What does the Lord ask of Arjuna in his last counsel, and how do the ten verses hang together? In short, he asks Arjuna to give his actions to Him in the mind and to keep the steady intellect (Gita 18.57), and he warns that ego shuts the ear (Gita 18.58). He shows why a resolve made from ego fails (Gita 18.59, Gita 18.60) and who stands within every being (Gita 18.61). Then he calls Arjuna to take refuge (Gita 18.62), hands him the choice (Gita 18.63), speaks from love (Gita 18.64, Gita 18.65) and gives the last word (Gita 18.66).
Here we take the verses in order. They come at the end of the eighteenth chapter, when Arjuna has heard the whole teaching. His own answer comes later, in the words "I shall act according to Your word" (Gita 18.73). The path that led here is in The Paths: Action, Knowledge, Devotion.
What comes just before: the perfected one keeps acting and takes refuge
The counsel does not start from nothing. The verses before it draw a portrait of the person who has reached freedom through action. This person is calm in mind, equal toward all beings and devoted, and comes to know the Lord in truth (Gita 18.55). Such a person goes on performing all actions while taking refuge in the Lord, and by grace reaches the eternal abode (Gita 18.56; see Freedom Through Action).
The last counsel turns that portrait into a direct instruction. What the perfected one does, Arjuna is now asked to do.
Give the actions to the Lord in the mind
बुद्धियोगमुपाश्रित्य मच्चित्तः सततं भव ॥ १८.५७ ॥
Mentally surrendering all actions to Me, regarding Me as the supreme goal, and resorting to the yoga of the intellect, be constantly fixed in mind on Me.
The Lord asks four things of Arjuna (Gita 18.57):
| Part of the verse | What it asks | Where it was taught |
|---|---|---|
| Surrender all actions mentally | Give the actions to the Lord in the mind | Gita 3.30 |
| Regard Me as the highest goal | Move the aim of the work from the result to Him | Gita 9.27 |
| Resort to the yoga of the intellect | Keep a steady, single understanding | Gita 2.39, Gita 2.41 |
| Be constantly fixed in mind on Me | Keep the mind turned to Him | Gita 18.65 |
"In the mind" is exact. The hands keep working, and what is handed over is the claim over the work (see Offering All Actions). The yoga of the intellect (buddhi-yoga) is the steady understanding of the second chapter (see Buddhi Yoga). So the surrender asked for is made with a clear mind and not without one.
Grace, and the cost of ego
अथ चेत्त्वमहङ्कारान्न श्रोष्यसि विनङ्क्ष्यसि ॥ १८.५८ ॥
With your mind fixed on Me, you will cross over all obstacles by My grace. But if, out of egoism, you do not listen, you will perish.
With the mind fixed on the Lord, Arjuna will cross all obstacles by His grace. If out of egoism (ahankara) he does not listen, he will perish (Gita 18.58).
This is not a threat laid on a failure. It states what comes of two ways of living. In one, the person leans on the Lord and is helped past what he cannot cross alone. In the other, the person leans on "I" and shuts the ear. The word that matters is "listen". Ruin follows the closed ear.
A resolve made from ego fails
मिथ्यैष व्यवसायस्ते प्रकृतिस्त्वां नियोक्ष्यति ॥ १८.५९ ॥
If, relying on egoism, you think, 'I will not fight,' this resolve of yours is false; your own nature will compel you.
कर्तुं नेच्छसि यन्मोहात्करिष्यस्यवशोऽपि तत् ॥ १८.६० ॥
O son of Kuntī, bound by your own action born of your own nature, that which you do not wish to do out of delusion, you will do even against your will.
If Arjuna relies on egoism and decides "I will not fight", the Lord says that this resolve is false, and his own nature will compel him (Gita 18.59). Bound by the action born of his own nature, he will do against his will what he now refuses out of delusion (Gita 18.60).
Arjuna is a warrior by nature and training (Gita 18.46, Gita 18.48; see One's Own Duty). A decision that denies what a person is does not hold. Think of someone who walks out of a job in wounded pride and finds a month later that the same work is calling him back, now with shame in place of choice. The Gita has said that even the wise act in keeping with their nature (Gita 3.33), and that attachment and aversion in the senses are the two enemies on the path (Gita 3.34). The Lord is not saying that nature is the master. He is saying that a decision resting on the wrong ground gives way.
The Lord in the heart of all
भ्रामयन्सर्वभूतानि यन्त्रारूढानि मायया ॥ १८.६१ ॥
The Lord resides in the heart of all beings, O Arjuna, causing all beings to revolve, as though mounted on a machine, by His power of māyā.
The Lord resides in the heart of all beings and causes them to revolve, as though mounted on a machine, by His power of illusion (Gita 18.61).
A fear can rise here: "then I am only a puppet." The verse says two things at once. Beings move under forces they did not make. And the one who knows those forces stands within each being, in the heart. The power that moves a person is not a stranger's. The Gita has said that this power of illusion is hard to cross, and that those who take refuge in the Lord alone cross it (Gita 7.14; see The Illusory Energy and Surrender). The next verse draws the conclusion. The question of free choice is taken up in full in the deeper reading.
Take refuge with the whole being
तत्प्रसादात्परां शान्तिं स्थानं प्राप्स्यसि शाश्वतम् ॥ १८.६२ ॥
Take refuge in Him alone with your whole being, O Bharata. By His grace you will attain supreme peace and the eternal abode.
Arjuna is to take refuge in the Lord alone, with his whole being, and by that grace he will reach supreme peace and the eternal abode (Gita 18.62). "The whole being" means thought, word and deed together. Peace is named first, ahead of any outcome in the world.
The Lord has said elsewhere that to those who worship Him with undivided devotion He carries what they lack and preserves what they have (Gita 9.22; see The Steadfast Devotee and Divine Care).
Reflect fully, then choose
विमृश्यैतदशेषेण यथेच्छसि तथा कुरु ॥ १८.६३ ॥
Thus I have declared to you knowledge more secret than the secret. Reflect on this fully, and then do as you wish.
The Lord says that He has declared knowledge more secret than the secret (guhyatama). Arjuna is to reflect on it fully and then do as he wishes (Gita 18.63).
This is the turning point of the passage. The teacher completes the teaching and leaves the choice with the pupil. Surrender is not forced, and it is not thoughtless. Reflection comes first and choice second, and the word "fully" asks that no part be left out. A teaching that called for blind obedience would not say this. The common idea that surrender means giving up thought is tested against this verse in Does Surrender Mean Doing Nothing and Giving Up Thought?.
Because you are dear
मामेवैष्यसि सत्यं ते प्रतिजाने प्रियोऽसि मे ॥ १८.६५ ॥
Fix your mind on Me, be devoted to Me, worship Me, and bow down to Me. You will come to Me alone; I promise you truly, for you are dear to Me.
The Lord asks Arjuna to hear again His supreme word, the most secret of all, because Arjuna is very dear to Him and the Lord speaks for his good (Gita 18.64). Then comes the word itself: fix your mind on Me, be devoted to Me, worship Me and bow down to Me. You will come to Me alone. This is a true promise, for you are dear to Me (Gita 18.65).
The same four acts were given in the ninth chapter (Gita 9.34; see Even the Worst Offender). That chapter says that even a person of very bad conduct who worships with undivided devotion should be seen as righteous (Gita 9.30). So these four acts are open to anyone who can turn the mind. They are where refuge begins, and a person can start them today.
Abandon all dharmas
अहं त्वां सर्वपापेभ्यो मोक्षयिष्यामि मा शुचः ॥ १८.६६ ॥
Abandoning all dharmas, take refuge in Me alone. I will liberate you from all sins; do not grieve.
Abandoning all dharmas, Arjuna is to take refuge in the Lord alone. The Lord will free him from all sins, and he is not to grieve (Gita 18.66).
What is "abandoning all dharmas"? The word dharma here is read in different ways. One reading takes it as giving up dependence on every other means and duty as the ground of liberation, so that refuge alone remains. Another takes it as giving up the claim to be the doer and the hold on results. Both agree on the centre of the verse, and both agree on a point the rest of the Gita makes plain: duty is not thrown aside. The Lord has said that the duty born of one's nature is not to be abandoned because of its defects (Gita 18.48), and that what a wise person gives up is the fruit and not the action (Gita 18.9, Gita 18.11; see Relinquishment and Renunciation of Action).
"Do not grieve" closes the verse. The Gita began with Arjuna's grief, his bow cast aside (Gita 1.47) and his plea to be taught as a disciple who had taken refuge (Gita 2.7; see Arjuna's Despondency). The counsel ends where the grief began.
How the ten verses fit together
| Verses | What the Lord does | What Arjuna is asked to do |
|---|---|---|
| 18.57 | Gives the practice | Surrender in the mind, keep a steady intellect |
| 18.58 | Promises and warns | Listen, and lean on Him |
| 18.59 and 18.60 | Shows why a self-made resolve fails | See what his own nature is |
| 18.61 | Shows who is within | Know the Lord as near |
| 18.62 | Names the refuge | Take refuge with the whole being |
| 18.63 | Hands over the choice | Reflect fully, then choose |
| 18.64 and 18.65 | Opens His heart | Four acts of turning to Him |
| 18.66 | Gives the last word | Take refuge alone, do not grieve |
The pattern is advice, reason, call, freedom and promise. Each step prepares the next.
Common misreadings
"Surrender means doing nothing." The same verse that asks for surrender also asks for the steady intellect (Gita 18.57), and the Lord asks for reflection before choice (Gita 18.63).
"Abandon all dharmas means leave your duties." The Lord says not to abandon duty for its defects (Gita 18.48).
"If the Lord turns all beings, I have no say." The same teaching asks Arjuna to listen, to reflect and to choose (Gita 18.58, Gita 18.63). The deeper reading answers this fully.
"The warning of ruin is a threat." It states a plain result (Gita 18.58), and the next verses speak of love (Gita 18.64).
"Grace replaces effort." Grace follows refuge (Gita 18.62), and refuge is taken with four acts (Gita 18.65).
An example: a decision made with thought and surrender
Take Sunita, who runs a family cloth shop. Her second branch is failing, and she must decide whether to close it. She lies awake. She fears blame from the family and ruin if she is wrong.
She tries the counsel in order. First she thinks it through to the end: the accounts, the staff, the family, and what she would regret in a year (Gita 18.63). Then she chooses and acts, and she closes the branch while finding places for two of her staff (Gita 2.47). Then she hands over the result in her mind (Gita 18.57), and each morning she turns her mind to the Lord for a minute (Gita 18.65). The choice is hers. The nightly rehearsal of every possible outcome stops.
A practice from the verses
- Begin the day by turning the mind to the Lord (Gita 18.65).
- Think the matter through to the end (Gita 18.63).
- Choose, and do the work in full (Gita 2.47).
- Hand over the result in the mind (Gita 18.57).
- At night, name what you handed over, and rest (Gita 18.62).
Did I listen, or only insist? Did I think the matter through? Did I choose, or drift? What did I hand over today? Where did I hold on?
Questions readers ask
Why is this called the most secret teaching?
The Lord calls it so in the verses (Gita 18.63, Gita 18.64). It is the teaching about taking refuge in Him, and he says it again, out of love, after all that went before.
Why "do as you wish" after so much teaching?
He has taught fully and now asks for a choice made after thought (Gita 18.63). Arjuna's reply shows the choice made (Gita 18.73).
How is taking refuge different from the devotion taught earlier?
The direction is the same, and the call is almost word for word the one in the ninth chapter (Gita 9.34). What is new in the last verse is "alone" and the end of grief (Gita 18.66).
Can a person who doubts take this path?
A person can begin with the small acts, turning the mind, being devoted, worshipping and bowing (Gita 18.65). The Lord says that even one of very bad conduct who turns to Him is to be seen as righteous (Gita 9.30).
What happens next in the chapter?
The next verses name who is fit to hear this teaching and the fruit of hearing it (Gita 18.67–71); they belong to Chapter 18: The Yoga of Liberation through Renunciation. Then Arjuna answers that he will act (Gita 18.73).
One counsel, one free act
The counsel ends the Gita's teaching and begins Arjuna's own action. It asks him to give, to think, to turn and to choose.
For the simple version, see the simple reading. For the question of free choice, the readings of the last verse and the objections, see the deeper reading. This is the eighth and last stop on Begin the Gita, after The Paths: Action, Knowledge, Devotion.