by Svāmī Kīrtanānanda Mahārāja (ISKCON New Vṛndāvana)

[This is the third in a series of eighteen articles on the eighteen chapters of Bhagavad-gita.-Editor]

As Chapter Three opens, it is clear that Arjuna has not understood Krsna very well. Not only has he not understood that the path of knowledge and the path of devotional service are ultimately the same because the goal is the same, but also he has not understood the difference between action with fruitive results and inaction, or action without fruitive results. Arjuna thus asked Krsna, "Why do You urge me to engage in this ghastly warfare if You think that intelligence is better than fruitive work?" Arjuna's memory is still clouded; therefore he is still in a state of confusion, and he frankly admits, "My intelligence is bewildered by Your equivocal instructions. Therefore, please tell me decisively what is most beneficial for me."

Actually Krsna's instructions are never equivocal, as we can see from a detailed study of the Second Chapter. The instruction was not equivocal, but decisive; namely, Arjuna should fight for the sake of Krsna. Krsna explained this both on basis of philosophy and yoga. The fact is that it is Arjuna's mind that is equivocal. But Arjuna has one good qualification: he is placing the whole matter before the bona fide spiritual master. Actually Arjuna is eternally liberated and never forgetful of Krsna's instruction, but for our sake he is taking the part of the conditioned soul lost in forgetfulness. So he says, "Therefore, my dear Lord, please tell me decisively what is most beneficial for me." If one is simply sincere and approaches a man in knowledge, he is sure to have all matters cleared up. After all, Krsna is the loving father of all living entities, and if one sincerely approaches Him for some guidance He wi11 surely give it to one's full understanding.

In the Second Chapter Krsna previewed many paths of self-realization: saṅkhya philosophy, karma-yoga, work without fruitive results, devotional service, and many others. Now for the sake of His disciple, so that he wi11 more clearly understand, He wi11 give the instructions again, but in a more systematic and detailed way. In this Third Chapter He describes the path commonly called karma-yoga. Four great topics are discussed here: action, sacrifice, surrender and lust. As Krsna indicated in the Second Chapter, action is superior to inaction, and here again Krsna is more elaborately explaining that one can never achieve perfection simply by abstaining from work, indeed no one can refrain from work, for all are driven helplessly by the modes of nature. Indeed, Krsna says that one who makes a show of not working while the mind dwells on sense objects is merely a pretender and a hypocrite. One who can control the senses and the mind by engaging them in acts of service and devotion to the Supreme is said to be far superior. Therefore Krsna tells Arjuna, "Perform your prescribed duty, which is better than not working. A man cannot even maintain his physical body without work."

It is significant that Krsna chose Arjuna, a ksatriya or warrior, a married man in householder life, to receive this transcendental message. If we keep in mind that Arjuna is the representative of all conditioned souls, we can see that Krsna is saying that one need not be born of a high family, one need not have the best education, one need not have so many material qualifications in order to understand the science of Bhagavad-gita. One must only follow in the footsteps of Arjuna. One first of all must surrender to the spiritual master by hearing and service. This means to follow his instructions. The world is full of religious pretenders, men who want religiosity simply to cheat the innocent public and solve their own economic problem. That is not recommended here by Lord Krsna, for He is specifically discouraging his disciple from going off to the woods to meditate. He did not want him to become a pretender. He is therefore ordering him to do his prescribed duty. We may ask that if he is only performing his prescribed duty, how is he the example of religiosity? How is he any different from any other man who is taking care of wife and family and so many other mundane things? What is the difference between Arjuna's duty and my so-called duty? Is religiosity merely duty? That is answered in the major portion of this Third Chapter under the topic of sacrifice. Verse nine says: "Work done as a sacrifice for Visnu [Krsna] has to be performed, otherwise work binds one to this material world. Therefore, O son of Kunti, perform prescribed duties for His satisfaction, and in that way you will always remain unattached and free from bondage."

According to Krsna's instruction, action or work is a foregone conclusion-everyone must work. But what work and how the work is performed are left to the living entity. That is his minute independence. Actually, we are all parts and parcels of Krsna, and as such we have all the qualities of the Supreme, who is supremely independent, but being fragmental, we have the qualities in fragmental or minute portions. Therefore our independence is not complete but partial, and in this case we have no independence to say that we will not work-we are compelled by nature to work, but we have the choice of who we wi11 work for, either Krsna or the false ego of "I and mine."

All living entities are active, for they cannot even maintain their physical bodies without action, by nature's law, but who are they working for? That is their choice. Arjuna now has a choice. He can either do as Krsna bids or he can follow his own whims. One path will lead to elevation and happiness, and the other to further bewilderment and frustration. Therefore to carry out action in the spirit of sacrifice means to understand that everything is Krsna's.

In the Srimad-Bhagavatam Srila Sukadeva Gosvami describes the Lord as prajapati, the Lord of all worlds, all living creatures and all beauty, the protector of everyone. Similarly, Isopanisad says that Lord Krsna is the proprietor of everything, that everything is His energy, and as such He is the supreme proprietor. This material world is meant simply to give a chance to the conditioned living soul to practice Krsna consciousness to go back home, back to Godhead. That practice is called yajna, or sacrifice. If factually everything is Krsna's then ultimately we must come to that point where we want to present everything at the lotus feet of Krsna. Unfortunately we cannot do that all at once; it takes gradual development of consciousness, and that gradual development is made possible by means of yajna or sacrifice performed for Visnu. Yajna vai Visnu is the injunction of the Vedas. All sacrificial performances are meant for the satisfaction of Krsna, so in the subsequent verses it is explained that when the living entity follows this injunction and performs sacrifices for Visnu, then all of his material needs are automatically taken care of and his consciousness is gradually elevated to the position of Krsna consciousness. When every act of our daily lives, from sleeping to eating, becomes spiritualized by becoming a sacrifice to the Lord then that is the perfect stage of Krsna consciousness.

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada has written: "By performance of yajna one's eatables become sanctified, and by eating sanctified foodstuffs one's very existence becomes purified; by the purification of existence, finer tissues in the memory become sanctified; and when memory is sanctified, one can think of the path of liberation, and all these together lead to Krsna consciousness, the great necessity of present day society."

Actually the whole problem has arisen because of forgetfulness, because we have forgotten our original heritage as part and parcel of Krsna. From this forgetfulness, bewilderment has come about, and with bewilderment come frustration and anger and all the perplexities of material contamination. So if we want to remember our spiritual nature, we must perform yajna or sacrifice, and the proper sacrifice for the present age is saṅkirtana-yajna, or the chanting of the holy names of the Lord. This process is specifically recommended in the Vedas for this present time, and it was introduced for the deliverance of all men some 500 years ago in India by Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.