karma yoga

[Vidyasankar Sundaresan]

>CORRECTION: The verse referenced should be 4:36, and NOT 4:33.
>
>The line is : sarva.n GYaanaplavenaiva vR^ijina.n santarishhyasi .
>
>(The tr. of part of the bhashya reads: "For one who seeks liberation, even
>dharma proves to be a sin.")
>

The commentary here is mostly an internal "translation" of the verse, i. e.
explanation of the individual words in the verse. The original reads,

api iti | api cedasi pApebhyaH - pApakRdbhyaH, sarvebhyaH atiSayena pApakRt
- pApakRttamaH | sarvaM jnAnaplavenaiva - jnAnam eva plavaM kRtvA, vRjinam -
vRjinArNavam santarishyasi | dharmo 'pi iha mumukshoH pApam ucyate |

jnAna destroys all sins, and saves even the worst sinner. The last sentence
is a parenthetical comment, meant for the mumukshu. All actions bind, both
good and bad, so the seeker of liberation should not be attached to any kind
of action, indluding dhArmic ones. The example is given in the next verse,
where jnAna is compared to fire that burns all fuel to ashes, irrespective
of the kind of fuel.

Vidyasankar