The name of each chapter in the Song of God contains the Sanskrit word ‘yoga.’ Many people in the Western World believe that yoga is only the Hatha Yoga exercises. But yoga is much more than that. The word yoga is taken from the Sanskrit root, ‘Yuj,’ meaning ‘to yoke,’ or ‘to unite’ with something. Like the English word yoke, the various yoga techniques were developed to yoke us to something. All yoga practices aim to establish a harmonious connection between the body, mind, and spirit and between the individual self and universal consciousness, or the capital ‘S’ Self. These methods help us neutralize our ego-driven thoughts and behaviors to promote spiritual awakening and well-being.
Arjuna, as we just read, is confused about his duty. His duty, as a great Pandava archer, is to fight the enemies of his people. Yet, his duty to humankind and spiritual realization is to seek peace and uplift his society, not to tear it down. He does not wish to fight or harm others. Arjuna’s mind is troubled; he lacks balance within his thoughts and is unsure how to proceed. In this Gita, Shri Krishna explains various methods of mental and spiritual unification, each of which can produce self-enlightenment and balance.
Sankhya philosophy is dualistic. It can be summarized as the intellectual choice between Puruṣa and Prakṛti. Puruṣa is pure consciousness that is untainted by material contamination. One who abides in this ideal state of singularity always transcends duality by attachment to the Adi Purusham, the Infinite Person, God by whatever name. However, who can exist in such a state? The embodied self, or jiva-atman, constantly confronts Prakṛti at every turn. Prakṛti is the ever-changing reality around us that enlists the aid of maya or illusion. The materially embodied soul must act within material nature to survive. This necessity separates the jiva-atman from the Paramatman, the conditioned ‘self’ from the Transcendent ‘Self.’ How one responds to Prakṛti is up to us. All yoga systems seek to guide their adherents wisely in this endeavor.
Sankhya philosophy highlights three gunas or qualities, peculiarities, or properties to which the embodied soul must react. Sattva guna is purity, Rajas guna is passion, and Tamas guna is ignorance and fear born of inertia. One who acts based on Sattva does so with a pure mind, intending always to bless. One who acts according to self-interest, greed, and passion is motivated by Rajas, while those who act without thought, following the herd or out of fear and ignorance, act out of Tamas guna.
Sankhya is the yoga of taking responsibility for one’s actions through intellect. Why do I do what I do? Believe what I believe? On the surface, this sounds quite simple, but the interplay of the three gunas is profound. Each action causes diverse reactions that transcend our ability to predict and understand. Sometimes activating compassion results in negative reactions and harsh judgments of benevolence. Sankhya Yoga is endless in its implications, and yet each of us must choose how we will live our lives and confront our many challenges and opportunities. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is a foundational text on this philosophy if one is interested in pursuing it. With this knowledge, Shri Krishna now instructs Arjuna.
2:1: Sanjaya said: Madhusudana [Krishna] spoke these words to Arjuna, who was overcome with compassion and whose distressed eyes were filled with tears of lamentation:
2:2: The Blessed One said: O Arjuna, from where does this grief come upon you now that the peril of war has arrived? It is not only disgraceful [for a warrior] but also unbecoming of an Aryan [a civilized person]. If this attitude continues, you will certainly be excluded from the upper planetary systems, such as Svarga Loka [‘Heaven’].
2:3: Do not adopt such impotence, O son of Partha; it is unbecoming of you. Give up this petty weakness of heart, stand up, O Paramtapa [Arjuna].
2:4: Arjuna said: O Madhusudana, O slayer of enemies, how can I battle Bhishma and Drona with arrows and fight against those who are worthy of my deepest respect?
2:5, 6: It would be better for me to live on alms [as a beggar] here in this fallen world than to slay these noble gurus simply to enjoy wealth and desire. Those enjoyable things would be tainted with their blood.
Nor do we [the Pandavas] know which is better for us, that we should conquer them, or they should conquer us! Situated before us are the sons of Dhritarastra, whom, should we kill, we would not desire to live.
2:7: Because of my faulty and inferior nature, my heart is confused concerning my [military] duty and religious obligations. I seek refuge of You as Your disciple; please tell me decisively what is best for me.
2:8: Having achieved a prosperous and unrivaled kingdom on earth or even lordship over the devas [the gods], even that would not dispel my lamentation which is withering away my senses.
2:9, 10: Sanjaya said: Having thus spoken to Hrishikesha [Krishna] Gudakesha [Arjuna], the terror of his foes, said to Govinda, “I will not fight,” and fell silent. O descendent of Bharata [Dhritarastra], poised between the two armies Hrishikesha [Krishna], smiling as it were, said these words to the lamenting Arjuna:
2:11: The Blessed One [Shri Krishna] said: Although speaking learned words, you are mourning for what is not worthy of grief. Those who are wise lament neither for the living nor the dead.
2:12: Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings, nor in the future shall any of us cease to be.
2:13: As the embodied Soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the Soul also passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change.
2:14: O son of Kunti [Arjuna], sensory perceptions [prakṛti] afflict one with cold, heat, pleasure, and pain. They appear and disappear and are impermanent. Therefore, endure them all, O descendent of Bharata.
2:15: One who is never distressed, O best among men, and who remains unaltered [in the face of] suffering and pleasure and is patient, he is eligible for immortality [this is the perfection of Sankhya Yoga].
2:16: Being does not come from the non-existent, nor does non-being arise from the eternal. This is the considered conclusion of those who see the truth [through Sankhya Yoga].
2:17,18: Know by Whom all this imperishable is pervaded. The destruction of the immutable [the eternal Soul] is not possible for anyone.
All these bodies are perishable, but the eternal embodied Soul is indestructible and immeasurable, therefore fight, O descendent of Bharata.
2:19: Anyone who considers the slayer, or anyone who knows the slain, and thinks him the killer or killed lacks discernment. No one slays nor is anyone slain [because the Soul is immaterial, as concluded by Sankhya].
2:20: It [the immutable Soul] is not born. It does not die. At no time did It come into being, nor will It come into being hereafter. It is unborn, eternal, permanent, and infinitely ancient. It is not killed when the body is slain.
2:21: How can a person who knows the Soul to be indestructible, eternal, unborn, and immutable, O child of Partha, slay anyone or cause another to kill or be killed?
2:22: No, just as a person casts off worn-out clothing and accepts new ones, so the embodied Soul discards worn-out bodies and enters different ones.
2:23, 24: The Soul cannot be severed by weapons, burned by fire, wetted with water, nor dried by the wind.
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The Soul is unbreakable, unburnable. It cannot be made wet or dry. It is eternal and all-pervading, equable, immovable, and eternally constant.
2:25 - 28: Understand that the Soul is unmanifested. It is inconceivable and unchanging. Therefore, knowing the Soul to be thus, you should not lament.
Furthermore, if you conclude that the Soul is constantly born and eternally dying, even then, O mighty-armed one [Arjuna], you still ought not to lament.
For those born, death is certain and for those dead, birth is certain. For the sake of the inevitable, you should not lament.
All beings are unmanifested in the beginning, manifested in the middle, and again unmanifested in the end. O descendent of Bharata, where in this is cause for lamentation?
2:29: Some consider the Soul amazing. Some speak of the Soul as amazing, while others hear of it as amazing. And yet, no one truly knows the Soul.
2:30: The living entity dwelling within the material body is the eternal and indestructible Soul. It is only encased within a material form. This is the situation of all living entities, O descendent of Bharata, therefore you should not lament.
2:31, 32: Considering your personal religious and moral duty, you ought not to vacillate in the face of this sacred obligation. Indeed, for a ksatriya [a warrior] nothing is better than war.
O child of Partha, happy is the ksatriya who obtains a battle such as this which comes of its own accord, for thereby the gates of heaven are cast wide open.
2:33 - 38: Therefore, if you will not perform your religious and moral duty of fighting as a matter of personal obligation, then your reputation as a warrior will be abandoned by the acquirement of guilt.
All beings will speak of your everlasting dishonor. For one who has been honored, dishonor is worse than death.
The great chariot fighters will determine that you fled from the battle because of fear. You, who once received great honors, will be lightly esteemed by all.
With many disrespectful words, your enemies will mock your incompetence. What could be more painful than that?
If slain, you will gain the heavenly realms and, if victorious, you will enjoy the earthly kingdom.
Therefore, O son of Kunti, arise, and battle with a resolved spirit!
Esteeming happiness and sorrow, gain and loss, victory, and defeat as equals, engage in the battle and you will incur no karmic debt.
2:39: All this is described in Sankhya — the yoga system that comprises taking refuge in wisdom to renounce the fruits of one’s deeds — but hear this through your intelligence, joined with which, O child of Partha, you will be released from the bondage of action and reaction [karma].
2:40, 41: In this effort, there is no loss or reversal. Even the slight performance of this duty releases one from the greatest fear.
Have single-pointed resolution of your intelligence, O beloved of the Kurus, for indeed the intelligence of those without this resolution is many-branched.
2:42 - 44: Flowery words are spoken in the Vedas for the unwise, who delight in study and debate, O son of Partha; the unwise say there is nothing else.
Such people are ever full of desire and have the heavenly realms as their highest goal, thus they perform peculiar actions and rituals hoping to produce fruits of good birth, pleasure, and power.
Those who cling to the pleasures [of Rajas guna] and power have deluded minds. Their intellects are not suitable for spiritual contemplation and samadhi [realization].
2:45, 46: The Vedas describe the three qualities of material nature. O Arjuna, do not be infected by these. Shun duality, abide in the equanimity of eternal goodness [Sattva], free from the desire for acquisition and preservation. Establish yourself in the Self!
As the use of a full well is negligible when the land is flooded, in the same way, the Vedic literatures are not required by a qualified sadhu [a brahmana or righteous person] who knows the truth!
2:47, 48: You certainly may perform [worthy, Sattvic] actions, but not for the fruits thereof. Do not desire the results of your actions. If you are unattached, your actions will be like inaction [i.e., they will not produce a karmic reaction].
Being fixed [established] in Karma Yoga, [and being] equipoise, and thus performing your actions, surrender, O Dhananjaya [O conqueror of wealth], attachment to success and failure. Such equanimity is the essence of yoga.
2:49: Keep all inferior actions far away from you, O Dhananjaya. With your intelligence, surrender to [or take refuge in] the yoga of devotion [i.e. Bhakti yoga]. Know that wretched people desire the fruits of their actions.
2:50: But one who is established in devotion [Bhakti Yoga] can get rid of, in this life, both positive and negative [karmic] reactions. Therefore, for the sake of union [with devotion], engage in devotional activities [Bhakti Yoga], for your well-being.
2:51: With the intelligence yoked, abandoning the fruits born of action, the wise ones are liberated from the bondage of repeated births and attain that platform that is free from all disease.
2:52, 53: But when the intellect, which is full of illusion and confusion, crosses beyond, then one achieves equanimity for all that has been and will yet be heard.
When you are no longer bewildered by the Vedic texts, when your intellect remains fixed in spiritual consciousness, then you will attain Self-realization.
2:54: Arjuna asked: Please describe how one who is thus stead-fast in wisdom, who is established in meditative samadhi, O Keshava, and whose intelligence is steady, speaks, sits, and walks.
2:55: The Blessed One replied: When all types of desire and mental concoctions have been cast off by the Soul, O child of Partha, then the Soul is satisfied and steady in wisdom.
2:56: One whose mind is unagitated by misery and happiness, who is liberated from desire, is free from attachment, fear, and anger and who is steadfast in thought, is called a muni [sage].
2:57: One who dwells without attachment, who neither praises the positive nor despises the negative, such a person is fixed in the insight that leads to liberation.
2:58: When the senses are withdrawn from sense objects as a tortoise withdraws into his shell, one is fixed in the insight leading to liberation.
2:59: By practicing abstinence [from all material desires] the embodied living entity may turn away from the objects of the senses, but only by experiencing the highest does the taste for sense enjoyment leave.
2:60, 61: O child of Kunti, while striving with the senses, even the learned are tortured and forcefully carried away by the mind.
Having restrained all the [senses], one who intently abides in Me [God alone], whose senses are kept completely under control, such a person is fixed in the insight leading to liberation.
2:62, 63: But by pondering the objects of the senses, attachment to them develops. From that attachment, desire is produced, and from desire, anger arises. From anger comes delusion, from delusion loss of memory occurs, from the loss of memory the intelligence is ruined, and when the intelligence is ruined, a person perishes.
2:64, 65: And yet freed from attraction and repulsion for the objects of the senses, self-controlled and self-governed, God’s mercy is attained.
With that mercy, all lamentations are destroyed and a peaceful mind is produced; through which the intelligence soon becomes established.
2:66 - 68: For those who are without yoga, there is no intelligence. Among the unyoked, there is neither direct perception nor non-perception. Being devoid of peace, where is happiness?
The intelligence of one whose mind is engaged in the senses wanders about aimlessly like a wind-driven boat on the water.
Therefore, know, O mighty-armed one, one whose senses are restrained from sense objects, has the intelligence fixed.
2:69: What is nighttime for all living entities is the time of awakening for the self-controlled. The time of awakening for all living entities is likewise night for the all-knowing sage.
2:70 - 72: As the ocean is always being filled yet remains motionless, so too one attains peace unto whom all desires enter [but do not move], not one who craves desires.
Abandoning all material desires, a person lives free from longings, ownership, and false ego; in this way, peace is attained.
O child of Partha, once this sacred state is achieved, one is no longer bewildered. Being thus situated, even at the end of life, the kingdom of God is surely attained.
Here Ends Chapter Two