Bg 2.49
dūreṇa hy avaraṁ karma buddhi-yogād
dhanañ-jaya
buddhau śaranam anviccha kṛpaṇāḥ
phala-hetavaḥ
Bg 2.50
buddhi-yukto jahātīha ubhe sukṛta-duṣkṛte
tasmād yogāya yujyasva yogaḥ karmasu
kauśalam
Translation:
49. Far lower than the YOGA -of-wisdom is action, O Dhananjaya. Seek
thou refuge in wisdom; wretched are they whose motive is the "fruit.
"
50. Endowed with the Wisdom of evenness-of-mind, one casts off in
this life both good deeds and evil deeds; therefore, devote yourself to YOGA,
Skill in action is YOGA.
Commentary:
Work done with a mind undisturbed by anxieties for the results is
indeed superior to the work done by a dissipated mind, ever worrying over the results. Here the term,
"Buddhi yoga" has tickled some commentators to discover in it a
special Yoga advised by the Geeta. I personally think that it is too much of a
laboured theory. Buddhi as defined in the Upanishads, is the determining factor
in the "inner-equipment"; Nishchyatmika is 'intellect'; Samshayatmika
is 'mind'. Thus, when the thought flow is in a state of flux and agitated, it
is called the 'mind'; and when it is single-pointed, calm and serene in its own determination, it is called the 'intellect.'
Thus, Buddhi yoga means
"to be established in the devotion to the intellect."Steady in your
conviction, your mind perfectly under the control of your discriminative
intellect, to live thus as a master of your inner and outer world is called
Buddhi yoga. In Buddhi yoga we pursue our duties in life, without ever losing
sight of our ultimate Goal in Life. Analysing the meaning of the stanza in
terms of what we have already seen regarding the split-personality and its cure
through Vasana-purgation, we may interpret Buddhi yoga as an individual's
attempt to live and act from the zone of the intellect which freely controls
the mind's functions, and readily receives faithful obedience from the mind.
The attempt of the mind to work in union with the intellect --- the
"objective-mind" working under the control and the order of the
"subjective-mind" --- is called Buddhi yoga. By so doing, instead of
incurring more and more liabilities of new Vasana-bondages, the individual
gains a release from the mental congestion created by the existing Vasanas.
Thus, when an individual completely surrenders his ego, he is said to be
"Established in Buddhi yoga." Hence it is said "SEEK REFUGE IN
Buddhi," meaning: "let your mind be perfectly under the control and
direction of the intellect."
There is a solid reason why we should live under the control of the
intellect. Those who live in the mental zone, tossed about by the mind's
tribulations, get agitated by anxiety for the fruits-of-actions. Such people
are termed here as 'wretched. ' It is a powerful statement by which Vyasa
condemns such thoughtless, unintelligent people: "WRETCHED ARE THEY WHO
ACT FOR THE RESULTS." Understood properly, this is a wonderful guidance by
following which we can totally eliminate all failures in life. Efficient
activity in the present alone can order great results. They are
"wretched" because they will be, in their desire-prompted activities,
incurring new Vasanas and thus will be thickening the veil of ignorance of
their own glorious Divinity. Unselfish work, performed in a spirit of dedication
and ego-less surrender, is the secret method of exhausting our Vasana-store.
Such a mind alone, purged clean, can reflect the Self clearly and come to
discover the Eternal God-hood.
NOW, LEARN WHAT RESULTS HE GAINS WHO PERFORMS HIS DUTY WITH
EVENNESS-OF-MIND: One who has an evenness of temper accomplished by his perfect
withdrawal from the realm of sentiments and emotions, and who is established in his resolute intellect, gets
himself transported from the arena of both the good and the bad, merit and
de-merit. The conception of good and bad is essentially of the mind, and the
reactions of merit and de-merit are left
on the mental composition in the form of Vasanas or samskaras. He, who is not identifying
with the stormy sea of the mind, will not be thrown up or sunk down by the huge
waves of Vasanas. This idea is explained here by the term Buddhi yuktah: one whose
actions are all guided by his clear vision of his higher and diviner Goal.
The Geeta, throughout this section, is sincerely calling upon man
not to live on the outskirts of his personality, which are constituted of the
worlds of sense-objects, the physical body and the mind, but to enter into the
realm of the intellect, and from there to assert his natural manliness. Man is
the supreme creature in the kingdom of the living, because of the rational
capacities of his discriminative intellect. As long as man does not utilise this
special equipment in him, so long he cannot claim his heritage as man. Arjuna
was asked by Krishna not to be a vain and hysterical person, but to be a he-man
and, therefore, ever a master of all his external situations. The great hero, Arjuna,
became so frail and weak because he started living in delusory identification
with the sense of his own physical security and with his various emotional attachments.
He who lives constantly asserting his full evolutionary status as
man, becomes free from the chains and bondages of all his past impressions
(vasanas), which he must have gathered in his pilgrimage through his different embodiments.
"Therefore, apply yourself," advises Krishna, "to the
devotion of action, Yoga." In this context, again, Vyasa is giving a
definition of Yoga, as he means it here. Earlier, he had already explained that
"Evenness of mind is Yoga." Now he re-writes the same definition more
comprehensively and says, "Yoga is dexterity
in action." In a science-book, if the very same term is defined differently
in every chapter, it would bring about confusion in its understanding. How is
it then that in the Science of Religion, we find different definitions of the same
term? This riddle solves itself as soon as we carefully attempt an intimate
understanding of the definition. The earlier definition is being incorporated
in the latter one, because, otherwise, "evenness of mind is Yoga" may
be misunderstood as a mere 'evenness of mind' producing inaction and slothfulness.
In this definition such a misunderstanding is completely removed, and thus
Karma Yoga, as indicated in the all-comprehensive meaning implied herein,
indicates the art of working with perfect mental equilibrium in all the
different conditions indicated by the term "pairs-of opposites"
(Dwandwas). After dissecting this stanza thus, we come to understand what
exactly is the Lord's intention. When Yoga, "the art of working without
desire," is pursued, the Karma Yogin becomes detached from all the
existing vasanas in himself, both good and bad. The vasana-pressure in the
individual causes restlessness within. The inner-equipment that has become
peaceful and serene is called the pure Antah- Karana, which is an unavoidable
prerequisite for consistent, discriminative self-application in meditation. Thus
all actions, when properly pursued, become means for the ultimate end of
realising the Self through meditation, with a pure mind. We have here yet
another example of Vyasa using the frightening word Yoga in a tamer context in
order to make his society then feel at ease with it.
Sources: vedabase.com; The Holy Geeta
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