bhagavad-gita, part one
I arjuna's dejection
"i see omens of chaos,
krishna; i see no good
in killing my kinsmen
in battle.
krishna, i seek no victory,
or kingship or pleasures."
"the greed that distorts their reason
binds them to the sin they commit
in ruining the family, blinds them
to the crime of betraying friends.
how can we ignore the wisdom
of turning from this evil
when we see the sin
of family destruction, krishna?
when the family is ruined,
the timeless laws of family duty
perish; and when duty is lost,
chaos overwhelms the family.
in over whelming chaos, krishna;
women of the family are corrupted;
and when women are corrupted;
disorder is born in society."
II philosophy and spiritual discipline
"we don't know which weight
is worse to bear
our conquering them
or their conquering us."
"you grieve for those beyond grief;
and you speak words of insight;
but learned men do not grieve
for the dead or the living.
never have i not existed,
nor you, nor those kings;
and never in the future
shall we cease to exist."
"arjuna, you must learn to endure
fleeting things--they come and go!"
"nothing of nonbeing comes to be
nor does being cease to exist,
the boundarybetween these two
is seen by men who see reality."
"he who thinks this self a killer
and he who thinks it killed,
both fail to understand;
it does not kill, nor is it killed."
"death is certain for anyone born,
and birth is certain for the dead;
since the cycle is inevitable,
you have no cause to grieve!"
"arjuna, the realm of sacred lore
is nature--beyond its triad of qualities,
dualities, and mundane rewards,
be forever lucid, alive to your self."
"perform actions, firm in discipline,
relinquishing attachment;
be impartial to failure and success--
this equanimity is called discipline."
"discipline is skill in action."
"when he shows no preference
in fortune or misfortune
and neither exults nor hates,
his insight is sure."
"even when a man of wisdom
tries to control them, arjuna,
the bewildering senses,
attack his mind with violence.
controling them all,
with discipline he should focus on me;
when his senses are under control,
his insight is sure.
brooding about sensuous objects
makes attachment to them grow;
from attachment desire arises,
from desire anger is born.
from anger comes confusion;
from confusion memory lapses;
from broken memory understanding is lost;
from loss of understanding, he is ruined."
III discipline of action
"a man cannot escape the force
of action by abstaining from actions;
he does not attain success
just by renunciation."
"action comes from the spirit of prayer,
whose source is OM, sound of the imperishable"
"actions are all effected
by the qualities of nature;
but deluded by individuality,
the self thinks, 'i am the actor.'
when he can discriminate
the actions of nature's qualities
and think, 'the qualities depend
on other qualities,' he is detached."
"surrender all actions to me,
and fix your reason on your inner self;
without hope or possessiveness,
your fever subdued, fight the battle!"
"your own duty done imperfectly
is better than another man's done well."
"knowledge is obscured
by the wise man's eternal enemy,
which takes form as desire,
an insatiable fire, arjuna."
"men say that senses are superior
to their objects, the mind superior to the senses,
undertanding superior to the mind;
higher than understanding is the self."
IV knowledge
"he who really knows my divine
birth and my action, escapes rebirth
when he abandons the body--
and he comes to me, arjuna."
"a man who sees inaction in action
and action in inaction
has understanding among men,
disciplined in all action he performs."
"abandoning attachment to fruits
of action, alwayscontent, independent,
he does nothing at all
even when he engages in action.
he incurs no guilt if he has no hope,
restrains his thought and himself,
abandons possessions,
and performs actions with his body only.
content with whatever comes by chance,
beyond dualities, free from envy,
impartial to failure and success,
he is not bound even when he acts."
"jus as a flaming fire reduces
wood to ashes, arjuna,
so the fire of knowledge
reduces all actions to ashes."
"as ignorant man is lost, faithless,
and filled with self-doubt;
a soul that harbors doubt has no joy,
not in this world or the next."
V renunciation of action
"renunciation and discipline in action
both effect good beyond measure;
but of the two, discipline in action
surpasses renunciation of action."
"renunciation is difficult to attain
without discipline;
a sage armed with discipline
soon reaches the infinite spirit."
"seeing hearing touching smelling
eating walking sleeping breathing
the disciplined man who knows reality
should think, 'i do nothing at all.'
when talking giving taking
opening and closing his eyes
he keeps thinking, 'it is the senses
that engage in sense objects.'"
"the lord of the world
does not create agency or actions,
or a union of fruits with actions;
but his being unfolds into existence.
the lord does not partake
of anyone's evil or good conduct;
knowledge is obscured by ignorance,so people are deluded."
"he should not rejoice in what he loves
nor recoil from what disgusts him;
secure in understanding, undeluded, knowing
the infinite spirit, he abides in it."
VI the man of discipline
"no man is disciplined
without renouncing willful intent."
"he should elevate himself by the self,
not degrade himself,
for the self is its own friend
and its own worst foe.
the self is the friend of a man
who masters himself through the self;
but for a man without self-mastery,
the self is like an enemy at war."
"gluttons have no discipline,
nor the man who starves himself,
nor he who sleeps excessively
or suffers wakefulness.
when a man disciplines his diet
and diversions, his physical actions,
his sleeping and waking,
discipline destroys his sorrow."
"he should entirely control
his senses with his mind."
"i exist in all creatures,
so the disciplined mandevoted to me
grasps the oneness of life;
wherever he is, he is in me."
"any man who acts with hinor
cannot go the wrong way, my friend."
"i see omens of chaos,
krishna; i see no good
in killing my kinsmen
in battle.
krishna, i seek no victory,
or kingship or pleasures."
"the greed that distorts their reason
binds them to the sin they commit
in ruining the family, blinds them
to the crime of betraying friends.
how can we ignore the wisdom
of turning from this evil
when we see the sin
of family destruction, krishna?
when the family is ruined,
the timeless laws of family duty
perish; and when duty is lost,
chaos overwhelms the family.
in over whelming chaos, krishna;
women of the family are corrupted;
and when women are corrupted;
disorder is born in society."
II philosophy and spiritual discipline
"we don't know which weight
is worse to bear
our conquering them
or their conquering us."
"you grieve for those beyond grief;
and you speak words of insight;
but learned men do not grieve
for the dead or the living.
never have i not existed,
nor you, nor those kings;
and never in the future
shall we cease to exist."
"arjuna, you must learn to endure
fleeting things--they come and go!"
"nothing of nonbeing comes to be
nor does being cease to exist,
the boundarybetween these two
is seen by men who see reality."
"he who thinks this self a killer
and he who thinks it killed,
both fail to understand;
it does not kill, nor is it killed."
"death is certain for anyone born,
and birth is certain for the dead;
since the cycle is inevitable,
you have no cause to grieve!"
"arjuna, the realm of sacred lore
is nature--beyond its triad of qualities,
dualities, and mundane rewards,
be forever lucid, alive to your self."
"perform actions, firm in discipline,
relinquishing attachment;
be impartial to failure and success--
this equanimity is called discipline."
"discipline is skill in action."
"when he shows no preference
in fortune or misfortune
and neither exults nor hates,
his insight is sure."
"even when a man of wisdom
tries to control them, arjuna,
the bewildering senses,
attack his mind with violence.
controling them all,
with discipline he should focus on me;
when his senses are under control,
his insight is sure.
brooding about sensuous objects
makes attachment to them grow;
from attachment desire arises,
from desire anger is born.
from anger comes confusion;
from confusion memory lapses;
from broken memory understanding is lost;
from loss of understanding, he is ruined."
III discipline of action
"a man cannot escape the force
of action by abstaining from actions;
he does not attain success
just by renunciation."
"action comes from the spirit of prayer,
whose source is OM, sound of the imperishable"
"actions are all effected
by the qualities of nature;
but deluded by individuality,
the self thinks, 'i am the actor.'
when he can discriminate
the actions of nature's qualities
and think, 'the qualities depend
on other qualities,' he is detached."
"surrender all actions to me,
and fix your reason on your inner self;
without hope or possessiveness,
your fever subdued, fight the battle!"
"your own duty done imperfectly
is better than another man's done well."
"knowledge is obscured
by the wise man's eternal enemy,
which takes form as desire,
an insatiable fire, arjuna."
"men say that senses are superior
to their objects, the mind superior to the senses,
undertanding superior to the mind;
higher than understanding is the self."
IV knowledge
"he who really knows my divine
birth and my action, escapes rebirth
when he abandons the body--
and he comes to me, arjuna."
"a man who sees inaction in action
and action in inaction
has understanding among men,
disciplined in all action he performs."
"abandoning attachment to fruits
of action, alwayscontent, independent,
he does nothing at all
even when he engages in action.
he incurs no guilt if he has no hope,
restrains his thought and himself,
abandons possessions,
and performs actions with his body only.
content with whatever comes by chance,
beyond dualities, free from envy,
impartial to failure and success,
he is not bound even when he acts."
"jus as a flaming fire reduces
wood to ashes, arjuna,
so the fire of knowledge
reduces all actions to ashes."
"as ignorant man is lost, faithless,
and filled with self-doubt;
a soul that harbors doubt has no joy,
not in this world or the next."
V renunciation of action
"renunciation and discipline in action
both effect good beyond measure;
but of the two, discipline in action
surpasses renunciation of action."
"renunciation is difficult to attain
without discipline;
a sage armed with discipline
soon reaches the infinite spirit."
"seeing hearing touching smelling
eating walking sleeping breathing
the disciplined man who knows reality
should think, 'i do nothing at all.'
when talking giving taking
opening and closing his eyes
he keeps thinking, 'it is the senses
that engage in sense objects.'"
"the lord of the world
does not create agency or actions,
or a union of fruits with actions;
but his being unfolds into existence.
the lord does not partake
of anyone's evil or good conduct;
knowledge is obscured by ignorance,so people are deluded."
"he should not rejoice in what he loves
nor recoil from what disgusts him;
secure in understanding, undeluded, knowing
the infinite spirit, he abides in it."
VI the man of discipline
"no man is disciplined
without renouncing willful intent."
"he should elevate himself by the self,
not degrade himself,
for the self is its own friend
and its own worst foe.
the self is the friend of a man
who masters himself through the self;
but for a man without self-mastery,
the self is like an enemy at war."
"gluttons have no discipline,
nor the man who starves himself,
nor he who sleeps excessively
or suffers wakefulness.
when a man disciplines his diet
and diversions, his physical actions,
his sleeping and waking,
discipline destroys his sorrow."
"he should entirely control
his senses with his mind."
"i exist in all creatures,
so the disciplined mandevoted to me
grasps the oneness of life;
wherever he is, he is in me."
"any man who acts with hinor
cannot go the wrong way, my friend."