Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6, Verse 45 (BG 6.45) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

# BG 6.45 A person acts in the world through the physical body according to the impressions accumulated from previous births. These desires themselves direct the course of one's thoughts, and in accordance with them, the capacity for action in the present is determined. These desires lodged in the mind and intellect—the inner faculties—are called sin or impurity of consciousness. The means to their dissolution is the yoga of action. First, one must renounce sinful desires while accumulating virtuous and creative impressions. Even these virtuous impressions can become obstacles in the practice of meditation. Yet when, through continuous practice, the mind becomes established in transcendent inner peace, even the virtuous desires dissolve. With the dissolution of desires, both the mind and ego are destroyed, and this is the state of the highest attainment or self-realization. Although this principle can be described in half a page of a book, achieving complete success in it is the fruit of sustained effort across many births. The phrase "perfected through many births" is used here with great precision, for human development is not a brief drama enacted upon a stage, but rather the history of progress achieved across countless ages. This is the correct understanding of the seers who perceive truth. That person who possesses the inclination to understand life, the yearning for self-realization, the capacity to recognize the futility of sensory pleasures, the courage to follow in the footsteps of the sages, the desire for supreme peace, the ability to live a moral life, and the readiness to sacrifice everything to attain the ultimate goal—such a person alone is truly worthy of being called human. Such an excellent seeker is entitled to enter the temple of truth. If we have interest in the practice of meditation, if we hunger for knowledge of truth, and if we possess the courage to live a divine life, then this very moment, this present birth itself can be our final birth. Students of the Gita know that no new or original meaning has been presented here. A sacred scripture that repeatedly proclaims truth and continues to inspire hope and enthusiasm in humanity, wherein nowhere is fear of hell shown—it cannot be thought that it would suddenly alter its teaching and assure liberation only after many births. Although many false interpreters of dharma distort the meaning in this way, the wise cannot be deceived. The many births mentioned here refer to those before the attainment of knowledge, not to those that lie ahead. Therefore...