Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 18, Verse 46

यत: प्रवृत्तिर्भूतानां येन सर्वमिदं ततम् |
स्वकर्मणा तमभ्यर्च्य सिद्धिं विन्दति मानव: || 46||

yataḥ pravṛittir bhūtānāṁ yena sarvam idaṁ tatam
sva-karmaṇā tam abhyarchya siddhiṁ vindati mānavaḥ

yataḥ—from whom; pravṛittiḥ—have come into being; bhūtānām—of all living entities; yena—by whom; sarvam—all; idam—this; tatam—pervaded; sva-karmaṇā—by one’s natural occupation; tam—him; abhyarchya—by worshipping; siddhim—perfection; vindati—attains; mānavaḥ—a person

Translation:

By performing one’s natural occupation, one worships the Creator from whom all living entities have come into being, and by whom the whole universe is pervaded. By such performance of work, a person easily attains perfection.

Commentary:

Yatah pravrittir bhutanam: It is clear that Paramatma is the origin and source of all beings. All beings come from Him and return to Him. Paramatma is the vital Intelligence Principle without which insentient Prakriti can do nothing. Therefore the worship of Paramatma is the highest duty of man in whom Paramatma is manifesting in the highest degree.

Yena saravam idam tatam: All this is pervaded by the Lord. This declaration is made thrice in the Gita. Paramatma is present everywhere, like cream in milk. He is not seen with the external eye, but to the eye of knowledge, He is visible. He is ‘Sarvasakshi’, the Seer of everything because He is present in the innermost core of every being. So realising, man should be pure in thought and deed and should be devoted to Him who is the origin and source of his very being.

Svakarmana tam abhyarcha: The performance of one’s own duty is itself the worship of the Lord. This is the excellence of Kamayoga. The tiller in the field, the worker in the factory, the judge in the court, the minister in the cabinet, the trader, the cobbler, in fact, every man who is engaged in some form of work or other, can transform and sublimate that work into the worship of the Lord by offering it to Him-the action and its fruits altogether. Thus every step that he takes, every breath that he breathes, every action that he does becomes worship of the Lord. Such worship automatically purifies the mind, because the mind is agitated only when man becomes attached to his work for selfish ends and by selfish motives. He who can maintain the attitude of detachment and surrender remains restful and lives in peace. Such peace leads to the vision of Paramatma. Of all the methods mentioned to purify the mind, this is the best and most easy to practice. As man is engaged in some form of work, the ideal is to perform it as worship of the Lord, free from fear and anxiety, free from binding egotism and binding selfishness.

Thus Karma becomes the means to Moksha. Karma binds only when the performer desires to obtain this or that fruit either in this world or in other worlds. Man knows in his heart of hearts that he is attached to work by contemplating the pleasure of enjoying the rewards. This should be given up by the true seeker whose will is set on the realisation of ultimate perfection. The Lord declares that man attains perfection by following the principle of detached performance of one’s own duty.

This verse explains the combination of Karma, Bhakti, and Jnana.

1. Performance of action (Karma)
2. Worship of the Lord through action (Bhakti)
3. Purification of the mind which brings about self-realisation (Jnana)

Question: What is the source of all beings?

Answer: Paramatma.

Question: By whom is this universe pervaded?

Answer: By Paramatma.

Question: How can the Jiva attain perfection?

Answer: If a man performs his prescribed duties in the spirit of the worship of the Lord, surrendering the fruits to him, he gets purification of mind and when the mind is purified, he attains Bahmajnana.

Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 18 🔻 (78 Verses)

01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30
31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40
41	42	43	44	45	46	47	48	49	50
51	52	53	54	55	56	57	58	59	60
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