GITA 3.26

GITA 3.26

VASUDEVA SUTAM DEVAM KAMSA CHANURA MARDANAM
DEVAKI PARAMANANDAM KRISHNAM VANDE JAGADGURUM

Like Sri Rama avatar, Sri Krishna Avatar also is magnificent. Devotees remember Sri Krishna's childhood plays, like stealing butter, bonded by His mother, killing of Poothana, protection of people by using the Govardana hill as umbrella, Rasakreeta, etc, The same Sri Krishna is gracing the devotees as Sri Ranganatha. We are at the sannidhi of Sri Vittala Krishna, in the Ranga Vilas Mantapam, near the South gopuram in Srirangam. He stands there with His two hands on the waist. He appears as in Pandarpur Kshetram in Maharashtra. We will see the 26th sloka from here. In the last sloka Sri Krishna told how a leader has to use loka sagraharam for Karma yoga and slowly bring his followers to higher level. The message is that we should continue with our daily chores, and follow Karma yoga. But with the feeling, that all these are not done by us, and these are done for attaining Moksham. Now the 26th sloka:

na buddhi-bhedam janayed
ajnanam karma-sanginam
josayet sarva-karmani
vidvan yuktah samacaran

Let not the wise disrupt the minds of the ignorant who are attached to fruitive action. They should not be encouraged to refrain from work, but to engage in work in the spirit of devotion.

"So as not to disrupt the minds of ignorant men attached to the fruitive results of prescribed duties, a learned person should not induce them to stop work. Rather, by working in the spirit of devotion, he should engage them in all sorts of activities [for the gradual development of Krishna consciousness]."

Ajnanam= One who has not attained atman gyan fully, karma sanginam = still wanting to perform karma [people like us], because all karmas are related to body, na buddhi bedam janayed= [Arjuna] should not cause intellect confusion. We are doing some karma with dedication to God amidst our daily routines. If we are told that these will not fetch us Moksham, and we should follow Gyana yoga, then only we will attain Moksham, we will get confused. So, Arjuna should not resort to Gyana yoga, abandoning war, as that would confuse his followers and this is told by Sri Krishna. Here, Sri Krishna tells Arjuna that all these He told not because Arjuna had the capacity to perform Gyana yoga. If he had that capacity then after the war he should have abandoned Royal life and gone for meditation, to pursue Gyana yoga. Since he did not do that, it is clear that Arjuna was capable of doing Karma yoga only, and only for an argument Sri Krishna told as though Arjuna was qualified for higher levels. This also has a lesson for all of us, that we should not run away from life and its problems, as that will amount to escapism, and not be considered as following Gyana yoga. We should fulfill our responsibilities with the feeling that it is all for the sake of God and follow Karma yoga, in its true perspective. Sarva karmani josayet = all karma renounced, vidwan =learned person, yuktan=should induce [the importance of Karma yoga], samacaran= by performing karma.

                                                                                            (continued)