Lord Krishna’s Teachings on Karma Yoga
The secret of nishkama karma, selfless, motiveless
action, was explained by Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita. Every karma yogi
should study the Gita daily. He can obtain real wisdom from it. The Gita is
alive to those who are alive to it. It is a scripture for all time. It is
especially addressed to people of the present age.
—Swami Sivananda
Here is presented Swami Sivananda’s translation and
commentary on the third chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, which focuses on karma
yoga.
Introduction
In order to remove moha or attachment, which was the
sole cause of Arjuna’s delusion, Sri Krishna taught him the imperishable nature
of the atman, the realization of which would grant him the freedom of the
Eternal. A doubt therefore arises in Arjuna’s mind as to the necessity of
engaging in action even after one has attained this state.
Sri Krishna clears this doubt by telling him that
although one has realized oneness with the Eternal, one has to perform action
through the force of Prakriti or Nature. He emphasizes that perfection is
attained not by ceasing to engage in action, but by doing all actions as a
divine offering, imbued with a spirit of non-attachment and sacrifice.
The man of God-vision, Sri Krishna explains to Arjuna,
need not engage in action, as he has attained everything that has to be
attained. He can be ever absorbed in the calm and immutable Self. But to
perform action for the good of the world and for the education of the masses is
no doubt superior. Therefore, action is necessary not only for one who has
attained perfection but also for one who is striving for perfection. Sri
Krishna quotes the example of Janaka, the great sage-king of India, who
continued to rule his kingdom even after attaining God-realization.
Prakriti or Nature is made up of the three qualities:
rajas, tamas and sattwa. The atman is beyond these three qualities and their
functions. Only when knowledge of this fact dawns in one does one attain
perfection. The Lord tells Arjuna that each one should do his duty according to
his nature, and that doing duty that is suited to one’s nature in the right
spirit of detachment will lead to perfection.
Arjuna raises the question as to why man commits such
actions that cloud his mind and drag him downwards. Sri Krishna answers that it
is desire that impels man to lose his discrimination and understanding, and
thus commit wrong actions. Desire is the root cause of all evil actions. If
desire is removed, then the divine power manifests in its full glory and one
enjoys peace, bliss, light and freedom.
Bhagavad Gita, Third Discourse
Arjuna uvaacha
1. Jyaayasee chet karmanaste mataa buddhir janaardana;
Tat kim karmani ghore maam niyojayasi keshava.
Arjuna said:
If it be thought by you that knowledge is superior to action, O Krishna, why
then, O Keshava, do you ask me to engage in this terrible action?
2. Vyaamishreneva vaakyena buddhim mohayaseeva me;
Tadekam vada nishchitya yena shreyo’ham aapnuyaam.
With these apparently perplexing words you confuse, as
it were, my understanding; therefore, tell me that one way for certain by which
I may attain bliss.
Shree Bhagavaan uvaacha
3. Loke’smin dvividhaa nishthaa puraa proktaa mayaanagha;
Jnaanayogena saankhyaanaam karmayogena yoginaam.
The Blessed Lord said:
In this world there is a twofold path, as I said before, O sinless one – the
path of knowledge of the Sankhyas and the path of action of the yogis.
4. Na karmanaam anaarambhaan naishkarmyam
purusho’shnute;
Na cha sannyasanaad eva siddhim samadhigachchhati.
Not by the non-performance of actions does man reach actionlessness,
nor by mere renunciation does he attain to perfection.
Commentary: Even if a man abandons action, his mind
may be active. One cannot reach perfection or freedom from action or knowledge
of the Self merely by renouncing action. He must possess knowledge of the Self.
5. Na hi kashchit kshanamapi jaatu
tishthatyakarmakrit;
Kaaryate hyavashah karma sarvah prakritijair gunaih.
Verily none can ever remain for even a moment without
performing action; for, everyone is made to act helplessly indeed by the
qualities born of Nature.
Commentary: The ignorant man is driven to action
helplessly by the actions of the gunas – rajas, tamas and sattwa.
6. Karmendriyaani samyamya ya aaste manasaa smaran;
Indriyaarthaan vimoodhaatmaa mithyaachaarah sa uchyate.
He who, restraining the organs of action, sits
thinking of the sense-objects in mind, he, of deluded understanding, is called
a hypocrite.
7. Yastvindriyaani manasaa niyamyaarabhate’rjuna;
Karmendriyaih karmayogam asaktah sa vishishyate.
But whosoever, controlling the senses by the mind, O
Arjuna, engages himself in karma yoga with the organs of action, without
attachment, he excels.
8. Niyatam kuru karma twam karma jyaayo hyakarmanah;
Shareerayaatraapi cha te na prasiddhyed akarmanah.
Do thou perform your bounden duty, for action is
superior to inaction and even the maintenance of the body would not be possible
for you by inaction.
9. Yajnaarthaat karmano’nyatra loko’yam
karmabandhanah;
Tadartham karma kaunteya muktasangah samaachara.
The world is bound by actions other than those
performed for the sake of sacrifice; do thou, therefore, O son of Kunti,
perform action for that sake (for sacrifice) alone, free from attachment!
Commentary: If anyone does actions for the sake of the
Lord, he is not bound. His heart is purified by performing actions for the sake
of the Lord. Where this spirit of unselfishness does not govern the action,
such actions bind one to worldliness, however good or glorious they may be.
10. Sahayajnaah prajaah srishtvaa purovaacha
prajaapatih;
Anena prasavishyadhvam esha vo’stvishtakaamadhuk.
The Creator, having in the beginning of creation
created humankind together with sacrifice, said: “By this shall ye propagate;
let this be the milch cow of your desires (the cow which yields the desired
objects).”
11. Devaan bhaavayataanena te devaa bhaavayantu vah;
Parasparam bhaavayantah shreyah param avaapsyatha.
With this do ye nourish the gods, and may the gods
nourish you; thus nourishing one another, ye shall attain to the highest good.
12. Ishtaan bhogaan hi vo devaa daasyante
yajnabhaavitaah;
Tair dattaan apradaayaibhyo yo bhunkte stena eva sah.
The gods, nourished by the sacrifice, will give you
the desired objects. So, he who enjoys the objects given by the gods without offering
(in return) to them, is verily a thief.
13. Yajnashishtaashinah santo muchyante sarva
kilbishaih;
Bhunjate te tvagham paapaa ye pachantyaatma kaaranaat.
The righteous, who eat of the remnants of the
sacrifice, are freed from all sins; but those sinful ones who cook food (only)
for their own sake, verily eat sin.
14. Annaad bhavanti bhootaani parjanyaad anna
sambhavah;
Yajnaad bhavati parjanyo yajnah karma samudbhavah.
From food come forth beings, and from rain food is
produced; from sacrifice arises rain, and sacrifice is born of action.
15. Karma brahmodbhavam viddhi brahmaakshara
samudbhavam;
Tasmaat sarvagatam brahma nityam yajne pratishthitam.
Know thou that action comes from Brahma, and Brahma
proceeds from the Imperishable. Therefore, the all-pervading (Brahma) ever
rests in sacrifice.
16. Evam pravartitam chakram naanuvartayateeha yah;
Aghaayur indriyaaraamo mogham paartha sa jeevati.
He who does not follow the wheel thus set revolving,
who is of sinful life, rejoicing in the senses, he lives in vain, O Arjuna!
Commentary: He who does not follow the wheel by
studying the Vedas and performing the sacrifices prescribed therein, but who
indulges only in sensual pleasures, lives in vain. He wastes his life.
17. Yastvaatmaratir eva syaad aatmatriptashcha
maanavah;
Aatmanyeva cha santushtas tasya kaaryam na vidyate.
But for that man who rejoices only in the Self, who is
satisfied in the Self, who is content in the Self alone, verily there is
nothing to do.
18. Naiva tasya kritenaartho naakriteneha kashchana;
Na chaasya sarvabhooteshu kashchidartha vyapaashrayah.
For him there is no interest whatsoever in what is
done or what is not done; nor does he depend on any being for any object.
Commentary: The sage who rejoices in his own Self does
not gain anything by doing any action. To him no real purpose is served by
engaging in any action. No evil can touch him as a result of inaction. He does
not lose anything by being inactive.
19. Tasmaad asaktah satatam kaaryam karma samaachara;
Asakto hyaacharan karma param aapnoti poorushah.
Therefore, without attachment, do thou always perform
action which should be done; for, by performing action without attachment man
reaches the Supreme.
20. Karmanaiva hi samsiddhim aasthitaa janakaadayah;
Lokasangraham evaapi sampashyan kartum arhasi.
Janaka and others attained perfection verily by action
only; even with a view to the protection of the masses you should perform
action.
21. Yadyad aacharati shreshthas tattadevetaro janah;
Sa yat pramaanam kurute lokas tad anuvartate.
Whatsoever a great man does, that other men also do;
whatever he sets up as the standard, that the world follows.
22. Na me paarthaasti kartavyam trishu lokeshu
kinchana; Naanavaaptam avaaptavyam varta eva cha karmani.
There is nothing in the three worlds, O Arjuna, that
should be done by Me, nor is there anything unattained that should be attained;
yet I engage Myself in action!
23. Yadi hyaham na varteyam jaatu karmanyatandritah;
Mama vartmaanuvartante manushyaah paartha sarvashah.
For, should I not ever engage Myself in action,
unwearied, men would in every way follow My path, O Arjuna!
24. Utseedeyurime lokaa na kuryaam karma ched aham;
Sankarasya cha kartaa syaam upahanyaam imaah prajaah.
These worlds would perish if I did not perform action;
I should be the author of confusion of castes and destruction of these beings.
25. Saktaah karmanyavidvaamso yathaa kurvanti
bhaarata;
Kuryaad vidvaamstathaasaktash chikeershur lokasangraham.
As the ignorant men act from attachment to action, O
Bharata (Arjuna), so should the wise act without attachment, wishing the
welfare of the world!
26. Na buddhibhedam janayed ajnaanaam karmasanginaam;
Joshayet sarva karmaani vidvaan yuktah samaacharan.
Let no wise man unsettle the minds of ignorant people
who are attached to action; he should engage them in all actions, himself
fulfilling them with devotion.
27. Prakriteh kriyamaanaani gunaih karmaani sarvashah;
ahamkaaravimoodhaatmaa kartaaham iti manyate.
All actions are wrought in all cases by the qualities
of Nature only. He whose mind is deluded by egoism thinks: “I am the doer.”
Commentary: Prakriti or Nature is that state in which
the three gunas exist in a state of equilibrium. When this equilibrium is
disturbed, creation begins and the body, senses and mind are formed. The man
who is deluded by egoism identifies the Self with the body, mind, the
life-force and the senses, and ascribes to the Self all the attributes of the
body and the senses. In reality the gunas of Nature perform all actions.
28. Tattvavittu mahaabaaho gunakarma vibhaagayoh;
Gunaa guneshu vartanta iti matvaa na sajjate.
But he who knows the truth, O mighty-armed Arjuna,
about the divisions of the qualities and their functions, knowing that the
gunas as senses move amidst the gunas as the sense-objects, is not attached.
29. Prakriter gunasammoodhaah sajjante gunakarmasu;
Taan akritsnavido mandaan kritsnavin na vichaalayet.
Those deluded by the qualities of Nature are attached
to the functions of the qualities. A man of perfect knowledge should not
unsettle the foolish one of imperfect knowledge.
30. Mayi sarvaani karmaani sannyasyaadhyaatma
chetasaa;
Niraasheer nirmamo bhootvaa yudhyasva vigatajvarah.
Renouncing all actions in Me, with the mind centred in
the Self, free from hope and egoism, and from (mental) fever, do thou fight.
Commentary: Surrender all actions to Me with the
thought: “I perform all actions for the sake of the Lord only.”
31. Ye me matam idam nityam anutishthanti maanavaah;
Shraddhaavanto’nasooyanto muchyante te’pi karmabhih.
Those men who constantly practise this teaching of
Mine with faith and without cavilling, they too are freed from actions.
32. Ye tv etad abhyasooyanto naanutishthanti me matam;
Sarvajnaanavimoodhaamstaan viddhi nashtaan achetasah.
But those who carp at My teaching and do not practise
it, deluded in all knowledge and devoid of discrimination, know them to be
doomed to destruction.
33. Sadrisham cheshtate svasyaah prakriter jnaanavaan
api;
Prakritim yaanti bhootaani nigrahah kim karishyati.
Even a wise man acts in accordance with his own
nature; beings will follow nature; what can restraint do?
Commentary: Only the ignorant man comes under the sway
of his natural propensities. The seeker after Truth who is endowed with the
‘four means’ and who constantly practises meditation, can easily control Nature
if he rises above the sway of the pairs of opposites, like love and hate, etc.
34. Indriyasyendriyasyaarthe raagadveshau
vyavasthitau;
Tayor na vasham aagachchhet tau hyasya paripanthinau.
Attachment and aversion for the objects of the senses
abide in the senses; let none come under their sway, for they are his foes.
35. Shreyaan svadharmo vigunah paradharmaat sv
anushthitaat;
Swadharme nidhanam shreyah paradharmo bhayaavahah.
Better is one’s own duty, though devoid of merit, than
the duty of another well discharged. Better is death in one’s own duty; the
duty of another is fraught with fear.
Arjuna uvaacha
36. Atha kena prayukto’yam paapam charati poorushah;
Anichchhann api vaarshneya balaad iva niyojitah.
Arjuna said:
But impelled by what does man commit sin, though against his wishes, O
Varshneya (Krishna), constrained, as it were, by force?
Shree Bhagavaan uvaacha
37. Kaama esha krodha esha rajoguna samudbhavah;
Mahaashano mahaapaapmaa viddhyenam iha vairinam.
The Blessed Lord said:
It is desire, it is anger born of the quality of rajas, all-sinful and
all-devouring; know this as the foe here (in this world).
38. Dhoomenaavriyate
vahnir yathaadarsho malena cha;
Yatholbenaavrito garbhas tathaa tenedam aavritam.
As fire is enveloped by
smoke, as a mirror by dust, and as an embryo by the amnion, so is this
enveloped by that.
39. Aavritam jnaanam
etena jnaanino nityavairinaa;
Kaamaroopena kaunteya dushpoorenaanalena cha.
O Arjuna, wisdom is
enveloped by this constant enemy of the wise in the form of desire, which is
unappeasable as fire!
40. Indriyaani mano
buddhir asyaadhishthaanam uchyate;
Etair vimohayatyesha jnaanam aavritya dehinam.
The senses, mind and
intellect are said to be its seat; through these it deludes the embodied by
veiling his wisdom.
41. Tasmaat tvam
indriyaanyaadau niyamya bharatarshabha;
Paapmaanam prajahi hyenam jnaana vijnaana naashanam.
Therefore, O best of the
Bharatas (Arjuna), controlling the senses first, do thou kill this sinful thing
(desire), the destroyer of knowledge and realization!
42. Indriyaani
paraanyaahur indriyebhyah param manah;
Manasastu paraa buddhir yo buddheh paratastu sah.
They say that the senses
are superior (to the body); superior to the senses is the mind; superior to the
mind is the intellect; and one who is superior even to the intellect is He –
the Self.
43. Evam buddheh param
buddhvaa samstabhyaatmaanam aatmanaa;
Jahi shatrum mahaabaaho kaamaroopam duraasadam.
Thus, knowing Him who is
superior to the intellect and restraining the self by the Self, slay thou, O
mighty-armed Arjuna, the enemy in the form of desire, hard to conquer!
Commentary: Restrain the lower self by the higher
Self. Subdue the lower mind by the higher mind. It is difficult to conquer desire
because it is of a highly complex and incomprehensible nature. But a person of
discrimination and dispassion, who does constant and intense sadhana, can
conquer it quite easily.
The yoga of the Bhagavad Gita is an art. You should be
ever active and at the same time feel inwardly that you are the non-doer and
non-enjoyer. You should take a deep interest in everything. And yet you should
be perfectly unattached.
Sri Krishna asks man to consider himself a doll in the
hands of God. He asks man to think of himself as a soldier, with God as his
general and his worldly acts as duties under orders. He asks man to act in the
faith and belief that whatever he does is the work of God. He asks man to act,
but to act only with devotion to Him and without desire for fruit.
The teachings given by Lord Krishna are simply
wonderful. He gives instructions on a variety of subjects, but the one ringing
note is: “See Me in everything. Surrender yourself to Me. Do all actions for My
sake. Cut off all sorts of attachments. Have perfect, unswerving devotion to
Me. Sing My glories.”
