SUMMARY PREPARED BY PA USING COMMENTARY BY SWAMI YOGANANDA IN ‘GOD TALKS WITH ARJUNA’

Verses 11/12: The Lord points out that in whatever way one tries to reach out to Him, The Lord fulfills the persons desires and bestows those specific fruits for which the person yearns. The yearning or the reason why one reaches to the Lord is based on the mental capacity and understanding (or the influence of Guna under which the person is).

Interestingly the Lord says all path finally reach out to Him: The question is How?

Water may manifest as small or big waves on the ocean; or as surf foam or bubbles; or as raindrops or icebergs finally it is still water (brahm). By the power of maya or delusion the Spirit (brahm) manifesting itself as numerous human beings endowed with free choice, working their way through various evolutionary stages – good or evil, bound or free, attached or non-attached, desire-full or desireless. It is because of this restless delusion (duality) that men feel themselves apart from Spirit and cannot perceive the His immanence (presence of Brahm) in himself and in nature.

The conceptions held by human beings regarding this Source (Spirit -brahm) is biased by each persons self created screen of delusion (his personal interaction with Natures attributes (devas – nature’s forces) through which all this perception and thoughts are filtered, as a result there are several religions (various expressions of one Truth).

Verses 12: A materialist knows that proper action will bring success to his endeavours; hence he does special prayers to please the Devtas (Nature’s forces) that grant him those material successes, indirectly granted by the merciful Lord; as all these forces/Devtas are created by Lord. Finally the person will get tired of these fleeting pleasures and will try to get to the Source hence all paths finally lead to Him.

13/14: The Lord as the Cosmic Creator has fashioned a world of beings patterned after the activities of His own nature: Cosmic Intelligence, Cosmic Energy, Organization or Orderly Law and Cosmic Motion.

Nature is predominantly having the three Guna (Satva – elevating, Rajas – activating and Tamas – degrading). In man, a differentiating influence of these 3 gunas or qualities creates activities that are pattered after His own nature.

satva (Dominant) + rajas (secondary) – Brahmin  – wisdom guided – who live close to God

rajas (Dominant) + satva (secondary) –  Kshatriya – energetic warriors and rulers ( God’s energy flowing through them, they like to fight for a cause; protect the defenseless and weak).

rajas(dominant) + tamas(Secondary) –   Vaishya – business leaders (they express the Gods desire for orderly activities, organize economic and labor structures).

tamas (dominant) + rajas(Secondary) –  Shudra –  laboring class (they express the motion of God without which everything will come to a standstill)

The differences in these four natural castes of activity do not make one greater or less than the others. All are necessary to the Cosmic Plan. This also gives a Hint towards our svadharma.

God is beyond these 3 gunas (nirguna); Again as in previous verses, appear to be different through these outward appearance of differentiation expressed through different human qualities and behaviors but it is just a manifestation of Brahm (one Source). Just as a white light appears different when seen through different coloured glasses, so the One Spirit (Brahm) expressing through the combination of these gunas in different humans looks different but is still the same Spirit (brahm).

Another thought goes back to the verse in chapter 3.38/39: 3 types of desires based on the 3 gunas and increasing effort to get rid of them. Satvik desire is just like smoke covering the fire (Atma) easy to get rid of, the next difficult is the rajsik desire hence comparison to dust covering mirror and the most difficult is the tamsik desire is like a foetus in a womb hence great deal of effort to see Atma. Knowledge (true self) is covered by this unquenchable desire which is a constant enemy (3.38/39).

Therefore it is again reinforced what the Lord says in 11/12 that whatever path one chooses, one will reach Him eventually differentiating in the degree of effort that is required depending upon the influence of Guna.

Verse 14: In order to go beyond the 3 gunas and be free from it one needs to remember their identity with Lords Nature and remember one’s prescribed Role and not get into further karmic entanglement by properly engaging in action in this cosmic drama as the Lord does without desire for the fruits of the action and without taint from delusive identifications and attachments (na limpati) arising from it.

How does one remember ones identity with Lords Nature? “He who identifies with Me” – man yas abhijanati:- through meditation, devotee turns his consciousness towards or enter into the inner perception of Spirit (brahma).

Owing to the action of the maya (delusion) operating through the active forces of nature, mans mind flows outwards through the senses, and the soul becomes identified with body and its possessions and environment. This begrimed with attachment, the pure nature of the soul is obscured; it becomes the pseudo soul or ego, with its individual delusion that develops likes and dislikes, instigator of material entanglement.

To God this colossal cosmos is a hobby only. His true children must not take the earthly drama to heart; it is only a temporary activity. Being potential Gods, all human beings no matter how long bound by rebirths through the ever winding chain of evil Karma will sometimes have to make conscious effort for liberation.

Verse 15: Wise men who seek salvation perform actions free from egotistical entanglement. But how does one know if an action is the right action? It is difficult for people who have not reached state of being identified all the time with the Self.

Verse 16: This verse gives the answer about what constitutes true action because even wise are confused about action and inaction.

Only actions performed with divine consciousness are right actions and actions performed with ego consciousness are wrong actions (karma involving actions).

The difference between the good action and wrong actions can be recognized if one keeps constant vigil during the wakeful state. For example a hungry yogi begins to eat a meal (nothing wrong here) but as he eats, his mind becomes concentrated on the taste (“dangerous curves ahead”). Finally he overeats (incurs a karmic debt to Nature). Thus a wise man forgets to distinguish between the almost indivisible dividing line between self controlled easting and uncontrolled eating; and, in general between soul identified actions and body identified actions.

Verse 17: In order to understand the nature of proper action, one has to understand the nature of contrary (evil) action and inaction. Lord Krishna divides action into 3 categories: Right or proper action, contrary or evil action, and inaction.

Right action (karm):  Action performed with soul consciousness or to arouse soul consciousness is the right or proper action. For example as mentioned before a wise man eats enough food to satisfy his nutritional requirements. He performs the physical duty in the realization that it is a God given task to maintain the body-temple of the Soul. Its been mentioned in the previous verse the example of crossing the fine line of doing an action in soul or ego consciousness by giving in to sensory pleasures (taste) and giving into greed overeating; follows a improper diet pleasing to his sense of taste, and thereby acts wrongly and harms his body. The idea is of being in self-control (mindful and aware of what your body really wants) or giving into self-indulgence and the desires of the senses (taste).

Contrary action (vikarma): Any action harmful to body, mind and soul. The indulgent alcoholic is an example.   The sensual man overindulges in using the senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. The lifestyle of many wealthy people is an example as they overindulge their sensory appetites and bad habits until ill health or premature death takes them over.  Wealth is not evil it should not be used selfishly or for self destruction but for soul impulses of generosity to other less fortunate – to alleviate their physical, mental and spiritual needs. It is through evil company that man who learns to perform misery making actions. In order to find liberation and to understand what right actions are, he needs to seek the society of those who love God and meditate on Him. (sadhaks).

Inaction: True inaction occurs when the devotee has freed himself from all karma producing actions, evil or good. Complete freedom from the necessity of and desire for action.  Performing actions with only the desire to please God is this considered inaction (akarma). Like Lord Krishna worked tirelessly (as mentioned in chapter 3).

Verse 18: He is a true yogi who practices “Inactivity in action and action in inaction”. He has attained the goal of all actions and is free.

All human activities lead outwardly to sensory world consciousness or inwardly to soul consciousness.  Inaction in action emphasizes inward soul aloofness from the body’s activities. This means to realize that not he, but the Lord through the forces of Nature is the Doer of actions. Action in inaction means that while spiritual man is aloof acting for God, he is not working mechanically like a robot but carefully proceeding with business at hand and inwardly disowns the fruits of his acts. He is never afraid of work but has a healthful fear of karmic entanglement.

Act for God with subjective aloofness and yet retain objective enthusiasm in activities for pleasing God and not for satisfying his own desires is a true yogi. Knowing well the egos desire to put its foot in all wrong places the Yogi plays in this drama of life without resorting to individual egotistical desires and without succumbing to a dejected aloofness (laziness or indifference).

For example if an actor who is shot with a mock pistol would be considered a fool if he dies of fright. The worldly man is considered a bad actor if he takes his God assigned tragic parts seriously and thus courts disaster. Then again if a human player acts out his part with a lackadaisical mental attitude, he too fails to please the Cosmic Dramatist and has to do a retake (rebirth) in another or many lives till he gets it right!

Acting for self is the root cause of all miseries.

Verse 19: The worldly man plans with success for himself in view; his gods are ego and self -interest. The yogi enthusiastically plans his divinely inspired activities in order to achieve the best result for God; his selfless motivation is to accomplish Gods Will whatever it may be. When God is present in the devotee’s undertaking, Nature’s automatic karmic outgrowths of action are thoroughly cauterized in the flame of the inherent Divine Wisdom.

Verse 20: Relinquishing attachment to the fruits of work, always contented, independent (of material rewards), the wise do not perform any (binding) action in the midst of activities.

A yogi (wise) who apparently works for God to please Him, does no really act at all for his actions have no connection with the interest of his ego. The problem of action and inaction becomes simpler when one understands that just as a man is not responsible for the actions of others, so a yogi is not karmically bound by the action of that stranger, his body. Being merged in the vastness of the spirit it is impossible to consider him to be confined to any human personality. The activities a yogi engages in are in the nature of an impersonal “carrying out of order” or acting as an agent.

Verse 21: He incurs no evil/sin (kilbisam) performing mere bodily actions who has renounced all sense of possession (tyaktasarvaparigrahah), who is free from (delusive human) hopes (nirasir), and whose heart (the power of feeling) is controlled by the soul (yata citta atma).

Karmic bondage is caused not by the actions of the bodily instrument itself, but by the consciousness that manipulated those activities (wrong action as described in verse 12). When the ego with its delusion enforced desires and attachments is in control, the body and mind are subject to the cause effect laws of Nature. But when the true Self or soul, the image of God in man is in command the body and mind work just the same but the would be enslaving effects of those actions (karmic bondage) remain neutralized owning to the absence of the catalytic agent of delusion.

Man’s “possessions” consist not only of the material objects he gathers about himself, but also the sum-total of all the illusions of Nature with which he is identified as an ego: his body, mind, feelings, senses, habits and desires. Unless by Self-realization he becomes established in Soul consciousness, and thereby renounces attachments to these inner as well as outer possessions, he will be enslaved by the karmic effects arising from the activities he engender.

Wherever a person goes, whatever be his pursuit the egoistic karma goes with him, even as the shadow follows the form. But a man of God has no karma; the ego in him is “not his home”.

Performing good action even with an egotistical motive is better than performing evil actions. Both types of action however keep the soul confined by the laws of karma. An action performed only to please God produces no karma, whether good or ill. The man of good Karma is still subject to cause and effect of the phenomenal world whereas man of no karma makes is divinely free.