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Chapter 4, verse 1 has no commentary by Madhvacarya.


Bhagavad-Gita

Chapter 4, verse 3

Hari OM! In this chapter the superiority of the intellect having its power of discrimination, the greatness of the atma or soul possessing its eternal nature, the importance of the performance of karma yoga or prescribed Vedic activities according to position and stage in life and the supremacy of jnana yoga or the cultivation of Vedic wisdom. Whatever Lord Krishna has delineated in the previous three chapters should be understood to be dharma or absolute principles of eternal righteousness. This is what is meant by the word iman which means this and refers to the science of yoga which is the science of the individual consciousness in communion with the Ultimate Consciousness. Lord Krishna wants to impress upon posterity that what He is explaining is not temporary relating to time and circumstances but is nitya tattva or eternal truths and rita or inviolable cosmic laws. They never become outdated nor do they become irrelevant with the passage of time. They are always relevant, constantly renewing themselves, remaining ever fresh as nature is in the universe. Nature as was created in the beginning of time and nature as is present now in the world is not different in their essence although there may be difference in the form; but form is but a manifestation it is not the essence. Because of the atrophy of human receptivity and the excess of human depravity along with a decline in human intellect there comes about obscurity in human perception. Therefore from time to time the ashes that are covering the coals need to be brushed away for the embers which were hidden to glow in their eternal splendour. Sometimes the Supreme Lord Himself in His avatara forms as scripturally authorised incarnations manifests and incarnates to periodically re-establish these eternal principles of creation. At other times great souls from the higher realms with exceptional compassion descend and see a need to reiterate and disseminate these divine principles for all of humanity suffering in the perpetual cycle of birth and death. These great souls never modify the intrinsic meaning of these eternal principles nor do they change the essential characteristics of these eternal principles although they make innovations in their preaching and how they distribute them according to time and circumstance. They have nothing new to instruct nor anything to add they merely come to remove aside the ash that has covered the glowing embers of eternal principles and to prepare conditions so that beguiled humanity may have the greatest opportunity to be receptive to these eternal principles.

Now begins the summation.

Hari Om! The wisdom and performance of eternal spiritual principles as given in the Vedic scripture Pancaratra which Lord Krishna aeons before had instructed in initiation to Brahma, Shiva, Indra and Surya the sun-god is again being explained to the Pandavas as the eternal principles of the Bhagavad-Gita which is the abridged form of the Pancaratra and the essence of all Vedic scriptures. The manner in which the demi-gods, the great sages, the saintly kings and how human beings should achieve Vedic wisdom by performing karma yoga in Satya, Treta, Dwarpa and kali yugas or the four measurements of Vedic duration comprising a period of 1, 360, 000 years. All these things are explained in the Bhagavad-Gita. From Arjuna to Manu, all perform karma yoga and gain Vedic wisdom as prescribed in the Bhagavad-Gita. The Brahma Vaivarta Purana states that there is no Vedic scripture superior to the Bhagavad-Gita. The Pancaratra which is supplementary to the four Vedas should be learned and assimilated in its entirety and the Bhagavad-Gita is its essence. Thus there is nothing that can compare to the illustrious Bhagavad-Gita.

Thus ends the commentary, summation to Chapter 4, verse 3 by Madhvacarya.

Bhagavad-GitaChapter 4, verse 4

This question is asked in relation to Lord Krishna’s earlier declaration in chapter III.XXX mayi sarvani karmani meaning to offer all activities to Him.


The purpose of inquiry from men of wisdom as given in the Agni Purana has a dual purpose. First is reconfirmation of the knowledge of eternal principles that they already possess. Second is that their explanations offer additional clarification. In this same way these questions asked to Lord Krishna should be understood in this manner. One should be aware that Arjuna was not a novice bereft of Vedic knowledge, he had been to the heavenly planets and had received instuctions from his father Indra the chief of the celestials. He also had never broken his vows and was never defeated in battle. So he was not an ordinary being and was somewhat cognizant of Lord Krishna supreme position.




One may wonder that if the Supreme Lord Krishna is eternal then is His svarupa or transcendental body eternal as well? To this Lord Krishna replies that He is unborn. In this verse the words avyaya atma means the eternal body of the Supreme Lord. This also allows for the reality of His many incarnations such as Rama and Buddha. Just as it has been explained previously that the atma or soul being purely spiritual is without beginning and eternal, in the same way the svarupa of Lord Krishna should be understood to exist. One may further wonder how is it He appears to be born if He is without a beginning and eternal? The answer is He manifests Himself by His Self as pure sattva or goodness by His internal potency known as yogamaya through prakriti or material nature which is completely under His control. One may also wonder how it is He being eternal is able to manifest Himself through a material father and mother such as Vasudeva and Devaki? But as both Vasudeva and Devaki are also part of prakriti, Lord Krishna establishes them in pure sattva as well by His yogamaya potency and manifests Himself through them appearing to be born by normal human perception. It should not be thought that Lord Krishna is dependent upon anything or that He is ever born or that He ever dies nor should it be assumed that He uses the material elements of prakriti to create a form for Himself. His form is transcendental and completely in itself and prakriti which is the substratum of all material existence is subservient to Him. The Supreme Lord Krishna manifests His appearances and disappearances and the conditions necessary to descend and ascend by His own sweet will. Atma mayaya infers the consciousness of the soul. Since for material nature there is the distinct word prakriti, here maya is understood to be referring to yogamaya or the consciousness of Lord Krishna’s internal potency. This means that yogamaya arranges the situation and all the details with phenomenal alacrity and

intricacy so that Lord Krishna appears to be born like a normal human being but factually this not so. He appears to be born from a mother and a father but actually it is not the case. Isha means great but Ishvara means greater than isha.Therefore it is stated that since Lord Krishna is superior to those who are isha such as Brahma, Shiva and Shesha, only He is to be known as Ishvara or the greatest of the great and none other.

Thus ends the commentary to Chapter 4, verse 6 by Madhvacarya.



Actually there is no mandate that for the protection of the righteous and virtuous Lord Krishna must descend and save them. But by His causeless mercy and in some circumstances for sport He manifests Himself by His own sweet will. In the Rig Veda it is described that this will itself is as an inclination of the Lord. A comparison in human terms it is like the bliss that comes with spontaneous creativity. The Supreme Lord is complete within Himself so there is nothing to be gained for Him by any action; yet and still He still performs unlimited activities. Therefore those expert in bhagavat tattva or knowledge of the Supreme Lord Krishna declare that His impulses are all sublime and transcendental to prakriti or material nature. The word glanir in the previous verse does not mean decline as is often translated but glanir means obscure. If dharma meaning eternal righteous is a perennial principle then it must be devoid of any modification of decline. It has to exist eternally in pristine purity. What happens is that dharma becomes obscure to the masses due to material influences on the mind, agitated by the effects of sense gratification by the onslaught of maya or illusion. When such times arise the purpose of human existence becomes distorted and consequently the activities of humans become more and more degenerated and humans become degraded. At this time the dharma of human beings is said to be glanir or obscured.

Therefore as far as dharma is concerned there is no possibility of their being any decline even as darkness is unable to hide sunlight. However even as large clouds are able to obscure the light of the sun from human vision in the same way non-awareness of the independent supremacy of the Supreme Lord and the human beings total dependency on the Supreme Lord consequently obscures the faith in the Supreme Lord as well as any perception of the Supreme Lord in human beings. So the sense is that glanir is referring to obscurity.

The Supreme Lord Krishna is also designated as Brahman which means eternal in time and dynamic in creativity and is the all pervading luminosity of His effulgence. It is not inert or passive. The word Brahman which is derived from the root brh means to grow, to burst forth which infers constant, continuous creativity, perpetually manifesting. That which is dynamic and creative cannot remain static and passive. The dynamic, spontaneous, creative impulse is what is known as the Supreme Lord Krishna’s lila or divine pastimes. The complete material creation and all its embodied beings is the result of one such impulse of the Supreme Lord Krishna and this is also known as lila. The reality of Lord Krishna’s avatars or incarnations such as Rama or Buddha and the understanding of Lord Krishna’s divine lila’s has often been misconstrued and misinterpreted. But here in this verse He explicitly reveals that he comes to protect the righteous and to vanquish the sinful miscreants and to personally re-establish dharma or eternal righteousness.

Sam-sthapana-arthaya- ca infers to establishing one’s true nature. The Lords divine nature assumes His divine form. Because prakriti or material nature is understood as svabhava the word sam has been used referring to that. The word sva also refers Lord Krishna’s essential svarupa or transcendental form as svabhava refers to the innate form or essence and creation is manifested by this essence being the impulse of His will. There is no difference between the form of Krishna and Himself neither is there any difference between the name of Krishna and Himself. In the Narayana Sruti is states that : the Supreme Lord Krishna is immutable yet through the course of creation He manifests Himself in inconceivable many ways in unlimited forms.



For the purpose of showing that moksa or complete liberation from the cycle of birth and death is only possible through complete knowledge of His essence and not by partial knowledge does Lord Krishna speak thus. The complete knowledge is by the knowledge of the Vedic scriptures. That is the way Lord Krishna must be adored. In the Kurma Purana it is stated that: who lives their life following the principles advised in the Vedic scriptures and adores Him accordingly, to those does the Supreme Lord reveal Himself and not to others. So it is clarified that only proceeding in this manner is salvation and liberation achieved and not by any other method digressing from the Vedic scriptures and this is irrevocable. The adjective tattvatah signifies that the entire scope of knowledge is essential. Regarding it thus this is not contradictory. In the Skanda Purana it has been stated that a human being will not be knowledgeable by understanding a single principle without first knowing the entirety of the principles and even Shiva is not capable of doing so, therefore one should diligently endeavour to be aware of all the principles.


Only by learning and comprehending the knowledge revealed in the Vedic scriptures is moksa or liberation possible. By knowing and furthermore correlating this knowledge from different Vedic texts and applying it to one’s everyday life will the ultimate attainment be gained and no other way. It should be clearly understood that the mere knowledge of the facts and details of the Supreme Lords appearance and divine pastimes will not enable one to attain liberation from the material existence without having first applied this learning through the medium of the Vedic scriptures fully into one’s life and all that one’s life encompasses.



By completely renouncing passion, fear and anger and subsequently adoring the Supreme Lord many attained moksa or liberation. Man-maya means complete abidance and refuge in the Lord in all situations.


Mayam means making the Lord the central focus of one’s life as the primary objective. One who knows the Supreme Primacy of the Lord’s position becomes eventually aware of His transcendental integral form. Only those who know the Supreme Resplendent Lord thus are qualified for liberation and no others. Being aware of His integral form indicates attaining their eternal spiritual form similar to His in quality but not quantity.



Not by propitiation to Lord Krishna by itself will moksa or liberation from material existence be granted. Nor will it be granted to other paths of religiosity that are not Vedic; but to all, in the manner which as well as how much they surrender unto the Supreme Lord, He rewards proportionately, granting the rewards to each accordingly. Here the word bhajami means reciprocation indicating that the most beneficial is directly propitiating Him as direct service returns direct reciprocation from the Lord. Those who propitiate others are indirectly also propitiating Lord Krishna as well but without being aware. This is because Lord Krishna is the maintainer and energiser of all creation. Lord Krishna and His authorised avatars or incarnations are what is revealed in the Vedic scriptures to be the ultimate reality and the ultimate goal of human existence.


Tathaiva bhajamy means Lord Krishna reciprocates rewards to all in proportion accordingly to how one propitiates Him. Even those who follow other religions and denominations and propitiate others and are not following the Vedic culture in any way; for them also an allotment of materialistic rewards are made available but in an indirect way because the propitiation to Lord Krishna was made in an indirect way through the worship of other religions and denominations not connected to the eternal Vedic culture. So although it is true that even the worship of our religions and denominations eventually reaches Lord Krishna finally; the Agni Purana advises: Since sanction and entrance to the immortal and eternal regions comes from Him alone and no other; therefore by all means possible one should propitiate the Supreme Lord alone.



Those that are worshipping the demi-gods and other religions and denominations, how can they be understood to be following Lord Krishna’s path? The proof is given in the second half of this verse being: quick indeed do they get their desired fruits from such worship. This is confirmed in the Chandogya Upanisad where it states: tasya ime venayam gayanti, tasmat te dhanasanayah which clarifies that from the Supreme Lord alone are bequeathed the rewards of one’s actions.


Bhagavad-Gita

Chapter 4, verse 13

Lord Krishna is the origin of the four classifications in Vedic culture as spoken here. Those of sattva guna or the mode of goodness are designated as Brahmins or priestly class. Those of mixed sattva guna and rajas guna or the mode of passion are known as ksatriyas or warrior class. Those mixed with rajas guna and tama guna or the mode of ignorance are the vaisyas or mercantile class and those in tama guna are the sudras or servant class. The actions of Lord always possess shama or tranquillity and dama or self-control in their performance thus even if He appears to do nothing He is the performer and if He appears to be the performer He is the non-performer of His actions. Even though He is the origin of the entire creation He has no desires and remains unattached. Thus it has been perceived that those who perform actions without desires, unattached to rewards have developed an attribute of the Lord.


The four orders descending in purity from sattva guna to rajas guna to tama guna have been described here. Those in sattva guna are the Vaisnava devotees of the supreme Lord Krishna possessing tranquillity and self-control. All others as their sattva decreases are in tama guna in descending order. Thus sattva guna is determined by one’s ability and capacity to be a devotee of Lord Krishna and the further away one is from this the deeper one is covered by tama guna . Thus this is the difference between them and occurs naturally due to their character and disposition. The differences and conditions acquired due to birth should be understood to be merely a designation as devotion to the Supreme Lord Krishna has been seen to arise and manifest in all four orders of existence. Amongst some it is more potent and in others less so and even these differences happen naturally according to an individuals inherent attributes. Although the resplendent Supreme Lord reveals He is kartaram or the origin of all creation He also reveals He is akartaram or not originated from any source. He is independent in Himself and not created from anything. The adjective api used here is to show this special at tribute that there is no creator for Him.



Lord Krishna is declaring that actions do not bind Him as He has no desires to the rewards of any actions. This is not to imply that He does not want the best for creation but only He is equipoise to prakriti or material nature. Even though the Supreme Lord wills the creation into existence and always is the protector of dharma or eternal righteousness and out of His causeless mercy has the best wishes for its development He is not attached to it. This knowledge of this attribute of the Supreme Lord removes one’s own misconceptions of attachment and craving for rewards to the point where one’s desires are not binding by performing prescribed Vedic activities exclusively. In this way a person of Vedic knowledge so inclined would able to attain moksa or freedom from the cycle of birth and death. It is not that moksa comes to everyone automatically in due course of time in that case the whole world would be attaining liberation without the prerequisite knowledge. Therefore one should realise the atma or soul within the heart by knowledge in the mind. By this eternal

life is achieved by the spiritually wise. How is this eternity to be understood? As the atma is without beginning or ending , kala or time is without beginning or ending.


To emphasise the distinction between Lord Krishna and other living entities He twice uses the word mam karmani meaning actions do not bind Me and mam abhijanati meaning one who knows Me in truth.



Even after realising the eternally, transcendental position of the Supreme Lord one should still perform Vedic actions as a matter of principle following the tradition of the ancients. The performance of Vedic actions of the ancients means without desires or attachments.



In the three previous verses Lord Krishna talks about performance of actions, now He promises to gives a detailed explanation that will dispel delusion about the nature of actions.



Moksa or liberation from the material existence will not be achieved by mere knowing of the do’s and don’ts of action. Only by correct knowledge of the nature of actions can one achieve moksa. Factually this means without knowledge of the resplendent Supreme Lord and how all actions are ultimately performed in relation to Him, it will be impossible to ever be delivered from samsara or the repetitive cycle of birth and death. Realisation of the Supreme Lord Krishna as paramatma or the Supreme Soul within the etheric heart of every living being is the indispensable ingredient for moksa, how can there be success any other way. Karma is performing actions, akarma is the non-performance of actions and vikarma is performing improper actions, which are prohibited. Actions filled with desire and craving are vikarma and prohibited. Why are they prohibited? Because they create bondage for the living entity to material existence. Therefore the wise after reflecting and contemplating the intricacies of action in this light should perform actions accordingly. Such sagacious persons do not become deluded and deviate from this course during adverse situations even though it is deluding and bewildering for others.


Actions also have originated from Lord Krishna so for this reason as well, one desirous of their best welfare should by all means become knowledgeable of Him. Since everything has ultimately emanated from the Will of the Supreme Lord, including even the energy behind every action it is superfluous not to accept Him completely but at least every being should understand His supreme position. Only by knowledge of Him can one tread the path that leads to moksa or liberation from the material existence.



In this verse Lord Krishna delineates the intricate and subtle forms of actions. When a person performing karma or prescribed Vedic activities resolves with certitude that the action performed is solely for the Supreme Lord and not for the one performing the action whose consciousness is merely a minute reflection of the ultimate consciousness then does realisation begin to dawn within and all actions performed by such a one are factually inaction. Then one realises that all actions performed are actually performed by the Supreme Being Himself in the same consciousness as when the Supreme Reality even creates the universes. This person is spiritually intelligent and situated in true wisdom, for such a person is verily in communion with the Supreme Consciousness and even when this person is not performing any actions, such a person should be understood to be performing all actions and the knower of all actions.


Karma or actions are the nature of all living beings. This is because they are not the actual performer of any action and are dependent. Akarma or inaction is the nature of the Supreme Lord because of His being independent and the factual performer of all actions. The living beings accept karma and reactions to actions when egoism is present in the belief that one is the doer or thinks that the actions were performed by them. In the Narada Purana it states that since the Supreme Lord Krishna is never bound by cause and effect all His actions are to be understood as inaction. In the Pancharatra it is noted that the word krtsna has the attribute of not being perceptible in regards to activities. This denotes that all actions are under the control of the Supreme Lord. Since all material actions are visible to the living beings, what is not visible is the karma or reactions that come with the actions that the living beings are forced to accept due to having desires for the rewards of their actions and this perpetual desire to enjoy causes tem to perform actions which keeps them attached.



In this verse and the next five verses Lord Krishna describes the nature of karma or prescribed Vedic activities. The knowledge that one is completely dependent upon the Supreme Lord and that the Supreme Lord alone is the actual performer of all actions guarantees that all reactions to actions are neutralised by the fire of wisdom.



It is not only by the mere renunciation of the intention for fruits of desire but also it is essential to renounce the affection and intense liking for these fruits in whatever form one is remembering them. This is what Lord Krishna is emphasising here. The nature of spiritual intelligence is being always tranquil and ever content. By acting in this way one assumes the qualities of the eternally equipoised and infinitely independent Supreme Lord.



Lord Krishna now gives the method of renouncing desires. Restraining one’s mind and body by the conscious of the atma or soul which is referred to here denotes not being dependent. By renunciation of the senses one becomes devoid of pride. One who is convinced that the Supreme Lord performs all actions and that they do not perform any actions is free from all reactions.



The characteristics of one who has constrained their mind are being given by Lord Krishna, along with the method of transcending all dualities by being equipoised in all situations whether it is success or failure.



Now Lord Krishna summarises the conclusion of the previous five verses. The compound words gata- sangasya means being freed from desires for rewards. The word muktasya means being free from bodily vanity. The words jnanavasthita.cetasah means one who has communion with the ultimate consciousness residing in the heart.


Being free from all dependence means to take complete refuge in the Supreme Lord and to be totally under His protection. Liberated means to be free from all sense of pride.



The essential meaning Lord Krishna is conveying here is the establishing of a higher consciousness that sees all activities as offerings to the Brahman or the spiritual substratum pervading all existence. Everything is spoken as the Brahman because everything is emanated from the Brahman and everything is contained within the Brahman. It should not be assumed that the unlimited myriad of individual beings are in the likeness of the Brahman because that would be erroneous. The Brahman is the whole and all others are infinitesimal parts of the whole and subservient to it because all comes into existence from the Brahman. In the Padma Purana the sages speak that: The Supreme Lord is verily is the essence and the total of the Vedas. Everything is verily the vision of the Supreme Lord’s consciousness and the Brahman is the manifestation of this consciousness. With the equanimity of one’s intellect Brahman is realised to be the performer of all actions.


How can pride be relinquished? By offering pride to the Brahman along with other unwanted hindrances. The paraphernalia offered to the Brahman is called Brahmarpanamas and they include the fire itself, the ghee or clarified butter and foodgrains offered to the sacred fire as well as the performer of the yagna or worship who propitiates the Supreme Lord by offering oblations. So the Brahman is also the performing presribed Vedic actions with equanimity in higher consciousness. But even with this equanimity all are eternally subservient to the Supreme Lord. The Mahabharata confirms that only the respendent Supreme Lord Krishna is independent everything else is dependent upon Him.

Thus ends the commentary, summation to Chapter 4, verses 24 by Madhvacarya.



Lord Krishna speaks of the different grades and types of yagnas or offerings and worship and the goals desired. Although the word daivam may refer to the demigods; it can also refer exclusively to the resplendent Supreme Lord who verily is the ultimate goal of all yagnas by those exclusively devoted to Him. Thus the propitiation of the Supreme Lord is the distinctive superior attribute of performance of action. For the spiritually intelligent

situated in atma tattva there exists nothing else. Every action even every breath is a yagna dedicated to the Supreme Lord. Yagna is verily the Supreme Lord so by this yagna is performed within yagna. In this way it can be understood that everything offered in yagna is of the Brahman or the spiritual substratum pervading all existence.


One who perceives the Brahman pervading everywhere there exists nothing else for them except the personal communion with the resplendent Supreme Lord, who to reciprocate with His devotee becomes the very yagna which is being performed. In the fire of the yagna, in the offerings of havih or ghee and grainseeds, in the paraphernalia being used to perform the yagna. In the form of yagna the goal of yagna being the Supreme Lord is verily being offered to Himself. Thus everything becomes the Brahman. Through His propitiation performed according to Vedic injunctions all the sense organs like eyes and tongue are brought under control and all the sense become neutralised and passive. In the Brihadaranya Upanisad I.IV.X it is stated that the Brahman alone was in the beginning and it knew itself as the Brahman and then the Brahman manifested into the all. Whosoever amongst the demigods becomes awakened to this consciousness indeed becomes similar to this consciousness. It is the same for elevated beings and the same for sages and yogis and it is the same for humans.



The compound words atma-samyama-yogagnau means with the intelligence controlled by the soul by the fire of yoga or the individual consciousness in communion with the ultimate consciousness. This infers that due to spiritual wisdom and knowledge an intensity of self-restraint and determination is activated. It must be emphasised here that mere mechanical control of the senses will not bring the desired result. When the mind has achieved full knowledge and wisdom it perceives that it is no longer needs to control the senses because by discrimination the senses are naturally restrained and one becomes qualified to gain communion with the ultimate consciousness.

Thus ends the commentary to Chapter one, verse 27 by Madhvacarya.


Those who donate artha or wealth for Vedic festivals and rituals also perform yagnas or offerings of worship. Those who perform tapasya or austerities as penance such as fasting for the propitiation of the Supreme Lord also are considered to be offering oblations in yagna. When such austere penance’s are offered as propitiation to the Brahman or the spiritual substratum pervading all existence, the penance itself becomes the sacrificial fire. Such an offering is spiritualised by the Brahman and is an offering in wisdom. Offering in wisdom is to attain the realisation that all knowledge and all propensities is ultimately for the realisation of the atma or soul which gives direct communion to the Supreme Lord Krishna. There is a more profound meaning to the word dravya which normally means

donations and that is in reference to the nine dravya’s that compose the physical body being earth, fire, water, air, ether, the senses, the mind, the intellect and the soul. Offering one’s everything is also considered offering all one’s possessions and superior to mere wealth. The great sage Yagnavalkya has echoed this by his statement in the Brihadaranya Upanisad II.II.V that there is no hope for moksa or liberation through wealth.



Continuing Lord Krishna explains that others who are devoted to pranayama or regulation of the breath offer the prana or outgoing breath to the apana or incoming breath and the incoming breath to the outgoing breath. In this way they arrive at the stage of kumbhaka or complete restraint of the breath and this is considered to be yagna or offerings of worship.




By diminishing the intake of food the influence of the senses are greatly reduced due to weakness of body. The speech is also so diminished as well. Knowing that the senses and tongue which governs both eating and speaking are all subservient to the mind as revealed in the Vedic scriptures, one of controlled mind should only eat what has been ordained and sanctified in yagna or offerings of worship to the Supreme Lord according to the injunctions of the Vedic scriptures otherwise there is no hope for redemption in this world or the next.


Due to yagna and propitiation to the Supreme Lord are the restraint of the senses achieved. By considering that such efforts are the sole purpose of existence one should wholeheartedly engage in yagna without reservation. One should consider one’s life as the oblation offered to the Supreme Lord in full surrender following the injunctions recommended in the Vedic scriptures. In the Brahma Vaivartaka Purana it states that one should realise the Supreme Lord as the yagna and propitiate Him with body, mind and words. When the Brahman or the spiritual substratum pervading all existence has been perceived then the relation between the performer, the activity performed, the recepient of the performance and the result of the performance are all factually not separate from the Supreme Lord one will then experience the actual presence of the Supreme Lord everywhere in all situations.


Bhagavad-Gita Chapter 4, verse 32

The word brahmano is referring directly to the Supreme Lord Krishna the recepient of all yagnas or offerings of worship, through His attribute the Brahman or the spiritual substratum pervading all existence. Such yagnas according to the qualifiyation of the performer may be mentally performed, orally performed or physically performed. Knowing this and performing ordained activities according to the injunctions of the Vedic scriptures one will attain moksa or liberation from the cycle of birth and death in the material existence. Performing yagna according to one’s rank and station in life is what is being given here and whether it is mental, oral or physical the activity is still performed by concerted effort. So what is ordained by the injunctions of the Vedic scriptures should never be ignored or disregarded.


The words vitata brahmano mukhe means everything should be offered to the Supreme Lord. In the Brahman Vaivartaka Purana it states that: In all yagnas the Supreme Lord alone is to be propitiated. This means that every activity and all endeavours one undertakes should be in harmony with the injunctions and ordinances of the Vedic scriptures which are in complete and total harmony with the divine will of the Supreme Lord. No other alternative is tenable or acceptable for a human being.


Bhagavad-GitaChapter 4, verses 33

Every activity recommended in the preceding verses are useful methods of upasana or engaging oneself in glorifying the Supreme Lord. Spiritual knowledge is the result of this.


Everything is verily performance of actions but by itself it amounts to very little. The culmination of Vedic actions is spiritual knowledge and solely in spiritual realisation do actions find fulfilment. In the Mundaka Upanisad it states: That acts of yagna or offerings of worship are undoubtedly meritorious in themselves; but superior to them is spiritual knowledge where all doubts are dispelled and the need for all actions terminated. The point Lord Krishna is making is that all actions culminate in knowledge.



Although Arjuna is considered a man of wisdom properly raised and educated in the Vedic culture, still illusion has entered his consciousness. This was highlighted in verse sixteen where the words yat jnatva meaning having understood were used to instruct Arjuna.


Since spiritual wisdom will be revealed in detail in later chapters Lord Krishna now begins speaking briefly about the nature of it here.


Bhagavad-Gita Chapter 4, verse 35

By such spiritual knowledge one will realise their atma or soul and seeing the atma within all beings pervading all creation one will perceive that they are all equal as part of the Supreme Being and that the Supreme Being is identical with Lord Krishna.


The word atmani refers to Lord Krishna’s special attribute as paramatma or the super soul within all living beings by which one realises the oneness of all beings in creation.



Chapter 4, verse 37 has no commentary by Madhvacarya.Bhagavad-Gita

Chapter 4, verse 38

Lord Krishna praises the value of spiritual wisdom in this verse and the next two. In this process what is the role of the Supreme Lord? Is He simply monitoring every activity from His position as paramatma or the supersoul within all living entities. To the contrary, it is the Supreme Lord who illuminates the consciousness of the living entities over and over again and gives them the opportunity to learn about the ultimate truth.





Bhagavad-Gita

Chapter 4, verse 42

Having explained the means of acquiring spiritual realisation and the disadvantages of achieving spiritual realisation the Supreme Lord Krishna concludes this chapter.

Thus ends the commentaries to Srimad Bhagavad-Gita, Chapter 4 by Madhvacarya..

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