Bhagavad Gita PDF

# The Bhagavad Gita ## SANJAYA 2. When your son Duryodhana saw the armies of the sons of Pandu he went to his master in the art of war and spoke to him these words: 3. See there, master, the vast army of the Pandavas well set in order of battle by the son of Drupada, your own wise pupil. 4. Th...

# The Bhagavad Gita ## SANJAYA 2. When your son Duryodhana saw the armies of the sons of Pandu he went to his master in the art of war and spoke to him these words: 3. See there, master, the vast army of the Pandavas well set in order of battle by the son of Drupada, your own wise pupil. 4. There can we see heroic warriors, powerful archers, as great as Bhima and Arjuna in battle: Yuyudhana and Virata and king Drupada of the great chariot of war. 5. And Dhrishta-ketu of the steadfast banner, and Chekitana, the king of the Chedis. We see the heroic king of Kasi, and Purujit the conqueror, and his brother Kunti-bhoja, and Saibya mighty among men. 6. And victorious Yudhamanyu, and powerful Uttamaujas; and Saubhadra, the son of Arjuna, and the five princes of queen Draupadi. See them all in their chariots of war. 7. But hear also the names of our greatest warriors, the leaders of my own army. I will bring them to your memory. 8. There is yourself, my master in war, and also Bhishma, old and wise. There is Karna, the enemy of Arjuna, his half-brother; and Kripa, victor of battles. There is your own son Asvatthama, and also my brother Vikarna. There is Saumadatti, king of the Bahikas. years of exile. At the end of this period, Krishna pleads for the restoration of the rights of Pandavas, but Duryodhana refuses to yield anything. Finally both sides prepare for war at Kurukshetra. At that time rishi Vyasa grants a boon of vision to Sanjaya, a courtier, so that he could see the whole battlefield and relate the events to the blind king. The Bhagavad Gita begins at this point. The opening line, Dharmakshetre Kurukshetre, symbolically refers to the battlefield at Kurukshetra as Dharmakshetre or a battlefield for upholding the moral law (Dharma). Cf. Dante's journey in the Divine Comedy symbolizing the mental quest for the 'Kingdom of Heaven' within. 3. Drupada: king of Panchala, and father of Draupadi, wife of the Pandavas. 3-11. Cf. the epic convention of listing heroes and ships in Homer. ## Age of Rishis 9. And many other heroic warriors ready to give their lives for me; all armed with manifold weapons, and all of them masters of war. 10. We can number our armies led by Bhishma, but innumerable seem their armies led by Bhima. 11. Stand therefore all firm in the line of battle. Let us all defend our leader Bhishma. 12. To encourage Duryodhana, Bhishma, the glorious old warrior of the Kurus, sounded loud his war-cry like the roar of a lion, and then blew his far-sounding conch-shell. 13. Then the rumbling of war drums, the stirring sound of cymbals and trumpets, and the roaring of conch-shells and horns filled the sky with a fearful thunder. 14. Thereupon Krishna of Madhava and Arjuna, the son of Pandu, standing in their glorious chariot drawn by white horses, answered the challenge and blew their divine conch-shells. 15. Krishna, the Lord of the soul, blew his conch-shell Pancha-janya. Arjuna, the winner of treasure, sounded forth his own Deva-datta. His brother Bhima, of tremendous feats, blew his great conch-shell the Paundra. 16. Their eldest brother, king Yudhishthira, sounded his Eternal-Victory; and Nakula and Sahadeva the Sweet-sounding and the Jewel-blossom. 17. And the king of Kasi of the powerful bow, and Sikhandi of the great war chariot, Dhrishta-dyumna and Virata, and Satyaki the never-conquered; 18. And king Drupada and the sons of his daughter Draupadi; and Saubhadra, the heroic son of Arjuna, sounded from all sides their conch-shells of war. 14. Both Krishna and Arjuna are referred to in this poem by various epithets. Krishna: Hrsikesa (lord of senses); Govinda (lord of cattle); Vasudeva (son of Vasudeva); Narayana (Man-divine); Madhusudana (slayer of demon Madhu); Janardhana (liberator of man); Achyuta (immovable, imperishable); Parthasarathi (charioteer of Partha or Arjuna), etc. Arjuna: Pandava (son of Pandu); Bharata (descendant of Bharata); Parthe (son of Pritha or Kunti); Gudakesha (having long hair tied like a bail); Dhanamjaya (winner of wealth), etc. ## The Bhagavad Gita 19. At that fearful sound the earth and the heavens trembled, and also trembled the hearts of Duryodhana and his warriors. 20. The flight of arrows was now to begin, and Arjuna, on whose banner was the symbol of an ape, saw Duryodhana and his warriors drawn up in their lines of battle. He thereupon took up his bow. 21. And spoke these words to Krishna: ## ARJUNA Drive my chariot, Krishna immortal, and place it between the two armies. 22. That I may see those warriors who stand there eager for battle, with whom I must now fight at the beginning of this war. 23. That I may see those who have come here eager and ready to fight, in their desire to do the will of the evil son of Dhrita-rashtra. ## SANJAYA 24. When Krishna heard the words of Arjuna he drove their glorious chariot and placed it between the two armies. 25. And facing Bhishma and Drona and other royal rulers he said: 'See, Arjuna, the armies of the Kurus, gathered here on this field of battle.' 26. Then Arjuna saw in both armies fathers, grandfathers, sons, 27. grandsons; fathers of wives, uncles, masters; brothers, companions 28. and friends. When Arjuna thus saw his kinsmen face to face in both lines of battle, he was overcome by grief and despair and thus he spoke with a sinking heart. ## ARJUNA When I see all my kinsmen, Krishna, who have come here on this field of battle, 29. Life goes from my limbs and they sink, and my mouth is sear and dry; a trembling overcomes my body, and my hair shudders in horror; 30. My great bow Gandiva falls from my hands, and the skin over my ## Age of Rishis flesh is burning; I am no longer able to stand, because my mind is whirling and wandering. 31. And I see forebodings of evil, Krishna. I cannot foresee any glory if I kill my own kinsmen in the sacrifice of battle. 32. Because I have no wish for victory, Krishna, nor for a kingdom, nor for its pleasures. How can we want a kingdom, Govinda, or its pleasures or even life, 33. When those for whom we want a kingdom, and its pleasures, and the joys of life, are here in this field of battle about to give up their wealth and their life? 34. Facing us in the field of battle are teachers, fathers and sons; grandsons, grandfathers, wives' brothers; mothers' brothers and fathers of wives. 35. These I do not wish to slay, even if I myself am slain. Not even for the kingdom of the three worlds: how much less for a kingdom of the earth! 36. If we kill these evil men, evil shall fall upon us: what joy in their death could we have, O Janardhana, mover of souls? 37. I cannot therefore kill my own kinsmen, the sons of king Dhrita-rashtra, the brother of my own father. What happiness could we ever enjoy, if we killed our own kinsmen in battle? 38. Even if they, with minds overcome by greed, see no evil in the destruction of a family, see no sin in the treachery to friends; 39. Shall we not, who see the evil of destruction, shall we not refrain from this terrible deed? 40. The destruction of a family destroys its rituals of righteousness, and when the righteous rituals are no more, unrighteousness overcomes the whole family. 41. When unrighteous disorder prevails, the women sin and are impure; and when women are not pure, Krishna, there is disorder of castes, social confusion, 42. This disorder carries down to hell the family and the destroyers of the family. The spirits of their dead suffer in pain when deprived of the ritual offerings. 43. Those evil deeds of the destroyers of a family, which cause this social disorder, destroy the righteousness of birth and the ancestral rituals of righteousness. ## The Bhagavad Gita 44. And have we not heard that hell is waiting for those whose familiar rituals of righteousness are no more? 45. O day of darkness! What evil spirit moved our minds when for the sake of an earthly kingdom we came to this field of battle ready to kill our own people? 46. Better for me indeed if the sons of Dhrita-rashtra, with arms in hand, found me unarmed, unresisting, and killed me in the struggle of war. ## SANJAYA 47. Thus spoke Arjuna in the field of battle, and letting fall his bow and arrows he sank down in his chariot, his soul overcome by despair and grief. ## Krishna's Reply to Arjuna: Relevance of human action on three levels: cosmic, social, and individual ## SANJAYA 1. Then arose the Spirit of Krislına and spoke to Arjuna, his friend, who with eyes filled with tears, thus had sunk into despair and grief. ## KRISHNA 2. Whence this lifeless dejection, Arjuna, in this hour, the hour of trial? Strong men know not despair, Arjuna, for this wins neither heaven nor earth. 3. Fall not into degrading weakness, for this becomes not a man who is a man. Throw off this ignoble discouragement, and arise like a fire that burns all before it. 47. Chariot: symbol of the psychological body-apparatus of man. Cf. Katha Upanishad III.3-4; Plato, Lams 898C; Milindapanha II.1.1. ## Age of Rishis 4. I owe veneration to Bhishma and Drona. Shall I kill with my arrows my grandfather's brother, great Bhishma? Shall my arrows in battle slay Drona, my teacher? 5. Shall I kill my own masters who, though greedy of my kingdom, are yet my sacred teachers? I would rather eat in this life the food of a beggar than eat royal food tasting of their blood. 6. And we know not whether their victory or ours be better for us. The sons of my uncle and king, Dhrita-rashtra, are here before us: after their death, should we wish to live? 7. In the dark night of my soul I feel desolation. In my self-pity I see not the way of righteousness. I am thy disciple, come to thee in supplication: be a light unto me on the path of my duty. 8. For neither the kingdom of the earth, nor the kingdom of the gods in heaven, could give me peace from the fire of sorrow which thus burns my life. ## SANJAYA 9. When Arjuna the great warrior had thus unburdened his heart, 'I will not fight, Krishna,' he said, and then fell silent. 10. Krishna smiled and spoke to Arjuna - there between the two armies the voice of God spoke these words: ## KRISHNA 11. Thy tears are for those beyond tears; and are thy words words of wisdom? The wise grieve not for those who live; and they grieve not for those who die - for life and death shall pass away. 7. Arjuna not only is overcome by despair and anxiety, but also is driven by an ardent desire for certainty about his path of duty. 10. Krishna smiles at Arjuna's wishful thinking about human sorrow and suffering. He then explains the relevance of human action on cosmic (11-30), social (31-9), and individual (39-53) levels; and how a man of disciplined mind acts (54-72). 11-30 From the cosmic point of view, one who really understands does not grieve; for the essence (self, spirit, atman) within the individual, being ## The Bhagavad Gita 12. Because we all have been for all time: I, and thou, and those kings of men. And we all shall be for all time, we all for ever and ever. 13. As the Spirit of our mortal body wanders on in childhood, and youth and old age, the Spirit wanders on to a new body: of this the sage has no doubts. 14. From the world of the senses, Arjuna, comes heat and comes cold, and pleasure and pain. They come and they go: they are transient. Arise above them, strong soul, 15. The man whom these cannot move, whose soul is one, beyond pleasure and pain, is worthy of life in Eternity. 16. The unreal never is: the Real never is not. This truth indeed has been seen by those who can see the true. 17. Interwoven in his creation, the Spirit is beyond destruction. No one can bring to an end the Spirit which is everlasting. 18. For beyond time he dwells in these bodies, though these bodies have an end in their time; but he remains immeasurable, immortal. Therefore, great warrior, carry on thy fight. 19. If any man thinks he slays, and if another thinks he is slain, neither knows the ways of truth. The Eternal in man cannot kill: the Eternal in man cannot die. 20. He is never born, and he never dies. He is in Eternity: he is for evermore. Never-born and eternal, beyond times gone or to come, he does not die when the body dies. 21. When a man knows him as never-born, everlasting, never-changing, beyond all destruction, how can that man kill a man, or cause another to kill? eternal, That was, is, and will be, while the existential phases like childhood, youth, manhood, age, or cycles of birth and death, pass away; the wise do not confuse the two nor grieve for the imperishable. One can only have a visionary understanding of the essence but cannot know That through learning. 19-20. Cf. Katha Upanishad II.18-19. Cf. Emerson's poem Brahma: If the red slayer thinks he slays, Or if the slain think he is slain, They know not well the subtle ways I keep and pass and turn again. ## Age of Rishis 22. As a man leaves an old garment and puts on one that is new, the Spirit leaves his mortal body and wanders on to one that is new. 23. Weapons cannot hurt the Spirit and fire can never burn him. Untouched is he by drenching waters, untouched is he by parching winds. 24. Beyond the power of sword and fire, beyond the power of waters and winds, the Spirit is everlasting, omnipresent, never-changing, never-moving, ever One. 25. Invisible is he to mortal eyes, beyond thought and beyond change. Know that he is, and cease from sorrow. 26. But if he were born again and again, and again and again he were to die, even then, victorious man, cease thou from sorrow. 27. For all things born in truth must die, and out of death in truth comes life. Face to face with what must be, cease thou from sorrow. 28. Invisible before birth are all beings and after death invisible again. They are seen between two unseens. Why in this truth find sorrow? 29. One sees him in a vision of wonder, and another gives us words of his wonder. There is one who hears of his wonder but he hears and knows him not. 30. The Spirit that is in all beings is immortal in them all: for the death of what cannot die, cease thou to sorrow. There is no greater good for a warrior than to fight in righteous war. 22. Plato, Crito. Crito: 'In what way shall we bury you, Socrates?" Socrates: 'In any way you like, but first you must catch me, the real me. Be of good cheer, my dear Crito, and say that you are burying my body only, and do with that whatever is usual. 27. Cf. Buddha's parable of the mustard seed to Kisa Gotami. 31-9. From the social point of view there is no greater duty for a warrior than to do battle in a war that is for the upholding of the moral law. In an organized society there is no one who has no duty, for the organisnt can be sustained only when all the elements function in a cooperative and cumulative way. A warrior who abandons his duty at the time of lawful war is like a carpenter who plays the fiddle when he should work on carpentry, or like a surgeon who begins to paint when he should perform an operation. Such abandonment of expected duty will bring about a collapse of the social organization. Disregarding the contraries of pleasure and pain, and con- ## The Bhagavad Gita 32. There is a war that opens the doors of heaven, Arjuna! Happy the warriors whose fate is to fight such war. 33. But to forgo this fight for righteousness is to forgo thy duty and honour: is to fall into transgression. 34. Men will tell of thy dishonour both now and in times to come. And to a man who is in honour, dishonour is more than death. 35. The great warriors will say that thou hast run from the battle through fear; and those who thought great things of thee will speak of thee in scorn. 36. And thine enemies will speak of thee in contemptuous words of ill-will and derision, pouring scorn upon thy courage. Can there be for a warrior a more shameful fate? 37. In death thy glory in heaven, in victory thy glory on earth. Arise therefore, Arjuna, with thy soul ready to fight. 38. Prepare for war with peace in thy soul. Be in peace in pleasure and pain, in gain and in loss, in victory or in the loss of a battle. In this peace there is no sin. 39. This is the wisdom of Sankhya - the vision of the Eternal. Hear now the wisdom of Yoga, path of the Eternal and freedom from bondage. sequences of gain or loss, one who knows his place in society performs his duty. This is the wisdom one acquires from the discipline of knowledge or learning. 39. Sankhya and Yoga in the Gita does not mean the systems of philosophy known by that name; nor does Yoga mean Patanjaliyoga . . . The dualism of the Sankhya-Yoga is transcended in the Gita which affirms the reality of the Supreme Self (S. Radhakrishnan). In the Gita Sankhya refers to the intellectual account of the intuition of the Unchanging One; it is the discipline of knowledge. Yoga is the discipline of action. The Gita raises the question: How should one who discerns the eternal self in perishable body, and knows his moral duty in the events of the world, act? 39-53. From the individual's point of view, action (and not actionlessness) is the main office of life. The ideal action is that which frees the actor from the bondage of action, and is performed through a disciplined mental attitude (Yoga). Those who merely seek enjoyment of power through the words of Vedas and rituals, being robbed of insight, are fettered to ## Age of Rishis 40. No step is lost on this path, and no dangers are found. And even a little progress is freedom from fear. 41. The follower of this path has one thought, and this is the End of his determination. But many-branched and endless are the thoughts of the man who lacks determination. 42. There are men who have no vision, and yet they speak many words. They follow the letter of the Vedas, and they say 'there is nothing but this.' 43. Their soul is warped with selfish desires, and their heaven is a selfish desire. They have prayers for pleasures and power, the reward of which is earthly rebirth. 44. Those who love pleasure and power hear and follow their words: they have not the determination ever to be one with the One. 45. The three Gunas of Nature are the world of the Vedas. Arise beyond the three Gunas, Arjuna! Be in Truth eternal, beyond earthly opposites. Beyond gains and possessions, possess thine own soul. 46. As is the use of a well of water where water everywhere overflows, such is the use of all the Vedas to the seer of the Supreme. 47. Set thy heart upon thy work, but never on its reward. Work not for a reward; but never cease to do thy work. 48. Do thy work in the peace of Yoga and, free from selfish desires, be not moved in success or in failure. Yoga is evenness of mind - a peace that is ever the same. 49. Work done for a reward is much lower than work done in the Yoga of wisdom. Seek salvation in the wisdom of reason. How poor those who work for a reward! 50. In this wisdom a man goes beyond what is well done and what is not well done. Go thou therefore to wisdom: Yoga is wisdom in work. mortality. What profit there is in a tank of water when the whole valley is flooded, so much profit is in scriptures and rituals to a man of action with a disciplined mind (39-47). Seeking refuge in the stabilized mind and renouncing the fruits of action and not action itself, an enlightened one acts and in such action becomes one or submerged with the action of Universal self (48-53). ## The Bhagavad Gita 51. Seers in union with wisdom forsake the rewards of their work, and free from the bonds of birth they go to the abode of salvation. 52. When thy mind leaves behind its dark forest of delusion, thou shalt go beyond the scriptures of times past and still to come. 53. When thy mind, that may be wavering in the contradictions of many scriptures, shall rest unshaken in divine contemplation, then the goal of Yoga is thine. ## ARJUNA 54. How is the man of tranquil wisdom, who abides in divine contemplation? What are his words? What is his silence? What is his work? ## KRISHNA 55. When a man surrenders all desires that come to the heart and by the grace of God finds the joy of God, then his soul has indeed found peace. 56. He whose mind is untroubled by sorrows, and for pleasures he has no longings, beyond passion, and fear and anger, he is the sage of unwavering mind. 57. Who everywhere is free from all ties, who neither rejoices nor sorrows if fortune is good or is ill, his is a serene wisdom. 58. When in recollection he withdraws all his senses from the attractions of the pleasures of sense, even as a tortoise withdraws all its limbs, then his is a serene wisdom. 59. Pleasures of sense, but not desires, disappear from the austere soul. Even desires disappear when the soul has seen the Supreme. 60. The restless violence of the senses impetuously carries away the mind of even a wise man striving towards perfection, 61. Bringing them all into the harmony of recollection, let him sit in devotion and union, his soul finding rest in me. For when his senses are in harmony, then his is a serene wisdom. 62. When a man dwells on the pleasures of sense, attraction for them arises in him. From attraction arises desire, the lust of possession, and this leads to passion, to anger. 62-3. Evil in human society is caused by human actions, misguided by passions, and their cumulative consequences. ## Age of Rishis 63. From passion comes confusion of mind, then loss of remembrance, the forgetting of duty. From this loss comes the ruin of reason, and the ruin of reason leads man to destruction. 64. But the soul that moves in the world of the senses and yet keeps the senses in harmony, free from attraction and aversion, finds rest in quietness. 65. In this quietness falls down the burden of all her sorrows, for when the heart has found quietness, wisdom has also found peace, 66. There is no wisdom for a man without harmony, and without harmony there is no contemplation. Without contemplation there cannot be peace, and without peace can there be joy? 67. For when the mind becomes bound to a passion of the wandering senses, this passion carries away man's wisdom, even as the wind drives a vessel on the waves. 68. The man who therefore in recollection withdraws his senses from the pleasures of sense, his is a serene wisdom. 69. In the dark night of all beings awakes to Light the tranquil man, But what is day to other beings is night for the sage who sees. 70. Even as all waters flow into the ocean, but the ocean never overflows, even so the sage feels desires, but he is ever one in his infinite peace. 71. For the man who forsakes all desires and abandons all pride of possession and of self reaches the goal of peace supremc. 72. This is the Eternal in man, O Arjuna. Reaching him all delusion is gone. Even in the last hour of his life upon earth, man can reach the Nirvana of Brahman – man can find peace in the peace of his God. ## Discipline of Action ## ARJUNA 1. If thy thought is that vision is greater than action, why dost thou enjoin upon me the terrible action of war? 2. My mind is in confusion because in thy words I find contra- ## The Bhagavad Gita dictions. Tell me in truth therefore by what path may I attain the Supreme. ## KRISHNA 3. In this world there are two roads of perfection, as I told thee before, O prince without sin: Jnana Yoga, the path of wisdom of the Sankhyas, and Karma Yoga, the path of action of the Yogis. 4. Not by refraining from action does man attain freedom from action. Not by mere renunciation does he attain supreme perfection. 5. For not even for a moment can a man be without action. Helplessly are all driven to action by the forces born of Nature. 6. He who withdraws himself from actions, but ponders on their pleasures in his heart, he is under a delusion and is a false follower of the Path. 7. But great is the man who, free from attachments, and with a mind ruling its powers in harmony, works on the path of Karma Yoga, the path of consecrated action. 8. Action is greater than inaction: perform therefore thy task in life. Even the life of the body could not be if there were no action. 9. The world is in the bonds of action, unless the action is consecration. Let thy actions then be pure, free from the bonds of desire. 10. Thus spoke the Lord of Creation when he made both man and sacrifice: 'By sacrifice thou shalt multiply and obtain all thy desires. 11. 'By sacrifice shalt thou honour the gods and the gods will then love thee. And thus in harmony with them shalt thou attain the supreme good. 12. 'For pleased with thy sacrifice, the gods will grant to thee the joy of all thy desires. Only a thief would enjoy their gifts and not offer them in sacrifice.' 13. Holy men who take as food the remains of sacrifice become free from all their sins; but the unholy who have feasts for themselves eat food that is in truth sin. 14. Food is the life of all beings, and all food comes from rain above. Sacrifice brings the rain from heaven, and sacrifice is sacred action. ## Age of Rishis 15. Sacred action is described in the Vedas and these come from the Eternal, and therefore is the Eternal everpresent in a sacrifice. 16. Thus was the Wheel of the Law set in motion, and that man lives indeed in vain who in a sinful life of pleasures helps not in its lutions. 17. but the man who has found the joy of the Spirit and in the Spirit has satisfaction, who in the Spirit has found his peace, that man is beyond the law of action. 18. He is beyond what is done and beyond what is not done and in all his works he is beyond the help of mortal beings. 19. In liberty from the bonds of attachment, do thou therefore the work to be done: for the man whose work is pure attains indeed the Supreme. 20. King Janaka and other warriors reached perfection by the path of action: let thy aim be the good of all, and then carry on thy task in life. 21. In the actions of the best men others find their rule of action. The path that a great man follows becomes a guide to the world. 22. I have no work to do in all the worlds, Arjuna - for these are mine. I have nothing to obtain, because I have all. And yet I work. 23. If I was not bound to action, never-tiring, everlastingly, men that follow many paths would follow my path of inaction. 24. If ever my work had an end, these worlds would end in destruction, confusion would reign within all: this would be the death of all beings. 25. Even as the unwise work selfishly in the bondage of selfish works, let the wise man work unselfishly for the good of all the world. 26. Let not the wise disturb the mind of the unwise in their selfish work. Let him, working with devotion, show them the joy of good work. 27. All actions take place in time by the interweaving of the forces of Nature; but the man lost in selfish delusion thinks that he himself is the actor. 28. But the man who knows the relation between the forces of Nature and actions, sees how some forces of Nature work upon other forces of Nature, and becomes not their slave. 29. Those who are under the delusion of the forces of Nature bind themselves to the work of these forces. Let not the wise man who sees the All disturb the unwise who sees not the All. 30. Offer to me all thy works and rest thy mind on the Supreme. Be free from vain hopes and selfish thoughts, and with inner peace fight thou thy fight. 31. Those who ever follow my doctrine and who have faith, and have a good will, find through pure work their freedom. 32. But those who follow not my doctrine, and who have ill-will, are men blind to all wisdom, confused in mind: they are lost. 33. 'Even a wise man acts under the impulse of his nature: all beings follow nature. Of what use is restraint?? 34. Hate and lust for things of nature have their roots in man's lower nature. Let him not fall under their power: they are the two enemies in his path. 35. And do thy duty, even if it be humble, rather than another's, even if it be great. To die in one's duty is life: to live in another's is death. ## ARJUNA 36. What power is it, Krishna, that drives man to act sinfully, even unwillingly, as if powerlessly? ## KRISHNA 37. It is greedy desire and wrath born of passion, the great evil, the sum of destruction: this is the enemy of the soul. 38. All is clouded by desire: as fire by smoke, as a mirror by dust, as an unborn babe by its covering. 39. Wisdom is clouded by desire, the everpresent enemy of the wise, desire in its innuunerable forms, which like a fire cannot find satisfaction. 40. Desire has found a place in man's senses and mind and reason. Through these it blinds the soul, after having overclouded wisdom. 41. Set thou, therefore, thy senses in harmony, and then slay thou sinful desire, the destroyer of vision and wisdom. 42. They say that the power of the senses is great. But greater than ## Age of Rishis the senses is the mind. Greater than the mind is Buddhi, reason: and greater than reason is He - the Spirit in man and in all. 43. Know Him therefore who is above reason; and let his peace give thee peace. Be a warrior and kill desire, the powerful enemy of the soul. ## Discipline of Visionary Knowledge ## KRISHNA 1. I revealed this everlasting Yoga to Vivasvan, the sun, the father of light. He in turn revealed it to Manu, his son, the father of man. And Manu taught his son, king Ikshvaku, the saint. 2. Then it was taught from father to son in the line of kings who were saints; but in the revolutions of times immemorial this doctrine was forgotten by men. 3. Today I am revealing to thee this Yoga eternal, this secret supreme: because of thy love for me, and because I am thy friend. ## ARJUNA 4. Thy birth was after the birth of the sun: the birth of the sun was before thine. What is the meaning of thy words: 'I revealed this Yoga to Vivasvan'? ## KRISHNA 5. I have been born many times, Arjuna, and many times hast thou been born. But I remember my past lives, and thou hast forgotten thine. 6. Although I am unborn, everlasting, and I am the Lord of all, I 5-8. Avatara, the incarnation of divine energy in different times in history in diferent places, to uphold the Moral Law, when evil predominates. Consequently, the great spiritual leaders of the world can be regarded as Avataras or men-divine, who in their own times preached a way of life, none of them necessarily contradictory, but all leading to the same Supreme Self. ## The Bhagavad Gita come to my realm of nature and through my wondrous power I am born. 7. When righteousness is weak and faints and unrighteousness exults in pride, then my Spirit arises on earth. 8. For the salvation of those who are good, for the destruction of evil in men, for the fulfilment of the kingdom of righteousness, I come to this world in the ages that pass. 9. He who knows my birth as God and who knows my sacrifice, when he leaves his mortal body, goes no more from death to death, for he in truth comes to me. 10. How many have come to me, trusting in me, filled with my Spirit, in peace from passions and fears and anger, made pure by the fire of wisdom! 11. In any way that men love me in that same way they find my love: for many are the paths of men, but they all in the end come to me. 12. Those who lust for earthly power offer sacrifice to the gods of the earth; for soon in this world for men success and power come from work. 13. The four orders of men arose from me, in justice to their natures and their works. Know that this work was mine, though I am beyond work, in Eternity. 14. In the bonds of works I am free, because in them I am free from desires. The man who can see this truth, in his work he finds his freedom. 15. This was known by men of old times, and thus in their work they found liberation. Do thou therefore thy work in life in the spirit that their work was done. 11. Also cf. 7.21 and 9.23. These verses of the Gita emphasize a great tolerance towards the many different approaches to the Absolute or God. Those who are vouchsafed the vision of Truth convey it symbolically through Nama-rupa (name-form) in a language with a meaning particular to a culture. These names and forms, consequently, are mere aids to help us to become conscious of our deepest self and through it the Universal Self. The Gita does not speak of this or that religion but of the impulse which is expressed in all forms and names, that is the desire to find the Absolute and understand our relation to That. In other words, the same God is worshipped by all under different Nama-rupa. ## Age of Rishis 16. What is work? What is beyond work? Even some seers see this not aright. I will teach thee the truth of pure work, and this truth shall make thee free. 17. Know therefore what is work, and also know what is wrong work. And know also of a work that is silence: mysterious is the path of work. 18. The man who in his work finds silence, and who sees that silence is work, this man in truth sees the Light and in all his works find peace. 19. He whose undertakings are free from anxious desire and fanciful thought, whose work is made pure in the fire of wisdom: he is called wise by those who see. 20. In whatever work