Bhagavad Gita Adhyay(Chapter) : 2

Yoga Of Knowledge ; Sankhya(count) Yoga

"Sanjaya said: Seeing Arjuna full of compassion, his mind depressed, his eyes full of tears, Madhusudana, Krishna, spoke the following words."

"The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear Arjuna, how have these impurities come upon you? They are not at all befitting(appropriate to the occasion) a man who knows the value of life. They lead not to higher planets but to infamy(the state of being well known for some bad quality or deed)."

"O son of Pritha, do not yield to this degrading impotence(helplessness). It does not become you. Give up such petty weakness of heart and arise, O chastiser(punisher) of the enemy.

"Arjuna said: O killer of enemies, O killer of Madhu, how can I counterattack with arrows in battle men like Bhishma and Drona, who are worthy of my worship?"

"It would be better to live in this world by begging than to live at the cost of the lives of great souls who are my teachers. Even though desiring worldly gain, they are superiors. If they are killed, everything we enjoy will be tainted(contaminate or pollute) with blood."

"Nor do we know which is better—conquering them or being conquered by them. If we killed the sons of Dhritarashtra, we should not care to live. Yet they are now standing before us on the battlefield."

"Now I am confused about my duty and have lost all composure(the state or feeling of being calm and in control of oneself) because of miserly weakness. In this condition I am asking You to tell me for certain what is best for me. Now I am Your disciple, and a soul surrendered unto You. Please instruct me."

"I can find no means to drive away this grief which is drying up my senses. I will not be able to dispel it even if I win a prosperous, unrivaled kingdom on earth with sovereignty(supreme power or authority) like the demigods in heaven."

"Sanjaya said: Having spoken thus, Arjuna, chastiser of enemies, told Krishna, “Govinda, I shall not fight,” and fell silent."

"O descendant of Bharata, at that time Krishna, smiling, in the midst of both the armies, spoke the following words to the grief-stricken(overcome with deep or intense sorrow) Arjuna."

"The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: While speaking learned words, you are mourning(the expression of sorrow) for what is not worthy of grief. Those who are wise lament(a passionate expression of grief or sorrow) neither for the living nor for the dead."

"Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be."

"As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered(very puzzled) by such a change."

"O son of Kunti, the nonpermanent appearance of happiness and distress, and their disappearance in due course, are like the appearance and disappearance of winter and summer seasons. They arise from sense perception, O scion(a young shoot or twig of a plant) of Bharata, and one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed."

"O best among men [Arjuna], the person who is not disturbed by happiness and distress and is steady in both is certainly eligible for liberation(the action of setting someone free)."

"Those who are seers(a person of supposed supernatural insight who sees visions of the future) of the truth have concluded that of the nonexistent [the material body] there is no endurance and of the eternal [the soul] there is no change. This they have concluded by studying the nature of both."

"That which pervades(be present and apparent throughout) the entire body you should know to be indestructible. No one is able to destroy that imperishable soul."

"The material body of the indestructible, immeasurable and eternal living entity is sure to come to an end; therefore, fight, O descendant of Bharata."

"Neither he who thinks the living entity the slayer nor he who thinks it slain is in knowledge, for the self slays not nor is slain."

"For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain."

"O Partha, how can a person who knows that the soul is indestructible, eternal, unborn and immutable kill anyone or cause anyone to kill?"

"As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones."

"The soul can never be cut to pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind."

"This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can be neither burned nor dried. He is everlasting, present everywhere, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same."

"It is said that the soul is invisible, inconceivable and immutable. Knowing this, you should not grieve for the body."

"If, however, you think that the soul [or the symptoms of life] is always born and dies forever, you still have no reason to lament(a passionate expression of grief or sorrow), O mighty-armed."

"One who has taken his birth is sure to die, and after death one is sure to take birth again. Therefore, in the unavoidable discharge of your duty, you should not lament."

"All created beings are unmanifest(not clear or obvious to the eye or mind) in their beginning, manifest(clear or obvious to the eye or mind) in their interim state, and unmanifest again when annihilated. So what need is there for lamentation(cover)?"

"Some look on the soul as amazing, some describe him as amazing, and some hear of him as amazing, while others, even after hearing about him, cannot understand him at all."

"O descendant of Bharata, he who dwells in the body can never be slain. Therefore you need not grieve for any living being."

"Considering your specific duty as a kshatriya, you should know that there is no better engagement for you than fighting on religious principles; and so there is no need for hesitation."

"O Partha, happy are the kshatriyas to whom such fighting opportunities come unsought(not searched for), opening for them the doors of the heavenly planets."

"If, however, you do not perform your religious duty of fighting, then you will certainly incur(become subject to (something unwelcome or unpleasant) ) sins for neglecting your duties and thus lose your reputation as a fighter."

"People will always speak of your infamy(the state of being well known for some bad quality or deed), and for a respectable person, dishonor is worse than death."

"The great generals who have highly esteemed your name and fame will think that you have left the battlefield out of fear only, and thus they will consider you insignificant."

"Your enemies will describe you in many unkind words and scorn your ability. What could be more painful for you?"

"O son of Kunti, either you will be killed on the battlefield and attain the heavenly planets, or you will conquer and enjoy the earthly kingdom. Therefore get up and fight with determination."

"Do thou fight for the sake of fighting, without considering happiness or distress, loss or gain, victory or defeat—and by so doing you shall never incur(become subject to (something unwelcome or unpleasant) ) sin."

"Thus far I have described this knowledge to you through analytical study. Now listen as I explain it in terms of working without fruitive results. O son of Pritha, when you act in such knowledge you can free yourself from the bondage of works."

"In this endeavor(try hard to do or achieve something) there is no loss or diminution, and a little advancement on this path can protect one from the most dangerous type of fear."

"Those who are on this path are resolute in purpose, and their aim is one. O beloved child of the Kurus, the intelligence of those who are irresolute is many-branched."

"Men of small knowledge are very much attached to the flowery words of the Vedas, which recommend various fruitive activities for elevation to heavenly planets, resultant good birth, power, and so forth. Being desirous(having or characterized by desire) of sense gratification(pleasure) and opulent(wealthy) life, they say that there is nothing more than this."

"In the minds of those who are too attached to sense enjoyment and material opulence(great wealth or luxuriousness), and who are bewildered(very puzzled) by such things, the resolute determination for devotional service to the Supreme Lord does not take place."

"The Vedas deal mainly with the subject of the three modes of material nature. O Arjuna, become transcendental(relating to a spiritual realm) to these three modes. Be free from all dualities( quality or condition of being dual) and from all anxieties for gain and safety, and be established in the self."

"All purposes served by a small well can at once be served by a great reservoir of water. Similarly, all the purposes of the Vedas can be served to one who knows the purpose behind them."

"You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty."

"Perform your duty equipoised(balance), O Arjuna, abandoning all attachment to success or failure. Such equanimity(calmness and composure, especially in a difficult situation) is called yoga."

"O Dhananjaya, keep all abominable(causing moral revulsion) activities far distant by devotional service, and in that consciousness surrender unto the Lord. Those who want to enjoy the fruits of their work are misers(a person who hoards wealth and spends as little money as possible)."

"A man engaged in devotional service rids himself of both good and bad actions even in this life. Therefore strive for yoga, which is the art of all work."

"By thus engaging in devotional service to the Lord, great sages or devotees free themselves from the results of work in the material world. In this way they become free from the cycle of birth and death and attain the state beyond all miseries [by going back to Godhead]."

"When your intelligence has passed out of the dense forest of delusion, you shall become indifferent to all that has been heard and all that is to be heard."

"When your mind is no longer disturbed by the flowery language of the Vedas, and when it remains fixed in the trance of self-realization, then you will have attained the divine consciousness."

"Arjuna said: O Krishna, what are the symptoms of one whose consciousness is thus merged in transcendence(existence or experience beyond the normal or physical level)? How does he speak, and what is his language? How does he sit, and how does he walk?"

"The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: O Partha, when a man gives up all varieties of desire for sense gratification, which arise from mental concoction(a mixture of various ingredients or elements), and when his mind, thus purified, finds satisfaction in the self alone, then he is said to be in pure transcendental(relating to a spiritual realm) consciousness."

"One who is not disturbed in mind even amidst(surrounded by) the threefold miseries(a state or feeling of great physical or mental distress or discomfort) or elated(happy) when there is happiness, and who is free from attachment, fear and anger, is called a sage of steady mind."

"In the material world, one who is unaffected by whatever good or evil he may obtain, neither praising it nor despising it, is firmly fixed in perfect knowledge."

"One who is able to withdraw his senses from sense objects, as the tortoise draws its limbs within the shell, is firmly fixed in perfect consciousness."

"The embodied soul may be restricted from sense enjoyment, though the taste for sense objects remains. But, ceasing(come or bring to an end) such engagements by experiencing a higher taste, he is fixed in consciousness."

"The senses are so strong and impetuous(acting or done quickly and without thought or care), O Arjuna, that they forcibly(using force or violence) carry away the mind even of a man of discrimination who is endeavoring(try hard to do or achieve something) to control them."

"One who restrains his senses, keeping them under full control, and fixes his consciousness upon Me, is known as a man of steady intelligence."

"While contemplating(look thoughtfully for a long time at) the objects of the senses, a person develops attachment for them, and from such attachment lust develops, and from lust anger arises."

"From anger, complete delusion arises, and from delusion bewilderment(a feeling of being confused) of memory. When memory is bewildered, intelligence is lost, and when intelligence is lost one falls down again into the material pool."

"But a person free from all attachment and aversion(a strong dislike ) and able to control his senses through regulative principles of freedom can obtain the complete mercy of the Lord."

"For one thus satisfied [in Krishna consciousness], the threefold miseries of material existence exist no longer; in such satisfied consciousness, one’s intelligence is soon well established."

"One who is not connected with the Supreme [in Krishna consciousness] can have neither transcendental intelligence nor a steady mind, without which there is no possibility of peace. And how can there be any happiness without peace?"

"As a strong wind sweeps away a boat on the water, even one of the roaming senses on which the mind focuses can carry away a man’s intelligence."

"Therefore, O mighty-armed, one whose senses are restrained from their objects is certainly of steady intelligence."

"What is night for all beings is the time of awakening for the self-controlled; and the time of awakening for all beings is night for the introspective(self-analysing) sage."

"A person who is not disturbed by the incessant(unpleasant continuing without pause or interruption) flow of desires—that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still—can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires."

"A person who has given up all desires for sense gratification, who lives free from desires, who has given up all sense of proprietorship(the state or right of owning ) and is devoid of false ego—he alone can attain real peace."

"That is the way of the spiritual and godly life, after attaining which a man is not bewildered. If one is thus situated even at the hour of death, one can enter into the kingdom of God."