Sharing a poem : The Bhagavad Gita (Books 15 -18)

Books 1 - 5: Here

Books 6 -10: Here

Books 11 -14: Here

(From the version translated by Winthrop Sargeant. In Sanskrit and English, available here. The following copies the English translation of the verses)

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BOOK 15 | The Yoga of the Supreme Spirit

The Blessed Lord spoke:
They speak of the eternal ashvattha tree,
Having its roots above and branches
below,
Whose leaves are the (Vedic)
hymns.
He who knows this is a knower of the

Vedas.

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Below and above its branches spread,

Nourished by the qualities, with objects

of the senses as sprouts;

And below its roots stretch forth

Engendering action in the world of

men.

Its form is not perceptible here in the

world,

Not its end, nor its beginning, nor its

existence.

Cutting this ashvattha tree, with its

well grown root,

By the strong axe of non-attachment,

Then that goal is to be sought

From which, having gone, no one

returns.

In that primal Spirit I take refuge,

Whence the primeval energy

streamed forth.

Without arrogance or delusion, with

the evils of attachment conquered,

Dwelling constantly in the supreme

Self, with desires turned away,

Released from the dualities known as

pleasure and pain,

The undeluded go to that imperishable

goal.

The sun does not illumine,

Nor the moon, nor fire, that place

To which, having gone, no one returns;

That is my supreme abode.

Merely a fragment of Myself,

Becoming an eternal (individual)

soul in the world of the living,

Draws to itself the senses, of which the

sixth is the mind,

That exist in material nature.

When the Lord acquires the body,

And also when He departs from it,

He goes, taking them along,

Like the wind blowing perfumes from

their source.

Presiding over hearing, sight and

touch,

Taste and smell, as well as the mind,

He (i.e. the fragment of the Lord

incarnated as the individual soul)

Enjoys the objects of the senses.

When He departs, remains,

Or enjoys (sense objects) while

accompanied by the qualities,

The deluded do not preceive Him.

Those with the eye of knowledge see

Him.

The yogins, striving, see Him (the

embodied fraction of the Lord)

Situated in the Self,

But the unthinking, those of

unperfected selves,

Strive but do not see Him.

That brilliance which resides in the

sun,

Which illumines the entire universe,

Which is in the moon and which is in

fire,

Know that brilliance to be Mine.

Entering the earth, I support

All beings with energy,

And, having become the watery moon,

I cause all the plants to thrive.

Having become the digestive fire of

all men,

I abide in the body of all living beings;

And joining with the peana and apana,

I (digest) the four kinds of food.

I have entered into the hearts of all

beings;

From Me come memory and knowledge,

as well as their loss.

I alone am that which is to be known

in all the Vedas;

I am the author of the Vedanta and

the knower of the Vedas.

There are these two spirits in the

world

The perishable and the imperishable.

All beings are the perishable;

The unchanging is called the

imperishable.

But the highest Spirit is another,

Called the supreme Self,

Who, entering the three worlds as the

eternal Lord,

Supports them.

Since I transcend the perishable

And am higher than the imperishable,

Therefore I am, in the world, and in

the Vedas,

Celebrated as the supreme Spirit.

He who, thus undeluded, knows Me

As the supreme Spirit,

He, all-knowing, worships Me

With his whole being, Arjuna.

Thus this most secret doctrine

Has been taught by Me, O Arjuna;

Having awakened to this, a man

becomes wise

And fulfills all his duties, Arjuna.

* * *

BOOK 16 | The Yoga of the Distinction between the Divine and Demonic Destinies

The Blessed Lord spoke:

Fearlessness, purity of being,

Perseverance in yoga and

knowledge,

Giving, self-restraint and sacrifice,

Study of sacred texts, austerity,

and uprightness,

Non-violence, truth, absence of

anger,

Renunciation, serenity, absence of

calumny,

Compassion for all beings, freedom

from desire,

Gentleness, modesty, absence of

fickleness,

Vigor, forgiveness, fortitude, purity,

Freedom from malice, freedom from

pride;

These are the endowments of those

Born to a divine destiny, Arjuna.

Hypocisy, arrogance, pride,

Anger, insolence,

And ignorance, are the endowment of

those born

To a demoniacal destiny, Arjuna.

The divine destiny leads to liberation;

The demoniacal to bondage, it is thought.

Do not grieve! You are born

to a divine destiny, Arjuna.

There are two classes of created

beings in this world

The divine and the demoniacal.

The divine has been explained at

length;

Now hear from Me, Arjuna,

about the domoniacal.

Demoniacal men do not understand

When to act and when to refrain from

action.

Neither purity, nor good conduct,

Nor truth is found in them.

"The universe," they say "is without

truth,

Without basis, without a God;

Brought about by mutual union.

How else? It is caused by lust alone."

Holding this view,

These men of lost souls, of small

intelligence,

And of cruel actions, come forth as

enemies

Of the world for its destruction.

Attached to insatiable desire,

Full of hypocrisy, arrogance, and

pride,

Having accepted false notions through

delusion,

They work with unclean resolves.

Clinging to immeasurable

Anxiety, ending only in death,

With gratification of desire as their

highest aim,
Convinced that this is all;

Bound by a hundred snares of hope,

Devoted to desire and anger,

They seek to obtain, by unjust means,

Hoards of wealth for the gratification

of their desires.

This has been obtained by me

today;

This desire I shall attain;

This is mine, and this wealth also

Shall be mine.

"That enemy has been slain be me,

And I shall slay others too;

I am a lord, I am the enjoyer,

I am successful, powerful, and happy,

"I am wealthy and high born.

Who else is equal to me?

I shall sacrifice, I shall give, I shall

rejoice."

Thus, they are deluded by ignorance.

Led astray by many imaginings,

Enveloped in a net of delusion,

Attached to the gratification of desires,

They fall into a foul hell.

Self-conceited, stubborn,

Filled with the pride and

arrogance of wealth,

They perform sacrifices only

in name,

With hypocrisy, and not according to

Vedic injunction.

Clinging to egotism, force, insolence,

Desire, and anger,

Those malicious people hate Me

In their own and others' bodies.

Those cruel haters,

The worst of men, I constantly hurl

Into the wombs of demons

In the cycles of rebirth.

Having entered the wombs of demons,

Those who are deluded, not attaining

In birth after birth, Arjuna,

From there go to a condition still lower

than that.

This is the threefold gate of hell,

Destructive of the self:

Desire, anger, and greed.

Therefore one should abandon these

three.

Released from these gates to

darkness,

Arjuna,

A man does what is best for himself.

Then he goes to the highest goal.

He who acts under the impulse of desire,

Casting aside the injunctions of the

scriptures,
Does not attain perfection,

Nor happiness, nor the highest

goal.

Therefore, determining your standard

by the scriptures,

As to what is and what is not to be

done,

Knowing the scriptural injunction

prescribed,

You should perform action here in

this world.

* * *

BOOK 17 | The Yoga of the Distinction of the Three Kinds of Faith

1

Arjuna spoke:
Those who sacrifice

Casting the injunctions

aside, but filled with faith,

What is their condition, Krishna?

Is it sattva, rajas, or tamas?

The Blessed Lord spoke:

The faith of embodied beings is of three

kinds,

Born of their innate nature;

It is sattvic, rajasic,

And tamasic. Now hear of this.

Faith is in accordance

With the truth (nature) of each,

Arjuna.

Man is made of faith.

Whatever faith he has, thus he is.

The sattvic worship the gods,

The rajasic worship the Yakshas and

demons;

The others, the tamasic men, worship

The ghosts and the hordes of nature

spirits.

Men who undergo terrible austerities

Not enjoined by the scriptures,

Accompanied by hypocrisy and

egotism,

Along with desire and passion,

The unthinking, torturing within the

body

The aggregate of elements,

And also torturing Me thus within the

body,

Know them to be of demoniacal resolves.

But also the food preferred by all

Is of three kinds,

As are their sacrifices, austerities, and

gifts.

Hear now the distinction between

them.

Promoting life, virtue, strength,

health,

Happiness, and satisfaction,

Which are savory, smooth, firm

and pleasant to the stomach;

Such foods are dear to the sattvic.

Causing pain, misery, and sickness

Bitter, sour, salty, excessively hot,

Pungent, dry, and burning;

Such foods are desired by the rajasic.

Stale, tasteless, purid, rotten,

And refuse as well as the impure,

Is the food which

Is dear to the tamasic.

Sacrifice which is offered, observing

the scriptures,

By those who do not desire the fruit,

Concentrating the mind only on the

thought "this is to be sacrificed";

That sacrifice is sattvic.

But sacrifice which is offered

With a view to the fruit, Arjuna,

And also for the purpose of ostentation;

Know that to be rajasic.

Sacrifice devoid of faith,

Contrary to scriptural ordinances,

with no food offered,

Without mantras and without gifts (to

the presiding priest),

They regard as tamasic.

Worship of the gods, the twice-born,

teachers,

And wise men; purity, rectitude,

Celibacy, and non-violence;

These are called austerities of the body.

Words that do not cause distress,

Truthful, agreeable, and beneficial;

And practice in the recitation of sacred

texts;

These are called austerities of speech.

Peace of mind, gentleness,

Silence, self-restraint,

Purity of being; these

Are called austerities of the mind.

This threefold austerity

Practiced with the highest faith by

men

Who are not desirous of fruits and are

steadfast,

They regard as sattvic.

Austerity which is practiced with

hypocrisy

For the sake of honor, respect, and

reverence;

That, here in the world, is declared to

Rajasic, unsteady, and impermanent.

Austerity which is performed

With deluded notions and with

self-torture,

Or with the aim of destroying another,

Is declared to be tamasic.

The gift which is given only with the

thought "it is to be given,"

To a worthy person who has done no

prior favor,

At the proper place and time;

That gift is held to be sattvic.

But that gift which is given grudgingly,

With the aim of recompense

Or gain, with regard to fruit,

Is considered rajasic.

That gift which is given at the wrong

place and time

To the unworthy,

Without paying respect, or with

contempt,

Is declared to be tamasic.

"Om tat sat" this has been taught as

The threefold designation of Brahman.

By this the brahmins, the Vedas,

And the sacrifices were created in

ancient times.

Therefore, acts of sacrifice, giving, and

austerity

Are always begun uttering the syllable

"Om"

By the students of Brahman

As prescribed in the Vedic injunctions.

Uttering "tat" and without aiming at

Fruits, acts of sacrifice and austerity

And acts of giving of various sorts

Are performed by those who

desire liberation.

"Sat" is used

In its meaning of "reality: and in its

meaning of "goodness."

Also the word "sat" is used

For an auspicious act, Arjuna.

Steadfastness in sacrifice, austerity, and

Giving is also called "sat,"

And action relating to these

Is likewise designated as "sat",

An oblation offered or an auterity

practiced

Without faith

Is called "asat," Arjuna,

And is nothing in the hereafter or

here in the world.

* * *

BOOK 18 | The Yoga of Renunciation

Arjuna spoke:

I wish to know the truth

Of sannyasa, krishna,

And of renunciation,

And the difference between them.

The Blessed Lord spoke:

The relinquishment of actions

prompted by desire

The sages understand as sannyasa;

The relinquishment of the fruit of all

action

The wise declare to be renunciation.

Some men of wisdom declare

That action is to be adandoned and is

full of evil,

And others say that acts of sacrifice,

giving and austerity

Are not to be abandoned.

Hear My conclusion in this matter

Concerning renunciation, Arjuna.

Renunciation is declared

To be of three kinds:

Acts of sacrifice, giving, and austerity

Are not to be abandoned, but rather to

be performed;

Sacrifice, giving and austerity

Are purifiers of those who are wise.

These actions, however, are to be

performed

Abandoning attachment to the fruits.

This is My definite

And highest belief, Arjuna.

But renunciation of obligatory action

Is not proper;

The abandonment of it through

delusion

Is proclaimed to be tamasic.

He who abandons action merely

because it is difficult,

Or because of fear of bodily suffering,

Performs rajasic renunciation.

He does not obtain the fruit of that

renunciation.

9

When action is done because it is a

duty,

Arjuna,

And abandoning attachment

to the fruit,

Such renunciation is thought to be

sattvic.

The man of renunciation, the wise man

Whose doubt is cut away, filled with

goodness,

Does not hate disagreeable action,

Nor is he attached to agreeable action.

Indeed embodied beings are not able

To abandon actions entirely;

He, then, who abandons the fruit of

action,

Is called a man of renunciation.

The fruit of action for those

who have not renounced

When they depart (die) is threefold:

Evil, good, and mixed;

But for the renouncers there is none

whatever.

Learn from Me, O Arjuna,

These five factors

Declared in the Sankhya doctrine

For the accomplishment of all actions:

The seat of action (the body), the doer,

The various organs,

And the various separate activities,
With the presiding dieties as the fifth;

Whatever action a man undertakes

With his body, speech or mind,

Either right or wrong,

These are its five factors.

This being so, he who sees his Self

As the doer does not really see,

Because of the fact that

He has not perfected his

understanding.

He whose state of mind is not egoistic,

Whose intellect is not tainted,

Even though he slays these people,

He does not slay, and is not bound (by

his actions).

Knowledge, the process of knowing,

and the knower

Are the threefold impulse to

action;

The instrument, the action, and the doer

Are the threefold basis of action.

It is declared in Sankhya that

Knowledge, action, and the doer

Are of three kinds, distinguished

according to the qualities.

Hear about these also:

That knowledge by which one sees

One imperishable Being in all beings,

Undivided in separate beings;

Know that knowledge to be sattvic.

But that knowledge which sees

In all beings

Separate entities of various kinds,

by differentiation,

Know that knowledge to be rajasic.

The (knowledge), however, which is

attached to one single effect

As if it were all, and without reason,

Without a real purpose and small in

significance,

Is declared to be tamasic.

That action which is ordained and

free from attachment,

Performed without desire or hate,

With no wish to obtain fruit,

Is said to be sattvic.

But that action which is performed

with a wish to obtain desires,

With selfishness, or, again,

With much effort,

Is declared to be rajasic.

That action which is undertaken

because of delusion,

Disregarding consequences, loss, or

injury to others,

As well as one's own ability,

Is said to be tamasic.

Released from attachment, free from

ego,

Endowed with steadfastness and

resolution,

Unperturbed in success or failure;

Such a doer is said to be sattvic.

Passionate, desiring the fruits of

action,

Greedy, violent-natured, impure,

Subject to joy or sorrow;

Such a doer is proclaimed to be

rajasic.

Undsiciplined, vulgar, obstinate,

Wicked, deceitful, lazy,

Despondet, and procrastinating;

Such a doer is said to be tamasic.

Now hear the threefold distinctions

of intellect

And also of firmness, according to the

qualities,

Taught completely

And separately, Arjuna.

That intellect which knows

when to act and when not to act,

What is to be done and what is not to

be done,

And what is to be feared and what is

not to be feared,

Along with the knowledge of bondage

and liberation, Arjuna, is sattvic.

That intellect which distinguished

incorrectly

Between the right and the wrong,

And between that which is to be done

and which is not to be done,

Is rajasic, Arjuna.

That intellect which, enveloped

in darkness,

Imagines wrong to be right,

And all things to be perverted,

Is tamasic, Arjuna.

The unswerving firmness by which,

Through yoga, one holds fast

The functions of the mind, vital

breath, and senses,

That firmness, Arjuna, is sattvic.

But the firmness by which one holds to

Duty, pleasures, and wealth,

With attachment and desire for the

fruits of action,

That firmness, Arjuna, is rajasic,

That firmness by which a stupid man

Does not abandon sleep, fear, grief,

Depression, and conceit,

Is tamasic, Arjuna.

And now, hear from Me, Arjuna,

The threefold happiness

That one enjoys through practice,

And in which one comes to the end of

suffering.

That which in the beginning is like

poison

But in the end like nectar;

That happiness, born from the

tranquility of one's own mind,

Is declared to be sattvic.

That which in the beginning, through

contact

Between the senses and their objects,

is like nectar,

And in the end like poison;

That happiness is declared to be rajasic.

That happiness which both in the

beginning

And afterwards deludes the self,

Arising from sleep, indolence, and

negilgence,

Is declared to be tamasic.

There is no being, either on earth

Or yet in heaven among the gods,

Which can exist

Free from these three qualities born on

material nature.

The duties of the brahmins, the

kshatriyas, the vaishyas,

And of the shudras, Arjuna,

Are distributed according to

The qualities which arise from their

own nature.

Tranquility, restraint, austerity,

purity,

Forgiveness, and uprightness,

Knowledge, wisdom, and faith in God

Are the duties of the brahmins, born of

their innate nature.

Heroism, majesty, firmness, skill,

Not fleeing in battle,

Generosity, and lordly spirit

Are the duties of the kshatriyas,

born of their innate nature.

Plowing, cow-herding, and trade

Are the duties of the vaishyas, born of

their innate nature.

Service is the duty of the shudras,

Born of their innate nature.

Devoted to his own duty,
A man attains perfection.

Hear then how one who is devoted

to his own duty

Finds perfection:

By worshipping with his own proper

duty

Him from whom all beings have their

origin,

Him by whom all this universe is

pervaded,

Man finds perfection.

Better one's own duty, though

imperfect,

Than the duty of another well performed;

Performing the duty prescribed by one's

own nature,

One does not incur evil.

One should not abandon the duty

to which one is born

Even though it be deficient, Arjuna.

Indeed, all undertakings are enveloped

by evil

As fire is by smoke.

With his intellect unattached at all

times,

With conquered self, free from desire,

By renunciation, one attains

The supreme state of freedom from

action.

Learn from Me briefly, Arjuna,

How one who has attained perfection

Also attains Brahman,

Which is the highest state of

knowledge.

Endowed with a pure intellect,

Controlling the self with firmness,

Abandoning sound and the other

objects of sense,

Casting off attraction and hatred,

Dwelling in solitude, eating lightly,

Controlling speech, body, and mind,

Constantly devoted to yoga

meditation.

Taking refuge in dispassion,

Relinquishing egotism, force,

arrogance,

Desire, anger, and possession of

property;

Unselfish, tranquil,

He is fit for oneness with Brahman.

Absorbed in Brahman, he whose self

is serene

Does not mourn, nor does he desire;

Impartial among all beings

He attains supreme devotion to Me.

By devotion to Me he comes to know

Who I am in truth;

Then having known Me in truth,

He enters me immediately.

Performing all actions,

He whose reliance is always on Me,

Attains, by My grace,

The eternal, imperishable abode.

Mentally renouncing

All actions in Me, devoted to Me as

the Supreme,

Taking refuge in the yoga of

discrimination,

Constantly think of Me.

Fixing your mind on Me, you shall

pass over

All difficulties, through My grace;

But if, through egoism, you will not

listen,

Then you shall perish.

If, filled with egoism,

You think, "I shall not fight,"

Your resolve will be in vain;

Your own material nature will

compel you.

What you wish not to do, through

delusion,

You shall do that

Against your will, Arjuna,

Bound by your own karma, born of

your own material nature.

The Lord abides in the hearts

Of all beings, Arjuna,

Causing all beings to revolve,

By the power of illusion, as if fixed on

a machine.

Fly unto Him alone for refuge

With your whole being, Arjuna.

From His grace, you shall attain

Supreme peace and the eternal abode.

Thus the knowledge that is more secret

Than all that is secret has been expounded

to you by Me.

Having reflected on this fully,

Do as you please.

Hear again My supreme word,

Most secret of all.

You are surely loved by Me;

Therefore, I shall speak for your good.

Fix your mind on Me, worshipping Me,

Sacrificing to Me, bowing down to

Me;

In this way you shall come truly to Me,

I promise, for you are dear to Me.

Abandoning all duties,

Take refuge in Me alone.

I shall liberate you

From all evils; do not grieve.

This shall not be spoken of by you

to one who is without austerity,

Nor to one who is without devotion,

Nor to one who does not render

service,

Nor to one who does not desire to listen,

Nor to one who speaks evil of Me.

He who shall teach this supreme

Secret to My worshippers,

Having performed the highest

devotion to Me,

Shall come to Me, without doubt.

And no one among men shall

Do more pleasing service to Me than

he,

And no other on earth

Shall be dearer to Me.

And he who shall study this

Sacred dialogue of ours,

By him I shall have been worshipped

With the wisdom sacrifice; such is

My conviction.

Even the man who hears is

With faith and free from malice,

He also, liberated, shall attain

The happy worlds of those whose

actions are pure.

Has this been heard by you, Arjuna,

With a concentrated mind?

Have your ignorance and delusion

Been destroyed?

Arjuna spoke:

My delusion is destroyed and I have gained

wisdom

Through Your grace, Krishna.

My doubts are gone.

I shall do as You command.

Sanjaya spoke:

Thus I have heard from Krishna

And the great-souled Arjuna,

This wondrous dialogue

Which causes the hair to stand on end.

By the grace of Vyasa I have heard

This supreme and most secret yoga

Which Krishna, the Lord of Yoga, has

divulged

Directly, speaking Himself.

O King, remembering again and again

This marvelous and holy dialogue

Of Krishna and Arjuna,

I rejoice again and again.

And remembering again and again

That marvelous form of Krishna,

My amazement is great, O King,

And I rejoice again and again.

Wherever there is Krishna, Lord of

Yoga,

Wherever there is Arjuna, the archer,

There will surely be

Splendor, victory, wealth, and

righteousness; this is my conviction.

*****

Here ends the Bhagavadgita Upanishad

Books 1 - 5: Here

Books 6 -10: Here

Books 11 -14: Here

Books 15 -18: Here