Chapter 2. "Sankhya-Yoga, or the Path of Wisdom".
Sanjaya said:
1. To him (Arjuna) whose mind was thus overpowered by pity and grief and eyes dimmed with tears, Madhusudana (Krishna) spoke these words:
The Blessed Lord said:
2. O Arjuna, whence comes upon thee in this critical moment this depression unworthy of an Aryan, disgraceful, and contrary to the attainment of heaven?
3. O son of Pritha, yield not to unmanliness; it does not befit thee. Casting off this mean faint-heartedness, arise, O terror of thy foes!
Arjuna said:
4. O destroyer of enemies and slayer of Madhu (Krishna), how can I fight with arrows in battle against Bhishma and Drona, who are worthy to be worshipped (by me).
5. Instead of slaying these great-souled masters, it would be better even to live in this life by begging; but killing them, all our enjoyments of wealth and desires, even in this world, will be stained with blood.
6. Indeed I know not which of the two is better for us, whether we should conquer them or they should conquer us. For those very sons of Dhritarashtra stand before us, after slaying whom we should not care to live.
7. With my nature overpowered by pity and depression and mind confused about duty, I implore Thee (O Krishna) tell me with certainty what is good for me. I am Thy disciple, instruct me, who have taken refuge in Thee.
8. For I see not what can remove this grief which withers my senses, even if I should obtain unrivalled and flourishing dominion over the earth and rulership over the gods.
Sanjaya said:
9. Gudakesha (Arjuna), the conqueror of his foes, having thus spoken to the Lord of the senses (Krishna), said: "I shall not fight, O Govinda!" and became silent.
10. O descendant of King Bharata, Hrishikesha (Krishna), as if smilingly, spoke these words to him (Arjuna), who was thus grief-stricken in the midst of the two armies.
The Blessed Lord said:
11. Thou hast been mourning for those who should not be mourned for and yet thou speakest (apparent) words of wisdom; but the truly wise mourn not either for the dead or for the living.
12. It is not that I have never existed before, nor thou, nor all these kings. Nor is it that all of us shall cease to exist hereafter.
13. As in this body the embodied soul passes through childhood, youth and old age, in the same manner it goes from one body to another; therefore the wise are never deluded regarding it (the soul).
14. O son of Kunti, the feelings of heat, cold, pleasure, pain, are produced from the contact of the senses with sense-objects; they are with beginning and end, transitory. Therefore, O Bharata, endure them (bravely).
15. O mighty among men, he is fit to attain immortality who is serene and not afflicted by these sensations, but is the same in pleasure and pain.
16. There is no existence for the unreal and the real can never be nonexistent. The Seers of Truth know the nature and final ends of both.
17. Know That to be indestructible by which all this is pervaded. No one is ever able to destroy that Immutable.
18. These bodies are perishable; but the dwellers in these bodies are eternal, indestructible and impenetrable. Therefore fight, O descendant of Bharata!
19. He who considers this (Self) as a slayer or he who thinks that this (Self) is slain, neither of these knows the Truth. For It does not slay, nor is it slain.
20. This (Self) is never born, nor does It die, nor after once having been, does It go into non-being. This (Self) is unborn, eternal, changeless, ancient. It is never destroyed even when the body is destroyed.
21. O son of Pritha, how can he slay or cause the slaying of another who knows this (Self) to be indestructible, eternal, unborn and immutable?
22. As man casts off worn-out garments and puts on others which are new, similarly the embodies soul, casting off worn-out bodies, enters into others which are new.
23. Sword cannot pierce It (Self), fire cannot burn It, water cannot wet It, and air cannot dry It.
24. It cannot be pierced, nor burned, nor wet, nor dried. It is eternal, all-pervading, unchangeable, immovable, everlasting.
25. This (Self) is said to be unmanifested, unthinkable, unchangeable; therefore knowing this to be so, thou shouldst not grieve.
26. But even if thou thinkest that this (Self) is subject to constant birth and death, even then, O might-armed, thou shouldst not grieve.
27. For that which is born death is certain, and for the dead birth is certain. Therefore grieve not over that which is unavoidable.
28. O Bharata, all creatures are unmanifested in the beginning, manifested in their middle state, unmanifested again in the end. What is there to grieve about
29. Some look upon It (Self) with wonder, some speak about It with wonder, some hear about It with wonder and yet others, even after hearing about It, know it not.
30. The dweller in the body of everyone is every indestructible; therefore, O Bharata, thou shouldst not grieve over any creature.
31. Looking upon it even from the standpoint of thine own Dharma, thou shouldst not waver, for nothing is higher for a Kshatriya (warrior) than a righteous war.
32. O son of Pritha, fortunate indeed are Kshatriyas to whom comes unsought, as an open gate to heave, such a war.
33. But if thou shouldst not take part in this righteous war, then forfeiting thine own duty and honor, thou shalt incr sin.
34. People will ever speak ill of thee; for the esteemed, dishonor is even worse than death.
35. These great car-warriors will think that thou hast withdrawn from the battle through fear. And thou shalt be thought of lightly by those who once honored thee highly.
36. Thine enemies will speak unutterable disgraceful things against thee and blame thy valor. What can be more painful than this?
37. If thou fallest in battle, thou shalt obtain heaven; if thou conquerest, thou shalt enjoy the earth. Therefore, O son of Kunti, arise and be resolved to fight.
38. Regarding alike pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat, fight thou the battle. Thus sin will not stain thee.
39. Thus I have declared utno thee the wisdom of Self-realization. Listen now, O son of Pritha, regarding Yoga, by knowing which thou shalt be freed from the bonds of Karma (cause and effect).
40. In this (Yoga) there is neither waste of effort nor possibility of evil results. Even a little practice of this (Yoga) delivers one from great fear.
41. O son of Kuru, in this (Yoga), the well-resolved mind is single and one-pointed; but the purposes of the irresolute mind are many-brached and endless.
42. O son of Pritha, those who delight in the flowery speech of the unwise and are satisfied with the mere letter of the Vedas (Scriptures) saying: "There is naught else";
43. And those who are full of desires for self-gratification, regarding heaven as their highest goal, and are engaged in many intricate Scriptural rites just to secure pleasure and power as the result of their deeds for their future incarnations;
44. Whose discrimination is stolen away by the love of power and pleasure and who are thus deply attached therein, (for such people) it is impossible to obtain either firm conviction (in purpose) or God-consciousness.
45. The Vedas deal with the three Gunas. O Arjuna, be thou free from these three Gunas; free from the pairs of opposites (cold and heat, pleasure and pain); ever steadfast, be thou free from (thoughts of) acquiring or keeping and self-possessed.
46. To the Brahmana, the knower of Truth, all the Vedas are of as little use as a small water-tank is during the time of a flood, when water is everywhere.
47. To work alone thou hast the right, but never to the fruits thereof. Be thou neither actuated by the fruits of action, nor be thou attached to inaction.
48. O Dhananjaya, abandoning attachment and regarding success and failure alike, be steadfast in Yoga and perform thy duties. Evenmindedness is called Yoga.
49. O Dhananjaya, work (with desire for results) is far inferior to work with understanding. Therefore seek refuge in the Yoga of understanding. Wretched indeed are those who work for results.
50. Being possessed with this understanding, one frees one's self even in this life from good and evil. Therefore engage thyself in this Yoga. Skillfulness in action is called Yoga.
51. The wise, possessed with knowledge, abandoning the fruits of their actions, become freed from the fetters of birth and reach that state which is beyond all evil.
52. When thine intellect will cross beyond the mire of delusion, then alone shalt thou attain to indifference regarding things heard and yet to be heard.
53. When thine intellect, tossed by the various conflicting opinions of the Scriptures, will become firmly established in the Self, then thou shalt attain Yoga (Self-realization or union with God).
Arjuna said:
54. O Keshava, what are the signs of the man of steady wisdom, one who has attained God-consciousness? How does the man of steady wisdom speak? How does he sit? How does he walk?
The Blessed Lord said:
55. O Partha, when a man is satisfied in the Self by Self alone and has completely cast out all desires from the mind, ten he is said to be of steady wisdom.
56. He whose mind is not agitated in calamities and who has no longing for pleasure, free from attachment, fear and anger, he indeed is said to be a saiint of steady wisdom.
57. He who is free from all attachment and neither rejoices on receiving good nor is vexed on receiving evil, his wisdom is well-established.
58. When he completely withdraws his senses from sense-objects as the tortoise withdraws its limbs, then his wisdom becomes well-established.
59. The embodied, through the practice of abstinence (i.e. not giving food to the senses), can deaden the feelings of the senses, but longing still lingers in the heart; all longings drop off when he has seen the Supreme.
60. O son of Kunti, dangerous are the senses, they even carry away forcibly the mind of a discriminative man who is striving for perfection.
61. The man of steady wisdom, having subdued them all (senses), becomes fixed in Me, the Supreme. His wisdom is well-established whose senses are under control.
62. Thinking of sense-objects, man becomes attached thereto. From attachment arises longing and from longing anger is born.
63. From anger rises delusion; from delusion, loss of memory is caused. From loss of memory, the discriminative faculty is ruined and from the ruin of discrimination, he perishes.
64. But the self-subjugated attains peace and moves among objects with the senses under control, free from any longing or aversion.
65. In peace there is an end to all misery and the peaceful mind soon becomes well-established in wisdom.
66. There is no wisdom for the unsteady and there is no meditation for the unsteady and for the unmeditative there is no peace. How can there be any happiness for the peaceless?
67. For the mind that yields to the uncontrolled and wandering senses, carries away his wisdom just as a boat on water is carried away by wind.
68. Therefore, O might-armed, his wisdom is established whose senses are well-restrained from all objects of sense.
69. That which is night to all beings, therein the self-subjugated remains awake; and in that where all beings are awake, that is night for the knower of Self.
70. As the ocean remains calm and unaltered though the waters flow into it, similarly a self-controlled saint remains unmoved when desires enter into him; such a saint alone attains peace, but not he who craves the objects of desire.
71. That man attains peace who, abandoning all desires, moves about without attachment and longing, without the sense of "I" and "mine."
72. O son of Pritha, this is the state of dwelling in Brahman (absolute Truth); having attained this, no one is ever deluded. Being established in this knowledge even at the end of life, one attains oneness with Brahman (the Supreme).
Here ends the Second Chapter called "Sankhya-Yoga, or the Path of Wisdom"
Sanjaya said:
1. To him (Arjuna) whose mind was thus overpowered by pity and grief and eyes dimmed with tears, Madhusudana (Krishna) spoke these words:
The Blessed Lord said:
2. O Arjuna, whence comes upon thee in this critical moment this depression unworthy of an Aryan, disgraceful, and contrary to the attainment of heaven?
3. O son of Pritha, yield not to unmanliness; it does not befit thee. Casting off this mean faint-heartedness, arise, O terror of thy foes!
Arjuna said:
4. O destroyer of enemies and slayer of Madhu (Krishna), how can I fight with arrows in battle against Bhishma and Drona, who are worthy to be worshipped (by me).
5. Instead of slaying these great-souled masters, it would be better even to live in this life by begging; but killing them, all our enjoyments of wealth and desires, even in this world, will be stained with blood.
6. Indeed I know not which of the two is better for us, whether we should conquer them or they should conquer us. For those very sons of Dhritarashtra stand before us, after slaying whom we should not care to live.
7. With my nature overpowered by pity and depression and mind confused about duty, I implore Thee (O Krishna) tell me with certainty what is good for me. I am Thy disciple, instruct me, who have taken refuge in Thee.
8. For I see not what can remove this grief which withers my senses, even if I should obtain unrivalled and flourishing dominion over the earth and rulership over the gods.
Sanjaya said:
9. Gudakesha (Arjuna), the conqueror of his foes, having thus spoken to the Lord of the senses (Krishna), said: "I shall not fight, O Govinda!" and became silent.
10. O descendant of King Bharata, Hrishikesha (Krishna), as if smilingly, spoke these words to him (Arjuna), who was thus grief-stricken in the midst of the two armies.
The Blessed Lord said:
11. Thou hast been mourning for those who should not be mourned for and yet thou speakest (apparent) words of wisdom; but the truly wise mourn not either for the dead or for the living.
12. It is not that I have never existed before, nor thou, nor all these kings. Nor is it that all of us shall cease to exist hereafter.
13. As in this body the embodied soul passes through childhood, youth and old age, in the same manner it goes from one body to another; therefore the wise are never deluded regarding it (the soul).
14. O son of Kunti, the feelings of heat, cold, pleasure, pain, are produced from the contact of the senses with sense-objects; they are with beginning and end, transitory. Therefore, O Bharata, endure them (bravely).
15. O mighty among men, he is fit to attain immortality who is serene and not afflicted by these sensations, but is the same in pleasure and pain.
16. There is no existence for the unreal and the real can never be nonexistent. The Seers of Truth know the nature and final ends of both.
17. Know That to be indestructible by which all this is pervaded. No one is ever able to destroy that Immutable.
18. These bodies are perishable; but the dwellers in these bodies are eternal, indestructible and impenetrable. Therefore fight, O descendant of Bharata!
19. He who considers this (Self) as a slayer or he who thinks that this (Self) is slain, neither of these knows the Truth. For It does not slay, nor is it slain.
20. This (Self) is never born, nor does It die, nor after once having been, does It go into non-being. This (Self) is unborn, eternal, changeless, ancient. It is never destroyed even when the body is destroyed.
21. O son of Pritha, how can he slay or cause the slaying of another who knows this (Self) to be indestructible, eternal, unborn and immutable?
22. As man casts off worn-out garments and puts on others which are new, similarly the embodies soul, casting off worn-out bodies, enters into others which are new.
23. Sword cannot pierce It (Self), fire cannot burn It, water cannot wet It, and air cannot dry It.
24. It cannot be pierced, nor burned, nor wet, nor dried. It is eternal, all-pervading, unchangeable, immovable, everlasting.
25. This (Self) is said to be unmanifested, unthinkable, unchangeable; therefore knowing this to be so, thou shouldst not grieve.
26. But even if thou thinkest that this (Self) is subject to constant birth and death, even then, O might-armed, thou shouldst not grieve.
27. For that which is born death is certain, and for the dead birth is certain. Therefore grieve not over that which is unavoidable.
28. O Bharata, all creatures are unmanifested in the beginning, manifested in their middle state, unmanifested again in the end. What is there to grieve about
29. Some look upon It (Self) with wonder, some speak about It with wonder, some hear about It with wonder and yet others, even after hearing about It, know it not.
30. The dweller in the body of everyone is every indestructible; therefore, O Bharata, thou shouldst not grieve over any creature.
31. Looking upon it even from the standpoint of thine own Dharma, thou shouldst not waver, for nothing is higher for a Kshatriya (warrior) than a righteous war.
32. O son of Pritha, fortunate indeed are Kshatriyas to whom comes unsought, as an open gate to heave, such a war.
33. But if thou shouldst not take part in this righteous war, then forfeiting thine own duty and honor, thou shalt incr sin.
34. People will ever speak ill of thee; for the esteemed, dishonor is even worse than death.
35. These great car-warriors will think that thou hast withdrawn from the battle through fear. And thou shalt be thought of lightly by those who once honored thee highly.
36. Thine enemies will speak unutterable disgraceful things against thee and blame thy valor. What can be more painful than this?
37. If thou fallest in battle, thou shalt obtain heaven; if thou conquerest, thou shalt enjoy the earth. Therefore, O son of Kunti, arise and be resolved to fight.
38. Regarding alike pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat, fight thou the battle. Thus sin will not stain thee.
39. Thus I have declared utno thee the wisdom of Self-realization. Listen now, O son of Pritha, regarding Yoga, by knowing which thou shalt be freed from the bonds of Karma (cause and effect).
40. In this (Yoga) there is neither waste of effort nor possibility of evil results. Even a little practice of this (Yoga) delivers one from great fear.
41. O son of Kuru, in this (Yoga), the well-resolved mind is single and one-pointed; but the purposes of the irresolute mind are many-brached and endless.
42. O son of Pritha, those who delight in the flowery speech of the unwise and are satisfied with the mere letter of the Vedas (Scriptures) saying: "There is naught else";
43. And those who are full of desires for self-gratification, regarding heaven as their highest goal, and are engaged in many intricate Scriptural rites just to secure pleasure and power as the result of their deeds for their future incarnations;
44. Whose discrimination is stolen away by the love of power and pleasure and who are thus deply attached therein, (for such people) it is impossible to obtain either firm conviction (in purpose) or God-consciousness.
45. The Vedas deal with the three Gunas. O Arjuna, be thou free from these three Gunas; free from the pairs of opposites (cold and heat, pleasure and pain); ever steadfast, be thou free from (thoughts of) acquiring or keeping and self-possessed.
46. To the Brahmana, the knower of Truth, all the Vedas are of as little use as a small water-tank is during the time of a flood, when water is everywhere.
47. To work alone thou hast the right, but never to the fruits thereof. Be thou neither actuated by the fruits of action, nor be thou attached to inaction.
48. O Dhananjaya, abandoning attachment and regarding success and failure alike, be steadfast in Yoga and perform thy duties. Evenmindedness is called Yoga.
49. O Dhananjaya, work (with desire for results) is far inferior to work with understanding. Therefore seek refuge in the Yoga of understanding. Wretched indeed are those who work for results.
50. Being possessed with this understanding, one frees one's self even in this life from good and evil. Therefore engage thyself in this Yoga. Skillfulness in action is called Yoga.
51. The wise, possessed with knowledge, abandoning the fruits of their actions, become freed from the fetters of birth and reach that state which is beyond all evil.
52. When thine intellect will cross beyond the mire of delusion, then alone shalt thou attain to indifference regarding things heard and yet to be heard.
53. When thine intellect, tossed by the various conflicting opinions of the Scriptures, will become firmly established in the Self, then thou shalt attain Yoga (Self-realization or union with God).
Arjuna said:
54. O Keshava, what are the signs of the man of steady wisdom, one who has attained God-consciousness? How does the man of steady wisdom speak? How does he sit? How does he walk?
The Blessed Lord said:
55. O Partha, when a man is satisfied in the Self by Self alone and has completely cast out all desires from the mind, ten he is said to be of steady wisdom.
56. He whose mind is not agitated in calamities and who has no longing for pleasure, free from attachment, fear and anger, he indeed is said to be a saiint of steady wisdom.
57. He who is free from all attachment and neither rejoices on receiving good nor is vexed on receiving evil, his wisdom is well-established.
58. When he completely withdraws his senses from sense-objects as the tortoise withdraws its limbs, then his wisdom becomes well-established.
59. The embodied, through the practice of abstinence (i.e. not giving food to the senses), can deaden the feelings of the senses, but longing still lingers in the heart; all longings drop off when he has seen the Supreme.
60. O son of Kunti, dangerous are the senses, they even carry away forcibly the mind of a discriminative man who is striving for perfection.
61. The man of steady wisdom, having subdued them all (senses), becomes fixed in Me, the Supreme. His wisdom is well-established whose senses are under control.
62. Thinking of sense-objects, man becomes attached thereto. From attachment arises longing and from longing anger is born.
63. From anger rises delusion; from delusion, loss of memory is caused. From loss of memory, the discriminative faculty is ruined and from the ruin of discrimination, he perishes.
64. But the self-subjugated attains peace and moves among objects with the senses under control, free from any longing or aversion.
65. In peace there is an end to all misery and the peaceful mind soon becomes well-established in wisdom.
66. There is no wisdom for the unsteady and there is no meditation for the unsteady and for the unmeditative there is no peace. How can there be any happiness for the peaceless?
67. For the mind that yields to the uncontrolled and wandering senses, carries away his wisdom just as a boat on water is carried away by wind.
68. Therefore, O might-armed, his wisdom is established whose senses are well-restrained from all objects of sense.
69. That which is night to all beings, therein the self-subjugated remains awake; and in that where all beings are awake, that is night for the knower of Self.
70. As the ocean remains calm and unaltered though the waters flow into it, similarly a self-controlled saint remains unmoved when desires enter into him; such a saint alone attains peace, but not he who craves the objects of desire.
71. That man attains peace who, abandoning all desires, moves about without attachment and longing, without the sense of "I" and "mine."
72. O son of Pritha, this is the state of dwelling in Brahman (absolute Truth); having attained this, no one is ever deluded. Being established in this knowledge even at the end of life, one attains oneness with Brahman (the Supreme).
Here ends the Second Chapter called "Sankhya-Yoga, or the Path of Wisdom"
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Text source: Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita. Translated by Swami Paramananda.
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