Arjuna said:
—Tell me, Krishna, the nature of abjuring action and renunciation, and the difference between them.
Krishna said:
—To abandon action that is driven by desire, this is abjuring action. To abandon the fruit of every act, this is renunciation.
—Because all action is driven by desire, the one who relinquishes action abandons all action. This is relinquishment. Yet sacrifice, offering, and self-discipline must not be abandoned. The one who renounces the fruit of all action does not abjure all action, but instead abandons the fruit of all action. This is renunciation.
—Hear from Me the nature of renunciation. One must perform sacrifice, offering, and self-discipline. They are your duty; they are the road to purification. This is my decree. Practice sacrifice, offering, and self-discipline, but without expectation of reward and without attachment to their fruits. It is error to abjure such action.
—He descends into the darkness of ignorance and negligence if he abjures these actions out of misunderstanding. He is drawn to the fire of restless desire if he abjures these actions to avoid hardship and displeasure.
—But he ascends to the light of goodness if he practices renunciation without expectation of reward, without attachment, untroubled by doubt, without thought of pleasure, displeasure, ease or difficulty. He practices renunciation because it is his duty and accords to My law. He cannot abjure all action. His very existence requires action; but he renounces the fruits of action.
—The fruit of action may be pleasing or displeasing or both. He who does not renounce the fruits of action, is bound by these forms. He who renounces the fruits of action, he is free of their bondage forever.
—To be free forever, understand action by reflecting on the five causes of all action—the body, the illusion of self, perception of sense and mind, the means and method of action, and divine decree. Whatever action he undertakes, whether of body, of speech, of mind, whether right or wrong, these are the five causes of action.
—If he sees himself as the single cause of action, he is deluded and in error. If his love of self does not mislead him, if he understands, he kills but cannot kill, nor is he bound to destruction even if he destroys all the worlds.
—Within the seed of action, there is knowledge, the knower, and the known. When reaped, there is the one who acts, the acting, and the action itself. These take three forms in three threads of light, fire, and darkness.
—The one who looks upon My creation and sees the unity of it, his knowledge ascends to the light of goodness. The one who perceives only the diversity of My creation, his knowledge is consumed in the fire of restless desire. The one who sees only a single form of My creation, to the neglect and exclusion of all other forms, his knowledge descends into the darkness of ignorance and negligence.
—Action undertaken without expectation of reward, because it is a duty, untainted by love or hatred, ascends to the light of goodness. Action praticed for selfish gain, which is a hated burden, or to satisfy some appetite is consumed in the fire of restless desire. Action performed in confusion, without thought of consequence, which destroys or causes harm, descends into the darkness of ignorance and negligence.
—The one who acts ascends to the light of goodness when he is free from self-interest and immodesty, when he is strong and enterprising, when he is detached from victory and defeat. The one who acts burns in the fire of restless desire when his appetites enslave him, when he is covetous and violent, when his passions overcome him. The one who acts descends into the darkness of ignorance and negligence when he lacks discipline, when he is thoughtless and indolent, when he is procrastinating, when he is filled with malice, self-doubt, or self-pity.
—Hear also the threefold nature of intelligence and constancy. Intelligence shines light of goodness when understanding when to act and when to refrain from action, how to know a duty and what is not, what causes fear and what does not, what is bondage and what is freedom from bondage. Intelligence burns in the fire of restless desire when misunderstanding what is lawful and what is not, what is a duty and what is not. Intelligence descends into the darkness of ignorance and negligence when choosing what is wrong for what is right, and espousing what is false for what is true.
—Constancy shines in the light of goodness when it sustains the mind, the breath, and the senses in devotion and contemplation. But the constancy consumed in the fire of restless desire is tainted by appetite and expectation of reward. And the constancy descending into the darkness of ignorance and negligence, is mindless indolence, fear, self-pity, despondence, and drunkenness.
—Likewise, happiness takes three forms. In the light of goodness, his cup of sorrows transforms into ambrosial waters. In the fire or restless desire, his cup of delight becomes a burning poison. And in the darkness of ignorance and negligence, his clouded cup is sleep, indolence, and forgetful distraction.
—Nowhere in the heavens or on earth will you find a creature not bound by this light, this fire, this darkness. Whether a scholar, or a warrior, a tradesman or a servant, his actions are governed by these three threads.
—Peace and restraint, austerity and purity, patient forgiveness and honesty, insight, wisdom, and faithfulness are the natural works of the scholar. Heroism and vigor, character and cleverness, fearlessness, generosity and noble exertion are the natural works of the warrior. Husbandry, herding, farming, and trade are the natural works of the commoner; and service, the natural work of the servant.
—In devotion, finding joy in his work, he attains perfection. Through the effort he exerts, he pays homage to the One Whose work is the cosmos. When his work and his worship are performed with the same steadiness and devotion, they are indistinguishable one from the other. Performing his duty imperfectly is superior to performing another’s, however well carried out. Steadfast in his own duty, refusing to abandon it even when his work is imperfect, he bears no blame and is not in error, for all work is touched by its flaws, as fire is by its smoke. If he renounces the fruit of his action, if he rejects the lures of appetite and the darkness of negligence, his renunciation is perfect and, even in the midst of action, action does not bind him.
—In this perfection, he reaches the Most High, which is the best end of all knowledge, and is the highest knowledge. His heart made pure, he is self restrained. He renounces sense and all objects of sense. He seeks seclusion. He eats sparingly,is disciplined in voice, in body, and in mind. He is devoted to meditation and cherishes detachment. He is unfettered by selfishness and unseduced by power, by lust, by anger, by possession, or by greed. He is serene. He reaches the Most High.
—Here he recognizes Me as I am. He knows My greatness. Here, in this perfect knowledge, he becomes one with Me. Even conducting his life, performing his work, I am his shelter and, through My grace, he comes to Me, to his eternal home.
—Sacrifice every word, every thought to Me. Surrender every act, and every fruit of every act to Me. Offer your love and devotion to Me and I will dispel your sorrow, solve your difficulties, and remove your afflictions. But if you are selfish, if you turn aside from this counsel, you will be lost and destroyed. If you are stubborn and refuse to fight, you will still succumb to your own nature. You will fight, even if now you say you will not. The Lord of all is within all hearts, and no creature can resist His decree or thwart His will. Those who stand aloof still bend to His command. Enter My shelter without doubt or hesitation. Find peace in Him, even as you fight, and come to your eternal home, which is eternal and untroubled peace.
—Meditate upon these words, which I have revealed to you. Then act as you wish to act. But now I will speak of My greatest mystery, because I love you. In your adoration, sacrifice all duty, abandon all things and instead come to Me, loving Me alone, above and beyond all that is, or was, or ever will be. Come to Me untroubled. In My shelter, no evil can reach you.
—Do not reveal My mystery to those who make no offering, who are not devoted to Me, who ignore My teachings or disbelieve in Me. But reveal My truth and My way to those who seek Me. Then you are My devoted friend, and without doubt you will come to Me. Reveal My truth and My way. There is no greater service to Me than this, and no other will be more dear to Me.
—Remember all that I have said, and commit My words to memory. Make this your sacrifice of knowledge. And the one who believes and trusts in My words will escape the bondage of life and death and will attain the worlds of joy and righteousness.
—Have you heard what I say? Do you understand what I have revealed? Or do you remain in the darkness of your delusion?
Arjuna said:
—You have dispelled the darkness. My delusion is destroyed. Through Your grace, I have recovered my senses and You have banished my doubts. I will act as You have bidden me to act.
And, at once, Arjuna took up his bow and his arrows. He lifted the conch shell to his mouth and sounded the signal to battle.
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