Chapter 3: Karma Yoga – Transforming All Activities into Yoga: Verse 36
अर्जुन उवाच।
अथ केन प्रयुक्तोऽयं पापं चरति पूरुष: ।
अनिच्छन्नपि वार्ष्णेय बलादिव नियोजित: ।।
arjuna uvāca
atha kena prayukto’yaṃ pāpaṃ carati pūruṣa:
anicchann-api vārṣṇeya balād-iva niyojita: – 3.36
Arjuna said: Propelled by what, does man commit sin, O Varshneya (Krishna)? One does so even against his own volition, as if goaded by some alien force!
Chapter 3: Karma Yoga – Transforming All Activities into Yoga - Verse 36
Swami Nirviseshananda Tirtha
Having listened to Krishna with all attention, Arjuna’s mind became light. But his intelligence became active and he raises a significant question.
This war itself is something he and his brothers do not want. Duryodhana is forcing it on them, even against the wishes of his own elders. What is the force that instigates him to such stunning cruelty? Arjuna looks for an in-depth answer.
The question is actually a general one. What forces sinfulness on one, sometimes despite his own resistance? Who creates the duel within, and what leads it further?
Hurting another, stealing someone’s property, speaking stark lies; all are wrong, forbidden. All know it. Yet why do people commit these, ignoring their conscience?
