97. Sword of Wisdom.


Krishna says, “He who has relinquished actions by yoga and has torn apart his doubts by wisdom, becomes poised in the self; actions don’t bind him (4.41). Therefore, take shelter in yoga by cutting this ignorance-borne doubt dwelling in your heart with the sword of wisdom” (4.42). Krishna advises us to use the sword of wisdom to free ourselves from the bondage of action (karma bandhan).

‘Regret’ is a name for karma bandhan that binds us for both executed and unexecuted actions which resulted in the damage of things or relationships. Similarly, ‘blame’ is another name for karma bandhan arising from the actions or inactions of others that affect our lives negatively. The sword of wisdom is the instrument that helps us extricate ourselves from the complex web of regret and blame.

The fourth chapter of the Gita is called ‘Jnana Karma Sannyas Yoga’. It starts with how Paramatma performs karmas and goes on to tell us that all karmas should be performed like yajna of selfless actions. Then Krishna brings the aspect of wisdom when he says that all actions so performed, without exception culminate in wisdom (4.33). In the title, jnana stands for wisdom or awareness and sannyas being renunciation. This indicates that renunciation is doing karma with awareness

Renunciation is not the path of escape or shirking responsibility by giving up worldly things or professions. For Krishna renunciation is doing our karmas that are entrusted to us by existence with awareness and wisdom to the best of our ability. There is no real escape as the wisdom required for peace is within us, waiting to be discovered.

When we are filled with awareness and wisdom, even hell becomes heaven; conversely, an ignorant mind can turn heaven into hell. The key is inner transformation.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

261. Shed the Ahankaar

Image
  K rishna says, “Abandon all dharmas and take refuge in Me alone. I will liberate you from all sins, grieve not” (18.66). While verse 2.14 can be taken as the beginning of the Bhagavad Gita where Krishna advises us to ignore the transient pleasure-pain polarities which are caused when senses meet sense-objects, the verse 18.66 can be considered as the end of the Gita. Krishna uses the word ‘ dharma’ , and he is certainly not referring to religion, faith, or righteousness, as each of these carries different meanings for different people. Bhagavad Gita is not a book of religion but of natural principles that govern our lives. On the other hand, a lot of clarity comes if we take the paradigm or subjective reality as the meaning of dharma . Paradigm is the combination of our opinions, imaginations and understandings about the things around us or the way things are from our point of view. It is like the partial understanding formed about an elephant by a blind person by touching only ...
Read more

258. Sins and Suffering

Image
  O ne of the common fears of humanity is about committing sins ( paap ). Every culture has evolved around the concept of sin, and the common belief is that all our suffering is due to sins committed in this life or previous ones. Religions thrive on our guilt of committing sins. Even Arjuna’s despondency is because of his belief that he will incur sin by slaying his elders, teachers and relatives. That’s why Krishna elaborates on this issue on various occasions in the Bhagavad Gita. Firstly, Paramatma takes no account of anyone’s virtue or sin. It is the problem of human beings who are deluded as their knowledge is covered by moha (delusion or ignorance) (5.15). Secondly, one hoping for nothing, with a controlled mind and body, doing mere bodily actions, incurs no sin (4.21). Even if we are the most sinful of sinners, we shall safely cross the sea of sin by the raft of wisdom (4.36). The wisdom is realising ‘That’ by which we will see all beings in the self (4.35). Thirdly, for ...
Read more

259. Tapasya with Devotion

Image
  K rishna says, “This (the Gita) is never to be spoken by you to those who are not austere ( a-tapaskaya ) or to those who are not devoted ( a-bhaktaya ). It should also not be spoken to those who are averse to listening and especially not to those who cavil at Me” (18.67). The spiritual journey toward unconditional love and eternal joy is both adventurous and, at times, lonely. In this path we are expected to shed all the beliefs we gathered in our lives. We are also expected to shed the sense of attachment to our physical possessions, feelings and relationships. That’s why very few reach the destination (7.3). Hence, one should pursue it like tapasya with devotion. On the contrary, when it is pursued out of curiosity, it leads to the illusion of knowledge which increases ahankaar . Coming as ‘the existence’, Krishna mentioned about not caviling at Him. It is the path of accepting and embracing all the diverse and seemingly contradictory aspects of existence without any cavil, w...
Read more