Verse 33

The Lord continues to explain to Arjuna that running away from the battle field is like abandoning one’s own duty-Swardharma. Not having fulfilled his noble duty, Arjuna would incur sin, because for a Khastriya not to fight the war is as sinful as it is to murder and kill those who do not deserve to die.

Bhagawan explains that we take birth to exhaust our impressions-vasanas. In order to exhaust these vasanas certain obligatory duties-Nithya Karmas need to be performed. Performance of these Nithya Karmas will bring about purification of the mind-chitta shudhi. If these vasanas are not exhausted they result in more agitations in the mind, otherwise called sin-Paapa. As a kshatriya, Arjuna had an inborn thirst for honor and fame. This strong desire can be expressed only in the battlefield for a hero like him. So he has to follow his swadharma and fight this war, the Lord says.

Verse 34

To persuade Arjuna to fight this righteous war, Lord Krishna plays on the psyche of the depressed and dejected Arjuna. Bhagawan points out to Arjuna how running away from the battlefield would bring him dishonor, and to a Khastriya, infamy is worse than death. Arjuna was famous for his valor and his art of archery. His fame was well known not only among ordinary people but with learned men-rishis and Gods-devatas as well. So running away would bring about shame to his family and he would be labeled a coward.

Verse 35

The Lord lines up more reasons why Arjuna needs to fight this battle. He explains to Arjuna that abandoning the battlefield will give cause for his enemies to belittle him. The Lord points out to Arjuna that his retreat will be talked about and laughed at as an act of cowardice and not as an act of love for mankind. How can soldiers, take on such a dishonor especially when it comes from his own peers, the Lord asks Arjuna.

Verse 36

Sensing that Arjuna was reacting as desired to this line of argument, Bhagawan drives home the point to Arjuna that abandoning the battlefield would be an act of utter foolishness for which he would have to pay dearly. It would give an opportunity for his enemies and rishis alike to defame him and his glory. This unreasonable and emotional act would be recorded in history as a cowardly retreat. The Lord points out to Arjuna that he would have to live with this infamy and ridicule even after his death.

Verse37

Bhagawan tries to convince Arjuna that fighting this war is a win-win situation for him. If Arjuna were to be slain while fighting this righteous war, he would enjoy the heavens as a hero, and if he were victorious in the war he would rule an unrivaled kingdom on earth and thereafter go to the heaven and enjoy there too as a mighty hero. So he has nothing to lose and everything to win.

Verse 38

In the earlier verse Bhagwan convinced Arjuna to fight the war. In this stanza Bhagawan shows Arjuna how he should conduct himself in battle. The Lord asks Arjuna to remain equanimous in the face of the dualities of pleasure and pain, gain and loss and victory and defeat. With such equanimity Arjuna would not incur any sin because according to Hinduism sin is an error of judgment. This verse is a direct statement on the technique of "Self Perfection" and gives a hint about Karma Yoga and the purpose of human birth.

The three pairs of opposites mentioned in this verse are distinct experiences at 3 levels of existence.

Pleasure and Pain (Sukha and Dukha) – an intellectual awareness of experiences comprehended as favorable or unfavorable.

Gain and Loss (Labha and Alabha) – a mental experience comprehended as joy and sorrow and finally,

Conquest and Defeat (Jaya and Ajaya) – a physical experience comprehended as victory or defeat.

How do pleasure-Sukha, gain-Labha and conquest-Jaya connect? How can these experiences uplift us or how can they drag us to our downfall?

When an individual experiences conquest-Jaya, he has gained-Labha because of being victorious. This victory brings pleasure-Sukha. This pleasure in turn brings about attachment-Raaga. Attachment leads to bondage. This propels us to engage ourselves in more action-Karma. On the other hand if an individual experiences defeat-Ajaya, he loses what he has. This loss brings about pain and sorrow-Dukha resulting in agitations and hatred-Dvesha in our lives. These three levels of experiences when experienced as mentioned above lead us to our downfall.

To rise above this, Bhagawan advises Arjuna to maintain equilibrium in all the three pairs of opposites and to know that they are only experiences. While performing any actions one must be aware that one is not the body but the Atma/Brahman, which is eternal- nithya-, immutable-avikari and indestructible-avinashi.

Since maintaining mental equipoise is difficult and since there is no escape from performance of action that leads us to bondage, which again leads us to perform more actions, how does one get out of this vicious cycle? How can one attain Liberation-Moksha?

The Lord explains that performance of an action will yield fruits by default according to the action performed. But when an action is performed with the mental attitude of surrender to the Supreme and when an individual offers all the fruits of the actions to that Supreme, he does not accumulate any new desires while exhausting his old desires, thus preventing him from incurring any more sin. This will lead to the purification of his mind, which will finally result in his liberation-Moksha. This is his supreme goal and the purpose of his human birth.

Therefore Bhagawan asks Arjuna to fight this war without the anxiety of wining or losing, as it is his dharma to fight a righteous war.

Verse 39

From verse 39 to 46 Bhagawan gives us a technique for attaining wisdom or knowledge also called as "Buddhi Yoga" which is Karma Yoga. Bhagawan speaks about the glory of this Buddhi Yoga – devotion through work.

The Lord explains that the purpose of Buddhi Yoga is to attain union of the mind with the Self. Hence, Buddhi Yoga is "Knowledge of the Self". This Buddhi Yoga will free us from the bondage of action. It emphasizes the attitude with which an action should be performed.

Arjuna’s dilemma and fear of incurring sin when fighting the war is dispelled here as the Lord describes the attitude with which the action should be performed. Bhagawan clarifies that when actions performed are not prompted by desires, one will gain purification of the mind. This is the right attitude. This is Buddhi Yoga. With this pure mind one will gain knowledge and this knowledge will destroy our bondage to action -Karma Bandhana. Through Buddhi Yoga one will attain Sankhya Yoga, which is the Knowledge of the Self.

Verse 40

In this verse Bhagawan explains how Buddhi or Karma Yoga is different from Karma Kanda and the performance of even small amounts-Svalpam of this Buddhi Yoga protects one from great fear.

In the previous verse the Lord describes the attitude of an individual while performing an action. Bhagawan explains the meaning of Karma as understood in the vedic rituals of "Karma Kanda". The Vedas have three sections: Karma Kanda, Upasana Kanda and Jnana Kanda. When the word Karma Kanda is mentioned, one thinks about sacrifices in terms of Havana, Yagna etc. These rituals or sacrifices are performed in order to attain something specific that one desires. These ritualistic acts have strict injunctions and when not performed faithfully the chances are that the very same meritorious acts might result in sins accrued though non-performance or imperfect performance. This sin is called "Pratyavaya" e.g. a medicine misused may bring about a disastrous situation for the patient.

While comparing "Buddhi Yoga" to "Karma Kanda" Bhagawan says there is no loss of effort in the performance of Buddhi Yoga, no side effects- Pratyava or production of contrary results. Even a little practice of this Buddhi Yoga will take one away from great fear.

Verse 41

In this stanza Bhagawan compares individuals who are seekers of Buddhi or Karma Yoga to those who are distracted and whose minds are not single pointed.

The seekers of liberation have understood that the pleasures of the world are limited. These individuals live with a single pointed mind and a resolute determination to attain purification of the mind, which is a sole aim of all spiritual practices. All actions performed should be without any desire for the results. With this understanding and firm faith only, can liberation or emancipation take place. This wisdom is called "Vyavasayatmika Buddhi".

Those with distracted minds are victimized by their egos and entertain hundreds of desires exhausting their mental strength and potentialities. Hence they fail to purify their minds.

Verse 42

Here, Lord Krishna elaborates on individuals who indulge in Karma Kanda and are seekers of post mortem heavenly existence. Believing in heavenly existence as the only purpose in life, these unwise individuals perform rituals and use flowery, ornate speech to gratify individual Gods-devetas.

Verse 43

Describing further, The Lord speaks of these extroverted individuals filled with desires to be deeply attracted to pleasure and power. They believe that performance of the rituals will fruition in pleasure and Lordship.

Verse 44

In this passage Bhagawan declares that such people tossed by their desires shall never discover any experience of harmony and tranquility in their inner lives. Seeking the heavens and Lordship, they have lost focus of the real goal being liberation-moksha. This causes them to be agitated and powerless. Incapable to develop their inner personalities they have no chance to get integrated and evolved.

On the other hand, when an action is performed with mind being single-pointed to the Supreme goal and pursued without specific desires-Nishkama, such a mind is prepared for contemplation and the blissful state of "Samadhi".