Determination and Equanimity: Arjuna's Path to Self-Knowledge
Sri Krishna gives Arjun a profound teaching on Karma Yoga in the second chapter of the Bhagavad Gita (verses 41-50). He says that the determined mind, which manifests as determination in Karma Yoga, is one and unshakable. The minds of those without determination wander in many directions, keeping them away from stability and truth. Those who are attached to Vedic rituals and material pleasures, such as attainment of heaven, have unstable minds. They are deprived of higher spiritual goals such as devotion and samadhi.
Sri Krishna advises Arjun that the Vedas are related to the three gunas—sattva, rajas, and tamas. Arjun should transcend these gunas, be free from dualities (pleasure and pain, gain and loss), and be self-centered and established in the eternal truth. He gives the example that just as a small water body loses its importance when it merges with a river, similarly for a wise person the entire purpose of the Vedas is reduced to self-knowledge.
Explaining the basic principle of Karma Yoga, Sri Krishna says that man's right is only in performing his duty, not in the desire for the fruit. The true path is to become a Karma Yogi by giving up the worry of the fruit. In Karma Yoga, equanimity—that is, to have an equal attitude towards pleasure and pain, success and failure—is extremely important. This equanimity is the essence of Yoga. Actions motivated by the desire for fruit are of a low level and cause suffering. Therefore, one should take refuge in the Yoga of Wisdom (Karmayoga).
Finally, Sri Krishna says that a person endowed with wisdom is free from both virtue and sin. Mastering Karma Yoga is the way to perform actions skillfully. Thus, by having a firm resolve, renouncing attachment to fruit, and performing actions with equanimity, one rises above the material pleasures of the Vedas, attains self-knowledge and is established in true Yoga. This sermon inspires Arjuna to perform his duty on the battlefield and provides spiritual guidance for life for all.
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