Contemporary scholarly and practical interpretations for modern seekers.
Swami Sivananda
2.39 एषा this? ते to thee? अभिहिता (is) declared? सांख्ये in Sankhya? बुद्धिः wisdom? योगे in the Yoga? तु indeed? इमाम् this? श्रृणु hear? बुद्ध्या with wisdom? युक्तः endowed with? यया which? पार्थ O Partha? कर्मबन्धम् bondage of Karma? प्रहास्यसि (thou) shalt cast off.Commentary Lord Krishna taught Jnana (knowledge) to Arjuna till now. (Sankhya Yoga is the path of Vedanta or Jnana Yoga? which treats of the nature of the Atman or the Self and the methods to attain Selfrealisation. It is not the Sankhya philosophy of sage Kapila.) He is now giving to teach Arjuna the technie or secret of Karma Yoga endowed with which he (or anybody else) can break through the bonds of Karma. The Karma Yogi should perform work without expectation of fruits of his actions? without the idea of agency (or the notin I do this)? without attachment? after annihilating or going beyond all the pairs of opposites such as heat and cold? gain and loss? victoyr and defeat? etc. Dharma and Adharma? or merit and demerit will not touch that Karma Yogi who works without attachment and egoism. The Karma Yogi consecrates all his works and their fruits as offerings unto the Lord (Isvararpanam) and thus obtains the grace of the Lord (Isvaraprasada).
Swami Chinmayananda
# BG 2.39
The authentic knowledge by which the ultimate truth is realized through sound reasoning and logic is called sankhya—a teaching the Blessed Lord has already imparted. Through the attainment of this knowledge comes complete liberation from the world of sorrow and delusion. Now Sri Krishna assures Arjuna of an exposition on karma yoga, or the yoga of wisdom.
Many people mistakenly confuse the law of karma with fatalism. Yet the law of karma is a fundamental principle of Hindu dharma, and therefore students of Hindu life and philosophy must possess a true understanding of this law. If I receive judicial punishment in Delhi today for a crime committed by Sri Raman Rao in Madras a year ago, it means there must be some continuity between that criminal Raman Rao and the present saint Chinmay. The long arm of justice, recognizing that the criminal Raman Rao is indeed Chinmay, reaches Delhi and punishes me. In the same way, the justice of nature is inexorable and complete. Therefore, Hindu sages have acknowledged that the sufferings we experience in the present are the result of misdeeds committed in a particular place and body in the past. This proves that the sinner of former times and the sufferer of the present must be one and the same being. This is what the scriptures call the jiva—the individual soul with mind and intellect.
Every action performed with intention leaves an impression upon the mind of the doer, corresponding to the doer's intention. These impressions are called vasanas, or latent desires. To exhaust these vasanas, each jiva is born in specific circumstances of place, time, and condition. According to the karma accumulated in the past, all beings must experience suffering and pain. The marks of sin upon the mind can only be washed away by the tears of repentance in moments of remorse. Circumstances do not make a person weep; rather, one's own sinful tendencies are the cause of sorrow. For one whose heart is pure, there remains no cause for suffering.
We cannot hear music merely by possessing a recorded disc. Only when the record is placed on the player and the needle touches it does the music become audible. Similarly, merely having vasanas in the mind does not produce the experience of joy or sorrow. But when the needle of ego touches them and they are expressed as actions in the external world, then one experiences the fruits of diverse actions.
The person established in the equanimity described in the previous verse, rising above the pairs of opposites—pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat—dwells in their own bliss. To the extent that our identification with body, mind, and intellect dissolves, to that same extent the ego of doership is destroyed. And finally, in the absence of ego, for whom would the fruits of action remain? Thus all karma and its fruits come to an end.
The principle expounded by the Blessed Lord Sri Krishna in the Gita was not new or original. Five thousand years before the birth of Christ, He merely revived an ancient teaching that had grown dormant, breathing new life into a religion that stands even today, thousands of years later, bearing the message of joy for us all.
This interpretation draws on a specific tradition and may not represent the view of any single school. For authoritative guidance within a specific tradition, seek a qualified teacher.