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Lessons from the Bhagavad Gita

September 30, 2022

“Pleasures conceived in the world of senses have a beginning and end, and give birth to misery. The wise do not look for happiness there, but find their joy completely within themselves." - Krishna

The Bhagavad Gita is one of the oldest manuals on how to live a good life.

It is the most popular Hindu text, and is perhaps most famous in the West because Oppenheimer quoted it as he saw the first nuclear bomb explode.

“Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”

However, the book is not about death, but about life.

It contains some of the oldest thinking on what it means to live well.

(The following dialogue is based on the Bhagavad Gita, though it only covers a small portion of the ideas in the book. If you want more, you should definitely read the book. It's fairly short and can be read in just a few hours.)

DKB: I’ve been trying to make it as an online writer for a long time now, but it doesn’t seem to be working out. I’m starting to wonder if I should just quit and do something else.

Krishna: People who are motivated only by the desire for the fruits of action are miserable. They’re always anxious about the results of what they do.1

If you want a peaceful mind, you should never engage in any action for the sake of reward. Do your work without selfish attachments, and strive to be the same in success and defeat. 2

You are driven by selfish desire, which leads to pain and anxiety.

You are missing the goal of life entirely.

DKB: Oh really? What’s the right way to live then?

Krishna: Pleasures conceived in the world of senses have a beginning and end, and give birth to misery. The wise do not look for happiness there, but find their joy completely within themselves.3

When you keep thinking about sense objects, attachment comes. Attachment leads to desire, the lust of possession which burns to anger. Anger clouds the judgment. You can no longer learn from past mistakes. Lost is the power to choose between what is wise and what is unwise, and your life is utter waste.4

But when you move amidst the world of sense, free from attachment and aversion alike, you find true peace, and live in the wisdom of the Self.

Working for the good of all beings, the wise attain nirvana in Brahman. Free from selfish desire, and unified in mind, those who realize the Self are established forever in that supreme state.5

They live in freedom who have gone beyond the dualities of life. Competing with no one, they are alike in success and failure, and content with whatever comes to them. They perform all work in the spirit of service, and their karma is dissolved.6

DKB: It would be amazing to never be affected by failure, and always be at peace. That would make me a lot more productive.

But you lost me with all of the spiritual stuff. What is “the Self” and all the other terminology you’re using?

Krishna: There has never been a time when you and I have not existed, nor will there ever be a time when we will cease to exist.7

The same person lives in the body throughout childhood, youth, and old age. And in the same way, at the time of death, that person attains another body.

The impermanent has no reality. Reality lies in the eternal.8

The body is mortal, but the Self or the Soul which dwells in the body is immortal and immeasurable. The Self is unmanifested, beyond all thought, and beyond all change.

Every selfless act is born from Brahman, the eternal and infinite Godhead. Brahman is present in every act of service. All life turns on this law. Those who violate it, indulging the senses for their own pleasure, and ignoring the needs of others, have wasted their life.9

Those who realize the Self are always satisfied. They no longer seek happiness from the external world, because they have found the true source of joy and fulfilment.

They have nothing to gain or lose by any action.

Neither people nor things can affect their security.

DKB: No offense, but I’m not religious, and all of this stuff is really far out there. That being said, I would like to attain this peaceful state of mind. It sounds very useful for productivity and achieving my goals.

Can you tell me how to get into this mental state, but without all of the spiritual baggage?

Krishna: *sigh*

I see you are stuck in the Guna of Rajas.

DKB: I have no idea what those words mean.

Krishna: These words are difficult to describe in your language, but I’ll try my best. The Gunas are the three fundamental attributes of mind and matter. They can represent different levels of consciousness, or personality attributes.

Your thoughts and actions are determined by your proportion of the three Gunas.

The Gunas are Tamas, Rajas, and Sattva.

In oversimplified terms, Tamas is inertia, Rajas is activity, and Sattva is harmony.

DKB: Oh, it’s like the big five personality traits, but with three things instead?

Krishna: Uh…not really, it’s a lot more complicated than that, but let’s just go with that for now.

Once I explain how they work, you’ll be able to see them in the people all around you.

Sattva is pure, luminous, and free from sorrow. It binds us to happiness and wisdom.10

Rajas is passion, arising from selfish desire and attachment, which binds the Self to compulsive action, and greedy ends.

Tamasic people live a life of carelessness, laziness, and confusion.

Sattvic people give simply because it is right to give, without thinking of rewards. Giving with the expectation of getting something in return is Rajasic. Giving without affection or respect is Tamasic.11

Sattvic knowledge sees the one indestructible Being in all beings – the unity underlying the multiplicity of creation.12

Rajasic knowledge sees all creatures as separate and distinct.

Tamasic knowledge, lacking any sense of perspective, sees one small part and mistakes it for the whole.

Work performed to fulfill your obligations, without thinking of personal reward or whether the job is pleasant, is Sattvic. Work prompted by selfish desire, full of stress, is Rajasic. Work that is undertaken blindly, without any consideration of consequences or one’s own capabilities, is Tamasic.13

Sattvic workers are free from egotism and selfish attachments. They are full of enthusiasm and fortitude in success and failure alike.14

Rajasic workers have strong personal desires and crave rewards for their actions. They are easily swept away by good or bad fortune.

Tamasic workers are undisciplined, stubborn, and lazy. They find it difficult to get motivation, and are prone to procrastination.

There are also three kinds of happiness.15

The joy of Sattva seems like poison at first, but tastes like honey at the end. It is born of a mind at peace with itself.

Pleasure from the senses seems like honey at first, but is bitter like poison at the end. This is Rajasic happiness.

Tamasic people draw their pleasure from sleep, idleness, and intoxication. Both in the beginning and in the end, this kind of happiness is a delusion.

You are only focused on selfish rewards, and have no regard for anything else. You are stuck in Rajas. It is not a great place to be, though it is better than being stuck in Tamas.

DKB: Of course I’m trying to achieve selfish goals, I’m human! Humans are inherently selfish. What else would you expect from me?

Krishna: Selfish desire and anger arise from the Guna of Rajas. These are the appetites and evils which threaten a person in this life.16

Selfish desire is found in the senses, mind, and intellect. It misleads them and buries understanding in delusion.17

The senses are higher than the body, and the mind is higher than the senses. Above the mind is the intellect. Above the intellect is the Self. Knowing that the Self is supreme, let the Self rule the ego. Defeat the fierce enemy that is selfish desire.18

I have talked a lot about living wisely. Let me tell you what it means to live badly.

The foolish do things they should avoid, and avoid the things they should do. They have no sense of uprightness, purity, or truth.19

Hypocritical, proud, and arrogant, they are insatiable in their desires. They maintain with complete confidence that “Gratification of lust is the best that life can offer”.20

Bound on all sides by scheming and anxiety, driven by anger and greed, they amass money by any means for the satisfaction of their cravings.

“I got this today” they say, “tomorrow I will get that. This wealth is mine, and that will be mine too. I enjoy what I want. I am successful. I am powerful. I am happy.”

This is how they go on, deluded by ignorance, bound by their greed, and entangled in a web of delusion. Whirled about by a fragmented mind, they fall into a dark hell.

DKB: You know, all of these selfish desires would be easier to avoid if I renounced society and went to live in a cave or something.

Is that the kind of life you’re advocating?

Krishna: Both renunciation of action and the selfless performance of action lead to the supreme goal, but the path of action is better than renunciation.21

Those who have attained perfect renunciation are free from any sense of duality. They are unaffected by likes and dislikes, and free from the bondage of selfish desire.

But perfect renunciation is difficult to attain without performing action. As long as one has a body, one cannot renounce action altogether. True renunciation is giving up all desire for personal reward.22

Those who are attached to personal reward will reap the consequences of their actions: some pleasant, some unpleasant, some mixed. But those who renounce all desire for personal reward go beyond the reach of karma.

Those who follow the path of service, who have completely purified themselves and conquered their senses and desires, see the Self in all creatures, and are untouched by any action they perform.23

Fulfill all your duties. Action is better than inaction. Selfish action imprisons the world. Act selflessly, without any thought of personal profit.24

Writing is your Dharma. It is your duty.

It is what you were made to do.

So put out the best work that you can, then let go of the results.

DKB: Writing is a very difficult career to succeed at though. Perhaps I should switch to something easier...

Krishna: It is better to struggle in pursuit of your own Dharma than to succeed in the Dharma of another. By fulfilling the obligations you are born with, you will never come to grief.25

You shouldn’t abandon your duty just because there are some challenges along the way. Every activity is surrounded by challenges, just like a fire is surrounded by smoke.

Blindly renouncing your duties is Tamasic. Avoiding action because of fear or difficulty is Rajasic.26

To fulfill your responsibilities knowing that they are obligatory, while desiring nothing for yourself, is Sattvic renunciation. Those endowed with Sattva are not intimidated by unpleasant work, nor do they seek a job because it is pleasant.

The ignorant work for their own profit, but the wise work for the benefit of all, without thought for themselves.27

Strive constantly to serve the welfare of the world. By devotion to selfless work, one attains the supreme goal of life.28

You're trapped.

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Footnotes

  1. "Seek refuge in the attitude of detachment and you will amass the wealth of spiritual awareness. Those who are motivated only by desire for the fruits of action are miserable, for they are constantly anxious about the results of what they do. When consciousness is unified, however, all vain anxiety is left behind. There is no cause for worry, whether things go well or ill. Therefore, devote yourself to the disciplines of yoga, for yoga is skill in action." ↩

  2. "You have the right to work, but never to the fruit of work. You should never engage in action for the sake of reward, nor should you long for inaction. Perform work in this world, Arjuna, as a man established within himself – without selfish attachments, and alike in success and defeat. For yoga is perfect evenness of mind." ↩

  3. "Pleasures conceived in the world of the senses have a beginning and an end and give birth to misery, Arjuna. The wise do not look for happiness in them. But those who overcome the impulses of lust and anger which arise in the body are made whole and live in joy. They find their joy, their rest, and their light completely within themselves. United with the Lord, they attain nirvana in Brahman." ↩

  4. "When you keep thinking about sense objects, attachment comes. Attachment breeds desire, the lust of possession that burns to anger. Anger clouds the judgment; you can no longer learn from past mistakes. Lost is the power to choose between what is wise and what is unwise, and your life is utter waste. But when you move amidst the world of sense, free from attachment and aversion alike, there comes the peace in which all sorrows end, and you live in the wisdom of the Self." ↩

  5. "Healed of their sins and conflicts, working for the good of all beings, the holy sages attain nirvana in Brahman. Free from anger and selfish desire, unified in mind, those who follow the path of yoga and realize the Self are established forever in that supreme state." ↩

  6. "They live in freedom who have gone beyond the dualities of life. Competing with no one, they are alike in success and failure and content with whatever comes to them. They are free, without selfish attachments; their minds are fixed in knowledge. They perform all work in the spirit of service, and their karma is dissolved." ↩

  7. "There has never been a time when you and I and the kings gathered here have not existed, nor will there be a time when we will cease to exist. As the same person inhabits the body through childhood, youth, and old age, so too at the time of death he attains another body. The wise are not deluded by these changes." ↩

  8. "The impermanent has no reality; reality lies in the eternal. Those who have seen the boundary between these two have attained the end of all knowledge. Realize that which pervades the universe and is indestructible; no power can affect this unchanging, imperishable reality. The body is mortal, but that which dwells in the body is immortal and immeasurable. Therefore, Arjuna, fight in this battle." ↩

  9. "Every selfless act, Arjuna, is born from Brahman, the eternal, infinite Godhead. Brahman is present in every act of service. All life turns on this law, O Arjuna. Those who violate it, indulging the senses for their own pleasure and ignoring the needs of others, have wasted their life. But those who realize the Self are always satisfied. Having found the source of joy and fulfillment, they no longer seek happiness from the external world. They have nothing to gain or lose by any action; neither people nor things can affect their security." ↩

  10. "It is the three gunas born of prakriti – sattva, rajas, and tamas – that bind the immortal Self to the body. Sattva – pure, luminous, and free from sorrow – binds us with attachment to happiness and wisdom. Rajas is passion, arising from selfish desire and attachment. These bind the Self with compulsive action. Tamas, born of ignorance, deludes all creatures through heedlessness, indolence, and sleep." ↩

  11. "Giving simply because it is right to give, without thought of return, at a proper time, in proper circumstances, and to a worthy person, is sattvic giving. Giving with regrets or in the expectation of receiving some favor or of getting something in return is rajasic. Giving at an inappropriate time, in inappropriate circumstances, and to an unworthy person, without affection or respect, is tamasic." ↩

  12. "Sattvic knowledge sees the one indestructible Being in all beings, the unity underlying the multiplicity of creation. Rajasic knowledge sees all things and creatures as separate and distinct. Tamasic knowledge, lacking any sense of perspective, sees one small part and mistakes it for the whole." ↩

  13. "Work performed to fulfill one’s obligations, without thought of personal reward or of whether the job is pleasant or unpleasant, is sattvic. Work prompted by selfish desire or self-will, full of stress, is rajasic. Work that is undertaken blindly, without any consideration of consequences, waste, injury to others, or one’s own capacities, is tamasic." ↩

  14. "Sattvic workers are free from egotism and selfish attachments, full of enthusiasm and fortitude in success and failure alike. Rajasic workers have strong personal desires and crave rewards for their actions. Covetous, impure, and destructive, they are easily swept away by fortune, good or bad. Tamasic workers are undisciplined, vulgar, stubborn, deceitful, dishonest, and lazy. They are easily depressed and prone to procrastination." ↩

  15. "Now listen, Arjuna: there are also three kinds of happiness. By sustained effort, one comes to the end of sorrow. That which seems like poison at first, but tastes like nectar in the end – this is the joy of sattva, born of a mind at peace with itself. Pleasure from the senses seems like nectar at first, but it is bitter as poison in the end. This is the kind of happiness that comes to the rajasic. Those who are tamasic draw their pleasures from sleep, indolence, and intoxication. Both in the beginning and in the end, this happiness is a delusion." ↩

  16. "It is selfish desire and anger, arising from the guna of rajas; these are the appetites and evils which threaten a person in this life." ↩

  17. "Selfish desire is found in the senses, mind, and intellect, misleading them and burying the understanding in delusion. Fight with all your strength, Arjuna! Controlling your senses, conquer your enemy, the destroyer of knowledge and realization." ↩

  18. "The senses are higher than the body, the mind higher than the senses; above the mind is the intellect, and above the intellect is the Atman. Thus, knowing that which is supreme, let the Atman rule the ego. Use your mighty arms to slay the fierce enemy that is selfish desire." ↩

  19. "The demonic do things they should avoid and avoid the things they should do. They have no sense of uprightness, purity, or truth." ↩

  20. "“There is no God,” they say, “no truth, no spiritual law, no moral order. The basis of life is sex; what else can it be?” Holding such distorted views, possessing scant discrimination, they become enemies of the world, causing suffering and destruction. Hypocritical, proud, and arrogant, living in delusion and clinging to deluded ideas, insatiable in their desires, they pursue their unclean ends. Although burdened with fears that end only with death, they still maintain with complete assurance, “Gratification of lust is the highest that life can offer.” Bound on all sides by scheming and anxiety, driven by anger and greed, they amass by any means they can a hoard of money for the satisfaction of their cravings. “I got this today,” they say; “tomorrow I shall get that. This wealth is mine, and that will be mine too. I have destroyed my enemies. I shall destroy others too! Am I not like God? I enjoy what I want. I am successful. I am powerful. I am happy. I am rich and well-born. Who is equal to me? I will perform sacrifices and give gifts, and rejoice in my own generosity.” This is how they go on, deluded by ignorance. Bound by their greed and entangled in a web of delusion, whirled about by a fragmented mind, they fall into a dark hell."" ↩

  21. "Both renunciation of action and the selfless performance of action lead to the supreme goal. But the path of action is better than renunciation. Those who have attained perfect renunciation are free from any sense of duality; they are unaffected by likes and dislikes, Arjuna, and are free from the bondage of self-will. The immature think that knowledge and action are different, but the wise see them as the same. The person who is established in one path will attain the rewards of both. The goal of knowledge and the goal of service are the same; those who fail to see this are blind." ↩

  22. "As long as one has a body, one cannot renounce action altogether. True renunciation is giving up all desire for personal reward. Those who are attached to personal reward will reap the consequences of their actions: some pleasant, some unpleasant, some mixed. But those who renounce every desire for personal reward go beyond the reach of karma." ↩

  23. "Those who follow the path of service, who have completely purified themselves and conquered their senses and self-will, see the Self in all creatures and are untouched by any action they perform." ↩

  24. "Fulfill all your duties; action is better than inaction. Even to maintain your body, Arjuna, you are obliged to act. Selfish action imprisons the world. Act selflessly, without any thought of personal profit." ↩

  25. "It is better to perform one’s own duties imperfectly than to master the duties of another. By fulfilling the obligations he is born with, a person never comes to grief. No one should abandon duties because he sees defects in them. Every action, every activity, is surrounded by defects as a fire is surrounded by smoke." ↩

  26. "To renounce one’s responsibilities is not fitting. The wise call such deluded renunciation tamasic. To avoid action from fear of difficulty or physical discomfort is rajasic. There is no reward in such renunciation. But to fulfill your responsibilities knowing that they are obligatory, while at the same time desiring nothing for yourself – this is sattvic renunciation. Those endowed with sattva clearly understand the meaning of renunciation and do not waver. They are not intimidated by unpleasant work, nor do they seek a job because it is pleasant." ↩

  27. "The ignorant work for their own profit, Arjuna; the wise work for the welfare of the world, without thought for themselves." ↩

  28. "Strive constantly to serve the welfare of the world; by devotion to selfless work one attains the supreme goal of life. Do your work with the welfare of others always in mind. It was by such work that Janaka attained perfection; others too have followed this path." ↩

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