Verse 25
सक्ताः कर्मण्यविद्वांसो यथा कुर्वन्ति भारत ।
कुर्याद् विद्वान् तथाऽसक्तश्चिकीर्षुर्लोकसङ्ग्रहम् ll
Breaking sandhis
सक्ताः कर्मणि अविद्वांसः यथा कुर्वन्ति भारत ।
कुर्यात् विद्वान् तथा असक्तः चिकीर्षुः लोकसङ्ग्रहम् ll
भारत Oh! Bharata; यथा just as; अविद्वांसः not knowledgeable; सक्ताः who are attached to the results; कर्मणि in action; कुर्वन्ति perform action; तथा so too; विद्वान् the wise; असक्तः without attachment; चिकीर्षुः desirous of doing action; कुर्यात् perform action; लोकसङ्ग्रहम् which is for benefit of the people
कुर्यात् विद्वान् तथा असक्तः चिकीर्षुः लोकसङ्ग्रहम् why does a wise person have to perform action? Why does a sanyasi do an action? They do puja, homam, etc.
भारत = descendent of Bharat kula and another meaning is : भा = Brahman knowing person, रत = knower, so भारत = knower of brahman.
Krishna knows that he is desirous of action
सक्ताः कर्मणि अविद्वांसः vid is the root of veda = to know – pramana.
In the first line, a karmi does action expecting results and having attachment to action. The knowledgeable people do the same action without expecting desired results and remain detached to actions. कर्तुम् इच्छुः = चिकीर्षुः he is interested in doing some action for the benefit of society – lokasangraha. Like pujas, satsangs, arranging special courses in retreats, teaching upanishads, etc.
Even a gyani is governed by prakriti. Krishna offered to become a charioteer to Arjuna and give his powerful Narayani sena to Duryodhan. Duryodhana sat near his head and arjuna sat at his feet as a symbol of his surrender to the Lord. Krishana saw Arjuna first and asked what he wants of him. Duryodhan claimed he is the older brother so should be asked first. The condition that Krishna put before they asked him any favor was that during the war he will not lift a single weapon. Duryodhana was overjoyed and asked for narayani sena because Krishna was useless for him if he is not fighting in the war. Arjuna asked Krishna to become his charioteer. Krishna accepted. Not only did he direct the chariot but also gave the right direction to Arjuna’s turmoil and confusion.
Even the lord has to perform actions for the benefit of mankind and for the larger interest of the society. Arjuna was not a gyani and people looked upon him as a leader. This verse is related to ग्रहस्थ. The gyani being attached to brahma gyanam forfeits karma. A karma yogi (still agyani)does karma for अन्त करण शुद्धि. Where there is light (gyanam), there is no darkness (ignorance).
In sanyasa ashrama sanyasi throws away his poonal and no more karma left for him to do. He is a सर्व कर्म संयासः.
Verse 27
प्रकृतेः क्रियमाणानि गुणैः कर्माणि सर्वशः ।
अहङ्कारविमूढात्मा कर्ताऽहमिति मन्यते ll
Breaking sandhis:
प्रकृतेः क्रियमाणानि गुणैः कर्माणि सर्वशः ।
अहङ्कारविमूढात्मा कर्ता अहम् इति मन्यते II
कर्माणि Actions; प्रकृतेः of prakṛuti, the body, mind, and senses; गुणैः by the guṇas; सर्वशः in various ways; क्रियमाणानि are performed; अहङ्कारविमूढात्मा Deluded by the I-notion; अहम् I; कर्ता am the doer; इति मन्यते one thinks thus
प्रकृतेः maya is power of brahman. When maya acts with brahman, prakriti is born – rajasic, sattvic, tamasic gunas take birth. It is not possible to be satvik all the time. One has to go to sleep and tamasik takes over. Similarly when one has to do actions, rajasik takes over. Throughout the world, people wake, sleep, act according to their time. All karmas are driven by gunas. You are not the doer. The 3 gunas keep cycling around during the life of a person. One can be in one guna only at one time.
The doer thinks he controls the actions. Krishna says that mind body senses are controlled by gunas. Guna means knot-they tie you in such a way they bind you. The ignorant person thinks he is the doer. Avidya means ignorance. Such a person has adhyasa when he sees himself as the mind body complex and slowly the adhyaropa- I am the doer-ahankara aham vritti (I-thought) rises. Desires arise. When the instruments of action are used then the ahankara rises and leads you to do karma – kayikam, manasam, vachakam. Results bring punya/papa and since it is the I-notion (I am the doer) naturally they all papam/punyam get attached to you.
When the hidden vasanas are not expressed, the body when it passes away will take another birth to satisfy the unresolved vasanas.
Everything happens according to an order. Nothing is under our control like nails growing, our breath, hair falling/whitening, aging, etc. Physical body is the manifesting medium to realize atma. The body has to be taken care of. When the ahamkruti goes away then you take care of the body to facilitate you to do daily chores independently and overly pamper the body.