3.31: Those persons who, free from fault-finding and endowed with faith, always follow this doctrine of Mine (described in the previous verse), they too become freed from the bondage of actions.
Commentary: Explanation—'Ye me matam idam... śraddhāvanto'nusūyanto'—If any human being, belonging to any varṇa, āśrama, religion, sect, etc., desires to be free from the bondage of karma, then he should accept and follow this principle. All human beings who realize the truth that nothing—body, senses, mind, intellect, objects, actions, etc.—is one's own, become free from the bondage of karma. A person who possesses firm, unwavering faith and reverence for the Lord and His doctrine, as one has for something directly perceived, is termed 'śraddhāvantaḥ' (endowed with faith). By having faith in the truth that a person becomes free by not considering inert objects like the body, etc., as one's own or for oneself, it becomes easy to renounce the assumed relationship with inertness. Only a faithful aspirant listens to the teachings of the true scriptures, true discussions, and holy company, and implements them in conduct. The human body is obtained solely for attaining the Supreme Self. Therefore, when there is an intense, singular longing to attain the Supreme Self alone, faith, diligence, sense-control, etc., arise spontaneously in the aspirant. Hence, the aspirant should primarily intensify the longing for attaining the Supreme Self. In the previous (thirtieth) verse, the Lord stated His doctrine; here, the term 'anusūyantaḥ' (free from fault-finding) is given to indicate that one should not find fault with it. Finding fault in virtues is called 'asūyā' (fault-finding). Those free from asūyā (fault-finding) are called 'anusūyantaḥ' here.
Even where there is faith, there can be some degree of fault-finding. Therefore, by giving the term 'anusūyantaḥ' along with 'śraddhāvantaḥ', the Lord instructs human beings to be completely free from fault-finding (possessing perfect faith). Similarly, while describing the glory of listening to the Gītā, the Lord also used the term 'śraddhāvān anasūyaś ca' (Gītā 18.71) to state that the listener should be endowed with faith and free from fault-finding. Thoughts such as, "The Lord's doctrine is excellent, but how much self-praise and pride the Lord speaks—that one should offer everything to Me alone," or "This doctrine is good, but how can God be attained through actions? Actions are inert and binding," etc., constitute fault-finding with the Lord's doctrine. The aspirant should not find fault with either the Lord or His doctrine. In reality, everything belongs to the Lord alone; however, due to delusion, human beings consider the Lord's objects as their own, become bound, and suffer under the sway of attachment and desire. Therefore, to liberate human beings by making them renounce this sense of ownership (so that they may be eternally happy), the Lord, out of His innate compassion, instructs them to offer everything to Him. Hence, finding fault in this matter is improper. It is indeed the Lord's supreme affection, compassion, and parental love that, despite having no imperfection or need within Himself, He instructs one to offer all actions to Him solely for the welfare of human beings.
The Lord's doctrine alone is called 'siddhānta' (established principle) in the world. The supreme principle is referred to here by the term 'matam' (doctrine). Due to His innate simplicity and absence of pride, the Lord refers to the supreme principle by the name 'matam'. This doctrine or principle remains the same in all three periods of time, i.e., it never undergoes any change, whether anyone has faith in it or not. Here, the term 'nityam' (eternal/always) is not an adjective for 'matam', but rather an adjective for 'anutiṣṭhanti' (they follow). The reason is that the Lord is eternal; therefore, all things related to Him are also eternal. The Lord's doctrine is also eternal. The Lord's doctrine is the supreme principle, and a principle is that which never perishes. Hence, the Lord's doctrine is certainly eternal, and its practice should be eternal. Therefore, the purpose of giving the adverbial term 'nityam' here is to indicate abiding always and constantly in the Lord's doctrine and practicing accordingly.
Question: What is the Lord's doctrine? And how is it to be practiced always?
Answer: The Lord's doctrine is that nothing obtained is one's own. The body, senses, mind, intellect, vital force, wealth, possessions, objects, etc., are all effects of Prakṛti, and the world is also an effect of Prakṛti. Therefore, these objects have oneness with the world, and due to being a part of the Supreme Self, the 'self' has oneness with the Supreme Self. Hence, these objects are not individual (one's own); rather, the right to use them is individual. Besides this, virtues, good conduct, renunciation, dispassion, compassion, forgiveness, etc., are also not individual, but belong to the Lord. These divine assets, i.e., assets for attaining God, belong to the Lord alone. If these virtues, good conduct, etc., were one's own, then we would have complete authority over them, and no one else could attain them without our consent. Considering them as one's own leads to pride, which is the root of demonic assets. Bondage arises only by considering what is not one's own as one's own and performing actions to attain it. Objects like the body, etc., are not 'one's own', nor are they 'for oneself'. If they were for oneself, then upon attaining them, we would experience complete satisfaction or contentment, a sense of fulfillment. However, no matter how many worldly objects one may obtain, there is never satisfaction. Satisfaction or the experience of fulfillment occurs upon attaining that object (the Lord) which is truly one's own. Upon attaining one's true object, not even in dreams does the desire to obtain anything else remain. For example, in the world, all women with sons are mothers, but a child is not satisfied by obtaining all those mothers; rather, satisfaction comes only from obtaining his own mother. Similarly, as long as there is a desire to obtain more, it should be understood that one's own object has not been obtained. One may mistakenly consider obtained objects as one's own, but in reality, they are not one's own, and therefore, they do not bring satisfaction. Hence, nothing obtained is one's own or for oneself.
We neither brought objects like the body, etc., with us, nor can we take them with us; even in the present, they are becoming separated from us every moment. That they appear to be one's own in the present is for their proper use, i.e., to employ them for the welfare of others, not to establish ownership over them. Therefore, we have the right only to properly use the objects we have obtained, not to consider them as our own. The Lord has given these objects to human beings so generously and in such a manner that they appear to be their own. To consider these objects as one's own is to misuse the Lord's generosity. To remove this delusion by which objects that are not one's own are mistakenly considered as one's own, the aspirant should deeply contemplate with a spiritual mindset and offer them to the Lord, i.e., remove the mistakenly assumed sense of ownership.
An aspirant whose sole aim is to attain the spiritual truth (the Supreme Self), if he contemplates seriously, will clearly understand that nothing obtained is one's own; rather, it is something that will be separated. Whatever has been obtained—body, position, authority, education, qualifications, wealth, possessions, land, etc.—has been obtained from the world and is for the world. Whether one considers obtained objects as belonging to the world (effect), or to Prakṛti (cause), or to the Lord (owner), the essential point is that they are not one's own. How can objects that are not one's own be for oneself?
The aspirant should neither consider any 'object' as his own, nor perform any 'action' for himself. Actions performed for oneself are binding (Gītā 3.9), i.e., except for yajña (duty-actions performed selflessly for the welfare of others), other (actions performed for oneself) actions bind human beings. For an aspirant who performs actions for yajña, all actions, even accumulated actions, are dissolved (Gītā 4.23). The Lord is the great Lord (owner) of all worlds—'sarvalokamaheśvaram' (Gītā 5.29). When a person considers himself the owner of objects, he forgets his real owner; because he contemplates only those objects of which he considers himself the owner. Therefore, considering the Lord alone as the sole owner of the universe, the aspirant should live in the world like a servant. A servant, while performing all tasks for his master, never considers himself the master. Hence, the aspirant should not consider the body, senses, mind, intellect, objects, etc., as his own, but considering them as the Lord's alone, he should discharge his duty; he should become merely an instrument in performing actions. He should not harbor pride of ownership in himself.
After offering everything to the Lord, whatever comes—gain or loss, honor or dishonor, pleasure or pain, etc.—the aspirant should also consider them as the Lord's alone and have no personal motive regarding them. Duty alone is in accordance with the prevailing circumstances. He should continue to perform his duty cheerfully in accordance with the circumstances. This is what it means to always follow the Lord's doctrine.
'Mucyante te'pi karmabhiḥ'—The Lord says to Arjuna, as it were: I am giving you a clear command to perform duty-actions by offering everything to Me; therefore, by obeying My command, there is no doubt about your liberation; but even those to whom I do not give such a clear command, if they act according to this doctrine (not considering what is obtained as one's own and performing duty-actions), they too will be liberated. The reason is that this doctrine is such that whether one believes in Me or not, merely by following this doctrine, a person becomes liberated.
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