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Dhritarashtra asked: O Sanjaya, what did my sons and the sons of Pandu do when they assembled on the sacred field of Kurukshetra, eager for battle? Arjuna said: O Krishna, seeing my own kinsmen arrayed here, eager to fight, my limbs fail and my mouth becomes dry. Having spoken thus on the battlefield, Arjuna sat down on the chariot, casting aside his bow and arrows, his mind overwhelmed with grief.

Arjuna asks: “If ātma-jñānam is considered superior to karma, why am I being asked to perform this terrible action of war?” Nourish the devatās through yajña, and may those devatās nourish you; thus, mutually nourishing one another, you shall attain the supreme good. Whatever a great person does, common people follow that. Whatever standard he sets, the world follows. Thus knowing the Self to be superior to the intellect, steadying the mind by the Self, O mighty-armed one, slay this enemy in the form of desire, which is difficult to overcome.

One who performs the duties that ought to be done, without depending on the results of action, is the true sannyāsī and yogī — not the one who merely gives up action. One who has equal vision toward well-wishers, friends, enemies, neutrals, mediators, the hateful, relatives, the righteous, and even the unrighteous is considered superior. Just as a lamp in a windless place does not flicker, so is the mind of a yogī whose mind is controlled and absorbed in meditation. O Krishna, the mind is restless, turbulent, strong, and stubborn; I consider controlling it to be as difficult as controlling the wind.

Arjuna asks: among the ever-steadfast devotees who meditate upon Bhagavān as taught before, and those who meditate upon the imperishable unmanifest brahman, who are the best yogis? Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa describes those who dedicate all actions to Him, keep Him as the primary goal, and meditate upon Him with undivided commitment. Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa says: if we are unable to do even this, then, taking refuge in His worship, we should renounce the results of all actions with self-mastery. Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa concludes that those devotees who, with śraddhā and with Bhagavān as the supreme goal, sincerely follow this immortal dharma as taught are exceedingly dear to Him.

Śrī Bhagavān describes samsāra as a beginningless aśvattha tree whose root is Brahman above, whose branches are the visible universe below, and whose leaves are Vedic karmas; the one who understands this tree along with its root truly understands the Veda. That supreme Brahman, Bhagavān’s highest nature, is self-effulgent consciousness, not illumined by the sun, moon, or fire; attaining that, the wise do not return to samsāra. Those yogis who strive with a purified and prepared mind recognize Brahman present in the body-mind as the jīva, while the impure-minded and undiscriminating do not recognize it even though they may make effort. O sinless Bhārata, this most secret teaching has been given by Me; having understood and assimilated it, one becomes truly wise and fulfilled.