3.23-3.24: O Partha! If I were ever to cease performing prescribed duties with vigilance, great harm would result; for all men in every way follow My path. If I did not perform action, all these men would be ruined and I would be the creator of confusion (varna-sankara) and would be the destroyer of all these beings.
3.23: Commentary— [In the previous verse, the Lord established the necessity of performing duty through the method of agreement (anvaya), and in these verses, He establishes the harm resulting from not performing duty through the method of distinction (vyatireka).] "For if I did not ever engage in action, vigilant" — The word 'hi' (for) here comes to substantiate the phrase 'varta eva ca karmani' (indeed, I am engaged in action) from the previous verse. The Lord says that it is simply impossible for Me not to perform action with vigilance; however, in the sense of 'even if we suppose' that I do not perform action — in this meaning, the Lord has used the words 'yadi jātu' (if ever) here. The meaning of the word 'atandritaḥ' (vigilant, without lethargy) is that one should not be lazy or negligent in performing one's duty; rather, one should perform it with great care and diligence. By not performing duty with care, a person, succumbing to laziness and negligence, wastes his invaluable life. Only by performing actions with care and diligence, without introducing laxity (laziness-negligence), is one's connection with actions severed. Just as a hard branch of a tree breaks quickly, but a loose branch, hanging because it is incompletely broken, does not break quickly, similarly, by performing actions with care and diligence, one's connection with actions is severed, but by performing actions with laziness and negligence (with laxity), the connection with actions is not severed. That is why the Lord used the word 'samāchara' (perform perfectly) in the nineteenth verse and the word 'atandritaḥ' in this verse. If the memory of an action comes repeatedly, one should understand that there was some defect (desire, attachment, incompleteness, laziness, negligence, indifference, etc.) in performing that action, due to which the connection with that action was not severed. It is precisely because the connection with the action is not severed that the memory of the performed action arises. "All men, in every way, follow My path, O Partha" — With these words, the Lord implies that only those who follow My path are truly worthy of being called human beings. Those who, not taking Me as the ideal, do not perform their duty due to laziness and negligence and yet desire rights, are not truly worthy of being called human beings despite having a human form. In the twenty-first verse of this chapter, the Lord had said that all men follow according to the conduct and standard of a superior person, and in this verse, the Lord says that men in every way follow My path. The meaning of this is that a superior person is an ideal person only in one world (the human world), but I am the ideal person in all three worlds. The Lord descends into the human world to show how a human being should live in the world. The very art of living in the world is to understand that one is not here to live for oneself. The world is essentially a school where we must learn to perform actions for the welfare of others, renouncing desire, possessiveness, selfishness, etc., and by acting accordingly, accomplish our own liberation. All relationships in the world exist solely for serving (benefiting) one another. Therefore, father, son, husband, wife, brother, sister, etc., should all perform their respective duties while protecting each other's rights and strive for each other's welfare. "These worlds would perish if I did not perform action" — In the twenty-third verse, with the words 'yadi hyahaṃ na varteyaṃ jātu karmaṇyatandritaḥ', the Lord spoke of the harm resulting from not being vigilant in actions, and now in this (twenty-fourth) verse, with the above words, He speaks of the harm resulting from not performing action. Although it is impossible that I would not perform prescribed duty, nevertheless, in the sense of 'even if it is assumed' — in this meaning, the Lord has used the word 'chet' (if) here. The meaning of these words is that a person should not have attachment even to inaction — 'mā te saṅgo'stvakarmaṇi' (Gita 2.47). Therefore, giving His own example, the Lord says that even though there is nothing for Me to attain, I still perform action. If I (according to the varna, āśrama, etc., in which I have incarnated) do not perform My duty, then all mankind would be ruined, i.e., they would fall. The reason is that by abandoning one's duty, tamasic qualities arise in human beings, leading to their degradation — 'adho gachchanti tāmasāḥ' (Gita 14.18). The Lord is the ideal person in the three worlds, and all beings follow His path alone. Therefore, if the Lord does not perform His duty, then no one in the three worlds will perform their duty. By not performing their duty, they will automatically fall. "And I would be the creator of confusion and would destroy these beings" — If I do not perform prescribed action, all worlds would be ruined, and I would become the cause of their destruction, even though such a thing is not possible. When two mutually contradictory dharmas (qualities) merge into one, it is called 'sankara' (confusion, admixture). In the fortieth and forty-first verses of the first chapter, Arjuna had said that 'If I fight, the dynasty will be destroyed. With the destruction of the dynasty, the eternal family dharma is lost; with the loss of dharma, unrighteousness prevails over the entire family; with the increase of unrighteousness, the women of the family become corrupted; and with the corruption of women, varna-sankara arises.' Thus, Arjuna's notion was that by fighting, varna-sankara would arise (see note p. 157). But here the Lord states the opposite, that by not performing the duty in the form of war, varna-sankara would arise. On this subject, the Lord gives His own example that if I do not perform prescribed duty, then confusion will automatically arise in karma, dharma, worship, varna, āśrama, caste, etc. The meaning is that it is precisely by not performing duty that confusion arises. Therefore, the Lord here says to Arjuna as if: you will become the cause of producing varna-sankara by not performing the duty in the form of war, not by fighting (as you believe). Special Point: The Lord answers Arjuna's original question (why do you engage me in terrible action?) in these three verses—twenty-two, twenty-three, and twenty-four—by His own example: it is not that I engage you alone in action; rather, I Myself am also engaged in action, even though in reality there is nothing obligatory or to be attained for Me in all the three worlds. The Lord indicates to Arjuna: in this incarnation, you have accepted and I have also accepted that you become the charioteer and I become the charioteer; so behold, even though I am a Kshatriya, today I am acting as your charioteer and thus, am diligently and vigilantly performing the duty I have accepted. My performance of this duty will also have an impact on the three worlds; because I am the ideal person in the three worlds. All beings follow My path alone. Similarly, you too should not neglect your prescribed duty but should perform it with care and diligence, just as I do.
Connection: Just as in the previous three verses the Lord described being vigilant in performing action for Himself, similarly, in the next two verses, He inspires the wise great soul to be vigilant in performing action.
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