“The Blessed Lord said: I explained to Vivasvat, the sun-god, this perpetual teaching of controlling the personal energies through yoga. Vivasvat explained it to Manu. Manu imparted it to Ikshvaku.

“Thus, received through a series of teachers, the yogi kings knew this skill of controlling the personal energies. After a long time, here on earth, this yoga application was lost, O burner of enemy forces.

“Today, this ancient yoga technique is explained to you by Me, since you are devoted to Me and are My friend. Indeed, this is confidential and is the best teaching. … Even though I am birthless and My person is imperishable, and even though I am the Lord of the creatures, by controlling My material energies, I become visible by My supernatural power. …

“Many whose craving, fear, and anger are gone, who are totally focused on Me, who are purified by austerity and education, attained My level of existence. As they rely on Me, so I relate to them, O son of Pṛthā. All human beings, everywhere, are affected by My course of action.

“Wanting their ritual action to succeed, people in the world worship the supernatural authorities. Quickly in this human world, there is fulfillment that comes from ritual action. According to the distribution of habits and work tendencies, the four career categories were instituted by Me. Know that I am never required to participate.

“Actions do not entrap Me. The desire for payoff is not in Me. The person who understands this is not entrapped by action.

“Having understood this conclusion, functional work was done, even by the yogi kings who desired liberation. Therefore you should perform cultural acts, just as it was done before. What is action? What is not action? Even eloquent philosophers are confused on this subject. ..Knowing this, you will be freed from undesirable circumstances. …

“Being satisfied by benefit which comes by chance, ignoring likes and dislikes, being free from envy, even-minded in success and failure, and having performed, a man is still not implicated.

“Concerning a person whose attachment is finished, who is liberated, whose idea is established in knowledge, any of his actions which are done solely for austerity and religion does cancel completely.

“Spiritual existence is the basis of his ceremonial articles. It is the foundation of sacrificial ingredients. … It is the spiritual existence that is attained by a person who keeps contact with the spiritual level while acting. …

“Cultural activities do not implicate a person whose actions are renounced through techniques developed in yoga practice, whose doubt is removed by realized knowledge and who is self-composed, O conqueror of wealthy countries.

“Therefore, having severed entirely with the cutting instrument of realized knowledge, this doubt that comes from the ignorance lodged in your being, resort to yogic technique and make a stand, O man of the Bharata family!” ~Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 4

Controlling Energy through Yoga

In the fourth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, the best known of the Vedas, Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that he needs to control his personal energies through yoga. This does not mean the exercises now practiced in the west and called yoga; are only a small part of real yoga. Basically, yoga is a school of spiritual practice and development, so Krisna is advising Arjuna to use spiritual practices to develop and control his spiritual energy. Some schools teach that all of our spiritual energy resides within us, but others know that there are techniques for taking in additional energies from outside and strengthening our spiritual Self by doing so, thereby gaining self-knowledge and universal knowledge.

Actions do not Entrap Me

Sri Krishna tells Arjuna that actions do not entrap him because the desire for payoff is not in him. This is an important spiritual teaching for all of us to learn. When we seek payoff, when we expect something in return every time we do a good deed or any deed for that matter, we open ourselves up to be controlled by the dark forces and dark beings. They will tempt us with promises of great rewards for doing things. At first, the things may be neutral, then slightly bad, until eventually, they are truly evil. Or they may take the opposite approach and tell us that we will get no rewards for doing what God wants us to do, so we should do what we want and what brings us reward and creature comforts. Only by learning to avoid the trap of needing payoff can we avoid this.

Free From Envy

Arjuna is further told that accepting the benefits you do get, and being free from envy, helps to prevent you from getting attached to the material. When you are attached to the material world and the things in it, it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to develop your spiritual Self.

Established in Knowledge

Krishna then tells Arjuna that one who is free of attachments and “established in Knowledge” does “cancel completely.” I think that is meant to say that the person established in knowledge is free from false beliefs and restrictions as well as from attachments to the material world. It is important to understand that the Knowledge Krishna is talking about is not found in books or videos. It is Knowledge that comes only from experience. It is Gnosis. This is the Knowledge that we know is true and complete. Spiritual Knowledge becomes the basis of all this person has and all he does.

Techniques Developed in Yoga Practices

Again, what Krisna is calling Yoga is a school of spiritual disciplines, not the simple exercise system practiced in the West. He is here telling Arjuna that we must practice these disciplines taught in a legitimate spiritual school regularly. Just because we have achieved a spiritual awakening, or even Gnosis, doesn’t mean we stop practicing.

Summary

This chapter has its own summary found in the last part of the quote. Shri Krishna tells Arjuna, and all of us, that once we have freed ourselves of all “realized knowledge,” or material knowledge that is often false or incomplete, we resort to spiritual techniques and make a stand. To those of us in Cosolargy, that means practicing Spiritual Sun-Gazing with the proper attitude and in the proper conditions, which is why the Sun God is mentioned in the first shloka or paragraph. A Spiritual dynasty is a solar dynasty.

In this chapter of the Srimad Bhagavad Gita, we finally get into the transcendental teachings that we associate with the Upanishads and other Vedic Sanskrit writings.

If one wants to be a true devotee, one needs to be a doer, not just an observer. That means practicing what is called Karma Yoga, the path of unselfish kuru (action). These are the kinds of oblations God wants from us. Then, over the course of time, one will reach the state of true knowing called Gnosis or the spiritual evolution called Prakriti in Sanskrit. In ancient times, this knowledge was taught in the great spiritual schools of the ancient world, but much was lost over time. We must now return to those teachings and develop our spirits at least as much as we develop our bodies and minds.