The holy geeta chapter 18-moksha-sannyasa yoga

THE HOLY GEETA
COMMENTARY by
swami Chinmayananda
T K G NAMBOODHIRI
THIRUVALLA, KERALA, INDIA
Presentation adapted from
THE HOLY GEETA, Central Chinmaya Mission Trust, July 2013
Mumbai

THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
CHAPTER 18
MOKSHA-SANNYASA YOGA
LIBERATION THROUGH RENUNCIATION

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
INTRODUCTION
Chapter 18 Moksha-Sannyasa Yoga
The Geeta is a piece of art of strange beauty. It is liquid poetry, expounding solid philosophy. It is not
a book of science, & yet, it is very scientific in its approach to the theme. It is not an empty
philosophical discourse, & yet, all philosophies seem to meet within it. It is at once a science & a
philosophy. In its 18 chapters, it explains a philosophy of living, & it expounds & demonstrates the
science of living.
This closing chapter of the Geeta is a summary of the entire Song of the Lord. It is a report on the
Geeta in retrospect. In this chapter the three Gunas & how they create differences among individuals
& their activities are exhaustively discussed. The two terms Sannyasa (renunciation) & Tyaga
(abandonment) are discussed & correlated with minute details of human life. Giving up of our lower
impulses in our contacts with life is ‘abandonment’, which gives us sufficient mastery over ourselves,
& enables us ultimately to give up the very ego-centre which causes all troubles in life. This final
giving up of the perception of the finite in the acquired wisdom of the Infinite is the fulfilment of life,
indicated here, as renunciation(Sannyasa).

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
ARJUNA’S QUESTION: Sannyasa & Tyaga
18.1 I desire to know severally, O mighty-armed, the essence or truth of
‘Renunciation’, O Hrishikeasa, as also of ‘Abandonment’, O slayer of Keshi.
Arjuna desires to have a precise definition & an exhaustive explanation of the
two terms, Renunciation (Sannyasa), & Abandonment (Tyaga), used by the
Lord at several places. The logic of this entire chapter revolves around the
meanings of these two terms. Sannyasa without the spirit of Tyaga is
incomprehensible. The bulk of the chapter describes the tendencies, urges,
impulses & motives, that are to be abandoned, so that true ‘Abandonment’ of
the undivine personality can take place. Krishna now starts answering this
question.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
THE LORD REPLIES: SANNYASA & TYAGA
The Blessed Lord said:
18.2 The Sages understand ‘Sannyasa’ to be “the renunciation of works with desire”; the
wise declare “ the abandonment of the fruits of all actions” as Tyaga.
“Totally giving up all desire-prompted activities” is Renunciation, & Abandonment is “giving up of all
anxieties for enjoying the fruits-of-action”. Both mean giving up desire. Action is effort put forth in the
present, & the fruit is what we reap later on as the result of the present action. A desireless action
belongs to the Present, while the anxiety to enjoy the fruit (desire) is a disturbance of the mind regarding
a Future event. Desire & agitations bring about restlessness & dissipation of inner energy. A dissipated
person cannot execute any work with steady efficiency. Desire is ordered by the ego. If a desire-ridden
person comes under the endless persecution of anxiety to enjoy the fruits, the tragedy becomes more
severe.
‘Renunciation’ is the goal to be reached through the process of ‘Abandonment’ of our anxiety to enjoy the
fruits of action.
Both Sannyasa & Tyaga are disciplines in our activities. They never obstruct work being done, but require
that work be done with maximum efficiency & without any selfish motives.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
DIFFERING OPINIONS
18.3 All actions should be abandoned as evil, declare some philosophers; while
others declare that acts of sacrifice, gift & austerity should not be
relinquished.
There are differing opinions about ‘abandonment’. Sankhyas declare: “Action
should be abandoned as evil”. According to them, all actions produce Vasanas
which cloud the realisation of the Self; So, without exception, all actions
should be abandoned.
All agree that seekers should avoid unhealthy activities, which lead to
bondage & put roadblocks in the path to the Self. Some people are of the
opinion that “ Sacrifice, Charity, & Austerity should not be abandoned,
because they aid one’s creative character-building & personality-integration.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
THE FINAL WORD ON ‘ABANDONMENT’
18.4 Hear from Me the conclusion or the final truth about this ‘abandonment’, O Best of
the Bharatas; ‘Abandonment’, verily, O best of men, has been declared to be of three
kinds.
18.5 Acts of sacrifice, charity & austerity should not be abandoned, but should be
performed; these are the purifiers of even the ‘wise’.
Lord Krishna gives here His final conclusion on ‘Tyaga’. Acquisition & aggrandisement are the
very life-breath of man’s mind. For him ‘Giving up’ is no easy task. ‘Abandonment’ is threefold,
Sattvic, Rajasic & Tamasic.
The Lord confirms that the practice of worship (Yajna), charity (Dana), & austerity (Tapas) should
not be abandoned. These , when properly pursued, bring about a brilliant discipline within &
enable attainment of the highest spiritual goal of reaching the Infinite. These can ‘purify even
thoughtful men’. Men of evolutionary tendencies, who seek freedom from the finite life of
misery, must perform Yajnas, Dana & Tapas, so that they can discover inner peace & balance.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
OBLIGATORY DUTIES WITH DETACHMENT
18.6 But even these actions should be performed leaving aside attachment &
the fruits, O Partha; this is my certain & best belief.
Even these obligatory actions, viz. Sacrifice, Charity, & Austerity should be performed “Leaving
Attachments & Fruits”.
“Attachment”: Ego & its desires are the components of ‘attachment’. When an ego strives to
fulfil its desires, it lives with attachment to the objects/persons of its desires. This should be
avoided.
“Fruits”: An individual working to satisfy his egocentric desires, will generally be anxious about
the fruits of his actions. This reduces his efficiency of actions.
Krishna, here, expresses his firm & well- thought-out opinion, that Charity, Sacrifice & Austerity
must be performed in an attitude of ‘detachment’, ‘renouncing all anxieties for the enjoyment
of the fruits’. This is perfectly in line with the technique of ‘selfless-action’ advised in all Hindu
scriptures. To live this way assures a healthy inner equipment, which can guide the seeker to the
peaks of Super manhood.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
TAMASIC ABANDONMENT
18.7 Verily, the renunciation of ‘obligatory actions’ is not proper; the abandonment
of the same from delusion is declared to be Tamasic.
Abandonment of obligatory duties is considered by the Lord as the lowest & the
darkest. The obligatory duties include both the unavoidable Daily Duties as well as
the Special Duties that arise on special occasions in the life of a person, & in the
society. As long as an individual is a member of the society, enjoying the social life, &
demanding protection & profit from the society, he has no right to abandon his
‘obligatory duties’. One is not excused even for his abandonment of moral duties due
to ignorance. As in other spheres, it is true in spirituality also that ‘ignorance of the
law is no excuse’. If a person, out of ignorance & lack of proper thinking, ignores his
obligations & refuses to serve the world, that abandonment is considered as Tamasic

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
RAJASIC ABANDONMENT
18.8. He who, because of fear of bodily trouble, abandons action because it is painful,
thus performing a Rajasic abandonment, obtains not the fruit of abandonment.
One may give up his individual obligatory duties “Because they are painful” or “Through fear of
bodily suffering”. The Tyaga thus practised falls under ‘Rajasic’ type. A man of action & passion
will readily undertake to act & fulfil his obligatory duties if they are not painful, & are not
fatiguing. Such performance is no heroic act at all, & they will not fetch any reward. The Lord
says: “ He shall attain no fruit whatsoever for his abandonment”.
Performance of one’s obligatory duties is itself the most glorious of all forms of Tyaga (of one’s
comforts). Its value doubles if it involves a certain amount of bodily discomfort or
inconvenience. Real Abandonment should always lead us on to a fuller self-expression & greater
experience of joy. A bud abandons itself to become a flower; the flower gives up its beautiful
petals & enchanting fragrance to become a fruit. Every real abandonment should haul us up into
a nobler status of fulfilment.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
SATTVIC ABANDONMENT
18.9 Whatever ‘obligatory action’ is done, O Arjuna, merely because it
ought to be done, abandoning ‘attachment & also fruit’, that abandonment
is regarded as Sattvic (pure).
Those who execute thoroughly all their obligatory duties ‘because they are to be done’,
because to remain without accomplishing them is almost death to them—are the
Sattvic persons. Such acts of ‘relinquishment’ are the Sattvic type of ‘abandonment’.
The ‘Tyaga’ of the good, or real Tyaga means doing actions with the correct mental
attitude. These three verses discuss not as what is to be ‘relinquished’ but as to how
one must ‘abandon’. Geeta does not recommend abandonment of the world & our
duties in it. ‘Tyaga’ is a subjective renunciation of all inner selfishness & desire, which
limit the freedom of activity in any field. Tyaga makes an active man a more potential
worker in the world. Renunciation of the ego & the egocentric desires, exhaust the
Vasanas in people & purify them.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
BEHAVIOUR OF A SATTVIC TYAGI
18.10 The abandoner, soaked in purity, being intelligent, with all his doubts cut asunder,
hates not disagreeable action, nor is he attached to an agreeable action.
Here Lord Krishna elaborates on the behaviour of a Sattvic tyagi. A man established in Sattvic
abandonment never hates, nor does he ever feel attached. He is not miserable in disagreeable
environments nor does he get attached to agreeable circumstances & actions. He does his duties under all
circumstances, agreeable or disagreeable, without feeling elated or dejected. He is overwhelmed neither
by extreme joy, nor by extreme sorrow; equanimity becomes his essential nature. He stands as a rock, ever
at ease, & watching the world events with an unbroken balance of vision. He is independent of the
happenings in the outer world.
A man of abandonment readily discovers in himself the ability to abandon his identification with the false.
He does not become a victim of his own mental impressions. Such a man is said to be educated & cultured.
It is only the intelligent man who can enquire into the nature of the rising waves of impulses, judge them
in the light of his ideals, holds on to himself. An ordinary man finds it impossible to stand apart & live, to
act independently of his impulses.
A tyagi is said to be “a man of firm understanding” & all his “doubt is cleared”.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
IF NOT ALL ACTIONS, RELINQUISH FRUITS OF ACTIONS
18.11 Verily, it is not possible for an embodied being to abandon actions
entirely, but he who relinquishes the fruits-of-actions is verily called a
‘relinquisher’ (Tyagi)
All living beings have to perform actions; without actions none can continue living. Existence
itself is the manifestation of life’s activities. To remain doing nothing itself is an action. No living
being can renounce all activities.
The only choice left to us is to direct & discipline all our actions in such a way as to bring a
harmony into our inner life & a dynamic rhythm into our outer duties. If actual Tyaga of
activities is not possible, certainly we can practise the ‘abandonment’ of our clinging
attachments & anxieties for the fruits of our actions. All embodied beings are advised here to
abandon their anxiety to enjoy the fruits of actions which are yet to come in a future period, &
act diligently & enthusiastically in the present time. Such persons are called “Tyagis”.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
THE THREE-FOLD FRUITS-OF-ACTIONS
18.12 The three-fold fruit of action, evil, good & mixed, accrues, after death, only to
those who have no spirit of ‘abandonment’; never to total relinquishers.
All actions done with selfish attachment to fruits of action leave behind a psychological reaction. Future thoughts faithfully follow
the footprints left by the past thoughts. Thus actions in the world determine the ‘thought tendencies’ of the human mind. The fruit
of action is not only its manifested results in the material world, but also the subtle constitutional changes it leaves in the thought-
personality of man.
The total reactions of actions fall under three distinct types: the disagreeable or bad, agreeable or good, & a mixed type, a balanced
total of good & bad. After the departure from here through death, our next embodiment & the type of environment would be
determined by the type of tendencies produced by our actions. If the Vasanas are good (Sattvic), then a joyous field of prosperity &
happiness, awaits us in the next birth. When our tendencies are bad, animal –Vasanas, the next birth will be in such a form & place
which enable the satisfaction of these lower tendencies. When there is a ‘mixed’ tendency (both good & bad), then we enter into the
world of action- our present world—the world of man.
For a man of renunciation, there is no reaction either to the actions done in the past or to actions being undertaken in the Present.
The ‘pleasant’, the ‘unpleasant’ & the ‘mixed’ types of reactions (Karma- phala) reach only those who have an egocentric sense of
identification with the actions & their reactions. Those who abandon both the ego & the desire for results are not caught in the
clutches of actions & reactions.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
THE FIVE CAUSES OF ACTIONS
18.13 Learn from Me, O mighty-armed, these five causes for the accomplishment of all
actions, as declared in the Sankhya system, which is the end of all actions.
18.14 The ‘seat’ (body), the doer (ego), the various organs-of-perception, the different
functions of various organs-of-action, & also the presiding deity, the fifth.
Here, Lord Krishna analyses the anatomy of work; the external structure of action, & the psychology of action—the inner
inspirations, motives & urges in work. There are five ‘limbs of action’ which are necessarily to be disciplined & marshalled for a
successful completion of any action. This information is taken from the ancient Sankhyan philosophy (Upanishads). As all actions
cease when the knowledge of the Self dawns, here, the Lord calls it the ‘end of all actions’.
The five components of work are enumerated as:
Body (Adhishthanam): the body is the gateway for the stimuli to enter as well as for responses to exit.
The Ego (Karta): functioning in & through the body activates it. This intelligent personality, presiding over the body, sets it in
continuous activity.
The instruments (Karanam): The instruments of perception through which the ego comes in contact with the outside world.
The function (Cheshta): The physiological activities, known as Prana, Apana etc., which keeps the organs-of –actions healthy &
vigorous to obey the commands of the mind.- Simply, the organs-of-actions.
The fifth- Devas: The five presiding deities of the five sense organs which activate the latter. These are the five great elements.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
ALL ACTIONS BY THE FIVE CAUSES
18.15. Whatever action a man performs by his body, speech & mind-whether right or
wrong- these five are the causes.
18.16. Such being the case, verily he who-owing to his misunderstanding- looks upon the
Self, which is ‘alone’ (never conditioned by the ‘engine’), as the doer, he, of perverted
intelligence, sees not.
The five component parts listed before, must all come to play for any action to be undertaken. These five constitute
the equipment of action, & the spirit, conditioned by the body etc., as the ego, enjoys the world of objects. These five
constitute the ‘engine’ & the Spirit is the ‘petrol’ which makes the engine run.
All actions belong to the realm of matter, no doubt in the presence of the Spirit. The unhealthy combination of the
two leads to the birth of the ego which is the doer of all actions & enjoyer of all fruits.
“This being the case”: In all such actions, whether good or bad by the body, mind or speech, the essential component
parts are the body, ego, the organs of perception & action, & the elements. The Spirit, identifying with the body etc.
comes to live through the ever-changing destinies of man. The Supreme Self is misunderstood by the ordinary man to
be the actor or ‘doer’. The causes of the misunderstanding are listed here, as, untampered reason & perverted mind.
These maladjustments in man cause him to forget his right nature. If the seeker can integrate himself through
disciplining his mind & reasoning, then he will have the right cognition of the way actions are carried out.

THE HOLY GEETA, nor is he bound
T K G Namboodhiri
THE SELF-REALISED IS NOT TAINTED BY ACTIONS
18.17. He who is free from the egoistic notion, whose intelligence is not tainted (by
good or evil), though he slays these people, he slays not, nor is he bound (by the
action).
It is our unhealthy contact created by our self-projections on to the matter-
envelopments around us that has given rise to the ‘ego’, which in its turn comes to
suffer the joys & sorrows of life.
“He who is free from the sense of Egoism” & whose “intelligence is not tainted” by
false values of possession, acquisition, aggrandisement, etc., does no action even
though activities take place all around & even through him. “Though he slays these
people, he slays not”.
Even when a man-of-wisdom acts, it is all a self-entertaining game for him, & no
impressions are left in his mind by his actions. His selfless actions do not “bind him”.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
THE IMPULSES & THE BASIS OF KARMA
18.18. Knowledge, the known & the knower form the threefold ‘impulse to action’; the
organs, the action, & the agent, form the threefold ‘basis of action’.
Here the Lord explains the three-fold impulses that propel activity, & also the basis of action.
“Knowledge, the Known & the Knower”: These three constitute the ‘impulse to action’. These three are
called the “Triputi” in Vedanta, indicating the ‘experiencer’, the ‘experienced’ & the resultant ‘experience’.
All impulse to act arise out of these three. The Experiencer, playing in the field of the Experienced, gains
for himself the various Experiences. The impulse to action can spring either from the ‘experiencer’, in the
form of a Desire, or from the ‘experienced’ in the form of Temptation, or from the ‘experience’ in the form
of similar Memories of past enjoyments. Beyond these three there is no other ‘impulse to action’.
The impulse thus generated must find a field to act in; & the ‘basis for action’ is constituted of the
‘instruments’, the ‘action’ & the ‘agent’. This sense of agency expressed by the ego is maintained as long
as it is attached to the fruits of action. The fruit, meaning the profit or the gain intended from the action,
is indicated here by the term End of Karma (work) or the Goal. The total contents of an activity may be
summarised as, 1) an Agent having a desire, 2) maintaining in his mind a clear picture of the of the End or
the goal, 3) with all the necessary instruments to act thereupon. These constitute the ‘contents of an
activity’ (Karma- Sangraha).

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
KNOWLEDGE, ACTION & ACTOR OF THREE TYPES
18.19. ‘Knowledge’, ‘action’, & ‘actor’ are declared in the science of temperaments
(gunas) to be of three kinds only, according to the distinctions of temperaments; hear
them also duly.
Here, Lord Krishna introduces the concept of division of “Knowledge”, “Action” & “Actor” based on the
three Gunas existing in the people.
Guna is the preponderance of a given type of temperament in one’s inner nature. The human mind &
intellect function constantly under the different ‘climatic conditions’ within our mind. These varying
climates of the mind are called the three Gunas; the ‘Sattvic (good)’, the ‘Rajasic(passionate), & the
‘Tamasic (dull)’. Under each of these, the human personality varies, & the permutations & combinations
of the varieties make up the infinite types of personalities. Even in one person, the personality changes
with time, the occasion, nature of the problem & the kind of challenge.
According to the science of the Gunas, as enunciated by Sage Kapila in his Samkhya Philosophy,
Knowledge, Action, & Actor are each classified under these three Gunas. They are being enumerated here
by Lord Krishna, who asks Arjuna to listen to them attentively.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
SATTVIC & RAJASIC KNOWLEDGE
18.20. That by which one sees the One Indestructible Reality in all beings, undivided in
the divided, know that ‘knowledge’ as Sattvic.
18.21. But that ‘knowledge’ which sees in all beings various entities of distinct kinds, &
as different from one another, know that Knowledge as Rajasic.
The ‘knowledge’ by which the One Imperishable Being is seen in all existence, is Sattvic. Though the forms
constituted by the body-mind-intellect equipment are all different in different living beings, the ‘Sattvic’
knowledge recognises all of them as the expressions of one & the same Truth, which is the essence of all.
“Undivided in the divided”: In a hundred different pots of all shapes & sizes, the ‘Space’ within them is
only ONE. Bulbs are different, but the current lighting them all is ONE. The one LIFE throbs in all beings,
expressing itself differently in different manifestations. This ‘knowledge’ is the Sattvic Knowledge.
The ‘knowledge’ that recognises plurality, by reason of separateness, is Rajasic in nature. It considers
various entities as different from one another, it perceives distinctions among living creatures & divides
them into different classes, as animals, vegetables, etc. Rajasic ‘knowledge’ fails to see the unity running
through all the diversities.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
TAMASIC KNOWLEDGE
18.22. But that ‘knowledge’, which clings to one single effect, as if it were the whole,
without reason, without foundation in truth, & narrow, that is declared as Tamasic
(Dull).
A Tamasic intellect clings to one single ‘effect’ as though it were the whole, never enquiring into its ‘cause’. The
‘knowledge’ of the dull is painted here as that belonging to the lowest type of spiritual seekers. They are generally
fanatic in their faith & in their devotion, in their views & values of life. They never enquire into, & try to discover, the
cause of things & happenings; they are unreasonable.
The dull not only fail to see things as they are, but invariably project their own ideas upon the world & judge it all
wrongly. A Tamasic person totally ignores the Divine Presence, the Infinite Consciousness. The ‘knowledge’ of the dull
is thus circumscribed by its own concept of self-importance, & thus its vision becomes narrow & limited.
While the ‘knowledge’ of the Sattvic perceives the oneness underlying the universe, & the comprehension of the
Rajasic recognises the plurality of the world, the understanding of the Tamasic indicates a highly crystallised, self-
centred ego in him, & his view of the world is always perverted & ever false.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
SATTVIC ACTION
18.23.An ‘action’ which is ordained, which is free from attachment, which is done
without love or hatred, by one who is not desirous of the fruit, that action is declared to
be Sattvic (pure).
Lord Krishna now classifies ‘actions’ (Karma) under the three heads. A ‘sattvic’ action is the best, productive of peace
within & harmony without in the field of activity; it is thus the purest of the three types of ‘action’.
It is an obligatory action, a work that is undertaken for the work’s own sake, in an attitude that work itself is worship.
Such activities are ever performed in a spirit of inspiration, & as such, they are the best one is capable of. Such an
activity is always undertaken without any attachment & without any anxiety for gaining any definite end. It is a
dedicated activity of love (not merely an act of law), & yet, it is not propelled by love or hatred. The missionary work
undertaken by all Prophets & Sages are examples of such work.
An individual with a Sattvic intellect that has recognised the All-pervading One, lives in the Consciousness of the One
Reality that permeates the whole universe, to him the leper & the prince, the rich & the poor, are so many different
parts of his own spiritual personality only. He serves the world in a sense of self-fulfilment & inspired joy. In summary,
a Sattvic Karma is a humane action, performed without any attachment, & not motivated either by likes or dislikes,
undertaken without any desire to enjoy the results. The ‘action’ itself is its result or fruit.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
RAJASIC & TAMASIC ACTIONS
18.24. But that ‘action’ which is done by one, longing for desires, or gain, done with
egoism, or with much effort, is declared to be Rajasic (Passionate).
18.25. That ‘action’ which is undertaken from delusion, without regard for the
consequence, loss, injury, & ability, is declared to be Tamasic(Dull).
The ‘action’ of the ‘passionate’ is that which is done to fulfil one’s desires with egoism. The person is
impelled to act & struggle by a well-defined & extremely arrogant ego-sense. All the time, he is exhausted
with his own worries & anxieties regarding the success of his action. All self-centred actions done for the
sole purpose of gaining its fruits are ‘Rajasic’ in nature.
Tamasic ‘actions’ are performed without any consideration for the consequences thereof, without any
regard for their loss of power & vitality. Such actors never care for the loss or injury caused to others by
their actions, nor do they pay any attention to their own status & ability. All such careless & irresponsible
‘actions’ are done because of some delusory misconceptions of the goal. All they demand is a temporary
joy of some sense gratification. Such Tamasic actions immediately result in sorrow. Drinking, gambling,
corruption etc. are examples of Tamasic ‘actions’.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
THE SATTVIC DOER
18.26. An ‘agent’ who is free from attachment, non-egoistic, endowed with firmness &
enthusiasm, & unaffected by success or failure, is called Sattvic (pure).
Now Lord Krishna describes the three types of ‘doers’. Here the Sattvic actor is described.
“Free from attachment”: One who is free from attachment to anybody or anything. He is “ non-egoistic”. He sincerely
feels that he is not doing anything spectacular even when doing the greatest good to mankind, because he surrenders
his egoistic individuality to the Lord.
“Firm resolution & extreme enthusiasm”(dhriti): He performs all actions with great enthusiasm & firm resolve,
because, all his actions are in the service of the Lord. He completes the job successfully in spite of all obstacles.
“Unaffected by success & failure”: He strives ever unperturbed by success or failure, in pleasure & in pain. An example
of such an ‘actor’ may be a nurse in a hospital, who serves the patient without any attachment & without any feeling
of ego. Whether the patient is improving or not, she works enthusiastically finishing her chores in the hospital.
Such a Sattvic ‘actor’ suffers the least dissipation of energy, & so works with complete attention. His ‘knowledge’ is
Sattvic & all his ‘actions’ are Sattvic. He realises that in all his actions, the presence of the Infinite Spirit. His body,
mind & intellect are all vehicles for the sacred will of the Spirit to function through.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
THE RAJASIC DOER
18.27. Passionate, desiring to gain the fruits-of-actions, greedy, harmful, impure, full of
delight & grief, such an ‘agent’ is said to be Rajasic (passionate).
A ‘doer’ of the passionate type is full of desires, passions & attachments, & he tenaciously clings
on to some wished-for gain or goal. He is swayed by passion & eagerly seeks the fruit of his
work. He is ever greedy such that he is never satisfied with what he gains & greedily thirsts for
more.
He naturally becomes very malignant in his pursuit & never hesitate to injure others, in order to
win his end. He is concerned only with the realisation of his ulterior motives. He may become
even immoral & impure in his actions, employing unrighteous methods. Under the sledge
hammer of greed & passion, he may make vengeful plans & malignant schemes to achieve his
desires.
Hence, it is but natural that such a Rajasic ‘doer’ comes to live a life of agitations, ‘full of delight
& grief’.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
THE TAMASIC DOER
18.28. Unsteady, vulgar, unbending, cheating, malicious, lazy, despondent, &
procrastinating, such an ‘agent’ is said to be Tamasic(dull).
Here is a description of the Tamasic ‘doer' working motivated by his tamasic ‘knowledge’ expressing himself through
Tamasic ‘actions’.
“Uncontrolled”: One who has no control over himself, therefore unsteady, is Tamasic. His mind is not under the
control of his intellect (Ayuktah). He acts as a vulgar person. He is arrogant & obstinate.
“Dishonest”: He becomes dishonest & extremely deceitful, because of his incapacity to see any opinion other than his
false conclusions. He conceals his real motives & purposes, & works secretively.
“Malicious”: He is bent upon creating quarrels & disputes among people. He acts with vengeance.
“Indolent”: He is an idler & spends his time in over-indulgence. He is a social parasite because he enjoys & consumes
without striving & producing.
“Despondent”: He has neither the vitality nor the stamina to stand up against the challenges of life, because of his
over-indulgent way of life. He spends his time complaining of others for his problems.
“Procrastinator”: He postpone actions because of his incapacity to arrive at any firm judgement. He has no will power
to continue with his work. He harbours deep & long vengeance against others.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
THREE TYPES OF UNDERSTANDING & FORTITUDE
18.29. Hear the threefold division of ‘understanding’ & ‘fortitude’ made according to the
Gunas, as I declare them fully & serially, O Dhananjaya.
The three factors of ‘work’, ‘knowledge’, ‘action’ & ‘actor’ have already been classified according
to the Gunas. Now the Lord takes up two factors, underlying these three factors, which supply
the fuel & motive force in all actions, ‘understanding (Buddhi)’ & ‘fortitude (Dhriti)’.
Buddhi or ‘understanding’ means the intellectual capacity to grasp what is happening around.
Dhriti or ‘fortitude’ is the faculty of constantly keeping one idea in the mind & consistently
working it out to its logical end; consistency of purpose & self-application, without allowing
oneself to be tossed about here & there like a dry leaf at the mercy of the wind.
From the next verse onwards, Krishna explains the division of these two faculties according to
the three Gunas of the ‘actor’.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
THE SATTVIC UNDERSTANDING
18.30. That which knows the paths of work & renunciation, what ought to be done &
what ought not be done, fear & fearlessness, bondage & liberation, that ‘understanding’
is Sattvic, O Partha.
Essentially, the function of the intellect is ‘discrimination’, which is the faculty of ‘right understanding’. An
‘understanding’ (Buddhi) which is capable of clearly discriminating between the Right field of pursuit & the Wrong
field, is the highest type of ‘understanding’. A true ‘understanding’ is the ready ability to discriminate between actions
that are to be pursued (Pravritti)& those that are to be shunned (Nivritti).
A Sattvic Buddhi always helps us to arrive at the correct judgement of “What is right & what is wrong”. An agitated or
egoistic person may take some action & then regret it afterwards.
“What is to be feared & what is not to be”: A Sattvic intellect must have the right understanding of what is to be
feared & avoided & what is not to be feared. “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread”.
“Bondage & liability”: To observe & analyse ourselves with the required detachment, & to evaluate critically our
behaviours & attitudes in life, is the prerogative of one with a Sattvic ‘understanding’. He will be able to diagnose the
false values & wrong emotions that work in us, but also intuitively discover the process of unwinding ourselves from
these crude Vasanas, & help us to regain freedom from these subjective entanglements.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
RAJASIC & TAMASIC UNDERSTANDING
18.31. That by which one wrongly understands Dharma & Adharma & also what ought
to be done & what ought not to be done, that intellect (understanding), O Partha, is
Rajasic.
18.32. That which, enveloped in darkness, sees Adharma as Dharma, & all things
perverted, that intellect, O Partha, is Tamasic.
The intellect (understanding) of the Rajasic (passionate) comes to judge the righteous (Dharma) & the
unrighteous (Adharma), what is to be done & what is not to be done, in a slightly perverted manner. Such
a Rajasic understanding cannot reach right judgements, because it is invariably coloured by its own
preconceived notions & powerful likes & dislikes.
The type of understanding which brings sorrow to everyone, including the person himself is the
‘understanding’ of the Tamasic (dull). Actually, it is no understanding at all, it is chronic misunderstanding.
Such an intellect always runs into wrong conclusions. It is such a perverted understanding that it
recognises ‘Adharma’ as ‘Dharma’, the ‘wrong’ as ‘right’. This faculty of coming to wrong judgements is
amply seen in the dull, because their entire reasoning capacity is enveloped by complete darkness &
egoistic drunkenness.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
SATTVIC FORTITUDE (DHRITI)
18.33. The unwavering ‘fortitude’ by which, through Yoga, the functions of the mind, the
Prana & the senses are restrained, that ‘fortitude’, O Partha, is Sattvic (pure).
Now the Lord describes the three types of Dhriti (fortitude).
Dhriti is that power within us by which we constantly see the goal we want to achieve, & while striving
towards it, Dhriti provides the necessary constancy of purpose to pursue the path, in spite of all obstacles
on the way. It mobilises secret powers within us to face all obstacles
The constancy with which one steadily controls one’s mind & senses & their activities, through single-
pointed attention & faithful concentration upon a given goal, is the Dhriti of the Sattvic type. Mind alone
can control our organs of perception & action. Without fixing the mind upon something nobler & higher,
it cannot be withdrawn from its lower tendencies. So Yoga is needed. With faithful contemplation upon
the Self, the mind gains equipoise, peace & satisfaction, & so develops a capacity to rule over the sense-
organs. This requires a steady stream of Dhriti from the inner personality. Constancy in endeavour &
consistency of purpose is maintained by a Sattvic Dhriti (fortitude).

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
RAJASIC FORTITUDE (DHRITI)
18.34. But the ‘fortitude’, O Arjuna, by which one holds to duty, pleasure & wealth, one
of attachment & craving for the fruits-of-actions, that ‘fortitude’, O Partha, is Rajasic
(passionate).
The constancy with which a person holds on to duty (Dharma), wealth (Artha), & pleasure
(Kama), encouraged by his growing desire to enjoy the fruit of each of them, is the steadiness or
‘fortitude’ of the Rajasic type. Here Krishna avoids Moksha (Liberation), the fourth Purushartha,
the life purpose, of man, because a Rajasic man is not in pursuit of liberation from this world.
The constancy of pursuit of such a man will be in these three fields of duty, wealth & pleasure,
& he will be pursuing them with an extreme desire to enjoy the fruits of his actions. He follows
Dharma, only to gain and enjoy the heaven; he pursues Artha so that he may have power in this
life; & he pursues Kama, with a firm belief that sensuous objects can give him all satisfaction in
life. Such a ‘fortitude’ is called Rajasic Dhriti.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
TAMASIC FORTITUDE
18.35. The ‘constancy’ because of which a stupid man does not abandon sleep, fear,
grief, depression, & also arrogance, that ‘fortitude’, O Partha, is Tamasic (dull).
The steadiness of purpose with which one DOES NOT give up one’s dreams & imaginations, fears &
agitations, griefs & sorrows, depressions & arrogance, is the Dhriti of the Tamasic type. The fancied
imaginations thrown up by a mind that is almost drowned in sleep is called ‘dream' here. The dull
personalities project upon the world a dream-like quality & false joy, & then laboriously strive to gain
them.
“Fear”: Fancied fear destroys the equilibrium & balance of Tamasic people.
“Grief, Depression & Arrogance”: These are channels through which human vitality gets dissipated. A dull
person keeps these three always in his bosom, & suffer a sense of self-depletion & inner exhaustion. Grief
is the painful feeling of things in the past, while depression is due to our despair regarding the future, &
arrogance is the sense of lusty conceit with which a fool lives his life in the present. Krishna calls those
who follow these five defects of life, fools, & the constancy with which such fools follow their life of fears
& dreams, is indicated as the Dhriti of the Tamasic.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
THREE KINDS OF PLEASURES
18.36. And now hear from Me, O best among the Bharatas, of the threefold ‘pleasure’, in
which one rejoices by practice, & surely comes to the end of pain.
The Lord has already discussed the ‘anatomy & physiology’ of work-what are the constituents of
work, what impels work, & what control it. Every living creature from the womb to the tomb
continues acting in this world. To what purpose? We all act for gaining happiness, & a sense of
fulfilment. Though the goal is same for all, the different constituents of work, the understanding
& fortitude of the worker, all being of three types, it follows that ‘happiness’ that is gained by
the different types must also be different in its texture & completeness. So the Lord here gives a
description of the three types of ‘happiness’.
“Through practice”: Since ‘pleasure’ is a mental condition produced by external actions, objects
or situations, man readjust his mental conditions to enjoy happiness which is the end of
miseries.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
SATTVIC PLEASURE
18.37. That which is like poison at first, but in the end like nectar, that ‘pleasure’ is
declared to be Sattvic (pure), born of purity of one’s own mind, due to Self realisation.
That ‘happiness’ which, in the beginning, is like poison & very painful, but which, when it works itself out,
fulfils itself in a nectarine success, is the enduring ‘happiness’ of the ‘good’. Happiness that arises from
constant effort is the happiness that yields a greater beauty & larger fulfilment. The flimsy happiness
gained through sense-indulgence & sense-gratification is something that is momentary.
Sattvic happiness arises out of inner self-control & the sense of self-perfection. In the beginning its
practice is certainly very painful & arduous. But once attained, the person enjoys the subtlest of
happiness & an all-fulfilling inward peace. Such happiness arising out of self-control & self-discipline, is
called Sattvic happiness.
“Born out of the purity of one’s own mind”: By carefully living the life of the Sattvic & acting in disciplined
self-control, maintaining the Sattvic qualities in all component parts, one can develop the ‘Prasada’ of
one’s inner nature. The joy arising out of spiritual practices, provided by the integration of the inner
nature is called “Prasada”, which is the Sattvic ‘happiness'. The sense of fulfilment & gladness of heart
that are experienced by a cultured man, as a result of his balanced & self-disciplined life of high ideals &
divine values of life, are the enduring ‘happiness’ of all men-of-perfection.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
RAJASIC PLEASURE
18.38. That pleasure which arises from the contact of the sense-organs with the objects,
(which is) at first like nectar, (but is) in the end like poison, that is declared to be Rajasic
(passionate).
That happiness, which arises when the appropriate worldly object comes in contact with our
sense-organs, is indeed a thrill that is nectarine in the beginning, but unfortunately, it vanishes
as quickly as it comes, dumping the enjoyer into a pit of exhaustion & even revulsion.
Rajasic happiness comes from direct contact between our senses & the sense objects. This
contact cannot be long lasting, as the objects themselves change with time, & the senses get
tired of the same sensation after a period. A sweet dish tastes fantastic for the first serving, but
repeated servings of the same lead to decreasing happiness & finally to revulsion. Even during
enjoyment, the enjoyer gets distracted by the worry of losing the object of pleasure for
continued use. Thus, to a true thinker, the temporary joys of sense-objects are not at all
satisfactory, since they bury the enjoyer, ere long, in a tomb of sorrow. This type of ‘pleasure’ is
classified as Rajasic & is generally pursued by Rajasic people.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
TAMASIC PLEASURE
18.39.The pleasure, which at first & in the sequel deludes the Self, arising from sleep,
indolence & heedlessness, is declared to be Tamasic (dull).
The ‘happiness’ of the dull is that which deludes the Higher in us, & vitiates the culture in us; & when the pursuit of
such ‘happiness’ is continued for a time, it gives to the intellect a thick crust of wrong values & false ideals & ruins the
spiritual sensitivity of the person. This type of Tamasic ‘happiness’ satisfies mere sense-cravings, because they arises
from sleep, indolence & heedlessness.
“Sleep”: Here ‘sleep’ stands for non-apprehension of Reality, & the incapacity of the dull-witted to perceive any
permanent goal of life. Encourages simple sense-gratifications.
“Indolence”: The incapacity of the intellect to think out correctly the problems that face it & come to correct
judgement. This inertia of the intellect makes it insensitive to higher thoughts.
“Heedlessness”: The Higher in us truly guides our activities when facing a challenge. But the lower, indolent mind
seeks a compromise & tries to act, heedless of the voice of the Higher. He gets removed from his divine nature, by
heedlessness.
When such an individual, heedless of the Higher calls, indolent at the intellectual level, & completely asleep to the
existence of the play of Reality, seeks ‘happiness’, he only seeks a happiness which deludes the Soul. Such ‘pleasures’
are classified as Tamasic in nature.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
DOMINANCE OF THE THREE GUNAS
18.40. There is no being on earth, or again in heaven among the “Devas” (heavenly
beings), who is totally liberated from the three Gunas (qualities), born of Prakriti
(matter).
The Lord ends his description of the three Gunas as impinging upon the personality of all living organisms. The
exhaustive description of the three Gunas was given so that the seeker may identify his predominant Guna, & strive
to become Sattvic in all aspects of his life.
“No creature on earth or again among the gods in heaven”: There is none totally free from the influence of these
three Gunas. The play of these three Gunas is the very expression of Prakriti. These three put together are the
manifestation of ‘Maya’. Persons differ from each other because of the difference in the predominant Gunas in them.
None can exist without these three Gunas. With these three measuring rods– the Gunas- Krishna classifies the entire
mankind into three distinct types.
In Hinduism, there is a four-fold classification of people, again based on these three Gunas. These four types are
found in every society, in all of mankind- Brahmana-the creative thinkers, Kshatriya- the leaders of men-politicians,
the commercial people-producers, traders, businessmen, artisans etc.-, & the service minded-workers in various
fields. Each type is characterised by a set- proportion of Gunas which draws them to certain type of activities. These
are given in detail in the following verses.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
NATURAL DUTIES OF VARIOUS VARNAS
18.41. The duties of Brahmanas (Scholars), Kshatriyas (Leaders), Vaishyas (Traders), &
Shudras (Workers), O Paranthapa, are distributed according to the Gunas (qualities)
born of their Swabhava (own nature).
Krishna now applies the various Gunas to the social fabric of humanity & thus intelligently classifies the
entire mankind under four distinct heads, the Brahmanas, the Kshatriyas, the Vaishyas, & the Shudras.
Different types of duties are assigned to each of these classes depending upon their ‘own nature’, which is
ordered by the proportion of the Gunas. A person is judged by his expressions in life & by the quality of
his contacts with the world outside. They alone can reflect one’s inner personality.
Based on the quality of the inner personality, the individuals are classified, & different duties are assigned
to them. These duties are naturally different for the different classes. By observing a person, one can
conclude as to which class he belongs to. The predominant Guna determines this classification, but all will
have all the three Gunas in them, in different proportions.
It is to be noted here that these “Varnas” are not the same as the ‘castes’ prevalent in India, because
Varnas are only four, but castes are in hundreds.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
NATURAL DUTIES OF BRAHMANAS
18.42. Serenity, self-restraint, austerity, purity, forgiveness & also uprightness, knowledge, realisation,
belief in God– are the duties of the Brahmanas, born of (their own) nature.
Here, the Lord describes the duties of a Brahmana born out of his own predominantly Sattvic nature. “Serenity (Shama)”: the quality
of controlling the mind consciously from running into the world of objects, is the first of these duties. “Self-control (Dama)”:
Controlling the sense-organs, the gate-ways to our perception, even in the midst of sensuous objects. “Austerity (Tapas)”: Conscious
physical self-denial to economise the expenditure of human energy, conserve it & direct it to reach the goal of the Higher. “Purity
(Shaucham)”: External cleanliness & internal purity. Habits of cleanliness in one’s personal life & surroundings are the governing
conditions in the life of a Brahmana. “Forbearance (Kshanti)”: To be patient & forgiving & thus to live without struggling even
against wrongs done against one, is ‘forbearance’-the duty of a Brahmana. No hatred for any one. “Uprightness (Arjavam)”:
Straightforward in all dealings with others, & fearless. Afraid of none he makes no compromise of the higher calls with the lower
desires. Besides these six qualities, the Lord adds three more:
“Knowledge (Jnanam)”: Knowledge about the world, our body & its functioning in contact with the outside world, about the highest
goal of life,& the nature of the Spirit. “Wisdom (Vijnanam)”: Personal experience of the known. Knowledge digested & assimilated
brings home the inward experience. Knowledge can be imparted but wisdom one has to develop in himself. “Faith (Aastikyam)”:
Deep faith in what one has studied & lived, leading to a full & enthusiastic life. This ardency of conviction is the driving force for
converting ‘knowledge’ into ‘wisdom’. This inner order, intellectual honesty, & subtle unflagging enthusiasm is ‘faith’.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
DUTIES OF A KSHATRIYA
18.43. Prowess, splendour, firmness, dexterity, & also not fleeing from battle,
generosity, lordliness—these are the duties of the Kshatriyas, born of their own nature.
The Kshatriyas have a greater proportion of Rajoguna, than the other two, in the composition of their personality. Here, Lord
Krishna describes the qualities & behaviours of a Kshatriya.
“Prowess & boldness”: The vigour & constancy with which a Kshatriya meets the challenges in his life, guides the commanding
personality of a leader.
“Fortitude”: The powerful will of one, who having decided to do something, pursues the ‘path’ with drive & constancy of purpose to
meet & overcome all obstacles on his way.
“Promptitude”: The quality of alertness & smart vigilance. Prompt in coming to decisions & executing them. Industrious & with
perseverance.
“Not fleeing from battle”: Unwillingness to accept defeat in a battle, or in any endeavour. He will not leave any work incomplete.
“Generosity”: A man of action cannot be miserly since his success will depend upon his influence on a large number of friends &
supporters. Willingness to help those in need.
“Lordliness”: Without self-confidence in one’s own abilities one cannot lead others. He must reinforce frail-hearts around him with
his self-confidence. He must spread brilliance & dynamism all around.
These 8 qualities are enumerated here as the duties of a Kshatriya. A true man-of-action must cultivate these qualities.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
DUTIES OF VAISHYAS & SHUDRAS
18.44. Agriculture, cattle-rearing & trade are the duties of the Vaishyas, born of their
own nature; and service is the duty of the Shudras, born of their own nature.
Hindu social system gives ‘equal opportunities’ for all its members to develop their gifts in & through life.
The duties of the various ‘Varnas’ are prescribed here that will help to mould the personalities of the
different types of men.
“Agriculture, breeding & tending cattle, trade & commerce”: These are three fields in which a Vaishya can
function inspiredly & exhaust his imperfections. These are duties towards which he has natural aptitude.
“Service”: Work in a spirit of dedication & service is the duty of a Shudra.
The mental temperament of a man determines his class & duties. If they mismatch, it will create chaos in
society. So we must analyse & discover the type of Vasanas & temperaments that predominate in each
one of us & determine to what class & duty each one of us fits. No work is higher or lower than another;
each work is essential for the society, as each limb of our body, & each organ of perception are equally
important. Each person must work in a spirit of dedication for his own evolution & sense of fulfilment.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
ATTAIN PERFECTION BY DOING YOUR DUTY
18.45. Devoted, each to his own duty, man attains Perfection. How engaged in his own duty, he attains
Perfection, listen.
18.46. From whom all beings arise, by whom all this is pervaded, worshipping Him with one’s own duty,
man attains Perfection.
“Each devoted to his duty, man attains Perfection”: By being loyal to our own level of feelings & ideas, to our own development of
consciousness, we can evolve into higher states. Each one is ordered by his own Swabhava, & each can discover his fulfilment only in
that self-ordered field of activity. Each one working in his ordained field, surrendering one’s ego & egocentric desires to enjoy the
fruits, attains to peace & tranquillity. A spirit of dedication & total surrender to the Infinite is essential for man to evolve.
When a man acts according to his ‘nature’ & station-in-life, in a spirit of total surrender, his Vasanas get exhausted, & he gains
happiness & relief.
“He from whom all beings arise & by whom all this is pervaded”: By constantly remembering the higher goal towards which we are
working our way, our Vasanas are removed. That goal is indicated here. Our body, mind & intellect are all inert matter, which spring
into action only in the presence of the Light-of-Life, the supreme Consciousness. To remember constantly this Consciousness is to
stand apart from all agitations in the field of strife, & go forward without making a mistake. A new glow of tranquil peace & dynamic
love comes to shine through all his actions, & he achieves Divine Perfection. Work thus gets changed into worship. Even the most
dreadfully unpleasant field of activity, like selling of meat by a butcher, is converted into a sacred chamber of devotion, & the
activity into the most perfect meditation.
The Lord declares that “Through the performance of one’s own duties the highest Perfection” is achieved.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
IMPORTANCE OF YOUR OWN DUTY
18.47. Better is one’s own duty (though) destitute of merits, than the duty of another
well-performed. He who does the duty ordained by his own nature incurs no sin.
To work in any field ordered by one’s own Vasanas is better, because in that case, there is a chance for
exhausting the existing Vasanas. When one strives in a field contrary to his interests, he not only fails to
exhaust his Vasanas, but also creates a new load of Vasanas in his temperament. So the Lord says,:
“Better is one’s own Dharma though imperfect than the Dharma of another well-performed”.
“The Swabhava of one cannot harm him”: Performing duties ordained by one’s own nature, man does not
harm himself by creating additional Vasanas. As the deadly poison in the fangs of a serpent never harms
it, the man doing his duties assigned by his own interests is not harmed.
The Lord advises people to not to worry about fields which are contrary to their nature. Each one has his
place in society, & is important for the over-all well-being of the society. Not only the good but the bad
also has a purpose. We will not appreciate the goodness, if there is no badness to compare it with.
Nothing is to be condemned; none to be despised. Everything is He. And He alone IS.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
DO NOT ABANDON YOUR SWADHARMA
18.48. One should not abandon, O Kaunteya, the duty to which one is born, though
faulty; for, are not all undertakings enveloped by evil, as fire by smoke?
Lord Krishna advises all that one should not relinquish or abandon the work ordained by one’s Vasanas,
even if it is full of evil. He uses the phrase “Born with” instead of “Born into” to stress the importance of
in-born Vasanas, rather than the force of current environment, in determining one’s Swadharma. The
Vasanas one is born-with are to be lived through, without ego & desires; whereas the Vasana-creating
environment into which one is born should not be allowed to contaminate one’s personality.
“Are not all actions clouded by defects, as fire is by smoke?”: Here the work or action is the egocentric
work initiated to fulfil one’s desires & is with the feeling of ‘doership’. Such work leaves impressions on
the mind as Vasanas, & is full of defects. This defect is unavoidable as the appearance of smoke in fire.
The more our inner bosom is ventilated with Divine Consciousness, the less will the ego assert, & less
defect in the work. Only actions without any ego or egocentric desire to enjoy the fruits will not produce
any new Vasanas & also dissolve the existing Vasanas & purify the mind.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
THE SUPREME STATE OF FREEDOM
18.49. He whose intellect is unattached everywhere, who has subdued his self, from
whom desire has fled, he, through renunciation, attains the Supreme State of Freedom
from action.
Here, Lord Krishna defines the State-of-Actionlessness. This state is reached when one does not identify oneself with
Body, Mind & Intellect. This is the State of Pure Consciousness. When the ‘ignorance’ is ended, one experiences the
Infinite Bliss of the All-Full-Consciousness. Then there is no want, no desire, & no thoughts. Without thoughts no
action is possible. This is the state of Actionlessness. This state cannot be reached merely by running away from the
activities of life, but by purifying the mind through selfless actions in one’s own field.
“An intellect unattached everywhere”: To achieve this state one must have a ‘clean-shaven’ intellect devoid of all
attachments with sense objects, feelings & emotions, obtained through disciplining the intellect.
“One who has subdued his ego”: The self-mastery of the mind is impossible as long desires exist. So ‘all desires must
have fled’ from a self-mastered person. The ‘doership’ of the mind & the ‘enjoyer- ship’ of the intellect must be
renounced for one to attain the Supreme State of Actionlessness. The Geeta repeatedly stresses that self-restraint &
freedom from desires are the unavoidable prerequisites for spiritual growth.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
HOW THE PERFECT MAN ATTAINS BRAHMAN
18.50. How he, who has attained perfection, reaches BRAHMAN (the
Eternal), that Supreme State-of-Knowledge, that in brief, you do learn from
Me, O! Kaunteya.
The following few verses make a beautiful & refreshing reminder of the various
descriptions of a man-of-Perfection, given earlier. When the seeker thus gets
purified, he becomes fit for the path-of-Meditation, & attainment of the Brahman
through renunciation of our attachments.
It is not possible to renounce attachments completely, unless one experiences the
Truth, & thereby becomes the Infinite Self. By constant practise we try to reduce our
attachments to the barest minimum. Krishna says here, “Learn that from Me in
brief”, how to renounce the last of our attachments & ‘ignorance’, & thus get
permanently established in that Supreme God-consciousness, which is the Self.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
TECHNIQUE OF MEDITATION TO ATTAIN BRAHMAN
18.51. Endowed with a pure intellect; controlling the self by firmness; relinquishing
sound & other objects; & abandoning attraction & hatred….
In this & the next two verses, Lord Krishna describes the method of attaining Brahman by the
Perfected Yogi.
“Endowed with pure understanding”: An intellect that has purified itself of all its tendencies &
Vasanas.
“Controlling the mind & the senses with fortitude”: Mind & senses sabotage the harmony &
balance in a meditator. By controlling these two (Shama & Dama), the seeker tunes himself &
become immune to their effects.
“Renouncing sense-objects”: Not allowing any of the stimuli such as sound, form, touch, taste
etc. to infiltrate through their respective gateways ears, eyes, etc.
“Abandoning attraction & hatred”: These are reactions of the mind to external signals, & also
memories from the past. These instinctive impulses of the mind should also be controlled fully.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
MEDITATION TO ATTAIN BRAHMAN-2
18.52. Dwelling in solitude; eating but little; speech, body & mind subdued; always
engaged in meditation & concentration; taking refuge in dispassion;
“Dwelling in solitude”: A seeker who has developed the previously mentioned physical, mental &
intellectual adjustments, must now seek a sequestered spot of loneliness.
“Eating but little”: Overindulgence in food must be avoided. Temperance is the law.
“Controlling Speech, Body & Mind”: The mind cannot be subdued unless the body is brought under its
command. Controlled action leads to a disciplined mind. The term speech here indicates all sense organs
of action & their functions. The term body indicates all sense-organs of perception. Eliminating the
egocentric attitude in all our perceptions, in all our relationships with the world is what is required.
“Ever engaged in meditation”: Mind cannot be controlled unless it is engaged in contemplation on some
point. Steady contemplation of the Lord is what is suggested here.
“Possessed of dispassion”: Dispassion or Vairagya is a state where the mind rebounds upon itself from the
objects because of the realisation of the impermanence of the objects.
To sum up, a true seeker of the Higher Life must seek solitude, live in temperance, subdue his speech,
body & mind, & must live in a spirit of dispassion.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
FIT TO BECOME BRAHMAN
18.53. Having abandoned egoism, power, arrogance, desire, anger & aggrandisement,
& freed from the notion of ‘mine’, & therefore peaceful—he is fit to become Brahman.
Here we have a list of things to be renounced by the meditator before he becomes fit to become Brahman.
“Ahamkara”: The items to be renounced are all different manifestations of the wrong notion “I act”. The
sense of agency creates ego-centric vanities manifesting as “Power”-to strive & struggle, sweat & strain to
fulfil passions & desires. A powerful ego gathers to itself more & more ‘pride’ or ‘arrogance’.
One working under the influence of power & arrogance, develops lust & anger, & becomes restless &
strives to satisfy his lust by all sorts of means & acquires & possesses the objects of his fancy- indicated by
‘aggrandisement’.
Lord Krishna asks the meditator to forsake these six items & thus to immediately become egoless &
peaceful, a peace that arises from the fullness of wisdom, out of absolute satisfaction experienced in the
Realm-of-Perfection.
Such a person ‘is fit to become Brahman’. He has finished the preliminary preparations for the final
realisation.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
BECOMING BRAHMAN HE OBTAINS DEVOTION
18.54. Becoming Brahman, serene in the Self, he neither grieves nor desires; the same to
all beings, he obtains a supreme devotion towards Me.
After liquidating the ego & its manifestations, the seeker experiences a greater peace within, which he
has to maintain with constant effort, for long periods of time.
“Brahma- Bhootah ”: Indicates one who has read well, reflected upon & understood the Absolute Reality.
Once this Spiritual Truth is understood, the seeker becomes peaceful & more tranquil.
“He grieves not nor desires”: With liquidation of his ego-sense, he becomes courageous to stand apart
from grief & desire. He grieves not because he feels no incompleteness in him, & also he desires nothing
additionally to complete himself.
“Tranquil”: One who desires nothing has developed a source of happiness within himself, & so is not
disturbed by any outside source.
“Attains supreme devotion unto Me”: According to the scriptures, devotion is measured by our sense of
identification with the Higher Ideal. This happens when the devotee is detached from the outside world.
The expansiveness of vision from identification with the Infinite & extreme love arising from detachment
are necessary for the seeker to develop supreme love for the Lord.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
BY DEVOTION HE KNOWS ME & ENTERS THE SUPREME
18.55. By devotion he knows Me in Essence, what & who I am; then, having known
Me in My Essence, he forthwith enters into the Supreme.
“By devotion he comes to know Me ”: When an egocentric individuality, having
made all the adjustments mentioned before, increasingly seeks & discovers its
identity with the Self, it comes to experience the true nature of the Self more clearly
& understand “What & who I am”.
“Then, having known Me in Essence”: When the light-of-Consciousness slowly
unfolds Itself, through the dropping of the veils of ’ignorance’, the seeker
apprehends totally the Infinite. His individuality or ego ends, & “he thereafter enters
Me”. The ‘entry’ here is exactly in the same way as the ‘dreamer enters the waking
state’. The dreamer himself becomes the waker. Similarly, when the ego enters ‘God-
consciousness’, the individuality dissolves. This is the state of Krishna-Consciousness.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
DO ALL ACTIONS TAKING RFUGE IN ME
18.56. Doing all actions, always taking refuge in Me, by My grace he obtains the Eternal,
Indestructible State or Abode.
Lord Krishna here adds another condition to be fulfilled by all seekers.
“Performing continuously all actions, always taking refuge in Me”: In order to serve without the ‘sense-of-
agency’, the practical method is to “to take refuge in Me”. Such a seeker, who is constantly working in
fulfilling his obligatory duties to society & himself has “My grace”. The Grace of the Self means more &
more play of the divine Consciousness in & through the personality of the seeker.
“He attains the Eternal, Immutable State”: When working in the world without the sense of agency &
enjoyment, the existing Vasanas get exhausted & the ego gets eliminated. Awakening thus from the
delusory projections of the ego, the seeker attains the state of Pure Consciousness & comes to live
thereafter the Eternal, Immortal State—The Krishna State of Perfection.
In the three preceding verses, the ‘paths’ of Knowledge, Devotion & Action are indicated, all leading to
the same goal , oneness with the Supreme. Thus the philosophy of the total spiritual transformation of
the perceiver, the feeler & the thinker, all at once, is the prime contribution of the Geeta to the ancient
Hindu culture.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
MENTALLY RENOUNCING ACTION FIX THE MIND IN ME
18.57. Mentally renouncing all actions in Me, having Me as the Highest Goal, resorting
to the Yoga-of-discrimination, ever fix your mind in Me.
“Renouncing mentally all deeds to Me”: Renounce ego & the egocentric anxieties for enjoying
the fruits to the Lord & act in this world. This spirit of surrender can come only when the seeker
courageously maintains a steady aspiration for “Having Me as the Highest Goal”.
“Resorting to Buddhi Yoga”: The intellect’s main function is discrimination. Buddhi Yoga is
nothing but discriminating the false from the true, & fixing ourselves on the path of seeking the
true. This is in essence the path of selfless-action.
“Ever fix your mind upon Me”: Surrender mentally at all times to the Self, & Serve all creatures,
& fix thoughts constantly upon the Lord.
A devotee who has thus come to live all his activities in dedication to his goal, the Self, Lord
Krishna, must necessarily come to live as Krishna, & experience the Eternal, Immutable State of
the Self.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
FIX YOUR MIND ON ME
18.58. Fixing your mind upon Me, you shall, by My grace, overcome all obstacles, but if,
from egoism, you will not hear Me, you shall perish.
Lord Krishna tells Arjuna: “By your thoughts, renounce all your activities in Me”. All activities in the world
are only expressions of the Divine Consciousness through our bodies. So He asks us to keep Him as our
Goal in all our actions. Make our intellect constantly aware of the Lord.
By working so, the worker will “cross over all difficulties” by the Lord’s grace. Most of our obstacles in life
are imaginary; created by false fears & anxieties of our confused mind. The ‘grace’ here means ‘the result
accrued in our mind when it is properly tuned up & perfectly settled in contemplation upon the Infinite’.
His Grace is present everywhere, because It is His form, just as Sunlight. To the extent we pursue the
Sadhana & make the adjustments, we receive His Grace.
“But if, from egoism, you will not hear Me, you shall perish”: This is not a threat from a tyrannical power
to frighten us to obedience. This is a mere statement of fact. Man is free to choose freedom or bondage.
What Krishna has described is the path of freedom. We always get such advices as the ‘inner voice’. But
man’s ego & egocentric desires force him to disobey the ringing voice of the Lord, & pursue a life of sense-
gratification, resulting in his downfall & destruction, by his own actions.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
NATURE FORCES ONE TO ACT EVEN AGAINST HIS WILL
18.59. Filled with egoism, if you think, “I will not fight”, vain is this, your resolve; (for)
nature will compel you.
18.60. O Son of Kunti, bound by your own Karma (action) born of your own nature, that
which , through delusion you wish not to do, even that you shall do, helplessly.
Here, Krishna brings the philosophical contents of His discourse into Arjuna’s own immediate problem.
If due to a sense of ego, Arjuna were to think “I will not fight”, his thinking will be in vain! His Rajoguna
will assert itself, “Nature will compel you”. Fighting is the only choice you have. Your resolve not to fight is
an illusion. You will have to fight, because, your Kshatriya nature will assert itself.
The actions we do are propelled by our own Vasanas, born of our actions in the past. Being a Kshatriya,
Arjuna’s Vasanas will force him to fight, even if he, because of wrong thinking, feels against the war.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
THE LORD DWELLS IN THE HEARTS OF ALL
18.61. The Lord dwells in the hearts of all beings, O Arjuna, causing all beings, by His
power of illusions, to revolve, as if mounted on a machine.
“The Lord dwells in the hearts of all living beings”: ‘Remember the Lord’ says Geeta, as the One
who organises, controls & directs all things in the world. In His ‘presence’ alone everything can
happen, so remember Him as Ishwara. Do not remember God as a personified Power in a
temple, but as the one who dwells in the hearts of every creature. So everyone is a ‘local
address’ of Bhagawan.
“Residing thus in the heart”: The Lord lends His Power to all living creatures to act on. He
energises everyone. We are just puppets in His hands, jumping according to His sweet will &
pleasure. The Spark-of-Life presiding over our body, made of inert materials, vitalises it, & make
us capable of perceiving, feeling & thinking. “The Supreme functioning through the total bodies
as the cause of all actions” is called Ishwara. The essential life in all is one & the same; so the
total life functions through & manifests as the entire universe, energising everything.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
TAKE SHELTER IN THAT LORD
18.62. Fly unto Him for refuge with all your being, O Bharata ; by His grace you shall
obtain Supreme Peace (and) the Eternal Abode.
The very core of the philosophy of Geeta, is : “The Infinite Truth pervades everything in the world, &
therefore, renouncing all the multiplicity, enjoy the Infinitude”. The one commandment that has been
repeated all through the ‘Divine Song’ with great insistence is: “Renounce the ego & act”. Now Lord
Krishna advises Arjuna to surrender his ego unto the Infinite Lord, described previously. “Fly unto Him for
refuge with all your will”. The Geeta requires all of us to live & act with our hearts resting in self-dedicated
surrender to the Consciousness. He who has thus surrendered totally gains a fully awakened intellect. To
the extent we identify ourselves with Him, to that extent His light & power becomes ours, (His Grace).
Before long, with accumulated Grace, the person shall obtain “The supreme Peace, The Eternal Resting
Place”.
“With all one’s being (Sarva bhavena)”: We must grow into a consciousness of the Presence of the Divine
in all the planes of our existence. Examples of such devotees are, Radha, Hanuman, Prahlada etc. A true
devotee must reorient his being & must surrender himself as a willing vehicle for His expression. Then only
he gains the Divine experience, & comes to live fully the State of Immortality of the Godhood.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
THIS IS THE GREAT SECRET WISDOM
18.63. Thus, the ‘Wisdom’ which is a greater secret than all secrets, has been declared to
you by Me; having reflected upon it fully, you now act as you choose.
This can be considered as the ‘Closing Verse’ of the Geeta discourse. The Lord has ended his teaching here.
“A greater secret than all secrets”: The spiritual truth & the right way-of-living discussed in the Geeta are termed as
‘The Secret of all Secrets’ in the sense that it is not easy for one to know the Geeta way of dynamic life & the Geeta
version of Truth, unless one is initiated into them. Even a subtle intellect must necessarily fail to feel the Presence of
this subtle, Eternal & Infinite Self. The word ‘Guhyam’ is not used here in the sense that this secret has to be guarded
from all except a privileged few, but there are many who do not have the intellectual vision, nor the mental
steadiness, nor the physical discipline to understand correctly this great Truth & so it should be kept away from such
so that they may misinterpret it & damage themselves.
“Reflect over it all”: The knowledge gained through reading or listening must be assimilated to make it one’s own, as
‘wisdom’. Here, Arjuna is asked not to tamely accept Krishna’s teachings, but asked to independently think over all
that the Lord has declared.
“Hereafter act as you please”: Krishna leaves the decision to act to Arjuna’s own choice. Each devotee must reach the
Lord by his own free choice, there is no compulsion. This has been the typical behaviour of all great Indian Teachers of
the past, who never compelled or indoctrinated their disciples.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
HEAR MY SUPREME WORD
18.64. Hear again My supreme word, most secret of all; because you are My dear
beloved, therefore, I will tell you what is good (for you).
After concluding His discourse, Krishna wants to reemphasise the most secret of His
advice, in order to clear any confusion His disciple Arjuna may have. So He says:
Again I will repeat the profoundest Wisdom; please, Arjuna, listen once again to this
supreme Wisdom”.
The motive force behind every spiritual Teacher is his abundant love for mankind.
Krishna as the Yogacharya is no exception. So He says: “ Because you are My best
friend”. Arjuna, a born warrior, likes to receive a straight forward order to take
action, rather than detailed philosophical discussions. Knowing this, Lord Krishna
promises here that He shall now declare the truth which is “the most secret of all”.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
FIX YOUR MIND UPON ME & BE DEVOTED
18.65. Fix your mind upon Me; be devoted to Me; sacrifice for Me; bow down to Me; you
shall come, surely then, to Me alone; truly do I promise to you, (for) you are dear to Me.
Here, Lord Krishna lays down four conditions for the ultimate devotee, & if accomplished, an assurance of
realisation is also given.
“With the mind fixed on Me…”: Ever remembering Me, ever devotedly identifying with Me, through the
process of dedicating all your activities unto Me, in an attitude of reverence unto the All-pervading Life. If
you work in the service of the world, you will reach the Supreme Goal. As the Supreme Himself is advising
the seeker, Krishna declares, “You will reach Me”.
To assure the certainty of the result, the Lord gives His promise, “I promise you truly”. The Spiritual
Teacher has infinite love & compassion for His disciples , & so He says, “You are dear to Me”.
The All-Perfect Supreme in us has been as though shackled by our mind & intellect. Our ego-centric
activities have generated all the Vasanas in us, & we have to remove them ourselves by self-less activities
in the service of the Lord. So the advice is, “ Act on with mind fixed on the Supreme, working devotedly
for Him, & dedicating all our activities as an offering unto Him”. An attitude of reverence to the Supreme
is also necessary for us to acquire the qualities of the Supreme.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
TAKE REFUGE IN ME
18.66. Abandoning all Dharmas (of the body, mind & intellect), take refuge in Me alone;
I will liberate thee from all sins; grieve not.
This is the noblest of all verses in the Geeta. ‘Dharma’ in our scriptures means the ‘Law of Being’, that because of
which a thing continue to be the thing. Hence the ‘Dharma’ of man is the Touch of Life, the Divine Consciousness in
him, without which he cannot exist. Nowhere else has the Lord so directly & openly expressed His divine willingness
to liberate His devotee.
“Abandoning all Dharma”: The perceiver-feeler-thinker personality in us is our ‘ego’, which is a non-essential Dharma
for us. So Krishna says “Renounce all non-essential Dharmas- the ego” & “Come to My refuge”.
“Come to Me alone for shelter”: By singe-pointed, steady contemplation upon Me, the Self, we can successfully
accomplish our total withdrawal from our ego. Krishna commands His devotees to come to His shelter, so that they
can accomplish the renunciation of all their false identifications.
“Be not grieved”: Discard all anxieties to “Realise”. Even a desire to Realise can obstruct the final enlightenment.
“I shall release you from all sins”: Something that brings about agitations in the mind & thereby cause dissipation of
energy is called “sin”. Desire-prompted actions leave impressions in our mind, called Vasanas. They cause our
bondage with the circle of life & death. Selfless actions purify the mind by removing accumulated Vasanas, & enable
contemplation on the Self. Even after reaching the Self, the seeker may be worried about uncleaned Vasanas or sins.
The Lord here promises that “I shall release you from all sins”.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
NEVER DISCLOSE THIS TO THE UNINTERESTED
18.67. This is never to be spoken by you to one who is devoid of austerities or devotion,
nor to one who does not render service, nor to one who desires not to listen, nor to one
who cavils at Me.
Here the Lord indicates the qualification for learning Geeta.
“Those who do not live an austere life”: Those who do not have any control over their body & mind and
have wasted their energies in vain sense-pursuits- to them “never is this to be spoken by you”. It will not
benefit them.
“Those who have no devotion”: Those who do not identify with a higher ideal they want to reach. They
cannot assimilate it.
“Those who do not render service”: Throughout Geeta, Krishna emphasises the need for selfless action to
attain the Highest. Seekers who are not able to serve others, who are selfish & non-sympathising- they
will not understand or appreciate this secret.
“Those who cavil at Me”: Those who murmur against Me. Without respect & reverence to the teacher,
one can never learn from him. Those who are not able to respect the Self, will not understand this
philosophy. Self development cannot be forced upon somebody. He himself should work for it.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
ONE WHO TEACHES THIS WILL COME TO ME
18.68. He who, with supreme devotion to Me, will teach this supreme secret to My
devotees, shall doubtless come to Me.
18.69. Nor is there any among men who does dearer service to Me, nor shall there be
another on earth dearer to Me than he.
Here the Lord glorifies the teacher who can give the correct interpretation of the Geeta & make the listener follow the
Krishna way-of-life. Geeta has a special appeal to those who have the spiritual urge to live a fuller life. This deeply
profound philosophy must be imparted the Lord’s devotees only. The teacher must have Bhakti towards the Supreme
Reality of Krishna. Such a person ‘shall certainly come to ME alone’. Here the Lord is urging the students of Geeta to
impart their knowledge freely to other deserving persons.
“He is dearest to My heart as I find none equal to him in the world”: Not only among the people of the day but also of
future times, the devoted teacher of My words, is dearer to Me. He who can bring his entire mind to the
contemplation of the Divine, to the total exclusion of all dissimilar thoughts, will come to experience the Infinite
Divine.
“He is doing the greatest service to Me”: Such a devoted teacher is dear to the Lord because he is doing the greatest
service of spreading the Lord’s message to the people at large. It is not essential that the person has a mastery over
Geeta; but whatever he has learned, he should impart it to others with great love & devotion. Also, he must sincerely
& honestly try to live the principles in his own life.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
READING THE GEETA IS EQUVALENT TO JNANA-YAJNA
18.70. And he who will study this sacred dialogue of ours, by him I shall have been
worshipped by the ‘sacrifice-of-wisdom’, such is My conviction.
The Lord here glorifies the students who study this sacred text of the ‘Lord’s Song’.
The Geeta has a compelling charm about it, so that even those who read it
superficially will also be slowly pulled into the depths of spirituality. Krishna says
here that a devoted reader of Geeta is performing nothing less than a ‘Jnana Yajna’
with its consequent benefits. Study of Geeta & regular contemplation on it kindles
the Fire-of-Knowledge in us & into it the intelligent seeker offers, as his oblation, his
own false values & negative tendencies. Such a man is declared to be the greatest
devotee of the Supreme. When reacted with the knowledge of the Geeta, our wrong
tendencies, unhealthy Vasanas & false sense of ego, all get burned up in the Fire of
Its Knowledge.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
ONE WHO HEARS THIS WITH FAITH WILL ALSO ATTAIN LIBERATION
18.71. That man also, who hears this, full of faith & free from malice, he too, liberated,
shall attain to the happy worlds of those of righteous deeds.
Lord Krishna puts two conditions for a student of Geeta:
“One of Faith”: Shraddha in Sanskrit is much more than “Faith”, it indicates deep contemplation of Scriptures with the
aim of absorbing its subtle principles into one’s life. Listening to the Lord’s discourses can be fruitful only to those who
have developed this essential faculty in themselves.
“Free from malice”: One should have no prejudice against the Lord & His teachings, if one wants to gain advantage
from listening. If the mind has any malice towards this philosophy, his intellect will not receive the true picture of
what the Lord says. Hinduism encourages valid criticism & independent judgement regarding what the Lord says. The
students should have an open mind & not condemn the philosophy before understanding His teachings.
Such a person who has attentively listened to the Geeta, who has intellectually absorbed, & assimilated that
knowledge, ‘he too gets liberated’ from the present state of confusions & sorrows, & reaches a state of inner
tranquillity & happiness. Happiness & sorrow are both within us. To the extent we learn & live the principles of right
living, as given in the Geeta, we shall gain a cultural eminence within us & live an ampler life of greater happiness.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
LORD’S FINAL QUESTION TO ARJUNA
18.72. Has this been heard, O son of Pritha, with single-pointed mind? Has the
distraction, caused by your ‘ignorance’, been dispelled, O Dhananjaya?
Here, Lord Krishna puts a leading question to Arjuna, giving him a chance to say how much he
has benefited from the discourse.
“Have you been listening with an attentive mind?”: The Lord has been repeatedly stressing the
need for a single-pointed mind to understand lofty spiritual principles. Here He asks Arjuna
whether he gave full attention to what Krishna was saying.
“Has your distraction of thought, caused by ‘ignorance’, been dispelled?”: The delusion of mind
in Arjuna, indicated by his false interpretation of ‘Dharma’ in chapter 1, resulted in this long &
deep discourse by the Lord. Now Krishna wants to know whether it has ended. When the
ignorance is removed by the “apprehension of Reality” or ‘Knowledge’, resulting in vigour &
dexterity in action by the realised person. In case Arjuna has understood the philosophy of the
Geeta, he will no more hesitate to meet the challenges as they reach him.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
ARJUNA REPLIES
Arjuna said:
18.73. Destroyed is my delusion, as I have now gained my memory (knowledge) through
your grace, O Achyuta; I am firm: my doubts are gone. I will do according to your words
(bidding).
As if suddenly awakened from unconsciousness, Arjuna, with a regained self-recognition,
assuredly confesses that his confusions have ended. “I have gained a Recognition of my Real
Nature, & the neurotic condition that had conquered my mind has totally ended”. Such a
rediscovery is possible for all of us if we truly understand the Geeta philosophy. The Infinite
Perfection is our own, only our ignorance veiling this Truth has to be removed for us to realise it.
“I will do according to your word”: Arjuna with a revived personality openly declares that his
duty is clear to him & he will follow the directions given by his Charioteer, who is none other
than the Divine-spark-of-Existence manifested as ‘pure intelligence’.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
SANJAYA’S CONCLUDING WORDS
Sanjaya said:
18.74. Thus have I heard this wonderful dialogue between Vasudeva & the high-souled
Partha, which causes the hair to stand on end.
“Dialogue between Vasudeva & the high-souled Arjuna”: The conversation between Krishna & Arjuna was but a silent mystic
dialogue between the ‘Higher’ & the ‘lower’ in man. Vasudeva means the Lord of the Vasus, the eight Vasus who together preside
over Time, so in mystic symbolism, it indicates the Consciousness that illumines the ‘concept of Time’. Vasudeva is the Atman, the
Self. Partha represents ‘matter (earth)’. The act of understanding oneself as different from one’s matter envelopments is man’s
highest art, of unveiling the Infinite through the finite.
“Wonderful”: Sanjaya calls the philosophy of Geeta ‘wonderful’, because it revived the Blasted personality of Arjuna into a Dynamic
Whole. Geeta has proved that every average human being is endowed with potential power with which he can easily conquer all
expressions of life in him. He is the Lord of his life, master of his ‘chariot’, & not a victim of some other higher power that created
him. Hearing this, Sanjay, in ecstasy exclaims: “Oh, what a marvellous revelation! What a stupendous demonstration!!”
“High-Souled Partha”: Arjuna had the courage & heroism to come out of his mental confusions, when he gained the right knowledge
from his Master’s teachings. Hence Arjuna is glorified here. Sanjaya, with his sympathies clearly with the Pandavas, is trying his best
here, to make the blind king Dhritarashtra realise the folly of the war, & the certain defeat of his side against the righteous
Pandavas. Alas! All his attempts failed because the king was not only blind physically, but also mentally & intellectually.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
I HEARD THE MOST SECRET YOGA
Sanjaya continues..
18.75. Through the grace of Vyasa I have heard this supreme & most secret Yoga,
directly from Krishna, the Lord of Yoga, Himself declaring it.
Through the grace of Sage Vyasa, Sanjaya, the minister of King Dhritarashtra, had received the power to
see & hear whatever was happening at Kurukshetra, from the Palace at Hastinapura. Here, Sanjaya
expresses his gratitude to Vyasa for this boon which enabled him to witness the discourse by Lord Krishna
given to Arjuna.
“Directly from Krishna Himself”: Sanjaya is overjoyed by the fact that he could hear the ancient
Upanishadic philosophy of Geeta directly from the sacred lips of Yogeswara Krishna.
“The Supreme & the most secret Yoga”: Geeta contains the Supreme Yoga of the Vedas, modified to suit
the active life of householders & kings, presented by the Lord of Yoga himself, on a battlefield. As the Lord
proclaimed, it is the Supreme Knowledge, & as such is the most secret wealth of righteous people.
Sanjaya is trying, by his words, to make the blind king realise that his sons are fighting the Supreme Lord
Himself, & there is no chance for them to win.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
REMEMBERING THE HOLY DIALOGUE I REJOICE
18.76. O King, remembering this wonderful & holy dialogue between Keshava & Arjuna,
I rejoice again & again.
Here is a clear statement of Sanjaya’s reaction to his listening to the Lord’s Song.
“This discourse between Keshava & Arjuna”: Sanjaya says, this discourse between the perfect & the
imperfect, between the ‘higher’ & the ‘lower’, between Krishna & Arjuna, is at once ‘Wonderful & Holy’.
The vision & impression created in his heart by the philosophy that was heard were so deep & striking,
that Sanjaya exclaims how irresistibly the memory of those words rise up again & again in his mind, giving
him ‘the thrill of joy’.
Sanjaya’s words imply that the Geeta should be “studied again & again, repeatedly reflected upon, &
continuously remembered” until the inner man in us is completely re-educated, & liberated. The study of
Geeta gives not only a purpose to our every-day existence, but also a positive message of hope & cheer to
the otherwise purposeless pilgrimage of man from the womb to the tomb, called ‘life’. Thus the Geeta is
an infinite fountainhead of inspiration & joy to mankind.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
REMEMBERING THE WONDERFUL FORM OF HARI I REJOICE
18.77. Remembering & again remembering, that most wonderful Form of
Hari, great is my wonder, O King, & I rejoice again & again.
“Remembering repeatedly that most wonderful Form of Hari”: Here Sanjaya
remembers that most wonderful Form of Krishna, the “Cosmic-Man”, which was
revealed to Arjuna. The Cosmic-Form of the Lord is as impressive to the man-of-
heart, as the philosophy of the Geeta is unforgettable to the man-of-intelligence.
The Geeta reveals to us the glorious purpose in life, inspires & thrills the thinking
aspect in man, the vision of the smiling Lord of Vrindavana ‘Behind every name &
form, beneath every experience, under every situation’, adds a life-giving joy & a
maddening ecstasy to the heart of man.

THE HOLY GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
WHEREVER KRISHNA & ARJUNA, VICTORY EXISTS
Sanjaya concludes the Bhagavad Geeta:
18.78. Wherever is Krishna, the Lord of Yoga, wherever is Partha, the archer, there are prosperity, victory,
happiness & firm (steady or sound) policy; this is my conviction.
In this concluding verse of Chapter 18, & of Bhagavad Geeta, Sanjay expresses his personal opinion, “Where there is Krishna, the
Lord of Yoga, & Arjuna, ready with his bow, there prosperity, success, expansion & sound policy will be; this is my sure faith”. The
deeper significance of these words is worth exploring.
“Krishna, the Lord of Yoga”: In the Geeta, Krishna represented the Self, the Atman. He is the substratum of the entire universe. He
can be invoked within each one of us through any one of the Yoga-techniques expounded in the Geeta.
“Arjuna ready with his bow”: Partha represents “the confused, limited, ordinary mortal, with all his weaknesses, agitations & fears”.
When he is ‘Ready with the bow’, he is no more confused or idle, but has a willing readiness to use his faculties to brave the
challenges of life.
Putting these two personalities together, the symbolism of a way-of-life gets completed, wherein, reinforced with spiritual
understanding, man gets ready to exert & pour in his endeavours to tame life & master prosperity. There is no power that can stop
him from success. Here we get the creed of the Geeta– Spirituality can be lived in life, & true spiritual understanding is an asset to
one engaged in the battle-of-life.
Many commentators have joined the last word of the verse, “Mama” with the first word of the first verse of chapter one, “Dharma”
to mean that the 701 verses of the Geeta strung between these two words explain “Mama Dharma” or My Dharma, the nature of
man, his duties & the nature of Truth.
End of Chapter 18. END OF BHAGAVAD GEETA

THE HOLY GEETA
• SWAMI CHINMAYANANDA
Param Pujya Gurudev Chinmayananda travelled
the length & breadth of India, and many parts
of the world propagating the message of
Bhagavad Geeta through his Geeta Yajnas. “The
Holy Geeta” is a compilation of his commentary
delivered at these Yajnas.
By the Grace of Lord Krishna & through the kind
benevolence of Pujya Gurudev we have now
completed the study of “The Holy Geeta”. My
prostrations to Swamiji.
T K G Namboodhiri

The holy geeta chapter 18-moksha-sannyasa yoga

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The holy geeta chapter 18-moksha-sannyasa yoga