अज्ञश्चाश्रद्दधानश्च संशयात्मा विनश्यति |
नायं लोकोऽस्ति न परो न सुखं संशयात्मन: || 40||
ajñaśh chāśhraddadhānaśh cha sanśhayātmā vinaśhyati
nāyaṁ loko ’sti na paro na sukhaṁ sanśhayātmanaḥ
ajñaḥ—the ignorant; cha—and; aśhraddadhānaḥ—without faith; cha—and; sanśhaya—skeptical; ātmā—a person; vinaśhyati—falls down; na—never; ayam—in this; lokaḥ—world; asti—is; na—not; paraḥ—in the next; na—not; sukham—happiness; sanśhaya-ātmanaḥ—for the skeptical soul
Translation:
But the ignorant man, the faithless man, the doubting man goes to destruction. For the doubting self, there is no happiness either in this world or the next.
Commentary:
While the positive declaration assures salvation to the man of faith, this nagative assertion condemns all those who have neither faith nor knowledge. It is necessary to describe the fate of the unbelievers to re-inforce the positive merits of the faithful.
(1) The ignorant: The ignorant man knows nothing of the Reality and so he believes that the objective world alone is real, and working for pleasure and fortune in it, he is cast into the ocean of samsara, the cycle of birth and death endlessly.
(2) The faithless: The faithless man also suffers destruction. The Sastras show the righteous path, the way of Dharma, and the Guru gives instructions about spiritual practices. The seeker should have faith in both. Otherwise, he falls from the way of Dharma, and an unrighteous conduct of life leads to destruction.
(3) The doubting person: The doubting person knows not what his duty is. He doubts the veracity of the Sastras, the teachings of the Guru, and he has no goal to reach, no clear aim to achieve. Such a man is doomed to destruction. He is a failure in this world. He has no hope of a better world hereafter. He lives and dies unhappy and miserable.
So the Lord exhorts the seeker to work with faith, diligence, and determination. He should be filled with self-confidence and perfect faith in the Sastras and the Guru. Such a man attains spiritual progress and realisation.
Swami Vivekananda Says —
Likewise the education that our boys receive is very negative. The schoolboy learns nothing, but has everything of his own broken down — want of shraddha is the result. The shraddha which is the keynote of the Veda and the Vedanta — the shraddha which emboldened Nachiketa to face Yama and question him, through which shraddha this world moves — the annihilation of that shraddha! “The ignorant, the man devoid of shraddha, the doubting self runs to ruin.” Therefore are we so near to destruction. The remedy now is the spread of education.[Source]
Question: Who suffers destruction?
Answer: The ignorant man, the faithless man, the doubting man, suffers destruction.
Question: What is the fate of the doubting person?
Answer: He has no happiness either in this world or in the next.
Question: What is the duty of the aspirant?
Answer:
- He should acquire Knowledge.
- He should have faith in the Sastras and the teaching of the Guru.
- He should not doubt the Reality of the Self.
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 4 🔻 (42 Verses)
