Chapter 2 — Bhagavad Gita

Sanjaya said: To him, thus overwhelmed with compassion, eyes filled with tears and deeply dejected, Madhusudana (Krishna) spoke these words.

The Blessed Lord said: From where has this weakness come upon you in this critical moment? It is unworthy of the noble, not leading to heaven, and bringing disgrace, O Arjuna.

Do not yield to this weakness, O Partha. It does not befit you. Cast off this petty faint-heartedness and arise, O Parantapa.

Arjuna said: O Madhusudana, how can I fight in battle against Bhishma and Drona with arrows, O Arisudana, since they are worthy of reverence?

It is better in this world to live by alms without killing these noble elders. If I kill my teachers who are full of greatness and desire wealth and pleasure, and then enjoy pleasures stained with their blood, it would be ruinous.

We do not know which is better for us—whether we should conquer them or they should conquer us. The sons of Dhritarashtra, having killed whom we do not even wish to live, stand here before us.

My nature is overwhelmed by the fault of weakness, and my mind is confused about dharma. I ask You: tell me decisively what is truly good for me. I am Your disciple; instruct me who have surrendered unto You.

I do not see anything that can remove this sorrow of mine, which dries up my senses, not even if I were to obtain a prosperous, unrivaled kingdom on earth, or even lordship over the gods.

Sanjaya said: Having spoken thus to Hrishikesha, Gudakesha (Arjuna), the scorcher of foes, said to Govinda, “I shall not fight,” and fell silent.

To him, who was thus dejected in the middle of the two armies, Hrishikesha (Krishna) spoke these words, as if smiling, O Bhārata.

The Blessed Lord said: You grieve for those who should not be grieved for, yet speak words of wisdom. The truly wise do not grieve for the living or the dead.

Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor these kings; nor shall there ever be a time when we cease to exist.

Just as the embodied being passes through childhood, youth, and old age in this body, so too it passes into another body; the wise are not deluded by this.

O Kaunteya, contact with the senses produces cold and heat, pleasure and pain; they come and go, are impermanent—endure them, O Bhārata.

That person whom these do not disturb, O best among men, who remains steady in pleasure and pain, becomes fit for immortality.

The unreal has no existence, and the real never ceases to be. The seers of truth have concluded this regarding both.

Know that to be indestructible by which all this is pervaded; no one can destroy that imperishable reality.

These bodies of the embodied Self are said to have an end, but the Self itself is eternal, indestructible, and immeasurable. Therefore, fight, O Bhārata.

He who thinks this Self to be the slayer, and he who thinks it to be slain, both of them do not understand: this Self neither kills nor is killed.

It is never born, nor does it ever die; it has not come into being, nor will it ever cease to be. Unborn, eternal, everlasting, and ancient, it is not destroyed when the body is destroyed.

O Partha, how can a person who knows this Self to be indestructible, eternal, unborn, and imperishable, think that he kills or causes anyone to be killed?

Just as a person casts off worn-out clothes and puts on new ones, so too the embodied Self casts off worn-out bodies and enters new ones.

Weapons cannot cut it, fire cannot burn it, water cannot wet it, and wind cannot dry it.

It is uncuttable, unburnable, unwettable, and undryable; eternal, all-pervading, stable, immovable, and everlasting.

It is said to be unmanifest, inconceivable, and unchanging. Therefore, knowing it as such, you should not grieve.

Even if you consider it to be constantly born and constantly dying, O mighty-armed one, even then you should not grieve in this way.

For one who is born, death is certain, and for one who dies, birth is certain. Therefore, you should not grieve over what is inevitable.

O Bhārata, all beings are unmanifest in their beginning, manifest in their middle, and unmanifest again in their end. In that case, what cause is there for lamentation?

One sees this Self as a wonder, another speaks of it as a wonder, and yet another hears of it as a wonder; yet even after hearing, no one truly knows it.

O Bhārata, the embodied Self in all bodies is eternally indestructible; therefore you should not grieve for any being.

Considering your own dharma, you should not waver. For a Kshatriya, there is no greater good than a righteous war.

O Partha, fortunate are the Kshatriyas who obtain such an open gateway to heaven, when it comes to them of its own accord in the form of righteous battle.

If you do not engage in this righteous war, then, having abandoned your duty and honor, you will incur sin.

People will speak of your everlasting dishonor, and for one who has been honored, dishonor is worse than death.

Great warriors will think you have withdrawn from battle out of fear, and those who once held you in high esteem will think lightly of you.

Your enemies will speak many unmentionable words, condemning your ability and valor. What could be more painful than that?

Either you will be slain and attain heaven, or you will conquer and enjoy the earth. Therefore, arise, O Kaunteya, resolved to fight.

Treating pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat as equal, engage in battle; in this way you will not incur sin.

Thus has been declared to you the wisdom of Sankhya; now hear of it in terms of Yoga. Endowed with this understanding, O Partha, you will be freed from the bondage of action.

In this path, there is no loss of effort, nor any adverse result. Even a little practice of this dharma protects one from great fear.

O Kuru-nandana, here the intellect is single-pointed and resolute. The intellects of the irresolute are many-branched and endless.

O Partha, the unwise who are attached to ritualistic statements of the Vedas speak flowery words, declaring that there is nothing beyond this.

Their desires are full of longing, their goal is heaven, and they speak of actions that lead to rebirth and the fruits of action, being deeply attached to enjoyment and worldly prosperity.

For those attached to enjoyment and power, whose minds are carried away by such teachings, the resolute intellect does not arise in steady contemplation.

The Vedas deal with the three qualities of nature; transcend these, O Arjuna. Free yourself from dualities, established in pure goodness, beyond acquisition and preservation, and remain established in the Self.

For a wise person who has realized the truth, the purpose served by all the Vedas is as small as a well in a flood of water.

Your right is only to action, never to its fruits. Do not become motivated by the results of action, nor be attached to inaction.

Established in Yoga, perform actions, O Dhananjaya, abandoning attachment. Be equal in success and failure; this equanimity is called Yoga.

Action motivated by desire is far inferior to action grounded in wisdom, O Dhananjaya. Seek refuge in wisdom; those who act for results are truly pitiable.

One established in wisdom abandons both good and bad actions in this world. Therefore, devote yourself to Yoga, for Yoga is skill in action.

The wise, endowed with understanding, renouncing the fruits of action, become free from the bondage of birth and attain a state beyond sorrow.

When your intellect crosses beyond the dense forest of delusion, you will become indifferent to all that has been heard and all that remains to be heard.

When your intellect ceases to be allured by the fruitive sections of the Vedas and remains steadfast in divine consciousness, you will then attain the state of perfect Yog.

Arjuna said: O Keshava, what is the description of one whose wisdom is steady and who is established in meditation? How does such a person speak, sit, and move?

The Blessed Lord said: O Partha, when a person completely abandons all desires arising in the mind and is satisfied in the Self by the Self alone, such a one is said to be of steady wisdom.

One whose mind is not agitated in sorrow, who has no craving in happiness, and who is free from attachment, fear, and anger— such a sage is called one of steady wisdom.

One who is unattached everywhere, and who neither rejoices in good nor hates evil when encountering them, his wisdom is firmly established.

When one withdraws the senses from sense objects completely, like a tortoise drawing in its limbs, his wisdom is firmly established.

For one who abstains from sense objects, the objects fall away, but the taste for them remains; even that ceases upon seeing the Supreme.

O Kaunteya, even for a wise and striving person, the turbulent senses forcibly carry away the mind.

Having restrained all the senses and established in discipline, one should sit focused on Me as the supreme goal. One whose senses are under control, his wisdom is steady.

For one who dwells on sense objects, attachment to them arises; from attachment arises desire, and from desire arises anger.

From anger arises delusion; from delusion, loss of memory; from loss of memory, destruction of intelligence; and from the destruction of intelligence, one perishes.

But one who moves among sense objects with senses under control, free from attachment and aversion, attains serenity.

In that serenity, all sorrows are destroyed. For one whose mind is tranquil, wisdom quickly becomes firmly established.

For one who is not disciplined, there is no wisdom; nor for the undisciplined is there steady contemplation. Without contemplation there is no peace, and without peace, how can there be happiness?

When the mind follows the wandering senses, it carries away wisdom, just as the wind carries a boat on water.

Therefore, O mighty-armed one, the wisdom of one whose senses are completely restrained from their objects is firmly established.

What is night for all beings is day for the self-controlled sage, and what is day for all beings is night for the sage who sees reality.

As waters enter the ocean, which remains full and unmoved, so do all desires enter the one who attains peace; not the one who desire desires.

One who abandons all desires and moves without longing, free from possessiveness and ego, attains peace.

O Partha, this is the state of Brahman; having attained it, one is not deluded. Established in it even at the end of life, one attains liberation in Brahman.

Chapter 2 — Sankhya Yoga