na buddhibhedam janayed ajñānām karmasanginām,
josayet sarvakaramāṇi vidvān yuktaḥ samācaran (3.26) 

[3.26] :”Rather than confusing and undermining the faith of the ignorant who are attached to action, the wise man should prompt them to dwell in God and act well as he himself does.”

Instead of creating confusions in the minds of the ignorant who are engaged in the performance of the said action, seers who have directly perceived God should be careful that no act of theirs should cause a weakening of other men’s dedication.

It is the duty of the sage, who is blessed with sublime knowledge, to inspire others to perform the prescribed action in which he himself is so earnestly engaged.

“A teacher should teach by example rather than precept.” Thus it is the duty of a sage that while he is engaged in action himself, he should also keep other devotees engaged in meditation.A devotee should in the same way dedicate himself to worship with sincere adoration, but whether he is a follower of the Way of Knowledge or a faithful doer of selfless action, he must not allow himself to feel arrogant on account of his meditation.
*
prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ,
ahankāravimūḍhātmā kartā’ham iti manyate (3.27) 

[3.27] :”Although all action is caused by the properties of nature, the man with an egotistic and deluded mind presumes that he himself is the doer.”

From the beginning to the moment of attainment, all action is performed because of the properties of nature, but the man whose mind is clouded with vanity thinks arrogantly that he is the doer. He takes it for granted.
*
tatvavit tu mahābāho guṇakarmavibhāgayoḥ,
guṇā guṇeṣu vartanta iti matvā na sajjate (3.28) 

[3.28] :”But the wise man, who is aware of different spheres of the properties of nature in the form of mind and senses as well as of their action upon objects, is not a prey to attachment, O the mighty-armed, because he knows that the mind and senses (gun) dwell upon objects of perception (gun).”

Seers who have perceived the ultimate essence are aware of the distinction between the properties of nature and action, as also of the fact that these properties are preoccupied with themselves, and are disinterested in their action.

“Essence” here means the Supreme Spirit rather than the five (or twenty-five) elements or primary substances that are countable. In Sri Krishn’s words, God is the only element; besides him there is no other reality. 

Going across the properties of nature, the sages who dwell in God-the only reality, are enabled to perceive divisions of action according to the properties of nature.

If the predominant quality or property is ignorance (tamas), it shows itself in the forms of lethargy, sleep, and wantonness-in brief, in a general disinclination to action. 

If the basic property is passion (rajas),the resulting action is characterized by an unwillingness to retreat from worship and a sense of authority. 

If the dominating property is virtue or quality of goodness (sattwa), the actions prompted by it bear such traits as concentration of mind, meditativeness, a positive attitude towards experience, continuous thought, and simplicity.

Properties of nature are mutable. So the perceptive sage alone is able to see that the excellence or otherwise of action is determined by the constituent properties. These properties effect their work through their instruments, the senses and their objects.But they who have not yet gone beyond these properties, and are still midway, are addicted to whatever they do.
*
prakṛter guṇasanmūḍhāḥ sajjante guṇakarmasu,
tān akṛtsnavido mandān kṛtsnavin na vicālayet (3.29) 

[3.29] :”They ought not to undermine the faith of the deluded who are unaware of the truth, because they are enamoured of the constituents of matter and so attached to senses and their functions.”

Men who have an infatuation for nature get addicted to their actions when they see them gradually evolving towards the level of superior properties. Wise men who know the truth should not unsettle these deceived men who lack in both knowledge and energetic effort. Instead of disheartening them, the wise should encourage them because they can reach the ultimate state where action ceases to be only through the performance of action. 

After making a careful appraisal of his inborn capacity and situation, the seeker who has resolved to act by the Way of Knowledge must deem action as gifted to him by the properties of nature. If, on the contrary, he presumes that he himself is the doer, it will make him vain and conceited. Even after progressing on to superior properties he should not get addicted to them. 

The seeker, on the other hand, who has chosen the Way of Selfless Action, has no need to analyze the nature of action and properties of nature. He has to act only with a total self-surrender to God. In this case, it is for the God within (guru) to see which properties are making their entry and which are departing. 

The seeker on the Way of Selfless Action believes everything – change in properties as well as his gradual elevation from the lower to the higher ones – to be a blessing from God. So, although he is constantly engaged in action, he neither feels the vanity of being the doer nor becomes attached to what he is doing.
*
mayi sarvāṇi karmāṇi sannyasyā’dhyātmacetasā,
nirāśīr nirmamo bhūtvā yudhyasva vigatajvaraḥ (3.30) 

[3.30]:”So, O Arjun, contemplate the Self, surrender all your action to me, abandon all desire, pity, and grief, and be ready to fight.”

Arjun is told to fight, restraining his thoughts within his innermost being, surrendering in a meditative state all his deeds to the God in Sri Krishn, and in absolute freedom from aspiration, pity, and sorrow. 

When a man’s thought is absorbed in contemplation, when there is not the least desire of hope anywhere, when there is no feeling of self-interest behind the act, and when there is no regret over the prospect of defeat, what kind of war can a man fight? 

When thought is withdrawn from all sides into the innermost spirit, against whom will he fight? And where? And who is there to fight against?

In fact, however, it is only when you enter into the meditative process that the true form of war emerges. It is only then that it is known that the throng of unrighteous impulses, of desire, wrath, attraction and repulsion, and of desire and hunger, all deviations from piety, which are called kuru, are the great enemies that create attachment to the world. 

They obstruct the seeker of truth by launching a vicious assault.To overcome them is real war, to subdue them, to contract oneself within one’s mind, and to achieve the state of steady contemplation is real war.

[As expounded by most revered Gurudev Swami Adgadanand Paramhans]

Main Source: www.yatharthgeeta.com
Audio Link:http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLKeK4s8zBZFWYK9XfbZw5BJsJctJkVUr

_/l\_
“Humble Wishes”