Chapter 3 Shloka 24

उत्सीदेयुरिमे लोका न कुर्यां कर्म चेदहम्।

संकरस्य च कर्ता स्यामुपहन्यामिमा: प्रजा:।।२४।।

The Lord says, O Arjuna!

If I cease to work, the world would perish;

I would be the cause of corrupt conduct among men,

contributing to their destruction.

Chapter 3 Shloka 24

उत्सीदेयुरिमे लोका न कुर्यां कर्म चेदहम्।

संकरस्य च कर्ता स्यामुपहन्यामिमा: प्रजा:।।२४।।

The Lord says, O Arjuna!

If I cease to work, the world would perish; I would be the cause of corrupt conduct among men, contributing to their destruction.

The Lord reiterates here that if He did not perform actions, those who followed His example would also renounce action.

1. They would lose their direction and their dharma would be destroyed.

2. They would lose faith in yagya since the proof of a life lived in yagya would no longer be before them.

3. Virtuous deeds would become extinct.

4. People would turn away from the Atma – their true Self.

5. Dereliction of duty would become rampant.

6. They would become followers of the downward path – the path that leads away from the Atma.

7. Then even aspirants of spiritual living will not be able to comprehend the practical aspect of the unmanifest Truth.

8. They will be unable to translate knowledge into practice.

9. They will regard adharma to be dharma and thus dharma would be destroyed.

10. They would renounce duty and even their virtuous deeds would be destroyed.

Yagya

The Lord has earlier stressed that Arjuna should take refuge in the Lord and then perform yagya, since all actions which do not conform to yagya, lead to attachment and bondage.

1. Selfless actions are sacrificial acts i.e. yagya in action.

2. Actions performed for the Lord will necessarily be devoid of attachment.

3. The Supreme Brahm inheres in all acts of yagya– therefore every aspirant of Brahm must perform selfless acts as an offering to Him.

4. He who partakes of the fruit of yagya becomes sinless.

Who performs yagya?

a) They who seek nothing for themselves from the world.

b) They who seek, neither to know nor attain anything, in this world.

c) They who are devoid of attachment.

d) They who perform all actions including the worship of the Lord without any expectations of personal gain.

The life of such a detached and selfless one is imbued with the spirit of yagya. He performs great deeds and is steeped in knowledge. Whatever such a one does is treated as an example for others to follow.

The Lord now explains that if He Himself did not engage in actions, all men would become varnasankars or corrupted with illegitimate attitudes.

Who are varnasankars?

1. Those who take support of illusory principles.

2. Those whose knowledge becomes barren and confused because they cannot remain detached in the performance of action.

3. Those who are devoid of divine qualities, yet consider themselves to be great – thus such ‘gyanis’ revel in pride rather than become humble.

4. Those who perpetrate sin rather than virtue.

5. Those who dwell in an attitude opposed to yagya.

6. They who use a saintly demeanour to perpetrate vice.

Little one! When such varnasankars predominate, then forgiveness, compassion, love are all destroyed and no bridge of understanding connects knowledge with practical life.

Adhyatam – the highest code of conduct in life, will then be utterly devastated.

When such corrupted souls approach the world, they adulterate unsuspecting society with their erroneous attitudes and example.

a) They lead them away from the Truth.

b) They take them from light to darkness.

c) Watching them, people reject dharma.

d) With their example, people turn away from duty and become escapists.

Little one, these varnasankars:

a) separate knowledge from daily living;

b) may propagate the Lord’s name in words, but do not desire to become like the Lord;

c) do not live in the spirit of yagya themselves and also draw people away from the path of duty;

d) are escapists themselves and encourage others to escape from their normal lives and duties.

The Lord Himself says, “If I do not perform action, people will begin to engage in depraved behaviour and will make life impossible for those who disseminate love, compassion and mercy in the world. Then people’s faith in these divine qualities will vanish and the entire populace will become selfish, merciless, tyrannical and replete with other demoniacal qualities. Therefore, I shall become the cause of the downfall of all.”

It would not be erroneous to say today, “Lord! Your own so called ‘devotees’ have disobeyed Your word and done just what You had told them not to do!”

Little one, the responsibility of the world’s decadent state today rests largely with:

a) Those who take the Lord’s Name and supposedly propagate His Word.

b) Those who use the Lord’s Name to earn their livelihood yet rob people.

c) Those who encourage others to escape from their duties under the garb of dharma.

The world is full of knowledge today, yet there are very few who can illuminate the path of spiritual living through their life’s example. Little one! The Lord has made a very important point in this shloka. It contains the core of sadhana as well as the Lord’s basic Essence. It describes the cause of the problems that beset society today and also the path that can lead man out of this maze of problems.