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Chapter Thirty-twoThe Path of Karma

|| 3.32.1 ||kapila uväca

atha yo gåha-meh!yä"harmä" eväva#a" gåhe

kämam artha$ ca harmä" #vä"oghi %h&ya' piparti tä"

Kapila #ai( )e who e"*oy# artha, käma a" dharma a# ahou#eholer while livi"g hi# hou#e agai" perform# tho#eactio"#.

In the Thirty-second Chapter, after speaking about returning to theworld by sakäma-karma and not returning to the world by niñkäma-karma, Kapila criticizes those who are not devotees.

Having eplained the results of conde!ned sinful activities, nowKapila eplains the results of prescribed activities with !aterialdesire. "iving in his house, he en#oys the results of the variousdharmas: käma, artha and dharma.  $nd again he perfor!s thosedharmas.  $fter grazing the cows in the %eld one !ilks the!, andthen again, after getting the !ilk, one puts the! back to graze.

|| 3.32.2 ||

#a cäpi %hagava-harmätkäma-m&+ha' parä,-mukha'ya*ate kratu%hir evä"

pit$ ca rahayä"vita'

/ewilere %y e#ire0 he re*ect# wor#hip of the or a"i"#tea very faithfully wor#hip# devatäs %y #acrice.

 Though the person perfor!s activities according to scripture he isalso to be criticized.

|| 3.32.3 ||tac-chrahayäkrä"ta-mati'

pitå-eva-vrata' pumä"gatvä cä"rama#a$ loka$

#oma-pä' pu"ar eyati

4vertake" with #uch faith0 eicate to Pitå# a" devatäs0 aper#o" goe# to the moo" pla"et0 ri"k# soma %everage a"the" fall# %ack to earth.

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Having drunk soma on the !oon &somapäù', he falls down to earthagain &eñyati'.

|| 3.32.5 ||yaä cäh!"ra-ayyäyä$

ete 6"a"tä#a"o hari'taä lokä laya$ yä"ti

ta ete gåha-mehi"äm

7he" the 8upreme or lie# ow" o" 9"a"ta to #leep at thee" of /rahmä: ay0 all the#e pla"et# attai"e %y thedharmic hou#eholer are e#troye.

(hat is the use if the planets are destroyed) The planets theyattain are covered with water at the end of each day of *rah!+.  The ti!e !entioned is the destruction at the end of the day of*rah!+.

|| 3.32.; ||ye #va-harmä" "a uhya"ti

h!rä' kämärtha-hetave"i'#a,gä "ya#ta-karmä

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completely0 havi"g attai"e sattva %y performa"ce ofpre#cri%e utie#0 goi"g %y the path of the #u" they attai"the perfect or0 the co"troller of higher a" lower %ei"g#0who i# the material a" eBcie"t cau#e of the u"iver#e.

0aining knowledge, they attain the perfect &viçvato-mukham'/upre!e "ord. This !eans they actually attain liberation. Çruti alsosays sürya-dväreëa te virajäù prayänti taträmtaù puruño hyavyayätmä: puri%ed, they go by the sun planet to the place wherethe indestructible i!!ortal person resides. &!uë"aka #paniñad 1.' They attain the "ord who is the !aterial cause & prakti' of theuniverse &asya' and the e2cient cause &utpatty-anta-$hävanam'.

|| 3.32. ||vi-parärhäva#ä"e ya'pralayo %rahma

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$t the ti!e of great dissolution, *rah!+ beco!es liberated. Hedesires to give up his body of 7air+#a, surrounded by the ele!entsstarting with earth. He, co!posed of the three guëas, butpredo!inated by rajoguëa, enters the /upre!e "ord, the antaryäm

of prakti &9ah+vi83u', knowing the ti!e of two parärdhas& paräkhyam'.

|| 3.32.1H ||eva$ paretya %hagava"tam a"upraviIä

ye yogi"o *ita-maru"-ma"a#o virägä'te"aiva #äkam amåta$ purua$ purä

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%hea-åIyä%himä"e"a"i'#a,ge"äpi karmaere"ce a" fal#eie"tity %y co"ceptio"# of %ei"g a oer e"ter# i"to the8upreme or %y eecutio" of activitie# with etachme"t0%ut i# %or" agai" after #ome time %y the force of the or i"the form of time0 with the i#tur%a"ce of the guëas. The#age# al#o0 e"owe with power# %y their piou# act#0 come%ack whe" the guëas %ecome i#tur%e.

s liberation is also onlyan appearance. In the tä the "ord says mäm eva ye prapadyantemäyäm etä( taranti te:  those who surrender to !e cross over !ymäyä. &*0 6.' ?ro! this it is understood that even *rah!+ doesnot get liberation if he does not have $hakti.  (hat to speak of hisinferiors then; That is eplained these verses. *rah!+, though thecause &ädyaù' of living beings, though the knower of all the 7edas,along with sages like 9ar@ci, the !ost perfect of yogs, what tospeak of practicing yogs, has false identity because of seeing that

he is dierent fro! the "ord.

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to have false conceptions of identity and to see dierence) Howcould they be great !asters of yoga but have false identity and seedierence) (ithout false conceptions, they search out theundierentiated *rah!an, but, having the conception that *rah!antakes on variety only through mäyä, they see dierence in the

personal for! of "ord who actually ecludes dierence, #ust as onesees dierence between !aterial ob#ects. $nd they identifythe!selves as realizers of *rah!an and re#ect the "ord with for!.(ith this vision and identity, they think they are doers, having aright to action. Therefore they return. (hat has been describedhere are *rah!+, sages, yogs, j%äns and Ku!+ras who are devoidof $hakti in so!e particular universe. The *rah!+s and sages of allother universes have $hakti, and thus attain liberation and prema-$hakti with däsya and other relationships according to their degreeof $hakti. 

|| 3.32.1? ||ye tv ihä#akta-ma"a#a'

karma#u rahayä"vitä'kurva"ty apratiihä"i"ityä"y api ca kåt#"aa'

7ith mi"# attache to thi# worl0 with faith i" pre#cri%eutie#0 they perform kämya-karmas a" nitya-karmas to thefulle#t ete"t.

*ecause of their absence of  $hakti, *rah!+ and others return to theplace where people perfor! sakäma-karma. This is criticized in siverses. They perfor! kämyä &apratisiddhäni' as well as daily duties&nityäni'. These &though reco!!ended in scriptures' are criticized.(hat to speak then of perfor!ing sinful actions;

|| 3.32.1@ ||ra*a#ä ku

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The#e per#o"# are i"tere#te i" artha, dharma a" käma, a" are aver#e to topic# of the 8upreme or who k"ow#how to e#troy saàsära, who i# the killer of Gahu0 a" whoi# the mo#t heroic lor worthy of prai#e.

0ari-medhasaù !eans

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|| 3.32.22 ||ta#mät tva$ #arva-%häve"a%ha*a#va parameIhi"amta-gu

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the" realiMe# Naikuere"t practitio"er#.

In the chapter on $hakti yoga it is said4

paJyanti te !e rucir+3y a!ba santaprasanna-vaktr+ru3a-locan+nirp+3i divy+ni vara-prad+nis+kaL v+caL spMha3@y+L vadanti

: !other; The devotees see !y attractive, red eyes in !y s!ilingface and !y spiritual for!s which bestow blessings. They speakpleasing words with !e./* N.1O.NO

?ro! this it can been that the result of $hakti is to be the "ord>sassociate, %lled with prema, in the "ord>s abode. In the chapter on j%äna, it has been said4

!ad-bhakta pratibuddh+rtho !at-pras+dena bhyas+niJreyasaL sva-saLsth+naL kaivaly+khyaL !ad-+Jraya!

*eco!ing !y devotee, understanding the ulti!ate truth, by !ybountiful !ercy, he easily attains the highest bene%t, his svarüpa,

called *rah!an, which is under !y shelter. /* N.1P.15

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 The result of j%äna is !erging in *rah!an. In the chapter onañ3äìga-yoga it has been said4

!ukt+JrayaL yarhi nirvi8ayaL viraktaLnirv+3a! Mcchati !ana sahas+ yath+rci

+t!+na! atra puru8o Qvyavadh+na! eka!anv@k8ate pratinivMtta-gu3a-prav+ha

(hen the !ind of the perfect yog beco!es devoid of !aterialob#ects, under the shelter of the "ord, and detached fro! all!aterial ob#ects, that !ind suddenly gets destroyed, #ust as a Ra!edies without oil and wick. The jva, having destroyed!isconceptions of his body, then sees his ätmä without coverings./* N.15.NO

 The result of yoga is !erely liberation by j%äna and vairägya. Inverse 11 and 1N of this chapter it is said that all the results of$hakti, j%äna and yoga are achieved by perfor!ing $hakti alone. Thisis also stated in the following verses4

ak+!a sarva-k+!o v+ !ok8a-k+!a ud+ra-dh@ St@vre3a bhakti-yogena ya#eta puru8aL para! SS

 The person desiring destruction of all desires, the person with alldesires, even the person with the intense desire for liberation, if hehas good intelligence, will worship the /upre!e "ord with pure

$hakti. /* 1.N.

yat kar!abhir yat tapas+ #U+na-vair+gyataJ ca yatyogena d+na-dhar!e3a Jreyobhir itarair api

sarvaL !ad-bhakti-yogena !ad-bhakto labhate QU#as+svarg+pavargaL !ad-dh+!a kathaUcid yadi v+Uchati

verything that can be achieved by karma, penance, j%äna,vairägya, !ystic yoga, charity, dharma and all other auspicious!eans of perfecting life is easily achieved by !y devotee through

$hakti. If so!ehow or other !y devotee desires /varga, liberation,or residence in !y abode, he easily achieves such benedictions. /*.1.N1.-NN

(hat is the logic behind this) The present verse answers. The one*hagav+n, full of si auspicious Bualities, the "ord of 7aiku3Vha, isperceived as dierent for!s by dierent worshippers 4$hävaiù' withdierent sädhanas such as j%äna &dçi' &dçyädi$hiù'. Instead ifyate &perceived' so!eti!es ryate &is called' is seen. 5çyädi$hiùcan also !ean

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"ord &çvaraù pumän'. *ecause *hagav+n contains both *rah!anand ara!+t!+, by $hakti as sädhana to the *hagav+n oneachieves the perfect of $hakti 4sädhya to *hagav+nDbeing the"ord>s associate full of prema, and as well, one attains !erging withthe "ord, the perfection of j%äna and yoga. :n the other hand, by

practicing j%äna for *rah!an or yoga for ara!+t!+, one does notattain the position of an associate of the "ord with prema, for this isno where stated in scriptures. *ecause of the for!lessness of*rah!an it is said to be invisible &adçya', and because ara!+t!+also has a for!less feature, he is also said to be invisible. $ccordingto so!e authorities, worshippers of ara!+t!+ realize a visible for!of the "ord since that is described in the çruti such as *uruña-sükta and in the 1hägavatam4

kecit sva-deh+ntar-hMday+vak+Jepr+deJa-!+traL puru8aL vasanta! Scatur-bhu#aL kaU#a-rath+Wga-JaWkha-gad+-dharaL dh+ra3ay+ s!aranti SS

/o!e yogs !editate upon the ara!+t!+ !easuring one pradeça,who is residing in the heart within the body, and who holds thelotus, wheel, conch and club in his four hands. /* 1.1.5

*ecause *hagav+n is both *rah!an and ara!+t!+, he is said tobe invisible 4adñya.  (hen the "ord beco!es visible as avatära,he is both visible and invisible &since he contains *rah!an and

ara!+t!+'.

It is said in the 7iñëu *uräëa &.1.OO'4

pr+kMtaL brah!a-rpasya vi83o sth+na! anutta!a!tatr+vyakta-svarpo >sau vyakta-rpo #agat-pativi83u-brah!a-svarpe3a svaya! eva vyavasthita

7i83u in the for! of *rah!an, the invisible for!, is inferior. The "ordof the universe also has a superior, visible for!. He is situated asboth 7i83u and *rah!an.

 8nuttamam !eans inferior. Thus the invisible for! of *rah!an islower, and the visible for! is superior.

|| 3.32.2@ ||etävä" eva yoge"a

#amagre

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 jänés a" yogés through the practice of bhakti, jäna a"yoga.

 This verse describes co!!on practice and results for all three typesof worshippers. ?or the devotees, j%äns and yogs & yoginaù', by

$hakti, j%äna and añ3äìga yogas &etävän yogena, co!pletedetach!ent fro! sense ob#ects &asaìgaù' is recognized as thedesired goal &a$himataù arthaù', since it helps achieve the desiredgoal. *y co!plete detach!ent alone one>s desired goal of prema orliberation is achieved.

|| 3.32.2 || *Eä"am eka$ paräc!"air

i"riyair %rahma "irgu

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error in the jva because of the various types of knowledge, thevarious ob#ects &artha-rüpa'.  Though pure 0aWg+ water eists, cowsand donkeys have an illusion of its eistence in water troughsbecause of their thirst. There is no knowledge without error for!ankind.

*ecause of distinction of the senses, when they are turned towardsthe "ord &opposite of parä'naiù' one can appreciate the sweetsound of KM8na>s Rute and the beauty of his for!. Thus knowledgeof distinctions in spiritual ob#ects is not re#ected. The devoteesspeak in the above way in relation to the *rah!an feature of the"ord.

|| 3.32.2D ||yathä mahä" aha$-r&pa#

tri-våt paEca-viha' #varäIekäaa-viha# ta#ya

vapur a

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ity etat kathita$ gurvi *Eä"a$ ta %rahma-ara"am

ye"ä"u%uhyate tattva$prakåte' purua#ya ca

4 motherL =" thi# way = have eplai"e jäna, realiMatio" of/rahma"0 %y which o"e u"er#ta"# the truth co"cer"i"g

 prak!ti  a" puruña. 

Xow Kapila su!!arizes the topic to !ake it easier to understand.urvi !eans

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I a! the basis of i!personal *rah!an, the basis of indestructibleliberation, the basis of the eternal !ethod $hakti and the basis ofthe bliss of the unalloyed devotee. *0 6.1P

*oth !erging in *rah!an and prema can be acco!plished only by

*hagav+n.

|| 3.32.33 ||yathe"riyai' påthag-värair

artho %ahu-gu

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*hagav+n though one entity appears as !any dierent for!saccording to the type of worship.

 #ihvayaiva yath+ gr+hyaL !+dhuryaL tasya n+parai Syath+ cak8ur-+d@ni gMh3anty arthaL ni#aL ni#a! SS1NSS

tath+ny+ b+hya-kara3a-sth+n@yop+san+khil+ Sbhaktis tu ceta sth+n@y+ tat tat sarv+rtha-l+bhata SS16SS

$s the tongue alone and no other sense can perceive the sweettaste and as the eye or any other senses can perceive its speci%csense ob#ect, so the dierent types of worship depending on theeternal senses perceive li!ited aspects of the "ord, and $hakti depending on the !ind perceives all Bualities in the "ord

iti pravara-J+stre8u tasya brah!a-svarpata S!+dhury+di-gu3+dhiky+t kM83asya Jre8Vhatocyate SS1OSS

 Thus the best of scriptures eplain the superiority of KM8na over the*rah!an aspect of KM8na because of his full !anifestation ofBualities such as sweetness.

|| 3.32.35-3? ||kriyayä kratu%hir ä"ai#

tapa'-#vähyäya-mara"ai'ätme"riya-*aye"äpi

#a""yä#e"a ca karma

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In three verses, the scriptural paths are eplained. ious actions,sacri%ces and charity are actions for the householder. $usterity is forthe vänaprastha.  /tudy and discussion &marçanaiù' of the 7edictets is for the $rahma'äri.  Controlling the !ind and senses andrenouncing all duties is for the sannyäsi. 1hakti-yogena, with the

word 'a, in the contet, !eans $hakti-miçra duties, sacri%ces andcharities of the householder, since without !iing those actions with$hakti, those actions cannot give their desired results. The wordseva and hi, indicating li!itation and certainty, indicate that only&eva' by including $hakti can the results de%nitely &hi' beacco!plished. Fust as *hagav+n is the chief for! of the "ord, $hakti is the chief a!ong all processes.

5harmeëo$haya-'ihnena !eans aguëa !eansattain!ent of /varga by duties, sacri%ce and charities. ?irguëa !eans *rah!an and ara!+t!+ attained by sannyäsa and yoga. >va-dk  !eans

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4 motherL There are "umerou# tra"#migratio"# of the jévacau#e %y actio" i" ig"ora"ce0 e"teri"g i"to which the jévaoe# "ot u"er#ta" hi# ow" e#ti"atio".

|| 3.32.3D ||

"aitat khaläyopaie""ävi"!täya karhicit

"a #ta%häya "a %hi""äya"aiva harma-hva*äya ca

4"e #houl "ot give the#e teachi"g to tho#e with evilmotive#0 to tho#e without %ehaviour a# #tue"t#0 to tho#ewho are prou0 to tho#e with i>ere"t iea#0 a" tho#e whomake a #how of religio" for prot a" po#itio".

Kapila shows those who are not Buali%ed for these teachings. /o!epeople atte!pt to understand by false $hakti for evil purposes&kha/äya'. :thers are devoid of conduct as students &avintäya'.:thers are proud &sta$dhäya'. :thers have dierent opinions&$hinnäya'. :thers are %ed in dharma si!ply for !aterial gain andfa!e &dharma-dvajäya'.

|| 3.32.5H ||"a lolupäyopaie"

"a gåhär&+ha-ceta#e"ä%haktäya ca me *ätu

"a ma-%hakta-viäm api

4"e #houl "ot teach thi# k"owlege to tho#e who areetremely attache to material e"*oyme"t0 to tho#eattache to family a>air#0 to tho#e without evotio"0 a""ever to tho#e who hate the evotee#.

/o!e persons, though devoid of the previous faults, are stronglyattached to !aterial en#oy!ent &/o/upäya'. :thers, though notoverly involved in !aterial en#oy!ent, are attached to sons, wifeand wealth. Though one !ay not have any of the above faults or

other faults not !entioned, one is disBuali%ed fro! the teaching ifone is not a devotee. :ut of error or inattention one !ay instructsuch persons so!eti!es. However, one should never teach thosewho hate the devotees. The previous ite!s are in the locative case and the last ite! is inthe accusative case. This indicates that the other persons aresecondary, and the last person !ust be co!pletely avoided. It theothers cannot be taught, then what to speak of the person whohates devotees.

|| 3.32.51 ||raahä"äya %haktäya

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vi"!täyä"a#&yave%h&teu kåta-maiträya

ur&ä%hiratäya ca

%ahir-*äta-virägäya

ä"ta-cittäya !yatäm"irmat#aräya ucaye

ya#yäha$ preya#ä$ priya'

4"e #houl teach thi# to evotee# havi"g faith0 to tho#ewith proper co"uct0 to tho#e without hatre for a"y livi"g%ei"g0 who are frie"ly to all %ei"g#0 who are eager to#erve0 to tho#e who are etache from eter"al o%*ect#0 totho#e with peaceful mi"#0 to tho#e who are u"#el#h0 totho#e who are pure0 a" to tho#e for whom = am the mo#tear amo"g all ear thi"g#.

 Two verses list those who are Buali%ed for instruction. 1ahir-jäta-virägäya !eans