***Sharing an academic essay written for an Oxford University Course as Part-2 of the Bhagavad Gita sharing. See Part 1 here.***
कर्मण्यकर्म य: पश्येदकर्मणि च कर्म य: |
स बुद्धिमान्मनुष्येषु स युक्त: कृत्स्नकर्मकृत् ||Summary meaning: “one who perceives inaction in action and action in inaction is intelligent amongst men. He is properly engaged and he performs all his designated actions as a yogi.”
Bhagavad Gita (4.18)
Perhaps one of the most popular teachings of the Srimad Bhagavad Gita is that it enjoins one to ‘do one’s dharma or duty’ (‘duty’ of course being a rough and ineffectual translation of ‘dharma’). Arjuna’s example is often cited as a somewhat extreme case used by the Gita to drive home the point. ‘Extreme’, because the Lord is actually instructing to engage in battle, an act we would normally consider undesirable, even immoral. The point thus made, apparently, is: do your duty, even if it be fighting and killing others in battle. However, if we look deeper, then something else reveals – once we consider all the knowledge that Sri Krishna imparts to Arjuna through the course of the 18 chapters, we see that Krishna is in fact, on a deeper level, encouraging the absence of a fight – within Arjuna – and removing his wrong notions concerning action itself. In my view, unless we understand that the essence of the Gita is ‘not to fight’, in other words, we go beyond the oft-quoted superficial teaching ‘to fight’, to its deeper spiritual understanding, we have not truly grasped Sri Hari’s message.
The Outer and Inner Battles
The Gita spends a considerable amount of time – the entire first chapter – ‘setting the scene’. Notably, this is in contrast to other important scriptures of similar gravitas like the Brahma Sutras or the Yoga Sutras which begin with rather abrupt statements announcing that the topic of the text will now be discussed; or the Upanishads which again, don’t consider it important to describe context or background. This in itself (even if it were not reinforced through the images of the battle scene printed on almost all book covers of the Gita we see in circulation today) indicates the importance of the context i.e. the scene of the battle. And immediately, as the outer battle scene is being described by Arjuna, the mirroring of the inner battle within him is highlighted. In my view, the Gita deliberately takes pains to draw attention to the example and metaphor of battle, to later, show the opposite of it or the transcendence of it and expatiate on the attainment of absolute peace.
How does it do this? Through the teachings on dharma, jnana yoga, bhakti yoga, karma yoga and Sankhya that Krishna goes on to expound. I believe the Gita in fact covers all six Darshanas – Nyaya and Vaisheshika (through teachings on dharma), Samkhya, Yoga, Vedanta and Mimamsa (mainly highlighting where Vedic rituals fail to deliver the ultimate aim of liberation) – as it uncovers all the different aspects of spiritual understanding needed to attain liberation or moksha (being in essence, a moksha shastra). Krishna’s main aim, accordingly, is to remove all the resistances playing within Arjuna with regard to his present life situation. Let’s look at how Krishna uses a multi-dimensional approach to remove all friction from Arjuna’s mind and heart and as I see it, instructs him to firstly, inwardly not fight or resist his circumstance and secondly, through spiritual knowledge see that he is not the doer or the one who fights.
Yoga and Samkhya
The two darshanas of Yoga and Samkhya are considered to complement each other and indeed, Krishna emphasizes in the Gita that they are one (Chapter 5, v.4-5). Samkhya philosophy is referenced primarily in Chapters 2, 13, 14 and 18. Krishna explains to Arjuna, the importance of understanding that the Purusha or soul is separate and independent from Prakriti, the manifest world or nature constituted of the three gunas. The Purusha is the eternal, formless, changeless witness that is never tainted by the action of the gunas (Chapter 13, v.22, 31). This understanding is linked into Yoga both in the form of karma yoga and jnana or buddhi yoga.
Beyond this, the Bhagavad Gita contains a strong focus on Bhakti Yoga (Chapters 7-12) and one may even argue that it is a strongly theistic text that asserts Krishna as the Supreme Deity who offers a relationship of love to the devotee and grants him the results of yoga.
With this philosophical backdrop of Samkhya and Yoga, let’s look more closely at the main teachings Sri Krishna imparts in relation to action that will help us better understand the full context and essence of His instruction to Arjuna to fight.
Dharma
That the Bhagavad Gita considers dharma to be an important topic, is clear from the repeated return to the topic throughout the text – right from the use of the term in the opening words of the text itself (to describe the battlefield of Kurukshetra as dharamkshetra), to Arjuna’s confession of great confusion on the topic in the opening chapters (Chapter 1, v.40-44 and Chapter 2, v.7), to Krishna’s attempt to explain the term in many different ways across different chapters thereby revealing more and more subtle layers of understanding.
In Chapters 2 (v.31-33) and 18 (v.41-47), dharma is described as the action based on one’s varna and related to one’s inherent nature, svabhava. Krishna reminds Arjuna that being a Kshatriya, Arjuna’s dharma or natural action in society and one that best aligns with his natural temperament (dictated by the balance of the gunas, as discussed in Chapter 18, v.41-47) should be to fight for the protection of righteousness. Krishna is here telling Arjuna to not fight his natural inclination (Chapter 3, v.33) or place in society, both of which compel him to act in a certain way in the current circumstance – if he ignores the former, it will be futile as nature or prakriti will impel him anyway and if he ignores the latter, he will earn dishonour and ridicule from society and accumulate sin (Chapter 2, v.33-37). The topic of prescribed action is dealt with at some length in Chapter 18 with emphasis laid on performing prescribed action in the spirit of renunciation (v.9).
This explanation might reasonably be regarded as sufficient to remove Arjuna’s confusion and the battle in his mind but Krishna goes even further. In Chapter 18, v.66, He tells Arjuna to abandon all types of dharmas altogether and take shelter in Him alone. This option, revealed to Arjuna towards the conclusion of the Gita, after all explanations regarding dharma have been given, is an invitation that if accepted, would remove all trace of responsibility or burden from Arjuna’s mind and leave him in deep peace.
So then, is Krishna’s final instruction to fight or to not fight (by abandoning all dharmas)? To understand what Krishna means by abandoning all dharmas and how that might imply ‘not fighting’, we need to look more deeply into the teachings of Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yogaand Jnana Yoga given by Krishna.
Karma Yoga
Dharma is closely related to karma as it is the type of karma and the way in which we perform it, that go on to determine whether we are following dharma or not. Many aspects of karma are highlighted in the Gita – a few key ones are summarised here. Firstly, and most fundamentally, as we saw earlier, karma is impelled by the action of the gunas in each person (Chapter 3, v.5). Krishna proclaims that the one who sees that the gunas alone are acting and himself remains unattached to action and unidentified as the doer (Chapter 3, v.27-28; Chapter 13, v.29; Chapter 14, v.23), truly sees. This draws on the understanding from Samkhya philosophy referenced above. Thus Krishna, in asking Arjuna to fight, is in fact also asking him to not fight with his own nature by repressing it (Chapter 3, v.33)!
Secondly, the Gita stresses that karma should be performed without desire for the fruits of action (e.g. Chapter 2, v.47-48). Action that is “performed without attachment and is undertaken without passionate endeavour, hatred or desire for the fruits” (Chapter 18, v.23), is termed as action in the mode of sattva. This is what is broadly considered to be the essence of Karma Yoga.
Krishna explores the topic of action in greater subtlety in Chapter 4 where He explains that “one who perceives inaction in action and action in inaction is intelligent amongst men. He is properly engaged and he performs all his designated actions” (v.18). This statement is indeed profound and subtle as it is describing the state of consciousness of one who has realised his identity with Brahman (in Advaita terms, following Adi Shankaracharya) and therefore lost the sense of doership. In that sense, it can be seen as being the practical outcome of the two liberating understandings of karma from Samkhya and Yoga noted above.
To fully understand Karma Yoga, we need to also understand the concept of yajña which is repeatedly brought into focus. Krishna proclaims in Chapter 3 (v.9), that “except where action is performed in the execution of yajña, this world remains in the bondage of action. Remaining free of attachment, Kaunteya, you should therefore perform action for that purpose alone.” The knowledge that only action in the nature of yajna is liberated action is repeated in Chapter 4 (v.23) and Chapter 18 (v.45-46).
If action is performed without any sense of doership then can it even be said that Arjuna fights? Or would it not be that in light of the knowledge Krishna has shared, Arjuna would see inaction in the action and realise that he is the witnessing Atman which is not the doer? This understanding is further explored through Jnana Yoga.
Jnana Yoga
One of the most popular quotations from the Gita is verse 48 of Chapter 2, “yoga-sthaḥ kuru karmāṇi” where (and in subsequent verses) the understanding that action should be performed in a state of buddhi yoga is explained. Krishna explains that “by engaging the intellect (buddhi-yukto) one sets aside both righteous and unrighteous deeds. Therefore engage yourself in this Yoga for Yoga is the true art of performing action,” (Ch.2, v.50) and further, that it is by buddhi yoga that one is able to be free of illusion and desire and renounce the fruits of action that makes the Karma Yoga discussed above effectual (Ch.2, v. 51-52, 71). The wise person, according to Krishna, fixes his mind on an understanding of the Self and is free of desire or any sense of ownership or doership (Chapter 3, v.30, Chapter 5, v.8-9). Regulation of the mind and control of the senses is repeatedly advised in order to overcome desire and become steady in wisdom (Chapter 2, v.58, 61-72; Chapter 3, v.41, 43).
In Chapter 4, Krishna explains Jnana Yoga and that the Atman is not affected by the fruits of action and actions do not leave a mark on It (v. 13-14). For one with Self knowledge, action is non-binding and he is like a lotus leaf not touched by water (Chapter 4, v.41; Chapter 5, v.7-12).
So if Arjuna is untouched by the action of fighting, could he be said to fight?
Bhakti Yoga
In Chapter 10 (v.7), Krishna says that unwavering Yoga discipline is the result of an understanding of His glory and that the yoga of the intellect is in fact given by Him as an act of Grace (v.10-11). The secret of Bhakti Yoga is to remember Krishna while engaged in action i.e. fix the mind on Him and surrender the action and its results to Him (Chapter 3, v.30, Chapter 8, v.7, Chapter 18, v.56-57). The Karma Yoga described above then becomes something that is a consequence of Bhakti Yoga as in Chapter 18 (v.46), Krishna equates the performance of prescribed action with worship of the Deity.
So coming back to our question of ‘to fight or not to fight’, we might question here, in light of Krishna’s teachings, whether Arjuna, if he were to pick up arms, would be considered to be fighting or worshipping the Deity?
Further, Chapter 7 tells us that it is in fact Krishna, as the Supreme Deity who pervades the whole world and is the Controller of prakriti through which the world takes its course (Chapter 9, v.10). So then is Arjuna the one who fights, or Krishna?
Conclusion
Thus, we see that Krishna’s instruction to fight has been given in the form of Jnana Yoga, Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and following of dharma – and through all paths, the effect of action becomes nullified as Arjuna would become divested of doership or even intention. “Giving up all actions within the mind,” Arjuna would be “neither acting nor causing action to be performed,” (Chapter 5, v.13).
All through the Gita, Krishna is correcting Arjuna’s wrong ideas and removing doubts and resistances. At the final crescendo, by opening the path of surrender to Him, Krishna is more taking the fight out of Arjuna than putting the fight in him. Even His final words to Arjuna are non-forceful in an attempt to remove conflict within him: do as you see fit.
Thus, to me it is not unnoteworthy or incidental that the metaphor of fight has been chosen by the Gita to expound the highest spiritual truths. Rather, it is deliberate, to show through paradox, the opposite of fight i.e. tranquility and equanimity that can be attained within, so that even something like battle can be done with no battle within us.
