Reality and illusion Much of the Gita is about the problem of what is real and what is mere illusion.

Modern logical positivism states that sense impressions are real and our abstra ct concepts derived from reasoning about the perceptions of the world arriving b y way of sense impressions are just mental concepts. The Gita writer presents th e opposite view, that sense impressions are not Reality, but a distraction from it. That which is Real is the internal spirit, the Atman, eternal and changeless , uncorrupted by the flux of sense impressions, pleasures and pain, cold and hea t, anger and delight. The wise man should turn away from absorption in these sha dows and aim at the Real, contemplating the Atman in all its glory. It is the vi ew of the contemplative. The Gita is an attempt to present the contemplative lif e to a vigorous man of action, and to reconcile the two ways of life with a clai m that the two lead to exactly the same decisions, in this case the decision Arj una is urged to make to charge into battle against his family and kill with his usual skill and urge to win The warrior life is about intense awareness of one's surroundings, constant aler tness for situations in which one may need to defend or fight, to recognise frie nd or enemy, to land a blow or parry someone else's, to draw a bow and wield a s word skilfully. It is very much about bodily discipline and concentration on sen se impressions as part of being aware of the external world. The life of the contemplative is the opposite of this, withdrawal from the world of sense impressions into an inner world of meditation and pursuit of the life of the spirit. It is a contrast between and outward-looking life and an inward-l ooking life, finding one's way in interacting with fellow humans (comrades or fo es) or in withdrawal from all interaction to concentrate on the journey of the s pirit towards perfection, in which all human relationships should be abandoned. It is why those who enter monasteries sever themselves from their families and u ndertake to avoid intimate relationships with other humans, living in solitude. In chapter 13, Krishna talks of the life of the seeker after enlightenment: To nothing be slave, nor desire possession of man-child or wife, of home or of h ousehold?turn all your thought toward solitude This is not a guide to living in a human community, but a guide to withdrawing f rom it and living as a hermit, with no relationships Action and contemplation Chapter 3 of the Gita is a long description by Krishna of the way of the contemp lative: He known bliss in the Atman and wants nothing else. Cravings torment the heart: he renounces cravings. I call him illumined. Not shaken by adversity, not hanker ing after happiness: free from fear, free from anger; free from the things of de sire. I call him a seer, and illumined. The bonds of his flesh are broken, he is lucky, and does not rejoice: he is unlucky and does not weep. I call him illumi ned. The tortoise can draw in his legs, the seer can draw in his senses. I call him illumined?.when he has no lust, no hatred, a man walks safely among the thin gs of lust and hatred. To obey the Atman is his peaceful joy: sorrow melts into that clear peace: his quiet mind is soon established in peace?.He knows peace wh o has forgotten desire. He lives without craving: free from ego, free from pride . This is the state of enlightenment in Brahman: a man does not fall back from i t into delusion. Even at the moment of death he is alive in that enlightenment: Brahman and he are one This description is repeated several times throughout the Gita.

This is not a description of the warrior life, intensely absorbed in the life of the senses, slashing and firing arrows in battle, and Arjuna immediately notice s this, questioning Krishna about the contradiction of urging Arjuna to seek the way of the contemplative while urging him on to battle. Krishna replies with a lecture about acting with detachment from desire, and doing one's duty. Along th e way he explains where all this duty comes from: In the beginning the Lord of beings created all men, to each his duty. ?Do this' He said, ?and you shall prosper. Duty well done fulfils desire?Doing of duty ho nours the gods? When a man has found delight and satisfaction and peace in the A tman, then he is no longer obliged to perform any kind of action. He has nothing to gain in this world by action So whatever is your duty is given by the gods, and you have no say in it. Men do not decide these things, which come from the gods. All men can do is decide whe ther to do their duty or shirk it. What follows from this, of course, is that Ar juna's duty as a kshattriya is god-given, he cannot argue about whether that is his duty. All he can do is go into battle as his duty commands, or shirk it and be infamous as a coward. This removes all power of decision about one's values a nd goals from the individual, and presents them as god-given and eternal, someth ing that comes to a person from outside rather than developing within. Thus is the life of the contemplative and the man of action reconciled, by way o f a god-given set of duties and a pronouncement from Krishna that man's highest achievement is in doing whatever duty the gods have allotted to him. Action and motivation In our culture, we solve the problem of what a person should do by asking what a re its effects on the person's happiness, and also what are its effects on other s. If you want to have a good relationship with your spouse, then avoid violence , cruelty, and oppression, behave courteously, be supportive, etc. Action is gui ded by its results. Figure out what you wish to achieve, then this will help you to know how to behave. In the world of the Gita this problem of motivation is dealt with very different ly. The illumined man is urged to separate his actions from any concern with res ults. You have the right to work, but for the work's sake only. You have no right to t he fruits of work. Desire for the fruits of work must never be your motive in working. The seer says truly that he is wise who acts without list of scheming for the fr uit of the act: his act falls from him, its chain is broken. Melted in the flame of my knowledge, turning his face from the fruit, he needs nothing: the Atman i s enough. He acts and is beyond action. Not hoping, not lusting, bridling body a nd mind, he calls nothing his own: he acts and earns no evil?.When the bonds are broken, his illumined heart beats in Brahman: his every action is worship of Br ahman: can such acts bring evil? Earlier: The ignorant work for the fruit of their action: the wise must work also without desire pointing man's feet to the path of his duty. So, if you do things, but are not at all interested in the "fruit of the action" , why do you do it, and how do you select from possible actions, which ones to d

o and which not to do? It is a problem of selecting proper actions and one of mo tivation to act at all. Krishna's answer, as always, is that action must be in a ccord with one's duty, which of course is god-given. All actions must be perform ed as gifts to Brahman, sacramentally. Then, no matter what the action is, it br ings no evil. So Arjuna can go into battle and kill as many friends and relation s as come with his sword's length, and if he acts sacramentally, he does no evil . In our society, when someone says he did something because god told him we put him in a padded cell (or make him President of the USA). In the society of the Gita writer, apparently gods spoke to men every day and guided them to their dut y. Men only had to listen, then act without any interest in the outcome. In chapter 18, Krishna advises Arjuna: He whose mind dwells beyond attachment, untainted by ego, no act shall bind him with any bond: though he slay these thousands, he is no slayer. It doesn't matter what you do, it is all a question of how you do it. This allow s you to do anything, and not be guilty of any wrongdoing. Action and renunciation Arjuna notices the contradiction between Krishna's long lecture on the contempla tive life and the life of action, and asks which is better. Krishna's answer is typically Hindu: all roads lead to Rome: Action rightly renounced brings freedom Action rightly performed brings freedom