April 15 – Bhagavadgita Chapter 4; Verses 4.38-4.39 (Day 106) Karma Yoga

 April 15 – Day 106

Verse 4.38-4.39

न हि ज्ञानेन सदृशं पवित्रमिह विद्यते ।

तत्स्वयं योगसंसिद्धः कालेनात्मनि विन्दति ॥ ४-३८॥ 

na hi jñānena sadṛiśhaṁ pavitram iha vidyate
tat swayaṁ yogasansiddhaḥ kālenātmani vindati (4.38) 

நஹி ஞானேன ஸத்³ருஶம் ப¹வித்¹ரமிஹ வித்³யதே¹ |
த¹த்¹ஸ்வயம் யோக³ஸந்ஸித்⁴த³ஹ கா¹லேனாத்¹மனி விந்த³தி¹ ||4.38|| 

38. Verily there is no purifier in this world like knowledge. He who is perfected in Yoga finds it in the Self in time. 

Commentary: There exists no purifier equal to knowledge of the Self.  He who has attained perfection by the constant practice of Karma Yoga and Dhyana Yoga (the Yoga of meditation) will, after a time, find the knowledge of the Self in himself. 

श्रद्धावाँल्लभते ज्ञानं तत्परः संयतेन्द्रियः ।

ज्ञानं लब्ध्वा परां शान्तिमचिरेणाधिगच्छति ॥ ४-३९॥ 

śhraddhāvānllabhate jñānaṁ tat-paraḥ samyatendriyaḥ
jñānaṁ labdhvā parāṁ śhāntim achireṇādhigachchhati (4.39) 

ஶ்ரத்³தா⁴வான் லப⁴தே¹ ஞானம் த¹த்¹ப¹ரஹ ஸந்யதே¹ந்த்³ரியஹ |
ஞானம் லப்³த்⁴வா ப¹ராம் ஶான்தி¹மசி¹ரேணாதி⁴க³ச்¹ச²தி¹ ||4.39|| 

39. The man who is full of faith, who is devoted to it, and who has subdued all the senses, obtains (this) knowledge; and, having obtained the knowledge, he goes at once to the supreme peace. 

Commentary: He who is full of faith, who constantly serves his Guru and hears his teachings, who has subdued the senses surely gets the knowledge and quickly attains the supreme peace or salvation (Moksha).  All the above three qualifications are indispensable for an aspirant if he wants to attain to the supreme peace of the Eternal quickly.  One qualification alone will not suffice.  (Cf. X. 10,11) 

Commentary by Swami Venkatesananda:

No one is barred from knowledge of God or self-realization. No one is eternally damned here. All beings will gradually evolve into perfection. In due time, every living being (even a worm which you may tread on!) will attain perfection in yoga and find knowledge in the self. That is the purpose of creation; the world exists to provide schooling for the individual so that it may attain perfection. Perfection is the direct experience that imperfection (self-limitation, sin and sorrow) is but a dream. Self-realization is the truth: self is ever real!

There are some who say: “We shall get it in due time – why bother?” They fail to see that only when the time has come does one bother. The pregnant woman bides her time. It is only when the time arrives that she bothers! Not that she bothers because she wants to. The seeker cannot help it; his time has come. For the others, too, the time will come, for all are evolving towards perfection.

How can we recognize whose time has arrived? By faith. The seeker who is at the threshold of knowledge is full of faith. This faith is totally different from the faith (blind, biased belief) that breeds conflict. This faith is born of a veiled vision of truth. In the ignorant the truth is veiled; in the faithful truth shines through the veil. This faith compels him to be devoted to that, the self or God, with his body, mind, heart and whole being. This whole-souled devotion is accompanied by its natural corollary – he is self-controlled and his mind and senses do not run riot. All this burns the veil and reveals knowledge.

This knowledge quickly leads the seeker to the supreme peace or Brahman. 

-*-