Bhagavad Gita Chapter 3, Verse 23 (BG 3.23) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

# BG 3.23 — Why Should the Divine Perform Action? Why should the Divine engage in action? What harm would come to society if He were to refrain? It is an observable truth that common people invariably follow their leaders — in their dress, their moral values, their conduct, and their behavior across all spheres of life. The life of a leader becomes the standard of excellence for those who follow. Therefore, if the Divine were to cease from action, other people too would fall into inactivity and remain in an unproductive state. Yet in nature, we witness constant activity everywhere. The very existence of the entire world depends upon action. In the Gita, when the Divine speaks the word "I," He does not refer to Krishna, the son of Devaki, but rather speaks from the perspective of pure consciousness — the Self-realized being who has awakened to his true nature. The Self-realized person knows that pure, luminous consciousness upon which the play of inert, non-self matter unfolds, just as a dream depends upon the mind of one who is awake. If this supreme principle were not eternally present as the foundation and substratum, the world we experience in this moment could not exist at all. Though the waves do not create the ocean, yet without the ocean, the dance of waves would be impossible. Similarly, if the Divine were to withdraw from action and remain inactive in the world, the cultural and spiritual life of society would come to a standstill. If I were to refrain from action, what harm would befall? — the Divine continues.