Chapter 3 Sloka 11 Bhagavadgita

Chapter 3 Sloka 11 – Karma Yoga

Sloka

Evam pravartitam chakram naanuvartayateeha yah;
Aghaayur indriyaaraamo mogham paartha sa jeevati.

Translation

He who does not follow the wheel thus set revolving, who is of sinful life,
rejoicing in the senses, he lives in vain, O Arjuna!

Interpretation

In this shloka Lord Krishna after explaining what is sacrifice and then goes on to explain the qualities of people who dont do the sacrifice. Lord Krishna says that he who does not follow the wheel by studying the Vedas and performing the sacrifices prescribed in the vedas, is a sinner. He also adds that a person who indulges only in sensual pleasures, is a person who lives in vain. Here the meaning of living in the vain means that such kind of people live in denial. Such kind of people waste their lives.

Extending Interpretation to Mankind’s Life!

You would have heard many times from elders and others talking about people wasting their lives. What does it mean? It means that you are wasting the life that was given to you by God. When does this happen? It happens when you ignore the knowledge, live in denial and enjoy the sensual pleasures. You tend to ignore all the knowledge you got from your childhood. You tend to forget the knowledge or think that all of it is theoretical and useless knowledge. You also start living in denial. Denial here means not accepting the reality.

A person who does not see things that are there right in front of them are the ones who are living in denial. They refuse to believe anything that doesn’t suit them. They do so because they are drowned in sensual pleasures. Sensual pleasures here means drinking, gambling and womanizing. Such kind of people are called sinners and they are just wasting their lives.

Published by Sriram

A Teacher trying to Learn new things and explore the world each day! Believe in Happiness by the virtue of sacrifice and forgiveness.

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