Gita: The Song of Life – 5
Sri Krishna tells Arjuna that action [karma] cannot be avoided. Even the simple acts of maintaining our bodies are actions. We must discriminate and not follow our desires and fancies, but master them and decide how, when, and where to act. He further says that the four divisions of society are not rigid or unmovable. Through the cooperative efforts of the four divisions—Brahmins (learned people), Kshatriyas (warriors and rulers), Vysyas (traders), and Sudras (farmers and laborers)—and adhering to their respective duties, the welfare of the whole world will be assured. Accepting this diversity will contribute to real unity.
( Intro | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 )
Arjuna:
But I have heard of another four
Who each emerged, as the Vedas say,
From face and arms and thighs and feet—
Of the one eternal cosmic God.”
Sri Krishna:
Another four?
When God’s own voice, the Veda, declares,
Understand it rightly,
Partha, dear!
Brahmins—they say, from cosmic person’s face;
Kshatriyas—from cosmic person’s arms;
Vysyas—from cosmic person’s thighs;
Sudras—from cosmic person’s feet.
All four do form the body of God;
Each limb needs the other three,
For its own health and strength:
Workers, traders, fighters, teachers—
Artha, dharma, kama, moksha—
Each group in charge of one goal;
Their karma flow, the mental bent—
These decide the group, the caste.”
Arjuna:
“Krishna!
Is karma such a tyrant force?
Are they bound
By iron destiny?”
Sri Krishna:
“It is the ‘I’ that binds the doer,
The ego ‘I,’ that gloats and grieves.
When you hug the deed as ‘mine,’
You are bound in chains and born again.
Say to yourself:
‘Not I—but HE. I am just an instrument.
I am a puppet dancing on the stage.
He pulls the strings, I enact the role.’
Be a lotus-leaf on water, not wet.
Float, as a boat on the angry flood,
But do not allow the water in.
This is the yagna you are born to do.”
Arjuna:
“Yagna? That word means a vedic rite,
To get from the Gods a boon.
How can I, a warrior,
Be duty-bound, to yagnas in this life?”
Sri Krishna:
“ ‘Yagna’
Has a deeper meaning.
It is giving up—
For gaining God.
Your skills, let others share;
Your knowledge, let others receive;
Yagna is the very breath of life.
It is fed by faith in the wisdom of the sage.”
Arjuna:
“The roots of faith, Krishna!
Are eaten by pests—
The pest of doubt,
The pest of pride.”
Sri Krishna:
“Don’t loose heart and give up the gain.
Sit quiet.
Sit straight, in silence—
For a while.
Empty the mind; shut off the senses, five—
And dwell on thoughts of Me alone.
Your mind should be the candle flame
Placed on windless, window-sill.
Say to yourself:
‘I am in all; all in me.’
Joys and sorrows, which others have, are yours—
There are no ‘others’ at all.”
( Intro | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 )
