Chapter 3

Arjuna speaks

How come you, hey Keshava (Krishna)

Want me to follow the karma yoga

When in your thinking (as is comprehended by me)

Gyan yoga is the superior path ||3:1||

My judgment is getting clouded

When I hear you speak of these mixed words

So, tell me that one path

Which can lead me to that higher plane  ||3:2||

Shri Bhagavan speaks

Once upon a time in the past

I have told these two paths of devotion

One the path of gyan yoga for the meditative

The other the path of karma yoga for the rest ||3:3||

No person gets to the state of non-working (nishkarma)

Simply by non performing of karma

Neither does any one get to the centering (siddhi)

By merely giving up (tyag) of any karma ||3:4)

(nishkarma = absence of doer-ship)

Never is it possible in any domain of time

For even an instant in the realm of life

That one does not do any karma

For he is forced to act (do karma)

By the attributes (gunas) of nature (prakriti) ||3:5||

(The momentum continues)

He who controls his sense organs

But enjoys the thoughts that wander around

Is simply fooling himself and others

He deserves to be called a hypocrite (mithyacharah)  ||3:6||

But, hey Arjuna

The one whose mind has centered

And can control the longing

Of the sense organs at will (by mana)

Uses the sense organs as a master

And is destined to excel ||3:7||

Hence, do your obligatory (niyatam) karma

Because doing karma is better

Than not doing any karma

Moreover, by not doing any karma

You would not be able to

Sustain even your physical body itself. ||3:8||

Any karma that is not done for yagya

Becomes a binding O Kaunteya (son of Kunti)

Hence, do your karma without

Any attachment and surrendered to Parmatma

(Yagya = karma performed in surrender to Parmatma) ||3:9||

Prajapati Brahma caused creation

Of the praja (all creatures) by this

Surrendered karma of yagya

And said at the time

That this yagya methodology shall

Help you procreate and prosper in life.  ||3:10||

You shall use this yagya methodology

To help the prosperity of the Devas

And Devas in turn will help in

Your prosperity by the same methods

Thus by mutual surrendered karma

Both shall achieve the ultimate well-being.  ||3:11||

(Devas = good souls become devas)

You do surrendered karma (yagya) for the devas

The Devas are happy and

They bestow upon you

Whatever you would have desired

Without even asking for those things

And now that you have got what

You could have desired

Share it, share it, and share it

Because if you don’t

You are in fact

Kind of stealing it in real sense.  ||3:12||

What you got is a gift

What you have shared is shared

What is left is for you

Enjoy it, enjoy it and enjoy it

If you instead cook only for yourself

From what you got in gift

Just to fulfill your desires

It is kind of a sin by itself.  ||3:13||

All creatures come from anna (food)

Anna comes from rain (water)

Rain is directly related to yagya

Yagya is the result of karma (nishkam karma) ||3:14||

Know tha all karma is born

From the Brahma (Vedas)

And all the Vedas emanate from

The imperishable Parmatma itself

Thus the Parmatma by default

Is established in every yagya as well.  ||3:15||

Hey partha, this is the flow

And you should flow with the current

For if you don’t

And decide to live only for yourself

You shall suffer the consequences

And your life will be wasted

Your living will prove to be one in vain. ||3:16||

But a person who walks (ramana) with the self (atma)

Who is happy with his self (atma)

And is content and satisfied with his own self

Has no duty to comply.  ||3:17||

He is not interested in doing any karma

He is not interested in not doing any karma

He has absolutely no attachment to any one

He is happy and content with himself

(karma still flow out of him)  ||3:18||

Therefore, you ought to continue doing karma

Continue to work without any attachment

This is the path to the ultimate, the Parmatma

(The ultimate, the Parmatma can be reached

Through Karma yoga this way)  ||3:19||

Other, the likes of Janaka

Reached the ultimate this way

By performing of non-attached karma

And you ought to do the same

This also is in the interest of

How the world can be sustained.  ||3:20||

The leaders have to lead the way

Others are there to follow

He sets the standards by his deeds

Others follow by example.  ||3:21||

Me, o Partha

Have no need to perform any duty

In any three space domains (lokas)

(Three lokas = mritya loka, pitri loka and deva loka)

I have nothing left to attain

Yet, I continue to do non-attached karma

(For I have to lead the way

They will all follow me,

and pay attention to what I do)  ||3:22||

Because, hey partha (Arjuna)

If I am not careful

And decide not to do karma

This will lead to big losses

For, most people will follow my path

And not do their karma

(And without any karma

How shall the world progress) ||3:23||

And if I stop doing my karma

(You will stop as well)

Others will stop doing their karma as well

And this will lead to an unprecedented stagnation

Which in turn will cause much confusion

Leading ultimately to confusion of varna system

And destruction of the complete progeny (praja)  ||3:24||

So every one should do karma

While ignorant work with attachment

And for fulfillment of personal desires

The wise should work with non-attachment

And for the welfare of the world at large ||3:25||

The wise should never confuse a person

Who is sincerely doing karma

With his attachments and desires.

But, he, the centered wise one

Should always do his karma well

And without attachment

And encourage others to

Engage in similar karma all the way ||3:26||

In reality, however

All karmas in all its forms are

The products of the attributes (gunas)

That arises out of nature (prakriti).

But the ignorant truly are convinced

Because of the effect of their ego (ahankar)

They are the doer of it all.  ||3:27||

But hey mahabaho (Arjuna)

Those steady ones that truly understand

The divisions of Karma and that of Gunas (attributes)

Gunas abide in gunas

Understanding thus, the wise ones

Remain always unattached.

(Let it be, let it be, let it be

What is happening, is happening, is happening

Let it be, let it be, let it be)||3:28||

People are working

They are under the influence of

The gunas of the prakriti

(They do not know it)

They are attached,

They should not be disturbed

By the ones who know it fully

They should not be confused

By the ones who have reached the center

(They (the ignorant) have miles to go)  ||3:29||

Therefore, hey Arjuna

Be centered in your Atma

Be completely unattached

Become free of emotional fevers

And surrender all your karma to Me (Parmatma)

Without worrying about the results

Get ready to fight the war at hand. ||3:30||

He trusts in me completely

There is no question of any doubts

In what I have said thus far

This person becomes free

From of karma altogether.  ||3:31||

But the population that

Finds fault with me

And what my views are

Consider them ignorant

And intoxicated with their

So called knowledge

Consider them lost and

Unaware of what they are doing.  ||3:32||

Everyone gets to his own innate nature

That is his inherent potential

That is his swadharma

The wise one also tries to

Do karma according to his swadharma

How can anyone’s opinion

Make a difference in this situation?  ||3:33||

The indriyas have potential energy

There is always a momentum

One should know of the ragas and dweshas

That resides in every indriyas

Ready to hijack the person as a whole

And take him away from the

Path that leads to the center

(raga = attachments, dwesha = aversion, jealosy).  ||3:34||

Know and follow your swadharma

That is your aptitude

It is always better to dies

Following your own dharma

Following someone else’s path

And dharma is against the

Very personal nature and

Against the very aptitude (swadharma)

And is potentially fraught with fear.

(Fear of the unknown and

The fear of being against one’s nature)  ||3:35||

Arjuna says

Hey Krishna: what then

Compels an individual to,

(Not wanting to do anything bad

As if forced by unknown energy)

Commit any sinful deeds. ||3:36

Bhagavan speaks

Of the three basic attributes (gunas)

(Similar to the three basic forces of nature)

Rajoguna is the one, which imparts motion

And is the origin of Kaama, the basic source

For anger or other desires,

This kaama Is the one that

You have to know and master

Because this basic kaama

Is the real root cause of problems

And can be seen as a foe for all human kind.  ||3:37||

As the fire is enveloped by smoke,

A mirror is covered by dust and

A membrane covers an embryo

Similar is the situation for an ignorant

Where the wisdom is clouded by

The energy of kaama (anger or desires)  ||3:38||

Fire burns and burns

It gets fiery and fierier

As you put food to the fire

(Ghee, butter or wood)

The fire is ever hungry

Its apatite never to be satisfied

Similar is the nature of

The energy of kaama

You must recognize

O son of Kunti

Kaama can never be fulfilled

And that by nature

Is the problem of this basic source kaama

(Of all the anger, jealousy and other desires). ||3:39||

This basic source of greed, desire and anger

That we call Kaama

Has a home in

The indriya, mun (wishing mind) and intellect (buddhi)

And that is what it uses to cover the wisdom

That we so much need and like

But this kaama keeps us busy

At the level of deep desires (moha)  ||3:40||

So, Arjuna

You first be the master

Of the sense organs (indriyas) and then

Know the mechanism

By which the kaama works

That is the way to win over

The kaama energy, which is

The enemy of all kind of real knowing

(by simply covering and hiding the real)  ||3:41||

The outermost and the closest we know

Is the physical body that we see,

Beyond that is the sense organs (indriyas),

Sill further and beyond is the intellect

And the furthest in one sense

And closest in another is

The center that we call Atma (soul or self)

(That we have yet to really perceive)  ||3:42||

So reverse the role

Use your intellect (buddhi)

After knowing the ultimate

Which is minutest of the minute

The Atma, the soul or call it self

Make Buddhi your master and

Control the wishing mind (mun)

Which thereby can destroy the basic source

That we know is kaama.  ||3:43||