Ramanuja's Gita Bhashyam - Chapter 3 - Sloka 29

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 29

Parthasarathy as Vennai Krsna

Prakruteh guna samuddah sajjante guna karmasu I

Tan akritsna vidah mandan krtsnavin na vichalyate II sloka 29

प्रकृतेः गुण संमुढः सज्जन्ते गुण कर्मसु । 

तान् अकृत्स्न विदः मन्दान कर्त्स्नविन न विचाल्येत   ।। श्लोक २९ 

Those deluded by the Gunas of prakriti get attached to the works of the gunas. But he who knows the whole truth should not unsettle the ignorant who do not know the whole truth. 

Those 'who do not know the whole truth' are those persons who are trying for the vision of the self but are deluded about the nature of the self, not knowing, on account of their involvement of Prakriti, that actions proceed from the gunas of prakriti. They are therefore attached to the actions of the gunas - ie. only to actions forming part of karma yoga. They are qualified only for karma yoga.  

Those persons who are ignorant, who tend to follow the behaviour of great man, get unsettled if they see One who knows the complete truth (ie. a practitioner of jnana yoga)  transcend karma yoga. Their minds get shaken from karma yoga. Thus the great man, should himself remain established in karma yoga, while having full knowledge of the true nature of self and contemplating on the self as not being the agent. Thus he should demonstrate that karma yoga by itself is an autonomous means for the vision of the self. He should create in those who donot  know the complete truth - the love of karma yoga.

The superiority of this karma yoga over jnana yoga even for those who are qualified for jnana yoga has already been stated. Therefore one who is respected person of note, should follow this karma yoga alone for the good of the world. The method of performing actions after attributing agency to the gunas by discerning the nature of the self is not produced by the inherent nature of the self, but by its contact with the gunas. Hence by the discrimnating between what is obtained by contact  and not obtained when there is no contact. It has to be understood that this agency is due to the gunas of prakriti.