Chapter 18: Moksha-sannyasa-yoga: / Verse 40

Krishna summarizes the entire discussion on the three qualities (gunas) engendered by Nature. The revelation should guide seekers and students in their path. It is equally beneficial to those who give knowledge its due place in human life and interactions.

There is no being, says Krishna, in the world here, in the heavens above or among gods, who is outside the ken of Nature’s gunas. To be born here is itself an outcome within the scheme of Nature. Copulation, the entry of sperm into the uterus, fertilization that follows, growth of the foetus, and then child-birth – all these are processes and outcomes effected by Nature. The growth and expression thereafter are equally under the same Nature’s laws, where all the three gu¸as with their distinct effects come to play.

One has to recognize and accept this truth heartily and live in tune with it, finding full harmony.

In modern society, we find gruesome acts of murder committed despite strict laws against such cruelty and intolerance. One loving another, finding his love not reciprocated, chooses to kill the other. How can a beloved be an object of murder for the lover? Can any human think of killing his beloved, whatever be the wrong or defect the beloved has? There seems to be a power or influence which rules over the mind, intelligence and ego of the human.

One can argue in any way and blame another. But the questions are deeper. What is the remedy, rescue, hope and consolation for the distressed mind?

The earth on which we live is surrounded by myriad celestial bodies in space. Each of them spins and moves with its rhythm, without colliding with another. What is the Master Intelligence that has designed, and is preserving the whole sequence and order? It is under its intricate system that every act is performed and perpetrated. The question always remains: What makes one act the way he does? Krishna confirms that every being anywhere in creation is under the grip of Nature’s three gunas. It is the gu¸as that make one think, speak and act the way he does. As all the non-humans are gripped by their own nature irresistibly, so the human also is, a fact the devout thinker cannot ignore or devalue. At the same time, a human has his option and scope for self-correction.

Krishna-Arjuna dialogue in Kurukshetra transpired over 5000 odd years ago. The mind and its propensities thrive even today without any change. Criminal laws are meant to act after committing the crime. They have no power or scope to prevent criminality as such. It is here that texts like Bhagavad Gita have their marked influence and inspiration.

Krishna is firm that no external restraint will work. Everyone has to restrain himself from within (3.33, 6.5). Multi-pronged exhortation and enlightenment alone are thus the lasting safeguard.

Arjuna had asked: “Propelled by what one commits sin?” (3.36) Krishna made it clear that it is passion and greed that, like blazing fire, make one act sinfully. He also added that desire and hatred lie coiled up within the senses, mind and intelligence. One has to draw the greater power from the inmost level and overcome them. He can strive for and succeed in this, no doubt. Human life is meant for achieving this in time.

Arjuna was about to retreat from Kurukshetra. Listening to Krishna’s enlightening instructions, he changed his stand. Any day, enlightenment is the greatest correction, persuasion and inspiration to enrich one’s life, to put it on the right path to fulfillment!