In the previous episode, we had witnessed Bhagawan Krishna dropping another bombshell with regards to the discussion on the “Karma Yoga” and the “Gnyaana Yoga” – He now says in the fourth “Adhyaaya” that whatever we’re performing, it should be done with complete awareness and knowledge of what we’re doing. In a way, Bhagawan is concluding the shloka mentioned in the previous episode by indirectly pointing out that the “Gnyaana Yoga” is of a higher state as compared to the “Karma Yoga”! If we’ve to have the “Gnyaanam” (Awareness) as the centre-stage in whatever we’re doing, it is an obvious and a foregone conclusion that the “Gnyaana Yoga” is of more significance than mere “Karma Yoga”, isn’t it? However, this has a catch here, and this is where Bhagawan Krishna is once again going to pitch in with another clarification, so as to avoid confusion for people like us.
So Bhagawan says thus, “Oh Arjuna! Please understand that the physical activity that you do with your “Deham” is very important and I’m not denying that at all. But if it is done without any awareness, it goes as a waste. Now when I ask you to fight the war, you should not merely fight the war against all these people as a “Kshatrya” warrior. Rather, you should consider it as your duty given to you by me. You should have me in your thoughts everytime when you take your bow and arrow in your hands. This is awareness. Hence, you should fight the war with complete awareness that it is because of me, you’re being able to fight the war. If you do this correctly, your mind will automatically cease to go behind the results. Your mind will get completely focused on me, even while performing your physical actions. This is the stage I want you to achieve and if you do so, you are well on track to attain the “Atma-Saakshaakaaram”!”
Now, this is very clear now, and in fact, there are several slokas like this in the Bhagawad Gita, which would be quite confusing for laymen like us to decipher. This is where we have several commentaries written by eminent “Alwars”, “Aachaaryas” and great “Mahatmas”, which will go deep into every sloka like this to find out the deeper meaning of what exactly Bhagawan Krishna is trying to say. As mentioned earlier, Bhagawan Krishna is extremely smart with extraordinary intellect. If He wishes, He can easily confuse all of us and take us for a ride! All these instances are also a test of our “Bhakti” and involvement with which we are going through the Gita. This is also one major reason for which nobody till today is able to completely understand the Gita, 100%! There are still enormous amounts of research that is going on across the globe to decipher what exactly Bhagawan has said, but none of us till now are able to decipher Bhagawan Krishna’s words properly! Rather, only He will know what He has said! 🙂
Thus, the point here is that, more than the physical actions that we perform as part of our “Karma Yoga”, the knowledge and awareness with which we are performing the actions are more important. This automatically implies that the “Gnyaana Yoga” is more significant than the “Karma Yoga”. Readers should understand this point clearly that Bhagawan Krishna is always stressing upon the point that the “Gnyaana Yoga” is more significant. However, if He tells it openly, there is every chance that Arjuna will run away from the battlefield. In order to pacify him and make him fight the battle, Bhagawan Krishna is slightly twisting the narrative by saying that “Karma Yoga” and “Gnyaana Yoga” are intertwined with each other and both are important. However, Bhagawan says that if the “Karma” is performed along with the “Gnyaanam”, it bears the fruit.
Through all these discussions thus, we should also understand that Bhagawan is clearly differentiating between “Gnyaanam” and “Gnyaana Yoga”. “Karma Yoga” should be performed with the requisite “Gnyaanam”, which is what He is stressing upon in the fourth “Adhyaaya”. Many of us might misunderstand a point here – Bhagawan is not talking about “Gnyaana Yoga” here. Rather, He is talking about the knowledge (“Gnyaanam”). Hence, it might seem to us that both the “Yogas” are intertwined with each other, but actually they are not! At any point, Bhagawan never says that “Karma Yoga” is more significant than the “Gnyaana Yoga”. He always maintains the fact that the “Gnyaana Yoga” is more significant than the “Karma Yoga”, but the point that we’ve to understand here is that, we’ve to perform our “Karma Yoga” with the requisite “Gnyaanam”.
So for today, let us understand up to this point and we shall continue this discussion further in the next episode as well! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 