Srimad BhagavadGita

In the previous two ślokās Arjuna asked, 'O Kṛṣṇa, please tell me that which is not mutually contradicting'. Kṛṣṇa responds in this ślokā by explaining that HIS earlier teachings were not contradictory with each other.

Kṛṣṇa says, "O sinless one! I, who speaks reality and is greatly compassionate, have specifically told in the previous chapter about the two fold state in this world which is full of people with different qualifications. Eligibility in jñāna yoga which is for those endowed with buddhi (for those not pulled by the objects of the senses like sounds, forms, etc. and whose intelligence is fixed on the soul) and eligibility in karma yoga which is for those qualified for karma yoga alone (for those with soul knowledge but inclined towards experiencing the sense objects."

asmin loke (In this world full to people with different qualifications) With these words Kṛṣṇa makes it clear that those qualified for karma yoga are different from those qualified for jñāna yoga. Just as the śāstrās prescribe different activities for those with different qualifications based on differences in their varṇās (class in life), āśramās (stage in life), time zones, personal liking, individual destinies, etc. Similarly karma yoga and jñāna yoga which are mutually different from each other are prescribed to different people based on the differences in their qualifications.

dvividhā niṣṭhā purā proktā (In the previous chapter, it was told that karma yoga and jñāna yoga are the two different states in people based on the differences in their qualifications)

    proktā The word 'proktā' means prakarṣeṇa uktā (was explained in detail). Explaining in detail means that

it was clearly stated that karma yoga and jñāna yoga are two different practices applicable to people based

on their respective qualifications.

mayā (by ME) By saying 'mayā', Kṛṣṇa conveys the following, 'Like a doctor who prescribes medicines based on the state of the patient's body, I am a doctor who treats the chronic disease called 'birth' by recognising the qualifications of the people and prescribe to them, the yoga which is best for their qualifications. It also means 'By ME who is free from even the slightest tinge of the four material defects namely avidyā (ignorance), vipralambha (deceit), vyāmohaṃ (bewilderment), aśakti (incapacity)'.

anagha (sinless one) By saying 'mayā,' Kṛṣṇa conveys the following, 'O Arjuna, unlike the sinners who are interested only in the pleasures of the material world, you are qualified for karma yoga as you are free from sin and thus eligible for mokṣa. One who is free from sin and comparatively purer than you is qualified for jñāna yoga.

Q: When Arjuna is desirous of mokṣa and there is a directly perceivable means called jñāna yoga that must be practised, why is Arjuna instructed to practise karma yoga which is only a means to jñāna yoga?

A: Developing a desire for mokṣa does not make someone instantly qualified to perform jñāna yoga. For gaining qualification in an area, factors like desire, capability and strength are considered. Some people may have the desire for mokṣa but they may lack the strength to pull back the senses from the experience of their objects and practise jñāna yoga. Only a few who would have performed puṇyās in countless earlier lifetimes and cleansed their pāpās gain the strength required to practise jñāna yoga and also the qualification for it (Note: When duties prescribed by Paramapuruṣa in the śāstrās are performed HE gets pleased. These are termed as puṇyās. When Paramapuruṣa gets pleased HE removes our pāpās which obstruct our progress on the path of moksha)

    Q: Does it mean that one who lacks such a strength will always remain unqualified for jñāna yoga? Isn't

karma yoga which is said to provide this strength, contrary to jñāna yoga?

    A: jñāna yoga and karma yoga are not opposed to each other. Karma yoga is in fact conducive to

jñāna yoga. varṇāśramācāravatā puruṣeṇa paraḥ pumān | viṣṇurārādhyate panthāḥ nanya stat-

toṣa-kārakaḥ || Viṣṇu Purāṇa 3.8.9 (Viṣṇu who is Paramapuruṣa is pleased only by a person who performs

duties based on his varṇa and āśrama. There exists no other way to please HIM) yataḥ pravṛttir

bhūtānāṃ yena sarvam idaṃ tatam sva-karmaṇā tam abhyarcya siddhiṃ vindati mānavaḥ B.G

18.46 (By worshipping HIM, from whom all beings have evolved and by whom all this is pervaded, through

the performance of one's own varṇa āśrama duties, perfection is attained) These statements from the śāstrās

too assert the same. Actions performed without attachment towards their rewards serve as a form of

Paramapuruṣā's worship and make the performer a recipient of HIS affection. This Paramapuruṣa is

omniscient, all powerful, the strongest and the sole seat of compassion. Due to a conscious being's sins from

beginning less time, his mind is full of rajo and tamo guṇās. As a result of the most auspicious

Paramapuruṣā's affection these two guṇās in the conscious being's mind get reduced and sattva guṇa

increases. This further results in reduction of his attachment towards worldly matters, which was so far

obstructing his inclination towards jñāna yoga. He thus becomes eligible and qualified for jñāna yoga.

Freedom from attachment towards experiencing worldly matters is a prerequisite for dedicated practise of 

   jñāna yoga. Since Karma yoga reduces this attachment, it is certainly favourable to jñāna yoga and not

opposed to it as assumed by Arjuna.

Q: Arjuna expressed the doubt that since performance of karma yoga involves associating the senses with the sense objects and performance of jñāna yoga requires restrain of the senses from their objects, how can karma yoga be the means to jñāna yoga when their processes are opposed to each other?

A: With the words ‘asmin loke’, Kṛṣṇa clears Arjunā's doubt by the abhyupagamyavāda method of debate where in the contradictory nature of karma yoga and jñāna yoga is accepted and it is told that each is imposed on different individuals on the basis of their qualifications. It is thus established that even though there seems to be a visible difference between karma yoga and jñāna yoga, Paramapuruṣā's affection is the invisible secret element which makes karma yoga assist jñāna yoga. It is worth noting here that a karma yogi's association with the sense objects is driven by the highest purpose called Bhagawān and not the purpose of enjoying them, therefore there is no visible difference between them too. The vedās too state the same, dharmeṇa pāpamapanudati Taittiriya Nārāyaṇānuvākaḥ 50 (By karma he is getting rid of sin). For the same reason, in the second chapter, Kṛṣṇa first says karmaṇy-evādhikāras te mā phaleṣu kadācana B.G 2.47 (work must be performed without attachment towards its reward) followed by yadā te mohakalilaṃ buddhir vyati-tariṣyati B.G 2.52 (with the practise of karma yoga his intellect passes beyond the delusion caused by attachment with objects of the senses) and with the words prajahāti yadā kāmān... B.G 2.55 Kṛṣṇa begins to instruct about jñāna yoga. This is mentioned by Kṛṣṇa with the words of this ślokā purā mayā proktā (in the previous chapter it was specifically told by ME). Kṛṣṇa is going to elaborate on this now.

jñāna-yogena sāṇkhyānāṃ It was told earlier that one who is inclined towards the soul is situated in the dedicated practise of jñāna yoga.

    sāṇkhyānāṃ The word sāṇkhyānāṃ does not refer to the followers of the sāṇkhyā philosophy here as it is

out of context. The word saṇkhyā refers to buddhi. Going by the present context, saṇkhyā here specifically

refers to the 'the buddhi which is inclined towards the soul'. The possessor of such a buddhi is called a

‘sāṇkhyā’.

yoginām karma-yogena Similarly, along with an inclination towards the soul, one who is inclined towards the experience of sense objects too is situated in karma yoga alone.

    yoginām In line with the ongoing context, the word ‘yoginām’ here refers to a karma yogi. Those qualified

for karma yoga are being referred to as yogīs.

Summary:

In this ślokā Kṛṣṇa reaffirms to Arjuna that as told by HIM in the earlier chapter, one who is influenced by the sense objects is qualified for karma yoga and one whose mind is not influenced at all by the sense objects is qualified for jñāna yoga and therefore there is absolutely no contradiction in HIS instructions to Arjuna.