1The Blessed Lord said: This imperishable yoga I declared to Vivasvân; Vivasvân taught it to Manu; Manu to Ikshvâku told it.
If from egoism thou wilt not listen, thou shalt be destroyed utterly. 18:58
4:1-12
1The Blessed Lord said: This imperishable yoga I declared to Vivasvân; Vivasvân taught it to Manu; Manu to Ikshvâku told it.
Krishna said,
This is the yoga that I taught to Vivasvân, who taught it to Manu, who taught it to Ikshvâku. [1]
2This, handed on down the line, the King-Sages knew. This yoga by great efflux of time decayed in the world, O Parantapa.
It was handed down to the king-sages, but it decayed over time.
3This same ancient yoga hath been to-day declared to thee by Me, for thou art My devotee and My friend; it is the supreme Secret.
It's the same yoga that I'm teaching to you. It is the supreme secret.
4 Arjuna said: Later was Thy birth, earlier the birth of Vivasvân; how then am I to understand that Thou declaredst it in the beginning?
5The Blessed Lord said: Many births have been left behind by Me and by thee, O Arjuna. I know them all, but thou knowest not thine, O Parantapa.
6Though unborn, the imperishable Self, and also the Lord of all beings, brooding over nature which is Mine own, yet I am born through My own Power.
Though I've never been born, I am born through my own power.
7Whenever there is decay of righteousness, O Bhârata, and there is exaltation of unrighteousness, then I Myself come forth;
Whenever righteousness decays, I come forth.
8For the protection of the good, for the destruction of evil-doers, for the sake of firmly establishing righteousness, I am born from age to age.
I am born from age to age to protect the good, destroy evil-doers, and establish righteousness.
9He who thus knoweth My divine birth and action, in its essence, having abandoned the body, cometh not to birth again, but cometh unto Me, O Arjuna.
10Freed from passion, fear and anger, filled with Me, taking refuge in Me, purified in the fire of wisdom, many have entered into My Being.
Many have entered into my being.
11However men approach Me, even so do I welcome them, for the path men take from every side is Mine, O Pârtha.
12They who long after success in action on earth worship the Shining Ones; for in brief space verily, in this world of men, success is born of action.
Those who long after success worship the Shining Ones.
4:13
13The four castes were emanated by Me, by the different distribution of qualities and actions; know Me to be the author of them, though the actionless and inexhaustible.
The four castes were created by me.
I am the author of them.
4:14-38
14Nor do actions affect Me, nor is the fruit of action desired by Me. He who thus knoweth Me is not bound by actions.
Actions don't affect me.
And I don't desire any particular outcome.
15Having thus known, our forefathers, ever seeking liberation, performed action; therefore do thou also perform action, as did our forefathers in the olden time.
So perform actions.
16"What is action, what inaction"? Even the wise are herein perplexed. Therefore I will declare to thee the action by knowing which thou shalt be loosed from evil.
17It is needful to discriminate action, to discriminate unlawful action, and to discriminate inaction; mysterious is the path of action.
18He who seeth inaction in action, and action in inaction, he is wise among men, he is harmonious, even while performing all action.
Wise people see inaction in action, and action in inaction.
19Whose works are all free from the moulding of desire, whose actions are burned up by the fire of wisdom, him the wise have called a Sage.
20Having abandoned attachment to the fruit of action, always content, nowhere seeking refuge, he is not doing anything, although doing actions.
21Hoping for naught, his mind and self controlled, having abandoned all greed, performing action by the body alone, he doth not commit sin.
22Content with whatsoever he obtaineth without effort, free from the pairs of opposites, without envy, balanced in success and failure, though acting he is not bound.
23Of one with attachment dead, harmonious, with his thoughts established in wisdom, his works sacrifices, all action melts away.
24The Eternal the oblation, the Eternal the clarified butter, are offered in the Eternal the fire by the Eternal; unto the Eternal verily shall he go who in his action meditateth wholly upon the Eternal.
25Some Yogis offer up sacrifice to the Shining Ones; others sacrifice only by pouring sacrifice into the fire of the Eternal;
26Some pour as sacrifice hearing and the other senses into the fires of restraint; some pour sound and the other objects of sense into the fires of the senses as sacrifice;
27Others again into the wisdom-kindled fire of union attained by self-control, pour as sacrifice all the functions of the senses and the functions of life;
28Yet others the sacrifice of wealth, the sacrifice of austerity, the sacrifice of yoga, the sacrifice of silent reading and wisdom, men concentrated and of effectual vows;
29Yet others pour as sacrifice the outgoing breath in the incoming, and the incoming in the outgoing, restraining the flow of the outgoing and incoming breaths, solely absorbed in the control of breathing.
30Others regular in food, pour as sacrifice their life-breaths in life-breaths. All these are knowers of sacrifice, and by sacrifice have destroyed their sins.
31The eaters of the life-giving remains of sacrifice go to the changeless Eternal. This world is not for the non-sacrificer, much less the other, O best of the Kurus.
32Many and various sacrifices are thus spread out before the Eternal. Know thou that all these are born of action, and thus knowing thou shalt be free.
33Better than the sacrifice of any objects is the sacrifice of wisdom, O Parantapa. All actions in their entirety, O Pârtha, culminate in wisdom.
34Learn thou this by discipleship, by investigation, and by service. The wise, the seers of the essence of things, will instruct thee in wisdom.
35And having known this, thou shalt not again fall into this confusion, O Pândava; for by this thou wilt see all beings without exception in the Self, and thus in Me.
36Even if thou art the most sinful of all sinners, yet shalt thou cross over all sin by the raft of wisdom.
37As the burning fire reduces fuel to ashes, O Arjuna, so doth the fire of wisdom reduce all actions to ashes.
38Verily there is no purifier in this world like wisdom; he that is perfected in yoga finds it in the Self in due season.
4:39-42
39The man who is full of faith obtaineth wisdom, and he also who hath mastery over his senses; and, having obtained wisdom, he goeth swiftly to the supreme Peace.
Those who are full of faith obtain wisdom, and will go swiftly to the supreme Peace.
40But the ignorant, faithless, doubting self goeth to destruction; nor this world, nor that beyond, nor happiness, is there for the doubting self.
But the ignorant, faithless, doubters go to destruction.
There is no happiness for the doubting self.
41He who hath renounced actions by yoga, who hath cloven asunder doubt by wisdom, who is ruled by the Self, actions do not bind him, O Dhananjaya.
42Therefore, with the sword of the wisdom of the Self cleaving asunder this ignorance-born doubt dwelling in thy heart, be established in yoga. Stand up, O Bhârata.
So smite your ignorance-born doubt witht the sword of wisdom and be established in yoga.
