Srimad BhagavadGita

In ślokas 2.42-44 Kṛṣṇa criticised both kāmya karmas and those interested in them. A dilemma might arise here that, 'Firstly, it does not befit the vedas which desire our welfare to instruct us about kārmya karmas if they are condemnable. Further, telling us now that these instructions of the vedas about kārmya karmas should not be practised, contradicts the earlier instructions to execute them. Either the śāstra which imposes these must be invalid or if it is considered valid, then this śāstra which criticises it must be treated as invalid. In these two ślokas, the above dilemma is settled. Kṛṣṇa says, "The vedas prescribe what is good for those under the influence of the 3 guṇas. O Arjuna! Rise above the 3 guṇas and develop the ability to tolerate dualities like heat-cold, happiness-misery, gain-loss; victory-defeat etc. With each passing day establish yourself in sattva guṇa more and more. Do not strive to acquire material things and to protect what has been acquired. Be interested only in acquiring the soul state and in establishing in it. Just as someone who wishes to use a reservoir's water takes only as much water as is needed from it even though the water in the reservoir is overflowing in all directions, likewise a vaidika mumukṣu with knowledge takes only that which serves as a means to mokṣa from the whole of the vedas (the rest of the vedas is not taken by him); "  

Let's first divide the dilemma into two questions and then refer to the words of these two ślokas for Kṛṣṇa's answer to them.

Q1: Let us picturise the kāmya karmas as trees in the forest of saṃsāra. Let the bodies acquired in the next birth as a deva, manuṣya, etc, be the flowers on them and the enjoyments of heavenly planets, etc, experienced with these bodies be the fruits of those trees. These fruits like heaven, etc, are very trivial in comparison to mokṣa and also opposed to it. It is said that a mother instructs what is appealing to the child, a father instructs what is beneficial for the child. Coming to the vedas, it is said that they instruct about both and have more affection towards us than a thousand mothers. Parents instruct about the wellbeing of the child's body whereas the vedas instruct about the subsistence and rejuvenation of the soul by talking about the four puruṣārthas (four main objectives of human pursuit namely Dharma, Artha, Kāma and Mokṣa), about removing all apuruṣārthas (other aims) and also about the means to achieve the four objectives. Parents teach their own children of this lifetime about their material pleasures and well being, whereas the vedas teach all the souls about their pleasure and well being in all their lifetimes. That's the reason for saying that the vedas are more affectionate towards us than thousand mothers. Why will the vedas of such repute teach about kāmya karmas which give trivial results and lead to birth and karma again? Since the vedas are known to be our well wishers, we cannot say that they are teaching us about kāmya karmas just to cheat us. Also, the jyotiṣṭoma and other kāmya karmas end with swarga (heaven) as the ultimate reward, so we cannot claim that kāmya karmas are using heaven, etc, as a bait to entice people and route them towards the highest reward of mokṣa. Hence, there is no option left but to accept that the vedas are incapable of giving the best. How can the vedas which are known to be the instructions of the most merciful Paramapuruṣā himself, be instructing about the means for achieving trivial rewards like heaven, etc, which cause misery from beginning to end with just a few flashes of joy in between, very much similar to administering poisoned food to someone?

Q2: The vedas should in fact prohibit the practice of kāmya karmas. More appropriately, the vedas should not have taught about kāmya karmas in the first place. There is no point in teaching these kāmya karmas whose results like heaven cannot be directly seen by us over here on this earth and then prohibit their practice. Isn't it better to avoid mud in the first place rather than applying it all over the body and then washing it off?

The commentary of these ślokas 2.45-46 presented below contains the answers to these two questions.

trai-guṇya viṣayāḥ Stated below are the points supporting the inference that the word 'traiguṇyam' refers to the three guṇas.

1)The term cāturvarṇyam in caturvarṇādīnāmsvārthe Aṣtādhyāyi 7.3.31 vārtika 3091 refers to the four varṇas. Similarly the term traiguṇyam refers to the three guṇas namely sattva (quality of goodness and purity), rajas (quality of action) and tamas (quality of ignorance).

2)Moreover, the term traiguṇyam is famously known to refer to the three guṇas only.

3)Additionally, the words nitya satvasthaḥ in the latter part of the śloka 2.45 which refer to sattva guṇa, further confirm that Kṛṣṇa is referring to the three guṇas when HE says 'traiguṇya'.

Merely saying that the vedas talk about the three guṇas will give rise to the counter question that when the vedas talk about the rewards like heaven, the means to achieve them and also the eligibility for practising those means, how can it be said that the vedas talk about the three guṇas? Therefore it must be said that the Puruṣa possessing the three guṇas is being referred to by the term traiguṇya. Since the magnitude of these guṇas is very high in the Puruṣa, he is being indirectly referred to by the word traiguṇya itself over here. Therefore the meaning of 'trai-guṇya viṣayā vedāḥ' is that the subject of the vedas is the puruṣa who has the three guṇas in abundance.

In this world, most of the people possess more of tamo guṇa in comparison to sattva and rajo guṇas. They are the majority and wish for rewards which are redeemable in the same birth. Relatively lesser in number are the people with more of rajo guṇa and they show an interest in rewards redeemable in the next life time like a stay in heaven, etc. Least in number are those who possess more of sattva guṇa and desire for mokṣa alone. The vedas known to be more affectionate towards us than thousand mothers, have the responsibility to guide even the rajo and tamo guṇa dominant people just as they guides sattva guṇa dominant people about their welfare. The doctor's prescription of food, medication and things to be avoided varies from patient to patient depending upon his body type being predominantly kapha, vāta or pitta. Following the doctor's prescription will restore the patient's health and he can live a comfortable life. Ignoring the doctor's prescription will lead to an increase in severity of the disease and even death which causes only misery. If children are straight away prohibited from consuming certain items which they have a great liking for like chocolate, etc, they will begin to consume them stealthily by theft. Therefore, we see that parents themselves provide these items to their children and also gradually make them aware of the ill effects so that they can eventually get rid of the desire for those items. In a similar manner, the vedas too provide the means for the fulfilment of the different desires of the people dominated by each of the 3 guṇas. When someone is tormented by thirst, water is given to them. Administering medicine to them will not help at that point in time. Similarly, the vedas too are guiding tamo guṇa predominant people towards the fulfilment of their desires which are aimed at short term rewards of this life time and the rajo guṇa predominant people towards the fulfilment of their desires which are comparatively aimed at a little longer benefit of the next life time like heaven, good birth, etc. Instead of this approach, if the vedas would prescribe mokṣa and its means desired by sattva guna predominant people as a permanent benefit of the future, directly to the rajo and tamo guṇa predominant people, it would lead to their further downfall. As they do not have any bent towards mokṣa which is prescribed by the vedas and as they become clueless and deluded about how to fulfil their own uncontrollable desires, they resort to ways unapproved by vedas, leading to the unfortunate destruction of their original inherent nature. Therefore, the merciful vedas prescribe various kāmya karmas for the fulfilment of the varied desires of the rajo and tamo guṇa predominant people too to keep them on the right track for chances of progress in future. Therefore it is said that vedas talk about matters related to the three guṇas. Thus the first question is answered.

Arjuna (O fair complexioned one) The word Arjuna means whiteness and white is representative of sattva guṇa. Arjuna is one who possesses a lot of sattva guṇa.

nistrai-guṇyo bhava (Become free from the mix of these three guṇas) With these words Kṛṣṇa is instructing Arjuna that, 'O Arjuna! You have more of sattva guṇa which is mixed with other two guṇas in lesser proportions. Be cautious not to increase the rajo, tamo guṇas in yourself and at the same time work towards gradually reducing their proportion further. Simultaneously you should also attempt to increase your sattva guṇa further.' 

Since it is not possible for a jīva in this material realm to become totally free from these three guṇas and also since Kṛṣṇa's next instruction is 'nitya satvasthaḥ- to become established in sattva guṇa', it is appropriate to understand the meaning of 'nistrai-guṇyo bhava' as stated above and not as being asked to totally get rid of the three guṇas.

Q: Is it in Arjuna's hands to increase his sattva guṇa and reduce his rajo, tamo guṇas?

A: Not doing what the śāstras prescribe for us and doing what the śāstras forbid us from doing, consuming

food which is high in rajo and tamo guṇas and many more such actions lead to an increase in rajo and tamo

guṇas. Not indulging in what the śāstras forbid us from doing, consuming food high in sattva guṇa and many

such actions lead to an increase in sattva guṇa. This has been told in the śāstras itself. By following the

prescription of the śāstras in this matter, one can increase sattva guṇa and reduce rajo and tamo guṇas in

himself. 

nir-dvandvaḥ (Become free from the pair of opposites also termed as dualities) Due to one's own puṇya (fructification of previous good deeds) and pāpa (fructification of previous bad deeds), one experiences the dualities like heat-cold, happiness-misery, gain-loss; victory-defeat, etc, in this saṃsāra. Becoming nir-dvandvaḥ is to gain freedom from these dualities. Its essence can be explained in three ways

1) Tolerate dualities like happiness-misery, etc.

2) While practising the means to achieve mokṣa, keep these experiences of dualities in your control and do not

be affected by them.

3) Work towards attaining mokṣa where these dualities of saṃsara do not exist.

nitya satvasthaḥ bhava (Become established in sattva guṇa) Just as 'abbhakṣaḥ' means one who only consumes water as his food, the meaning of this instruction is 'nitya sattvamātrastaḥ bhava' (O Arjuna! Become one who is always established in sattva guṇa alone). Be established in the ever increasing sattva guṇa with reduced rajo, tamo guṇas. Even at certain times if rajo and tamo guṇas are more in comparison to sattva guṇa, it will not make it the nitya satvasthaḥ (always established in sattva) state. The word nitya signifies that he must always be established in a state where sattva guṇa is the dominant guṇa. The focus of the instruction 'nistrai-guṇaḥ' was to get rid of the rajo and tamo guṇas as much as possible. 'nitya satvasthaḥ' instructs to keep increasing sattva guṇa always, hence the flaw of repetition of the same instruction does not occur.

Q: How can such rules be laid as to increase sattva guṇa and to reduce the other two guṇas? It is not possible to identify the three distinctly and to increase one and reduce the other two. What is the way to perform this difficult feat of reducing one's rajo, tamo guṇas and increasing one's sattva guṇa?

A: nir-yoga kṣema ātmavān is the answer. Yoga means striving for things which are difficult to acquire and kṣema means safeguarding what has been acquired. Based on the context here, it must be understood that striving to acquire everything other than the inherent nature of the soul and the means to achieve it, is referred to as 'yoga' here and safeguarding them as 'kṣema'. These yoga and kṣema must be given up to reduce rajo and tamo guṇas.

The way to increase sattva guṇa is to be ātmavān (to be in the soul state). This means that Kṛṣṇa is instructing to be focused on achieving the inherent nature of the soul. In this way, giving up yogakṣema in all other areas which increase rajo and tamo guṇas and immersing oneself in exploring the inherent nature of the soul, one's rajo, tamo guṇas will automatically reduce and sattva guṇa will increase. Due to the lack of feed received by indulging in other activities, rajo and tamo guṇas will automatically die down. There is no need to specifically pick and observe each guṇa and try to increase one or decrease another.

To sum up, Kṛṣṇa's instruction is to give up yoga, their kṣema and to strive to be in the soul state. This will reduce rajo, tamo guṇas and increase sattva guṇa. One can thus become nistrai-guṇyaḥ, nitya satvasthaḥ and nir-dvandvaḥ.

Now to answer Q2 asked in the beginning of the purport that, it makes sense to instruct that anything not in the vedas should be given up, but how is it justified to tell us to leave something prescribed in the vedas? 

A: Difference in entitlements justifies the instruction given to leave certain prescriptions of the vedas. This is explained with an example in ślokā 2.46. Below is the detailed explanation.

​sarvataḥ saṃplutodake udapāne (A water body completely full of water in all ways) The meaning is that such a water reservoir overflowing with water is capable of satisfying the various water needs like washing, bathing, drinking, irrigation, etc, of a person based on his eligibility to utilise it .

yāvān arthaḥ (is utilised by a person as much as is needed by him) The entire water in the reservoir cannot be utilised by him. When someone who is thirsty approaches the reservoir, only a single glass of water from it will be of use to him to quench his thirst. He will not need all the water in the reservoir. 

tāvān sarveṣu vedeṣu (likewise from the whole of the vedas) Just as a thirsty man takes only a glass of water from a reservoir full of water and leaves the rest, people with different entitlements based on the combination of the three guṇas in varied proportions in them, seek only those parts of the vedas which cater to their needs and leave the remaining. 

With the following two words the example is completed with the illustration of one such entitled person.

brāhmaṇasya (vaidika belonging to the trivarṇa- brāhmaṇā, kṣatriya and vaiśya, entitled to the study of the vedas) Since Arjuna who is being addressed here by Kṛṣṇa is a Kṣatriya and along with brāhmaṇās, kṣatriyās and vaiśyās too are entitled to brahma vidya (the knowledge of Brahmaṇ), the word brāhmaṇa here cannot be referring to the brāhmaṇa varṇa. As per the sūtra tadadhīte Aṣtādhyāyi 4.2.59, if it is claimed that one is called a brāhmaṇa as he studies the vedas also called as 'brahma', then as per the sūtra brāhmo (a) jātau Aṣtādhyāyi 6.4.171 it is said that except for reference to jāti or caste, in all other instances the term 'brāhmaḥ' must be used and not 'brāhmaṇaḥ'. Therefore based on the derivation brahma aṇatīti brāhmaṇaḥ (since he recites the vedas he is brāhmaṇa) it is to be understood that the word brāhmaṇaḥ here refers to a person belonging to the traivarṇa (brāhmaṇā, Kṣatriya and vaiśya) who are entitled to study the vedas. As per śakaṃdhvādiṣu pararūpaṃ vaktavyam Aṣtādhyāyi 1.1.64 vārtikā 3632, since 'brahmaṇ is pragṇādi, on applying 'aṇ' pratyay ādi vṛddhi happens and the word brāhmaṇaḥ is formed. Śankarācarya has given the meaning of the word brāhmaṇa as sanyāsi with his statement brāhmaṇa śabdasyātra sannyāsiparatvena sankaravyākhyā tvatimandaḥ. In this case, Arjuna is not a sanyāsi (renunciate) and since a gṛhasta (a family man) is also eligible for brahma vidya, the meaning given by Śankarācarya does not apply in this context. 

vijānataḥ (who has the highest knowledge) He is a mumukṣu who has the knowledge to distinguish between right and wrong. For a thirsty man little water is sufficient to quench his thirst. Similarly for a mumukṣu only that part of the vedas which talks about mokṣa and the means to achieve it are relevant and the rest of the vedas are irrelevant. Just as the vedas prescribe different karmas (duties) for different people based on their varṇa, āśrama, pravaraṃ (family line traced to a riṣi), etc, in a similar manner they prescribe different kāmya karmas for those desiring different material rewards and karmas which are a means to mokṣa for a mumukṣu. Hence there is nothing wrong when a mumukṣu does not perform the karmas designated for a kāmya karmi.

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