3.24 – Commentary: [In the twenty-second verse, the Lord established the necessity of performing duty through the method of positive correlation (anvaya). In these verses, the Lord expounds the harm resulting from not performing duty through the method of negative correlation (vyatireka).] "If I did not ever engage in action vigilantly..." The word 'hi' (for) here is used to reinforce the phrase 'varta eva ca karmaṇi' (indeed, I engage in action) from the previous verse. The Lord says that it is simply impossible for Me not to perform action with vigilance; however, assuming for the sake of argument that I did not perform action – it is in this sense that the Lord has used the words 'if ever' here. The term 'atandritaḥ' (vigilant, untiring) implies that one should not be lazy or negligent in performing obligatory duties; rather, one should perform them with great care and diligence. By not performing obligatory duties with vigilance, a person, succumbing to laziness and negligence, wastes his precious human life. Only by performing actions with care and diligence, without introducing laxity (laziness-negligence) into them, is one freed from bondage to action. Just as a hard, dry branch of a tree breaks easily, but a loose, partially broken branch hanging on does not break easily, similarly, by performing actions with care and diligence, one is freed from bondage to action, but by performing actions with laziness and negligence (with laxity), one is not freed. That is why the Lord used the word 'samācara' (perform perfectly) in the nineteenth verse and the word 'atandritaḥ' in this verse. If the memory of a particular action repeatedly arises, one should understand that some flaw (desire, attachment, incompleteness, laziness, negligence, indifference, etc.) occurred in performing that action, due to which one was not freed from its bondage. It is precisely because one is not freed from bondage to action that the memory of performed actions arises.
"O Pārtha, all men in every way follow My path." 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 their ideal, do not perform their duties due to laziness and negligence yet desire rights, are not truly worthy of being called human beings despite having human form. In the twenty-first verse of this chapter, the Lord said that all men follow whatever a great man does, considering it the standard. In this verse, the Lord says that men in every way follow My path. The meaning is that while a great man is an ideal person in one world (the human world), I am the ideal person in all three worlds. The Lord descends into the human world to show mankind how to live in the world. The very art of living in the world is to understand that one is not here 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, achieve our own liberation. All relationships in the world exist solely for mutual service (welfare). 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 well-being.
"These worlds would perish if I did not perform action..." In the twenty-third verse, with the words 'If I did not ever engage in action vigilantly', the Lord spoke of the harm resulting from not being careful in actions. Now, in this (twenty-fourth) verse, with the above words, He speaks of the harm resulting from not performing action at all. Although it is impossible that I would not perform obligatory duties, still, assuming it were so – it is in this sense that the Lord has used the word 'cet' (if) here. The meaning of these words is that one should not develop attachment even to inaction – 'Let your attachment not be to inaction' (Gita 2.47). Therefore, the Lord gives His own example, saying that even though there is nothing for Me to attain, I still perform action. If I (according to the varṇa, āśrama, etc., in which I have incarnated) do not perform My duty, then all mankind would be ruined and perish, meaning they would fall. The reason is that by abandoning one's duty, tāmasic qualities arise in people, leading to their degradation – 'Those of tamasic nature go downwards' (Gita 14.18). The Lord is the ideal person in the three worlds, and all beings follow His path alone. Therefore, if the Lord did not perform His duty, then no one in the three worlds would perform their duty. By not performing their duty, they would automatically fall.
"And I would be the agent of confusion and would destroy these beings." If I did not perform obligatory duties, all worlds would be ruined and perish, and I would become the cause of their destruction, though this is not possible. When two mutually contradictory dharmas (qualities/attributes) merge into one, it is called 'saṅkara' (confusion, mixture, disorder). In the fortieth and forty-first verses of the first chapter, Arjuna had said, 'If I fight, the dynasty will be destroyed. With the destruction of the dynasty, the eternal family dharma perishes; with the destruction of dharma, unrighteousness overcomes the entire family; with the increase of unrighteousness, the women of the family become corrupted; and with the corruption of women, varṇa-saṅkara (confusion of social orders) arises.' Thus, Arjuna's notion was that by fighting, varṇa-saṅkara would arise. But here, the Lord states the opposite – that by not performing the duty of fighting, varṇa-saṅkara would arise. On this subject, the Lord gives His own example: if I did not perform My duty, then confusion would automatically arise in all aspects – karma, dharma, worship, varṇa, āśrama, caste, etc. The meaning is that it is precisely by not performing one's duty that confusion arises. Therefore, the Lord here says to Arjuna, as it were: you would become the cause of creating varṇa-saṅkara by not performing your duty of fighting, 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 – the twenty-second, twenty-third, and twenty-fourth – by giving His own example: it is not that I alone engage you in action; rather, I Myself am also constantly engaged in action, even though in truth there is nothing obligatory for Me to do nor anything for Me to attain in all the three worlds. The Lord hints to Arjuna: In this incarnation, you accepted and I also accepted that you would be the charioteer and I would be the charioteer; so see, though I am a Kshatriya, today I am serving as your charioteer and thus am diligently and vigilantly performing the duty I 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. Thus, you too should not neglect your obligatory duty but should perform it with care and diligence, just as I do.
**Connection:** Just as in the previous three verses the Lord described the need for vigilance in performing action for Himself, in the next two verses He inspires the wise great souls to be vigilant in performing action.
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