People with limited understanding are attracted to the flowery words of the Vedas, advocating various rituals and desiring the pleasures of heaven.
Krishna criticizes those who are overly attached to the flowery words of the Vedas, which focus on rituals aimed at achieving pleasure and power. Such people are misled by superficial interpretations, losing sight of the true essence of spiritual wisdom. This teaching warns against being entangled in material desires disguised as spirituality.
Such people are full of desires, attached to wealth and enjoyment. Their minds are captivated by these desires and they cannot understand the higher truths.
Krishna elaborates on how such individuals are driven by desires for heaven and the fruits of their actions, leading them to indulge in elaborate rituals. Their attachment to sensory pleasures and wealth distracts them from true self-realization. This verse serves as a critique of superficial religiosity that prioritizes rituals over spiritual growth.
Those who are attached to wealth and power, whose minds are stolen by these desires, lack the determination for steady meditation and self-realization.
Krishna states that those whose minds are deluded by the desire for pleasure and wealth lack the determination needed for steady meditation. Their attachment to material gains obstructs their ability to focus on the ultimate goal of self-realization. This teaching underscores the need to rise above material desires to achieve inner peace and clarity.
The Vedas deal with the three modes of material nature. O Arjuna, transcend these modes, free yourself from dualities, and be established in the self.
Krishna advises Arjuna to transcend the three modes of material nature (goodness, passion, and ignorance) that bind individuals. He encourages Arjuna to remain steadfast, free from the dualities of life, and focus on the self. This is an appeal to move beyond worldly influences and distractions to attain spiritual equanimity and self-mastery.
For a person who has realized the ultimate truth, the Vedas are as useful as a small well when water is available everywhere.
Krishna uses the analogy of a small well to describe how the wisdom of the Vedas is limited compared to the vastness of true spiritual knowledge. For one who has attained higher understanding, the Vedas, which primarily deal with material desires, are no longer of utmost importance. This teaching encourages Arjuna to look beyond ritualistic knowledge.
You have a right to perform your duties, but not to the fruits of your actions. Never be attached to not doing your duty.
Krishna instructs Arjuna to perform his duty without attachment to the results. One should never act with the desire for reward, nor should one avoid action out of fear of failure. This principle of Karma Yoga—performing action without attachment to the fruits—emphasizes the purity and selflessness that should accompany every action.
Perform your duties with a balanced mind, giving up attachment to success and failure. Such balance is called Yoga.
Krishna advises Arjuna to act with equanimity, without being swayed by success or failure. This state of even-mindedness is the essence of Yoga, leading to liberation from the bondage of actions. Krishna’s guidance promotes self-mastery and detachment, encouraging Arjuna to engage in action with a steady and calm mind.