Speaker A
Today, I am not time. Time waits for no man, and yet today, like a disciple with folded hands, I stand in Kurukshetra looking at the Lord. The Lord stands between Arjun and me. Though he is addressing Arjun, he is actually talking to me.
A reflective discourse on duty, action without desire, and the teachings of Krishna in the Kurukshetra war context.
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Key Takeaways
- Perform your duty without attachment to results or desires for reward.
- Action itself is pure and meritorious; do not be swayed by profit, loss, victory, or defeat.
- Control your senses and maintain balance to achieve true Yoga and inner peace.
- Selfless action benefits society and aligns with the eternal truth beyond sensory perception.
- Knowledge and intelligence are essential to overcome temptation and act rightly.
What the video covers
- The video explores the timeless dialogue between Krishna and Arjun during the Kurukshetra war, emphasizing the relevance of their questions across past, present, and future.
- It highlights the concept of performing one's duty without attachment to victory, defeat, profit, or loss.
- The importance of Karma Yoga is discussed, focusing on action as its own reward and detachment from the fruits of actions.
- The narrator reflects on Arjun's internal conflict and reluctance to engage in war despite his warrior duty.
- The video contrasts selfish desires with selfless action, urging steadiness, control of senses, and imperturbability.
- It critiques the misunderstanding of Krishna’s message as promoting war rather than peace, clarifying the deeper spiritual teachings.
- The qualities of an imperturbable man and the yogi’s control over senses are explained through metaphors and Sanskrit shlokas.
- The discussion includes the role of knowledge in purifying action and distinguishing good from bad.
- The narrator urges viewers to see life as a ritual offering and to act with selflessness for societal good.
- The video ends with reflections on eternal truth, the nature of the soul, and the importance of fulfilling one’s dharma.
Chapters
- 00:00Introduction and Setting at Kurukshetra
- 03:23Arjun’s Dilemma and Call to Action
- 07:12Concept of Action Without Desire
- 09:26The Nature of Duty and Society's Good
- 11:48Misinterpretations and Krishna’s Message
- 14:11Qualities of the Imperturbable Man
- 18:16Yoga, Knowledge, and Control of Senses
- 21:40Eternal Truth and Fulfilling Dharma
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker A
'..because I represent..' '..the past, present and future.' 'The questions which Arjun has asked..' '..are also relevant to the past..' '..the present..' '..and the future.' 'As long as I am there..' '..man will have to face these questions.' 'So, do not think..'
Speaker A
Because I represent the past, present, and future. The questions which Arjun has asked are also relevant to the past, the present, and the future. As long as I am there, man will have to face these questions. So, do not think
Speaker A
'..about matters which have always troubled you.' Do not lose yourself in victory and defeat..
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Arjun is asking these questions. I am speaking through him because every day, every era has its own Kurukshetra. So, if you wish to face your present and future, turn your attention to Kurukshetra and listen to what the Lord is saying
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If you lose, you'll still get success and heaven. So, awake Arjun! Profit, loss, happiness, sorrow..
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about matters which have always troubled you. Do not lose yourself in victory and defeat, life and death, happiness and sorrow, but fight. If you win, you'll get success and kingdom.
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'Sanskrit shlok' My hands still refuse to pick up the Gandiva. I don't understand how I will benefit from this war.
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If you lose, you'll still get success and heaven. So, awake Arjun! Profit, loss, happiness, sorrow, victory, defeat are all equal. So, fight! This is a warrior's duty and man's religion.
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Hence Arjun.. 'Sanskrit shlok' Go beyond victory, defeat, loss, gain, happiness, sorrow. I still cannot move.
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Sanskrit shlok. My hands still refuse to pick up the Gandiva. I don't understand how I will benefit from this war.
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..of truth and recognize the voice of the soul. You are probably lost in its immortality.
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Benefit! Loss! Both these are unclear words, Arjun. I know you want neither heaven nor earth.
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Even then you'll reach the same decision. You must fight this war. That is exactly what I cannot decide.
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Hence Arjun, Sanskrit shlok. Go beyond victory, defeat, loss, gain, happiness, sorrow. I still cannot move.
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From therein arises your sorrow.. ..neither good for you nor for society.. ..the present and the future.
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Till now I was appealing to your conscious mind, which can look into the depths
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It is for the good of society. Action is its own reward. But if you act for your own good..
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of truth and recognize the voice of the soul. You are probably lost in its immortality.
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So, act but do not expect any reward. 'Sanskrit shlok' 'Sanskrit shlok' How is action without desire possible, Krishna?
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Weigh this moment on the scale of earthly action. Decide about your duty from this viewpoint.
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You'll either give away food or not. You'll either wage war or not. You have the option to do something or not.
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Even then you'll reach the same decision. You must fight this war. That is exactly what I cannot decide.
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You can either wage war or not but.. ..the result is not in your control.
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You cannot decide this because you are looking at it from a personal viewpoint. That is the problem. The bond of attachment.
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If you are indifferent to victory and defeat.. ..but fight the war as your duty then..
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From therein arises your sorrow, neither good for you nor for society, the present and the future.
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Hence, shed any desire for reward. Do what is in your hands. Which means, do your duty.
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Don't think of profit or loss. Do your duty! Act! Action in itself is pure and meritorious.
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..that is the end of your right. You cannot control the result. You are an ace archer but..
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It is for the good of society. Action is its own reward. But if you act for your own good,
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..you cannot control the target. The true man does not cross his limits. Be steady and firm in your duty because..
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the action will be impure. So, walk along the path of action without desire. The reward of your action is not in your control.
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..giving up temptation to do one's duty.. ..and the ability to be imperturbable 'Sanskrit shlok' Sanjay. - Yes, my king!
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So, act but do not expect any reward. Sanskrit shlok. Sanskrit shlok. How is action without desire possible, Krishna?
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He's misleading you. Just think, Sanjay. Krishna came here as a peace messenger. Today he is not even talking of peace.
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Reward motivates action. Without reward, who will act? Because life is impossible without action. You will do something. You'll either eat or not.
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..it was Dhritrashtra who did not want peace. What hidden enmity is this? He is not talking of enmity.
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You'll either give away food or not. You'll either wage war or not. You have the option to do something or not.
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Are you no longer loyal to me? Will you also shift your loyalty? I am merely a narrator.
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The result, the reward is not in your hands. This option is the limit of your control.
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Do not explain the meaning of Karma Yoga. Keep your eyes on them and.. ..tell me what's happening there.
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You can either wage war or not, but the result is not in your control.
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How does he talk? It is not difficult to recognize such a man. 'Sanskrit shlok' 'Sanskrit shlok' Like him, you must shed your desires.
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Even if you desire victory, it may not be yours. You could also lose! Your desire to win will make you fear defeat.
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The imperturbable man always remains calm and balanced. None can make him lose his balance.
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If you are indifferent to victory and defeat, but fight the war as your duty, then
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He speaks not of attachment but of action without desire. When he sits. he withdraws into himself like a tortoise.
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there will be no question of happiness or sorrow. Such a person without desire is unperturbed.
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..can control his senses.. Hey Arjun. 'Sanskrit shlok' 'Sanskrit shlok' 'Sanskrit shlok' The ordinary mortal thinks of objects.
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Hence, shed any desire for reward. Do what is in your hands. Which means, do your duty.
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From anger is born greater attachment to the object. With this, the ability to think begins to stray.
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This is Karma Yoga. Understand it well! You can opt to do or not to do, but
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Temptation will destroy your intelligence. How can you get peace without intelligence? How can a person who cannot..
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that is the end of your right. You cannot control the result. You are an ace archer, but
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..desires make the intelligence stray. 'Sanskrit shlok' Hence, control your senses. Let not the senses control you.
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if your target moves a little, you'll miss it. You control your bow and your vision, but
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He only sleeps when the world awakes. What is this sleeping and awakening, night and day?
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you cannot control the target. The true man does not cross his limits. Be steady and firm in your duty because
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The ordinary man is prey to temptation. That is the aim of his awakening. He wants food when he is hungry.
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its efficient fulfillment is Yoga. What is Yoga? That's what I am telling you. Yoga is fulfillment of duty,
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His thoughts are selfish. The perfect man's thoughts are selfless. He is beyond selfish hunger and thirst.
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giving up temptation to do one's duty, and the ability to be imperturbable. Sanskrit shlok. Sanjay. - Yes, my king!
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He will go on cutting trees till the forest is destroyed. The perfect man thinks of the importance of forests..
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If your voice can reach them, shout and tell Arjun not to listen to Krishna.
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The latter has gone beyond duality. The sensual man's night is the perfect man's day.
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He's misleading you. Just think, Sanjay. Krishna came here as a peace messenger. Today he is not even talking of peace.
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This is what separates him from the sensual man. 'Sanskrit shlok' O Arjun! Truth is beyond the senses.
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Which means he did not want peace at all. He just wanted history to say that
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..and thinks of a solution for hunger. That's why the sensual man's day is his night.
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it was Dhritrashtra who did not want peace. What hidden enmity is this? He is not talking of enmity.
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..without realizing where it is going. It merely knows that it has to flow on..
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He is explaining the mystery of truth and Karma Yoga. Now you are talking like him.
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The river of desires overwhelms the sensual man. The perfect man, however can absorb it..
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Are you no longer loyal to me? Will you also shift your loyalty? I am merely a narrator.
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You, too, be knowledgeable. Knowledge is excellent. O Krishna! O All knowing! If knowledge is better than action..
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My description has nothing to do with loyalty. I am only doing my duty. Then, do your duty as a narrator.
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If knowledge is excellent, why do this terrible deed? Why fight this war? Why not be the perfect man and avow silence?
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Do not explain the meaning of Karma Yoga. Keep your eyes on them and tell me what's happening there.
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The mediators and the doers. The mediators search for God within themselves. This is the path of knowledge.
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How do I recognize an imperturbable man? What are the signs? How does he behave?
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Searching for God within is also action. So, Arjun! There are only mo paths. The path of knowledge and the path of action.
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How does he talk? It is not difficult to recognize such a man. Sanskrit shlok. Sanskrit shlok. Like him, you must shed your desires.
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Life without action is impossible. The eyes will see and the eyelids blink. The ears will hear.
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Free yourself from ambition. Go beyond happiness and sorrow. Neither happiness nor sorrow can move you.
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The yogi does not suppress the senses but controls them. He does not live with his eyes closed.
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The imperturbable man always remains calm and balanced. None can make him lose his balance.
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..both a perfume and a stink. If there is a rhythm or a noise around him..
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When he speaks, it is not with sorrow or happiness but from the depths of his soul.
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..and gives them a direction.. ..with his awakened mind. He realizes his options and knows how to organize them.
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He speaks not of attachment but of action without desire. When he sits, he withdraws into himself like a tortoise.
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..the yogi decides what they should see. None of his senses are completely free. This separates the yogi from the sensual man.
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He is his own fort. His senses are in his control. Only the one who can control his mind
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Action is a ritual, its aim being indestructible Godhead. The path of action goes straight to Godhead.
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can control his senses. Hey Arjun. Sanskrit shlok. Sanskrit shlok. Sanskrit shlok. The ordinary mortal thinks of objects.
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The one who thinks of only himself is a sinner. So, recognize your duty and do it.
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This in turn leads to attachment, which further leads to the birth of desire. When desire is unfulfilled, it leads to anger.
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It does not allow him to rise above himself. This isolates the person from his society..
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From anger is born greater attachment to the object. With this, the ability to think begins to stray.
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So, your prime duty is the people's welfare. What is good for society is good for you.
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When this happens, intelligence is destroyed. This, in turn, leads to the downfall of man.
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Remember Arjun! You are a great man. Other people will walk the path of desire and greed.
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Temptation will destroy your intelligence. How can you get peace without intelligence? How can a person who cannot
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There is nothing that I cannot obtain. And yet, I am before you. Doing my duty!
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distinguish between peace and turmoil ever be happy? Like a gust of wind buffets the boat,
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Krishna's voice changed at this point.. ..as if it was someone else speaking. Who else?
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desires make the intelligence stray. Sanskrit shlok. Hence, control your senses. Let not the senses control you.
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None in the three worlds can say.. ..there isn't anything which he cannot obtain. He said there was nothing worth doing and yet..
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Listen to this with care and understand it. When the world sleeps, the perfect man awakes.
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..and society would be destroyed. And He would be responsible for it. No ordinary man can say this.
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He only sleeps when the world awakes. What is this sleeping and awakening, night and day?
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That is what makes me afraid. If he asked me to pick up the bow in such a voice..
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I am not talking of night or day. I am talking of sleeping and awakening.
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..the future is beyond my right. If god wanted man to know the.. ..future, he would have given him that knowledge.
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The ordinary man is prey to temptation. That is the aim of his awakening. He wants food when he is hungry.
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Maybe I know the result of this war. Even then I am hoping it will be different..
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He wants water when he is thirsty. He needs a house to save himself from the weather.
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..I'll never be alone. But I am going to be alone. I am going to be alone.
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His thoughts are selfish. The perfect man's thoughts are selfless. He is beyond selfish hunger and thirst.
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..it is from the selfish point of view. The yogi's acts are selfless, for the world..
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He does not think of the fallen fruit but the tree. The ordinary man needs fuel for his engine.
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Death in the path of duty is welcome. Even if you kill your teachers and elders..
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He will go on cutting trees till the forest is destroyed. The perfect man thinks of the importance of forests,
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If you die, your death will also be for the good. Therefore fight! The path of truth cannot be the path of sin.
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about the balance of nature and the relation of forests and the seasons. The sensual man's day is the perfect man's night.
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His anger and temptation compel him to sin. Recognize these enemies. Like the smoke cloaks fire, dust cloaks the mirror..
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The latter has gone beyond duality. The sensual man's night is the perfect man's day.
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..and is its enemy. So, Arjun! Cleanse the mirror and purify the fire. Modify the senses and kill this enemy of knowledge.
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His sun rises in the stillness of the night. The perfect man is also interested in solutions.
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Greater than mind is reason but the soul is the greatest. So, worry about the soul.
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This is what separates him from the sensual man. Sanskrit shlok. O Arjun! Truth is beyond the senses.
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Hence, I am giving you this last knowledge. I revealed it to the sun who gave it to Manu..
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It is not that the perfect man is not hungry, but he goes beyond hunger
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The Sun God is ancient. How could you then give.. ..this knowledge to the sun?
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and thinks of a solution for hunger. That's why the sensual man's day is his night.
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In a sense, I am eternal and indestructible. The Lord of all animals. But through my wondrous power I incarnate myself.
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The sensual man can make himself perfect. The sensual man is like the river, which flows on eagerly,
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I come to protect the good and vanquish the evil. I come in age after age to establish truth.
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without realizing where it is going. It merely knows that it has to flow on,
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Why else did the Wax House tragedy take place? Or Draupadi's disrobing? Why else are they fighting us?
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only to squander its water into the sea. Even then the sea does not cross the limit of its shore.
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How can the society which kept quiet.. ..at the disrobing of Queen Draupadi.. ..protect an ordinary woman?
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The river of desires overwhelms the sensual man. The perfect man, however, can absorb it
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They are the enemies of society. Do not hesitate to fight with.. ..all those great men who side with evil.
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and still not cross his limits. O Arjun! Become like the sea. The sea is knowledgeable.
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I did create this society and the four castes.. ..but did not desire reward for it.
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Though I am the Creator I am beyond it. The man who sees this truth finds his freedom.
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'Sanskrit shlok' I desire no reward so my action is not contaminated. Act without desire and selfish greed.
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Distinguish between action.. ..inaction and bad action. What is the difference? Action free from.. ..desire is inaction.
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Action not good for society is bad action. Action is superior to inaction. The doer is superior to the non-doer.
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The non-doer does not desire reward. He is an intelligent man. For him the action is the reward.
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After the action, he does not wait for a reward. He moves to his next action.
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The fire of his knowledge burns anger, temptation.. ..ambition gain, sorrow loss happiness.. ..and purifies his action. Thus the doer becomes the non-doer.
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He merely does.. ..what is essential for life. All other actions are for the good of society.
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Though a man, he is not contaminated by sin. His very existence is good for society.
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Such a life is a ritual offering to God. You, too, make your life such an offering.
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Burn to ash.. ..all desire greed, anger. What is Yagna, the ritual offering? Different people define it differently.
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For some, it is Godhead. For them everything is Godhead. For some, it is a means to please the Gods.
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For some, it is the soul's unification with God. Likewise, the offerings are also different.
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Some offer wealth, others action. There are four types of ritual offerings. First is Dravya Yagna.
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Wealth is used for the good of society.. ..for the welfare of people. The second is Tapo Yagna When a person makes his actions his penance..
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..his life becomes a Tapo Yagna. Hey Arjun, following your religion is a kind of worship.
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It is not religion based.. ..but eternal. It benefits the person as also society. The third is Yoga Yagna.
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Yoga is studied as a part of this. It takes a person to meditation. Life's very breath is the offering.
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The fourth is the Gyan Yagna. All four Yagna are important but.. ..the Gyan Yagna is the best because..
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..knowledge can distinguish between good and bad. The fire of knowledge can purify action. Knowledge is the focus of the essence of action.
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Knowledge frees you from bonds of temptation. Only knowledge can cross.. ..the sea of sin.
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"Act with knowledge." "Knowledge is truth." "The path of action is the truth." "The path of truth is action."
Topics:Karma YogaKrishnaArjunKurukshetraDutyDetachmentAction without desireSpiritualityYogaBhagavad Gita
