The best summary I have read yet :
https://vedantavision.org/bhagavad-gita-chapter-iii-verse-30-a-verse-31/
G 3.30:
Performing all works as an offering unto me, constantly meditate on me
as the Supreme. Become free from desire and selfishness, and with your
mental grief departed, fight!
https://www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org/chapter/3/verse/30
In his typical style, Shree Krishna expounds on a topic and then finally presents the summary. The words adhyātma chetasā mean “with the thoughts resting on God.” Sanyasya means “renouncing all activities that are not dedicated to him.” Nirāśhīḥ
means “without hankering for the results of the actions.” The
consciousness of dedicating all actions to God requires forsaking claim
to proprietorship, and renouncing all desire for personal gain,
hankering, and lamentation.
The summary of the instructions in the previous verses is
that one should very faithfully reflect, “My soul is a tiny part of the
Supreme Lord Shree Krishna. He is the Enjoyer and Master of all. All my
works are meant for his pleasure, and thus, I should perform my duties
in the spirit of yajña or sacrifice to him. He supplies the energy by which I accomplish works of yajña. Thus, I should not take credit for any actions authored by me.”
BG 3.31:
Those who abide by these teachings of mine, with profound faith and free from cavil, are released from the bondage of karma.
Very beautifully, the Supreme Lord terms the siddhānt (principle) explained by him as mata
(opinion). An opinion is a personal view, while a principle is
universal fact. Opinions can differ amongst teachers, but the principle
is the same. Philosophers and teachers name their opinion as principle,
but in the Gita, the Lord has named the principle explained by him as
opinion. By his example, he is teaching us humility and cordiality.
Having given the call for action, Shree Krishna now points out the virtues of accepting the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita
with faith and following them in one’s life. Our prerogative as humans
is to know the truth and then modify our lives accordingly. In this way,
our mental fever (of lust, anger, greed, envy, illusion, etc.) gets
pacified.
In the previous verse, Shree Krishna had clearly explained to Arjun
to offer all works to him. But he knows that this statement can cause
ridicule from those who have no belief in God and rebuke from those who
are envious of him. So, he now emphasizes the need for accepting the
teachings with conviction. He says that by faithfully following these
teachings one becomes free from the bondage of karma. But what happens to those who are faithless?
BG 3.32:
But those who find faults with my teachings, being bereft of knowledge
and devoid of discrimination, they disregard these principles and bring
about their own ruin.
.
The teachings presented by Shree Krishna are perfect for our eternal
welfare. However, our material intellect has innumerable imperfections,
and so we are not always able to comprehend the sublimity of his
teachings or appreciate their benefits. If we could, what would be the
difference between us tiny souls and the Supreme Divine Personality?
Thus, faith becomes a necessary ingredient for accepting the divine
teachings of the Bhagavad Gita. Wherever our intellect is unable
to comprehend, rather than finding fault with the teachings, we must
submit our intellect, “Shree Krishna has said it. There must be veracity
in it, which I cannot understand at present. Let me accept it for now
and engage in spiritual sādhanā. I will be able to comprehend it in future, when I progress in spirituality through sādhanā.” This attitude is called śhraddhā, or faith.
Jagadguru Shankaracharaya defines śhraddhā as: guru vedānta vākyeṣhu dṛiḍho viśhvāsaḥ śhraddhā [v18] “Śhraddhā is strong faith in the words of the Guru and the scriptures.” Chaitanya Mahaprabhu explained it similarly: śhraddhā śhabde viśwāsa kahe sudṛiḍha niśhchaya (Chaitanya Charitāmṛit, Madhya Leela, 2.62)[v19] “The word Śhraddhā
means strong faith in God and Guru, even though we may not comprehend
their message at present.” The British poet, Alfred Tennyson said: “By
faith alone, embrace believing, where we cannot prove.” So, śhraddhā means earnestly digesting the comprehensible portions of the Bhagavad Gita, and also accepting the abstruse portions, with the hope that they will become comprehensible in future.
However, one of the persistent defects of the material intellect is
pride. Due to pride, whatever the intellect cannot comprehend at
present, it often rejects as incorrect. Though Shree Krishna’s teachings
are presented by the omniscient Lord for the welfare of the souls,
people still find fault in them, such as, “Why is God asking everything
to be offered to him? Is he greedy? Is he an egotist that he asks Arjun
to worship him?” Shree Krishna says that such people are achetasaḥ,
or “devoid of discrimination,” because they cannot distinguish between
the pure and the impure, the righteous and the unrighteous, the Creator
and the created, the Supreme Master and the servant. Such people “bring
about their own ruin,” because they reject the path to eternal salvation
and keep rotating in the cycle of life and death.
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