Gita Chapter 4

Life means activity. Where activity has ended, death has entered. In active life alone can we progress or deteriorate. A stagnant pool of water decays and soon gets putrefied; while the flowing water of a river ever keeps itself fresh, pure and clean.

Life being dynamic, it cannot, even for a moment, cease to function. Complete cessation from activities is impossible so long as life exists.

Activity, therefore, is the very corner-stone of life. Since man must always actively exist all his lifetime, the entire possibilities of activities have been taken into consideration by the great Seers of old in evaluating life. The accompanying chart will vividly explain their classifications.

Life is constituted of moments of activity and moments of inactivity. Through inactivity, neither progress nor deterioration is ever possible. Deep-sleep or periods of complete cessation in existence are intervals of total holidaying from life, and they can neither make nor marthe individual’s progress in his evolution.

Periods of activity create man. This creative-period depends upon what type of activity we venture upon. According to the ancient Seers, activities can be of two types, constructive or destructive. Constructive activities which contribute towards the evolution of the individual are termed here as Karma.

Destructive activities are those that are totally condemned by the Shastras, because they tend to devolve the individual, and those are termed in our text books as Vi-karma. The constructive activities (Karma) can be of three kinds: Nitya — constant duties, Naimittika — special duties on special occasions, and Kamya — work purposeful and self-determined for winning a desirable result or reward.

Built upon the ancient Vedic doctrine, Krishna here expounds an elaborate theory of self-development. He says that life is but a name for continuous activities. These activities can fall within two distinct classifications as Karma and Vi-karma. Lord Krishna’s advice to Arjuna is to avoid the forbidden actions (Vi-karma) and to pursue the constructive and creative activities of self-development (Karma). In this scientific analysis, without any formality, or mental reservation, Krishna totally rejects “inactivity” (A-karma).

It is necessary, it is said here, that a true seeker who is trying to live a diligent life, contributing to his material progress and to his spiritual self-development, must necessarily know this triple classification of life, considered as a bundle of activities.

Even after so beautifully defining the three clear and distinct classifications, Krishna admits that, for an ordinary man it is not easy to distinguish the one from the other, and to readily and successfully classify all his activities under these three headings, because, Krishna says, “THE NATURE OF KARMA IS IMPONDERABLE. “

In this statement lies the secret suggestion that an action is to be evaluated not merely on its face value but after a sincere consideration of the motive working behind it. If the motive, or desire, or intention of one is pure and constructive, then the action too is noble and meritorious for that particular individual. Since in this evaluation of actions the individual factor is so very predominant, one must agree with Krishna over the imponderability of the nature of Karma.

WHAT IS THERE TO LEARN ABOUT ACTION AND INACTION? THE ANSWER FOLLOWS:

Hi, for; there is something boddhavyam, to be known; api, even; karmanah, about action enjoined by the scriptures; and there is certainly something to be known vikarmanah, about prohibited action; so, also, there is something to be known akarmanah, about inaction, about sitting quietly. (The words ‘there is’ are to be supplied in all the three cases.) Because gatih, the true nature, i.e. the essential nature; karmanah, of action-implying karma etc., viz action, prohibited action and inaction; is gahana, inscrutable, hard to understand. ‘What, again, is the essential nature of action etc. which has to be understood, and about which it was promised, “I shall tell you…” (16)?’ This is being stated:

By thus following the rules of right-living (Karma), as indicated in Vedanta, when an individual has lived a sufficiently long period of time, the doubt arises as to when exactly we can say that he has completely reached the State of Perfection. This question should necessarily throb in the intellect of all sincere students, and Krishna is trying to indicate this noble goal of fulfilment of all Karmas in this stanza.

Action, as we have already seen, is a gross expression in the outer world of some known, or unknown, deep “desire” in the intellect. A complete “STATE OF ACTIONLESS-NESS” would be necessarily the ‘STATE OF DESIRELESS-NESS” or the “STATE OF INFINITE GOD-HEAD.” But the goal indicated here is not this “STATE OF INFINITE PERFECTION,” but only a wayside station on the pilgrimage. A true and diligent man can discover and recognise in himself that even in physical inaction there can be an intense mental and intellectual activity, and he can also recognise that he, even in the most intense activities, himself as an observer of it, is revelling in “unactivity” (A-Karma). This is the maximum Sattwic state.

Such an individual has thereby reached a State of Great Equanimity, which is almost unavoidable in living a successful life of meditation. It is not said here, as it is usually believed, that right action itself will take us to the Infinite. This is impossible. As action itself is a child of “desire,” through action alone we can create things; and created ‘results’ are, in their very nature, finite. Thus, a God-head reached through activity can only be a Sunday-God-head which must depart from us the following Monday morning!

Shankara and other great Acharyas have all been tirelessly repeating that, right action, undertaken with a sense of devotion and dedication, creates in the bosom of the student a sense of complete detachment, as though he himself is a disinterested observer of all that is happening within and without him. When thus an individual detaches himself and observes his own activities as part and parcel of the world of activities around, he gains in himself an indescribable poise which is essential for the practice of meditation.

Merely because an individual is keeping quiet, we cannot ever conclude that he is inactive. Physical inactivity is no criterion to call one an idler. On the other hand, it is a fact well-known to all of us, that, when we are intensely thinking — whenever we are in a state of creative thinking — we are invariably quiet and inactive, physically. Therefore, in the physical inactivity of one, which is labelled as idleness by the hectic foot-path-walkers in life, we can detect intense activity in his deep “within.” A Buddha under the fig-tree, an artist at his easel, a musician at his instrument, a writer at his desk — all of them punctuate their activities with ‘still moments of intense inactivity’-called unactivity-and they bend forward to pour out their artistic and literary creations. All these physical moments of cessation are not mere inactivity but they are the necessary quietude and silence when the mind and intellect function with the highest velocity. Thus, he who has a capacity to introspect, can easily detect perfect action in complete inaction.

As I am writing these words a certain part in me can stand apart and visualise how my fingers, constituted of mere minerals, can hold the pen at the right slant and carry it along the paper so that the words may be spelt properly thereon. So, in all activities, this capacity to visualise discriminatingly our own activity — this capacity to observe ourselves functioning in a given field with or without the other members of the community — is not very rare and those who can do it can realise how, inspite of all our activities, the observer in us which OBSERVES the activities is most INACTIVE.

The train runs, but not the steam. The fan moves, but not the electricity. The fuel burns, but not the fire. The body, mind and intellect function and act, but not the Self, the Life in them!

Such an individual who can thus stand constantly apart from himself and observe “the activity in inactivity” and “complete inactivity even in the highest activity… called UNACTIVITY”… is termed here, we must carefully note, not a man of realisation (Jnani), but an intelligent, full-grown human creature (Buddhiman). “He is the intelligent one among men,” and he is certainly one who is very near to the Self (Atma Yuktah).

In short, desireless activities, when undertaken and performed in a spirit of dedication, purify us, and the intellect thereby gains a new keenness. Out of such a purified head, a new faculty, as it were, arises. The capacity to observe oneself as an actor on the stage of life, is a capacity divine and noble, inasmuch as it immediately redeems us from our selfish preoccupations with life’s ever-changing incidents and accidents.

REALISATION OF ‘INACTION IN ACTION’ AND ‘ACTION IN INACTION’ IS EXTOLLED AS FOLLOWS:

Since engagement and non-engagement (in action) depend on an agent, therefore, yah, he who; pasyet, ie. pasyati, finds; akarma, inaction, absence of action; karmani, in action-karma means whatever is done, action in general; in tha action-; and yah, who; finds karma, action; akarmani, in inaction, in the absence of action; sah, he; is buddhiman, a wise one; manusyesu, among men. All dealings involving an act, accessories, etc. exist certainly on the plane of ignorance, [Both engagement and non-engagement presuppose agentship and an act of some kind. This, however, holds good on the plane of ignorance, but not on that of Self-realization.] only so long as one has not attained to the Reality. He is a yogi, yuktah, engaged in yoga; and a krtsna-karma-krt, performer of all actions. One who discriminates between action and actions. One who discriminates between action and inaction is praised thus.
Objection: Well, what is meant by this contradictory statement, ‘He who finds inaction in action’, and ‘action in inaction’? For action cannot become inaction, nor inaction action. That being so, how can a witness have (such) an incongruous perception?
Vedantin: Is it not that [Ast. reads na in place of nanu.-Tr.] to an ordinary foolsih observer, that which is reality is inaction appears as action, and similarly, action itself as inaction? That being so, in order to show things as they are the Lord says, ‘He who finds inaction in action’, etc. Therefore there is no incongruity. Besides, the qualifications such as ‘intelligent’ etc. (thus) become logical. And by saying, ‘there is something to be known’, is implied the perception of things as they are. Moreover, freedom from evil cannot follow from an erroneous perception; whereas it has been said, ‘by knowing which you will become free from evil’. Therefore, one account of action and inaction being perceived contrarily by the creatures, the Lord’s utterance, ‘he who finds inaction in action,’ etc. is for dispelling their contrary perception. Not that in the empirical plane inaction has action as its receptacle, like a plum in a bowl! Nor even has action inaction as its receptacle, because inaction is a negation of action. Therefore, action and inaction are actually perceived contrarily by the ordinary persons-like seeing water in a mirage, or silver in nacre.
Objection: Is it not that to every one action is action itself? Never is there an exception to this.
Vedantin: That is not so, becuase when a boat is moving, motionless trees on the bank appear to move in the opposite direction to a man on the boat; an absence of motion is noticed in distant moving things which are not near one’s eyes. Similarly, here also occurs the contrary perceptions, viz seeing action in inaction under the idea, ‘I am doing’, [Ast. omits ‘aham karomi iti, under the idea, “I am doing”‘.-Tr.] and seeing, inaction in acion,-because of which it is said, ‘He who finds inaction in action,’ etc. in order to eliminate them. As such, although this answer has been given more than once, still a man becomes repeatedly deluded under the influence of a totally opposite perception. And forgetting the truth that has been heard again and again, he repeatedly raises false issues and questions! And therefore, observing that the subject is difficult to understand, the Lord gives His answer again and again. The absence of action in the Self-well-known from the Vedas, Smrtis and logic, as stated in, ‘(It is said that) This is unmanifest; This is inconceivable’ (2.25), ‘Never is this One born, and never does It die’ (2.20; Ka. 1.2.18), etc.-has been and will be spoken of. The contrary perception of action in that actionless Self, i.e. in inaction, is very deep-rooted, owing to which ‘even the intelligent are confounded as to what is action and what is inaction.’ And as a consequence of the superimposition of aciton pertaining to the body etc. on the Self, there arises such ideas as, ‘I am an agent; this is my action; its result is to be enjoyed by me.’ Similarly, with the idea, ‘I shall remain quiet, whereby I shall be free from exertion, free from activity, and happy’, and superimposing on the Self the cessation of activities pertaining to the body and organs and the resulting happiness, a man imagines, ‘I shall not do anything; I shall sit quietly and happily.’ That being so, the Lord says, ‘he who finds inaction in action,’ etc. with a view to removing this contrary understanding of man. And here in this world, though action belonging to the body and organs continues to be action, still it is superimposed by everyone on the acitonless, unchanging Self, as a result of which even a learned person things, ‘I act.’ Therefore, in action (karmani), which is universally considered by all people to be inherent in the Self, like the perception of motion in the (stationary) trees on the bank of a river-(in that action) he who contrariwise finds the fact of inaction, like perceiving absence of motion in those trees-. And, in inaction (akarmani) in the cessation of the activities pertaining to the body and organs and ascribed to the Self in the same way that actions are ascribed-, in that action, he who sees action because of egoism being implicit in the idea, ‘I am happily seated quietly, without doing anything’-; he who knows thus the distinction between action and inaction, is wise, is learned among men; he is engaged in yoga, he is a yogi, and a performer of all actions. And he, freed from evil, attains fulfilment. This is the meaning. This verse is interpreted by some in another way. How? (Thus:) ‘Since the daily obligatory duties (nityakarmas) certainly have no results when performed as a dedication to God, therefore, in a secondary sense, they are said to be inaction. Again, the non-performance of these (nitya-karmas) is inaction; since this produces an evil result, therefore it is called action, verily in a figurative sense. That being so, he who sees inaction in the daily obligatory duties (nitya-karmas) owing to the obsence of their results-in the same way as a cow that does not yield milk is said to be not a cow, though in reality it is so-so also, in the non-performance of the daily obligatory duties, i.e. in inaction, he who sees action since that yields results such as hell etc…’ This explanation is not logical, because freedom from evil as a result of such knowledge is unreasonable, and the utterance of the Lord in the sentence, ‘…by knowing which you will become freed from evil’, will be contradicted. How? Even if it be that liberation from evil follows from the performance of nitya-karmas, it cannot, however, follow from the knowledge of the absence of their results. For it has not been enjoined (anywhere) that knowledge of the nityakarmas (themselves), leads to the result of freedom from evil. Nor has this been stated here by the Lord Himself. Hereby is refuted the ‘seeing of action in inaction’ [As explained by others.-Tr.], for (according to the opponent) ‘seeing of action in inaction’ has not been enjoined here [Here, in the present verse.] as a duty, but (what has been enjoined is) merely that performance of the nityakarmas is obligatory. Moreover, no result can accrue from the knowledge that evil arises from non-performance of nityakramas. Nor even has non-performance of nityakarmas. been enjoined as something that should be known. Besides, such results as freedom from evil, wisdom, engagement in yoga, and being a performer of all actions cannot reasonably follow from a false perception of action as inaction. Nor is this a eulogy of false perception. [The stated results accrue from correct knowledge, not from false perception; and correct knowledge alone is praise-worthy.] Indeed, false perception is itself an abvious form of evil! How can it bring about liberation from another evil? Surely, darkness does not become the remover of darkness!
Opponent: Well, the seeing of inaction in action, or the seeing of action in inaction-that is not a false perception. Vadantin: What then?
Opponent: It is a figurative statement based on the existence or the non-existence of results.
Vedantin: Not so, because there is no such scriptural statement that something results from knowing action as inaction and inaction as action, even in a figurative sense. Besides, nothing particular is gained by rejecting what is heard of (in the scriptures) and imagining something that is not. Further, it was possible (for the Lord) to express in His own words that there is no result from the nityakarmas, and that by their non-performance one would have to go to hell. Under such circumstances, what was the need of the ambiguous statement, ‘He who sees inaction in action,’ etc., which is misleading to others? This being the case, such an explanation by anyone will be clearly tantamount to imagining that statement of the Lord as meant for deluding people. Moreover, this subject-matter (performance of nityakarmas) is not something to be protected with mystifying words. It is not even logical to say that the subject-matter will become easy for comprehension if it is stated again and again through different words. For, the subject-matter that was stated more clearly in, ‘Your right is for action alone’ (2.47), does not need any repetition. And everwhere it is said that whatever is good and ought to be practised deserves to be understood; anything purposeloss does not deserve to be known. Besides, neither is false knowledge worth acquiring nor is the semblance of an object presented by it worth knowing. Nor even can any evil, which is an entity, arise from the non-performance of nityakarmas, which is a non-entity, for there is the statement, ‘Of the unreal there is no being’ (2.16), and (in the Upanisad) it has been pointed out, ‘How can existence originate from nonexistence?’ (Ch. 4.2.2). Since emergence of the existent from the nonexistent has been denied, therefore anyone’s assertion that the existent originates from the nonexistent will amount to saying that a non-entity becomes an entity, and an entity becomes a non-entity! And that is not rational because it runs counter to all the means of valid knowledge. Further, the scriptures cannot enjoin fruitless actions, they being naturally painful; and it is illogical that what is painful should be done intentionally. Also, if it is admitted that falling into hell results from their non-performance (i.e. of the nityakarmas), then that too is surely a source of evil. In either case, whether one undertakes them or not, the scriptures will be imagined to be useless. And there will be a contradiction with your own standpoint when, after holding that the nityakarmas are fruitless, you assert that they lead to Liberation. Therefore, the meaning of ‘He who finds inaction in action,’ etc. is just what stands out literally. And the verse has been explained by us accordingly. The aforesaid perception of ‘inaction in action,’ etc. is being praised:

He is called a Saint, a man-of-Perfection, “whose undertakings are all devoid of plan and desire-for-result.” Planning is a shackle upon the freedom of one’s activities. In all planning, we are forcing the circumstances into a desired mould, a wished-for pattern. In thus driving the situations to mould themselves into a planned pattern, we are exhausting ourselves and vainly fighting against terrible odds. This method of activity drains away all inspiration and joy from the worker.

We have already discussed how the desire-for-results during any activity dissipates our energies. The fruits-of-an-action can only mature in a future period of time and therefore, to court the results is to escape from the present and live in the unborn periods of time. It is a law that the effects depend entirely upon the causes, and so to be sincere and complete in our activities is the greatest guarantee for all successful achievements.

One who is a perfect Sage, says Krishna, is one who will undertake to act “WITHOUT PLANNING” and “WITHOUT ANY DESIRE FOR FRUITS.” In this context, these two qualifications of a perfect act are to be understood with kindness and sympathy. A literal meaning of these two terms should not be used here, as in that case the statement would become absurd.

The instruction to act “WITHOUT PLANNING AND DESIRE” does not mean that a man-of-Equilibrium, in his inspired activity, should not make use of his better intelligence and plan his activities to gain a desired result. It only means that, WHILE HE IS AT WORK, he should not allow his abilities and capacities to run to waste, with his mental preoccupations and sentimental fears regarding the results-of-his-work. Vedanta does not in any way ignore man’s intellect. The way of life as advised in the Geeta provides only a more efficient means to act and achieve, to live and to enjoy, cultivating and applying our own potentialities more intelligently.

An individual, who has thus come to live intelligently and act diligently, becomes fully wedded to the piece of work in hand and gets so entirely drunk with the joy of his own inspiration, that the action cannot leave upon him even a trace of its reaction. Our mind and intellect will venture forth to worry over the unknown possibilities and dangers, unless they can find a more secure hold upon something nobler and diviner. A perfect Sage is one whose mind is ever hitched on to the cognition of the Divine, so that, even when he functions in the world outside, he is revelling in his own Consciousness within.

By thus painting the psychology of a Sage-at-work, Lord Krishna is indicating with what mental attitude and intellectual composure, Arjuna, a seeker, should enter his fields of activity. These instructions, given by Vyasa through the mouth of Krishna, are meant for all generations of seekers and, therefore, words addressed to Arjuna are also words addressed to you and to me.

When my son wants to become a doctor I would certainly explain to him the story of the struggle of some known doctors, so that my son may understand how best he himself can become a true doctor. So too here, by the description of a perfect Sage-at-work, Arjuna is being initiated into the “Path of Self-development,” which he is to follow faithfully, if he is to reach the goal of life.

DEVOID OF ALL DESIRE-PROMPTED ACTIONS, AND ATTACHMENTS TO THEIR RESULTS, AND THEREFORE, HAVING NO SELFISH END IN VIEW, WHEN A SAGE PERFORMS KINDLY ACTS IN THE COMMUNITY, HE REALLY DOES NO ACTION; HIS ACTION IS EQUIVALENT TO “INACTION,” SINCEALL HIS ACTIONS ARE CONSUMED IN THE FIRE OF KNOWLEDGE. TO TEACH THIS “UNACTIVITY,” THE LORD SAYS:

Budhah, the wise, the knowers of Brahman; ahuh, call; tam, him; panditam, learned, in the real sense; yasya, whose, of the one who perceives as stated above; samarambhah, actions-whatever are undertaken; are sarve, all; kama-sankalpa-varjitah, devoid of desires and the thoughts which are their (desires’) causes (see 2.62)-i.e., (those actions) are performed as mere movements, without any selfish purpose: if they are performed by one (already) engaged in actions, then they are for preventing people from going astray, and if they are done by one who has withdrawn from actions, then they are merely for the maintenance of the body-; and jnanagni-dagdha-karmanam, whose actions have been burnt away by the fire of wisdom. Finding inaction etc. in action etc. is jnana, wisdom; that itself is agnih, fire. He whose actions, karma, described as good and bad, have been dagdhani, burnt away by that fire of wisdom, is jnana-agni-dagdha-karma. However, one who is a perceiver of ‘inaction’ etc. [Perceiver of inaction etc.: He who knows the truth about action and inaction as explained before.-Tr.] is free from actions owing to the very fact of his seeing ‘inaction’ etc. He is a monk, who acts merely for the purpose of maintaining the body. Being so, he does not engage in actions although he might have done so before the dawn of discrimination. He again who, having been engaged in actions under the influence of past tendencies, later on becomes endowed with the fullest Self-knowledge, he surely renounces (all) [Ast. adds this word sarva, all.-Tr.] actions along with their accessories as he does nnot find any purpose in activity. For some reason, if it becomes impossible to renounce actions and he, for the sake of preventing people from going astray, even remains engaged as before in actions-without attachment to those actions and their results because of the absence of any selfish purpose-, still he surely does nothing at all! His actions verily become ‘inaction’ because of having been burnt away by the fire of wisdom. By way of pointing out this idea, the Lord says:

This Yoga, the Yoga in which the Vedic teachings regarding activity (Pravritti) and retirement (Nivritti) are comprehended, thus handed down in regular succession among the “Royal sages,” has its own destinies. At certain periods of history, this Knowledge seems to be readily available for the service of mankind, but at certain other periods of history it falls into disuse and becomes, as it were defunct. The golden era of spirituality dies down to inaugurate the dark ages of undivine life. At such periods of monstrous materialism, the generation is not left in neglect to suffer and groan under its own negative values. For, at that time, some great master appears on the horizon to inspire, to encourage and to lead the generation away from the ruts of sorrow onto the highroads of cultural revival.

Krishna rightly evaluates the period of the Mahabharata and declares: “THIS YOGA, BY LONG LAPSE OF TIME, HAS BEEN LOST HERE.”

SEEING THAT THE “YOGA” HAD BEEN LOST BY FALLING INTO THE HANDS OF THE WEAK, WHO COULD NOT CONTROL THEIR SENSES, AND SEEING THAT THE GENERATION HAD NOT BEEN ABLE TO ATTAIN THE OBJECT OF LIFE, THE LORD ADDS THE FOLLOWING:

Rajarsayah, the king-sages, those who were kings and sages (at the same time); viduh, knew; imam, this Yoga; which was evam parampara-praptam, received thus through a regular succession of Ksatriyas. Sah, that; yogah, Yoga; nastah, is lost, has go its traditional line snapped; iha, now; mahata kalena, owing to a long lapse of time. parantapa, O destroyer of foes. By para are meant those against oneself. He who, like the sun, ‘scorches’ (tapayati) them by the ‘rays’ of the ‘heat’ of his prowess is parantapa, i.e. scorcher of antagonists. Noticing that the Yoga has got lost by reaching people who are weak and have no control of their organs, and that the world has become associated with goals that do not lead to Liberation,

We are not asked here to renounce the fruits-of-actions as such nor to ignore them, but we are only warned to renounce our MENTAL SLAVERY and INTELLECTUAL CLINGING to the “expected-fruits.” Only when we get preoccupied with

the expected fruits of our actions do we come to exhaust ourselves, and thus become inefficient in our activities. Forsaking (tyaktwa) our clinging (Sanga) to the fruits-of-action (Karma-phala), we are advised to strive for and to achieve the welfare of the society.

A true painter never willingly sells his masterpiece! To him, that piece of canvas upon which he has lavished long periods of effort, is now by itself a complete reward, even if he be starving!! As compared to the satisfaction and joy that it gives to the painter, he feels that even all the wealth in the world would but be too little a payment for it. If a mere finite piece of art could thus give to an ignorant man of agitations and desires, such an invaluable joy, how much more intense must be the diviner joys of a perfect saint working in the world of names and forms? Indeed, the Self-realised Ones, after their experience of the Infinite Reality as their own Self, become perfectly independent of everything else.

Again, the anxiety for the fruits-of-action, the sense of discontentment and the feeling of dependency upon the things and beings of the world — all belong to the misconceived notion of the ego-centre. The ego in us is the sufferer of all the above-mentioned incapacities and inabilities. When the seeker-after-Truth rediscovers his ego to be the Infinite Truth, the limited ego ends its career of sorrow, and naturally, the agony and the incapacities of the imperfect ego also end. The reflection of the sun in a cup of water can be broken up when the water in the cup is shaken. But when the water is poured out, the reflection also ends, and no more can the sun in the sky be shaken by any known method.

Such an individual, who has rediscovered the Self, “THOUGH SEEMINGLY ENGAGED IN ACTIVITY,” does not do anything.

The body, mind, and intellect act in the world-of-objects, but not the All-pervading Self — the Life — in us. Without ‘Life’ the body cannot function; but when the body functions, ‘Life’ as such cannot be said to function. Therefore, one who is established in the Self, though he engaged himself in action, cannot be said to do any action. The train may move but it would be incorrect to say that the steam is moving.

It is generally a doubt in the students that, even if all the reactions of the past actions have ended at the time of Self-re-discovery, when such a prophetic Master undertakes activity in the world, he would, perhaps, be initiating new actions of sins and merits for the enjoyment of which he may again have to take up births. This false idea has been completely eradicated in this stanza. After the God-experience, when the saint functions in the world outside, “THOUGH ENGAGED IN ACTION HE DOES NOT DO ANYTHING.”EVERY ACTION HAS A REACTION. NATURALLY, EVEN THE BODILY ACTIONS OF A SAINT SHOULD HAVE SOME REACTION. THIS IS THE ORDINARY ARGUMENT. TO NEGATE THIS ASSUMPTION THELORD SAYS:

With the help of the above-mentioned wisdom, tyaktva, having given up the idea of agentship; and phala-asangam, attachment to the results of action; he who is nitya-trptah, ever-trptah, ever-contented, i.e. has no hankering for objects; and nirasrayah, dependent on nothing-. Asraya means that on which a person leans, desiring to achieve some human goal. The idea is that he is dependent of any support which may be a means of attaining some coveted seen or unseen result. In reality, actions done by a man of Knowledge are certainly inactions, since he is endowed with the realization of the actionless Self. Actions together with their accessories must be relinquished by one who has become thus, because they have no end to serve. This being so, api, even though; he remains abhi-pravrttah, engaged as before; karmani, in actions-getting out of those (actions) being impossible-, either with the intention of preventing people from going astray or with a view to avoiding the censure of the wise people; sah, he; eva, really; na karoti, does not do; kincit, anything, because he is endued with the realization of the actionless Self. [From the subjective standpoint of the enlightened there are no actions, but ordinary people mistakenly think them to be actions, which in reality are a mere semblance of it.] On the other hand, one who is the opposite of the above-mentioned one, (and) in whom, even before undertaking works, has dawned the realization of his identity with Brahman, the all-pervasive, inmost, actionless Self; who,being bereft of solicitation for desirable objects seen or unseen, has renounced actions along with their accessories, by virtue of seeing no purpose to be served by undertaking actions meant to secure some seen or unseen result, and makes effort only for the maintenance of the body, he, the monk steadfast in Knowledge, becomes free. Hence, in order to express this idea the Lord says:

Mere bodily activity is not action that will merit a reaction. It has already been seen that the reactions of actions take place in the mental and in the intellectual zones. An action can leave a mark on our subtle-body only when we act with an ego-centric consciousness that we are the actors, and these marks can be effective only when our actions are motivated by powerful and strong ego-centric “desires.”

Ego is created only when the Self, in its assumed delusion, identifies itself with the body, mind, and intellect and their respective fields of objects. This ego draws its sustenance from the “hopes of the future,” and also from the “satisfaction of the present” possessions.

Therefore, the stanza declares that an individual, (a) when he has completely renounced hope, (b) when he has brought his body and mind under perfect control, and (c) when he has relinquished all possessions, can no longer sustain the illusory concept of the ego in him. When the ego has ended, the actions performed by that individual’s body become incapable of leaving any permanent mark upon his mental constitution, or on his intellectual character.

In sleep if I become naked I am not charged of any indecent behaviour; if, in my sleep, my body kicks my own son, I am not accused of cruelty to my child. For, in both the above cases we know that “for the actions of my body I am not responsible, since I was absent in that body during those activities.” This clearly shows that the ego-centric identity with the body is the actor and the sufferer, and where the ego is not, there the mere bodily actions cannot bring about any consequences.

A Self-realised Saint’s activities do not touch him at all since he is not the actor; the actions only flow through him. Such a truly Great One becomes not a doer of actions, but serves as a glorious instrument for the Lord’s Will to express itself.

If the music coming from a violin is not good, the audience does not attack the violin, although the violinist cannot be very safe! The violin, of its own accord, does not make music but it allows music to emanate from it at the touch of the flying bow and the tickling fingers of the performer. Its duties end when its supple chords have bent under the touch of the musician’s dancing fingers. An ego-less man-of-Perfection is the “wonder instrument” through which the Divine orchestra plays, singing the song of the Lord’s own Will, faithfully. Any activity undertaken by a Perfect Master does not and cannot bring about any consequences, good orevil, upon him; he is only a “Divine-instrument.

“THOUGH A SELF-REALISED MAN RENOUNCES ALL ACTIONS, HE HAS, OF NECESSITY, TO BARELY MAINTAIN HIS BODY; SUCH A MAN STEADY ONTHE ‘PATH-OF-KNOWLEDGE’ IS EVER LIBERATED. TO TEACH THIS THE LORD SAYS:

Nirasih, one who is without solicitation-one from whom asisah [Asih is a kind of desire that can be classed under prayer. (Some translate it as desire, hope.-Tr.)], solicitations, have departed; yata-citta-atma, who has the mind and organs under control-one by whom have been controlled (yatau) both the internal organ (citta) and the external aggregate of body and organs (atma); (and) is tyakta-sarva-parigrahah, [ Parigraha: receiving, accepting, possessions, belongings.-V.S.A] totally without possessions- one by whom have been renounced (tyaktah) all (sarvah) possessions (parigrahah); na apnoti, he does not incur; kilbisam, sin, in the form of evil as also rigtheousness-to one aspiring for Liberation, even righteousness is surely an evil because it brings bondage-; [Here Ast. adds tasmat tabhyam mukto bhavati samsarat mukto bhavati ityarthah, therefore, he becomes free from both of them, i.e. he becomes liberated from transmigration.-Tr.] kurvan, by performing; karma, actions; kevalam, merely; sariram, for the purpose of maintaining the body-without the idea of agenship even with regard to these (actions). Further, in the expression, ‘kevalam sariram karma’, do the words sariram karma mean ‘actions done by the body’ or ‘actions merely for the purpose of maintaining the body? Again, what does it matter if by (the words) sariram karma is meant ‘actions done by the body’ or ‘actions merely for the purpose of maintaning the body? The answer is: If by sariram karma is meant actions done by the body, then it will amount to a contradiction [Contradiction of the scriptures.] when the Lord says, ‘one does not incur sin by doing with his body any action meant for seen or unseen purposes, even though it be prohibited.’ Even if the Lord were to say that ‘one does not incur sin by doing with his body some scripturally sanctioned action intended to secure a seen or an unseen end’, then there arises the contingency of His denying something (some evil) that has not come into being! (Further,) from the specification, sariram karma kurvan (by doing actions with the body), and from the use of the word kevala (only), it will amount to saying that one incurs sin by performing actions, called righteous and unrighteous, which can be accomplished with the mind and speech and which come within the purview of injunction and prohibition. Even there, the statement that one incurs sin by performing enjoined actions through the mind and speech will involve a contradiction; even in the case of doing what is prohibited, it will amount to a mere purposeless restatement of a known fact. On the other hand, when the sense conveyed by sariram karma is taken as acctions merely for the purpose of maintaining the body, then the implication will be that he does not do any other work as can be accomplished physically, orally, or mentally, which are known from injunctions and prohibitions (of the scriptures) and which have in view seen or unseen results; while he appears to people to be working with those very body (speech) etc. merely for the purpose of maintaining the body, yet he does not incur sin by merely making movements of the body etc., because from the use of the word kevala, (merely) it follows that he is devoid of the sense of agentship implicit in the idea, ‘I do.’ Since there is no possibility of a person who has reached such a state incurring evil as suggest by the word sin, therefore he does not become subject to the evil of transmigration. That is to say, he certainly becomes free without any obstacle since he has all his actions burnt away by the fire of wisdom. This verse is only a reiteration of the result of full illumination stated earlier. It becomes faultless by accepting the interpretation of sariram karma thus. In the case of the monk who has renounced all possessions, since owning food etc. meant for the bare sustenance of the body is absent, therefore it becomes imperative to beg for alms etc. for the upkeep of the body. Under this circumstance, by way of pointing out the means of obtaining food etc. for the maintenance of the body of a monk as permitted by the text, ‘What comes unasked for, without forethought and spontaneously…’ [Unasked for: what comes before the monk gets ready for going out for alms; without forethought: alms that are not given with abuses, and have not fallen on the ground, but collected from five or seven houses without any plan; spontaneously: alms brought to one spontaneously by devoted people.] (Bo. Sm. 21. 8. 12) etc., the Lord says:

Such an individual, who has gone beyond his own ego, can thereafter commence no desire-prompted activity with any definite fruit-motive. Naturally he will feel quite contented and happy in whatever gain spontaneously rises out of his actions. The state-of-egolessness indicates a condition of perfect conquest over the mind and intellect. Naturally therefore, the pairs-of-opposites — heat and cold, success and failure, good and bad, joy and sorrow, etc. — cannot affect him, they being always the interpretations of the world-of-objects by the mind.

Where the mind has ended, the intellect too can no more bring its own affections and prejudices, or its spirit of competitions and jealousies. We generally get agitated due to the pulls of success and failure. On the rising tide of success our ego dances in a vain joy, while in the hollows of failures it feels miserable and crushed. But when the ego is completely divinised, the individual will, thereafter, automatically remain equanimous in both success and failure. Such an individual who has thus conquered his ego-centric misconceptions about himself, “THOUGH ACTING, IS NOT FETTERED” by the natural consequences of the actions performed (Karma-phala).

When such a Perfect-Master-of-Realisation lives amidst us he is generally seen to act in no way different from an ordinary sensible man, and yet, all the same, his activities show an extra dynamic capacity to carve out a more complete and enduring success. According to the Lord’s words, the activities of a man-of-Knowledge do not, in any sense of the term, affect him. Naturally, it becomes a little difficult for an ordinary man to know readily how this is accomplished by the sage.

TO EXPLAIN THE DIVINE MOTIVE AND ATTITUDE WITH WHICH MEN-OF-PERFECTION ACT IN THE WORLD, THE FOLLOWING NINE STANZAS ARE DECLARED BY THE LORD:

Yadrccha-labha-santustah, remaining satisfied with what comes unasked for-yadrccha-labha means coming to possess something without having prayed for it; feeling contented with that-. Dvandva-atitah,having transcended the dualities-one is said to be beyond dualities when his mind is not distressed even when afflicted by such opposites as heat and cold, etc.-. Vimatsarah, being free from spite, from the idea of enmity; and samah, equipoised; siddhau ca asiddhau, is success and failure, with regard to things that come unasked for-. The monk who is such, who is equipoised, not delighted or sorrowful in getting or not getting food etc. for the sustenance of the body, who sees inaction etc. in action etc., who is ever poised in the realization of the Self as It is, who, with regard to the activities accomplished by the body etc. in the course of going about for alms etc. for the bare maintenance of the body, is ever clearly conscious of the fact, ‘I certainly do not anything; the organs act on the objects of the organs’ (see 5.8; 3.28), he, realizing the absence of agentship in the Self, certainly does not do any actions like going about for alms etc. But when, abserving similarly with common human behaviour, agentship is attributed to him by ordinary poeple, then he (apparently) becomes an agent with regard to such actions as moving about for alms etc. However, from the standpoint of his own realization which has arisen from the valid means of knowledge presented in the scriptures, he is surely not an agent. He, to whom is thus ascribed agentship by others, na nibadhyate, is not bound; api, even; krtva, by performing such actions as moving about for alms merely for the maintenance of the body, because action which is a source of bondage has been burnt away along with its cause by the fire of wisdom. Thus, this is only a restatement of what has been said earilier. When a person who has already started works becomes endowed with the realization of the identity of the Self with the actionless Brahman, then it follows that in the case of that man, who has experienced the absence of agentship, actions and purposes in the Self, actions become relinquished. But if this becomes impossible for some reason and he continues to be engaged in those acitons as before, still he certainly does not do anything. This absence of action has been shown in the verse, ‘Having given up attachment to the results of action…’ (20). Of that very person with regard to whom has been shown the absence of aciton-

A Man-of-Wisdom has been fully comprehended in the first line of this stanza. The qualifications are beautifully enumerated serially and they themselves explain the “Path-to-Perfection.” Economy of words is the very essence of the style in all Scriptural books. Even so, they are particularly careful to use the most suggestive terms for their purpose and take an artistic joy in ordering the very sequence of the words used; here is a brilliant example of it.

DEVOID OF ATTACHMENT (Gatasangah) — The divinity attained by the Rishis is not a new status strangely acquired by them from some unknown and secret quarters. It is only a rediscovery of the Perfection that is already in each one. We are self-exiled from ourselves due to our attachments with the finite world-of-objects. Thus a “wise” man is he, from whom all his attachments with the finite things of the world have dropped away.

LIBERATED (Muktah) — The majority of seekers have only a vague idea of what this “liberation” means. The bondages are created upon our personality and life by none other than ourselves. These bondages, infinite in their number, are produced by the subtle chords of our own attachments with things. The deluded ego feels fulfilled only through the world-of-objects. Thus, as a body, it gets attached to the world of its sense-objects; as a mind it lives enslaved to the world of emotions; and as an intellect, it gets bound with its own ideas.

WITH MIND CENTRED IN KNOWLEDGE (Jnana-avasthita-chetasah) — The above phenomenon of perfect detachment, which produces a sense of complete liberation, can be accomplished only when the mind of the seeker gets centred in right discriminative knowledge and develops for itself a capacity to distinguish between the permanent and the impermanent, the fleeting and the lasting.

A Perfect Sage, who has thus cut himself free from all attachments, with his mind well-balanced under the light of his own “Wisdom,” becomes completely liberated from the chains of all moral debilities, ethical imperfections, and sensuous appetites. Such a Sage too performs work for the rest of his life in his perfected manifestations. Krishna says that all such activities undertaken and performed by him are ever done in a spirit of ‘dedicated activity’ (Yajna). When a Sage thus functions in a spirit of Yajna, that action itself does not and cannot produce any reaction, or forging of thicker bondages with newly-formed vasanas.

The term ‘Yajna,’ borrowed from our scriptures, is employed here by Krishna to yield a more elaborate sense implying a wider and a more universal application. In the Geeta, the Vedic Yajna has become “a self-dedicated activity performed in a spirit of service to the many.” All actions, performed without ego, and not motivated by one’s ego-centric desires, fall under the category of Yajna.

All through the NEXT SIX STANZAS we get an enumeration of something like twelve different Yajnas which can be practised by everybody, on all occasions, in every field, under all conditions.

When a sage of the description given in the stanza, performs actions in a spirit of Yajna, they dissolve away without leaving any impression upon his mind, just as the rainbow that disappears when the thin shower falling against the sunlight ends.

IF THIS BE SO, THE QUESTION ARISES — ” FOR WHAT REASON THEN DO ALL ACTIONS WHICH HE PERFORMS ENTIRELY DISSOLVE, WITHOUT PRODUCING THEIR NATURAL RESULTS?” LISTEN WHY IT IS SO:

Muktasya, of the liberated person who has become relieved of such bondages as righteousness and unrighteousness, etc.; gatasangasya, who has got rid of attachment, who has become detached from everything; jnana-avasthita-cetasah, whose mind is fixed in Knowledge only; his karma, actions; acaratah, undertaken; yajnaya, for a sacrifice, to accomplish a sacrifice [A.G. takes yajna to mean Visnu. So, yajnaya will mean ‘for Visnu’. Sankaracarya also interprets this word similarly in 3.9.-Tr.]; praviliyate, gets destroyed; samagram, totally-saha (together) agrena (with its consequence, result). This is the meaning. For what reason, again, does an action that is underway get destroyed totally without producing its result? This is being answered: Because,