“Arjuna contested: O motivator of men, if it is Your idea that the mental approach is better than the physically-active one, then why do You urge me to commit horrible action, O handsome-haired One? (3.1) You baffle my intelligence with this two-way proposal. Mention one priority, by which I would surely get the best result. (3.2) The Blessed Lord said: In the physical world, a two-fold standard was previously taught by Me, O Arjuna, my good man. This was mind regulation by the yoga practice of the Sāṁkhya philosophical yogis and the action regulation by the yoga practice of the non-philosophical yogis. (3.3) A man does not attain freedom from cultural activity merely by not being involved in social affairs. And not by renunciation alone, does he achieve spiritual perfection. (3.4)” …

“Moral action should be done by you. Performance is better than non-performance. Even the maintenance of your body could not be achieved without activity. (3.8) Besides action for religious fulfillment and ceremony, this world is action-bound. Act for the sake of religious fulfillment and ceremony, O son of Kuntī. Be free from attachment. Act promptly. …

“Therefore, being always unattached, perform the action which is your duty. By being detached and executing the required tasks, a person gets the highest stage. (3.19)” …

“One should not produce indetermination in the minds of the simpletons. A wise person should inspire them to be satisfied by action. …

“A human being, even a wise man, acts according to his material nature. The creatures submit to material nature.” ~Bhagavad Gita chapter 3

A World of Duality

In chapter three of the Srimad Bhagavad Gita, the most popular of the Vedanta writings, the discussion between Arjuna and Sri Krishna regarding participation in war continues from the previous chapter. I remind the readers that I am commenting on the Bhagavad Gita from the point of view of a student of Cosolargy. Also, my comments are on the whole chapter, not just the shlokas quoted above.

This chapter starts with Arjuna questioning why, if mental activity is more important than physical activity, he is being encouraged to physically participate in a war. He says he is confused by what seems to be contradictory teachings and asks Krisna for one priority that he may reliably follow. Instead of doing that, Krisna replies that he is in a physical world, a material world that has “a two-fold standard.” in other words, the third dimension that we live in is a world of duality and is just as much a mental world as it is a physical one. As a result, we need to participate in the world in both a mental and a physical way. The key is to use both together. In other words, think about what is the right thing to do, and then do it. Just thinking about it is as bad as doing things without thinking about the consequences.

Mind Regulation

Lord Krishna further tells Arjuna that mind was regulated by the Sāṁkhya philosophical yogis. This type of yoga taught two ultimate principles, purusa and prakrti. These terms are translated as “consciousness or spirit” and “mind and emotions”. According to Wikipedia, this philosophy is about the interplay between Purusha and Prakriti. In the description of this form of yoga, I could not see anything about mind regulation, but I found that this type of yoga is all about gaining knowledge of ourselves (jnana) in all our aspects so it is logical that mental discipline is a part of that. I would assume that the goal of learning about ourselves as we are so that we can learn change, and improve. Another of the major types of yoga, called karma yoga, is a yoga of action and teaches that action is required.

Moral Action Should Be Done

So Bhagavan Krishna tells Arjuna (also called Pertha) that he must act as well as think, but should he act on any thought that pops into his mind? Absolutely not! If your thought is to do some moral and helpful deed, then do it. But if you think of something that is evil and immoral—and we all do it occasionally—you should not act on that thought. That is to say, you should not do the immoral act, but there is an action that you should take. You should make an effort to find out where that evil thought came from, and try to free yourself of such thoughts. Before you go to sleep at night, you should mull over your thoughts and deeds of the day, then tell your subconscious that you do not want to think such things. If you do that regularly, your subconscious will listen.

Material Nature

Man does have a material nature as well as a spiritual one. Just as it is not good to be a materialist and only care for the physical body, we should not abandon the needs of the body when we turn to the development of the spiritual. The key, as it says in the Bhagavad Gita, is to do your work in the physical world without becoming attached to the physical world or the things in it. Part of that work in the physical world is to take care of the physical body. That means eating healthy foods, getting ample exercise, and seeing a doctor when you are sick.

In the Minds of Simpletons

Arjuna is told that a wise person should be satisfied with inspiring simple people to be satisfied with actions. Clearly, Krisna means that some people—not necessarily simpletons—are not ready for and cannot follow spiritual teachings and do spiritual actions. Those people can be taught to do good acts in the physical world that help to further the goals of the spiritual people and of God. If that is the only good they can do in this world, we must leave it at them and help them to accomplish those physical tasks.

Summary

So as I interpret it, as a student of Cosolargy, the main lesson of the third chapter is that we live in a world of duality and the main aspect of it is that we are both material and spiritual beings and we must care for both and we must be doers as well as thinkers. The path of action is as important as the path of knowledge, yoga of action is as important as the yoga of knowledge. You would think a person crazy if he insisted on doing everything with his right hand only, and never using the left, the same is true of the one who only contemplates the spiritual, but does nothing in the physical world. We have to do things as well as contemplate them and choose to do those things that further the plan of God and that obey the laws of God. The goal of all the schools of yoga and most of the writings that make up the vedas is self-realization and spiritual awakening (buddhi in Sanskrit), and this chapter helps point you in the right direction.