Chapter Four

Bhagavad-Gita Fourth Chapter

The Meaning of Knowledge: The Yoga of Wisdom

by Michael Dolan/B.V. Mahayogi

The Story so far...

In the second and third chapter of the Gita, Kṛṣṇa has analysed the transcendental nature of the soul, contrasting the eternal atma with the temporal world. Understanding the soul leads to wisdom and non-attachment, Kṛṣṇa explains. Wisdom means knowing who you are. Throughout the work, Kṛṣṇa is identified as Bhagavan or God. He tells us that we must cultivate our relationship with God through sacrifice.

Wisdom and Sacrifice

Wisdom should be coupled with sacrifice; since work is the active principle of love, our work should reflect a heartfelt love of God. Other forms of sacrifice are inadequate and superficial. Simply rending the flesh won’t do. Self-flagellation and mortifying the body in the name of renunciation will not help us achieve the goal. True sacrifice is a question of dedication especially through work which must be done without attachment. Arjuna’s position is that of warrior. The conflict at Kurukṣetra is meant to rid the world of despots and tyrants. It is not a holy war as such, but it is God’s will. Arjuna must follow God’s will. While there may be duty to family, country, and society, real dharma is transcendental. The highest, eternal function of the soul is to serve divinity with love and devotion. This is the purport of the Vedas and of sacrifice. Other paths lead but to repeated birth and death.

Arjuna's doubts

And yet, at the end of the third chapter, Arjuna still can’t understand what to do. He is still bewildered. He doesn’t really grasp the essence of Krishna’s teaching. When he talks ontologically about the soul and wisdom, he seems promote a spiritual life. Is he advocating meditation? And how can Arjuna meditate on the battlefield. At the same time, he seems to advocate work. But what is  duty? Then again, Kṛṣṇa is driving his chariot. What is  Kṛṣṇa’s authority? And how can he say that one yoga is better than another?

The Fourth Chapter

At the beginning of the fourth chapter of the Bhagavad-Gita Arjuna wants to get at the source of Kṛṣṇa’s advice.  If the second chapter dealt with ontology and metaphysics and the third chapter turns to ethics, here we are faced with epistemological considerations. How is true knowledge transmitted? If sacrifice is to be tempered with wisdom, who is to guide us? Who is wise?

The Sanskrit here reiterates that the speaker is Bhagavan or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The wisdom that Arjuna hears is coming directly from divinity. But even divinity himself offers reasons.

The Version of the Gita

The version of the Gita is as follows:

“Bhagavan said, ‘I taught this yoga of wisdom to the sungod himself. He taught it to the father of man, who passed it on to his sons. Great kings like Nimi and Janaka understood this science which was handed down through the disciplic succession of old. But in time the teachings were lost. And so again I explain this ancient yoga to you as you are my friend, dedicated to Me.’

“Arjuna said, ‘And yet the sun-god Vivasvan was born in ancient times. How could you have explained this to him so long ago?’

“And the Lord said, ‘I am the Lord of all things, beyond birth and death. Unlike you, I descend to the world by my own sweet will. I seem to be an ordinary person, but I appear with my divine energy in my transcendental form. My advent is ordained when there is a decline in dharma and a rise of irreligion. Then I descend as an avatar to right wrongs. I descend upon this earth to deliver the saintly and to destroy evildoers. In this way, my advent is ordained throughout millenia to proclaim and protect dharma.

When divinity appears within this world, His ways are mysterious. They are not the ways of ordinary men. O, Arjuna, My birth, my deeds, my words, are not the stuff of mundane life. One who knows the true nature of God will never be reborn, but attain my divine abode. Such a soul will find their heart melted in divine love.

श्रीभगवान् उवाच
इमं विवस्वते योगं प्रोक्तवान् अहम् अव्ययम्
विवस्वान् मनवे प्राह मनुर् इक्ष्वाकवेब्रवीत् ४.१
एवं परम्पराप्राप्तम् इमं राजर्षयो विदुः
स कालेनेह महता योगो नष्टः परंतप ४.२
स एवायं मया तेद्य योगः प्रोक्तः पुरातनः
भक्तोसि मे सखा चेति रहस्यं ह्य् एतद् उत्तमम् ४.३
अर्जुन उवाच
अपरं भवतो जन्म परं जन्म विवस्वतः
कथम् एतद् विजानीयां त्वम् आदौ प्रोक्तवान् इति ४.४
श्रीभगवानुवाच
बहूनि मे व्यतीतानि जन्मानि तव चार्जुन
तान्य् अहं वेद सर्वाणि न त्वं वेत्थ परंतप
४.५
अजोपि सन्न् अव्ययात्मा भूतानाम् ईश्वरोपि सन्
प्रकृतिं स्वाम् अधिष्ठाय संभवाम्य् आत्ममायया
४.६
यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर् भवति भारत
अभ्युत्थानम् अधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्य् अहम्
४.७
परित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम्
धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय संभवामि युगे युगे ४.८
जन्म कर्म च मे दिव्यम् एवं यो वेत्ति तत्त्वतः
त्यक्त्वा देहं पुनर्जन्म नैति माम् एति सोर्जुन ४.९
वीतरागभयक्रोधा मन्मया माम् उपाश्रिताः
बहवो ज्ञानतपसा पूता मद्भावम् आगताः ४.१०

śrībhagavān uvāca

imaṃ vivasvate yogaṃ proktavān aham avyayam

vivasvān manave prāha manur ikṣvākavebravīt 4.1

evaṃ paramparāprāptam imaṃ rājarṣayo viduḥ

sa kāleneha mahatā yogo naṣṭaḥ paraṃtapa 4.2

sa evāyaṃ mayā tedya yogaḥ proktaḥ purātanaḥ

bhaktosi me sakhā ceti rahasyaṃ hy etad uttamam 4.3

arjuna uvāca

aparaṃ bhavato janma paraṃ janma vivasvataḥ

katham etad vijānīyāṃ tvam ādau proktavān iti 4.4

śrībhagavānuvāca

bahūni me vyatītāni janmāni tava cārjuna

tāny ahaṃ veda sarvāṇi na tvaṃ vettha paraṃtapa 4.5

ajopi sann avyayātmā bhūtānām īśvaropi san

prakṛtiṃ svām adhiṣṭhāya saṃbhavāmy ātmamāyayā 4.6

yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata

abhyutthānam adharmasya tadātmānaṃ sṛjāmy aham 4.7

paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṃ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām

dharmasaṃsthāpanārthāya saṃbhavāmi yuge yuge 4.8

janma karma ca me divyam evaṃ yo vetti tattvataḥ

tyaktvā dehaṃ punarjanma naiti mām eti sorjuna 4.9

vītarāgabhayakrodhā manmayā mām upāśritāḥ

bahavo jñānatapasā pūtā madbhāvam āgatāḥ 4.10