YOGA OF SPIRITUAL WISDOM IN ACTION AND KNOWLEDGE – JNANA-KARMA-SAMNYASA YOGA
By
Dr. R. J. Kalpana Ph.D
Visvaayudha January 2025
vasudevasutaḿ devaḿ kaḿsa-cāṇūra-mardanam
devakī-paramānandaḿ kṛṣṇaḿ vande jagadgurum
I bow down to Sri Krishna, who is the Master of the Universe, beloved son of Vasudeva, who vanquished Kamsa and Chanura, who brings immense joy to his mother, Devaki.
Pranams from Dr. R J Kalpana, Welcome to the study of The Bhagavad Gita.
Having in the last two chapters studied extensively on the Yoga of knowledge and action, in the current chapter we come to understand the deep spiritual wisdom behind sankhyayoga and karmayoga.
The fourth chapter opens with Bhagavan Shri Krishna stating how this spiritual wisdom was handed down from gods to humans. It was handed downs successively from father to son and the Rajarishis were the custodians of this sacred knowledge until such time came when this knowledge too disappeared from planet earth.
Here Shri Krishna says that this sacred knowledge is now being shared with Arjuna who is a devotee and a friend. I would like to draw your attention to Arjuna’s transition from friend to devotee and only then the supreme secret uttamam rahasyam was shared. There is great etiquette here which we studied in the second chapter. It is only then that the doors to spiritual wisdom will open.
Confused Arjuna questions Shri Krishna’s birth timelines; and Shri Krishna answers that they have passed through many births. The only difference being that Shri Krishna remembers them all; whereas Arjuna does not. He goes onto further state that although He is beyond birth and death, He manifests Himself through His own Divine potency while keeping Prakriti under control.
Now, we come to the most famous and well-known slokas of the Gita where Shri Krishna promises redemption.
yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata
abhyutthānam adharmasya tadātmānaṁ sṛijāmyaham (4.7)
Arjuna, whenever righteousness is on the decline and unrighteousness is on the rise, then I bring myself forth.
paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśhāya cha duṣhkṛitām
dharma-sansthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge (4.8)
To protect the righteous, annihilate the evil, and to establish Dharma I appear age after age.
Now, the above slokas, although very popular and oft quoted by everyone must be understood clearly. Often we are misled in our understanding of the purport of these slokas. We studied in the 2nd chapter of Sankhyayoga that the real goal of human life is the realization that we are not mere human beings living a spiritual life. We are spiritual beings living a human life.
When that realization is circumvented by immense greed for materialistic pleasures that the laws of nature and laws of spiritual wisdom is overturned by pride and ego and the virtuous are persecuted for their belief systems; then it is time for Dharma to be reestablished.
Establishing of Dharma is His prerogative for He keeps a firm hand on the happenings in this world and beyond as we shall see in the next sloka where Shri Krishna says that His activities and birth are Divine. Only those realized souls are liberated and reach Him.
There is a popular interpretation that when the avatarapurusha comes for reestablishment of Dharma, there is a whole scale liberation of souls. Liberation has to be earned by sacrifice, merit, good conduct and good karma or good actions. It is not a freebie granted by the Divine. The best that will happen is the souls will be purified to a certain extent that they will be given another chance at a human life and not relegated to the lower dimensions.
The question arises then as to how to earn this liberation? It is by completely getting rid of the baser emotions of passion, anger, fear and remain in constant remembrance of the Divine and depend solely on Him. Thus after the purification of the soul of its samskaras, the merger with the Divine is possible. If we have to enroll in an medical college, we must be qualified to attend; similarly, in order to merge with the Divine, we must be in the same vibratory level as the Divine.
For the Divine in His Infinite Grace, offers to meet us halfway through every which path we take. And Shri Krishna goes on to further disclose a great secret by saying that in order to receive instant success, men worship gods for results follow quickly.
Therefore, Shri Krishna created the four orders of Society based on the modes of Prakriti, the gunas and gave them corresponding duties each. Although He Himself is a non-doer. The four orders of Society being – Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Sudra.
Having greatly extolled the benefits of inaction, Shri Krishna explains the right course of action to take in order to be liberated. Those actions that are performed free from desire and material thoughts of the world such as greed, passion, ego are to be commended. Those actions which are smelted in the fire of wisdom purifies the soul.
Therefore, control your mind and body and give up temptations and all manner of pleasurable enjoyments and perform only those bodily actions that is a must then such a person does not amass samskaras.
All samskaras are purified for one who is free from attachment that ‘I did this’ or ‘It is because of me that the project was successful’ etc. The one who also has risen above the physical body and firmly establishes his mind in the knowledge of the Divine and whose actions are merely generated for the sake of sacrifice is called a sage.
Sloka 24 is a beautiful exposition of this sentiment where Shri Krishna commends constant remembrance of the Divine. He goes on to say, practice seeing Brahma everywhere: as a sacrifice, as the ladle, the oblation, the fire, the sacrificer himself, the act of pouring oblation into the fire and finally, Brahma is the goal to be reached by one who is absorbed in Brahma as an act of sacrifice.
For people offer sacrifices in the shape of their personal identity, their senses, their material possessions, and their breath of inhalation and exhalation of pranayama. They enjoy the benefits of good karma after the performance of such sacrifices. The Vedas have detailed extensively such sacrifices and all involving the mind, body and the senses. But sacrifice through Knowledge is far superior to sacrifice of mere material things.
Therefore, understand the true nature of knowledge by approaching an illumed soul and with humility and service mindedness and then perhaps, they might instruct you in that secret knowledge of the laws of sacrifice.
Once you reach enlightenment, Shri Krishna says, then no more are you deluded by this world of illusion for you will see the entire creation first within yourself and then within Me. No matter the vile nature of your samskaras, this sacred knowledge will the raft that will help you cross the river of your samskras. The fire burns and turns everything into ash so too does the knowledge of the soul burns away the samskaras.
There is no greater purifier than that of Knowledge of the soul and those who have purified their hearts after prolonged practice of the discipline of Karmayoga automatically sees the Divine Light in due course of time.
So master the senses, exclusively devote to the single-minded nature of the practice, have faith, attain knowledge and then be blessed by the Divine Truth of enlightenment and attain peace.
Do not succumb to doubt and lack of faith because that is poison on the spiritual path. All doors close shut for such people and there will be no hope.
When our actions are dedicated to the Divine then we incur no samskaras and therefore, have faith and knowledge of the soul, wisdom of the self and balanced equanimity and stand up and fight to establish Dharma.
yogeśaṁ(m) saccidānandaṁ(v̐), vāsudevaṁ(v̐) vrajapriyam,
dharmasaṁsthāpakaṁ(v̐) vīraṁ(ṅ), kṛṣṇaṁ(v̐) vande jagadgurum
I bow to the Master of Yoga, who is the beloved son of Vasudeva, the brave warrior who established Dharma, the spiritual guru of the world.
OM ŚRĪKṚṢṆĀRPAṆAMASTU Note: The talks can be accessed on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/@kalpanarj3101