Bg. 3.30

BG 3.30
Srila Prabhupada

Devanagari

मयि सर्वाणि कर्माणि सन्न्यस्याध्यात्मचेतसा । निराशीर्निर्ममो भूत्वा युध्यस्व विगतज्वरः ॥ ३० ॥

Verse text

mayi sarvāṇi karmāṇi sannyasyādhyātma-cetasā nirāśīr nirmamo bhūtvā yudhyasva vigata-jvaraḥ

Synonyms

mayi unto Me ; sarvāṇi all sorts of ; karmāṇi activities ; sannyasya giving up completely ; adhyātma with full knowledge of the self ; cetasā by consciousness ; nirāśīḥ without desire for profit ; nirmamaḥ without ownership ; bhūtvā so being ; yudhyasva fight ; vigata-jvaraḥ without being lethargic.

Translation

Therefore, O Arjuna, surrendering all your works unto Me, with full knowledge of Me, without desires for profit, with no claims to proprietorship, and free from lethargy, fight.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

30. Offering all activities to Me, being fixed in the soul, being without possessiveness or desire, devoid of fever, fight.

Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

30. Offering all activities to Me, fixed in the soul, being without desire for results, without possessiveness, devoid of suffering, fight.

Purport

This verse clearly indicates the purpose of the Bhagavad-gītā. The Lord instructs that one has to become fully Kṛṣṇa conscious to discharge duties, as if in military discipline. Such an injunction may make things a little difficult; nevertheless duties must be carried out, with dependence on Kṛṣṇa, because that is the constitutional position of the living entity. The living entity cannot be happy independent of the cooperation of the Supreme Lord, because the eternal constitutional position of the living entity is to become subordinate to the desires of the Lord. Arjuna was therefore ordered by Śrī Kṛṣṇa to fight as if the Lord were his military commander. One has to sacrifice everything for the good will of the Supreme Lord, and at the same time discharge prescribed duties without claiming proprietorship. Arjuna did not have to consider the order of the Lord; he had only to execute His order. The Supreme Lord is the soul of all souls; therefore, one who depends solely and wholly on the Supreme Soul without personal consideration, or in other words, one who is fully Kṛṣṇa conscious, is called adhyātma-cetās. Nirāśīḥ means that one has to act on the order of the master but should not expect fruitive results. The cashier may count millions of dollars for his employer, but he does not claim a cent for himself. Similarly, one has to realize that nothing in the world belongs to any individual person, but that everything belongs to the Supreme Lord. That is the real purport of mayi, or “unto Me.” And when one acts in such Kṛṣṇa consciousness, certainly he does not claim proprietorship over anything. This consciousness is called nirmama, or “nothing is mine.” And if there is any reluctance to execute such a stern order, which is without consideration of so-called kinsmen in the bodily relationship, that reluctance should be thrown off; in this way one may become vigata-jvara, or without feverish mentality or lethargy. Everyone, according to his quality and position, has a particular type of work to discharge, and all such duties may be discharged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, as described above. That will lead one to the path of liberation.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The word adhyātma is here taken as an avyayībhāva compound, meaning “in (adhi) the ātmā.” The phrase adhyātmam-cetasā therefore means “with consciousness fixed in the ātmā.” Therefore, offering (sannyasya) all works to Me, by consciousness fixed in the ātmā rather than in material objects, being without desires for the results, being niṣkāma (nirāśih), devoid of possessiveness in all respects (nirmamaḥ), fight.

Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

Because of this, you, a pariniṣṭhita bhakta, with knowledge concerning your nature as ātmā (adhyātma cetasā), offering (saṁnyasya) all actions to Me, the Supreme Lord, just as a servant offers everything to a king, fight. You should be devoid of the concept of being the doer: as a servant dependent on the king performs actions according to the king’s order, you should perform your actions according to My order, with a desire to teach the people. Adhyātma is here taken as an avyayībhāvaḥ an indeclinable compound meaning “in (adhi) the ātmā.” It is made into a declinable form by compouning it with cetas : adhyātma-cetas, meaning consciousness in the ātmā. This compound can be declined into adhyātma-cetasā, with consciousnes in the ātmā. Devoid of desires for personal results, thinking that you do this only by the order of your master (nirāśīḥ), devoid of possessiveness (nirmamaḥ) such as “the results of my actions are for me ,” having given up the anguish arising from thoughts of killing friends (vigata jvāraḥ), Arjuna should fight, because that is his duty as a kṣatriya. This means that those desiring liberation should follow the actions prescribed for them according to their āśrama. [Note: This means that the varṇa duties are performed, but subject to āśrama rules. Ajruna could claim he was a kṣatriya vanaprastha and renounce fighting. But he is a gṛhastha, and therefore must perform his occupational duty of fighting.]

Surrender Unto Me

This indicates the mode of goodness and beyond. Srila Prabhupada explains in his Purport:"This verse clearly indicates the purpose of the Bhagavad‑gita. The Lord instructs that one has to become fully Krsna conscious to discharge duties, as if in military discipline. Such an injunction may make things a little difficult; nevertheless duties must be carried out, with dependence on Krsna, because that is the constitutional position of the living entity. The living entity cannot be happy independent of the cooperation of the Su Lord, because the eternal constitutional position of the living entity is to become subordinate to the desires of the Arjuna was therefore ordered by Sri Krsna to fight as if the Lord were his military commander. One has to sacrifice everything for the good will of the Supreme Lord, and at the same time discharge prescribed duties without claiming proprietorship. Arjuna did not have to consider the order of the Lord; he had only to execute His order." So this platform of duty that Arjuna has been requested to act upon by Krsna, free from lethargy and attachments and false proprietorship, this is the platform where bhakti is built. No one can become Krsna conscious without coming first to the mode of goodness by acting dutifully and submissively.