Chapter 4 of Bhagavad Geeta gives the path of Jnana Yoga, the path-of-Knowledge, the main archway through which all pilgrims must pass to reach the SELF. Sri Krishna here reveals His Divine Nature. Action is defined in its widest form. Various techniques of Yajna to attain the Supreme Knowledge are indicated. How to attain the ultimate Knowledge from a Guru is explained. SELF-KNOWLEDGE is extolled as the ultimate aim of man.

1. THE HOLY GEETA
COMMENTARY by
swami Chinmayananda
T K G NAMBOODHIRI
THIRUVALLA, KERALA, INDIA
Presentation adapted from
THE HOLY GEETA, Central Chinmaya Mission Trust, July 2013
Mumbai

2. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
CHAPTER 4
JNANA KARMA SANNYASA YOGA
ENDING ACTION IN KNOWLEDGE

3. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
INTRODUCTION
Hindus are Veda-bound in their attitude so that any new idea must have its roots in the
Veda. In Chapter 3, Lord Krishna propounded a revolutionary idea, Karma Yoga. In this
Chapter, He tries to convince Arjuna that what he presented was nothing but old Vedic
truth. The 4th Chapter indicates the greater path of Jnana Yoga, the path-of-knowledge,
which is the ultimate gate to the temple of the Self, through which all must pass
through. To Arjuna, Lord Krishna was till now a close friend only. This chapter invokes in
Arjuna the necessary amount of reverence & respect towards his Charioteer. Krishna is
here putting on, for the first time, his full Divine apparel of Omnipotence &
Omniscience, & the Aura of God on earth.
Through Karma Yoga, when an individual has integrated his mind & intellect, he
becomes fit for the absorption & assimilation of the greater Truth, through
contemplation & meditation. So the path-of-knowledge is highlighted in this Chapter.

4. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
THE LINEAGE OF YOGA
The Blessed Lord said:
4.1 I taught this Imperishable Yoga to Vivaswan; Vivaswan taught it to Manu; Manu
taught it to Ishwaku.
The Lord is making here an open statement, that what He had been saying so far was nothing other than
what is contained in the immortal Vedas. He Himself, at the very beginning of creation, imparted the
Knowledge of the Vedas to the Sun, & later on the Sun-god conveyed it to his son, Manu, who in his turn
declared it to Ishwaku, the ancestor of the Solar-dynasty. The ‘ Knowledge’ of divinity in man & the
technique of manifesting it are the theme of the Vedas, & the Truth of this theme is eternal. The
knowledge of the divine content & its possibilities in man are indeed eternal. As the source of all energy,
the Sun was the first of the created objects, & with its creation, this Great Knowledge of the Self was
given out to the world.
It is a time-honoured tradition in India that spiritual lessons are directly heard from a true Master, who
has vivid inner experience of the Self. This Brahma- Vidya has been handed down from Master to disciple
starting from Brahman to the Sun.

5. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
THE LOST YOGA
4.2 This knowledge, handed down thus in regular succession, the royal sages knew. This Yoga, by long
lapse of time, has been lost here, O Paranthapa.
4.3 That same ancient Yoga has been today taught to you by Me, for you are My devotee & My friend.
This is a supreme Secret.
This Yoga in which the Vedic teachings are comprehended, thus handed down in regular succession among the ‘Royal
sages’, has its own destinies. At certain periods of history it falls into disuse & becomes defunct. At such periods of
monstrous materialism, some great master appears on the horizon to inspire, to encourage & to lead the generation
away from the ruts of sorrow onto the high roads of cultural revival. Krishna rightly evaluates the period of the
Mahabharata & declares, “ this Yoga, by long lapse of time, has been lost here”.
Krishna confesses here that the Truth he has declared in the last chapter, Karma Yoga, is nothing other than the same
ancient Yoga. A Master needs to establish a certain type of affectionate rapport with the student so as to teach him
efficiently. Krishna finds that Arjuna is fully devoted to Him, & that he will certainly follow the ‘Path’ indicated by
Him. Hence Krishna taught him this Yoga in the last chapter.
However wise a man may be, he may not come to suspect the existence of the Atman without being so advised by a
man of Experience. Hence, this Science of Truth is called here as the Supreme Secret.

6. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
ARJUNA’S DOUBT
Arjuna said:
4.4 Later was Your birth, & prior was the birth of Vivaswan (Sun); how am I
to understand that You taught this Yoga in the beginning?
There is a palpable anachronism in the opening verse of this chapter.
Krishna says that he taught this Eternal Truth to Lord Sun in the beginning
of creation. It was quite natural for Arjuna, who knew Krishna as the son of
Devaki & his contemporary, to doubt this statement. How could Krishna
advise the Sun, who by all calculations, is the one who manifested in
nature much earlier than all the planetary world?

7. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
THE DIVINE NATURE OF KRISHNA
The Blessed Lord said:
4.5 Many births of Mine have passed as well as yours, O Arjuna; I know them all but
you know them not, O Parantapa.
Here Krishna is trying to explain how HE was the very Infinite in His Real Nature & that He had Himself, in
the very beginning of creation, given out Brahma-Vidya to Lord Sun. In this section we find an exhaustive
discussion of the Theory of incarnation, a confusing aspect of Hindu philosophy. When the Infinite
Reality functions through ‘Unactivity’ (Sattva), we have the concept of the God-Principle. Krishna Himself
explains, later on, how He takes upon Himself the matter-envelopments & play the game of the Immortal
among the mortals-but all the time Himself being ever conscious of His own complete Divine Nature.
Every man comes to the world only as a result of his evolutionary progress. It is only after a long chain of
existence in different forms that it has at last reached its present destination. In each life, as soon as the
ego expresses itself in its given field of activity, forgets the entire past, & carries with it only a distinct
flavour (Vasana) thereof. But a Mastermind like Lord Krishna, in His Divine Omniscience, understands
that both He & Arjuna had been through many vicissitudes of existence, & that “I know them all while
you know them not”.

8. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
GOD TAKES BIRTH THROUGH MAYA
4.6 Though I am unborn & of imperishable nature, & though I am the Lord of all beings,
yet, ruling over My own Nature, I take birth by My own MAYA.
Here is one of the most daring & original thoughts of Vyasa. The Supreme, on account of His
unquestioned freedom, by His own perfectly free will, takes upon Himself the conditioning of
matter, & manifests Himself in a particular embodiment in the world, for serving the deluded
generation of that time. The Lord uses the matter-envelopments & their limitations as a
convenience & as a set of necessary tools in His game of protecting the creation. Though the
Lord is Unborn & Changeless in His Nature, & ever a Lord of matter, yet, keeping His Maya
perfectly under His own control, He comes into the world, through His own free will. He does
not come into being as others do, compelled by His past Karma, to live here in the world under
the thraldom of Nature. He is not bound by His mental temperaments, but He is ever free. To
the Lord, world is no problem, & His personal equipment & their appetites are always perfectly
under His own control. He comes to Lord over every situation.

9. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
WHY INCARNATIONS?
4.7 Whenever there is a decay of righteousness, O Bharata, & a rise of unrighteousness,
then I manifest Myself.
4.8 For the protection of the good, for the destruction of the wicked & for the
establishment of righteousness, I am born in every age.
Whenever there is a decline of Dharma, the Lord creates for Himself a body. When the majority of a
community do not obey the Law-of-Being, there is a conquest of the world by a herd of biped-animals &
destruction of normal righteous life. In all such dark periods of history, some great Master comes to
revive the standard of life & its normal values. This is done by a total elimination of the wicked &
encouraging the nobler values. It is for this purpose the Infinite, from time to time, wears the ‘matter-
apparel’ & appears on the scene of activity. The Supreme cannot project out into a form unless there is
some desire to precipitate the manifestation. The DESIRE that made the Supreme assume the Divine
form of Krishna is here explained by Vyasa. This desire was to protect the good & destroy the wicked in
the world. Here destruction is not annihilation of individuals as, much as the ‘Removal of the wrong
tendencies’ in the individuals. Prophets, when they come, encourage the good; sometimes they
rejuvenate the bad & often eliminate the poisonous specimens.

10. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
KNOW & MERGE WITH GOD
4.9 He who thus knows, in true light, My divine birth & action, having abandoned the
body, he is not born again; he comes to Me, O Arjuna.
Having explained the how & why of incarnations, Krishna declares that those who, by constant
contemplation upon this fact, understand the Divine birth & activities of the Lord, end their
limitations & reach Godhood. It is not mere knowing or understanding, indicated here. We have
to experience subjectively how & when the Supreme Atman takes Its Avatara in us. Individually,
we live as limited mortals, but at certain moments, when we feel pure selfless desires, the very
same spark-of-life in us comes to manifest a divine potency. Here Krishna subtly indicates that
upasana of the blissful form of the Lord is as efficient as meditation on the formless-Self. This
verse also indicates that the state-of-Perfection is the state from which “One is not born again”,
as opposed to the earlier Vedic idea of a Deathless-state as the most perfect state. When a
society grows & evolves, it is not death that frightens it as much as the possibility of a new
birth. Essentially, both the states are the same, because death occurs to that which is born.

11. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
THE PATH OF SELF-DEVELOPMENT
4.10 Freed from attachment, fear & anger, absorbed in Me, taking refuge in Me,
purified by the Fire-of-Knowledge, many have attained My Being.
The entire path of Self-development & the final Goal to be reached are indicated in this verse. Without
renouncing attachment & its by-products, no progress is ever possible for a seeker. Once this mental
discipline is gained, absorbed in the idea of self-perfection, the seeker comes to take refuge in this great
victory. When one has thus gained this stage of self-development, he becomes fit for the study & practice
of the great scriptures like the Upanishads. The study of the scriptures at the feet of a Master, followed
by independent analysis of Vedantic truths by oneself, & steady & slow attempt at balancing himself with
single-pointed meditation, constitute the technique of self-development in Hinduism. Some
commentators believe that this verse contains a synthesis of Karma yoga, Bhakti yoga & Jnana yoga.
Eventually seekers walking these different paths reach but the same Goal, the Supreme, ‘Me’. All
spiritual paths are but attempts to purify the mind, to make it steady & single-pointed. Whatever the
path taken, according to one’s temperament, the ultimate experience of spiritual Perfection gained by
everyone is one & the same.

12. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
ALL TREAD MY PATH ONLY
4.11 In whatever way men approach Me, even so do I reward them; My path do men
tread in all ways, O son of Pritha.
Attachment & aversion are not the weaknesses of the Lord. He is a mass of Dynamism,
the source of all activities & achievements. We can invoke the Infinite Mind as we like.
If we invoke rightly & carefully use the equipment with us, we can reach the goal. If we
misuse them, the very same Divine Force can be the cause of our disaster. The Lord
says: I, as life, lend My power to all without any partiality; in whatever form they
invoke Me, in that form I serve them. Electricity may be used to hear songs from a
radio, to cool ourselves with a fan, or to boil water with a heater. It all depends upon
the instrument we use to plug into electricity. Similarly, the unmanifest Eternal Force of
Life can be invoked, & It shall fulfil all desires through us according to the type of our
invocations.

13. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
ACTIONS RESULT IN QUICK SUCCESS
4.12 They who long for satisfaction from actions in this world, make sacrifices to the
gods; because satisfaction is quickly obtained from actions in the world-of-objects.
In this world, only a rare few try to travel the path-of-righteousness, while the majority
pursue the road-of-evil. Lord Krishna gives here the reason for this condition. Whether
the mind wants to pursue an extrovert life, or live the introvert joys, it can do so only
by the grace of the Omnipotent Atman. The mind ever chooses the extrovert career,
because it is easy to gain cheap pleasures by satisfying the senses. A majority of people
live a life of animal passions because “ success resulting from actions is quickly attained
in the human world”. A sensuous life is a life of least resistance, which most people
adopt. As men, we can intelligently plan our actions such that we can, out of our
actions, create or compel nature to yield the result we want, quicker than the members
of animal or plant kingdoms.

14. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
THE FOUR-FOLD CASTE SYSTEM
4.13 The fourfold-caste has been created by Me according to the differentiation of GUNA & KARMA;
though I am the author thereof know Me as non-doer & immutable.
This is a much controversial verse in the Geeta. Varna, meaning different shades of texture, or colour, is employed
here in the Yoga-sense. Some definite colours are attributed to different Gunas. Sattva is considered white, rajas as
red, & tamas as black, representing the different mental temperaments. On the basis of these temperamental
distinctions, the entire mankind has been classified into four Varnas. Just as we differentiate doctors, advocates,
professors, traders etc. into different groups, so too, on the basis of the different textures of thoughts entertained by
intelligent creatures, the four Varnas have been labelled in the past. For the perfectly harmonious life of a society, all
these four castes should be cooperative units, each being complementary to the others. Unfortunately, later on, in
the early middle-ages in India, communal feelings cropped up & the society was permanently divided on the basis of
these castes. But the reality of this verse in Geeta is that these four Varnas were created on the basis of the
differentiation of the mental quality & physical action (of the people). People are not differentiated on the basis of
birth, but by their thought patterns & activities. Through the triple channels of Unactivity, Activity & Inactivity flow
the expressions of life manifesting the different ideas, agitations & actions of the embodied souls.
Krishna, as the very Source-of-Life, asserts here that He is the author of this differentiation. At the same time, the
Infinite, being All-Pervading, cannot participate in any action, So He declares that though “ He is the author of it”, on
the basis of His Nature, “He is at the same time a non-doer”. The differentiation, based on the temperaments, of
mind & intellect, are falsely attributed to the Lord.

15. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
THE LORD UNAFFECTED BY ACTION
4.14 Actions do not taint Me, nor have I any desire for the fruits-of-actions. He who
knows Me thus is not bound by his actions.
The Ever-Pure & the All-Full cannot be tainted, nor can it have any sense of
imperfection which can germinate any desire. Hence, the Lord, the Self declares here
“Actions do not taint Me nor have I any anxiety for the fruits of actions”. ‘Taint’ or
‘desire’ can come only to an ego, which is the Self functioning through a given mind &
intellect. When the subtle-body is tainted by desires & agitations, then the ego is
played upon by these. The reflection of Sun in a bowl of water is affected by the
condition of the water. When the water is agitated, the reflection also shakes, & a
muddy water gives a dim reflection. These changes do not affect the Sun in any way.
Similarly, the ego suffers the evil tendencies & taints of the mind & also gets disturbed,
due to the desire for the fruit-of-action. The Self, in Its pure Conscious nature is not at
all affected by these delusory disturbances of Its own reflection in the mental pool.

16. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
KARMA YOGA IS ANCIENT
4.15 Having known this, the ancient seekers-after-freedom also performed
action; therefore, you too perform action, as did the ancients in the olden
times.
After knowing Me to be a non-agent with no longing for the fruits of actions,
& realizing the All-full Self-hood, there shall no more be any ‘desire’ or
‘egoistic vanities’. The technique of Karma Yoga, as enunciated & propounded
in the last chapter, was practised even in olden times by many intelligent
seekers. So you too perform action without attachment, as did the ancients.
Why this emphasis on the ancients? Sri Krishna explains in the next verse.

17. THE HOLy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND ACTION
4.16 What is action? What is inaction? As to this even the ‘wise’ are deluded. Therefore,
I shall teach you ‘action’ (the nature of action & inaction), knowing which, you shall be
liberated from the evil (of SAMSARA-the wheel of birth & death).
All of us understand the popular definition of action as movement of limbs with
relation to things, and inaction as a cessation of such movements. From a philosophical
standpoint, these definitions change. For the purpose of self-development, action is
not merely the manifested activity, but we must also consider the subtle working
motives behind the very same action. An action, in itself, cannot be considered either
as good or bad, without taking into account the motive behind it. Hence, it is said that
in discriminating between ‘action’ & ‘inaction’, even the poet-seers of old are confused.
Here, Krishna promises that He will teach Arjuna what exactly constitute right action,
by knowing which, one can save oneself from all evil.

18. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
CLASSIFICATION OF ACTION
4.17 For verily (the true nature) of ‘right action’ should be known; also (that) of ‘forbidden (unlawful)
action’ & of ‘inaction’; imponderable is the nature (path) of action.
Activity is the very corner stone of life. Since man must always be active throughout his lifetime, the
great Seers of old had taken into consideration the entire possibilities of activities. Life is constituted of
activity & inactivity. Through inactivity, like deep-sleep, neither progress nor deterioration is ever
possible. Periods of activity create man. Activities can be of two types; constructive & destructive.
Constructive activities which contribute towards man’s evolution are termed Karma. Destructive
activities which tend to devolve the individual are Vi-Karma. Lord Krishna’s advise to Arjuna is to avoid
the forbidden actions (Vi-Karma) & to pursue the constructive & creative activities of self-development
(Karma). He totally rejects ‘inactivity’ (A-karma). It is not easy for an ordinary man to distinguish the one
from the other, because, Krishna says, “ the nature of Karma is imponderable”. Implied in these
definitions is the secret suggestion that an action is to be evaluated not merely on its face value but after
considering the motive working behind it. If the motive is pure & constructive, then the action too is
noble & meritorious for that individual. This individual factor in its evaluation makes the nature of Karma
imponderable.

19. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
KARMA FOR THE WISE
4.18 He who recognizes Inaction in Action & Action in Inaction is wise among men; he is a Yogi & a true
performer of all actions.
Sri Krishna, here, indicates the noble goal of fulfilment of all Karmas. Action is a gross expression, in the outer world,
of some desire in the intellect. A complete state of Actionlessness will be a state of Desirelessness or the state of
Infinite God-Head. The goal indicated here is not this state of Infinite Perfection, but only an intermediate state. A
true & intelligent man can discover that even in physical inaction there can be an intense mental & intellectual
activity, & also, that even in the most intense activity, himself as an observer of it, is revelling in Unactivity (Akarma).
This is the maximum Sattvic state. Right action, undertaken with a sense of devotion & dedication creates a sense of
complete detachment. When thus an individual detaches himself & observes his own activities as a part of the world
of activities around, he gains an indescribable poise which is essential for the practice of meditation.
Physical inactivity is no criterion to call one an idler. On the other hand, when we are intensely thinking, we are
invariably quiet & inactive, physically. A Buddha under the fig-tree, an artist at his easel, a musician at his
instrument- all of them punctuate their activities with ‘still moments of intense activity’- called Unactivity. Thus, he
who has a capacity to introspect can easily detect perfect action in complete inaction. The capacity to observe
ourselves functioning in a given field is not very rare & those who can do it can realise how, in spite of all our
activities, the observer in us which ‘Observe’ the activities is most ‘Inactive’. The body, mind & intellect function &
act, but not the Self, the Life in them! A person who can detach himself from his physical activities, & observe them,
is called here as a wise person among human beings.

20. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
CHARACTERISTICS OF A SAGE
4.19 Whose undertakings are all devoid of desires & purposes, & whose actions have been burnt by the
Fire-of-Knowledge, him the ‘wise’ call a Sage.
He is called a Saint, a man-of-perfection, whose undertakings are all devoid of plan & desire-for-result.
Planning results in tremendous loss of inspiration & joy from the work. Similarly, desire for results
dissipates our energy. The fruit of an action can only mature in a future period of time. Since the effects
depend entirely on the causes, to be sincere & complete in our activities is the greatest guarantee for all
successful achievements. While one is at work, he should not allow his abilities & capacities to run to
waste, with his mental preoccupations & sentimental fears regarding the results of his work. The way-of-
life as advised in the Geeta provides only a more efficient means to act & achieve, to live & to enjoy,
applying our own potentialities more intelligently. One who has thus come to live intelligently & act
diligently, becomes truly wedded to the work in hand, that the action cannot leave upon him even a
trace of its reaction. Unless our mind is attached to a nobler & diviner idea, it will venture into anxiety &
worry about the fruits of action. A perfect Sage is one whose mind is ever hitched on to the cognition of
the Divine, so that, even when he functions in the world outside, he is revelling in his own Consciousness
within. By the description of a Perfect Sage-at-work, Krishna is initiating Arjuna here into the path of
Self-development.

21. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
HOW DOES A SAGE WORK?
4.20 Having abandoned attachment to the fruits-of-action, ever content, depending on
nothing, he does not do anything, though engaged in actions.
Sri Krishna continues with his description of a Self-realised Sage. He works abandoning his mental
slavery & intellectual clinging to the ‘expected fruits’ of actions. Forsaking his clinging to the fruits
of action, he strives for & achieves the welfare of the society. The Self-realised Ones, after their
experience of the Infinite Reality as their own Self, become perfectly independent of everything else.
Our ego is the sufferer of the anxiety for the fruits-of-action & feeling of dependency upon outside
things & beings. In the Realised Sage, the limited ego has been destroyed, & so all these agonies of
the imperfect ego ends. Such an individual, ‘Though seemingly engaged in activity’ does not do
anything. Our body, mind & intellect act in the world-of-objects, but not the All-pervading Self-the
Life-in us. Therefore, one who is established in the Self, though he engages himself in action, cannot
be said to do any action. Clearly it is stated here that a Self-realised person never gets entangled in
the bondage of actions his body, mind & intellect do, & he is completely liberated after his body
falls.

22. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
A SAGE INCURS NO SIN
4.21 Without hope, with the mind & Self controlled, having abandoned all possessions,
doing mere bodily action, he incurs no sin.
Mere bodily activity is not action that will merit a reaction. An action can leave a mark on our subtle-
body only when we act with an egocentric consciousness that we are the actors, & these marks can be
effective only when our actions are motivated by powerful & strong egocentric desires. Ego draws its
sustenance from the ‘hopes of the future’, & also from the ‘satisfaction of the present’ possessions.
This verse declares that when one has 1) completely renounced hope, 2) brought his body & mind under
perfect control, & 3) relinquished all possessions, he can no longer sustain the illusory concept of the ego
in him. When the ego has ended, the bodily actions become incapable of leaving any permanent mark on
him. The egocentric identity with the body is the actor & sufferer, & where there is no ego, mere bodily
actions cannot leave any mark.
Such a truly great Saint becomes not a doer of actions, but serves as a glorious instrument of the Lord.
Any activity undertaken by a Perfect Master does not & cannot bring about any consequences, good or
evil, upon him; he is only a Divine- instrument.

23. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
A SELF-REALISED IS NOT BOUND
4.22 Content with what comes to him without effort, free from the pairs-of-opposites &
envy, even-minded in success & failure, though acting he is not bound.
Lord Krishna continues with the state of a Self-realised person. Such a person, who has gone
beyond his own ego, can thereafter, commence no desire-prompted activity with any definite
fruit-motive. So he will be quite contented & happy in whatever gain spontaneously rises out of
his actions. The state of egolessness indicates a condition of perfect conquest over the mind &
intellect. Therefore, the pairs-of-opposites like heat & cold, success & failure etc. cannot affect
him, they being always the interpretations of the world-of-objects by the mind. When the ego
is completely diminished, the person will remain equanimous in both success & failure. Such a
person, who has thus conquered his egocentric misconceptions about himself, ‘Though acting,
is not fettered’ by the natural consequences of his actions. His activities show an extra dynamic
capacity to effect a more complete & enduring success. The Lord says that the activities of a
man-of-Knowledge do not, in any sense of the term, affect him.

24. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
OTHER CASES OF ‘INACTION IN ACTION’
4.23 Of one who is devoid of attachment, who is liberated, whose mind is established in knowledge, who
acts for the sake of sacrifice, all his actions are dissolved.
A man-of-wisdom is fully described in the first line of this verse.
We are self-exiled from ourselves due to our attachments with the finite world-of-objects. 1) A wise man is he, from
whom all his attachments with the finite things of the world have dropped away. 2) Bondages are created upon our
personality & life by ourselves. These bondages are produced by the subtle chords of our own attachments with
things. The deluded ego gets attached to the world of sense-objects & lives enslaved to the world of emotions
getting bound with its own ideas. A wise man is completely liberated from all these. 3) Perfect detachment, which
produces a sense of complete liberation, can be accomplished only when the mind of the seeker gets centred in right
discriminative knowledge & develops for itself a capacity to distinguish between the permanent & impermanent.
A perfect Sage, devoid of all attachments, with his mind well balanced under the light of his own wisdom, becomes
completely liberated. Such a Sage too performs work for the rest of his life. Krishna says that all such activities done
by him are done in a spirit of ‘dedicated activity’ (Yajna). All actions, performed without ego, & not motivated by
one’s egocentric desires are considered Yajna by the Geetacharya. All such actions, done with the spirit of Yajna, do
not & cannot produce any reaction or ‘fruit’. When such a Sage performs actions with Yajna spirit, they dissolve away
without leaving any impression upon his mind.

25. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
VARIOUS TYPES OF YAJNAS-BRAHMA YAJNA
In the next 6 verses, Lord Krishna describes 12 different Yajnas which can be practised by everybody.
4.24 Brahman is the oblation, Brahman is the clarified butter etc. Constituting the offerings; by Brahman
is the oblation poured into the fire of Brahman; Brahman verily shall be reached by him who always see
Brahman in all actions.
The mental attitude & experience of the Perfect-Sage when he performs the Yajna is explained here. To
him, all Yajnas arise from Brahman, in which Brahman, the Truth, is the performer, offering Brahman, the
material to the sacred fire, which is also Brahman; invoking but Brahman. He thus sees the substratum in
& through, all names & forms, actions & behaviours. To him all beings & things are but remembrance of
the Infinite Blissful Truth. If actions are performed by a Saint, invoking no deity other than Brahman, all
his actions dissolve away.
This is a famous verse, which is chanted throughout India as a prayer before the Hindus eat their meals.
Food is necessary for existence. When one is hungry, one will enjoy any type of food. Even at the
moment of this enjoyment, we are not to forget the great Truth that it is Brahman eating Brahman, &
that we are offering to Brahman the food that is Brahman, invoking nothing but the grace of Brahman. To
keep this idea constantly in the mind is to get perfectly detached from the enjoyment & raise ourselves
to a greater & endless beatitude, which is the reward of Super-manhood.

26. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
DEVA-YAJNA & BRAHMA-YAJNA
4.25 Some Yogis perform sacrifice to DEVAS alone (Deva-Yajna); while others offer
‘sacrifice’ as sacrifice by the self, in the fire of Brahman (Brahma-Yajna).
Lord Krishna explains the mental attitude of a Saint at work. A Yogi is one who is always trying to raise
himself from his state of physical, mental & intellectual imperfections to a more perfect state. The
greatest Devas are the five sense organs. For a Perfected Master, sense-perception is but ‘a world of
sense-objects continuously offering themselves into the fire of his perception in order to invoke the
Devas (sense-perceptions). Such seekers moving in the world recognise & experience the world-of-
objects paying tribute to the powers of sense-perceptions. Thus he maintains complete detachment to
sense-experiences & enjoy inward equanimity.
There are others who perform Brahma-Yajna, wherein they offer the Self as a sacrifice by the Self in the
fire of the Self. The Perfect Masters understand that the sense-organs are only Instruments of perception
which can work only in contact with the Supreme, the Atman. They live in this true understanding
allowing the sense-organs to sacrifice themselves in the Knowledge-of-Brahman. This statement advises
the seekers to dedicate their sense-life in the service of the world. When one’s sense organs of
perception & action are made to work for the sake of serving the society or the world, then he will not
be enslaved by his attachments to possessions .

27. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
YAJNAS OF ‘SENSE-CONTROL’ & ‘MIND-CONTROL’
4.26 Some again, offer hearing & other senses as sacrifice in the fire-of-restraint; others
offer sound & other objects of sense as sacrifice in the fire of the senses.
In all these Yajnas, Lord Krishna uses the metaphor taken from Vedic rituals wherein oblations are
offered into the sacred fire in order to invoke the blessings of the deity. Here it is said that some Masters
live on, in life constantly offering their senses into the fire of self-control, so that the senses, of their own
accord, get burnt up, leading to greater freedom & joy. By self-control alone can the sense-organs be fully
controlled & mastered.
In the second line, the path of ‘ mind-control’ is suggested. The sense-objects perceived by the organs
create & maintain the mind. So, to make the mind non-receptive to the perceptions of the sense-organs
is a method by which one can gain a better poise in life for purposes of meditation. This is what is said as
“ offering sound & other objects in the fires of the senses”.
The former method is a technique of controlling the stimuli at the very gateway of senses, the latter is
the technique of controlling the same from the inner, more subtle level of perception, called the mind.

28. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
YOGA OF SELF-RESTRAINT
4.27 Others, again, sacrifice all the functions of the senses & the functions of the
breath (vital energy) in the fire of the Yoga of self-restraint, kindled by knowledge.
Another type of Yajna is where all the activities of the sense-organs, & the organs of
action are offered into the knowledge-kindled fire of right understanding. Control of
the ego by the better understanding of the Divine Reality is called here as the Yoga
of Self-restraint. Through discrimination, one distinguishes the limited lot of the ego
from the divine destiny of the spirit. Having discriminated thus, to live more & more
as the Self, & not as the ego, is to restrain the Self by the Self. By this process, the
organs of perception & action are completely restrained.
After explaining the five different Yajnas, Lord Krishna enumerates, in haste, five
more different methods, out of hundreds available, in the next verse.

29. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
DRAVYA YAJNA & OTHER 4 YAJNAS
4.28 Others, again, offer wealth, austerity & Yoga as sacrifice, while the ascetics of self-
restraint & rigid vows offer study of scriptures & knowledge as sacrifice.
Charity & distribution of honestly acquired wealth, in a spirit of devotion, in the service of the community or a
person, is called Dravya-Yajna. Dravya includes everything we possess, not only in the outside world, but also our
world of emotions & ideas. To pursue a life of charity, serving the world as best as we can, with all that we possess,
physical, mental & intellectual, is called ‘wealth-sacrifice’.
Some live, offering to God, a life of austerity. Some period of austerity is prescribed by all religions of the world. It is
generally done in a spirit of dedication, so that the seeker gains self-control. Yoga is a method of raising our level of
divinity, in which Upasana is a primary method. This worship & love, offered to the Lord, when performed without
any desire or motive, leads to self-development of the seeker. The daily study of scriptures, essential for a seeker, is
called Swadhyaya. Even after self-realization, Sages do this. In the case of a seeker, it is a technique of estimating his
own spiritual progress.
The sacrifice-of-Knowledge is the term given to that activity in man by which he renounces all his ignorance into the
fire-of-Knowledge kindled BY him & IN him. Through meditation, he negates the false & asserts the Real Nature of
the Self.
All these five methods of Self-development can be carried out only by those who are men of rigid determination.
Progress can come only to one who is sincere & consistent in his practices.

30. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
PRANAYAMA
4.29 Others offer as sacrifice the out-going breath in the in-coming, & the in-coming in the out-going,
restraining the courses of the out-going & in-coming breaths, solely absorbed in the restraint of breath.
Here Lord Krishna describes the technique of breath control, regularly done by some devotees to keep
themselves under perfect self-control, when they move amidst the sense-objects in the world. As a
sacrifice, some offer “ the out-going breath into the in-coming breath (Rechaka)” & others offer “the in-
coming into the out-going (Puraka)”. These two processes are alternated with an interval, wherein the
breath is held for sometime, within & without (Kumbhaka). These three processes are practised in a
prescribed ratio to get the technique of breath-control (Pranayama). This technique is explained here as
a Yajna by which the practitioner learns to offer all the subsidiary Pranas into the main Prana. Through
breath-control, we gain a perfect mastery over the activities of the Pranas in us. Prana, in Hindu
scriptures signifies the various manifested activities of life in a living body. When understood correctly,
the 5 Pranas identified are nothing but the five different physiological functions, perception, excretion,
digestion & assimilation, blood circulation which distributes the food to all parts of the body, & the
capacity to improve mentally & intellectually. These activities of life within, are brought under the
perfect control of the individual through the processes of Pranayama. Thus a seeker can withdraw
completely from his perceptions, which helps him immensely in meditation.

31. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
YAJNA OF DIET-CONTROL
4.30 Others, with well-regulated diet, offer vital-airs in the Vital-Air. All these are
knowers of sacrifice, whose sins are destroyed by sacrifice.
Some others, through systematic regulation of their diet, gain a complete mastery over themselves &
their appetites & passions. The ancient Rishis of India not only knew the vitamin-contents & calorific
values of the various food materials, but also prescribed very scientific combinations to suit each person.
They even showed how, through regulated dieting, a man’s character & behaviour, & his cultural quality
can be purified & raised.
All these “Knowers of Yajna”, when they practise them in a spirit of self-dedication & selfless enthusiasm,
fully profit by them. These 12 techniques described by Lord Krishna do not claim that they will lead, by
themselves to the Supreme. It is promised that persons, by performing any one or a number of them
together, for a sufficient length of time, can become “Purified of their sins”. These Yajnas not only wipe
clean the existing wrong Vasanas but cut out in their place new channels of thoughts, more constructive
& evolutionary in nature. Krishna emphasizes here that all these ‘paths’, however noble & great they
may be, are all but means, & not an end in themselves. By these techniques the mind & intellect
equipment gets adjusted for greater & more effective self-application in Meditation.

32. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
NEED FOR CONTINUOUS SELF-EFFORT
4.31 The eaters of the nectar-remnant of the sacrifice- go to the Eternal Brahman. Even
this world is not for the non-performers of sacrifice; how then the other (world), O best
of the Kurus?
The sacred remains were the leftovers in the pots from which offerings were made in a Yajna & they
were considered as divinely potent-remnants from the Lord’s own plates. This was generally eaten by the
devotees with great reverence.
Here, the sacred remnants mean the results of the above-mentioned 12 types of Yajnas. As we know, this
result is a greater amount od self-control & the consequent inner integration of the devotee. Those who
have gained this have become ready for ‘intense meditation’. Through such meditation, he can easily
come to experience the Infinite & the Eternal-Brahman.
Self-development & inner growth cannot be had without investing continuous & sincere self- effort.
Without self-dedicated & selfless activity, no great & enduring profit can be achieved even in this world.
Then what to think of attaining them in after-life?

33. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
ALL YAJNAS ARE BORN OF ACTION
4.32 Thus innumerable sacrifices lie spread out before the face of Brahman. Know
them all as born of action & thus knowing, you shall be liberated.
The 12 different Yajnas described above are all conspicuously different from one
another, & they must all be producing different results. Here, it is stated that these
various ‘paths’, though different, will ultimately lead to the same goal, the gate of
Eternal Brahman. These paths prescribed in the Vedas are all to be pursued through
self-effort, so right-action becomes inevitable. It is also suggested that these paths
are only the means & not the end. Action is born of desires,& as long as there is
action, there is no redemption from desires. As Desirelessness is the state-of-
Perfection, we should not misunderstand these Yajnas as the very goal of life. A
complete spiritual comprehension of this fact will liberate the seeker.

34. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
SUPERIORITY OF JNANA-YAJNA
4.33 Superior is ‘Knowledge-sacrifice’ to ‘sacrifice-with-objects’, O Paranthapa. All
actions in their entirety, culminate in Knowledge.
Krishna declares here that, for cultural self-development, Jnana-Yajna is any day, nobler &
diviner than mere formalistic ritualism with material offerings. The second line explains why?
The sacrifice of ‘ignorance’ in Knowledge is considered, by Him, to be greater & nobler than the
sacrifice of food & other materials in the sacred fire. Ritualistic Karmas produce results to enjoy
which the individual ego has to take up new manifestations, wherein, he has to perform again
new activities. Karma never ends Karma, & therefore, action cannot be a complete fulfilment in
itself. On the other hand, Right-Knowledge (Jnana) ends all Karmas, once & for all, in as much
as the deluded-ego destroys itself in the light of Self-Knowledge. Ignorance causes desires, &
desires are the seeds of actions. When this ignorance ends at the dawn of Knowledge, all
actions naturally get fulfilled. Therefore, all actions, in its entirety, attains its consummation in
Knowledge.

35. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri,
HOW TO GAIN “KNOWLEDGE”
4.34 Know that by long prostration, by question, & service, the ‘wise’ who have realized the Truth will
instruct you in (that) ‘Knowledge’.
As given in the previous verse, only through Knowledge, we can gain full satisfaction. Here, Krishna tells us how &
from whom one may obtain that ‘Knowledge’. It describes the mental attitude & the intellectual approach a student
must adopt, so that his contact with the Guru may be fruitful. Also who is a real Guru.
The student must have an intellectual attitude of surrender & meekness, respect & obedience, when he approaches
the teacher who has to instruct him on the secret of life. They must approach the teacher with a readiness to
understand, grasp & follow his instructions. By raising doubts to the teacher he opens the cistern of ‘Knowledge’
locked up in the Master’s bosom. From the questioning, the Guru understands the level of the student & his mental
working. Hindu tradition of learning was through open discussions between the teacher & the taught. The student
should serve the teacher by attuning himself to the principles of life advocated & advised to him by the Master.
The two main qualifications of a real Guru are (a) a perfect knowledge of spiritual literature, & (b) a complete
subjective experience of the Infinite Reality. Each of these, without the other is totally useless in guiding a seeker.
Neither a mere knowledge of the scriptures nor intimate experience of Truth, alone will not enable the Guru to
explain his knowledge & instruct the seeker.

36. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
HOW DOES THE “KNOWLEDGE” BENEFIT?
4.35 Knowing That, you shall not, O Pandava, again get deluded like this, & by That,
you shall see all beings in your Self, & also in Me.
Krishna confidently declares here that after gaining this ‘Knowledge’ “ You shall not again get
deluded like this, Arjuna.” We should accept the truth of this declaration in good faith, until we
confirm it in our own personal experience. Living in delusion, we cannot understand the thrills
of the transcendental, or experience its Eternal Nature, until we grow to the required inner
maturity.
Krishna promises Arjuna that by this rediscovery of the Self, he will thereafter be able to
recognise the entire creation as nothing other than the Self, which is his own real Nature; which
again is nothing other than ‘Me’, Lord Krishna, the Paramatman. As long as we have not
realised that the whole creation is nothing but our own Self, which is as divine & omnipotent as
the Brahman, so long we cannot afford to leave our education at the feet of the Preceptor &
Guide, the Guru.

37. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
EXCELLENCE OF “KNOWLEDGE”
4.36 Even if you are the most sinful of all sinners, yet you shall verily cross all sins by the
raft of ‘knowledge’.
Vedanta does not believe in sinners who are permanently barred from liberation. The All-
pervading Divine manifests everywhere & therefore, there is no sinner who cannot, through his
endeavour, come to claim his own heritage of Absolute Perfection. The universality of the
Geeta is unmistakably seen in the declaration: “ Even if he be the most sinful among the sinful”,
he too, can cross over his painful destinies of the present & reach the shores of the Infinite &
Perfect. This is a unique charter of man’s right to the Divine.
To rediscover that, in reality, the ego is nothing other than the Self in us, & to live thereafter as
the Self of all, is called true wisdom. Having thus awakened to our Real Nature, we are no more
enchanted by sense-pleasures & cravings which cause sin & sorrow. This is indicated by the
beautiful metaphor: “ By the raft of Knowledge alone shall you go across all sins”.

38. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
FIRE OF KNOWLEDGE DESTROYS ALL KARMAS
4.37 As the blazing fire reduces fuel to ashes, O Arjuna, so does the Fire-of-Knowledge
reduces all actions to ashes.
The example given here by the Lord is very striking. Whatever be the quality, shape,
condition, colour etc. of the fuel pieces, after burning down, they become one
homogeneous mass of ash. Similarly, all Karmas, good, bad or indifferent, get burnt up
in the Fire-of-Knowledge. Actions leave reactions. The reactions mature at different
periods of time depending upon the quality & intensity of the actions. All the actions ,
over the past births, must have left their residual impressions in our mind & they have
to be lived through. This entire Karma has been divided into 3 types; ‘not yet operative’,
(Sanchita), ‘operative’ (Prarabdha), and ‘to be operative’ (Agami). Out of these, all the
Sanchita & Agami Karmas are destroyed by Knowledge, but not the Prarabdha Karma,
which has to be exhausted by living this life.

39. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
KNOWLEDGE: THE BEST PURIFIER
4.38 Certainly, there is no purifier in this world like ‘Knowledge’. He who is himself
perfect in Yoga finds it in the Self in time.
Self-Realization is so glorious that Lord Krishna enthusiastically shouts “Verily there
exists nothing in this world more noble & sacred than Self-Knowledge”. The Knowledge
of the Self can be attained when one has gained a full ‘Mastery in Yoga’. This mastery of
the Self is not given by any teacher. Krishna plainly tells the truth to Arjuna that he has
to purify himself & then he himself will realise the Truth ‘in good time’. No definite time
schedule can be given for Self-Realisation. One who practises sincerely & devotedly the
Yajnas described earlier, will attain the necessary growth within, & will in Good Time
come to experience the Self. The same idea is elaborated in the next verse. One should
constantly apply oneself on the right path in the full confidence that he shall, ‘before
long’ reach his goal.

40. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
THE BEST MEANS OF ACQUIRING WISDOM
4.39 The man who is full of faith, who is devoted to it, & who has subdued the senses, obtains (this)
‘Knowledge’ ; and having obtained ‘Knowledge’, ere long he goes to the Supreme Peace.
The qualities necessary in an individual to obtain the Knowledge-Divine are vividly enumerated here. Faith, devotion & self-control
are the three imperative necessities to be acquired to attain the Knowledge. Faith (Shraddha) is not blind faith in any dogma
propagated by a religion, but is ‘that by which one readily understands the exact import of the scriptural text & words of advice of
the Guru’. A seeker must give his undivided attention to the path of spiritual development he has chosen, & must maintain in his
mind a continuous consciousness of the Divine. He must pour out his mind & intellect into the scheme of Upanisadic living. No
seeker will succeed in his endeavour unless he constantly strive to live in a spirit of self-control. To walk the Path-Divine is to get out
of the gutters of sensuousness. It is imperative that a seeker should learn to live in steady & constant sense-control.
One who lives the above-mentioned triple-programme of Divine life is guaranteed here to reach the state-of- Knowledge Having
gained the right-knowledge, the person ‘Soon reaches the Supreme Peace’, in good time, or ‘ere long’. In short, after gaining this
Knowledge, one would soon reach the Goal of Life. The Goal-of-Life is labelled here as the ‘Great Peace’ that never diminishes.
Every living creatures is, at all moments, trying to gain a better happiness, through all its activities in life. No action is possible
unless the actor is motivated by an inner urge to seek a greater sense of fulfilment unto himself. The goal of life is thus ‘Absolute
Happiness’, where all strife ends, all desires are fulfilled, all thoughts & agitations are exhausted. The restlessness of the mind &
fatigue of the body shall both end, when Absolute Joy is attained. So Absolute Joy is Absolute Peace.

41. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
THE DOUBTING-TOM IS DESTROYED
4.40 The ignorant, the faithless, the doubting-self goes to destruction; there is
neither this world, nor the other, nor happiness for the doubter.
To emphasize the point raised in the last Verse, Sri Krishna declares here that the
one who is devoid of knowledge or faith, & is doubtful of all the advice, will get
themselves ultimately destroyed & completely ruined. In the second line, the Lord
condemns such men of endless doubts & states that those who doubt the Self will
not find happiness anywhere, neither here or in the hereafter. The ignorant &
unfaithful may have a little chance of finding happiness, but the doubter is doomed
to unhappiness. Doubters are psychologically incapable of enjoying any situation,
because of their doubting tendency. They will never be able to accommodate
themselves to any situation.

42. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
INACTION IN ACTION FOR A REALIZED
4.41 He who has renounced actions by Yoga, whose doubts are rent asunder by
‘Knowledge’, who is self-possessed, actions do not bind him, O Dhananjaya.
Here is a beautiful summary of the teachings of this chapter. When through the practice
of Karma Yoga, one has renounced attachment to the fruits of action, & yet works in
perfect detachment, with every doubt regarding the Goal of Life completely removed
by his own inner experience of the Self within, his ego comes to rediscover itself to be
nothing other than the Atman. When such a person works in the world outside, his
actions can never bind him. Only egoistic activities, motivated by our desires, leave
gross impressions on our inner personality. With detachment & right-Knowledge, our
ego-sense is destroyed & our actions do not bind us. When the ego is ‘Poised in the
Self’ the activities of the ego can no more bind the Self, just as the actions of a dreamer
cannot bind the waker.

43. THE Holy GEETA
T K G Namboodhiri
DESTROY DOUBT WITH KNOWLEDGE
4.42 Therefore with the sword-of-Knowledge, cut asunder the doubt-of-the-Self, born of ‘ignorance’,
residing in your heart, & take refuge in ‘YOGA’. Arise, O Bharata.
In this concluding Verse of the Chapter, Lord Krishna, with loving insistence, advises his warrior-friend on
the battlefield, how best to live the life of dedication & perfection, as per Hindu Scriptures. With the
sword-of-Knowledge, Arjuna is advised to cut off the bonds of ignorance & cleave asunder the doubt of
the Self lying in the ‘heart’.
Traditionally, Vedanta believes that the intellect is seated in the heart. Heart here means not the
physiological pump, but ‘ the source of all love & sympathy-of all noble human emotions’. So the ‘doubts
lying in the heart’ here, means the intellectual perversions in some seekers that make them incompetent
to feel & appreciate the vision of the Soul. Only an intimate, subjective experience of the Self, can
completely annihilate these doubts. This can be achieved only by Yoga, the ‘twelve techniques’ of
subjective-Yajnas, as advised by Krishna in this chapter.
The Chapter ends with a spirited call to Arjuna “ Arise, O Bharata”. It is a call to every seeker, especially to
this country as a whole, to get up & act well in the spirit of Yajna, & thereby, to gain purity, so that
through meditation everyone can gain Supreme Peace which is the final fulfilment of evolution.
END OF CHAPTER 4- JNANA-KARMA SANNYASA YOGA.