Gita 03.29 – The wise should elevate, not agitate, the ignorant

Thank you tanah prasnavidho mandan prasnavinna vichalayet Bhagavad Gita 3.29 Krishna is explaining here how working in karma yoga can keep one free from bondage philosophically he is explaining it in terms of the three modes in terms of material nature the previous verse said that sattvavit you can see the difference between action under the three modes and other kinds of action transcendental action so this verse continues the theme prakrte gunasamudha person who is samudha, samudha means completely deluded mudha is foolish samudha is completely befooled prakrte gunasamudha one who is completely deluded by the modes of material nature sajjante gunakarmasu sajjante such a person becomes attached to what? gunakarmasu to the modes of material nature the work done as a product of the modes of material nature basically materialistic work tan akritsna vidho mandan so that person akritsna vidho person is having full knowledge akritsna vidho means having incomplete knowledge such a person who has incomplete knowledge akritsna vidho mandan mandan means less intelligent so the person has less knowledge and less intelligence incomplete knowledge and less intelligence kritsnavin na vichalayet but kritsnavin those who know properly, those who know completely na vichalayet they should not agitate they should not trouble such people so what exactly is kritsna implying over here actually this message na vichalayet is similar to what kritsna has given in earlier na buddhibhedam janayetam so don't agitate the minds of others kritsna vichalayet now in this world the Vedic culture recognizes that different people are at different levels of spiritual evolution and the shoe that fits one person often bites another person at a material level no solution is universal and even something that is spiritually universal when it is to be applied in different material circumstances adaptations have to be done even if we are sharing kritsna's message which is universal we will have to speak it according to the language that people understand for people to be able to comprehend it so in different countries that's why the language of knowledge transmission will vary so that is of course somebody can say peripheral to the message it's just the language through which something has been transmitted, that is true but still the point is that there have to be presentations according to time, place, circumstance now when there is this kind of understanding that because people are at different levels of reality therefore they need different levels of presentation or rather they need different levels of not just presentation different levels at which they can apply also apply that knowledge so then we understand the nature of vedic culture to offer multiple paths for people at multiple levels so for those who are still materially attached but want to practice dharma, there is karmakanda for those who are aspiring for liberation, there are the various yogas, those who are ready to work and move onward, there is karma yoga and for those who want the best result and are ready to seek the best path, there is bhakti yoga now why bhakti yoga is best and how the various paths relate with each other that is subject for future discussions but at our level it's important and adequate to recognize that the vedic culture the gita's philosophy does not mandate one zero type of approach towards the spiritual quest either one follows this path and one is an insider, one doesn't follow this path and one is an outsider and is rejected and condemned so it talks more in terms of universal values and when we look at the characteristics of goodness, passion and ignorance, these characteristics are relevant more to actually relevant for everyone they are not relevant just for the people who are belonging to a particular religion, particular religious denomination universal characteristics and in general people can be happier they can be closer to god and closer to themselves if they live according to certain value they say live according to sattva guna rather than rajo guna or tamo guna so in that sense multilevel nature of the knowledge given in the vedic literature allows people the facility to choose at what level they want to practice now people may not exactly know that oh there are so many levels and I am choosing at this particular level which is basically according to their own interests, their own likes they will gravitate towards a certain level of understanding and practice and the approach towards such people can be multifold at one level irrespective of where they are coming from one focuses just on spreading the message of Krishna consciousness as Shri Prabhupada gave it in his books about half century ago so now actually speaking even Prabhupada adapted his message according to time and place not changing the essence but definitely adjusting the form so we have Govindamadi Purusham in this contemporary in a western tune and we have the Sunday Love Feast which is a word which comes from the Sunday services which the churches held so basically there are many things which Shri Prabhupada actually Shri Prabhupada presented Krishna consciousness he knew how to keep the essence always the same and at the same time how to present things in such a way that people would not reject unnecessarily so for example he gave a significant role for women in the movement and does he give them facility to move onwards did not impose the rigid standards that were expected of women in the tradition as it was in traditional cultural India but he gave them according to their nature, according to their enthusiasm and according to what they were best how they could best serve Krishna so the basic point of this verse with respect to Arjuna's context is that Arjuna did not let not be agitated did not agitate others people at whatever level they can practice let them practice at that level and accordingly let them move onwards and if you renounce the world then you will agitate them because you will be acting in a way which they will not be able to comprehend and even if you think that you are at the level of practicing Jnana Yoga you have detachment but others don't have detachment and your practice of renunciation will disturb them and make them think that this is what make them either become critical of you or try to imitate you prematurely and thus they will become disturbed so say practice Karma Yoga and set an example for them by which they can also rise from the level of attached work to detached work they can rise from Karmakand to Karma Yoga gradually and thus step on the progressive path to liberation. Thank you.

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
thank you tanah prasnavidho mandan prasnavinna vichalayet Bhagavad Gita 3.29 Krishna is explaining here how working in karma yoga can keep one free from bondage philosophically he is explaining it in terms of the three modes in terms of material nature the previous verse said that sattvavit you can see the difference between action under the three modes and other kinds of action transcendental action so this verse continues the theme prakrte gunasamudha person who is samudha, samudha means completely deluded mudha is foolish samudha is completely befooled prakrte gunasamudha one who is completely deluded by the modes of material nature sajjante gunakarmasu sajjante such a person becomes attached to what? gunakarmasu to the modes of material nature the work done as a product of the modes of material nature basically materialistic work tan akritsna vidho mandan so that person akritsna vidho person is having full knowledge akritsna vidho means having incomplete knowledge such a person who has incomplete knowledge akritsna vidho mandan mandan means less intelligent so the person has less knowledge and less intelligence incomplete knowledge and less intelligence kritsnavin na vichalayet but kritsnavin those who know properly, those who know completely na vichalayet they should not agitate they should not trouble such people so what exactly is kritsna implying over here actually this message na vichalayet is similar to what kritsna has given in earlier na buddhibhedam janayetam so don’t agitate the minds of others kritsna vichalayet now in this world the Vedic culture recognizes that different people are at different levels of spiritual evolution and the shoe that fits one person often bites another person at a material level no solution is universal and even something that is spiritually universal when it is to be applied in different material circumstances adaptations have to be done even if we are sharing kritsna’s message which is universal we will have to speak it according to the language that people understand for people to be able to comprehend it so in different countries that’s why the language of knowledge transmission will vary so that is of course somebody can say peripheral to the message it’s just the language through which something has been transmitted, that is true but still the point is that there have to be presentations according to time, place, circumstance now when there is this kind of understanding that because people are at different levels of reality therefore they need different levels of presentation or rather they need different levels of not just presentation different levels at which they can apply also apply that knowledge so then we understand the nature of vedic culture to offer multiple paths for people at multiple levels so for those who are still materially attached but want to practice dharma, there is karmakanda for those who are aspiring for liberation, there are the various yogas, those who are ready to work and move onward, there is karma yoga and for those who want the best result and are ready to seek the best path, there is bhakti yoga now why bhakti yoga is best and how the various paths relate with each other that is subject for future discussions but at our level it’s important and adequate to recognize that the vedic culture the gita’s philosophy does not mandate one zero type of approach towards the spiritual quest either one follows this path and one is an insider, one doesn’t follow this path and one is an outsider and is rejected and condemned so it talks more in terms of universal values and when we look at the characteristics of goodness, passion and ignorance, these characteristics are relevant more to actually relevant for everyone they are not relevant just for the people who are belonging to a particular religion, particular religious denomination universal characteristics and in general people can be happier they can be closer to god and closer to themselves if they live according to certain value they say live according to sattva guna rather than rajo guna or tamo guna so in that sense multilevel nature of the knowledge given in the vedic literature allows people the facility to choose at what level they want to practice now people may not exactly know that oh there are so many levels and I am choosing at this particular level which is basically according to their own interests, their own likes they will gravitate towards a certain level of understanding and practice and the approach towards such people can be multifold at one level irrespective of where they are coming from one focuses just on spreading the message of Krishna consciousness as Shri Prabhupada gave it in his books about half century ago so now actually speaking even Prabhupada adapted his message according to time and place not changing the essence but definitely adjusting the form so we have Govindamadi Purusham in this contemporary in a western tune and we have the Sunday Love Feast which is a word which comes from the Sunday services which the churches held so basically there are many things which Shri Prabhupada actually Shri Prabhupada presented Krishna consciousness he knew how to keep the essence always the same and at the same time how to present things in such a way that people would not reject unnecessarily so for example he gave a significant role for women in the movement and does he give them facility to move onwards did not impose the rigid standards that were expected of women in the tradition as it was in traditional cultural India but he gave them according to their nature, according to their enthusiasm and according to what they were best how they could best serve Krishna so the basic point of this verse with respect to Arjuna’s context is that Arjuna did not let not be agitated did not agitate others people at whatever level they can practice let them practice at that level and accordingly let them move onwards and if you renounce the world then you will agitate them because you will be acting in a way which they will not be able to comprehend and even if you think that you are at the level of practicing Jnana Yoga you have detachment but others don’t have detachment and your practice of renunciation will disturb them and make them think that this is what make them either become critical of you or try to imitate you prematurely and thus they will become disturbed so say practice Karma Yoga and set an example for them by which they can also rise from the level of attached work to detached work they can rise from Karmakand to Karma Yoga gradually and thus step on the progressive path to liberation. Thank you.