Translation by Rory Mackay
This translation forms the basis of my book, “Bhagavad Gita: The Divine Song”, which includes an extensive and comprehensive commentary, using the teaching of the Gita to set out the entire fundamentals of Advaita Vedanta.
Previous: Chapter 1
Chapter 2: The Power of Knowledge
1. Arjuna sat motionless, his vision blurring with tears as he stared across the battlefield.
2-3. Krishna looked down at him, and he spoke in a voice filled with impassioned resolve: “Arjuna, the hour of battle has come. Cast aside your despair and self-doubt. This self-indulgence is unbecoming of the noble warrior you are. It will not help this crisis, nor will it lead to enlightenment. Get up, Arjuna, and fight!”
4-5. “Krishna, how can I fight these men?” Arjuna said. “These are great souls, worthy of my devotion. I’d rather beg on the streets than take up arms against my teachers and friends. If I were to kill them, any victory would be stained with their blood.
6. “Even if I should attain the most prosperous kingdom on earth, what pleasure could I take from it? How could I live with myself knowing who I had slain? Besides, how can we even say for certain who should win this war? Who is to that say we should be victorious and not they?”
7-9. The prince shook his head. “I don’t know what to do. My mind is in darkness. I can’t see a way forward. I’m your student, O Krishna. I seek refuge in you. Please teach me. Share with me your wisdom. For I shall not fight.” With that, Arjuna fell silent.
10-11. Krishna’s face softened, and he said, “You speak with compassion, Arjuna, but your sorrow is misplaced. The wise grieve for neither the living nor the dead.
12. “There was never a time that I did not exist, nor you, nor any of these kings gathered here. Nor will there come a time when we cease to exist in the future.
13. “Just as the indweller of the body experiences childhood, youth and old age, so, too, at death, does he simply gain another body. Knowing this, the wise do not grieve.
14-15. “While the senses give rise to heat and cold, pleasure and pain, these experiences are fleeting; they come and go and must be endured. Those who remain even-minded in both pleasure and pain have true discrimination and are fit to attain liberation.
16-17. “Listen carefully, Arjuna, for this is the knowledge that leads to freedom. The unreal does not exist, and the Real never ceases to exist. The wise understand this, for they know That which pervades this entire universe to be indestructible. One cannot bring about the destruction of That which never changes.
18-19. “While bodies are subject to change and death, the eternal Self, reflected as man’s indwelling consciousness, is impervious to destruction. Anyone who thinks that the Self can kill or be killed is ignorant of his own essential nature.
20- 22. “This Self is never born, so it can never die. Ever present and changeless, it is without beginning and end. When the body dies, the Self remains. Just as worn-out old clothes are cast aside, this indwelling consciousness discards worn-out bodies, replacing them with new ones.
23. “The Self cannot be pierced by weapons, nor burned by fire. Water cannot wet it, and wind cannot dry it.
24-25. “Untouchable by anything in this world, the Self is all-pervading, immovable and eternal. Unmanifest, it cannot be reached by the senses, and is free from all modification.
26-27. “Even if you believe the Self to be subject to birth and death, your sorrow is misplaced. Death is inevitable for the living, and rebirth inevitable for the dead. Therefore, you ought not to grieve over the inevitable.
28. “All beings arise from the Unmanifest. At birth they assume manifest form, before again returning to the Unmanifest at death. What indeed is there to grieve about, Arjuna?
29. “Some look upon the Eternal Self as a wonder. Others hear of it and speak of it as a wonder. Yet few truly understand it.
30. “Again, I tell you this, Arjuna: this Self, animating the bodies and minds of all living beings, is imperishable. It cannot be lost. If the Self, the inmost essence of all beings, can never be lost, what reason is there to grieve?”
31-32. Sensing that Arjuna was yet unconvinced, Krishna then appealed to Arjuna’s vanity. “You must also consider this from the standpoint of your duty, Arjuna. For a warrior, there is no greater virtue than a battle for a righteous cause. It is your duty to challenge wrongdoing, and you will be rewarded accordingly. This is your mission and your calling; it is your dharma.
33-36. “By refusing to follow your duty you incur consequences. You will forfeit your honour and fall into disgrace. Others will see you as a coward; a traitor who fled in the face of battle. They will speak ill of you for generations to come. To a noble man, who cherishes his honour, what could be more painful than such disgrace?
37-38. “If you die on this battlefield, you will gain heaven. If you win, and you shall enjoy the fruits of your victory here on earth. So, I say to you, Arjuna—arise, and resolve to do your duty! Knowing that pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat are one and the same, you must prepare yourself to fight. Do this, and you can only triumph.”
39. There was a moment of silence as Krishna’s words sunk in. The world around them remained frozen in time as Krishna continued: “I have explained to you the true nature of the Self. Now listen as I share the ancient wisdom of karma yoga. This yoga will free you from the bondage of action and the turmoil which engulfs your soul.
40. “With its practice, no effort ever goes to waste, nor can any undesirable results be produced. Even the smallest application will free you from great fear.
41-44. “Those who seek Me alone have true discrimination, and they attain their goal with singleness of purpose. Those who lack discrimination find their mind wandering in all directions, lost in a sea of distractions. Selfish and vain, their hearts are full of desire. Though they claim to be virtuous, they act only for their own pleasure and power. Blind of heart and mind, they are unable to attain liberation.
45. “The wise, however, are capable of mastering their own mind. Of tranquil heart, they are free of the anxiety born of the need to acquire and hoard. That is true power!
46. “For the Self-Realised soul who understands the nature of reality, the scriptures are as much use as a puddle when the land is flooded.
47. “Hear now the essence of karma yoga. You have the choice to act, but no choice over the results of that action. The results of action are never under your control. Desire for the fruits of your labour should never be your sole motivating factor. Neither should you be given to inaction.
48. “Remain steadfast in the spirit of karma yoga, Arjuna. Perform every action without attachment to the outcome, and accept what comes with grace, whether it be success or failure. You will thus attain inner peace in the midst of action. This evenness of mind is the essence of yoga.
49. “One gains success by performing one’s duty with the karma yoga attitude. Action prompted by desire and anxiety over the results will always cause misery.
50-51. “Therefore, seek refuge in this knowledge. Surrender to the Self, and let every action be a form of joyful worship, relinquishing all concern over the outcome. Doing this, you free yourself from the bondage of action and your mind will easily attain liberation.
52-53. “A life of karma yoga creates a tranquil heart and dispels the delusions of the mind. One becomes dispassionate toward the things of this world, all of which come and go of their own accord. No longer fixated upon the objects of the senses, the mind becomes serene and steady, and it comes to rest in contemplation of one’s own Self. Being established in Self-Knowledge is the gateway to liberation.”
54. Arjuna listened with deep fascination and had many questions. “Krishna, tell me more about a person with such wisdom; one who is unperturbed by the things of this world and whose mind abides in the Self?”
55-56. Krishna smiled. “Such a person renounces all desires as they appear in the mind, for they are content in themselves alone. Unshaken by adversity and no longer yearning for happiness, they are free from longing, fear and anger.
57. “This person, whose mind is illumined by the blissful radiance of Self-Knowledge, is truly discriminating. Even-minded in all situations, they are unattached to outcomes. They neither rejoice upon gaining the pleasant, nor do they grieve when experiencing the unpleasant.
58-61. “Much as the tortoise withdraws its limbs into its shell, the wise person withdraws their sense organs from the external world and rejoices in contemplation of the Self. Ceasing the relentless pursuit of sense pleasure, the mind is naturally drawn inward. Worldly craving ends when a person comes to know the wholeness of their own essential nature. Only those who tame the mind and who still the stormy seas of desire can sit in contemplation of the Self; their minds ever absorbed in Me.
62-63. “Dwelling upon sense objects creates attachment. From attachment, desire is born. Desire, when thwarted, gives rise to anger. Anger deludes the mind, clouding judgement and making one forgetful of one’s true nature and highest purpose. Discrimination is then lost, and the mind becomes incapacitated. When the mind is no longer fit for the attainment of liberation, one’s life is as good as destroyed.
64-65. “Those, however, who master the mind and senses live free of attachment and aversion; their minds ever clear and tranquil. Self-Knowledge is easily established in such an intellect, and this Self-Knowledge ends all sorrow.
66-67. “Without a peaceful, stable mind, contemplation upon the Self is impossible. When one lacks the ability to contemplate, there is no peace. Without peace, how can there be happiness? A mind that indiscriminately follows the impulses of the wandering senses is like a ship swept off course. A soul set adrift can never attain liberation.
68. “Therefore, Arjuna, be the master of your mind and senses! Use discrimination, and focus your mind upon your true goal. Only full knowledge of the Self will set you free.
69. “The wise see light amid the dark night of the worldly; and that which the world calls ‘day’ is but a night of ignorance to the enlightened.
70. “Just as all rivers flow into the already-full ocean leaving the ocean unchanged, so do worldly objects arise in the minds of the wise leaving them unchanged. This is not so with those whose desires compel them to continually chase the objects of the senses. Such a mind can never know peace.
71. “He or she who relinquishes all binding desires and moves through the world devoid of longing, setting aside all sense of “I”, “me” and “mine”, gains peace.
72. “The Self is then realised as one’s true nature. Knowing this Self to be limitless, deathless and free, delusion is vanquished, freeing the soul from bondage to the things of this world. This, Arjuna, is enlightenment.”
