The Bhagavad Gita

by Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa

By detachment I mean that you must not worry whether the desired result follows from your action or not, so long as your motive is pure, your means correct. Really, it means that things will come right in the end if you take care of the means and leave the rest to Him.

in no way means indifference to the result. In

ARJUNA 21 O Krishna, drive my chariot between the two armies. 22 I want to see those who desire to fight with me. With whom will this battle be fought? 23 I want to see those assembled to fight for Duryodhana, those who seek to please the evil-minded son of Dhritarashtra by engaging in war. SANJAYA 24 Thus Arjuna spoke, and Sri Krishna, driving his splendid chariot between the two armies, 25 facing Bhishma and Drona and all the kings of the earth, said: “Arjuna, behold all the Kurus gathered together.” 26 And Arjuna, standing between the two armies, saw fathers and grandfathers, teachers, uncles, and brothers, sons and grandsons, 27 in-laws and friends. Seeing his kinsmen established in opposition, 28 Arjuna was overcome by sorrow. Despairing, he spoke these words: ARJUNA O Krishna, I see my own relations here anxious to fight, 29 and my limbs grow weak; my mouth is dry, my body shakes, and my hair is standing on end. 30 My skin burns, and the bow Gandiva has slipped from my hand. I am unable to stand; my mind seems to be whirling. 31 These signs bode evil for us. I do not see that any good can come from killing our relations in battle. 32 O Krishna, I have no desire for victory, or for a kingdom or pleasures. Of what use is a kingdom or pleasure or even life, 33 if those for whose sake we desire these things – 34 teachers, fathers, sons, grandfathers, uncles, in-laws, grandsons, and others with family ties – are engaging in this battle, renouncing their wealth and their l...

Krishna is not trying to persuade Arjuna to lead a different kind of life and renounce the world as would a monk or recluse. He tells Arjuna that if he can establish himself in yoga – in unshakable equanimity, profound peace of mind – he will be more effective in the realm of action. His judgment will be better and his vision clear if he is not emotionally entangled in the outcome of what he does.

Eventually a person following the senses loses strength of will and unity of purpose; his choices are dictated by his desires.

When the will is led astray by the desire for pleasure, the mind becomes confused and scattered.

KRISHNA 2 This despair and weakness in a time of crisis are mean and unworthy of you, Arjuna. How have you fallen into a state so far from the path to liberation? 3 It does not become you to yield to this weakness. Arise with a brave heart and destroy the enemy.

The impermanent has no reality; reality lies in the eternal. Those who have seen the boundary between these two have attained the end of all knowledge. 17 Realize that which pervades the universe and is indestructible; no power can affect this unchanging, imperishable reality. 18 The body is mortal, but that which dwells in the body is immortal and immeasurable. Therefore, Arjuna, fight in this battle.

Compare to the Ascension of Prophet Muhammad and the lote tree.

Seek refuge in the attitude of detachment and you will amass the wealth of spiritual awareness. Those who are motivated only by desire for the fruits of action are miserable, for they are constantly anxious about the results of what they do. 50 When consciousness is unified, however, all vain anxiety is left behind. There is no cause for worry, whether things go well or ill. Therefore, devote yourself to the disciplines of yoga, for yoga is skill in action. 51 The wise unify their consciousness and abandon attachment to the fruits of action, which binds a person to continual rebirth. Thus they attain a state beyond all evil. 52 When your mind has overcome the confusion of duality, you will attain the state of holy indifference to things you hear and things you have heard. 53 When you are unmoved by the confusion of ideas and your mind is completely united in deep samadhi, you will attain the state of perfect yoga.

The disunited mind is far from wise; how can it meditate? How be at peace? When you know no peace, how can you know joy? 67 When you let your mind follow the call of the senses, they carry away your better judgment as storms drive a boat off its charted course on the sea.

Selfish action imprisons the world.

It is selfish desire and anger, arising from the guna of rajas; these are the appetites and evils which threaten a person in this life.

38 Just as a fire is covered by smoke and a mirror is obscured by dust, just as the embryo rests deep within the womb, knowledge is hidden by selfish desire – 39 hidden, Arjuna, by this unquenchable fire for self-satisfaction, the inveterate enemy of the wise.

Hidden Imam

42 The senses are higher than the body, the mind higher than the senses; above the mind is the intellect, and above the intellect is the Atman. 43 Thus, knowing that which is supreme, let the Atman rule the ego. Use your mighty arms to slay the fierce enemy that is selfish desire.

In this sense Krishna is the inner Self in all beings. His name comes from the Sanskrit root krish, “to draw to oneself, to attract.” He is the “attractive one,” the “Lord of loving attraction.” By another etymology, the word Krishna means “the dark one.”

My true being is unborn and changeless. I am the Lord who dwells in every creature. Through the power of my own maya, I manifest myself in a finite form.

Those who know me as their own divine Self break through the belief that they are the body and are not reborn as separate creatures. Such a one, Arjuna, is united with me. 10 Delivered from selfish attachment, fear, and anger, filled with me, surrendering themselves to me, purified in the fire of my being, many have reached the state of unity in me.

Even if you were the most sinful of sinners, Arjuna, you could cross beyond all sin by the raft of spiritual wisdom.

Those who take wisdom as their highest goal, whose faith is deep and whose senses are trained, attain wisdom quickly and enter into perfect peace. 40 But the ignorant, indecisive and lacking in faith, waste their lives. They can never be happy in this world or any other.

Arjuna, cut through this doubt in your own heart with the sword of spiritual wisdom. Arise; take up the path of yoga!

12 Those whose consciousness is unified abandon all attachment to the results of action and attain supreme peace. But those whose desires are fragmented, who are selfishly attached to the results of their work, are bound in everything they do.

The Lord does not partake in the good and evil deeds of any person; judgment is clouded when wisdom is obscured by ignorance. 16 But ignorance is destroyed by knowledge of the Self within. The light of this knowledge shines like the sun, revealing the supreme Brahman. 17 Those who cast off sin through this knowledge, absorbed in the Lord and established in him as their one goal and refuge, are not reborn as separate creatures. 18 Those who possess this wisdom have equal regard for all. They see the same Self in a spiritual aspirant and an outcaste, in an elephant, a cow, and a dog. 19 Such people have mastered life. With even mind they rest in Brahman, who is perfect and is everywhere the same. 20 They are not elated by good fortune nor depressed by bad. With mind established in Brahman, they are free from delusion. 21 Not dependent on any external support, they realize the joy of spiritual awareness. With consciousness unified through meditation, they live in abiding joy.

Healed of their sins and conflicts, working for the good of all beings, the holy sages attain nirvana in Brahman. 26 Free from anger and selfish desire, unified in mind, those who follow the path of yoga and realize the Self are established forever in that supreme state.

27 Closing their eyes, steadying their breathing, and focusing their attention on the center of spiritual consciousness, 28 the wise master their senses, mind, and intellect through meditation. Self-realization is their only goal. Freed from selfish desire, fear, and anger, they live in freedom always. 29 Knowing me as the friend of all creatures, the Lord of the universe, the end of all offerings and all spiritual disciplines, they attain eternal peace.

Reshape yourself through the power of your will; never let yourself be degraded by self-will. The will is the only friend of the Self, and the will is the only enemy of the Self. 6 To those who have conquered themselves, the will is a friend. But it is the enemy of those who have not found the Self within them.

Those who aspire to the state of yoga should seek the Self in inner solitude through meditation. With body and mind controlled they should constantly practice one-pointedness, free from expectations and attachment to material possessions. 11 Select a clean spot, neither too high nor too low, and seat yourself firmly on a cloth, a deerskin, and kusha grass. 12 Then, once seated, strive to still your thoughts. Make your mind one-pointed in meditation, and your heart will be purified. 13 Hold your body, head, and neck firmly in a straight line, and keep your eyes from wandering. 14 With all fears dissolved in the peace of the Self and all desires dedicated to Brahman, controlling the mind and fixing it on me, sit in meditation with me as your only goal. 15 With senses and mind constantly controlled through meditation, united with the Self within, an aspirant attains nirvana, the state of abiding joy and peace in me. 16 Arjuna, those who eat too much or eat too little, who sleep too much or sleep too little, will not succeed in meditation. 17 But those who are temperate in eating and sleeping, work and recreation, will come to the end of sorrow through meditation. 18 Through constant effort they learn to withdraw the mind from selfish cravings and absorb it in the Self. Thus they attain the state of union. 19 When meditation is mastered, the mind is unwavering like the flame of a lamp in a windless place. 20 In the still mind, in the depths of meditation, the Self reveals itse...

Krishna, what happens to the man who has faith but who lacks self-control and wanders from the path, not attaining success in yoga? 38 If a man becomes deluded on the spiritual path, will he lose the support of both worlds, like a cloud scattered in the sky? 39 Krishna, you can dispel all doubts; remove this doubt which binds me.

Arjuna, my son, such a person will not be destroyed. No one who does good work will ever come to a bad end, either here or in the world to come.

Meditation is superior to severe asceticism and the path of knowledge. It is also superior to selfless service. May you attain the goal of meditation, Arjuna!

Arjuna, I am the taste of pure water and the radiance of the sun and moon. I am the sacred word and the sound heard in air, and the courage of human beings. 9 I am the sweet fragrance in the earth and the radiance of fire; I am the life in every creature and the striving of the spiritual aspirant.

My eternal seed, Arjuna, is to be found in every creature. I am the power of discrimination in those who are intelligent, and the glory of the noble. 11 In those who are strong, I am strength, free from passion and selfish attachment. I am desire itself, if that desire is in harmony with the purpose of life.

Good people come to worship me for different reasons. Some come to the spiritual life because of suffering, some in order to understand life; some come through a desire to achieve life’s purpose, and some come who are men and women of wisdom. 17 Unwavering in devotion, always united with me, the man or woman of wisdom surpasses all the others.

Through lack of understanding, people believe that I, the Unmanifest, have entered into some form. They fail to realize my true nature, which transcends birth and death. 25 Few see through the veil of maya. The world, deluded, does not know that I am without birth and changeless. 26 I know everything about the past, the present, and the future, Arjuna; but there is no one who knows me completely.

Those who remember me at the time of death will come to me. Do not doubt this. 6 Whatever occupies the mind at the time of death determines the destination of the dying; always they will tend toward that state of being. 7 Therefore, remember me at all times and fight on. With your heart and mind intent on me, you will surely come to me. 8 When you make your mind one-pointed through regular practice of meditation, you will find the supreme glory of the Lord. 9 The Lord is the supreme poet, the first cause, the sovereign ruler, subtler than the tiniest particle, the support of all, inconceivable, bright as the sun, beyond darkness. 10

Those who realize life’s supreme goal know that I am unmanifested and unchanging. Having come home to me, they never return to separate existence.

There is merit in studying the scriptures, in selfless service, austerity, and giving, but the practice of meditation carries you beyond all these to the supreme abode of the highest Lord.

Krishna’s exalted nature is stressed, and warning is given to those who think that God is limited to his creation. It is true that Krishna has taken on a human form, but those who see only a limited human being and show him disrespect are courting great spiritual harm. These verses contain a warning for those who would underestimate Krishna’s divine power.

Krishna accepts every offering made to him in the right spirit; he assures Arjuna of this. Then he demands that Arjuna make everything – every act, every meal, every sacrifice, every gift, even his sufferings – an offering to God. He demands this so that Arjuna can be released from the bondage of karma. This is a new emphasis, a new way. If Arjuna can live in complete union with Krishna’s will, doing everything for Krishna alone, then by that very purity of will he will be free from selfish motives and thus released from karma. His spirit will be free, and he will attain his goal of mystic union with Krishna.

KRISHNA 1 Because of your faith, I shall tell you the most profound of secrets: obtaining both jnana and vijnana, you will be free from all evil. 2 This royal knowledge, this royal secret, is the greatest purifier. Righteous and imperishable, it is a joy to practice and can be directly experienced. 3 But those who have no faith in the supreme law of life do not find me, Arjuna. They return to the world, passing from death to death. 4 I pervade the entire universe in my unmanifested form. All creatures find their existence in me, but I am not limited by them. 5 Behold my divine mystery! These creatures do not really dwell in me, and though I bring them forth and support them, I am not confined within them. 6 They move in me as the winds move in every direction in space. 7 At the end of the eon these creatures return to unmanifested matter; at the beginning of the next cycle I send them forth again. 8 Controlling my prakriti, again and again I bring forth these myriad forms and subject them to the laws of prakriti. 9 None of these actions binds me, Arjuna. I am unattached to them, so they do not disturb my nature. 10 Under my watchful eye the laws of nature take their course. Thus is the world set in motion; thus the animate and the inanimate are created. 11 The immature do not look beyond physical appearances to see my true nature as the Lord of all creation. 12 The knowledge of such deluded people is empty; their lives are fraught with disaster and evil, and their work and...

To those steadfast in love and devotion I give spiritual wisdom, so that they may come to me. 11 Out of compassion I destroy the darkness of their

ignorance. From within them I light the lamp of wisdom and dispel all darkness from their lives.

ARJUNA 12 You are Brahman supreme, the highest abode, the supreme purifier, the self-luminous, eternal spirit, first among the gods, unborn and infinite. 13 The great sages and seers – Narada, Asita, Devala, and Vyasa too – have acclaimed you thus; now you have declared it to me yourself. 14 Now, O Krishna, I believe that everything you have told me is divine truth. O Lord, neither gods nor demons know your real nature. 15 Indeed, you alone know yourself, O supreme spirit. You are the source of being and the master of every creature, God of gods, the Lord of the universe. 16 Tell me all your divine attributes, leaving nothing unsaid. Tell me of the glories with which you fill the cosmos. 17 Krishna, you are a supreme master of yoga. Tell me how I should meditate to gain constant awareness of you. In what things and in what ways should I meditate on you? 18 O Krishna, you who stir up people’s hearts, tell me in detail your attributes and your powers; I can never tire of hearing your immortal words. KRISHNA 19 All right, Arjuna, I will tell you of my divine powers. I will mention only the most glorious; for there is no end to them. 20 I am the true Self in the heart of every creat...

KRISHNA 5 Behold, Arjuna, a million divine forms, with an infinite variety of color and shape. 6 Behold the gods of the natural world, and many more wonders never revealed before. 7 Behold the entire cosmos turning within my body, and the other things you desire to see. 8 But these things cannot be seen with your physical eyes; therefore I give you spiritual vision to perceive my majestic power. SANJAYA 9 Having spoken these words, Krishna, the master of yoga, revealed to Arjuna his most exalted, lordly form. 10 He appeared with an infinite number of faces, ornamented by heavenly jewels, displaying unending miracles and the countless weapons of his power. 11 Clothed in celestial garments and covered with garlands, sweet-smelling with heavenly fragrances, he showed himself as the infinite Lord, the source of all wonders, whose face is everywhere. 12 If a thousand suns were to rise in the heavens at the same time, the blaze of their light would resemble the splendor of that supreme spirit. 13 There, within the body of the God of gods, Arjuna saw all the manifold forms of the universe united as one. 14 Filled with amazement, his hair standing on end in ecstasy, he bowed before the Lord with joined palms and spoke these words. ARJUNA 15 O Lord, I see within your body all the gods and every kind of living creature. I see Brahma, the Creator, seated on a lotus; I see the ancient sages and the celestial serpents. 16 I see infinite mouths and arms, stomachs and eyes, and you are e...

32 I am time, the destroyer of all; I have come to consume the world. Even without your participation, all the warriors gathered here will die. 33 Therefore arise, Arjuna; conquer your enemies and enjoy the glory of sovereignty. I have already slain all these warriors; you will only be my instrument. 34 Bhishma, Drona, Jayadratha, Karna, and many others are already slain. Kill those whom I have killed. Do not hesitate. Fight in this battle and you will conquer your enemies.

40 You are behind me and in front of me; I bow to you on every side. Your power is immeasurable. You pervade everything; you are everything. 41 Sometimes, because we were friends, I rashly said, “Oh, Krishna! Say, friend!” – casual, careless remarks. Whatever I may have said lightly, whether we were playing or resting, alone or in company, sitting together or eating, 42 if it was disrespectful, forgive me for it, O Krishna. I did not know the greatness of your nature, unchanging and imperishable. 43 You are the father of the universe, of the animate and the inanimate; you are the object of all worship, the greatest guru. There is none to equal you in the three worlds. Who can match your power? 44 O gracious Lord, I prostrate myself before you and ask for your blessing. As a father forgives his son, or a friend a friend, or a lover his beloved, so should you forgive me. 45 I rejoice in seeing you as you have never been seen before, yet I am filled with fear by this vision of you as the abode of the universe. Please let me see you again as the shining God of gods. 46 Though you are the embodiment of all creation, let me see you again not with a thousand arms but with four, carrying the mace and discus and wearing a crown. KRISHNA 47 Arjuna, through my grace you have been united with me and received this vision of my radiant, universal form, without beginning or end, which no one else has ever seen. 48 Not by knowledge of the Vedas, nor sacrifice, nor charity, nor rituals, no...

KRISHNA 2 Those who set their hearts on me and worship me with unfailing devotion and faith are more established in yoga. 3 As for those who seek the transcendental Reality, without name, without form, contemplating the Unmanifested, beyond the reach of thought and of feeling, 4 with their senses subdued and mind serene and striving for the good of all beings, they too will verily come unto me. 5 Yet hazardous and slow is the path to the Unrevealed, difficult for physical creatures to tread. 6 But they for whom I am the supreme goal, who do all work renouncing self for me and meditate on me with single-hearted devotion, 7 these I will swiftly rescue from the fragment’s cycle of birth and death, for their consciousness has entered into me. 8 Still your mind in me, still your intellect in me, and without doubt you will be united with me forever. 9 If you cannot still your mind in me, learn to do so through the regular practice of meditation. 10 If you lack the will for such self-discipline, engage yourself in my work, for selfless service can lead you at last to complete fulfillment. 11 If you are unable to do even this, surrender yourself to me, disciplining yourself and renouncing the results of all your actions. 12 Better indeed is knowledge than mechanical practice. Better than knowledge is meditation. But better still is surrender of attachment to results, because there follows immediate peace. 13 That one I love who is incapable of ill will, who is friendly and compass...

The body is called a field, Arjuna; the one who knows it is called the Knower of the field. This is the knowledge of those who know. 2 I am the Knower of the field in everyone, Arjuna. Knowledge of the field and its Knower is true knowledge. 3 Listen and I will explain the nature of the field and how change takes place within it. I will also describe the Knower of the field and his power. 4 These truths have been sung by great sages in a variety of ways, and expounded in precise arguments concerning Brahman. 5 The field, Arjuna, is made up of the following: the five areas of sense perception; the five elements; the five sense organs and the five organs of action; the three components of the mind: manas, buddhi, and ahamkara; and the undifferentiated energy from which all these evolved. 6 In this field arise desire and aversion, pleasure and pain, the body, intelligence, and will. 7 Those who know truly are free from pride and deceit. They are gentle, forgiving, upright, and pure, devoted to their spiritual teacher, filled with inner strength, and self-controlled. 8 Detached from sense objects and self-will, they have learned the painful lesson of separate birth and suffering, old age, disease, and death. 9 Free from selfish attachment, they do not get compulsively entangled even in home and family. They are even-minded through good fortune and bad. 10 Their devotion to me is undivided. Enjoying solitude

not following the crowd, they seek only me. 11 This is true knowledge, to seek the Self as the true end of wisdom always. To seek anything else is ignorance. 12 I will tell you of the wisdom that leads to immortality: the beginningless Brahman, which can be called neither being nor non-being. 13 It dwells in all, in every hand and foot and head, in every mouth and eye and ear in the universe. 14 Without senses itself, it shines through the functioning of the senses. Completely independent, it supports all things. Beyond the gunas, it enjoys their play. 15 It is both near and far, both within and without every creature; it moves and is unmoving. 16 In its subtlety it is beyond comprehension. It is indivisible, yet appears divided in separate creatures. Know it to be the creator, the preserver, and the destroyer. 17 Dwelling in every heart, it is beyond darkness. It is called the light of light, the object and goal of knowledge, and knowledge itself. 18 I have revealed to you the nature of the field and the meaning and object of true knowledge. Those who are devoted to me, knowing these things, are united with me.

Seeing the same Lord everywhere, they do not harm themselves or others. Thus they attain the supreme goal.

Sages speak of the immutable ashvattha tree, with its taproot above and its branches below. On this tree grow the scriptures; seeing their source, one knows their essence.