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Chapter 5
INTRODUCTION
Lord Krsna, in the fourth chapter, from the thirty-third to the thirty-seventh verse, praised the tradition of going to teachers, who have realized the Truth, having renounced actions and sense-objects and directed Arjuna to gain knowledge from them (Gita 4/34). In this process of Self-realization, it is indispensable to meditate upon God in solitude by renouncing action. Arjuna did not want to fight, because he thought that he would incur sin, by fighting. He wanted to attain salvation. So Arjuna thought, that the Lord was asking him to gain knowledge, by renouncing actions.
Then the Lord, in the thirty-eighth verse of the fourth chapter, declared, "He who is perfect in Yoga, gains it (knowledge) in the Self." It means that a striver following the Discipline of a action, need not go to the great persons, who have realized truth nor has he to practise any other spiritual discipline, in order to gain knowledge. Thus Karmayoga (the Discipline of Action) as the means of Self-realization has been commended here.
Arjuna, in the thirty-third verse of the fourth chapter, heard the glory of the customary method of gaining knowledge and in the thirty-fourth verse by the term 'viddhi', he held it as the Lord's order for him to gain knowledge by that method. He heard the praise of Karmayoga (the discipline of action), in the thirty-eighth verse and the forty-first verse. In the forty-second verse, He ordered him to perform his duty of fighting. Thus, having heard the glory of 'Jnanayoga' and 'Karmayoga' both, and also His order to gain knowledge and to perform one's duty, Arjuna, could not decide which one of the two disciplines, was better. Therefore, in order to get his doubt cleared by Lord Krsna, Arjuna puts a question.
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