Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 4

Path of Knowledge and the Disciplines of Action

4.1Krishna says he first taught this lasting teaching of yoga to Vivasvan, the sun god. Vivasvan taught it to Manu, the first man, and Manu taught it to King Ikshvaku.Krishna
4.2Krishna says wise kings passed this teaching down from one to the next. But over a very long time it was lost in the world.Krishna
4.3Krishna says he is now teaching this same old wisdom to Arjuna. He shares this highest secret because Arjuna loves him and is his friend.Krishna
4.4Arjuna is puzzled. He asks how Krishna could have taught the sun god long ago, when Krishna was born much later.Arjuna
4.5Krishna answers that both he and Arjuna have been born many times before. Krishna remembers all his past lives, but Arjuna does not remember his.Krishna
4.6Krishna explains that he is never truly born and never dies, and he is the Lord of all beings. Still, he takes birth in the world by his own divine power, working through nature, which belongs to him.Krishna
4.7Krishna says that whenever goodness weakens and wrongdoing grows strong in the world, he comes into the world himself.Krishna
4.8Krishna says he is born again and again, in age after age. He comes to protect good people, to destroy those who do evil, and to set goodness firmly in place again.Krishna
4.9Krishna says anyone who truly understands his divine birth and work is not born again after death. That person comes to Krishna instead.Krishna
4.10Krishna says many people have reached him. They were free from strong desire, fear, and anger. Their minds were full of him and they relied on him, and wisdom made them pure.Krishna
4.11Krishna says that however people come to him, he welcomes them in that same way. Every path people take, from every direction, leads to him.Krishna
4.12Krishna says people who want success in worldly things pray to the gods, the Shining Ones. In this world, such work brings results quickly.Krishna
4.13Krishna says he created the four groups of people in society, based on each person's nature and the work they do. He made them, yet he himself does not act and never changes.Krishna
4.14Krishna says actions do not bind him, and he does not want anything from their results. A person who understands this about him is not trapped by their own actions either.Krishna
4.15Krishna says the wise people of long ago knew this and kept working while seeking spiritual freedom. So Arjuna should also do his work, as they did.Krishna
4.16Krishna says even wise people get confused about what counts as action and what counts as not acting. He promises to explain it, so that Arjuna can be free from wrongdoing.Krishna
4.17Krishna says a person must understand three things: right action, wrong action, and not acting. He says the way action works is hard to understand.Krishna
4.18Krishna says a truly wise person sees that there can be stillness inside activity, and activity inside stillness. Such a person stays balanced and at peace even while doing all kinds of work.Krishna
4.19Krishna says a true sage is someone who does his work without being driven by selfish wants. Wisdom burns away the hold that his actions could have on him, like fire burns wood.Krishna
4.20Krishna says that a person who stops clinging to the results of his work stays content. He does not lean on anything outside himself for security. Even though he keeps working, it is as if he is not doing anything, because the work does not bind him.Krishna
4.21Krishna says that a person who expects nothing, controls his mind, and has let go of greed does no wrong. Only his body does the work. His heart is not grabbing for gain.Krishna
4.22Krishna says a person who is happy with whatever comes to him naturally, who is not thrown around by good and bad times, who is not jealous, and who stays calm whether he wins or loses, is not trapped by his actions.Krishna
4.23Krishna says that when a person's attachments are gone and his mind rests in wisdom, he does all his work as an offering. Then his actions no longer leave any binding effect on him.Krishna
4.24Krishna describes a fire offering, the old Hindu ritual of pouring melted butter into a sacred fire. He says that everything in it is really the Eternal, meaning God or the ultimate reality: the offering, the butter, the fire, and the one who offers. A person who sees God in everything he does will reach God.Krishna
4.25Krishna begins listing the different kinds of sacrifice, or spiritual offering. Some spiritual seekers make offerings to the gods, the "Shining Ones." Others offer themselves entirely into the Eternal.Krishna
4.26Krishna says some people make an offering by holding back their senses, like hearing, through self-restraint. Others offer up the things they hear and see by using their senses in a disciplined, holy way.Krishna
4.27Krishna says others use self-control to join with the Divine. In that union, which wisdom lights up like a fire, they offer up all the work of their senses and even their life energy.Krishna
4.28Krishna lists more kinds of offering. Some give their wealth. Some practice hardship and self-denial. Some practice yoga. Some study holy books quietly and seek knowledge. All of them are focused and keep firm vows.Krishna
4.29Krishna says some people make their offering through breath control. They carefully guide and pause the breath going in and out, and give their full attention to it.Krishna
4.30Krishna says others eat in a controlled way and offer up their life energy that way. All these people understand what true sacrifice is, and through it they have cleansed themselves of wrongdoing.Krishna
4.31Krishna tells Arjuna, whom he calls "best of the Kurus" after his family line, that people who live on what is left from their offerings reach the eternal God. A person who never gives or sacrifices finds no real happiness even in this world, and still less in the next.Krishna
4.32Krishna says there are many kinds of sacrifice, and all of them come from action. Knowing this truth will set Arjuna free.Krishna
4.33Krishna tells Arjuna, whom he calls Parantapa ("defeater of enemies") and Partha ("son of Pritha"), that offering wisdom is better than offering any material thing. All actions find their completion in wisdom.Krishna
4.34Krishna tells Arjuna to learn this wisdom by becoming a humble student, by asking questions, and by serving. Wise people who have seen the truth will teach him.Krishna
4.35Krishna tells Arjuna, whom he calls Pandava ("son of Pandu"), that once he has this wisdom he will not be confused like this again. He will see every living being in his own true Self, and in Krishna.Krishna
4.36Krishna says that even if Arjuna were the worst sinner of all, wisdom would carry him safely across all his sins, like a raft carries someone across a river.Krishna
4.37Krishna tells Arjuna that a blazing fire turns wood into ashes. In the same way, wisdom burns away the effects of all past actions.Krishna
4.38Krishna says nothing in this world cleanses a person like wisdom does. A person who has mastered yoga, the practice of uniting with God, will find this wisdom inside himself when the time is right.Krishna
4.39Krishna says that a person who has faith and controls their senses gains true wisdom. Once they have this wisdom, they quickly reach the highest peace.Krishna
4.40Krishna warns that a person who is ignorant, has no faith, and keeps doubting everything ends up ruined. Someone stuck in doubt finds no happiness in this life or the next.Krishna
4.41Krishna tells Arjuna (called Dhananjaya, "winner of wealth") that his actions do not trap a person who works without attachment, who has cut through doubt with wisdom, and who is guided by their true inner self.Krishna
4.42Krishna tells Arjuna to use the wisdom of the true self like a sword to cut away the doubt in his heart. That doubt comes from not understanding. Then Arjuna should stay steady in yoga, and stand up and act.Krishna