48 No one should abandon duties because he sees defects in them. Every action, every activity, is surrounded by defects as a fire is surrounded by smoke.
49 One who is free from selfish attachments, who has mastered himself and his passions, attains the supreme perfection of freedom from action.
50 Listen and I shall explain now, Arjuna, how one who has attained perfection also attains Brahman, the supreme consummation of wisdom.
51 Unerring in discrimination, sovereign of the senses and passions, free from the clamor of likes and dislikes,
52 such a one leads a simple, self-reliant life based on meditation, controlling speech, body, and mind.
53 Free from self-will, aggressiveness, arrogance, anger, and the lust to possess people or things, they are at peace with themselves and others and enter into the unitive state.
54 United with Brahman, ever joyful, beyond the reach of desire and sorrow, they have equal regard for every living creature and attain supreme devotion to me.
55 By loving me they come to know me truly; then they know my glory and enter into my boundless being.
56 All their acts are performed in my service, and through my grace they win eternal life.
57 Make every act an offering to me; regard me as your only protector. Relying on interior discipline, meditate on me always.
58 Remembering me, you shall overcome all difficulties through my grace. But if you will not heed me in your self-will, nothing will avail you.
59 If you egotistically say, “I will not fight this battle,” your resolve will be useless; your own nature will drive you into it.
60 Your own karma, born of your own nature, will drive you to do even that which you do not wish to do, because of your delusion.
61 The Lord dwells in the hearts of all creatures and whirls them round upon the wheel of maya.
62 Run to him for refuge with all your strength, and peace profound will be yours through his grace.
63 I give you these precious words of wisdom; reflect on them and then do as you choose.
64 These are the last words I shall speak to you, dear one, for your spiritual fulfillment. You are very dear to me.
65 Be aware of me always, adore me, make every act an offering to me, and you shall come to me; this I promise; for you are dear to me.
66 Abandon all supports and look to me for protection. I shall purify you from the sins of the past; do not grieve.
67 Do not share this wisdom with anyone who lacks in devotion or self-control, lacks the desire to learn, or scoffs at me.
68 Those who teach this supreme mystery of the Gita to all who love me perform the greatest act of love; they will come to me without doubt.
69 No one can render me more devoted service; no one on earth can be more dear to me.
70 Those who meditate on these holy words worship me with wisdom and devotion.
71 Even those who listen to them with faith, free from doubts, will find a happier world where good people dwell.
72 Have you listened with attention? Are you now free from your doubts and confusion?
ARJUNA
73 You have dispelled my doubts and delusions, and I understand through your grace. My faith is firm now, and I will do your will.
SANJAYA
74 This is the dialogue I heard between Krishna, the son of Vasudeva, and Arjuna, the great-hearted son of Pritha. The wonder of it makes my hair stand on end! 75 Through Vyasa’s grace, I have heard the supreme secret of spiritual union directly from the Lord of Yoga, Krishna himself.
76 Whenever I remember these wonderful, holy words between Krishna and Arjuna, I am filled with joy. 77 And when I remember the breathtaking form of Krishna, I am filled with wonder and my joy overflows.
78 Wherever the divine Krishna and the mighty Arjuna are, there will be prosperity, victory, happiness, and sound judgment. Of this I am sure!
Notes
Chapter One
1 The phrase “on the field of dharma” (dharma-kshetre) gives a hint that the battle is to be an allegorical one, a fight of dharma, justice, against adharma, evil. The battle takes place not only at Kurukshetra, the “field of the Kurus,” but also on the elusive “field of dharma,” the spiritual realm where all moral struggles are waged.
40–44 These verses are particularly difficult to translate, because they revolve around the complex word dharma: law, justice, or simply something’s inner nature. To try to capture the word in English we might say “God’s law” or “eternal truth.” Dharma is divinely given; it is the force that holds things together in a unity, the center that must hold if all is to go well. The opposite of dharma is adharma: evil, injustice, chaos. In these verses Arjuna gives expression to his fears of a coming chaos, an evil world where good people will be confused and violated. “Sense of unity” here translates dharma; the phrase “loses its sense of unity” would be more literally translated as “is overcome by adharma.”
The translation speaks in a general way of the chaos that overcomes society when dharma is weak – when ancient spiritual truths are ignored. Thus varna-samkara, literally “confusion of caste,” is more meaningful as “society [is] plunged into chaos.” The subject here is not the observance of caste restrictions, but the essential cohesion of the social fabric.
42 The Sanskrit refers to the ancient pinda rites that offer homage to dead ancestors. These rites maintained the traditions of the family by respecting and worshipping those who had gone before. Again, the rather liberal rendering “the spiritual evolution begun by our ancestors” seems preferable to a narrower translation.
Chapter Two
17 Tat, “that,” is an ancient name for Brahman, the supreme reality. Brahman is neither masculine nor feminine; in fact, it has no attributes at all. It is impossible to describe Brahman in words, so it is simply pointed to: tat.
72 The state of immortality is brahma-nirvana, “the nirvana that is Brahman.” This is the state of release or liberation, union with the divine ground of existence. The word nirvana comes from the Sanskrit root va “to blow” with the prefix nir “out”; it means “to extinguish,” as a fire is said to be “blown out.” Thus it indicates the extinction of the old, limited personality. By adding the word brahman, complete union with the universal Godhead is indicated. Brahma-nirvana then means the mystic state of extinction of self in the union with God. Nirvana is a Buddhist term as well. Some misconceptions are unfortunately current about this rather esoteric concept. Nirvana is wrongly presented as a kind of empty nothingness, even a spiritual death. We get exactly the opposite impression if we approach the Hindus and Buddhists themselves. It is true there is much talk of extinguishing the petty ego and going beyond self-will – the mask that hides the creative, wise, loving Self underneath. This “death” of the old person to make way for the new is one purpose of spiritual disciplines. It can be painful, but the death of the old does not lead to annihilation but to a spiritual rebirth.
Chapter Three
9 Here and later yajna is translated as “selfless work” or “selfless service.” The literal meaning is sacrifice: essentially, self-sacrifice, giving up something one greatly values for the sake of a higher purpose. Some translators give a very narrow translation of yajna as a ritualistic sacrifice, but this is inaccurate.
39 Kama can be translated as selfish desire or pleasure, and often carries a connotation of sensual desire or sexual passion. It means essentially a personal desire for ease or pleasure, not “desire” of a more altruistic kind.
Chapter Four
37 This is a well-known verse. The meanings of karma are complex, but the verse is widely taken to mean that true knowledge destroys the effects of past errors, which generate further karma. When consciousness is unified and illumined, one is released from the bondage of karma.
Chapter Five
6 Yoga has many meanings in the Gita. Here yoga is translated as “action” and “selfless service” because a contrast is being made between Sankhya and yoga: that is, between philosophical explanation and the actual practice of the spiritual life.
9 The word for “senses” in Sanskrit is indriya, literally “faculty” or
“power.” The indriyas are not only the five faculties of perception (seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, and tasting) but also those of action, whose organs are the hands, the feet, the tongue, and the organs of excretion and reproduction.
13 “The city of nine gates” is the body. The gates are the two eyes, the two nostrils, the two ears, the mouth, and the organs of excretion and reproduction. In some lists these gates are expanded to eleven by adding the navel and the brahmarandhra or sagittal suture, the opening at the top of the skull.
27–28 The area “of spiritual consciousness” between the eyebrows is one of the seven centers of awareness or chakras described in yoga literature. These seven chakras, though not physical, are said to lie along a channel for awakened spiritual energy (kundalini) that corresponds with the spine; the chakras are located at the level of the anus, sex organs, stomach, heart, throat, eyebrows, and the top of the head. Kundalini circulates among these centers, but it is usually confined to the lowest three chakras, corresponding to the main preoccupations of life on the physical level. In yogic concentration the vital energy (kundalini) rises; samadhi is said to take place when
