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Chapter 3

Prelude to Easy Read Gita Flow chapter 3

In Chapter 2.39, Kṛṣṇa introduces buddhi-yoga as a path to liberation through action guided by spiritual intelligence.

However, Arjuna hears this teaching amid the turmoil of the battlefield. Although Kṛṣṇa clearly instructs him in 2.47–48 to perform his duty without attachment, Arjuna misunderstands 2.49 to mean that karma (action) should be replaced by buddhi-yoga. He also interprets Kṛṣṇa’s description of the sthita-prajña, one firmly established in spiritual intelligence, in 2.55–72 as describing a renounced, contemplative life.

Arjuna therefore mistakenly sees karma-yoga and buddhi-yoga as two separate paths. He understands 2.50 to mean that only buddhi-yoga frees one from karmic reactions. This leaves him confused by Kṛṣṇa’s instruction to practise karma-yoga. If detached action still produces karmic reactions, why should he follow what he regards as the lower path rather than buddhi-yoga?

Influenced by these misunderstandings and his own reluctance to fight, Arjuna raises his doubts at the beginning of Chapter 3.

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Easy Read Gita Flow chapter 3

3.1: Arjuna said: Buddhi-yoga is a life of spiritual contemplation, which, according to You, is superior to performing one’s worldly duties. O Janārdana, why then are You, who always desire the ultimate welfare of Your devotees, asking me to do something that will simply bring me distress? Why do You ask me to commit this terrible deed of killing my relatives? O Keśava, You killed the demon Keśī; please therefore destroy this demonic doubt. Since even Brahmā and Śiva obey You, I cannot disregard Your instruction. Please explain why You urge me to fight.
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3.2: So far, You have simply confused me. You seem to contradict Yourself, saying one thing and then another. Please tell me clearly exactly what I need to do to liberate myself from the cycle of birth and death.
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3.3: The Supreme Lord replied: O virtuous Arjuna, I have just explained the two accepted paths to self-realisation. Those free of material desires can practise jñāna-yoga, which entails renouncing prescribed duties and living a life of renunciation centred on analysing the distinction between the soul and matter. The other path is buddhi-yoga, often called karma-yoga, better suited to those who still have material attachments.
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3.4: One cannot avoid karmic reactions by renouncing one’s prescribed duties. Nor does formally accepting the renounced order of sannyāsa guarantee liberation from the cycle of birth and death.
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3.5: Furthermore, the living entity cannot remain inactive for even a moment. Everyone is compelled to act according to the qualities they have acquired from the modes of material nature.

Arjuna reflects: But I have seen that some people accept sannyāsa, give up their occupational duties and manage to restrain their senses from all activity.
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3.6: Kṛṣṇa said: If one externally restrains his senses but continues to contemplate sense gratification, he is called a cheater, because he continues to be bewildered by the allure of the sense objects.
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3.7: Arjuna, a householder who regulates his senses in accordance with scriptural injunctions and performs his prescribed duties as niṣkāma-karma-yoga, without attachment to the results, is far superior to a sannyāsī who has not yet attained full God-realisation.
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3.8: Therefore, stick to the duties prescribed for you by scripture. This is far better than abandoning them, as there is no other divinely approved means of supporting yourself.
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Arjuna reflects: But the scriptures say that performing any action, even prescribed duties, binds you to karmic reactions and obliges you to take another material birth.
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3.9: Kṛṣṇa said: Only work not offered as a sacrifice for Viṣṇu’s pleasure incurs karmic reactions and thus binds one to this world. However, if one performs prescribed duties solely to satisfy Viṣṇu, without desiring to enjoy the result, there are no karmic reactions. Therefore, if you want to attain complete liberation from material existence, Arjuna, simply do your prescribed duties for His pleasure.
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3.10: The Lord established the practice of sacrifice at the dawn of time, when He created the celestials and humans. He instructed that by performing sacrifice, they would both fulfil their material desires and attain liberation. Therefore, even if you have some personal desires, you should still offer your work as a sacrifice for Viṣṇu.
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3.11: By performing such sacrifices, one satisfies Visnu’s representatives, the administrative demigods. In turn, they fulfil the performer’s desires. When both parties satisfy one another, the Lord grants them all liberation.
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3.12: By continuing to offer sacrifice to Viṣṇu, you will continue to please the demigods and have all your necessities supplied. However, if you stop performing sacrifice while continuing to accept their supplies, you will be no better than a thief and will thus incur sin. Furthermore, gradually, the demigods will stop providing your necessities.
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3.13: The need for sacrifice especially applies to the food we eat. Those who prepare food only for themselves suffer sinful reactions. However, the Lord’s devotees avoid sin by preparing food acceptable to the Lord and offering it to Him before eating.
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3.14: Food grains are necessary for life, but they require rain to grow. Rain depends on sacrifice, which requires one to perform prescribed duties. Therefore, performing prescribed duties is essential for ensuring a continued supply of food grains.
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3.15: To perform yajña, one must first learn one’s specific duties from the Vedas. The Vedas are authoritative because they manifest through the Supreme Lord’s breath. Moreover, the all-pervading Lord is eternally present in acts of sacrifice, and by performing such sacrifices, one can attain Him.
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3.16: If, instead of following the sacrificial cycle the Lord establishes in the Vedas, you choose to gratify your senses, then, Arjuna, you will waste the opportunity this human form of life affords.
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3.17: However, the Supreme Lord directly guides those whose sole desire is to satisfy Him. Therefore, they are not obliged to perform prescribed occupational duties. These fully self-realised souls take pleasure in serving the Lord and are completely satisfied by the bliss of hearing about and glorifying Him.
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3.18: Such a self-realised person has no material desires to fulfil through prescribed duties. Having already perfectly realised his spiritual nature, he does not obstruct his self-realisation by neglecting prescribed duties. Additionally, as he needs nothing from any other living being, he is not obliged to perform prescribed duties to reciprocate their service.
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3.19: Whether you are already self-realised and free from material desires, or you aspire to self-realisation, perform your duty without self-interest, simply because it is the Lord’s desire. For by acting to please the Lord, you will attain His association.
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3.20: Consider the example of kings like Janaka, who attained self-realisation through performing their prescribed duties, and continued performing them after attaining self-realisation to set the right example for others. Therefore, you too should do your prescribed duty, if for no other reason than to set the right example for others.
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3.21: People naturally follow the example of societal leaders, who teach them to follow scriptural injunctions by setting a personal example. Those who are not self-realised should emulate their superiors only when scripture sanctions the behaviour.
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3.22: Arjuna, since everyone is My servant, I am not obliged even to the demigods to perform any duty. As I own everything, I do not need to perform prescribed duties to gain anything. Nevertheless, I still perform the prescribed duties of a kṣatriya.
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3.23: I, the Supreme Lord, have appeared in the Yadu family to teach proper conduct. If I did not diligently perform the prescribed duties of a kṣatriya, Arjuna, those who accept My authority would follow My example and neglect their duties.
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3.24: If I disregarded scriptural rules and regulations, others would follow My example, and society would be ruined. Ignoring scriptural guidance on marriage, people would have children based solely on sexual attraction, and those children, lacking the proper guidance and upbringing, would destroy the peace and stability of society.
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3.25: Therefore, O descendant of Bharat, even though the ignorant perform their duties with a desire to enjoy the results, the wise should likewise perform their duties to set the right example for others, but without desiring to enjoy the results.
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3.26: A wise person who prioritises the practice of self-realisation should not discourage those still materially attached from performing their worldly duties. Better that he, by his own example, inspires others to recognise their dependence on the Lord for their success and to dedicate the results of their work in the Lord’s service.
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Arjuna reflects: If both self-realised and conditioned souls perform similar activities, how can they be told apart?
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3.27: Krsna said: The false ego deceives conditioned souls into believing that they initiate and carry out activities by their own power. They do not know that material energy, acting through the body, senses, and life airs, and directed by the Supersoul, performs actions.
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3.28: On the other hand, O mighty Arjuna, those who understand these teachings are convinced that they are spirit souls, distinct from the body, senses and sense objects, which are governed by the modes of nature. They recognise that although trying to enjoy the results of their work may bring brief pleasure, it further entangles them in the many miseries arising from bodily identification. They also understand that the only way to free themselves from bodily identification and realise their eternal blissful nature is to offer everything in the Lord’s service. By acting on this correct understanding, they realise their blissful spiritual nature and thus attain complete freedom from all material desires.
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Arjuna reflects: If the living being’s happiness has nothing to do with the material body and the senses, why are people so attached to the sense objects?
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3.29: Krsna said: Those who are too lazy to understand the scriptures remain ignorant of these spiritual truths. The false ego, a product of the three modes of nature, thus deceives them into identifying with their material bodies and working hard to secure sense gratification. Spiritually enlightened people should not mentally disturb the ignorant by instructing them to give up their work. Instead, they should engage them in spiritual activities such as hearing about, glorifying, worshipping and serving the Lord in ways that appeal to them.
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3.30: Since you have spiritual knowledge, set the right example by acting with awareness of your eternal relationship as My servant, and offer all your work to Me. Abandon all desires for personal results by remembering you are acting on the order of your master, and do not expect the results of your work to be to your personal liking. Set aside all anxiety regarding killing your loved ones, and fight because that is your God-given duty as a kṣatriya.
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3.31: Those who have faith in My teachings, and who thus strive to understand and apply them, will undoubtedly become free from material bondage. They may not be able to follow them perfectly straight away, but their faith in My instruction that aspiring transcendentalists must perform worldly duties in a spirit of service will gradually remove all obstacles to their spiritual success.
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3.32: However, some people, lacking faith in Me, either make no effort to understand My teachings or resent My insistence that aspiring transcendentalists perform their worldly duties. Thus, failing to acquire genuine transcendental knowledge, they become misguided by mental speculation, are unsuccessful in their endeavours and descend into hellish conditions of life.
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Arjuna reflects: How could anyone dare to disobey You, who are not only a great king but the Supreme Lord Himself?
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3.33: Kṛṣṇa said: Everyone’s specific nature has corresponding desires, determined by the combination of the modes of nature governing one’s body and mind. The modes compel even one who knows the scriptures and the consequences of sinful action to satisfy these desires. All beings follow their own nature, and artificial repression cannot overcome its influence.
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Arjuna reflects: If the modes of nature determine how one acts, what point is there in scripture prohibiting or prescribing certain actions?
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3.34: Kṛṣṇa said: Each sense has a corresponding sense object. Impressions carried over from previous lives naturally attract one to certain sense objects and repel one from others. For example, one may be drawn to associating with another man’s wife yet reluctant to hear from saintly devotees and discuss their teachings. One should use one’s limited free will to hear regularly from saintly devotees. This purifies one of material attachments and aversions, enabling one to regulate material desires in accordance with scriptural injunctions. In this way, one gradually becomes free from the influence of attachment and aversion, which would otherwise hinder one’s spiritual progress.
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Arjuna reflects: Kṛṣṇa wants me to perform my prescribed duties without being swayed by attachment or aversion. Yet I do not feel capable of fulfilling the kṣatriya’s duty with such detachment. Perhaps I could instead follow the non-violent duties of a brāhmaṇa and support myself by gathering surplus grain from the fields. Since King Janaka and other kṣatriyas previously renounced the world, why would it be wrong for me to do the same?
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3.35: Kṛṣṇa said: Everyone should perform their own prescribed duty, even if another’s duty seems easier or more virtuous. It is better to adhere to one’s own duty, even at the cost of life, because it avoids sinful reactions and gradually purifies the heart. Performing another’s duty is dangerous because, being prohibited by scripture, it is sinful and leads to suffering.
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3.36: Arjuna said: People do not want to sin because they know it leads to suffering. Despite this, O descendant of Vrsni, they sometimes cannot stop themselves. What is it that compels one to sin even against one’s better judgment?
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3.37: Kṛṣṇa said: It is lust only, which becomes anger when frustrated, that compels living entities to sin against their will. The mode of passion turns prema into lust, an insatiable, demonic enemy that drives one to act in forbidden ways and to remain entrapped in the material world.
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3.38: Lust is an enemy to every conditioned soul in the universe. It affects living beings in three degrees of intensity. In its mildest form, it is compared to smoke covering a fire. A fire covered by smoke is not clearly visible, yet its heat can still burn. This describes the human form of life, wherein despite being unaware of one’s personal relationship with God, one can still engage in regulated devotional service to Him.
When lust covers a living entity to a moderate degree, it is compared to dust covering a mirror. Although the mirror remains visible, it can no longer reflect one’s image. This describes the condition of animals, which despite exhibiting consciousness, cannot actively serve the Lord.
When lust most intensely envelops a living entity, it is comparable to the womb enveloping an embryo. Neither can the embryo move freely, nor is its form apparent within the womb. This describes the condition of immobile species, such as trees. They can neither actively serve the Lord nor is their consciousness apparent.
Thus, as smoke covers fire, dust covers a mirror, and the womb covers an embryo, lust similarly covers living entities to varying degrees.
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3.39: The soul’s transcendental knowledge is obscured by its eternal enemy, avidyā, ignorance. It covers the soul’s pure consciousness and turns the soul’s prema to lust, Arjuna. Like fire, lust is insatiable and cannot be extinguished by feeding it.
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3.40: Through these, lust maintains its hold over the soul, causing him to remain forgetful of his eternal relationship with the Lord and thus to mistake sense gratification for the source of happiness.
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3.41: Therefore, Arjuna, from the very beginning of life, or as soon as one understands the urgency of achieving self-realisation, one should regulate the senses by practising niṣkāma-karma-yoga, which comprises both one’s occupational duties and one’s spiritual duties prescribed according to one’s āśrama. Lust is the impetus for sin. Once the senses are fully controlled, Arjuna, lust is eliminated from one’s consciousness. As long as there is a trace of lust in one’s consciousness, one will remain forgetful of one’s spiritual nature and eternal relationship with the Lord.
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Arjuna reflects: Kṛṣṇa says one can control the senses by engaging them in prescribed duties. However, some things, like dreaming, cannot be regulated by scriptural injunctions. Therefore, is it possible to truly conquer lust?

3.42: Kṛṣṇa said: Listen to how the soul is more powerful than even the mind and intelligence and can therefore conquer lust. The senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, hands, legs, genitals, rectum and mouth) are superior to the gross body, consisting of dull matter, because although lusty cravings exist in the gross body, only the senses can satisfy them. The mind surpasses the senses because pleasure from sense objects occurs only when the mind is attracted to them. Intelligence is higher still because, without its sanction, the mind cannot pursue its desired pleasures. However, the individual infinitesimal spirit soul is superior to intelligence because intelligence cannot pursue material pleasure unless the soul desires it.
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3.43: Therefore, by properly understanding My teachings, one stops identifying with the body, mind and material intelligence and recognises the soul’s superiority. These teachings free the mind from the influence of the material energy and bring it under the guidance of the spiritual energy. O powerful Arjuna, although lust is a formidable enemy, this method enables one to overcome its insatiable desire to dominate and enjoy material energy.
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