March 30 – Bhagavadgita Chapter 4; Verses 4.10 (Day 90) Karma Yoga

 March 30 – Day 90

Verse 4.10

वीतरागभयक्रोधा मन्मया मामुपाश्रिताः ।

बहवो ज्ञानतपसा पूता मद्भावमागताः ॥ ४-१०॥ 

vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhā man-mayā mām upāśhritāḥ
bahavo jñāna-tapasā pūtā mad-bhāvam āgatāḥ (4.10) 

வீத¹ராக³ப⁴யக்¹ரோதா⁴ மன்மயா மாமுபா¹ஶ்ரிதா¹: |
ப³ஹவோ ஞானத¹ப¹ஸா பூ¹தா¹ மத்³பா⁴வமாக³தா¹: ||4.10|| 

10. Freed from attachment, fear and anger, absorbed in Me, taking refuge in Me, purified by the fire of knowledge, many have attained to My Being. 

Commentary: When one gets knowledge of the Self, attachment to sense-objects ceases.  When he realizes he is the constant, indestructible, eternal Self and that change is simply a quality of the body, then he becomes fearless.  When he becomes desireless, when he is free from selfishness, when he beholds the Self only everywhere, how can anger arise in him?

He who takes refuge in Brahman or the Absolute becomes firmly devoted to Him.  He becomes absorbed in Him (Brahmalina or Brahmanishtha). Jnanatapas is the fire of wisdom.  Just as fire burns cotton, so also this Jnanatapas burns all the latent tendencies (Vasanas), cravings (Trishnas), mental impressions (Samskaras), sins and all actions, and purifies the aspirants.  (Cf. II.56; IV. 19-37)

Commentary by Swami Venkatesananda:

When we are thus convinced of the divine purpose behind this creation, viz., the establishment of righteousness and the destruction of evil, we give up vainly craving for the objects of the world and getting attached to them. Desire and anger cease in us. When we assure ourselves of God’s protection if we are good, then fear ceases. The good can never be harmed by anyone; and here, legends and history assure us that the truly good man blesses his oppressors, for they compel him to seek refuge at the feet of God. Western psychology tells us that ‘likes, dislikes and fear’ are present even in a new-born baby. But these are absent in the yogi! There is a radical transmutation.

All this is possible only if we kindle the fire of knowledge within us and keep it forever alive. This fire dispels the darkness of ignorance and gives us the comfort of the warmth of divine assurance. It saves us from the pit of temptations, from the evil within ourselves, and promotes goodness in us; for we begin to realise that goodness is closer to God. This knowledge confers upon us the greatest boon of forbearance and fortitude to endure the fleabites of evil forces in the certain conviction that they cannot harm us, but on the contrary, they do keep us awake in God.

This knowledge thus liberates us from our own evil tendencies and reveals to us that even the good ones are but the protégés of God. True goodness and righteousness belong to him. We are immediately filled with wonderment and gratitude in which we let our little ego be absorbed in him. We attain to God’s being. We return to the centre, source and goal of our being, the ground of our existence.

The knower of God becomes God; says the upaniṣad: charcoal offered into fire becomes fire. This man-of-god is man only to our human vision – in truth he is one with God. 

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