Bhagavad Gita Chapter 3, Verse 7 (BG 3.7) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

These two lines, though appearing simple, contain within them the complete knowledge of right action and the art of living well. The modern world lacks understanding of the aphoristic nature of thought—the ability to convey profound meaning in few words—whereas the ancient masters of aphorism built a civilization through their wisdom wherein spiritual culture flourished and the nation witnessed its golden age. The mind's existence and nourishment arise from the sensory perceptions of the external world received through the five senses of knowledge. The mind's tendency reaches toward objects through the senses and grasps their forms, thereby gaining direct knowledge of those objects. If the mind were not united with the senses, knowledge of objects would remain impossible even when they exist in the external world before us. This is why, when we become wholly absorbed in studying a book, we cannot hear someone calling us from nearby. There are countless such examples of the mind's one-pointed focus. In this verse, the seeker is advised to regulate the senses through the mind. This can be accomplished successfully only when the mind is directed toward a supreme divine goal. Merely attempting to forcibly restrain the mind's fierce momentum is like trying to stop the flow of a flood-swollen river. Such effort is certain to be futile. Sri Krishna will reveal the means of self-mastery hereafter. Regulating the senses through the mind is the negative aspect of spiritual practice. In our ordinary lives, we expend most of our energy on sense objects; therefore, through restraint, we are taught to conserve this energy by preventing its wasteful dissipation. Yet if this conserved energy is not immediately employed in attaining the highest good, the dam of restraint will break, and that energy will sweep away the person's balanced personality in its current. The second line of the verse teaches the proper use of one's gathered energy. This energy should be employed through the action senses to perform appropriate action in the field of action. Here too, Sri Krishna offers an important caution: the karma yogi must perform all actions without attachment. If one places ordinary paper in a camera and attempts to photograph an object, no image will form on the paper no matter how long it is exposed to light. But when the paper is properly prepared for the camera, an image is captured in an instant. Similarly, on a mind filled with attachment, desires quickly become imprinted through contact with sense objects. For this reason, the Lord says we must act without attachment, so that new impressions are not created. At the same time, previously accumulated desires will also be destroyed. The Bhagavad Gita presents this principle with such logical and scientific methodology that any student studying it finds no opportunity to perceive fault or harbor doubt. By restraining the senses to prevent the wasteful dissipation of energy, and by employing the action senses to perform noble deeds with an unattached spirit, the mind becomes purified. Thus, the very field of action that was once the cause of our bondage becomes, through the lifestyle described in the Gita, the means of liberation when we act in accordance with it. Therefore—