Talks on Gita – Part 3 Lessons from the Last Six chapters

In Part 1, I wrote about Arjuna’s confusion and the Gita’s first lessons on karma and desireless action.
In Part 2, I explored Krishna’s teachings on concentration, vision, devotion, and the cosmic form.

Now, in these final six chapters, Krishna ties it all together — saguna and nirguna devotion, the body and the Self, the three gunas, renunciation, and ultimately, surrender.
This is the conclusion not only of the Gita, but also of my journey through Vinoba Bhave’s Talks on the Gita (1958).

Here are my reflections from the last stretch:

1. Saguna & Nirguna

Arjuna asked Krishna: “Some worship You in form (saguna), others without form (nirguna). Whom do You love more?”

Krishna’s answer was like a mother’s: “I love both.”

• The saguna bhakta serves with the senses — eyes to see His form, ears to hear His praise, hands to serve, feet to walk on pilgrimage.
• The nirguna bhakta lives in principle — thinking of the good of all, beyond form.

Saguna is easier, warmer, full of tenderness. Nirguna is higher, clearer, more austere.
But both need each other: saguna inspires, nirguna completes.

In the Ramayana, Lakshmana (saguna) served Rama with devotion in person, while Bharata (nirguna) served Rama through principle, guarding the kingdom. Both were worship.

2. Work and Devotion

Krishna tells Arjuna: “Be attached to Me.”

Work itself is worship — but without devotion in the heart, it is dry.
Offering flowers is worship. Doing good work is also worship. Both count only when love fills them.

Saguna may come first, but it must lead into nirguna. Work (karma) and renunciation (sannyasa) are not enemies — they are two faces of truth.

3. The Body and the Self

From childhood, we’re trained to pamper the body. Parents fuss over every scratch, teaching us: “You are the body.”

But Krishna says: “You are not the body. You are the Self.”

The body is an instrument. When it becomes useless, it should be laid aside like a quilt in summer.

The more we cling to the body, the more we fear losing it. That fear makes us slaves — to wealth, to power, to those who threaten us.
Freedom begins when we drop that attachment.

4. The Three Gunas

Nature works through three modes:

• Tamas → laziness, sleep, dullness. Too much food, too much rest, and the mind sinks.
• Rajas → restlessness, endless desire, ambition without steadiness. Like rain scattering on rocks, wasted.
• Sattva → calm clarity, the quiet light left when tamas and rajas are gone.

Rajas and tamas destroy balance together; sattva steadies. But even sattva must be transcended, so that good action becomes as natural as breathing.

5. Love, Knowledge & Work

For true success, three must unite: love, knowledge, and labour.

Cooking in a restaurant may produce tasty food, but mother’s food has something more — love.
The Gita doesn’t want incense or rituals. It wants every act — studying, cooking, writing, serving — filled with love and awareness.

When bhakti (love) flows into karma (work), and jnana (knowledge) flows into both — that is Purushottama-Yoga, the complete path.

6. The Inner Battle

Kurukshetra is not just outside. It is within.

Inside us, divine and demonic qualities are always at war.
Fearlessness must lead, humility must follow.

The demons are desire, anger, greed.
Desire fulfilled → greed. Desire blocked → anger.

The only escape is self-control of the senses.
The real battle is always within.

7. Renunciation and Action

Arjuna’s final doubt: “Krishna, You say renounce the fruit of action, but also say some actions must be renounced. Which is true?”

Krishna replies:

1. Renounce the fruit in every action.
2. Rajasic and tamasic actions fall away on their own when tested against renunciation.
3. Renunciation must be intelligent, not blind.

Renunciation is not narrowing life; it is widening it.
Renunciation with intelligence makes action pure, effortless, free.

8. The Final Call

At the very end, Krishna says to Arjuna:

“You have heard everything. Now reflect deeply — and do what you think right.
But if you give up your will, your effort, and take refuge in Me — you will be free.”

This is how the Gita ends. Not in philosophy, but in surrender. Not in argument, but in trust.

Closing Reflections

From these chapters, I’ve learned:

• Saguna inspires, Nirguna completes
• Work and renunciation are not opposites
• The body is an instrument, not the Self
• Nature moves through tamas, rajas, sattva — but freedom lies beyond
• Love, knowledge, and work must flow together
• The real battle is always within
• Renunciation must be wise, not blind
• Every act, done with devotion, becomes worship

This is the final part of my journey through Vinoba Bhave’s Talks on the Gita (1958).

Part 1 taught me action without attachment.
Part 2 revealed concentration, vision, and devotion.
Part 3 brings it all together — love, knowledge, work, renunciation, and surrender.

The Gita does not end with answers. It ends with freedom.

And like Krishna told Arjuna: “Remember Me and fight on.”

So maybe the Gita doesn’t end at all.
It begins again, every morning.