**But he who rejoices, who is contented, who finds happiness in Atma only, has no work to perform.

~ Gita 3.17**

Except for the Paramahamsa who has directly experienced the Brahman or Atman, for all others Karma yoga is the inevitable law.

In this verse, the Lord describes the liberated sage. He finds all the supreme bliss in Atma, all satisfaction in Atma, all contentment in Atma. He does not move outside Atma.

For him, the law of karma does not apply because he has already realised the highest fruit of karma (i.e.) Moksha. So he is released from the operation of the law of karma. But still, if he works, he does so for the benefit of mankind. There is no harm whether he works or does not work.

In modern times the attachment and distractions of the material world have assumed dangerous proportions. All has sunk into the mire of material pleasures and is caught by them in a ready embrace from which he is not able to extricate himself. He is not able to conceive of anything higher than food, money and sex. The true bliss of life is lost.

All are reduced to the level of animal creation. It would be understood by the purified intellect that joy and happiness cannot arise from dead matter. It is the greatest error to think so.

True bliss and peace is actually flooding the heart of all people. What one imagines as joy coming from external objects is only reflected.

Atmic happiness is ever-present in the heart. To know this is Jnana. Not to know this is Maya.

The Atma-Realized sage is perfectly contented because he knows that all the bliss, delights, and pleasures of the material world are comprehended in the happiness of the Self.

Knowing and realising this, he does not hanker for sense-pleasures. He does not go outside himself to seek for – this or that as the ignorant person does.

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**O Parth, those who do not accept their responsibility in the cycle of sacrifice established by the Vedas are sinful. They live only for the delight of their senses; indeed their lives are in vain.

~ Gita 3.16**

It is already said that yajna and other selfless acts of worship and service are necessary for the purification and protection of all beings because the Supreme Lord is directly present in them. Such people who follow them are purified and attain Moksha. The rest live a useless life.

They forget God; they are enslaved by earthly pleasures; they have no purity and so their life is a waste, and they go down into the bottomless pit of Samsara.

One way of life is pure and blessed; another way of life is sinful and useless.

To forget God is sin. Those who do not follow the Dharma Chakra (selfless acts, offering to God, performance of righteous acts) forget God and run after the mirage of sensual pleasures. So they accumulate sin. They are described as “living in sin”. They are people rejoicing in sensual delights.

Their life is not useful either to themselves or to others. So their life is a waste. Is it proper for everyone to live like animals, reptiles, worms, and germs? According to the Lord’s command, one should fulfill his life by maintaining the Dharma Chakra (selfless acts, offering to God, performance of righteous acts).

@guruvaakya

**Nourish the Gods with Yajna, and they shall nourish you, and thus nourishing one another both humans and Gods you shall attain the highest good.

Nourished by sacrifice, the Gods, give you desirable enjoyments. He who enjoys objects given by the Gods without offering them is verily a thief.

Gita 3.11-12**

When the Gods are worshipped by means of sacrifice, they confer on mankind many material blessings and prevent many material calamities. He who enjoys these material things without offering them to the Gods or to fellow beings in the form of God, is indeed a thief because he enjoys objects without paying the price for them.

Food, water, air, and other things which we use belong to God. They are not manufactured by us. What we call the discoveries and inventions of modern science are combinations and modifications of things already created, and the utilisation of powers already present in nature.

In fact, even the intelligence of a person is itself the gift of God. So from first to last, in every way, and for every thing, humans are indebted to God. Anyone who forgets to offer Him what belongs to him only should be regarded as a thief. Gratitude and devotion are the proper price that one should pay to enjoy the fruits of life.

Offering them to God or to fellow beings is the first duty for all mankind. Otherwise, people will lay themselves open to the charge of being robbers and dacoits who misappropriate what does not belong to them.

How many people follow this law? Of what avail is it to acquire name and fame, wealth and learning in the eyes of humanity, when in the eyes of God people are only thieves and robbers?

Moreover, even in this earthly life, the thief is condemned and punished. If so, will there be no punishment when one robs things belonging to God? They shall of course pay the full penalty for such misappropriation.

So let the people who desire to win the grace of God make it their duty to give something to the fellow mortals (dana) – a morsel of food or a cup of water to the needy every day before they enjoy the food. Let them offer their whole to God, and think that nothing belongs to them.

All is offered to God in the spirit of Brahmarpanam or Sarvam Sri Krishnarpanamasathu. Thus one repays the debt of gratitude that he owes to God for the innumerable blessings which He has conferred on mankind.

@guruvaakya

**One cannot achieve freedom from karmic reactions by merely abstaining from work, nor can one attain perfection of knowledge by mere physical renunciation.

~ Gita 3.4**

By simply declining to do the prescribed duties. One cannot reach the motionless and actionless of Brahman. In the same way, by merely adopting the external formalities of Sanyasa, no one can attain liberation. What is needed for perfection is the purity of mind.

Unless work is done without attachment there cannot be purity of mind; without purity knowledge of Atma will not dawn; without knowledge, there is no Moksha (liberation). Therefore the Lord here declares that there is no moksha for the man who does not work. In the beginning, all should undertake some form of work and learn to do it without going after the fruits thereof. and in the final stages, they attain the experience of Atma. No one gains Moksha by merely giving up work. lf that is so, the idlers would be the greatest philosophers of the world.

The path of spiritual progress is slow and gradual. Sudden illumination never occurs except in very rare cases. Everyone should pass from laziness to passion, from passion to purity.

Work should be done, without attachment or expectations to results of work. That is the message of the Lord.

Question: What is the way to attain Moksha?

Answer: Moksha cannot be attained by non-performance of work or by external renunciation.

Question: How then can Moksha be attained?

Answer: By purifying the mind through nishkama karma (work without attachment), Moksha can be attained.

@guruvaakya

**Arjuna said: O Krishna! If your belief is that knowledge is superior to action, then why do you engage me in this dreadful act of battle? (3.1)

With these apparently contradictory words, You seem to confuse my understanding. Therefore tell me definitely that one thing by which I shall reach the Highest Goal. (3.2)

The Blessed Lord said: O sinless Arjuna! In ancient times two paths of spiritual description were spoken by me – the Jnana yoga for the followers of the path of knowledge, and Karma yoga for the followers of the path of action. (3.3)

Gita 3.1-3**

O Sinless: Arjuna is free from sin. So he is fully qualified to receive the highest wisdom. When the cloth is clean, it can be dyed in any colour. The Lord knew the purity of Arjuna’s mind, and therefore he chose to teach him Brahma Vidya (Highest knowledge)

Each individual, according to his ingrained disposition, seeks the path which is congenial to his nature. Some are born with an intellectual frame of mind and the path for them is that of enquiring into the nature of Atma (Jnana yoga). For these, the Lord taught the path of knowledge.

Others are born with a practical temperament, and they love action. For them, the Lord pointed out another path – karma yoga. Each man is perfectly free to choose his own path. There is no compulsion.

There may be many roads leading to the same destination. There may be different routes to climb up a peak. Any route will ultimately take the people to the top of the mountain. So the Lord here declares that man may follow any path which is agreeable to his character and reach the goal. Though in the Gita several yogas are stated, all of them can be brought under these two main divisions – Jnana Yoga and Karma Yoga.

The Lord says that he taught the two-fold path in times immemorial. So he is beyond time and place. He is Paramatma, appearing in the form of Sri Krishna and teaching the highest knowledge to humanity.

@guruvaakya

**Having obtained this Brahmi state man is not deluded. Being established in this even at the end of life man attains oneness with Brahman (Moksha).

~ Gita 2.72**

The final goal of Vedanta is set forth here. All the practices – restraint of the senses, mind control, abandoning all ego-centric thoughts and feelings, having no feeling of 'I and mine' lead to the ultimate union of the individual being with the Supreme Brahman.

The individual who thought of himself, as a separate entity now realizes that he is no other than the Self. The self which pervades in everyone, in everything and everywhere . This is the Brahmi state.

By constant meditation on the Self, the individual being becomes that, even as the worm becomes the bee by contemplating on it deeply and continuously. When the Brahmi state is reached, all delusions cease, and all doubts are cleared. The absolute Truth is realized.

Even at the end of life: It does not mean that man attains the Brahmi state in the last moments of his life. It means that he retains the supreme state even at the end of life. Such a man attains Moksha, the highest state of freedom and bliss. It is not possible to reach that state in the last moments of life if one has not struggled for it throughout a whole lifetime by performing sadhana. Even in old age, one should retain the memory of the supreme realization.

What is acquired by long practice should be kept fresh in the mind, even in the last moments of one’s life. The body and the mind are weak in old age. So the practice (sadhana) should begin when one is young and strong. The bad tendencies (samskaras) should be gradually eliminated.

The mind should be purified and turned towards the Self, and constant meditation on the Self will lead to samadhi, and in samadhi, man realizes his oneness with Brahman.

Question: What is the Brahmi state?

Answer: Oneness with Brahman, acquired through the conquest of desires, self-control, and meditation on Atma, is the Brahmi state.

Question: When should a man possess this state?

Answer: At all times, including the moments of death, man should retain this experience.

Question: What will it lead to?

Answer: The individual being attains Moksha, the state of supreme freedom and bliss.

@guruvaakya

**That person who lives completely free from desires, without longing, devoid of the sense of “I” and “mine,” attains peace.

~ Gita 2.71**

In this verse again the Lord speaks of the man who attains peace. Four important conditions are to be fulfilled before the man can experience the supreme peace of the Self.

1- All desires should be given up completely.
2- There should not be any taste or relish for them.
3- The feeling of me and mine should be given up.
4 The ego-center attitude should be dropped.

The ego-centric attitude which is the root cause of bondage should be eliminated by knowledge of the real Self.

It is the ego ('I') that attaches itself to the body and forges all the bonds of friends, relations, enemies, and so on. It is because of the ego-centric attitude that Arjuna is overpowered by delusion and sorrow.

When the person does not identify himself with the body, all other attachments arising from the body are removed completely. When the body is not his, how can he have any attachment to things outside the body? Knowledge of the real Self clears away all doubts and perplexities, and then peace is attained.

Question: Who can attain peace?

Answer: The person who has given up all desires, who has no longing for enjoyments, who has abandoned the idea of 'I and mine', and who has transcended the ego, attains peace.

@guruvaakya

**As the ocean is filled with water flowing into it from all sides and remains immovable, so the person into whom all desires flow, but is not a bit affected attains peace and not the person who craves the desires.

~ Gita 2.70**

The person who is moved by desires and pleasures cannot attain peace. He alone attains peace and has conquered all desires. The sage of steady wisdom, the sthitaprajna is compared to the ocean. Though the waters of the ocean are drawn up by the sun in the form of clouds, it is not reduced in any way. So also, though rains and floods join the ocean, it does not expand. It remains the same, immovable.

In the same way, the sage of steady wisdom remains unmoved, when all desires flow into him without producing any reactions of the mind or the body.

All the enjoyments of the sense-world may come to him, but they are all absorbed in the blissful experience of the Self. He does not recognize them as anything other than the bliss of Self-realisation.

He may be put in a palace surrounded by all earthy pleasures. And yet he is indifferent to them. He knows only one Reality one happiness, in which everything is dissolved as all the waters are absorbed by the ocean.

Similarly, the sage may be placed in the most painful circumstances and yet he knows only one Reality and one bliss (Ananda). The pain also merges into the same reality and disappears.

The real sage is like the ocean, vast, and full. He is filled with the bliss of Brahmananda. And just as the ocean is full and immovable, the sage is firm, immovable, and changeless, in all the states and conditions of life.

@guruvaakya

The person whose mind is not under his control has no Self-knowledge and no contemplation either. Without contemplation he can have no peace; and without peace, how can he have happiness?

~ Gita 2.66

Where is the happiness for the person without peace? Peace and happiness go together. Happiness is in the Self, and peace unlocks the floodgates of Atma-ananda (Bliss of self).

This peace is attained by constant meditation on the Self. And meditation is possible only when the mind is in a state of balance and harmony. So the first stage is harmony and balance of mind.

Such balance and harmony are the immediate results of the purified mind. It has already been pointed out that a mind free from attraction and repulsion comes to be harmonized in yoga.

So without purity, there is frequent mental agitation which makes it impossible for a person to meditate on Atma.

Through purity, mental harmony is acquired, through harmony the power of meditation is acquired, and through meditation peace, and peace, happiness. The negative form of the ideas and interrogation at the end proves that the Lord wants to emphasize these ideas for the guidance for everyone. Peace is an important step for self-realization.

@guruvaakya

**When a person attains peace, all sorrow and suffering caused by the unbalanced mind and rebellious senses come to an end. By peace and purity, the mind is soon fixed in the Self.

~ Gita 2.65**

Every individual is seeking for the elimination of sorrow, and the attainment of peace. How can he get them? The path is shown here. By purity and peace of mind, both are acquired. When the mind is freed from impure impulses the aim of spiritual life is achieved. Just as in a clean mirror the reflection is perfectly clear, even so in the purified mind the Brahman shines forth in its own splendor and glory.

Of all sufferings: All sorrows and sufferings are removed at once when peace is attained. What a wonderful boon of peace for a person! What more does a person want? A casual look at the world and humanity would reveal the horrid restlessness, distraction, and pain, both of the body and mind, which a person is undergoing in this earthly life. Life is a fitful fever. Mad and delirious, people runs here and there, getting and spending, exhausting his energies, angry, distressed, and subject to the innumerable shocks of life. That is the unfortunate state of a person.

From all these evils person is protected by the contemplation of the Self and when peace is attained, these are completely eliminated. Peace is the condition of Moksha. If peace does not fill the whole being of person, Moksha remains only in intellectual concept without real meaning or substance in it.

Mind is firmly fixed in Atma: When the mind is untroubled and peaceful the intellect is easily fixed in Atma. Then it is all bliss and blessedness. It is like a small river emptying itself into the ocean and becoming one with it. Even the happiness of the creator Brahma is only a drop in the ocean of the bliss of the Brahman. What more does a person want than to merge himself in the ocean of bliss?

So let every one who is punished with sorrow and suffering by his own evil, know the path of liberation, and strive for peace.

@guruvaakya