[18.1–2]
ARJUNA SAID:
Teach me this lesson, Krishna:
what it means to renounce,
what it means to relinquish,
and the difference between the two.
THE BLESSED LORD SAID:
To give up desire-bound actions
is what is meant by renouncing;
to give up the results of all actions
is what the wise call to relinquish.
[18.3–8]
Some sages say that all action
is tainted and should be relinquished;
others permit only acts
of worship, control, and charity.
Here is the truth: these acts
of worship, control, and charity
purify the heart and therefore
should not be relinquished but performed.
But even the most praiseworthy acts
should be done with complete nonattachment
and with no concern for results;
this is my final judgment.
Relinquishment is of three kinds:
When any obligatory action
is relinquished because of delusive
thinking—that is tamasic.
When a man relinquishes action
because it is hard or painful—
that relinquishment is rajasic,
and cannot guide him toward freedom.
[18.9–13]
But when, out of duty, a man
performs an obligatory action,
relinquishing all results—
that relinquishment is called sattvic.
The man who is able to relinquish,
beyond doubt, does not avoid
unpleasant actions, nor is he
attached to actions that are pleasant.
An embodied being can never
relinquish actions completely;
to relinquish the results of actions
is all that can be required.
For those who cling to it, action
has three results when they die—
desired, undesired, and mixed;
but for those who renounce, it has none.
Now I will teach you the five
elements that must be present
for an action to be accomplished,
as philosophers have declared:
[18.14–18]
the physical body, the agent,
the various organs of sense,
the various kinds of behavior,
and divine providence as fifth.
In whatever action a man takes
with his body, his speech, or his mind,
whether it is right or wrong,
these five things must be present.
Since this is so, when a man
of limited understanding
sees himself as sole agent,
he is not seeing the truth.
A man who is free from the I-sense
and is pure, even if he kills
these warriors, does not kill,
nor is he bound by his actions.
Knowledge, the known, and the knower
are the three things that motivate action;
instrument, action, and agent
are the three components of action.
[18.19–23]
Knowledge, action, and agent
are of three kinds, according to the guna
that prevails in each one. Listen,
and I will explain these distinctions.
Knowledge that sees in all things
a single, imperishable being,
undivided among the divided—
this kind of knowledge is sattvic.
Rajasic knowledge perceives
a multiplicity of beings,
each one existing by itself,
separate from all the others.
Knowledge is called tamasic
when it clings to one thing as if it
were the whole, and has no concern
for the true cause and essence of things.
Obligatory action, performed
without any craving or aversion
by a man unattached to results—
this kind of action is sattvic.
[18.24–28]
Rajasic action is performed
with a wish to satisfy desires,
with the thought “I am doing this,”
and with an excessive effort.
Action is tamasic when
it begins in delusion, with no
concern that it may cause
harm to oneself or others.
An agent who is free from attachment
and the I-sense, courageous, steadfast,
unmoved by success or failure—
this kind of agent is sattvic.
A rajasic agent is impulsive,
seeks to obtain results,
is greedy, violent, impure,
and buffeted by joy and sorrow.
An agent is called tamasic
when he is undisciplined, stupid,
stubborn, mean, deceitful,
lazy, and easily depressed.
[18.29–33]
Listen as I describe
the three kinds of understanding
and the three kinds of will, according
to the guna that prevails in each.
The understanding that knows
what to do and what not to,
safety and danger, bondage
and liberation, is sattvic.
Rajasic understanding
fails to know right from wrong,
when from when not to act,
what should from what should not be done.
Understanding is tamasic
when, thickly covered in darkness,
it imagines that wrong is right
and sees the world upside down.
The unswerving will that controls
the functions of mind, breath, senses
by the practice of meditation—
this kind of will is sattvic.
[18.34–38]
Rajasic will is attached
to duty, sensual pleasures,
power, and wealth, with anxiety
and a constant desire for results.
That will is called tamasic
by which a stupid man keeps
clinging to grief and fear,
to torpor, depression, and conceit.
Now, Arjuna, I will tell you
about the three kinds of happiness.
The happiness which comes from long practice,
which leads to the end of suffering,
which at first is like poison, but at last
like nectar—this kind of happiness,
arising from the serenity
of one’s own mind, is called sattvic.
Rajasic happiness comes
from contact between the senses
and their objects, and is at first
like nectar, but at last like poison.
[18.39–43]
Happiness is called tamasic
when it is self-deluding
from beginning to end, and arises
from sleep, indolence, and dullness.
No being on earth, Arjuna,
or among the blithe gods in heaven
is free from the conditioning
of these three Nature-born gunas.
The duties of priests, of warriors,
of laborers, and of servants
are apportioned according to the gunas
that arise from their inborn nature.
Serenity, control, austerity,
uprightness, purity, patience,
knowledge, piety, and judgment
are the natural duties of priests.
Boldness, the ability to lead,
largeheartedness, courage in battle,
energy, stamina, and strength
are the natural duties of warriors.
[18.44–48]
Farming, cowherding, and trade
are the natural duties of laborers;
serving the needs of others
is the natural duty of servants.
Content with his natural duty,
each one achieves success.
Listen now: I will tell you
how this success can be found.
A man finds success by worshiping
with his own right actions the One
from whom all actions arise
and by whom the world is pervaded.
It is better to do your own duty
badly than to perfectly do
another’s; when you do your duty,
you are naturally free from sin.
No one should relinquish his duty,
even though it is flawed;
all actions are enveloped by flaws
as fire is enveloped by smoke.
[18.49–53]
Self-mastered, with mind unattached
at all times, beyond desire,
one attains through renunciation
the supreme freedom from action.
Learn from me briefly, Arjuna,
that when a man gains success
he also gains perfect freedom,
the ultimate state of knowledge.
With a purified understanding,
fully mastering himself,
relinquishing all sense-objects,
released from aversion and craving,
solitary, eating lightly,
controlling speech, mind, and body,
absorbed in deep meditation
at all times, calm, impartial,
free from the “I” and “mine,”
from aggression, arrogance, greed,
desire, and anger, he is fit
for the state of absolute freedom.
[18.54–58]
Serene in this state of freedom,
beyond desire and sorrow,
seeing all beings as equal,
he attains true devotion to me.
By devotion he comes to realize
the meaning of my infinite vastness;
when he knows who I truly am,
he instantly enters my being.
Relying on me in his actions
and performing them for my sake,
he reaches, by my great kindness,
the eternal, unchanging place.
Give up all actions to me;
love me above all others;
steadfastly keep your mind
focused on me alone.
Focused on me at all times,
you will overcome all obstructions;
but if you persist in clinging
to the I-sense, then you are lost.
[18.59–63]
And even if, clinging to the I-sense,
you say that you will not fight,
your intention will be in vain:
Nature will compel you to act.
The thing that, in your delusion,
you wish not to do, you will do,
even against your will,
since your own karma binds you.
The Lord dwells deep in the heart
of all beings, by his wondrous power
making them all revolve
like puppets on a carousel.
Devoted to him, Arjuna,
take refuge in him alone;
by his kindness, you will attain
the state of imperishable peace.
Thus I have taught you the secret
of secrets, the utmost knowledge;
meditate deeply upon it,
then act as you think best.
[18.64–68]
Now listen to my final words,
the deepest secret of all;
I am speaking for your own welfare,
since you are precious to me.
If you focus your mind on me
and revere me with all your heart,
you will surely come to me; this
I promise, because I love you.
Relinquishing all your duties,
take refuge in me alone.
Do not fear: I will free you
from the evils of birth and death.
These teachings must not be spoken
to men without self-control
and piety, or to men
whose hearts are closed to my words.
He who teaches this primal
secret to those who love me
has acted with the greatest love
and will come to me, beyond doubt.
[18.69–72]
No one can do me a service
that is more devoted than this,
and no one on earth is more
precious to me than he is.
Whoever earnestly studies
this sacred discourse of ours—
I consider that he has worshiped
and loved me with the yoga of knowledge.
Even the man who hears it
with faith and an open mind—
he also, released, will go to
the joyous heavens of the pure.
Have you truly heard me, Arjuna?
Has my teaching entered your heart?
Have my words now driven away
your ignorance and delusion?
[18.73–76]
Krishna, I see the truth now,
by your immeasurable kindness.
I have no more doubts; I will act
according to your command.
SANJAYA SAID:
O King, as I heard this wondrous
discourse between Lord Krishna
and Arjuna, the man of great soul,
the hair stood up on my flesh.
By the poet Vyasa’s kindness,
I heard this most secret doctrine
directly from the mighty Lord
of Yoga, Krishna himself.
O King, the more I remember
this wondrous and holy discourse
between the Lord and Arjuna,
the more I shudder with joy.
[18.77–78]
And as often as I remember
the Lord’s vast, wondrous form,
each time I am astonished;
each time I shudder with joy.
Where Krishna is—Lord of Yoga—
and Arjuna the archer: there,
surely, I think, is splendor
and virtue and spiritual wealth.