The Soul of the Bhagavad Gita
Originally recorded 02/17/2025 as the outro for Episode 82 – Dr. Sue Brown: Bhagavad Gita, the Song of the Lord
In this conversation, Dr. Sue Brown and I discussed Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s commentary of Chapters 1-6 of the Bhagavad Gita. Maharishi described Chapter 2 as the “soul of the Bhagavad Gita”. He further located the “central core of wisdom” in three key verses of Chapter 2: verses 40, 45, and 48.
As such, I wanted to share these verses and the commentary Maharishi provided. I’m honored that my friend and classmate, Gita Vedanti, recorded these verses in Sanskrit and English. Let’s begin with Chapter 2, Verse 40:[1]
नेहाभिक्रमनाशोऽस्ति प्रत्यवायो न विद्यते ।
स्वल्पमप्यस्य धर्मस्य त्रायते महतो भयात् ॥ ४० ॥
In this (Yoga) no effort is lost and no obstacle exists. Even a little of this dharma delivers from great fear.
‘Obstacle’: the Sanskrit word pratyavaya also means any reversal of progress or any adverse effect.
‘Dharma’ signifies the path of evolution. The practice of Yoga is a direct way to evolution. Through it, the individual mind gains the state of cosmic intelligence – that unbounded state of universal Being which is the summit of evolution. Dharma is natural to man, and so is this practice of Yoga, for it is in accordance with the very nature of the mind and brings fulfillment to life. This is why this Yoga is the dharma of everyone.
Lord Krishna’s wonderful teaching in this verse brings great hope to mankind. On the way to eternal freedom ‘no effort is lost’. Any effort on this path results in the goal; the process, having started, cannot stop until it has reached its goal. This is so in the first place because the flow of the mind towards this state is natural, for it is a state of absolute bliss, and the mind is always craving for greater happiness. Therefore as water flows down a slope in a natural way, so the mind flows naturally in the direction of bliss.
Secondly, ‘no effort is lost’ because, for the mind to become blissful, no effort is needed! If effort were necessary, then the question of effort being lost would arise. When an action is being performed, one stage of the process leads to another, which in turn gives rise to a further stage, so that when one stage has been reached, the previous stage is a thing of the past. In the performance of every action, therefore, some stage is lost, some energy is lost, some effort is lost. When the Lord says here that no effort is lost, it can only be because no effort is required. This means that Lord Krishna’s technique of establishing the intellect in the Absolute is based on the very nature of the mind. We must therefore inquire how the mind, motivated by its own nature, succeeds in gaining divine consciousness without effort.
When a man is listening to music and a more beautiful melody begins to come from another source, his whole mind will turn to enjoy it. No effort is needed to shift the attention to the more charming melody; the process is automatic. There is no loss of energy between starting to listen and enjoying the music with rapt attention. This is the Lord’s meaning: since the field of eternal freedom is absolute bliss, the process of uniting the mind with it, once having begun, comes to completion without loss of energy or effort. It does not stop until the experience is full, for ‘no obstacle exists.’
Seen from this angle, the very beginning of the process is its fulfilment, for it is the movement of the mind to bliss. The end is found in the beginning. The very start of the process brings the mind to the goal because, according to the Lord, there is no resistance on the way, there is ‘no obstacle’ to surmount. It is a path of no resistance, a pathless path, a path whose goal is omnipresent. That is why ‘a little of this’ delivers from great fear.
Following the path of no resistance means that the technique of establishing the mind in the Absolute has only to be started, and from that point deliverance from suffering follows. The very start in this direction relieves a man ‘from great fear’ in life.
To establish the mind in the Absolute, says the Lord, very little – if anything – has to be done. This is because not even the natural direction of the mind has to be changed. The mind wanders from object to object, and it wanders, not for the sake of the object itself, but for the possibility of happiness that the object provides. Thus it does not actually wander from object to object but moves from a point of lesser happiness to a point of greater happiness. Since the greatest happiness is its goal, and the flow of the mind is already in the direction of greater happiness, the direction need not be changed. And since there is no need even to change the direction of the mind, it appears that nothing need be done to realize the goal.
But the Lord says ‘a little of this’ practice. This shows that something has to be done. What is necessary is only to experience the increasing charm on the way to transcendental absolute bliss. As in the case of diving, one has only to take a correct angle and let go – the whole process is accomplished in an automatic manner. This is what the Lord means by ‘a little of this’.
Just as the first ray of the sun dispels the darkness of the night, so the first step in this practice dispels the darkness of ignorance and fear. But although the first ray of the rising sun is able to dispel the darkness of the night, the sun continues to rise, because its nature is not only to remove darkness, leaving the atmosphere dimly lighted, but also to shine forth in splendour and illuminate the whole earth. The glory of the sun is its full mid-day light.
The Lord clearly means that the path of divine unfolding is so simple and natural that the process, once having been consciously started, encounters no obstacles. Quickly it produces an effect strong enough to enlighten the mind and release a man from all negativeness in life, from fear of the cycle of birth and death.
This is a noble way of enlightening the aspirant. There is a confident assurance of results from the very beginning of the practical teaching. Arjuna is told the nature of the technique and the results that will follow from its practice so that he may know in advance what it involves. Realization is not something that comes from outside: it is the revelation of the Self, in the Self, by the Self.
This revelation cannot occur unless a man gives himself completely to it, and then it happens by itself. But in order to be able to give himself completely to it, he has to know at least two things: first, that it is within his power to accomplish, and secondly, that its accomplishment will be of use to him. This is why Lord Krishna speaks the words of this verse. Arjuna is being prepared for the direct experience of Reality which wipes out all uncertainties and brings stability to life. The Lord proclaims to him the simplicity of the approach to the Divine and at the same time describes its result.
Why is it that in the modern world this spiritual practice has faded into the background of life? The answer lies in the wrong interpretation of verses such as this and the consequent spread of a misguided view of Reality which has persisted for many centuries.
Having explained the simplicity and effectiveness of the principle of establishing the intellect in the Divine, the Lord, in the following verses, introduces the technique for its accomplishment.
Maharishi would explain that technique, which he called Transcendental Meditation, as the practical way of establishing one’s consciousness in a state of absolute bliss. That the mind is like an ocean of consciousness, and that through the practice of TM, one’s mind wanders gently towards that field of absolute bliss at its depths. The use of a Sanskrit mantra helps to anchor the mind towards the field of pure consciousness – rather than attempting to quiet the waves on the surface of the mind, as in other meditation techniques.
Maharishi further proposed that through meditation, one could achieve a fourth state of consciousness, Transcendental Consciousness, or Samadhi. Scientific research on this state of restful alertness has demonstrated a unique set of physiological functioning for meditators in TC. Finally, Maharishi proposed that through the repeated integration of Transcendental Consciousness with waking state consciousness, that experience of pure consciousness becomes permanently established, and the individual achieves a state of Cosmic Consciousness.
In Chapter 2, Verse 45, Krishna explains the process for experiencing these higher states of consciousness:[2]
त्रैगुण्यविषया वेदा निस्त्रैगुण्यो भवार्जुन ।
निर्द्वन्द्वो नित्यसत्त्वस्थो निर्योगक्षेम आत्मवान् ॥ ४५ ॥
The Vedas’ concern is with the three gunas. Be without the three gunas, O Arjuna, freed from duality, ever firm in purity, independent of possessions, possessed of the Self.
This is the technique of instantaneous realization. The Lord shows Arjuna a practical way of converging the many-branched mind into the one-pointedness of the resolute intellect. Here is an effective technique for bringing the mind to a state where differences dissolve and leave the individual in the state of fulfilment.
Everything that has so far been said by Lord Krishna is to prepare Arjuna to understand this practice of bringing his mind from the field of multiplicity to that of eternal Unity. This practice is to brighten all aspects of his life by bringing his mind to transcendental consciousness, the limitless source of life, energy, wisdom, peace and happiness. It is to raise him to that cosmic status which harmonizes all the opposite forces of life.
Modern psychological theories investigate causes in order to influence effects. They grope in darkness to find the cause of darkness in order to remove it. In contradistinction, here is the idea of bringing light to remove darkness. This is ‘the principle of the second element’. If you wish to produce an effect on the first element, ignore that element, do not seek its cause; influence it directly by introducing a second element. Remove the darkness by introducing light. Take the mind to a field of happiness in order to relieve it of suffering.
However, even if we accept that by investigating the cause it is easy to influence the effect, we shall find that this verse will serve our purpose, for it provides a technique by which the ultimate cause of all human life can be investigated. If knowledge of the cause can help to influence the effect, then knowledge of the ultimate cause of life will effectively put an end to all suffering.
The greatness of Lord Krishna’s teaching lies in its direct practical approach and its completeness from every point of view. The idea of introducing a second element and the idea of investigating the cause in order to influence its effect represent two principles distinctly opposed to each other, yet both of them are fulfilled in one technique. It is this completeness of practical wisdom that has made the Bhagavad-Gita immortal.
Lord Krishna commands Arjuna: ‘Be without the three gunas’; be without activity, be your Self. This is resolute consciousness, the state of absolute Being, which is the ultimate cause of all causes. This state of consciousness brings harmony to the whole field of cause and effect and glorifies all life. Arjuna’s main problem was to reconcile love of kinsmen with the necessity to root out evil. He was desperately seeking a formula of compromise between righteousness and evil. But on having explored all the avenues of his heart and mind, Arjuna could not find any practical solution, could not decide on any line of action. Lord Krishna, however, shows him the field where righteousness and love merge in eternal harmony, the eternal life of absolute Being.
The Lord makes clear to Arjuna that all influences of the outside world, and their consequences as well, will cling to him and affect him so long as he is out of himself, so long as he allows himself to remain in the sphere of relativity and under its influence. Once out of that sphere, he will find fulfilment in his own Self.
It is difficult for a man to improve his business affairs while he himself is constantly immersed in all their details. If he leaves them for a little while, he becomes able to see the business as a whole and can then more easily decide what is needed. Arjuna has a deep belief in dharma; his mind is clear about considerations of right and wrong. But the Lord asks him to abandon the whole field of right and wrong for the field of the Transcendent. There, established in a state beyond all duality, beyond the influence of right and wrong, he will enjoy the absolute wisdom of life, from which springs all knowledge of the relative world. And the Lord says to Arjuna: The field of that absolute wisdom is not outside you. You have not to go out anywhere to acquire it. It is within you. You have only to be within yourself, ‘possessed of the Self’, ever firm in the purity of your Being.
Here indeed is the skill of bringing light to remove darkness. Arjuna is not asked to come or go anywhere; he is only asked to ‘be without the three gunas’. This instruction serves as a direct means to take man to the absolute state of his consciousness. It is enough for the Lord to say: ‘Be without the three gunas, O Arjuna, freed from duality.”
The entire creation consists of the interplay of the three gunas – sattva, rajas, and tamas – born of prakriti, or Nature. The process of evolution is carried on by these three gunas. Evolution means creation and its progressive development, and at its basic lies activity. Activity needs rajo-guna to create a spur, and it needs sato-guna and tamo-guna to uphold the direction of the movement.
The nature of tamo-guna is to check or retard, but it should not be thought that when the movement is upwards tamo-guna is absent. For any process to continue, there have to be stages in that process, and each stage, however small in time and space, and needs a force to maintain it and another force to develop it into a new stage. The force that develops it into a new stage is sato-guna, while tamo-guna is that which checks or retards the process in order to maintain the state already produced so that it may form the basis for the next stage.
This explains why the three gunas have inevitably to be together. No one guna can exist in isolation without the presence of the other two. It is for this reason that the Lord asks Arjuna to be out of all the three gunas, to be entirely out of the influence of the forces that constitute life in the relative field.
While giving him the wisdom of Sankhya, the Lord has told Arjuna that there are two aspects of life, perishable and imperishable. The perishable is relative existence, and the imperishable is absolute Being. All life in the relative field is under the sway of the gunas. Therefore, in order to give Arjuna the direct experience of the absolute state of life, He asks him to be without the three gunas’.
There are gross planes of creation, and there are subtle planes. When the Lord says: ‘Be without the three gunas’, He means that Arjuna should bring his attention from the gross planes of experience, through the subtle planes and thus to the subtlest plane of experience: transcending even that subtlest plane, he will be completely out of the relative field of life, out of the three gunas. So the Lord’s words: ‘Be without the three gunas’, reveal the secret of arriving at the state of pure consciousness.
When you say to someone: ‘Come here’, you imply by these two words that he must get up and begin to put one foot before the other, and that this walking on both feet will bring him to you. When the Lord says: ‘Be without the three gunas’, He obviously means that in whichever field of the three gunas you have your stand, from there you are to begin moving towards subtler planes of the gunas and, arriving at the subtlest, come out of it, transcend it, be by yourself, ‘possessed of the Self’ – ‘ freed from duality’, ‘ever firm in purity’, ‘independent of possessions’.
Lord Krishna, in this verse, has really given the technique of Self-realization. Arjuna was held in suspension between the dictates of his heart and mind. The Lord suggests to him that he should come out of the conflict and he will then see his way clear. That is why, having said: ‘Be without the three gunas’. He immediately adds: ‘freed from duality’, freed from the field of conflicts. The relative field of life is full of conflicting elements: heat and cold, pleasure and pain, gain and loss, and all the other pairs of opposites which constitute life. Under their influence life is tossed about as a ship on the rough sea from one wave to another. To be freed from duality is to be in the field of non-duality, the absolute state of Being. This provides smoothness and security to life in the relative field. It is like an anchor to the ship of life in the ocean of the three gunas. One gains steadiness and comfort.
Arjuna was highly sensitive to right and wrong. For this reason the Lord, after saying: ‘freed from duality’, at once adds: ‘ever firm in purity.’ He wants to assure Arjuna that this state will always prove right, in accordance with dharma, ever furthering the process of evolution for the good of all. Nothing wrong can possibly result from it, because that is the state of fulfilment.
To convey this idea of fulfilment the Lord says: ‘independent of possessions’. The Sanskrit word used in the text is niryogakshema, which carries the meaning that in this state one is not required to think of gaining what one does not have or of preserving what one has. Duryodhana’s desire to possess and preserve possessions is the cause of the battle. Even in the ordinary life of man, it is this tendency to possess that tempts him to go the wrong way. So the Lord tells Arjuna that he will transcend this cause of transgression in life. Thereby He also reminds Arjuna that Duryodhana could take the wrong path because he gained kingdom, pleasure and power but did not gain the wisdom of remaining ‘independent of possessions’. That is why possessions kept him bound to themselves and he lost his sense of proportion.
By using this expression: ‘independent of possessions’, the Lord is providing the answer to Arjuna’s own words in verse 32 of Chapter I: ‘I desire not victory, O Krishna, nor a kingdom nor pleasures.’ Arjuna had seen how pleasure and power may ruin Lord Krishna in educating him in the art of independence in the midst of possessions, for after the battle Arjuna is going to be placed in a position of great wealth and power.
Having said: ‘freed from duality, ever firm in purity, independent of possessions’, the Lord then adds: ‘possessed of Self’. This is to indicate to Arjuna that this blessed state of life is not far distant from him. It is within himself and therefore always within his reach. And moreover, it is his own Self, nothing other than his own Self.
There is great presence of mind, great skill in enlightening the ignorant, and the height of perfection in the style of this discourse. If you are told by someone: ‘I will take you to the field of great wisdom and abundance of life’, without some indication of where the field lies, you may well be puzzled about many things – about the distance, the difficulties on the way, your own ability to get there. That is why the Lord uses the words: ‘possessed of the Self’. Let yourself be possessed by your Self. Once you are possessed by your Self the purpose of all wisdom has been achieved. There the Vedas end. That is the end of the journey of life, that is the state of fulfilment. For this reason, ‘possessed of the Self’ stands at the end of the verse.
Here is a technique that enables every man to come to the great treasure-house within himself and so rise above all sorrows and uncertainties in life. From this verse onwards, the entire teaching of the Bhagavad-Gita proclaims the glory of achieving the state of the Transcendent.
It is this transcendental state of Being which enables a man to become a karma yogi, one who is successful on the path of action. It is this that enables a man to become a bhakta, one who is successful on the path of devotion, and it is this that enables a man to become a gyani, one who is successful on the path of knowledge. This is the highway to the fulfilment of life’s purpose.
If a man wants to be a true devotee of God, he has to become his pure Self; he has to free himself from those attributes which do not belong to him, and then only can he have one-pointed devotion. If he is enveloped by what he is not, then his devotion will be covered by that foreign element. His devotion will not reach God, and the love and blessings of God will not reach him. For his devotion to reach God, it is necessary that he should first become himself, covered by nothing. Then the process of devotion will connect him directly with the Lord, thereby bestowing on him the status of a devotee. Only when he has become himself can he properly surrender to the Great Self of the Lord. If he remains in the field of the three gunas, in the many sheaths of gross and subtle nature, then it is these sheaths that prevent direct contact with the Lord.
Therefore the first step towards Union through devotion is to be oneself. This, likewise, is the first step on the path of Gyana Yoga, the path of Union through knowledge, and also on the path of Union through action, Karma Yoga; because it is the state of transcendental consciousness that is the state of gyana, or knowledge, and that delivers from the bondage of karma. This state is also the basis of success in any field of life. The field of the three gunas is enlivened by the light of the absolute Being beyond the gunas.
The following verse shows that the purpose of all activity be fulfilled in this state of Being.
The glory of achieving the state of the Transcendent. The song of the Lord.
To close, I’ll share Maharishi’s commentary on Chapter 2, Verse 48. In this verse, Krishna provides guidance about the need for action in the field of relative existence, having established oneself in a state of union with the divine. To shoot an arrow successfully it is first necessary to draw back on the bow.[3]
योगस्थः कुरु कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा धनञ्जय ।
सिद्ध्यसिद्ध्योः समो भूत्वा समत्वं योग उच्यते ॥ ४८ ॥
Established in Yoga, O winner of wealth, perform actions having abandoned attachment and having become balanced in success and future, for balance of mind is called Yoga.
‘Established in Yoga’ means established in cosmic consciousness.
Yoga, or Union of the mind with the divine intelligence, begins when the mind gains transcendental consciousness; Yoga achieves maturity when this transcendental bliss-consciousness, or diving Being, has gained ground in the mind to such an extent that, in whatever state the mind finds itself, whether waking or sleeping, it remains established in the state of Being. It is to this state of perfect enlightenment that the Lord refers in the beginning of the verse when He says: ‘Established in Yoga.’ Towards the end of the verse He defines ‘Yoga’ with reference to action as ‘balance of the mind’. This balanced state of mind is the result of the eternal contentment which comes with bliss-consciousness. It cannot be gained by creating a mood of equanimity in loss and gain, as commentators have generally thought.
Yoga is the basis of an integrated life, a means of bringing into harmony the inner creative silence and the outer activity of life, and a way to act with precision and success. Established in Yoga, Arjuna will be established in the ultimate Reality of life, which is the source of eternal wisdom, power and creativity.
Part of the training for one who wishes to become a good swimmer is the art of diving. When one is able to maintain one-self successfully in deep water, then swimming on the surface becomes easy. All action is the result of the play of the conscious mind. If the mind is strong, then action is also strong and successful. The conscious mind becomes powerful when the deeper levels of the ocean of mind are activated during the process of Transcendental Meditation, which leads the attention from the surface of the conscious mind to the transcendental field of Being. The process of diving within is the way to become established in Yoga.
When the Lord says that having been through this process Arjuna should come out and act, He gives him the mechanics of successful action. To shoot an arrow successfully it is first necessary to draw back on the bow, thus giving it great potential energy. When it is brought back to the fullest possible extent, then it possesses the greatest dynamic power.
Unfortunately the art of action, which Lord Krishna expounded to Arjuna in this discourse, seems to have disappeared from practical life today. This is because for many centuries, owing to the lack of proper interpretation of these verses, it has been considered difficult to lead the mind to the Self and become established in Yoga. It is, in fact, perfectly easy to lead the attention to the field of Being: one has only to allow the mind to move spontaneously from the gross field of objective experience, through the subtle fields of the thought-process to the ultimate transcendental Reality of existence. As the mind moves in this direction, it begins to experience increasing charm at every step until it reaches the state of transcendental bliss-consciousness.
The reward of bringing the mind to this state in that the small individual mind grows to the status of the cosmic mind, rising above all its individual shortcomings and limitations. It is like a small business man becoming wealthy and reaching the status of a multimillionaire. The losses and gains of the market, which before used to influence him, now have no effect upon him and he rises quite naturally above their influence.
The Lord wants Arjuna to act, but He wants him, before beginning the action, to gain the status of cosmic mind. This is His kindness. When a wealthy man wants his son to start a business, he does not usually wish him to begin in a small way, because he knows that in that way small losses and gains will influence his dear son and make him miserable or happy over trivialities. Therefore he gives him the status of a wealthy man and then asks him to start business from that level. Lord Krishna, like a kind and able father, advises Arjuna to attain the state of cosmic intelligence and then to act from the high state of freedom in life.
A man cannot remain balanced in loss and gain unless he is in a state of lasting contentment. Here the Lord is asking Arjuna to get to that state of lasting contentment by a direct experience of transcendental eternal bliss. He is not advising a mere mood of equanimity.
The state of transcendental bliss in eternal Being is so self-sufficient that, in its structure, it is absolute. It is fullness of life, perfection of existence, and therefore completely unattached to anything in the relative field, completely free from the influence of action. When the Lord says: ‘having abandoned attachment’, He means having gained this state of eternal Being, which is wholly separated and detached from activity. And when He says: ‘having become balanced in success and failure’, He means having reached stability in this state of eternal Being.
The regular practice of Transcendental Meditation is the direct way of rising to the state of transcendental Being and stabilizing it in the very nature of the mind, so that irrespective of the mind’s engagements in the conflicts inherent in the diversities of life, the structure of Unity in eternal freedom is naturally maintained and life is not lost to itself.
Here is the definition of Yoga for which the ground was prepared by the words ‘Be without the three gunas’ in verse 45: Yoga is that eternally balanced and never-changing state of transcendental consciousness which, meaning transcendent while yet grounded in the very nature of the mind, sets the mind free to participate in activity without being involved in it.
The following verses extol the glory of this Yoga, the balanced state of mind, and make clear its usefulness in raising the dignity of action and bringing eternal freedom to the doer.
[1] Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi: On the Bhagavad-Gita: A New Translation and Commentary Chapters 1-6. SRM International Publications, London: 1967.
[2] Ibid
[3] Ibid