Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2, Verse 44 (BG 2.44) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

The great sage Vyasa was among the first courageous revolutionaries of his age who brought about a renaissance of Hindu culture from a state of profound decline. The Gita is that scripture of revolution which he composed. His sharp critique of the conditions of his time becomes evident from these words of the Bhagavan, where Sri Krishna speaks of the ritualistic portions of the Vedas as flowery speech. To understand the courage of Vyasa in his severe criticism of ritualism, we must imagine the progressive traditional atmosphere of that age—we must mentally place ourselves in that time. The ritualistic portions of the Vedas are for those who are deeply attached to sensory pleasures and material prosperity, whose capacity for discrimination between the eternal and the temporal has been lost through desire for the fruits of action and anxiety about them. Forgetting the supreme goal of life, they remain entangled in actions that are merely means to an end. The actions prescribed in the Vedas must be performed with great effort, and only after death do they yield their fruit in the form of heaven, where celestial pleasures may be enjoyed. In all these endeavors, due to desires and anxieties, there is no opportunity for the development of one's true nature. Therefore, Vyasa's view is that from the spiritual perspective, these desire-motivated actions are meaningless. The person attached to ritualism forgets the ultimate purpose of life and remains trapped in the means alone. As the exponent of the infinite, supreme Truth, Sri Krishna ridicules those who commit the error of mistaking the means for the end. Yet it is true that through the performance of duty prescribed in the ritualistic portions of the Vedas alone, the mind becomes purified and concentrated. Thus, gaining the capacity to practice meditation as described in the Upanishads, one attains direct experience of the atman—which is the true purpose of life. Those engaged in action alone never find peace in life. What fruit do the unwise, desire-driven persons obtain? The Bhagavan speaks thus: