Sankhya Yoga 2.38

 Verse 2.38

सुखदु:खे समे कृत्वा लाभालाभौ जयाजयौ |

ततो युद्धाय युज्यस्व नैवं पापमवाप्स्यसि || 38||

sukha-duḥkhe same kṛitvā lābhālābhau jayājayau

tato yuddhāya yujyasva naivaṁ pāpam avāpsyasi

sukha—happiness; duḥkhe—in distress; same kṛitvā—treating alike; lābha-alābhau—gain and loss; jaya-ajayau—victory and defeat; tataḥ—thereafter; yuddhāya—for fighting; yujyasva—engage; na—never; evam—thus; pāpam—sin; avāpsyasi—shall incur

Fight for the sake of duty, treating alike happiness and distress, loss and gain, victory and defeat. Fulfilling your responsibility in this way, you will never incur sin.

The attitude to possess when performing one’s duty.

Krishna sows the seed of Karma Yoga here in this verse. That seed is the attitude of treating equally the sukha and dukha ( happiness and sorrow) that come as the result of one’s action. The Gita analyzes the psychology of likes and dislikes and provides a prescription to  treat one’s own likes and dislikes. Duryodhana is involved in this war on the basis of his hatred towards the Pandavas and his desire for the kingdom. Krishna says Arjuna should be involved in this war not based on his likes and dislikes but on the basis of what needs to be done by him as a Kshatriya. He commands Arjuna to do this battle for his swadharma. (yuddhaya yujyasva).

सम्यक् ख्यायते सा वैदिकी सम्यग्बुद्धि: साङ्ख्या। तया प्रकाश्यत्वेन सम्बन्धि तत्त्वं साङ्ख्यम्।

तद्विषया बुद्धि: साङ्ख्यबुद्धि:। सा साङ्ख्यबुद्धि: येषां ज्ञानिनाम् उचिता भवति ते साङ्ख्या:।

Brahman and the knowledge of Brahman are called sankhya. The wise who have the knowledge of brahman are called sankhyas. In his previous verses Bhagavan focused on the nature of Atma. Now in this verse he wants to begin the teaching of Karma Yoga. He says the one who treats happiness and distress, victory and defeat, gain and loss shall never incur sin. The ignorant people are naturally inclined towards victory and gain that bring about happiness and feel aversion toward defeat and loss that bring about sorrow. If a spiritual aspirant treats these dualities alike and simply performs his duties with a neutral attitude he will pave the way for his liberation. A karmayogi performs the same actions as a worldly person. But a huge difference lies in their attitude in performing those actions. So only the mental attitude determines if a function is binding or liberating.

Sankhya 2.36, 2.37

 Verse 2.36   

अवाच्यवादांश्च बहून्वदिष्यन्ति तवाहिता: |

निन्दन्तस्तव सामर्थ्यं ततो दु:खतरं नु किम् || 36||

avāchya-vādānśh cha bahūn vadiṣhyanti tavāhitāḥ

nindantastava sāmarthyaṁ tato duḥkhataraṁ nu kim

avāchya-vādān—using harsh words; cha—and; bahūn—many; vadiṣhyanti—will say; tava—your; ahitāḥ—enemies; nindantaḥ—defame; tava—your; sāmarthyam—might; tataḥ—than that; duḥkha-taram—more painful; nu—indeed; kim—what

Your enemies will defame and humiliate you with unkind words, disparaging your might. What could be more painful than that?

Not only those who used to praise Arjuna as a greatest warrior, but also those who are his enemies and those who expect him to fail will take this as an opportunity to talk ill about his abilities with horrible words. There is no more painful situation than this one.

Verse 2.37

हतो वा प्राप्स्यसि स्वर्गं जित्वा वा भोक्ष्यसे महीम् |

तस्मादुत्तिष्ठ कौन्तेय युद्धाय कृतनिश्चय: || 37||

hato vā prāpsyasi swargaṁ jitvā vā bhokṣhyase mahīm

tasmād uttiṣhṭha kaunteya yuddhāya kṛita-niśhchayaḥ

hataḥ—slain; vā—or; prāpsyasi—you will attain; swargam—heaven; jitvā—by achieving victory; vā—or; bhokṣhyase—you shall enjoy; mahīm—the kingdom on earth; tasmāt—therefore; uttiṣhṭha—arise; kaunteya—Arjuna, the son of Kunti; yuddhāya—for fight; kṛita-niśhchayaḥ—with determination

If you fight, you will either be slain on the battlefield and go to the celestial abodes, or you will gain victory and enjoy the kingdom on earth. Therefore arise with determination, O son of Kunti, and be prepared to fight.

The conclusion of the Dharma-Adharma explanation.

Arjuna can win this battle of dharma or die trying. These are the only two possibilities. If he loses the battle and dies he will enter heaven. Based on dharma shastra the one who performs his duty alone enters heaven. In case he wins the battle, he will eventually attain the kingdom and enjoy its benefits. He will not meet with defeat in either case. Hence Krishna asked Arjuna to arise with determination to wage this war.

Sankhya Yoga 2.35

 Verse 2.35

भयाद्रणादुपरतं मंस्यन्ते त्वां महारथा: |

येषां च त्वं बहुमतो भूत्वा यास्यसि लाघवम् || 35||

bhayād raṇād uparataṁ mansyante tvāṁ mahā-rathāḥ

yeṣhāṁ cha tvaṁ bahu-mato bhūtvā yāsyasi lāghavam

bhayāt—out of fear; raṇāt—from the battlefield; uparatam—have fled; maṁsyante—will think; tvām—you; mahā-rathāḥ—warriors who could single handedly match the strength of ten thousand ordinary warriors; yeṣhām—for whom; cha—and; tvam—you; bahu-mataḥ—high esteemed; bhūtvā—having been; yāsyasi—you will lose; lāghavam—decreased in value

The great generals who hold you in high esteem will think that you fled from the battlefield out of fear, and thus will lose their respect for you.

Arjuna has a reputation among the warriors as the one who had fought against mahadev shiva himself and received from him the pasupadasthram as a gift. Even kings like Duryodana praised his valor and brevity. In this time of trouble if Arjuna backs off from the battlefield, they would not appreciate his doing as he did this out of love. They would only ridicule him saying he retreated from the war out of fear (bhayath ranath uparatham). The praise could easily turn into mockery demeaning all his efforts (laghavam). It is not proper for Arjuna to do this act that brings about misery.

Sankhya Yoga 2.34

 Verse 2.34

अकीर्तिं चापि भूतानि कथयिष्यन्ति तेऽव्ययाम् |

सम्भावितस्य चाकीर्ति र्मरणादतिरिच्यते || 34||

akīrtiṁ chāpi bhūtāni kathayiṣhyanti te ’vyayām

sambhāvitasya chākīrtir maraṇād atirichyate

akīrtim—infamy; cha—and; api—also; bhūtāni—people; kathayiṣhyanti—will speak; te—of your; avyayām—everlasting; sambhāvitasya—of a respectable person; cha—and; akīrtiḥ—infamy; maraṇāt—than death; atirichyate—is greater

People will speak of you as a coward and a deserter. For a respectable person, infamy is worse than death.

The worldly loss due to failure to perform one’s duty

Not only the warriors at the battlefield, but even ordinary people will speak of Arjuna as a coward if he retreats from war without giving a fight. Even the people of the future generations will ridicule him. Arjuna has led a life of respectability and fame as a warrior all through his life. For a warrior like him, infamy is worse than death.

A spiritual aspirant is an extremely sensitive person. He would rather do his duty even if the odds are not in his favor than meet with ridicule and infamy. He should be aware that his swadharma has come upon him due to his prarabdha, and he is required to fulfill it no matter what. Many realized souls continue to perform their duties even after they attained enlightenment. They realize that things need to be done in order for the world to follow in their footsteps and are completely oblivious to the oncoming infamy if the duties are not performed. People like Arjuna are worldly and love to thrive in society. Hence it is imperative that they fear infamy and to avoid it, they should perform their duties without fail.

Sankhya Yoga 2.33

  Verse 2.33

अथ चेतत्त्वमिमं धर्म्यं संग्रामं न करिष्यसि |

तत: स्वधर्मं कीर्तिं च हित्वा पापमवाप्स्यसि || 33||

atha chet tvam imaṁ dharmyaṁ saṅgrāmaṁ na kariṣhyasi

tataḥ sva-dharmaṁ kīrtiṁ cha hitvā pāpam avāpsyasi

atha chet—if, however; tvam—you; imam—this; dharmyam saṅgrāmam—righteous war; na—not; kariṣhyasi—act; tataḥ—then; sva-dharmam—one’s duty in accordance with the Vedas; kīrtim—reputation; cha—and; hitvā—abandoning; pāpam—sin; avāpsyasi—will incur

If, however, you refuse to fight this righteous war, abandoning your social duty and reputation, you will certainly incur sin.

Arjuna had already argued that if he is engaged in this battle he will incur sin. But Krishna tells him otherwise. If Arjuna did not engage in this righteous war (dharmyam sangramam) he would lose his reputation and fall from his duty. Eventually, he will only incur sin.

What could be the sin that Krishna is talking about here? Performing one’s duty with a detached mindset over a period of time helps one attain mental purity. Only a mind that is devoid of any impurities and focused has the ability to receive and nourish self-knowledge. Krishna considers it a sin to forgo one’s duties because he who does it will be lost in his pursuit of freedom due to his inability to possess a qualified mind.

The one who does adharma meets with destruction. But the one who fails to do his swadharma, his duty at the right time will meet with greater destruction. Krishna says when one forgoes his duties, he forgoes his reputation as well.

Sankhya Yoga 2.32

 Verse 2.32

यदृच्छया चोपपन्नं स्वर्गद्वारमपावृतम् |

सुखिन: क्षत्रिया: पार्थ लभन्ते युद्धमीदृशम् || 32||

yadṛichchhayā chopapannaṁ swarga-dvāram apāvṛitam

sukhinaḥ kṣhatriyāḥ pārtha labhante yuddham īdṛiśham

yadṛichchhayā—unsought; cha—and; upapannam—has come upon; swarga—celestial abodes; dvāram—door; apāvṛitam—wide open; sukhinaḥ—happy; kṣhatriyāḥ—warriors; pārtha—Arjun, the son of Pritha; labhante—obtain; yuddham—war; īdṛiśham—such

O Partha, happy are the warriors to whom such opportunities to defend righteousness come unsought, opening for them are the doors to the celestial abodes.

The fruits of doing one’s duty

As per the Dharma shastra, one meets with the results of either his right or wrong actions. Based on the vision of shastra, there are two kinds of results of any action . Drushta phalam is the result of action that is visible to everyone. The invisible action is called the adrushta phalam. This kind of invisible result is promised by the shastra and one can only trust its words as there is no way to prove them. One has to simply perform his duties with trust and the invisible result follows. One such trust is, if one performs his duty properly he will enter heaven after death.

Yadruchaya means unexpected, unsought. Krishna says, for Arjuna the doors of heaven have been unexpectedly open by way of this war. Only fortunate kshatriyas will get this kind of an opportunity. 

For everyone, very rarely in their lives, this kind of unexpectedly good time will come knocking  at their doors. One must make use of it in order to be successful in life. Only those who know how to use these opportunities attain fame and name. Krishna further explains what would happen if this golden opportunity is not used properly.

Sankhya Yoga 2.31

 Verse 2.31 One must not deviate from his Swadharma (one’s own duty)

स्वधर्ममपि चावेक्ष्य न विकम्पितुमर्हसि |

धर्म्याद्धि युद्धाच्छ्रेयोऽन्यत्क्षत्रियस्य न विद्यते || 31||

swa-dharmam api chāvekṣhya na vikampitum arhasi

dharmyāddhi yuddhāch chhreyo ’nyat kṣhatriyasya na vidyate

swa-dharmam—one’s duty in accordance with dharma; api—also; cha—and; avekṣhya—considering; na—not; vikampitum—to waver; arhasi—should; dharmyāt—for righteousness; hi—indeed; yuddhāt—than fighting; śhreyaḥ—better; anyat—another; kṣhatriyasya—of a warrior; na—not; vidyate—exists

Besides, considering your duty, you should not waver. Indeed, for a kshatriya, there is no better engagement than fighting for upholding righteousness.

From this verse onwards, Krishna talks about the absolute necessity of fulfilling one’s own duty. This is called swadharma. Dharma is of two kinds. Samanya dharma and visesha dharma or swadharma. Samanya Dharma is common to one and all. The examples of Samanya Dharma are cleanliness, non-violence, speaking truth etc.

But the vishesha dharma or swadharma changes from time to time and person to person. In our culture, a person’s life is divided into four ashramas, parts namely Brahmacharya, Grihasta, Vanaprastha and Sanyasa. The person has duties to fulfill in each of these ashramas. In Brahmacharya ashrama, which lies in the first twenty four years of one’s life, one has to dedicate his time for studies. He is not supposed to earn money for himself during this period. He should lead a simple lifestyle and serve his parents and teacher. Next comes Grihastha ashram in which a person marries and leads a family life. During this stage, he will work and earn to sustain his family. He is allowed to enjoy family life provided he attains them through proper and rightful means. The primary duty of a grihastha is to look after his family, raise children and help those around him. It is the duty of a grihastha to take care of people from other ashramas since they do not work to earn their means. After fulfilling the duties of grihastha a person enters vanaprastha. The word literally means living in the forest. The couple leave all their responsibilities to their grown up children who now are in their grihastha stage and choose to live a life of seclusion. They would dedicate their entire time for the study of shastra. Once their study is over, the couple either part or live under the same roof not as a couple but as two sanyasis. This sanyasa ashrama is the final stage of one’s life. The person spends his entire time in meditation and contemplation of the higher truth and lives until his prarabdha continues. 

Based on the vision of shastra, people are divided into four categories, not by birth but by their profession and nature (gunas). The four (varnas) categories are brahmana, kshatriya, vaishya and shudra.

These are not only not based on people’s birth but no category is higher or none is lower to the other three. Each one has its place in the scheme of things. It is just that by nature each one chooses a different profession. A brhamana’s job is to learn and teach and not earn money for his living. A kshatriya’s job is to protect and save, a vaishya’s job is to run businesses and create wealth and a shudra’s job is to work and serve. One will be in any of these professions irrespective of the caste he is born into. Even children of the same parents could differ in their varnas based on their nature. Within the family one might choose to be a teacher while one might do business, hence it is possible to have a brahmana and a shudra within the same family based on their nature and chosen profession.

Once one has chosen a profession, he needs to adhere to all the guidelines for that varna. Here Arjuna is a kshatriya. As a kshatriya, Arjuna’s duty is to protect the dharma by fighting against Duryodhana. Krishna says if you consider swadharma of a kshatriya, which is protecting his own people by fighting enemies, there is no better engagement than the war that has come about.