This is the longest chapter of the Bhagavad Gītā. Krishna repeats his earlier statement
that action is a necessary good, but that tranquillity can only be achieved when
we are detached from the fruits of our actions. He explains that renunciation is
the relinquishing of those actions which are prompted by desire, whereas non-
This does not mean that we should renounce all action. Certain actions, such as
sacrifice, charity and austerity should always be performed, as they are uplifting
and purifying. What we should renounce is attachment to the fruits of action. (18.1-
Krishna analyses knowledge, action and agent in terms of the guṇas (18.20-
Krishna’s final teaching is a repetition of an exhortation to Bhakti Yoga: “Fix your mind on Me, worshipping Me, sacrificing to Me, I promise, for you are dear to Me” (18.65).
Notes from Radhakrishnan’s commentary on BG
1 The Gãtà insists not on renunciation of action but on action with renunciation of desire. This is true sa§nyàsa. In this verse, sa§nyàsa is used for the renunciation of all works and tyàga for the renunciation of the fruits of all works. Not by karma, not by progeny or wealth but by tyàga or relinquishment is release obtained.
The Gãtà urges that the liberated soul can remain in service even after liberation and is opposed to the view which holds that, as all action springs from ignorance, when wisdom arises, action ceases. The teacher of the Gãtà considers the view, that he who acts is in bondage and he who is free cannot act, to be incorrect.
2 Inertia or non-
6 The teacher is decidedly for the practice of Karmayoga. Actions are not to be set aside: only they have to be done without selfish attachment or expectation of rewards. Salvation is not a matter of outward action or inaction. It is the possession of the impersonal outlook and inner renunciation of ego.
14 The kartà or the agent is one of the five causes of action. According to the
Sà§khya doctrine, puruùa or the self is a mere witness. Though, strictly speaking,
the self is akartç or non-
daivam: providence: represents the non-
Belief in daiva should not be an excuse for quiescence. Man is a term of transition. He is conscious of his aim, to rise from his animal ancestry to the divine ideal. The pressure of nature, heredity and environment can be overcome by the will of man.
17 The freed man does his work as the instrument of the Universal Spirit and for the maintenance of the cosmic order. He performs even terrific deeds without any selfish aim or desire but because it is the ordained duty. What matters is not the work but the spirit in which it is done.
This passage does not mean that we can commit crimes with impunity. He who lives in the large spiritual consciousness will not feel any need to do any wrong. Evil activities spring from ignorance and separatist consciousness, and from consciousness of unity with the Supreme Self only good can result.
24 The consciousness of suffering, the sense that we are doing something disagreeable,
that we are passing through grim suffering and toil takes away from the value of
the act. To feel consciously that we are doing something great, that we are sacrificing
something vital is a failure of the sacrifice itself. But when the work is undertaken
for the cause, it is a labour of love and sacrifice itself is not felt as a sacrifice.
Doing unpleasant things from a sense of duty, feeling the unpleasantness all the
time is of the nature of “passion,” but doing it gladly in utter unself-
39 Happiness is the universal aim of life. Only it is of different kinds according to the modes which dominate our nature. If the tamas predominates in us, we are satisfied with violence and inertia, blindness and error. If rajas prevails, wealth and power, pride and glory give us happiness. True happiness of human beings lies not in the possession of outward things but in the fulfilment of the higher mind and spirit, in the development of what is most inward in us. It may mean pain and restraint but it will lead us to joy and freedom.
39 Man’s outward life must express his inward being; the surface must reflect the profundity. Each individual has his inborn nature, svabhàva, and to make it effective in his life is his duty, svadharma…. If each individual does what is appropriate to him, if he follows the law of his being, his svadharma, then God would express Himself in the free volitions of human beings. All that is essential for the world will be done without a conflict. But men rarely do what they ought to do…. The problem that human life sets us is to discover our true self and live according to its truth; otherwise we would sin against our nature. The emphasis on svabhàva indicates that human beings are to be treated as individuals and not as types.
42 It is not a question of identical opportunities for all men to rise to the highest station in social life, for men differ in their powers, but a question of giving equal opportunities for all so that they may bring their respective gifts to fruition…. Individuals of varying capacities are bound together in a living organic social system.
47 See III, 35. It is no use employing our minds in tasks which are alien to our
nature. In each of us lies a principle of becoming, an idea of divine self-
49 The Gãtà repeats that restraint and freedom from desire are essential to spiritual perfection. Attachment to objects, a sense of ego, are the characteristics of our lower nature.
59 The desire “not to fight” will only be the expression of his surface nature; his
deeper being will lead him to fight. If he casts down his arms for fear of suffering
and holds back from the fight, and if the war proceeds without him, and he realizes
that the consequences of his abstention would be disastrous to humanity, he will
be impelled to take up arms by the remorseless pressure of the Cosmic Spirit. He
should try therefore to further and co-
63 God is seemingly indifferent, for He leaves the decision to Arjuna’s choice. His apparent indifference is due to His anxiety that each one of us should get to Him of his own free choice.