being attached to the outcomes/fruits of their actions.
Chapter 3 - The Path of Action (“Karma Yoga”)
Upon hearing Krishna’s words, Arjuna is confused. He asks why Krishna is still insisting that he engages in action (i.e. war with his cousins), if knowledge is indeed a superior path. Still in despair, he asks Krishna to rid him of his confusion and to tell him with certainty, the one path to pursue, in order to attain the Ultimate Good.
Krishna replies.
“Twofold is the steadfastness, in which I proclaimed of old in this world: The Yoga of Knowledge (“Sankhya Yoga”) for the intellectuals and The Yoga of Action (“Karma Yoga”) for the action-oriented people. No person experiences freedom from work by abstaining from it, and no person ever rises to perfection by mere renunciation.
Note: Renunciation here is more than the classical sense of denying the self, material pleasures and comforts, but rather keeping desire in check and engaging in actions without being attached to (and thus renouncing) their results.
“No-one can remain action-less even for a moment. Everyone is compelled to act due to the qualities born of their inherent nature. One who restrains his active sense while constantly engaging in thoughts about sensory objects is deluding himself and is a hypocrite. He who controls the senses, excels, and begins to practice the Yoga of Action (Karma Yoga) without any attachment.”
“Perform your prescribed duties (Nitya Karma), as action is superior to inaction. Even the bare maintenance of the body would be impossible through inaction. Other than action performed for the purpose of sacrifice, all action in this world is binding. Hence perform all your actions free of attachment for such a purpose of sacrifice.
Note: the Vedic view of Sacrifice is about maintaining balance in the Greater Universe through giving back - not necessarily by giving up. Sacrifice, no doubt, means giving something, but it does not mean losing something. In giving, we do not lose. It is said, give and it shall be given back hundredfold.
“Through sacrifice you will flourish. Honour and cherish the Higher Powers with this and may they cherish you too. This way, may you attain the Ultimate Good. When the Higher Powers are honoured by sacrifice they grant you favourable things, but he who enjoys them without performing sacrifice in return is a thief. The wicked who cook only for themselves - eat only sin. Rain fosters the cultivation of food, which nourishes all living beings. This very rain is a result of sacrifice.”
“Every selfless act originates from the Vedas (holy Hindu scriptures), which in turn originate from the Brahman (Ultimate Reality). Thus the Supreme is present in every act of sacrifice. One who does not honour this cycle, lives in vain - delighting only the senses. But one who rejoices in the Self, who is delighted by the Self, who is satisfied only by the Self - has no duty to perform and is not dependent on any being from anything. A person who performs his duty without attachment attains the Ultimate. Whatever a great person does, others emulate. Whatever he sets as a standard, that, the other people will follow.
Krishna goes on to say that even though there is no duty pending to be carried out by him and nothing un-obtained from him to be obtained. Yet he still engages in action, because if he did not, people would follow in his footsteps and it would be a cause of confusion - leading to society’s destruction. A wise person should inspire people to carry out all their duties.
“All actions are carried out by the fundamental forces (see Gunas) of Nature (see Prakriti). A deluded person thinks that he is the doer (instead of nature), whereas the unattached person knows the distinctions between work in devotion, and work for the fruits of their action.
Krishna then tells Arjuna to engage in battle fully - having surrendering all actions to the Supreme and with his mind fixed on the Supreme - free from desire and possessiveness. He mentions that those who practise this teaching of his are released from the cycle of cause and effect. All beings adhere to their nature and restraint achieves nothing. The senses are both attracted and repelled to sense objects (e.g. we are drawn towards ‘pleasant’ sounds and run away from ‘harsh’ sounds) and one should not be swayed by this as it causes obstructions on one’s path.
In a pivotal moment Krishna says:
“It is better to perform one’s own Dharma (own Dharma is known as Svadharma) without merit than another’s Dharma practised well. It is better to fail while performing one’s own Dharma. Someone else’s Dharma is dangerous and fearful”
Arjuna then asks what influences one to act improperly - sometimes as if to do so against one’s own will (i.e you want to do otherwise but cannot resist).
Krishna replies:
“It is desire. It is anger born out of the Guna of Rajas (Rajas is one of the fundamental forces known as gunas.) which is sinful and all consuming. Know this to be the enemy. As smoke covers a fire, dust covers the mirror and the womb covers the embryo, know craving to cover one’s proper understanding. The knowledge of the wise is obscured by craving, an insatiable fire. Craving sits at the seat of the mind, intelligence and the senses.”
“Senses are superior to the sense objects, the mind is superior to the senses, the intellect is superior to the mind, but what is greater than the intellect is the Self.”
Krishna concludes by telling Arjuna to destroy craving having steadied himself, through himself, and by realising that the Self is greater than the intellect.
Parting Thoughts:
Loved this Chapter. I found it very interesting to read about the Hindu/Vedic approaches of renunciation and sacrifice. It is a different approach and slightly more nuanced than the largely Western approaches that we are familiar with. I found this article on renunciation very good and this article explains sacrifice very well. Once again there are parallels to Stoicism. My Dad was a Doctor and giving back was integral to his profession. With his passing, I have felt that my life is currently very self-centred and this was another reminder to change that.
The three gunas (fundamental forces) - Rajas, Tamas and Sattva are something my Dad would speak about all the time. It isn’t really good to be fiery (Rajas), and when I would be lethargic my Dad would speak about Tamas a lot. These three fundamental forces tie into diet as well (see Sattvic diet). I found this article to speak about this topic very well.
Lastly the part about Svadharma (own duty) was inspiring. For quite some time now I have sensed this - its easy to “sell out” in a way but the way this Chapter unequivocally stated that it is better to fail at your Dharma than be ‘successful’ at someone else’s was food for thought. This article speaks about Svadharma a bit and how you identify yours. As my mate JK said, this sentiment has since been echoed across generations and cultures. “I must create a system, or be defined by another man’s” - William Blake.
Deepak
It is evident that this is your labor of love! I appreciate all the work you have heaped into this, and your devotion is incredible. Thank you for giving and sharing ♥️