Sankhya Yoga: Introduction and shlokas 1 to 3
Sankhya Yoga, from Chapter 2 of the Bhagavad Gita, offers profound wisdom for leading a balanced and purposeful life. In this chapter, Lord Krishna teaches Arjuna the importance of self-realization and understanding the eternal nature of the soul (Atman). Sankhya Yoga emphasizes that the soul is unchanging and eternal, unaffected by the physical body or external circumstances. By embracing this knowledge, one can rise above the dualities of life—such as pleasure and pain, success and failure—and maintain a sense of inner peace.
Krishna introduces the concept of Nishkama Karma, which is the practice of performing one’s duty without attachment to the results. This teaching helps individuals remain focused on their responsibilities while cultivating a mindset of Samatvam—equanimity in all situations. Through Sankhya Yoga, we learn how to control our mind and emotions, allowing us to act with wisdom and clarity in the face of challenges. By following the path of duty without attachment, we can experience a sense of fulfillment and spiritual growth, as outlined by Krishna in this important chapter.
If you have not already done so, I would request you to review the Chapter 1, Arjuna Vishada Yoga before studying chapter 2 as that would help set the right context.
You can also listen to all the episodes through my Spotify Portal. And here on YouTube as well.
Sankhya Yoga
The second chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, “Sankhya Yoga“, also termed as “Samkhya Yoga” is where Lord Krishna begins to impart his teachings to Arjuna on the battlefield. In this chapter, Lord Krishna explains the nature of the self and the material world, and how to understand their relationship in order to attain liberation.
Lord Krishna starts by explaining the principles of Sānkhya Yoga, one of the six schools of Indian philosophy (Sankhya yoga, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa, Vedanta) which asserts the existence of two ultimate realities: Purusha, the unchanging and eternal consciousness, and Prakriti, the material world and the source of all change. He explains that the ultimate goal of Sankhya Yoga is to achieve a state of liberation or enlightenment, which is attained by understanding the true nature of these two realities and realizing that the self is distinct from the material world.
In this chapter, Lord Krishna lays the foundation for the philosophy of Sānkhya Yoga and his teachings that will be developed throughout the Bhagavad Gita. It is an essential chapter for understanding the path to liberation. As we delve into this chapter, we will gain a deeper understanding of the nature of Purusha, Prakriti, and the relationship between the two, and how we can use this understanding to achieve liberation.
Self-control and detachment
Shri Krishna also encourages Arjuna to practice self-control and detachment from material things in order to gain true wisdom. He explains that by doing so, he can become free from fear and can experience true peace and joy.
Arjuna tells Shri Kṛṣṇa that he is unable to cope with his current state of mind, and he cannot take part in this battle and requests Shree Kṛṣṇa to be his spiritual teacher and clear his doubts and impart the divine knowledge that will help him understand various aspects of life. This is the chapter where the Supreme Lord starts imparting divine knowledge to Arjuna and He begins with the nature of the soul, which is eternal and imperishable. Shri Kṛṣṇa also explains to Arjuna the importance of doing one’s prescribed duties under all circumstances.
With each teaching, Arjuna comes up with more questions and Kṛṣṇa then goes deeper into various aspects of spiritual science. This is also the Chapter where Shri Kṛṣṇa is referred to as Bhagwan, or God for the first time in the Bhagavad Gita.
Importance of second chapter
The 2nd chapter can be considered the most important chapter of the Bhagavad Gita and is also the largest, with 72 verses. Lord Kṛṣṇa has condensed the knowledge of the Gita in this chapter and in subsequent chapters he goes on to expand upon various concepts. The way the Bhagavad Gita is organized is that, chapter 1 is the preparation or introduction, chapter 2 is the condensed essence of the whole Gita and chapter 18 is the summary of everything that is contained in the Gita.
Since ancient times, all Hindu philosophical teachings have been categorized as belonging to either the asthika or nasthika schools of thought. Asthika means those who acknowledge the existence of a higher self, or God. Nasthika means those who do not acknowledge the existence of a higher self or God. Needless to say, Bhagavad Gita is part of Vedanta which belongs to the asthika school of thought. Samkhya or Sankhya yoga refers to one of the six asthika schools of ancient Hindu philosophy which are Nyāyá (school of logical thinking), Vaiśeṣika (objective nature of the universe), Sāṃkhya (study of topics like the soul, nature and energy), Yoga (study of body and mind), Mīmāṃsā (science of introspection and critical investigation), and Vedānta (study of the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita and the Brahma sutras).
In the context of the Bhagavad Gita, the most important aspect of Samkhya philosophy that Lord Kṛṣṇa explains is that of the nature of Purusha (higher self), Prakriti (nature) and the three modes of nature, Sattva (goodness), Rajas (passion) and Tamas (ignorance).
The first chapter ended with a depressed Arjuna in a state of a nervous breakdown. In chapter two, Kṛṣṇa starts addressing this situation and helps Arjuna overcome it.
One thing to keep in mind is that just like Arjuna, whenever we are in a state of depression or nervous breakdown, we lose the ability to think objectively and clearly. It is during these times that we must seek the guidance of some bonafide authority / Guru. In this instance, Arjuna seeks guidance from the supreme authority of Lord Kṛṣṇa.
Layout of the 2nd chapter
The 2nd Chapter can be classified into 4 main topics as under:
1st Topic – Arjuna saranagathi, or total surrender of Arjuna (verse 1 to 10).
2nd Topic –Jnana Yoga which is part of Samkhya yoga (verse 11 to 38).
3rd Topic – Karma Yoga or yoga of action (verse 39 to 53).
4th Topic – Sthitaprajna Lakshanani, traits of those who are of steady mind and wisdom (verse 54 to 72).
Of being a sthitaprajna
“Sthitaprajna” is a word which is unique to the Geeta. It is not present in the Upanishads or the Vedas. Ved Vyas Ji specially coined it for the Geeta. “Sthita” means established. “Prajna” means our wisdom or intellect. Sthitaprajna means a person whose state of mind is very balanced and who is undisturbed even in the face of calamities while actively performing their duties. It is very easy to have a balanced state of mind for those who have renounced everything and who spend all their lives in a cave in some mountain. However, Shri Kṛṣṇa is referring to a person who is actively involved in the struggles of daily life, who is actively performing their duties and yet is able to maintain a balanced state of mind. That is the state that we all must strive to attain.
In verse 2.54, Arjuna asks Kṛṣṇa details about a person who is a Sthitaprajna and we will learn more about this when we discuss that verse.
Fear causes weakness of mind and this in turn causes all the miseries in our lives. The more spiritual we become, the more fearless, strong and compassionate we become. With spiritual progress we become able to combine two great virtues:
Fearlessness and Compassion
In the 12th chapter, Shri Kṛṣṇa will say “He or she is my true devotee, the one who is strong and fearless, and yet is compassionate to all beings. He doesn’t fear anybody and nobody needs to fear him also, because he is so gentle” (12.15).
So that is the whole subject of the Bhagavad gita, to help us grow and develop ourselves, become spiritual and fearless. The word ‘war’ is only in the first chapter and you do not see that word anywhere in the rest of the Bhagavad Gita. So this is not a book on war, this is a book on human development and fulfillment.
Being a student like Arjuna
As we are embarking upon this journey of spiritual wisdom, I wanted to share another quick note. Lord Shri Kṛṣṇa has given an ocean of wisdom and knowledge in the Gita. However, to understand it the way he meant it to be understood, we should develop our mind to be like that of Arjuna! There are many lessons to be learnt from Arjuna as well. As per the example set by Arjuna, it is OK to question, it is OK to feel confused or depressed. However, it is very necessary to have humility and surrender to the Lord and seek His guidance and blessings to overcome everything. Every living entity has a lesson to teach us. Even a blade of grass has a lesson to teach us. Let us try to have this mindset and surrender ourselves to the Lord with absolute humility.
During my association with advanced devotees, I have been told many times about their experiences and how pride becomes the main hindrance in our path towards getting closer to Kṛṣṇa and how Kṛṣṇa will always try to destroy our pride before he helps us. Ego or pride is a big barrier to spiritual growth. When a person becomes egoistic, they lose the ability to realize God. We have to keep reminding ourselves of this.
Verse 2.1 – 2.3
सञ्जय उवाच |
तं तथा कृपयाविष्टमश्रुपूर्णाकुलेक्षणम् |
विषीदन्तमिदं वाक्यमुवाच मधुसूदन: || 1||
sañjaya uvācha
taṁ tathā kṛipayāviṣhṭamaśhru pūrṇākulekṣhaṇam
viṣhīdantamidaṁ vākyam uvācha madhusūdanaḥ
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
कुतस्त्वा कश्मलमिदं विषमे समुपस्थितम् |
अनार्यजुष्टमस्वर्ग्यमकीर्तिकरमर्जुन || 2||
śhrī bhagavān uvācha
kutastvā kaśhmalamidaṁ viṣhame samupasthitam
anārya-juṣhṭamaswargyam akīrti-karam arjuna
क्लैब्यं मा स्म गम: पार्थ नैतत्त्वय्युपपद्यते |
क्षुद्रं हृदयदौर्बल्यं त्यक्त्वोत्तिष्ठ परन्तप || 3||
klaibyaṁ mā sma gamaḥ pārtha naitat tvayyupapadyate
kṣhudraṁ hṛidaya-daurbalyaṁ tyaktvottiṣhṭha parantapa
Sanjay starts the 2nd chapter by observing Kṛṣṇa getting ready to address Arjuna. Here Sanjaya and Arjuna refer to Kṛṣṇa as ‘Madhusudhana’, the slayer of the demon Madhu. Srila Prabhupada tells us that by referring to Kṛṣṇa in this way, Arjuna is poetically indicating that Kṛṣṇa should now slay Arjuna’s doubts, just as He had slain the demon Madhu.
Krishna is Vishnu Avatar
Although Shri Kṛṣṇa is addressed as ‘Madhusudhana’ at least four times in the Gita, a very interesting aspect to this is that Lord Kṛṣṇa did not kill the demon Madhu. It was Lord Vishnu who had killed Madhu through His Hayagriva incarnation, who has a horse-like body and is mentioned in the ancient scriptures known as Puranas. So by referring to Kṛṣṇa as “Madhusudhana”, He is actually being referred to and accepted as Lord Vishnu himself. The core teachings of the Bhagavad Gita start after first establishing the fact that Kṛṣṇa was an incarnation of God Himself and that he was accepted that way by Arjuna and other learned seers of His times.
Lord Kṛṣṇa starts his discourse by explaining that we cannot run away from our problems because the problems will keep chasing us until we learn to face them.
In verse 2.2 Kṛṣṇa poses a very strong question to Arjuna and asks him
कुतस्त्वा कश्मलमिदं विषमे समुपस्थितम् |
अनार्यजुष्टमस्वर्ग्यमकीर्तिकरमर्जुन || 2||
Which means, “From where have you got this cowardly weakness of mind”? He uses the word Kasmalam which is the Sanskrit word signifying all that is bad. Lord Kṛṣṇa says ‘Anaryujustham’, a noble minded person will never take to this kind of attitude. Arya is not a race, rather it implies a noble minded person. Even Buddha spoke of his teachings as ‘Arya Satyani’, the Noble truths.
In case of mental breakdowns, the patient is given a shock treatment. Here Lord Kṛṣṇa is giving the shock treatment to Arjuna which he never expected. He was hoping Kṛṣṇa would take pity on him and please his senses as Govinda.
The next verse, 2.3 is a powerful verse.
क्लैब्यं मा स्म गम: पार्थ नैतत्त्वय्युपपद्यते |
क्षुद्रं हृदयदौर्बल्यं त्यक्त्वोत्तिष्ठ परन्तप || 3||
‘Klaibyam’ means unmanliness and it also means impotence.
Kṛṣṇa is telling Arjuna that this kind of unmanliness does not befit you, it does not suit you!
This is such a great lesson in human psychology. Kṛṣṇa says “such behavior does not suit a great and noble person like yourself”!
This is the right way to coach others, especially juniors and children. Instead of saying “You are so stupid, how could you do that”, you should instead highlight the strength of the person and say something like “You are such an intelligent person, such behavior does not suit you”. This will do wonders to the other person and actually help them overcome their weakness without feeling lowly about themselves. Let us practice this as much as we can.
According to Vedanta, the true self of an individual is not the limited ego or personality, but the eternal, unchanging, and divine consciousness that underlies all existence. This consciousness is often referred to as Atman, and is believed to be identical to Brahman.
The basic teaching of Vedanta is that every living being is essentially divine, and that the weakness and suffering we experience in the world are not our true nature. Instead, our true nature is the eternal, unchanging, and divine consciousness that underlies all existence. The goal of human life is to realize one’s true self and also realize that it is very identical to Brahman or God.
Pragma 1. Dealing with the inner saboteur
Through shlokas 2.2 and 2.3, we can extract the first pragma or practical tip from Kṛṣṇa as
Pragma 1: “Recognize the saboteur within you. Don’t give in to it. Confront it and vanquish it”.
Our inner saboteur is like a thief and a thief’s biggest fear is getting caught. So you just have to be aware of your thoughts and recognize when your inner saboteur is playing games with your mind. The very act of being aware and catching the saboteur in action is enough to control and defeat it.
You can find the next session here:
kṛṣṇadaasa
(Servant of Krishna)