Odyssey of Life

In final few verses of chapter 3, Lord Krishna explains what drives one’s behavior, and how it becomes a bondage.

Shri Krishna says whether an ignorant man or an advanced seeker walking the path of spirituality, everyone is compelled to act according to their own nature. One’s “nature” is combination of three attributes – viz. Sattva (Knowledge / Wisdom / Light), Rajas (Agitation / Restlessness / Action) and Tamas (Inertia / Resistance / Darkness). One’s own past actions imprinted deeply as tendencies, compulsively manifest themselves under the sway of these three attributes. No ordinary restraint can work to control it (Ref V3.33). These tendencies manifest themselves in the form of attachment and/or aversion towards worldly objects. This is deeply embedded in one’s senses. One must live consciously (and not impulsively), with complete awareness, leveraging mind / intellect to control his senses. Constant awareness of such attachment and aversion helps one to catch them early enough. When such control is practiced for a long time, one graduates to become a detached witness, with full control over senses (and later mind). (Ref V3.34)

Key to happiness

It is natural for tendencies to manifest as attachment / aversion towards worldly objects. This happens as one search for happiness in the outside world.  Everlasting happiness is believed to come by acquiring something or avoiding something from the world. Lord Krishna attempts to correct that belief in verse 3.35. Lord explains that happiness and fulfillment does not lie outside. It is not to be obtained from the outside world. It lies inside one’s mind. Performance of one’s own duty selflessly per one’s nature, is the key to happiness.

Naturally the question comes, what is my duty in this world (svadharma)? Most have struggled with this question – what is the purpose of my life? Svadharma can’t be “given” or “told” to someone, one has to find it himself. It is something that comes naturally to us. It is our nature, our natural tendencies.  It is an act by doing which one doesn’t feel tired or stressed. Instead, one feels fulfillment. It does not feel like “work”, instead it feels like an expression of joy. Whether working as country’s highest official or cleaning streets, one does not think lowly of his svadharma. Neither one cares to know what others think. One would not even mind dying while doing this duty. That is svadharma, self-duty. When done, action becomes an expression of one’s own self. Doing anything else (i.e. not doing one’s own duty, and doing someone else’s duty), is like living someone else’s life – mechanical, full of anger, stress and frustration. No matter how important, tempting or highly materially rewarding that work is, doing it only brings restlessness and agitations of mind. Thus, lord explains performing your own duty selflessly is the key to happiness and fulfillment.

Then what propels the sinful behavior?

As a response to Arjun’s question about why man feels compelled to commit sinful actions, bringing mental agitations (Ref V3.36), lord attributes them to Desire (Kaam) and Anger (Krodha).

Desire and anger are two sides of the same coin. They are born out of restless mind (Rajas – one of the three attribute of nature as explained above). They are one’s eternal enemies (Ref V3.37). Attachment and aversion (mentioned above) are expressions / manifestations of desire and anger. Desire is an agitation of mind that arises to get what something that you don’t have. Once you get it, you get attached to it (thinking that as a cause of happiness), creating an attachment. Anger is an agitation of mind that arises when you don’t get what you want or you get what you don’t want. The later causes aversion. Together, they envelop wisdom and one loses the ability to differentiate the right from the wrong.

To explain further with examples, Lord Krishna further classifies desire in three types (Ref V3.38).

1. Saatvik Desires (सात्विक काम) – These are desires for knowledge, God etc. Such desires reside in intellect. They can be removed with little effort by a) listening to scriptures (श्रवण), b) contemplating over it (मनन), c) meditating on it (निदिध्यासन). Lord compares it to removing a smoke from fire to shine the fire brightly. It requires relatively less effort.
2. Rajasic Desires (राजसिक काम) – These are worldly desires to gain name, fame, material prosperity etc. Such desires reside in mind and need more effort for their removal. Actions like charity, austerity, self-less service etc. can remove them. Lord compares them with the dust on the mirror. To make mirror shine, dust must be removed. Effort required is much more.
3. Tamasic Desires (तामसिक काम) – This is the wrong identification with body, mind and intellect caused due to ignorance. Such desires reside in senses, and it takes a lot of effort and time to remove it. One must keep walking on spiritual path for a long time and wait for the right time for it to fructify. Lord compares it with the fetus inside a womb. While continuously nurturing fetus, one must wait for the right time for it to take birth (come out of womb). One requires persistent and consistent saadhana for a very long time with full commitment and dedication.

Thus, this multifaceted desire is an eternal enemy of a seeker. The fire of desire can never be satiated. More one feeds this fire (of desire) with wood (objects of desire), the more rigorously it burns. This fire covers the wisdom of the seeker preventing him to reach the truth and keep him deluded. (Ref V3.39)

If desire is such a dangerous enemy, it must be fought by the seeker who seeks spiritual progress. Based on the prior commentary, we also know where to find it, i.e. Tamasic desires reside in senses, Rajasic in mind and Saatvik in intellect (Ref V3.40). Lord advice to start with the control of senses. Senses are superior to sense objects and the gross body, but they are also relatively easier to control than mind and intellect (which are much subtler). Keeping senses restrained from sense objects, helps one achieve early control. The best way to practice sense control is by living disciplined and austere life, and refrain from licentious consumption practices (for all senses).

While sense control is a good start, forced sense control is not sustainable for long time. One should proceed to control the mind. Mind is subtler and more powerful than senses. Controlled mind will further increase sense control. Mind being a seat of emotions, the best way to control the mind is direct emotions at higher altar – love for God, compassion / service for other beings, serving society or nation etc.

One can further elevate control at the level of intellect. Intellect is even subtler than mind. Controlled intellect will help strengthen the control of mind. Reading, listening, understanding scriptures, assimilating its knowledge deeply and meditating over it, with intent to understand one’s true nature, helps one control his intellect.

Finally, one can reach the Self – the subtlest and the most superior and keep abidance in Self. (Ref V3.41 to V3.42) Abidance in Self does not give rise to any desire or anger as Self is not the seat for these agitations (as described earlier). Self is beyond the three attributes of nature (Sattva, Rajas and Tamas), thus no agitations, no desire or anger. Additionally, such abidance makes one feel complete, eliminating any dependency on the world for fulfillment. One does not look outside (senses going to sense objects), as there is no attachment or aversion.

The above order of control (senses to mind to intellect) is extremely important in gradual elevation of level of control. Higher one goes, more subtle and more powerful the control becomes. Once reached at the level of the Self, which is the subtlest and the most superior, complete control can be achieved over these enemies of desire and anger, and all their various manifestations. (Ref V3.43)

श्रीकृष्णार्पणम् अस्तु ।