Ramanuja's Gita Bhashyam - Chapter 3 -Karma Yoga - Sloka 31

The entire content of this mail is from Swami Adidevavananda's translation of Ramanuja Gita Bhashya, published by Ramakrishna Mission.

How to root out the Ego - sloka 27-32

1 Gita Sloka every day - Chapter 3 -Karma Yoga - Sloka 31

Jadabharatar dies thinking of his pet deer

Ye me matam idam nityam anutishthati manavah I

Shraddhavantah anasuyantah muchyante te pi karmabhih II sloka 31

ये मे मतं इदं नित्यं अनुतिष्ठति मानवाः । 

श्रद्धावन्तः अनसूयन्तः  मुच्यन्ते ते पी कर्मभिः ।। श्लोक ३१ 

Those men who, full of faith, ever practise this teaching of mine, and those who receive it without cavil - even they are released from Karma.

There are those persons who are qualified to understand the sastras and decide  for themselves what is My doctrine, and follow them accordingly; there are others who are full of faith in the meaning of the sastras without however practising it. And there are still others who,even though devoid of faith, donot cavil at it, saying that the true meaning of the sastras cannot be this, ie., they donot find any blemish pertaining to the sastras which possess great qualities. All these persons are freed from Karmas which are there from beginningless time and which cause bondage. By the term, api (even) in 'te pi karmabhih' (even they from karmas), these men are divided into 3 groups. The meaning is that those who, even if they donot act upon the meaning of the sastras and donot cavil at it, will be cleansed of their evil by their faith and freedom from fault finding. For, if they have faith they will, before long, take to the practice of this very meaning of the sastras and be freed. 


In the next sloka, Sri Krishna speaks of the evil that will befall those who donot practise this instruction of the upanishads, ie., those who are faithless and who cavil at it.