एवं प्रवर्तितं चक्रं नानुवर्तयतीह य: |
अघायुरिन्द्रियारामो मोघं पार्थ स जीवति || 16||
evaṁ pravartitaṁ chakraṁ nānuvartayatīha yaḥ
aghāyur indriyārāmo moghaṁ pārtha sa jīvati
evam—thus; pravartitam—set into motion; chakram—cycle; na—not; anuvartayati—follow; iha—in this life; yaḥ—who; agha-āyuḥ—sinful living; indriya-ārāmaḥ—for the delight of their senses; mogham—vainly; pārtha—Arjun, the son of Pritha; saḥ—they; jīvati—live
Translation:
The man who does not follow the cycle thus set revolving is a sinner rejoicing in sense-pleasures and he lives in vain.
Commentary:
It is already said that yajna and other selfless acts of worship and service are necessary for the purification and protection of all beings because the Supreme Being is directly present in them. Such men who follow the Chakra are purified and attain Moksha. The rest live a useless life. They forget God; they are enslaved by earthly pleasures; they have no purity and so their life is a waste, and they go down into the bottomless pit of Samsara. One way of life is pure and blessed; another way of life is sinful and useless. One is Atmarama, and another is Indriyarama, one fulfills his life, another destroys it.
To forget God is sin. Those who do not follow the Dharma Chakra forget God and run after the mirage of sensual pleasures. So they accumulate sin. They are described as “living in sin” (Aghayuh). They are men rejoicing in sensual delights. Their life is not useful either to themselves or to others. So their life is a waste. Is it proper for men to live like animals, reptiles, worms, and germs? According to the Lord’s command, one should fulfill his life by maintaining the Dharma Chakra.
Sri Ramakrishna Says —
“Are father and mother mere trifles? No spiritual practice will bear fruit unless they are pleased. Chaitanya was intoxicated with the love of God. Still, before taking to the monastic life, for how many days did he try to persuade his mother to give him her permission to become a monk! He said to her: ‘Mother, don’t worry. I shall visit you every now and then.’
(To M., reproachfully) “And let me say this to you. Your father and mother brought you up. You yourself are the father of several children. Yet you have left home with your wife. You have cheated your parents. You have come away with your wife and children, and you feel you have become a holy man. Your father doesn’t need any money from you; otherwise I should have cried, ‘Shame on you!’”
Everybody in the room became grave and remained silent.
Master: “A man has certain debts to pay: his debts to the gods and rishis, and his debts to mother, father, and wife. He cannot achieve anything without paying the debt he owes to his parents. A man is indebted to his wife as well. Harish has renounced his wife and is living here. If he had left her unprovided for, then I should have called him an abominable wretch.
“After attaining Knowledge you will regard that very wife as the manifestation of the Divine Mother Herself. It is written in the Chandi, ‘The Goddess dwells in all beings as the Mother.’ It is She who has become your mother.
“All the women you see are only She, the Divine Mother. That is why I cannot rebuke even Brinde, the maidservant. There are people who spout verses from the scriptures and talk big, but in their conduct they are quite different. Ramprasanna is constantly busy procuring opium and milk for the hathayogi. He says that Manu enjoins it upon man to serve the sadhu. But his old mother hasn’t enough to eat. She walks to the market to buy her own groceries. It makes me very angry.
“But here you have to consider another thing. When a man is intoxicated with ecstatic love of God, then who is his father or mother or wife? His love of God is so intense that he becomes mad with it. Then he has no duty to perform. He is free from all debts. What is this divine intoxication? In this state a man forgets the world. He also forgets his own body, which is so dear to all. Chaitanya had this intoxication. He plunged into the ocean not knowing that it was the ocean. He dashed himself again and again on the ground. He was not aware of hunger, of thirst, or of sleep. He was not at all conscious of any such thing as his body.”
All at once Sri Ramakrishna exclaimed, “Ah, Chaitanya!” and stood up.
Master (to the devotees): “Chaitanya means ‘Undivided Consciousness’. Vaishnavcharan used to say that Gauranga was like a bubble in the Ocean of Undivided Consciousness. (Source: Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna)
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 3 
(43 Verses)
Question: What is he that does not follow the Dharma Chakra?
Answer: He is a sinner. He is a slave to sense-pleasures. His life is a waste.
