March 19 – Bhagavadgita Chapter 3; Verses 3.33-3.34 (Day 79) Karma Yoga

 March 19 – Day 79

Verse 3.33-3.34 

सदृशं चेष्टते स्वस्याः प्रकृतेर्ज्ञानवानपि ।

प्रकृतिं यान्ति भूतानि निग्रहः किं करिष्यति ॥ ३-३३॥ 

sadṛiśhaṁ cheṣhṭate swasyāḥ prakṛiter jñānavān api
prakṛitiṁ yānti bhūtāni nigrahaḥ kiṁ kariṣhyati (33) 

ஸத்³ருஶம் சே¹ஷ்ட¹தே¹ ஸ்வஸ்யா: ப்¹ரக்¹ருதே¹ர்ஞானவானபி¹ |
ப்¹ரக்ருதி¹ம் யாந்தி¹ பூ⁴தா¹னி நிக்¹ரஹ:கி¹ம் க¹ரிஷ்யதி¹ ||33|| 

33. Even a wise man acts in accordance with his own nature; beings will follow nature; what can restraint do? 

COMMENTARY: He who reads this verse will come to the conclusion that there is no scope for man’s personal exertion.  It is not so.  Read the following verse.  It clearly indicates that man can conquer Nature if he rises above the sway of Raga-Dvesha (love and hatred).

Only the passionate and ignorant man comes under the sway of his natural propensities, and his lower nature. He cannot have any restraint over the senses and the two currents of likes and dislikes. The seeker after Truth who is endowed with the ‘Four Means’ and who constantly practises meditation, can easily control Nature if he rises above the sway of the pairs of opposites, like love and hate, etc. (Cf. II.60; V.14; XVIII.59) 

इन्द्रियस्येन्द्रियस्यार्थे रागद्वेषौ व्यवस्थितौ ।

तयोर्न वशमागच्छेत्तौ ह्यस्य परिपन्थिनौ ॥ ३-३४॥ 

indriyasyendriyasyārthe rāga-dweṣhau vyavasthitau
tayor na vaśham āgachchhet tau hyasya paripanthinau (34) 

இந்த்³ரியஸ்யேன்த்³ரியஸ்யார்தே² ராக³த்³வேஷௌ வ்யவஸ்தி²தௌ¹ |
த¹யோர்ன வஶமாக³ச்¹சே²த்²தௌ¹ ஹ்யஸ்ய ப¹ரிபன்தி²னௌ ||34|| 

34. Attachment and aversion for the objects of the senses abide in the senses; let none come under their sway, for they are his foes. 

COMMENTARY: Each sense has got attraction for a pleasant object and aversion for a disagreeable object.  If one can control these two currents, viz., attachment and aversion, he will not come under the sway of these two currents.  Here lies the scope for personal exertion or Purushartha. Nature which contains the sum total of one’s Samskaras or the latent self-productive impressions of the past actions of merit and demerit draws a man to its course through the two currents, attachment and aversion.  If one can control these two currents, if he can rise above the sway of love and hate through discrimination and Vichara or right enquiry, he can conquer Nature and attain immortality and eternal bliss. He will no longer be subject to his own nature now.  One should always exert to free himself from attachment and aversion to the objects of the senses. 

Commentary by Swami Venkatesananda [verses 33-34] 

Your physical body (and mind) and the senses are part of the cosmic nature of God and hence not ‘yours’. They function in accordance with the nature of the energy or power they possess. The eyes see illumined objects. The ears hear sounds. The tongue tastes. These things happen even in the case of the wisest of men, so long as there is life in the body. As long as the mind is linked with the body, the senses will function naturally.

There is a vibratory correlation between the senses and their particular objects. It is like wavelengths and the broadcasting system. When you tune the radio, at a particular point the receiver picks up certain wavelengths (short, medium or long) and not others. The vibratory scale of light and sight, sound and ear, smell and nose, etc., are identical, and so they mutually react. This reaction is either favourable or unfavourable, in accordance with whether the sensation is pleasant or unpleasant. Up to this point, the process is automatic and mechanical. If the mind is introverted and the intelligence is united with the self, there will be equilibrium within oneself even though the senses might continue to react naturally. But if the mind (through thought) registers a pleasant experience, for example, likes it, revives it as memory and hope, and desires a repetition, the chainreaction towards self-destruction is set in motion. (cf II:62, 63).

The Kṛṣṇa-approach should not be missed. You cannot assume what nature is, and what is natural. Man’s mind has suffered terrible pollution over thousands of years with what we call civilization and tradition. To be natural is to live as the image of God!

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