Lord Krishna has just finished teaching Arjuna about the self that cannot be lost. The teaching is large and, for a grieving man, consoling. Yet Arjuna still has to get up and decide what to do. Why does the Lord turn now to the intellect, and what is a "resolute" one?
The answer in a sentence: knowing what lasts does not by itself make a person steady in action. For that the intellect must be settled on one aim, and it settles only when the mind comes to rest in the Self. The Gita calls this buddhi yoga, the yoga of the intellect. The verses here show what it is, what scatters it and what completes it.
We take the verses in order, first the turn to yoga and the single resolve (Gita 2.39–46), then the resting of the mind (Gita 2.52–53). The verses between them are the teaching of action without claiming the fruit (Gita 2.47–51), taken up in Action Without Claiming the Fruit. The arguments from duty just before (Gita 2.31–37) are in Duty, Honour and Fear.
Where these verses stand in the Gita
The first stretch of the chapter taught the self, and was a teaching to be understood (Gita 2.11–30); it is read in The Imperishable Self. Arjuna has said he cannot decide for himself what is right and has asked to be taught (Gita 2.7). Later he will ask again that Lord Krishna tell him "the one" way and not a mixture of ways (Gita 3.2). The passage read here is where Lord Krishna begins to answer that need. It comes first on the path of karma yoga.
Understanding told a second time, as yoga (2.39–40)
बुद्ध्या युक्तो यया पार्थ कर्मबन्धं प्रहास्यसि ॥ २.३९ ॥
buddhyā yukto yayā pārtha karmabandhaṁ prahāsyasi || 2.39 ||
This understanding has been explained to you from the viewpoint of Sankhya (analytical knowledge). Now hear it from the viewpoint of Yoga (the practice of action). Endowed with this understanding, O Partha, you will cast off the bondage of karma.
स्वल्पमप्यस्य धर्मस्य त्रायते महतो भयात् ॥ २.४० ॥
svalpam apy asya dharmasya trāyate mahato bhayāt || 2.40 ||
On this path there is no loss of effort and no adverse result. Even a little of this discipline protects one from great fear.
The first half of the teaching was given as knowing, says the Lord. Now it is given as yoga, and with this understanding Arjuna will throw off the bond of action (Gita 2.39). It is the same teaching, now told as something to live. The bond is the grip on results, which makes work heavy. It does not mean that work stops.
Two assurances follow. A beginning on this path is never wasted, and no reverse result arises from it. Even a little of the discipline protects from great fear (Gita 2.40). Many things in life are wasted if left half-done. This is not one of them. The fear named here is first of all Arjuna's own, the fear that made him put down his bow. The sixth chapter will say the same of the seeker who falls short: such a person is never lost, here or hereafter (Gita 6.40).
One resolve, and thoughts that branch without end (2.41)
बहुशाखा ह्यनन्ताश्च बुद्धयोऽव्यवसायिनाम् ॥ २.४१ ॥
bahuśhākhā hy anantāśh cha buddhayo 'vyavasāyinām || 2.41 ||
On this path, O descendant of Kuru, the resolute intellect is single. The intellects of the irresolute are many-branched and endless.
On this path the intellect that has decided is one. The intellects of the irresolute have many branches and no end (Gita 2.41). Picture a person who wants a safe job, a high salary, respect from the family, freedom and an exciting life. Each wish grows its own plans, and each plan grows more. The mind is then not choosing; it is branching.
This does not mean one fixed opinion or one answer to every question. It means one aim, and many decisions that serve it. The Gita comes back to this when it describes the clear intellect: it knows what to do and what not to do, what to fear and what not to fear, what binds and what frees (Gita 18.30–32). Such a mind is not full of ideas. It is settled.
What scatters the mind (2.42–44)
वेदवादरताः पार्थ नान्यदस्तीति वादिनः ॥ २.४२ ॥
vedavādaratāḥ pārtha nānyad astīti vādinaḥ || 2.42 ||
Those of limited understanding, who delight in the words of the Vedas and say, "There is nothing else," speak these flowery words, O Partha.
क्रियाविशेषबहुलां भोगैश्वर्यगतिं प्रति ॥ २.४३ ॥
kriyāviśeṣhabahulāṁ bhogaiśhvaryagatiṁ prati || 2.43 ||
Those whose minds are full of desires and who regard heaven as the highest goal speak words that give rebirth as the result of actions, and that are full of many specific rites for the attainment of enjoyment and power.
व्यवसायात्मिका बुद्धिः समाधौ न विधीयते ॥ २.४४ ॥
vyavasāyātmikā buddhiḥ samādhau na vidhīyate || 2.44 ||
For those who are strongly attached to enjoyment and power, and whose minds are carried away by such words, the resolute intellect is not formed in steady contemplation.
The Lord now names the cause of the branching. There are people who delight in the words of the Vedas and say that there is nothing else, and who speak flowery words (Gita 2.42). Their minds are full of desire, heaven is their highest aim, and their speech is about many rites to gain enjoyment and power, with rebirth as the result (Gita 2.43). Those whose minds are carried away by this speech, and who cling to enjoyment and power, do not form the resolute intellect in steady rest (Gita 2.44).
Three things are easy to miss. The Gita is not against the Vedas; it is against the claim that there is nothing else, and against making enjoyment and power the aim. The pleasures of heaven are real and they end: the ninth chapter says that those who enjoy them return when their merit is spent (Gita 9.20–21). And the trouble is inside as much as outside. Talk of enjoyment and power sticks to a mind that already wants them.
The same is true today. Advertisements, status talk, advice that promises comfort and success: all of it works on the same wish, and the mind that is pulled in many directions cannot decide.
Rising above the three pulls (2.45–46)
निर्द्वन्द्वो नित्यसत्त्वस्थो निर्योगक्षेम आत्मवान् ॥ २.४५ ॥
nirdvandvo nityasattvastho niryogakṣhema ātmavān || 2.45 ||
The Vedas deal with the three modes of nature. O Arjuna, rise above these three modes, free from dualities, ever established in sattva (purity), free from the thought of acquiring and preserving, and established in the Self.
तावान्सर्वेषु वेदेषु ब्राह्मणस्य विजानतः ॥ २.४६ ॥
tāvān sarveṣhu vedeṣhu brāhmaṇasya vijānataḥ || 2.46 ||
As much use as there is in a small well when there is a flood of water on all sides, so much is there in all the Vedas for a knower of Brahman who has realised the Truth.
The Vedas, says the Lord, are about the three qualities of nature, which are calm, restlessness and dullness. Arjuna is to rise above them: free from the pairs of opposites, always in calm, free from the care of getting and keeping, and self-possessed (Gita 2.45). "Getting and keeping" is the worry of acquiring what we lack and guarding what we have. The Gita answers this worry later, where the Lord says that for the steadfast he carries what they lack and preserves what they have (Gita 9.22).
Then comes a picture. For one who knows, all the Vedas have only as much use as a small well has when water floods the land on all sides (Gita 2.46). A well is a fine thing. The verse calls it small in a flood, not useless. Someone who has the flood does not live at the well. The fourteenth chapter gives the knowledge behind the picture: the one who sees that the qualities do the acting goes beyond them (Gita 14.19).
Where the mind rests, and yoga arrives (2.52–53)
तदा गन्तासि निर्वेदं श्रोतव्यस्य श्रुतस्य च ॥ २.५२ ॥
tadā gantāsi nirvedaṁ śhrotavyasya śhrutasya cha || 2.52 ||
When your intellect crosses beyond the thicket of delusion, then you will become indifferent to what is yet to be heard and to what has been heard.
समाधावचला बुद्धिस्तदा योगमवाप्स्यसि ॥ २.५३ ॥
samādhāv achalā buddhis tadā yogam avāpsyasi || 2.53 ||
When your intellect, which has been confused by many teachings, stands unshaken and firm in samadhi, then you will attain yoga.
When the intellect crosses the thicket of delusion, the Lord says, it becomes indifferent to what has been heard and what is still to be heard (Gita 2.52). The mind that was pulled by every voice no longer is. It does not close its ears. It simply stops being carried off.
The last verse of the passage is the destination: the intellect, once confused by many teachings, stands unshaken and firm in the Self, and then yoga is reached (Gita 2.53). The still flame of the sixth chapter is the picture of this: a lamp in a place without wind does not flicker (Gita 6.19). Arjuna's next question is about the person in this state, how he speaks, sits and walks (Gita 2.54); that opens Equanimity.
Where the intellect sits, and why it needs the Self
Why does the passage end in the Self and not simply in a firm decision? The third chapter gives the order inside a person. The senses are higher than the body, the mind higher than the senses, the intellect higher than the mind, and the Self higher even than the intellect (Gita 3.42). The intellect is the one at the helm. When the mind runs after the wandering senses, it carries wisdom away, as a wind carries a boat on water (Gita 2.67).
There is a second point. The senses, the mind and the intellect are all named as the seat of desire, which covers over knowledge (Gita 3.40). So an intellect left to itself can also be covered. The Lord's answer is to know the Self as higher than the intellect and to steady the lower self by the higher Self (Gita 3.43). This is why the passage ends in rest in the Self (Gita 2.53). A helmsman needs a fixed point. How desire is overcome is taken up in The Enemy Called Desire.
The passage at a glance
| What scatters the mind | What steadies it |
|---|---|
| Many aims, each with its own branches (2.41) | One resolve (2.41) |
| Talk that promises enjoyment and power (2.42–43) | Rising above the three pulls (2.45) |
| Clinging to enjoyment and power (2.44) | Freedom from the care of getting and keeping (2.45) |
| Confusion from many teachings (2.53) | Firm rest in the Self (2.53) |
Why the Gita builds it in this order
Knowing the self removes the wrong idea about what is lost. But knowing does not decide. A person can understand the lasting self and still be dragged around by promises of pleasure and power. So the Lord first names the cure (one resolve), then the cause (pull towards enjoyment and power), then the freedom (rising above the pulls), and finally the rest in which the cure works. The thicket the intellect crosses is delusion, the same confusion that opened the whole Gita. The way across is steady practice and detachment (Gita 6.35), because a restless mind is calmed by repeated return and not by one effort. A mind without this rest has no peace, and without peace, no happiness (Gita 2.66).
The same two kinds of firmness in the last chapter
The eighteenth chapter names the firmness that holds a person together, and divides it in three. The firmness that keeps mind, breath and senses in order through yoga is pure (Gita 18.33). The firmness that holds on to duty, pleasure and wealth out of attachment, wanting their fruit, is passion-driven (Gita 18.34). The firmness of the dull does not let go of sleep, fear, grief, despondency and pride (Gita 18.35). The first is the firmness of rest in the Self described above; the second is the firmness of those carried away by enjoyment and power. The two kinds look alike from outside, since both hold on. What differs is what is held and why.
Common misreadings
Ignore all advice and all scripture. The verses say no such thing. The same Lord says that he is to be known through all the Vedas (Gita 15.15), that all action ends in knowledge (Gita 4.33), and that action done as sacrifice does not bind (Gita 3.9).
One resolve means a fixed opinion. It means one aim. Under it a person may change plans a hundred times.
A steady mind feels nothing. The mind is steady about what is heard. It is not cold towards people.
One resolve means no freedom to choose. The Lord ends the Gita by saying: reflect on this fully, then do as you wish (Gita 18.63). The resolve is reached by reflection, and it is one's own.
Wanting enjoyment is a sin. The verses say only that when enjoyment and power become the aim, the resolve cannot take root.
An example: Suman and the exam
Take Suman, who is preparing for a hard exam. She has a notebook of tips from many coaches and three apps, and every week she changes her plan. She works hard and gets nowhere. One evening she writes one sentence: "I want to understand this subject well enough to teach it." She then reads her plan against that sentence. Two apps go; two coaches' advice stays. Her days become quieter. She has not gained a clever method. She has chosen one aim, and the many branches have gone quiet.
A practice from the verses
- Name the aim of the matter in front of you in one sentence (Gita 2.41).
- Notice which voices, outside or inside, promise enjoyment or power (Gita 2.43–44).
- Begin, even with something small; a little protects (Gita 2.40).
- Sit quietly for a few minutes each day, like a lamp in a still place (Gita 6.19).
- Act, and let go of the grip on the result; this is taught in Action Without Claiming the Fruit.
- What single aim does my present decision serve?
- Which voices am I listening to because they please me, not because they are true?
- What would I do if I knew there was nothing to win from it?
- When do I feel most steady, and what is happening then?
Questions readers ask
Are the "knowing" side and the "yoga" side in 2.39 two different teachings?
No. The Lord says that only the immature take knowing and action as separate, and that the wise see that they give the same result (Gita 5.4–5). The verse tells one understanding in two ways: first for seeing what is real, then for living by it.
Does 2.40 mean that I cannot fail?
It means that a beginning is not wasted and no reverse result arises. For the one who falls short, the sixth chapter says such a person is never lost (Gita 6.40).
If the Vedas are a "small well", should rituals be dropped?
The picture is about the knower, for whom the ritual aimed at enjoyment has little use. Yet the Gita keeps sacrifice, giving and the like for the wise as purifiers, and asks that they be done free from attachment (Gita 18.5, Gita 3.9).
What does freedom from "getting and keeping" mean for a parent?
It means freedom from the anxious grip, not from the work. The Lord says that for the steadfast he carries what they lack and preserves what they have (Gita 9.22). The work stays; the dread goes.
How is rest in the Self different from an afternoon's calm?
A passing calm depends on the day going well. The rest the verse speaks of does not. The Gita says that without it there is no peace, and without peace no happiness (Gita 2.66).
The answer in a few words
The question was why the Lord turns from the self to the intellect. Because knowing is not yet deciding. The intellect needs one aim, and it finds firm ground only when it rests in the Self. Then the many voices lose their hold, and yoga is reached. The Lord's later word describes where this rest comes from: place your mind and your intellect in me (Gita 12.8).
योगिनो यतचित्तस्य युञ्जतो योगमात्मनः॥ ६.१९॥
yogino yata-cittasya yuñjato yogam ātmanaḥ || 6.19 ||
Just as the flame of a lamp placed in a windless place does not flicker, similarly the mind of a yogi engaged in meditation for Self-realization remains perfectly steady and undisturbed. This is the classic comparison used to describe the state of a disciplined meditator.
For a shorter first approach, see the simple reading. For the finer points and the objections, see the deeper reading.