Jnana Karma Sannyasa Yoga: Shlokas 6 to 12

If you have not already done so, I would request you to review the Chapter 3, Karma Yoga before studying chapter 4 as that would help set the right context.

You can find the explanation of the shlokas 1 to 5 of chapter 4 here. Please go through that to get a better understand and maintain continuity in your learning.

You can also listen to all the episodes through my Spotify Portal.

Verse 4.6 to 4.12

अजोऽपि सन्नव्ययात्मा भूतानामीश्वरोऽपि सन् |
प्रकृतिं स्वामधिष्ठाय सम्भवाम्यात्ममायया || 6||

ajo ’pi sannavyayātmā bhūtānām īśhvaro ’pi san
prakṛitiṁ svām adhiṣhṭhāya sambhavāmyātma-māyayā

अजोऽपि (ajo’pi) – though unborn; सन्नव्ययात्मा (sannavyayātma) – imperishable in nature; भूतानामीश्वरोऽपि (bhūtānāmīśvaro’pi) – even while being the Lord of all beings; सन् (san) – being; प्रकृतिं (prakṛtiṁ) – nature; स्वामधिष्ठाय (svāmadhiṣṭhāya) – having established in oneself; सम्भवाम्यात्ममायया (sambhavāmyātmamāyayā) – I manifest through my own power of illusion.

Although I am unborn and My transcendental body never deteriorates, and although I am the Lord of all sentient beings, I still appear in every millennium in My original transcendental form.

यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत |
अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम् || 7||

yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata
abhyutthānam adharmasya tadātmānaṁ sṛijāmyaham

यदा यदा (yadā yadā) – whenever, wherever; हि (hi) – certainly; धर्मस्य (dharmasya) – of righteousness, of duty; ग्लानिर्भवति (glānirbhavati) – decline, deterioration; भारत (bhārata) – O Arjuna; अभ्युत्थानं (abhyutthānam) – emergence, rise; अधर्मस्य (adharma) – of unrighteousness, of injustice; तदात्मानं (tadātmānam) – myself; सृजामि (sṛjāmi) – I manifest, I create; अहम् (aham) – I.

Whenever and wherever there is a decline in righteousness, O Arjuna, and a rise in unrighteousness, I manifest myself.

परित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम् |
धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय सम्भवामि युगे युगे || 8||

paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśhāya cha duṣhkṛitām
dharma-sansthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge

परित्राणाय (paritrāṇāya) – for the protection; साधूनां (sādhūnām) – of the righteous; विनाशाय (vināśāya) – for the destruction; च (cha) – and; दुष्कृताम् (duṣkṛtām) – of the wicked; धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय (dharmasaṁsthāpanārthāya) – for the establishment of righteousness; सम्भवामि (sambhavāmi) – I manifest; युगे युगे (yuge yuge) – age after age.

For the protection of the righteous, for the destruction of the wicked, and for the establishment of righteousness (dharma), I manifest myself age after age.

जन्म कर्म च मे दिव्यमेवं यो वेत्ति तत्त्वत: |
त्यक्त्वा देहं पुनर्जन्म नैति मामेति सोऽर्जुन || 9||

janma karma cha me divyam evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ
tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti so ’rjuna

जन्म (janma) – birth; कर्म (karma) – action; च (cha) – and; मे (me) – my; दिव्यम् (divyam) – divine; एवं (evam) – thus; यो (yo) – who; वेत्ति (vetti) – knows; तत्त्वत: (tattvataḥ) – in truth; त्यक्त्वा (tyaktvā) – having abandoned; देहं (deham) – body; पुनर्जन्म (punarjanma) – rebirth; नैति (naiti) – does not attain; मामेति (māmeti) – reaches me; सोऽर्जुन (so’rjuna) – O Arjuna.

One who knows the divine nature of my birth and actions in truth, having abandoned the body, does not undergo rebirth; such a person reaches me, O Arjuna.

वीतरागभयक्रोधा मन्मया मामुपाश्रिता: |
बहवो ज्ञानतपसा पूता मद्भावमागता: ||10||

vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhā man-mayā mām upāśhritāḥ
bahavo jñāna-tapasā pūtā mad-bhāvam āgatāḥ

वीतरागभयक्रोधा (vītarāgabhayakrodhā) – free from attachment, fear, and anger; मन्मया (manmayā) – absorbed in me; मामुपाश्रिताः (māmupāśritāḥ) – taking refuge in me; बहवो (bahavo) – many; ज्ञानतपसा (jñānatapasā) – through knowledge and austerity; पूताः (pūtāḥ) – purified; मद्भावमागताः (madbhāvamāgatāḥ) – have attained to my nature.

Free from attachment, fear, and anger, absorbed in me, taking refuge in me, many have purified themselves through knowledge and austerity and have attained to my divine nature.

ये यथा मां प्रपद्यन्ते तांस्तथैव भजाम्यहम् |
मम वर्त्मानुवर्तन्ते मनुष्या: पार्थ सर्वश: ||11||

ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāns tathaiva bhajāmyaham
mama vartmānuvartante manuṣhyāḥ pārtha sarvaśhaḥ

ये (ye) – those who; यथा (yathā) – as; मां (mām) – me; प्रपद्यन्ते (prapadyante) – surrender, seek refuge in; तांस्तथैव (tāmstathaiva) – to them accordingly; भजाम्यहम् (bhajāmyaham) – I reciprocate, I bestow my grace; मम (mama) – my; वर्त्मानुवर्तन्ते (vartmānuvartante) – follow, walk on the path; मनुष्याः (manuṣyāḥ) – human beings; पार्थ (pārtha) – O Arjuna; सर्वशः (sarvaśaḥ) – in all ways, completely.

As people surrender to me, I reciprocate accordingly. All human beings follow my path in every aspect, O Arjuna.

काङ् क्षन्त: कर्मणां सिद्धिं यजन्त इह देवता: |
क्षिप्रं हि मानुषे लोके सिद्धिर्भवति कर्मजा ||12||

kāṅkṣhantaḥ karmaṇāṁ siddhiṁ yajanta iha devatāḥ
kṣhipraṁ hi mānuṣhe loke siddhir bhavati karmajā

काङ्क्षन्तः (kāṅkṣantaḥ) – desiring; कर्मणां (karmaṇām) – of actions; सिद्धिं (siddhim) – success, fulfillment; यजन्ति (yajanti) – worship, offer; इह (iha) – in this; देवताः (devatāḥ) – deities, gods; क्षिप्रं (kṣipraṁ) – quickly; हि (hi) – certainly; मानुषे (mānuṣe) – in the human; लोके (loke) – world; सिद्धिः (siddhiḥ) – success, accomplishment; भवति (bhavati) – happens, arises; कर्मजा (karmajā) – born of actions.

In this world, those desiring success in material activities worship the celestial gods, since material rewards manifest quickly.

Shri Krishna and His Yogamaya

In 4.6 Shri Krishna says that “Although I am unborn, the Lord of all living entities, and have an imperishable nature, yet I appear in this world by virtue of Yogmaya, my divine power”. There are many people who believe that God is ‘only’ formless. So they doubt Krishna saying “He was born like a human and died like a human, so how can He be God”. Here Krishna is explaining his Leela. That He appears in this world and plays the role of a human for the sake of humankind. 

There are three parts to this verse:

1. “Although I am unborn, imperishable, and the Lord of all beings“: Here, Krishna is referring to his divine nature. As a form of the Supreme Being, he is eternal (unborn and imperishable) and the ultimate controller of all beings.
2. “controlling My own material nature“: This refers to Krishna’s supremacy over the material world and its nature. He is not subject to the laws of the material world but rather controls and governs them.
3. “I come into being by My own magic potency“: Here, Krishna is explaining the concept of his divine descents or “avataras.” He descends into the material world by his own will and divine power, not by the laws of karma that govern the births and deaths of ordinary living entities.

In essence, this verse underscores Krishna’s divine and supreme nature. He is not bound by the material world and its laws, and his incarnations in the physical world are acts of his own divine will and potency, not due to karmic laws. This verse is part of a larger discourse where Krishna is explaining his divine nature and role in the cosmos to Arjuna.

Krishna lived and performed all prescribed duties. He led by example and inspired humanity to follow the right path. That was one of the purposes of his incarnation as a human being. When people insist that God is only formless, it is like saying that the sun is only light. However in reality, the sun is both, the source of light as well as the light itself. Just like that, God can be both formless as well as having various forms.

Krishna says that he doesn’t have to be born in human form however he chooses to do so. Why does he choose to do so? Krishna will explain that in the next two verses. Before that, we should understand a subtle aspect, where Krishna says that he will ‘manifest’ or ‘appear’. Not ‘born’. As per the scriptures, Krishna was not technically born out of Devaki’s womb although he made it look like that based on his powers. It is said that before being born, he manifested himself in the form of Vishnu in front of Devaki and Vasudev. 

Shri Krishna’s warning and assurance

And then Krishna speaks these two very prominent and popular verses:

यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत |
अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम् || 4.7||

परित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम् |
धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय सम्भवामि युगे युगे || 4.8||

Whenever there is a decline in dharma and an increase in adharma, O Arjuna, at that time I manifest myself on earth. 

And what would be his goal for manifesting on earth? He says he will do three things:

1. To protect the sadhus and the righteous
2. He will destroy/ annihilate the wicked, and
3. He will reestablish the principles of dharma 

And Krishna says that he will continue doing this in every yuga as per the need. What a wonderful assurance! Krishna is saying that he will personally manifest on earth during such times. Some people have questioned in the past, why does Krishna have to descend Himself on earth for this? Why can’t he just send some of his assistants to do the job?

Shri Krishna’s love for His devotees

There is a story of Akbar, the mughal ruler. It is said that he was a unique ruler who was wise and kind and not cruel like other mughal rulers. Akbar used to read the Bhagavad Gita and he even got it translated into Persian language. When Akbar read verse 4.7 and 4.8, he had a doubt. So he called Birbal and asked “Why is Krishna saying that he will manifest himself personally on earth? He is almighty. He can just delegate this task to someone else”. Birbal says “Janab I will answer this question after a few days”.

A few days later, Akbar, his son, Birbal and a few other ministers go for a tour in a boat. When they were near the middle of the deep river, Birbal suddenly pushes Akbar’s son into the river. Akbar’s son did not know swimming. Seeing this, without even thinking for a second, Akbar immediately jumps into the water to save his son. Once he gets his son safely back into the boat, he gets extremely angry with Birbal and asks  him “I trusted you and I pay you well. Why did you push my son into the river”? To this Birbal says “I have given you the answer to your question. You asked why does Krishna manifest himself personally instead of delegating to someone else. You could have also asked one of your ministers to jump in the river to save your son but instead you chose to do it yourself, personally. Because your son was very dear to you. Just like that, the devotees are very dear to Krishna and whenever they get in trouble, Krishna personally manifests on earth”.

The concept of Avataras

A point to be noted is that people think Krishna only has taken 10 avatars (dashavataras). However, that is not true. Krishna takes innumerable avataras infinite number of times. He manifests himself whenever he wants, wherever he wants, to help his devotees in whatever way possible. 

There are six categories or types of avatars that God takes:

1) Purusha avataras
2) Lila avataras
3) Guna avataras
4) Manvantara avataras
5) Yuga avataras
6) Shaktyavesha avataras

Purusha avataras are the driving force of the universe. 25% of the Universe is the material world that we can see, touch and perceive with our senses, while the remaining 75% is the spiritual world. 

Three forms of Vishnu

There are three fundamental forms of Vishnu. 

1. Karanodakashayi – the cause for the existence of the universe (Brahmanda)
2. Garbhodakashayi – each Brahmanda has a Garbhodakashayi Vishnu, and 
3. Kshirodakashayi – in each Brahmanda, in each living being’s heart, Krishna resides as Kshirodakashayi Vishnu.

Lila avataras represent divine incarnations taken with the purpose of performing various divine plays or ‘leelas’, each with a distinct aim. Krishna, Narasimha, and Buddha are notable examples of this.

Other Avataras

The Guna avataras are deeply connected to the three fundamental qualities, or ‘gunas’. Here, Vishnu embodies the ‘sattva guna’ representing purity and knowledge, Brahma exemplifies the ‘rajo guna’ symbolizing activity and passion, and Shiva resonates with the ‘tamo guna’, as he is responsible for destruction and annihilation of the universe.

A single day in Brahma’s life span equates to a thousand yugas, further divided into fourteen ‘manvantaras’. Manvantara avataras are the divine forms assumed during each of these manvantaras. Ajita, Satyasena, and Rishaba, for instance, are such incarnations. Yuga avataras refer to the divine forms that Krishna adopts in each Yuga. For instance, in the Treta Yuga, he incarnated as Rama; in the Dwapara Yuga, he was Krishna; and in the Kali Yuga, he appeared as Lord Chaitanya.

Lastly, Shaktyavesha avataras are powerful incarnations assumed for particular purposes. These are countless, and include the likes of Narada, Vyasa, and Parasurama.

As you can see, Krishna manifests himself in various categories and innumerable forms for the benefit of his devotees and humanity. The key point to note is that Shri Krishna can be present amongst us in any form at any time. That is why we should learn to have humility and purity of heart to be able to see His presence everywhere and in anything and not expect to see Him only in a radiant form with many hands and wielding the sudarshana chakra. 

Now, these two verses 4.7 and 4.8 are comforting as well as disturbing. It is disturbing because the Lord says that the world will keep falling into disarray and there will be a chaotic descent into adharma, where the virtuous will suffer. The comforting part is that the Lord promises He will descend on earth and manifest himself every time this happens.

In my humble opinion, the thing to learn here is that humans have a general tendency to fall and become non-virtuous. So it is very important to consciously work on our own growth, have a connection with the Lord, follow his teachings and liberate ourselves from the endless cycle of birth and death in this imperfect world.

This is one of the main motivations for why I set out on this journey to extract and document Lord Krishna’s Pragmas.

In 4.9 Krishna says that those who understand the divine nature of my birth and activities, O Arjuna, upon leaving the body, do not have to take birth again, but come to my eternal abode.

Understanding Shri Krishna’s divine nature through Jnana Tapas

So how do we actually understand the divine nature of His birth and activities? This is possible only when we have a heart full of faith and devotion. Krishna says that we also need to be free from attachment, fear, and anger, become fully absorbed in Him, surrender to him. Krishna says that many persons in the past became purified in this way and attained His divine love.

This verse 4.10 is another profound verse that instructs us about how to grow and improve ourselves, and what our ultimate goal should be. It tells us that we need to stop letting our wants and worries upset our peace of mind. When we can do this, we start to focus on becoming better people. This becomes our main goal and gives us a sense of victory. When we reach this stage, we’re ready to study and practice the lessons taught by Shri Krishna.

Three important steps to grow ourselves: 

1. Learning from a teacher 
2. Contemplating or thinking deeply about the lessons we learn and 
3. Practicing what we learn. 

When we follow these three steps, we are in effect practicing Jnana Tapas.

Let us remember that in 2.56 Shri Krishna said that one who is Stithaprajnya does not get disturbed when faced with miseries and does not crave for pleasures. Such a person’s mind is also free from anger, fear and attachment. 

So, to attain liberation, we need to practice samatvam, reach the state of stithaprajna, get free from anger, fear and attachment. We need to use bhakti yoga and surrender to the Lord in order to achieve this and once we do, we will be able to understand Krishna’s leelas and become dear to him. Our job is to become dear to Krishna, and he will take care of the rest and ensure our liberation.

Let us remember verse 3.17 where Krishna had made a similar statement. He had said that people who are self realized find pleasure only in the Atman and for them, there is no joy that can come from material or external things. The goal of the Vedas is to help the soul unite with God. Once the soul becomes God-realized, the rules of the Vedas, which helped the soul to reach that destination, no longer apply. And once we have reached this stage, we get liberation, going to Krishna’s eternal abode.

The importance of feelings or bhava

One thing to keep in mind is that God does not respond to words, He responds to feelings. We must have the feeling of faith, gratefulness and devotion. We can sit and chant His name a million times however it will not have much impact if it is not accompanied by loving devotional feeling. On the contrary, chanting even once with extreme devotion is heard by Krishna and endears us to him. 

Maintaining a minimum count for daily chanting is a good practice. However, what is more important is that we focus on the chanting and focus on Shri Krishna, with a mindset of love and humility. Otherwise, we can chant a million times mechanically, while our minds are wandering everywhere and thinking about a thousand different things. That will not help us progress and evolve spiritually. 

Shri Krishna clearly says that the bhava is important. And he has said that he will reciprocate the same way we approach him. If we approach him with a bhava of devotion and surrender, he will also treat us with love. If we only mechanically worship him, then we will also have to deal with the mechanical aspect of God which is the merciless machine of cause of effect, or the karmic cycles. 

Krishna says that if you take a step towards me, I will also take a step towards you. Ignorant people will say that Krishna is not having a big heart as he takes only one step for every one step we take! However, what they don’t realize is that Krishna’s one step is a lot bigger and faster than a million steps of ours. Shri Krishna wants us to understand these teachings of His, purify ourselves and approach Him with love, humility and faith and surrender to Him, and he will take care of all our needs. He is recommending that we focus on such devotional service to him instead of praying to demi Gods for short term gains. Krishna wants us to understand that the demi Gods derive their powers from Him only and so we have the option to directly reach out to the supreme and get His infinite mercy.

The demi gods, based on our prayers, give us what we want. However, Lord Shri Krishna knows what we need and will take care of our needs without us even asking for anything.

Pragma 6: Worship the supreme God and worship only out of love, not with the intent of gaining something.

You can find the explanation for the next set of Shlokas, 4.13 to 4.20 over here.

References:

https://www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org/
https://www.rkmathharipad.org/video/bhagavad-gita-lectures-by-swami-ranganathanandaji/
https://www.asitis.com/

kṛṣṇadaasa
Servant of Krishna
Aka +Vinayak Raghuvamshi