3.31 — Faith and fault-finding

Sanskrit · Teaching film · Everyday practice

Speaker: Krishna, addressing Arjuna.

The shloka

ये मे मतमिदं नित्यमनुतिष्ठन्ति मानवाः ।
श्रद्धावन्तोऽनसूयन्तो मुच्यन्ते तेऽपि कर्मभिः ॥ ३१ ॥

Brief meaning

Those who follow this teaching of Krishna steadily, with faith and without fault-finding, are freed from the bonds of action.

In the conversation

Krishna describes two responses to his teaching. Those who follow it with faith and without resentment are freed from the bonds of action. Those who only find fault, and do not practise, lose their way. The contrast is between living a teaching and standing outside it as a critic.

Word by word

ये मे मतम् इदम् नित्यम्

Those who constantly

अनुतिष्ठन्ति मानवाः

follow this teaching of mine,

श्रद्धावन्तः अनसूयन्तः

full of trust, and without fault-finding,

मुच्यन्ते ते अपि कर्मभिः

they too are freed from the bonds of action.

Going deeper

Mata means Krishna’s teaching or considered view. Śraddhā is often translated as faith; in the Gita it means trust that makes practice possible, not belief without thought. Anasūyā means without resentment or fault-finding. The contrast is not between questioning and accepting. Honest questions are welcome, as Arjuna shows. The contrast is between practising a teaching and only standing outside it to criticise.

Everyday reflection

You read a piece of good advice and immediately list its weaknesses. Some questions are healthy; careful thought is part of understanding. But sometimes criticism becomes a way of never having to try. Choose one teaching you already trust and practise it for a week before judging it again. Is there wisdom you keep questioning so that you do not have to practise it?

Consider today: Follow one teaching you already trust, without arguing with it.