Gita 04.14 – Knowledge of Krishna’s position protects us from karmic subjugation

Thank you Bhagavad Gita 4.14 Krishna is continuing to speak about his transcendental position and he is now coming to the conclusion of this brief detour in the fourth chapter that began with Arjuna's question about how Krishna being younger than the Sun God could have enlightened the Sun God so Krishna is now speaking here that that I am not affected by any karma that means karmic reactions do not come upon him karmic reactions cannot bind him nor does he aspire for the fruits of any work in fact the two are related because Krishna does not aspire for fruits then that person actually when a person does not seek the fruits then that person does not get bound and one who understands this one who understands this one who knows Krishna like this does Krishna one who knows such a person will not be bound by karma so essentially Krishna is repeating something similar to what he has spoken in 4.9 where the beneficial effects of knowing about him are mentioned so there in 4.9 so there Krishna speaks that those who understand his birth and activities to be truly understanding then they will become liberated from material existence no pre-birth again on the other hand what happens they will attain Krishna now this verse talks about similar although not the identical result it says those who understand me to be thus they will not be bound by karma and what is it that you have to understand about Krishna two things he does not aspire he is not affected by karma and he does not aspire for the fruits of karma so essentially this is similar to the divya aspect although the focus is more on the transcendence here the focus is more on transcendence to karma specifically now selfishness is the cause of illusion and tribulation selfishness means that when we think that I am the enjoyer that I want to enjoy and we disconnect ourselves from the whole we disconnect ourselves from Krishna and think only of how I can enjoy then we get caught we get bound and when that happens then we often seek pleasures in sinful ways in irreligious ways in moral ways we hurt others and by the bad karma that we do we bring reactions upon ourselves so selfishness leads to illusion the illusion that I am an independent unit and I can be happy by my own schemes I don't need a connection with God to be happy so that illusion leads to tribulation to karmic entanglement now Krishna is of course not a soul like us he is the complete whole himself he is the absolute truth Krishna is here stating that he exemplifies by his transcendental position the ideal karma yogi a person who does not want to be bound that person should not have a selfish motive should not desire the fruits of the work for oneself so when one does not desire the fruits of work for oneself then that person stays free from bondage so when there is no selfishness there is no illusion and then there is no tribulation that person becomes free from that person doesn't get bound by material existence so Krishna the third chapter was talking about karma yoga from 4.16 again he will start talking about karma yoga so here he is explaining how he is he is exemplifying the principle of karma yoga by having no desire for the fruit of work and having no no karmic entanglement now having no desire for fruit of work doesn't mean that a person is negligent or irresponsible in doing the work it simply means that one has a higher purpose than the fruit of the work so when Krishna acts or his devotees act they act out of love for each other and the reciprocation of love is more important than the achievement of any particular target and in that sense they are not attached to the fruits of work so Krishna says that one who understands Krishna like this Krishna may appear to be born as just another Kshatriya in the Yadu dynasty and he may seem to have activities similar to the activities of other Kshatriyas so even when Krishna was present not many people understood him to be God they thought of him as a special person maybe a powerful warrior maybe the most powerful warrior of his times but they didn't think of him as God so that understanding is rare although at an external level Krishna may seem to act like a brother or a son or a father or as a king and his actions may seem similar to those of any other person in that position of course Krishna acts for the good of everyone but still at an external level they may seem similar but at an internal level his motivations are entirely different he is acting not out of any need not out of any desire for anything which he doesn't have he is acting for the deliverance of everyone in an appropriate way according to the role that he is assumed as a Kshatriya monarch so when we understand Krishna's pastimes we need to actually understand his transcendence before we can subject him to our morality if a person if one person puts a knife in another person's stomach that person will probably be jailed punished but when a surgeon puts a knife in a person's stomach that surgeon is actually paid afterwards so the difference is because of the position of the person so the surgeon has knowledge, has competence and is in a position to use the knife expertly for healing the person so what makes the person culpable is not just the action but the position of the person doing the action because according to the position the intention will also change and the action or the consequence of that action will also change ordinary person putting a knife in somebody else's stomach can be homicidal but a surgeon putting it is a surgery which is actually paid for so when we understand that Krishna is transcendental so when will we understand that that is when we understand Krishna is transcendental then that knowledge of Krishna's transcendence purifies us because when we understand that Krishna is transcendental and yet he acts like this why does he do it? Out of love for his devotees and love for all of us he acts just like an ordinary human being so as to reciprocate love with his devotees and so as to set an example of dharma for us by which we can also by following the path of dharma gradually be elevated so when we understand this principle of pure selfless love that animates Krishna's actions we cannot but fall in love with him and when we fall in love with him we cannot but return to him and even if we don't come to that level of love still understanding Krishna's transcendence also raises us to a transcendental level and therefore karmabhir na sabadhyate now that knowledge of Krishna will save us from karmic bondage because we will start acting out of a desire for serving him and not out of a desire for our own material aggrandizement and that change of desire will protect us from.