Bhagavad Gita Chapter 3, Verse 3 (BG 3.3) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

To understand karma yoga and jnana yoga as rivals is to understand neither of them. Because they are complementary to each other, one must necessarily resort to them in sequence—one after the other. First, when one performs action with a spirit of non-attachment, the countless desires lodged in the mind gradually diminish. As the mind becomes purified in this way, it attains concentration and steadiness, through which it becomes absorbed in meditation and directly experiences the ultimate truth. People of foreign cultures find great difficulty in understanding Hindu dharma. The diversity of spiritual practices and teachings that appear contradictory to one another confuse their intellect. Yet it would be equally great and absurd an error to call Hindu dharma unscientific merely for this reason as it would be to deny that medicine is a science simply because a single physician treats different patients with different medicines on the same day. Among those qualified to undertake spiritual practice, there are two types of people: the action-oriented and the contemplative. The difference in nature between these two types is so great that prescribing the same practice for both would mean discouraging and neglecting one group. The Bhagavad Gita was written not merely for Hindus alone, but as a scripture for the welfare of all humanity. Therefore, it is necessary to prescribe practices suited to the mental and intellectual capacities of both groups for the benefit of all. Thus the Blessed Lord here clearly states that karma yoga is prescribed for those of an action-oriented nature, and jnana yoga for contemplative seekers. Through the word "pura" (ancient times), He indicates that these two paths have existed in the world since the very beginning of creation. In this verse, for the first time, Lord Sri Krishna reveals a glimpse of His true nature. Had the Gita's teaching been given by some mortal named Krishna, the son of Devaki, it would at most contain only those principles understood through that person's intellect, whose foundation would be merely his own life experience. Facts experienced in life have the peculiar quality of constantly changing, and therefore when they change, our previous conclusions also change. With changing social, political, and economic circumstances and progress in the field of science, countless previously established principles of sociology, economics, and science have become obsolete. Had the Gita contained only conclusions reached through the intellect of some man named Krishna, it too would have become obsolete and reduced to mere remnants by now. Here Sri Krishna clearly states: "In the beginning of creation, these two paths were taught by Me." This means that the Lord was not speaking here as the dark-complexioned cowherd of Vrindavan, the beloved friend of the gopis, or as a great statesman of His age. Rather, He was teaching as a knower of the true nature of Indian history, a seer of truth, a perfected being, and as God Himself. At that moment, He was not speaking as Arjuna's charioteer, nor as a friend, nor as a well-wisher of the Pandavas. He was fully conscious of His transcendental nature as the substratum and cause of the universe. Established in the truth that transcends time and causation, He reveals Himself as the original teacher of these two paths. Karma yoga is a gradual means to attaining the goal, not a direct one. That is, it provides the qualification to attain knowledge, through which jnana yoga directly leads to the attainment of the goal. To explain this, the Blessed Lord says—