tameva śaraṇaṁ gaccha sarvabhāvena bhārata । tatprasādātparāṁ śāntiṁ sthānaṁ prāpsyasi śāśvatam ॥ 18-62॥ Surrender to him alone with your whole heart, Bhārata (Arjuna)! By his grace you will gain absolute peace the eternal abode.
We are in charge of our life to an extent, but not total. Most of the time, we find ourselves having no control over our thought and behaviour because this tendency was formed from our previous karma. There is no discrimination - viveka, available for us, unless we understand that we have jurisdiction only over actions, never over the results (Gītā 2.47). By putting our likes and dislikes aside, doing what is to be done, our tendency is altered. Therefore, Lord Krsna is asking Arjuna to surrender to him - tameva śaraṇaṁ gaccha, conform to the law of karma, get into the flow of events and do what we can do.
Because of the grace of Īśvara - tatprasādāt, you will gain composure - śāntiṁ prāpsyasi. Once we have that relative śānti, in time we will gain absolute śānti, which is not a condition of the mind, but the nature of myself, an abode that is eternal - sthāna śāśvatam, by gaining which there is no coming back, this is moksa.
iti te jñānamākhyātaṁ guhyādguhyataraṁ mayā । vimṛśyaitadaśeṣeṇa yathecchasi tathā kuru ॥ 18-63॥ Thus, the knowledge that is more secret than any secret was told by Me to you. Considering this thoroughly, you may do just as you wish.
This knowledge is more secret, more hidden than what is generally known as hidden - guhyādguhyataraṁ. It is definitely a secret until śāstra reveals it to us. Even when it is revealed, it could remain a secret as it can’t be owned up. And naturally it is not available for one who doesn’t look for it. This nature of mine is available only for the person who chooses to know, not for anybody else. We have to initiate the preprocess of knowing, this is called mumukșā - desire to be free, which later converts to jijñāsā - desire to know.
After this knowledge is explained by me to you - iti te jñānamākhyātaṁ mayā, now Arjuna should consider thoroughly - vimṛśyaitadaśeṣeṇa. If he wants śreyas, he must know very clearly the position of karma to gain qualification in the pursuit of moksa. Still the choice is in his hand, therefore do as you wish - yathecchasi tathā kuru, since every human being is given free will to make choices.
sarvaguhyatamaṁ bhūyaḥ śṛṇu me paramaṁ vacaḥ । iṣṭo'si me dṛḍhamiti tato vakṣyāmi te hitam ॥ 18-64॥ Again, listen to my ultimate statement, which is the most secret of all. You are definitely beloved to Me, therefore, I will tell you, what is good.
Even though it was told before, it is pointed out again here, this is the greatest secret of all - sarvaguhyatamaṁ, because being the self is not available for objectification, it is as well hidden. Now Lord Krsna tells Arjuna, please listen to my essential statement - śṛṇu me paramaṁ vacaḥ. He is going to tell again briefly, in essence, all that he has to say at the end. Why? Because Arjuna is very dear to Krsna. You are beloved to me - iṣṭo'si me. Arjuna has always been dear to Krsna as a friend, but now he has also become a student and a devotee. Therefore I will tell you what is good for you - tato vakṣyāmi te hitam. The whole Gītā is nothing but a way of pursuit for moksa, and a way of withdrawal from all other pursuits, either one can be a karma-yogī and gain moksa or be a sannyāsī and gain moksa.
While performing duties one can pursue knowledge, or without duties, if you are ready for it, you can pursue only knowledge. The same thing is repeated briefly here as Lord Krsna sums up everything in two sentences, one for karma-yoga, and another for sannyāsa.
manmanā bhava madbhakto madyājī māṁ namaskuru । māmevaiṣyasi satyaṁ te pratijāne priyo'si me ॥ 18-65॥ Become one whose mind is offered to Me, one whose devotion is to Me, one whose worship is to Me; do salutation to Me. You will reach Me alone. I truly promise you. (Because) you are dear to Me.
manmanāḥ - the one who has Īśvara as the object of his mind, where the purpose of life is to know the nature of Īśvara alone. madbhaktaḥ - the one whose devotion is to Īśvara alone, naturally madyājī - the one whose rituals are only for Īśvara. Īśvara is his locus of surrender, and thus Krsna says māṁ namaskuru - may you salute only me. When we are doing namaskara, the salutation is a form of surrendering the I-ness, therefore there is no duality involved. When this is so māmevaiṣyasi - you will reach me alone. This is a promise to you - satyaṁ te pratijāne. Here the end - sādhya is Īśvara and the means - sādhana and what is offered, are Īśvara alone. Any action that is performed by the mind, speech, or limbs is done as worship to Īśvara for the sake of gaining that very Īśvara. Whatever duties we are enjoined to do are all for the sake of gaining Īśvara. priyo'si me - because you are beloved to me.
Śankarācārya says that the greatest secret of commitment to karma-yoga is surrender to Īśvara. Īśvara is the sole refuge to whom the individual - jīva surrenders all his karma. In this, dharma - the moral order is looked upon as Īśvara. Once that appreciation is there, one paves the way for the clear vision of “I am Satcidānanda”. It was said in Gītā 4.18, “the one sees no action in action and action in inaction, he, among men, is wise.” And Gītā 5.13, “mentally renouncing all actions, the indweller of the body is seated happily in this nine-gated city, neither doing nor causing anything to be done.” Even though doing karma, one understands “I ātmā am not the agent”. By this verse, the topic of karma-yoga is summed up.
Comments