The Bhagavad Gita (Translation only)
Translated from the Original Sanskrit into English
by Swami Sivananda
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Book Code: ES223
Paperback: xvi+112 pages
ISBN: NA
Book Dimensions: 7.0 x 4.8 x 0.25 inches
Shipping Weight: 90 grams
Abandoning all duties, take refuge in Me alone;
I will liberate thee from all sins; grieve not. —Lord Krishna
Table of Contents
| Preface | v | |
| Introduction | vii | |
| Sri Gita Mahatmya | ix | |
| Sri Gita Dhyana | xiii | |
| Chapter: | ||
| 1 | The Yoga of the Despondency of Arjuna | 1 |
| 2 | Sankhya Yoga | 8 |
| 3 | The Yoga of Action | 19 |
| 4 | The Yoga of the Division of Wisdom | 26 |
| 5 | The Yoga of Renunciation of Action | 32 |
| 6 | The Yoga of Meditation | 37 |
| 7 | The Yoga of Wisdom and Realisation | 44 |
| 8 | The Yoga of the Imperishable Brahman | 49 |
| 9 | The Yoga of the Kingly Science and the Kingly Secret | 54 |
| 10 | The Yoga of Divine Glories | 59 |
| 11 | The Yoga of the Vision of the Cosmic Form | 65 |
| 12 | The Yoga of Devotion | 74 |
| 13 | The Yoga of Distinction Between the Field and the Knower of the Field | 78 |
| 14 | The Yoga of the Division of the Three Gunas | 83 |
| 15 | The Yoga of the Supreme Spirit | 87 |
| 16 | The Yoga of the Division Between the Divine and the Demoniacal | 91 |
| 17 | The Yoga of the Division of the Threefold Faith | 95 |
| 18 | The Yoga of Liberation by Renunciation | 100 |
Preface
The present edition of an English translation of the original Text of the Bhagavadgita is published on request from devotees for making available to students of the Bhagavadgita, who have no access to the Sanskrit language, a handy volume for purpose of daily reading,—Svadhyaya. The Invocatory Prayer and the Glory of the Gita are also included together with the main Text. We are grateful to the silent devotees who have been responsible for the publication of this Scripture of Yoga in the present form, for the benefit of one and all.
Shivanandanagar,
1st January, 1996.
—THE DIVINE LIFE SOCIETY.
Introduction
The Bhagavadgita occurs in the Bhishma-Parva of the Mahabharata. The whole culture and aspirations of an entire race are embedded in this great Epic. The Bhagavadgita is, as it were, a shining pendant in the garland of that majestic procession of the magnificent literature on the Epic of the Soul,—the Mahabharata.
The theme of the Bhagavadgita is the problem of life and its solution. It is the art of solving every conflict and a guide-line in every situation of life. The conflicts are really the apparent irreconcilabilities, and these are precisely the tension of relation between the individual and the society, between the layers of the personality of the individual, between the individual and the universe, and between the universe and the Absolute. These aspects of spiritual evolution are dealt with not only in the entire series of the eighteen Books of the Mahabharata, but also, particularly in the First Chapter, from the Second to the Sixth Chapter, from the Seventh to the Twelfth Chapter, and from the Thirteenth to the Eighteenth Chapter of the Bhagavadgita.
The First Chapter describes the human predicament of the soul in search of Truth. From the Second to the Sixth Chapter there is a description of the technique of awakening oneself to the Light of True Knowledge and the art of Self-integration. The method of attuning the individual with the processes of the universe is detailed from Chapter Seven to Chapter Twelve. The concluding Six Chapters portray the Ideal of the Superman who, as a Citizen of the universe, walks the earth as a friend, philosopher and guide of all beings.
The original verses of the Bhagavadgita are in Sanskrit, and they embody in them a power of resonance, a force of style and a profundity of argument which cannot but touch the bottom of the soul of one who reads it in an attitude of dedication of self to the pursuit of Reality. Here is a beautiful rendering of the whole Text from the original Sanskrit into the English language, as it appears in the standard work of H.H. Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj.
Shivanandanagar,
1st January, 1979
SWAMI KRISHNANANDA
Sri Gita Mahatmya
THE GLORY OF THE GITA
Mother Earth said:
1. O Bhagavan! The Supreme Lord! How can unflinching devotion arise in him who is immersed in his Prarabdha Karmas (worldly life), O Lord?
The Lord Vishnu said:
2. Though engaged in the performance of worldly duties, one who is regular in the study of the Gita, becomes free. He is the happy man in this world. He is not bound by Karma.
3. Just as the water stains not the lotus-leaf, even so, sins do not taint him who is regular in the recitation of the Gita.
4. All the sacred places of pilgrimage like Prayaga and others, dwell in that place where the book, the Gita, is kept, and where the Gita is read.
5. All the gods, sages, Yogins, divine serpents, Gopalas, Gopikas (friends and devotees of Lord Krishna), Narada, Uddhava and others (dwell here).
6. Help comes quickly where the Gita is recited and, O Earth, I dwell at all times where the Gita is read, heard, taught and contemplated upon.
7. I reside in the Gita and the Gita is My best abode. I protect the three worlds with the knowledge of the Gita.
8. The Gita is My highest science, which is, without doubt, of the form of Brahman, the eternal, the Ardhamatra (of the Pranava Om), the ineffable splendour of the Self.
9. It was spoken by the blessed Krishna, the all-knowing, with His own mouth to Arjuna. It contains the essence of the three Vedas, the Knowledge of the Reality. It is full of supreme bliss.
10. He who recites the eighteen chapters of the Gita daily, with a pure, unshaken mind, attains perfection in knowledge and reaches the highest state or supreme goal.
11. If a complete reading is not possible, even if only half of it is read, he attains the benefit of giving a cow as a gift. There is no doubt about this.
12. He who recites one-third part of it achieves the merit of a bath in the sacred Ganga, and who recites one-sixth of it attains the merit of performing a Soma-sacrifice (a ritual).
13. That person who reads one chapter with great devotion attains the world of Rudra and, having become a Gana (attendant of Lord Siva), lives there for many years.
14. If one reads a chapter or even a part of a verse daily, he, O Earth, retains a human body till the end of a Manvantara (seventy-one Mahayugas or 308,448,000 years).
15. 16. He who repeats ten, seven, five, four, three, two verses or even one or half of a verse, attains the region of the moon and lives there for 10,000 years. Accustomed to the daily study of the Gita, a person, after death, is born again as a human being.
17. By repeated study of the Gita, one attains the highest liberation. Uttering “Gita” at the time of death, he attains the Goal (of life).
18. Though full of sins, one who is ever intent on hearing the meaning of the Gita, goes to the kingdom of God and rejoices with Lord Vishnu.
19. He who meditates on the meaning of the Gita, having performed a great number of good actions, attains the supreme Goal after death. Such a man should be known as a Jivanmukta (person liberated while living).
20. A daily bath in water cleanses people of their bodily dirt; a bath taken once in the waters of the Gita cleanses them of the dirt of Samsara.
21. In this world, taking refuge in the Gita many kings like Janaka and others have reached the highest state or goal, purified of all sins. It is so sung.
22. Those who hear or read day and night the scripture Gita should not be regarded as human beings; they are verily gods.
23. All sins whether committed knowingly or unknowingly, through senses or otherwise, get destroyed instantaneously by a constant study of the Gita.
24. Fie on the learning, conduct, observances, activity, austerity and renown of that person who has not studied the Gita; he is lowly indeed.
25. He who wishes to cross the fearful ocean of Samsara reaches its other shore easily by mounting on the boat of the Gita.
26. He who fails to read this Glory of the Gita (the Gita Mahatmya), after having read the Gita, loses the benefit thereby, and the effort alone remains.
This is to test and confirm the faith of the reader in the Gita. It is not a mere book but the Word of God and should therefore be studied with great faith and devotion which this Mahatmya generates in one’s heart.
27. One who studies the Gita; together with this Glory of the Gita, attains the fruit mentioned above and reaches the state which is otherwise very difficult to be attained.
Suta said:
28. This greatness or Glory of the Gita which is eternal, as narrated by me, should be read at the end of the study of the Gita and the fruits mentioned therein will be obtained.
Thus ends the Glory of the Gita, contained in the Varaha Purana.
Om Santih, Santih, Santih.
Sri Gita Dhyana
MEDITATION ON THE GITA
1. Om, O Bhagavadgita, with which Partha (Arjuna) was illumined by Lord Narayana Himself and which was composed in the middle of the Mahabharata by the ancient sage Vyasa, O Divine Mother, the destroyer of rebirth, the showerer of the nectar of Advaita (teaching on the Oneness of all things) and consisting of eighteen chapters—upon Thee, O Bhagavad Gita! O affectionate Mother! I meditate.
2. Salutations unto thee, O Vyasa of broad intellect and with eyes like the petals of full-blown lotus, by whom the lamp of knowledge, filled with the oil of the Mahabharata, has been lighted.
3. Salutations to Krishna, the Parijata tree or the Kalpataru or the bestower of all desires for those who take refuge in Him, the holder of the whip in one hand, the wielder of the symbol of knowledge, and the Milker of the nectar of the Bhagavadgita.
4. All the Upanishads are the cows; the Milker is Krishna, the cowherd-boy; Partha (Arjuna) is the calf; men of purified intellect are the drinkers, the milk is the great nectar of the Gita.
5. I salute Lord Krishna, the world teacher, the son of Vasudeva, the destroyer of Kamsa and Chanura, the supreme bliss of Devaki.
6. With Kesava as the helmsman, verily was crossed by the Pandavas, the battle-river whose banks were Bhishma and Drona, whose water was Jayadratha, whose blue lotus was the king of Gandhara, whose crocodile was Salya, whose current was Kripa, whose billow was Karna, whose terrible alligators were Asvatthama and Vikarna, whose whirlpool was Duryodhana.
7. May this lotus of the Mahabharata, born in the lake of the words of Vyasa, sweet with the fragrance of the meaning of the Gita, with many stories as its stamens, fully opened by the discourses on Hari, the destroyer of the sins of the Kali age, and drunk joyously by the bees of good men in the world, day by day, become the bestower of good to us.
8. I salute that Madhava, the source of supreme bliss, whose grace makes the dumb man eloquent and the cripple cross mountains.
9. Salutations to that God Whom Brahma, Varuna, Indra, Rudra and the Maruts praise with divine hymns, of Whom the Sama-chanters sing by the Vedas and their Angas, in the Pada and the Krama methods, and by the Upanishads, Whom the Yogins see with their minds absorbed in Him through meditation, and Whose end the hosts of Devas and Asuras know not.
Om Sri Sat-guru Paramatmane Namah
THE BHAGAVAD GITA
FIRST DISCOURSE
THE YOGA OF THE DESPONDENCY OF ARJUNA
Dhritarashtra said:
1. What did my people and the sons of Pandu do when they had assembled together eager for battle on the holy plain of Kurukshetra, O Sanjaya?
Sanjaya said:
2. Having seen the army of the Pandavas drawn up in battle-array, king Duryodhana then approached his teacher (Drona) and spoke these words.
3. “Behold, O Teacher! this mighty army of the sons of Pandu, arrayed by the son of Drupada, thy wise disciple.
4. “Here are heroes, mighty archers, equal in battle to Bhima and Arjuna, Yuyudhana (Satyaki), Virata and Drupada, of the great car (mighty warriors).
5. “Dhrishtaketu, Chekitana and the valiant king of Kasi, Purujit and Kuntibhoja and Saibya, the best of men.
6. “The strong Yudhamanyu and the brave Uttamaujas, the son of Subhadra (Abhimanyu, the son of Subhadra and Arjuna), and the sons of Draupadi, all of great chariots (great heroes).
7. “Know also, O best among the twice-born! the names of those who are the most distinguished amongst ourselves, the leaders of my army; these I name to thee for thy information.
8. “Thyself and Bhishma, and Karna and also Kripa, the victorious in war, Asvatthama, Vikarna, and also Jayadratha, the son of Somadatta.
9. “And also many other heroes who are ready to give up their lives for my sake, armed with various weapons and missiles, all well-skilled in battle.
10. “This army of ours marshalled by Bhishma is insufficient, whereas that army of theirs marshalled by Bhima is sufficient.
11. “Therefore, do ye all, stationed in your respective positions, in the several divisions of the army, protect Bhishma alone.”
12. His glorious grandsire (Bhishma), the oldest of the Kauravas, in order to cheer Duryodhana, now roared like a lion, and blew his conch.
13. Then (following Bhishma), conches and kettledrums, tabors, drums and cow-horns blared forth quite suddenly (from the Kaurava side) and the sound was tremendous.
14. Then, also, Madhava (Krishna) and the son of Pandu (Arjuna), seated in the magnificent chariot, yoked with white horses, blew their divine conches.
15. Hrishikesa blew the Panchajanya and Arjuna blew the Devadatta and Bhima (the wolf-bellied), the doer of terrible deeds, blew the great conch Paundra.
16. The king Yudhishthira, the son of Kunti, blew the Anantavijaya; Nakula and Sahadeva blew the Sughosha and the Manipushpaka.
17. The king of Kasi, an excellent archer, Sikhandi, the mighty car-warrior, Drishtadyumna and Virata and Satyaki, the unconquered.
18. Drupada and the sons of Draupadi, O Lord of the earth, and the son of Subhadra, the mighty-armed, blew their conches separately.
19. That tumultuous sound rent the hearts of (the members of) Dhritarashtra’s party, making both the heaven and the earth resound.
20. Then, seeing the people of Dhritarashtra’s party standing arrayed and the discharge of weapons about to begin, Arjuna, the son of Pandu, whose ensign was a monkey, took up his bow and said the following to Krishna, O Lord of the earth.
Arjuna said:
21, 22. In the middle between the two armies, place my chariot, O Krishna, so that I may behold those who stand here desirous, to fight, and know with whom I must fight, when the battle is about to commence.
23. For I desire to observe those who are assembled here to fight, wishing to please in battle the evil-minded Duryodhana (the son of Dhritarashtra).
Sanjaya said:
24. Thus addressed by Arjuna, Krishna, having stationed that best of chariots, O Dhritarashtra, in the midst of the two armies;
25. In front of Bhishma and Drona, and all the rulers of the earth, said: “O Arjuna (son of Pritha), behold these Kurus gathered together.”
26. Then, Arjuna (son of Pritha) saw there (in the armies) stationed, fathers and grandfathers, teachers, maternal uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons and friends too.
27. (He saw) fathers-in-law and friends also in both the armies. The son of Kunti, Arjuna, seeing all those kinsmen thus standing arrayed, spoke this, sorrowfully, filled with deep pity.
Arjuna said:
28. Seeing these my kinsmen, O Krishna, arrayed, eager to fight,
29. My limbs fail and my mouth is parched, my body quivers and my hair stands on end.
30. The (bow) Gandiva slips from my hand, and also my skin bums all over; I am unable even to stand and my mind is reeling as it were.
31. And I see adverse omens, O Kesava. I do not see any good in killing my kinsmen in battle.
32. I desire not victory O Krishna, nor kingdom, nor pleasures. Of what avail is dominion to us, O Krishna, or pleasures or even life?
33. Those for whose sake we desire kingdom, enjoyments and pleasures, stand here embattled, having renounced life and wealth.
34. Teachers, fathers, sons and also grandfathers, maternal uncles, fathers-in-law, grandsons, brothers-in-law and other relatives,
35. These I do not wish to kill, though they kill me, O Krishna, even for the sake of dominion over the three worlds; leave alone killing them for the sake of the earth.
36. By killing these sons of Dhritarashtra, what pleasure can be ours, O Janardana? Only sin will accrue to us from killing these felons.
37. Therefore, we should not kill the sons of Dhritarashtra, our relatives; for how can we be happy by killing our own people, O Madhava (Krishna)?
38. Though they, with intelligence overpowered by greed, see no evil in the destruction of families, and no sin in hostility to friends,
39. Why should not we who clearly see evil in the destruction of families, learn to turn away from this sin, O Janardana (Krishna)?
40. In the destruction of a family, the immemorial religious rites of that family perish; on the destruction of spirituality, impiety, indeed, overcomes the whole family.
41. By the prevalence of impiety, O Krishna, the women of the family become corrupt; and, women being corrupted, O Varshneya (descendent of Vrishni), there arises intermingling of castes.
42. Confusion of castes leads to hell the slayers of the family, for their forefathers fall, deprived of the offerings of rice-ball and water (libations).
43. By these evil deeds of the destroyers of the family, which cause confusion of castes, the eternal religious rites of the caste and the family are destroyed.
44. We have heard, O Janardana, that inevitable is the dwelling for an unknown period in hell for those men in whose families the religious practices have been destroyed.
45. Alas! We are involved in a great sin, in that we are prepared to kill our kinsmen, through greed for the pleasures of a kingdom.
46. If the sons of Dhritarashtra with weapons in hand should slay me in battle, unresisting and unarmed, that would be better for me.
Sanjaya said:
47. Having thus spoken in the midst of the battlefield, Arjuna, casting away his bow and arrow, sat down on the seat of the chariot with his mind overwhelmed with sorrow.
Thus in the Upanishads of the glorious Bhagavad-Gita, the science of the Eternal, the scripture of Yoga, the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna, ends the first discourse entitled:
THE YOGA OF THE DESPONDENCY OF ARJUNA.
SECOND DISCOURSE
SANKHYA YOGA
Sanjaya said:
1. To him who was thus overcome with pity and who was despondent, with eyes full of tears and agitated Madhusudana (the destroyer of Madhu) or Krishna spoke these words:
The Blessed Lord said:
2. Whence is this perilous strait come upon thee, this dejection which is unworthy of you, disgraceful, and which will close the gates of heaven upon you, O Arjuna?
3. Yield not to impotence, O Arjuna, son of Pritha. It does not befit thee. Cast off this mean weakness of the heart! Stand up, O scorcher of the foes!
Arjuna said:
4. How O Madhusudana, shall I fight in battle with arrows against Bhishma and Drona, who are fit to be worshipped, O destroyer of enemies?
5. Better it is, indeed, in this world to accept alms than to slay the most noble teachers. But if I kill them, even in this world all my enjoyments of wealth and fulfilled desires will be stained with (their) blood.
6. I can hardly tell which will be better, that we should conquer them or that they should conquer us. Even the sons of Dhritarashtra, after slaying whom we do not wish to live, stand facing us.
7. My heart is overpowered by the taint of pity; my mind is confused as to duty. I ask Thee: Tell me decisively what is good for me. I am Thy disciple. Instruct me who have taken refuge in Thee.
8. I do not see that it would remove this sorrow that burns up my senses, even if I should attain prosperous and unrivalled dominion on earth or lordship over the gods.
Sanjaya said:
9. Having spoken thus to Hrishikesa (the Lord of the senses), Arjuna (the conqueror of sleep), the destroyer of foes, said to Krishna, “I will not fight” and became silent.
10. To him who was despondent in the midst of the two armies, Krishna, as if smiling, O Bharata, spoke these words.
The Blessed Lord said:
11. Thou hast grieved for those that should not be grieved for, yet thou speakest words of wisdom. The wise grieve neither for the living nor for the dead.
12. Nor at any time indeed was I not, nor thou, nor these rulers of men, nor verily shall we ever cease to be hereafter.
13. Just as in this body the embodied (soul) passes into childhood, youth and old age, so also does it pass into another body; the firm man does not grieve thereat.
14. The contacts of the senses with the objects, O son of Kunti, which cause heat and cold, pleasure and pain, have a beginning and an end; they are impermanent; endure them bravely, O Arjuna.
15. That firm man whom, surely, these afflict not, O chief among men, to whom pleasure and pain are the same, is fit for attaining Immortality.
16. The unreal hath no being; there is no non-being of the real; the truth about both has been seen by the knowers of the Truth (or the seers of the Essence).
17. Know That to be indestructible, by Which all this is pervaded. None can cause the destruction of That, the Imperishable.
18. These bodies of the embodied Self, Which is eternal, indestructible and immeasurable, are said to have an end. Therefore fight, O Arjuna.
19. He who takes the Self to be the slayer and he who thinks It is slain, neither of them knows. It slays not, nor is It slain.
20. It is not born, nor does It ever die; after having been, It again ceases not to be; unborn, eternal, changeless and ancient, It is not killed when the body is killed.
21. Whosoever knows It to be indestructible, eternal, unborn and inexhaustible, how can that man slay, O Arjuna, or cause to be slain?
22. Just as a man casts off worn-out clothes and puts on new ones, so also the embodied Self casts off worn-out bodies and enters others which are new.
23. Weapons cut It not, fire burns It not, water wets It not, wind dries It not.
24. This Self cannot be cut, burnt, wetted, nor dried up. It is eternal, all-pervading, table, immovable and ancient.
25. This (Self) is said to be unmanifested, unthinkable and unchangeable. Therefore, knowing This to be such, thou shouldst not grieve.
26. But even if thou thinkest of It as being constantly born and constantly dying, even then, O mighty-armed, thou shouldst not grieve.
27. For certain is death for the born, and certain is birth for the dead; therefore, over the inevitable thou shouldst not grieve.
28. Beings are unmanifested in their beginning, manifested in their middle state, O Arjuna, and unmanifested again in their end. What is there to grieve about?
29. One sees this (the Self) as a wonder; another speaks of It as a wonder; another hears of it as a wonder; yet having heard, none understands It at all.
30. This, the Indweller in the body of everyone is ever indestructible, O Arjuna; therefore, thou shouldst not grieve for any creature.
31. Further, having regard to thy duty, thou shouldst not waver, for there is nothing higher for a Kshatriya than a righteous war.
32. Happy are the Kshatriyas, O Arjuna! who are called upon to fight in such a battle that comes of itself as an open door to heaven.
33. But if thou wilt not fight this righteous war, then having abandoned thine own duty and fame, thou shalt incur sin.
34. People, too, will recount thy everlasting dishonour; and to one who has been honoured, dishonour is worse than death.
35. The great car-warriors will think that thou hast withdrawn from the battle through fear; and thou wilt be lightly held by them who have thought much of thee.
36. Thy enemies also, cavilling at thy power, will speak many abusive words. What is more painful than this?
37. Slain, thou wilt obtain heaven; victorious, thou wilt enjoy the earth; therefore, stand up, O son of Kunti, resolved to fight.
38. Having made pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat the same, engage thou in battle for the sake of battle; thus thou shalt not incur sin.
39. This, which has been taught to thee, is wisdom concerning Sankhya. Now listen to wisdom concerning Yoga, endowed with which, O Arjuna, thou shalt cast off the bonds of action.
40. In this there is no loss of effort, nor is there any harm (production of contrary results or transgression). Even a little of this knowledge (even a little practice of this Yoga) protects one from great fear.
41. Here, O joy of the Kurus, there is but a single one-pointed determination; many-branched and endless are the thoughts of the irresolute.
42. Flowery speech is uttered by the unwise, taking pleasure in the eulogising words of the Vedas, O Arjuna, saying, “There is nothing else.”
43. Full of desires, having heaven as their goal, (they utter speech which is directed to ends) leading to new births as the result of their works, and prescribe various methods abounding in specific actions, for the attainment of pleasure and power.
44. For those who are attached to pleasure and power, whose minds are drawn away by such teaching, that determinate reason is not formed which is steadily bent on meditation and Samadhi (superconscious state).
45. The Vedas deal with the three attributes (of Nature); be thou above these three attributes. O Arjuna, free yourself from the pairs of opposites, and ever remain in the quality of Sattva (goodness), freed from (the thought of) acquisition and preservation, and be established in the Self.
46. To the Brahmana who has known the Self, all the Vedas are of as much use as is a reservoir of water in a place where there is a flood.
47. Thy right is to work only, but never with its fruits; let not the fruits of action be thy motive, nor let thy attachment be to inaction.
48. Perform action, O Arjuna, being steadfast in Yoga, abandoning attachment and balanced in success and failure. Evenness of mind is called Yoga.
49. Far lower than the Yoga of wisdom is action, O Arjuna. Seek thou refuge in wisdom; wretched are they whose motive is the fruit.
50. Endowed with wisdom (evenness of mind), one casts off in this life both good and evil deeds, therefore, devote thyself to Yoga; Yoga is skill in action.
51. The wise, possessed of knowledge, having abandoned the fruits of their actions, and being freed from the fetters of birth, go to the place which is beyond all evil.
52. When thy intellect crosses beyond the mire of delusion, then thou shalt attain to indifference as to what has been heard and what has yet to be heard.
53. When thy intellect, which is perplexed by the Veda text, which thou hast heard, shall stand immovable and steady in the Self, then thou shalt attain Self-realisation.
Arjuna said:
54. What, O Krishna, is the description of him who has steady wisdom, and is merged in the superconscious state? How does one of steady wisdom speak, how does he sit, how does he walk?
The Blessed Lord said:
55. When a man completely casts off, O Arjuna, all the desires of the mind and is satisfied in the Self by the Self, then is he said to be one of steady wisdom.
56. He whose mind is not shaken by adversity, who does not hanker after pleasures, and is free from attachment, fear and anger, is called a sage of steady wisdom.
57. He who is everywhere without attachment, on meeting with anything good or bad, who neither rejoices nor hates, his wisdom is fixed.
58. When, like the tortoise which withdraws on all sides its limbs, he withdraws his senses from the sense-objects, then his wisdom becomes steady.
59. The objects of the senses turn away from the abstinent man leaving the longing (behind); but his longing also turns away on seeing the Supreme.
60. The turbulent senses, O Arjuna, do violently carry away the mind of a wise man though he be striving (to control them).
61. Having restrained them all he should sit steadfast, intent on Me; his wisdom is steady whose senses are under control.
62. When a man thinks of the objects, attachment for them arises; from attachment desire is born; from desire anger arises.
63. From anger comes delusion; from delusion loss of memory; from loss of memory the destruction of discrimination; from destruction of discrimination he perishes.
64. But the self-controlled man, moving among the objects with the senses under restraint and free from attraction and repulsion, attains to peace.
65. In that peace all pains are destroyed; for the intellect of the tranquil-minded soon becomes steady.
66. There is no knowledge of the Self to the unsteady and to the unsteady no meditation is possible, and to the unmeditative there can be no peace, and to the man who has no peace, how can there be happiness?
67. For the mind, which follows in the wake of the wandering senses, carries away his discrimination, as the wind (carries away) a boat on the waters.
68. Therefore, O mighty-armed Arjuna, his knowledge is steady whose senses are completely restrained from sense-objects.
69. That which is night to all beings, in that the self-controlled man is awake; when all beings are awake, that is night for the Muni (sage) who sees.
70. He attains peace into whom all desires enter as waters enter the ocean which, filled from all sides, remains unmoved; but not the man who is full of desires.
71. That man attains peace who, abandoning all desires, moves about without longing, without the sense of mine and without egoism.
72. This is the Brahmic seat (eternal state), O son of Pritha. Attaining to this, none is deluded. Being established therein, even at the end of life, one attains to oneness with Brahman.
Thus in the Upanishads of the glorious Bhagavad-Gita, the science of the Eternal, the scripture of Yoga, the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna, ends the second discourse entitled:
THE SANKHYA YOGA
EIGHTEENTH DISCOURSE
THE YOGA OF LIBERATION BY RENUNCIATION
59. If, filled with egoism, thou thinkest; “I will not fight,” vain is this, thy resolve; Nature will compel thee.
60. O Arjuna; bound by thy own Karma (action) born of thy own nature, that which from delusion thou wishest not to do, even that thou shalt do helplessly.
61. The Lord dwells in the hearts of all beings, O Arjuna, causing all beings, by His illusive power, to revolve as if mounted on a machine.
62. Fly unto Him for refuge with all thy being. O Arjuna; by His grace thou shalt obtain supreme peace (and) the eternal abode.
63. Thus has wisdom, more secret than secrecy itself, been declared unto thee by Me; having reflected over it fully, then act as thou wishest.
64. Hear thou again My supreme word, most secret of all; because thou art dearly beloved of Me, I will tell thee what is good.
65. Fix thy mind on Me, be devoted to Me, sacrifice to Me, bow down to Me. Thou shalt come even to Me; truly do I promise unto thee, (for) thou art dear to Me.
66. Abandoning all duties, take refuge in Me alone: I will liberate thee from all sins; grieve not.
67. This is never to be spoken by thee to one who is devoid of austerities or devotion, nor to one who does not render service or who does not desire to listen, nor to one who cavils at Me.
68. He who with supreme devotion to Me will teach this supreme secret to My devotees, shall doubtlessly come to Me.
69. Nor is there any among men who does dearer service to Me, nor shall there be another on earth dearer to Me than he.
70. And he who will study this sacred dialogue of ours, by him I shall have been worshipped by the sacrifice of wisdom,—such is My conviction.
71. Also the man who hears this, full of faith and free from malice, he, too, liberated, shall attain to the happy worlds of those of righteous deeds.
72. Has this been heard, O Arjuna, with one-pointed mind? Has the delusion of thy ignorance been destroyed, O Dhananjaya?
Arjuna said:
73. Destroyed is my delusion as I have gained my knowledge (memory) through Thy grace, O Krishna. I remain freed from doubts. I will act according to Thy word.
Sanjaya said:
74. Thus I have heard this wonderful dialogue between Krishna and the high-souled Arjuna, which causes the hair to stand on end.
75. Through the grace of Vyasa I have heard this supreme and most secret Yoga direct from Krishna, the Lord of Yoga, Himself declaring it.
76. O King, remembering this wonderful and holy dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna, I rejoice again and again.
77. And, remembering again and again, also that most wonderful form of Hari, great is my wonder, O King; and I rejoice again and again.
78. Wherever is Krishna, the Lord of Yoga; wherever is Arjuna, the wielder of the bow; there are prosperity, victory, happiness and firm policy; such is my conviction.
Thus in the Upanishads of the glorious Bhagavad-Gita, the science of the Eternal, the scripture of Yoga, the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna, ends the eighteenth discourse entitled:
THE YOGA OF LIBERATION BY RENUNCIATION
OM SANTIH! SANTIH! SANTIH!