Bhagavagd Gita - Session 12- Track 1206

Sri Krishna answers, He says:

loke ’smin dvi-vidhā niṣṭhā purā proktā mayānagha | III,3

“ O ānagha, O sinless, loke ’smin dvividhā niṣṭhā purā proktā: in this world…niṣṭhā means the path, that in which you can rely; dvi-vidhā, two-fold; purā proktā mayā I have declared.”

This is said so lightly that Arjuna is not attracted by these words as yet. It is in the 4th chapter, when Sri Krishna will say that, “Look, I have given this Knowledge long ago to Vivasvan, and then to Manu, and then to Ikshvaku, and then it was lost”, when he gives a long description, then, he is struck by it, and says, “You are now, but Vivasvan was much earlier, how could you have given this knowledge to Vivasvan at that time? But even now”, he says, “purā mayā proktā, I have given this twofold path long ago.”

Sri Krishna speaks as the Divine who was already in another birth somewhere: at that time he had already pronounced this whole Knowledge. So, he says, “In this world I have already spoken, purā, long ago, dvi-vidhā niṣṭhā, I have already spoken of twofold path.”

jñāna-yogena sāṁkhyānāṁ karma-yogena yoginām ||3|| (III)

“There are two categories of people: yogis are those who are inclined towards the action; sāṁkhyānāṁ are those who are inclined towards knowledge. To those who are inclined towards Knowledge, I have given the path of Knowledge: Jnanayoga. Those who are inclined towards the action, I have given them the path of Karmayoga.”

“And both the paths have their own stages. When I have to tell you something, which will be both combined together, if you are only concerned with Knowledge and nothing else, if you are not keen to do action on the earth for God, then, following the path of Knowledge alone would have been enough: if you only wanted to know the Eternal, then, that would be enough; I would have told you of the Eternal, I would have told you now you concentrate and meditate upon him and you will attain to Eternal. But, I know what you are, you are active by nature, you want to be active, you can’t remain without action, even though you talk of wisdom, I know you quite well that you are one who is engaged in action. And even when you have reached Knowledge, even then, I know that you will be inclined to do Action for God; knowing all that I am emphasising upon you the whole idea of Karmayoga.”

Now, is the exposition of Karmayoga, which had already started in the 2nd chapter; but Sri Krishna, emphasises that Karmayoga is something most natural to human beings:

na karmaṇām anārambhān naiṣkarmyaṁ puruṣo ’śnute |
na ca saṁnyasanād eva siddhiṁ samadhigacchati ||4|| (III)

“Do not think that by not doing anything, you attain to a stage of action-less-ness. And do not think that by giving up everything, you attain to the highest realisation.”

The real giving up is quite different; the real not-beginning of action is quite different. Even if you do not do anything and sit down, cross-legged, don’t think that you have attained the state of inaction, or you have attained to the state of Knowledge. It may be only an outer inaction; but the mind may be raging into all kinds of battles. Merely not doing anything does not mean that you have attained to inactivity. To attain to the state of inactivity is very important; Sri Krishna does not deny that inactivity is not important. But real inactivity is to be distinguished from ordinary inactivity: not doing anything is not inactivity.