Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4, Verse 40

English Translation

One who is ignorant and faithless, and has a doubting mind perishes. Neither this world nor the next nor happiness exists for one who has a doubting mind.

Detailed Commentary

व्याख्या -- 'अज्ञश्च अश्रद्धधानश्च संशयात्मा विनश्यति' - A person whose discriminative intellect (viveka) is not yet awakened, or who, despite its awakening, does not value it, and who is devoid of shraddha (faith)—such a doubting person falls from the spiritual path. The reason is that the intellect of a doubt-ridden individual is immature, and they do not heed the words of others. How then can their doubt be removed? And how can they progress without the removal of doubt? One who, upon hearing differing views, questions, 'Is this right or is that right?', is called a samshayātmā (one with a doubting self). It is natural for a sādhaक (spiritual aspirant) on the spiritual path to experience doubt, for while studying a subject, they may comprehend some parts and not others. There is no doubt about subjects one understands nothing about, nor about subjects one understands completely. Thus, doubt always arises from incomplete knowledge, which is called ajñāna. Therefore, the emergence of doubt is not harmful; rather, it is harmful to cling to it and make no effort to resolve it. If no effort is made to resolve doubt, it can solidify into a 'siddhānta' (a firm conviction). For, when doubt remains unresolved, one might conclude that everything is nonsensical and abandon the path, becoming an āstik (atheist). Consequently, they fall. Hence, a sādhaक should feel uncomfortable with the presence of doubt within themselves. When doubt causes discomfort, jijnāsa (the desire to know) awakens, and its fulfillment leads to knowledge that destroys doubt. The mark of a sādhaक is to seek. If they accept as truth only what is perceived by the mind and senses, they stop there and cannot progress further. A sādhaक must continuously move forward. Just as a traveler on a journey does not look at how much distance has been covered, but rather how much remains, they will reach their destination precisely. Similarly, a sādhaक should not dwell on how much they have learned, but rather strive to understand what they do not yet fully grasp. Therefore, one should not be content while doubt persists; instead, the fire of jijnāsa should burn intensely. When this happens, a sādhaक’s doubt can be dispelled by saints and mahātmās, or by the shāstras. If no one is available to remove the doubt, it is removed by the grace of Bhagavān. The jīvātmā is a part of Paramātmā—'mamaivānśo jīvaloke' (Gītā 15.7). Therefore, when a hunger to attain the Paramātmā, of which it is a part, awakens within it, and there is sorrow from the non-fulfillment of this hunger, Bhagavān cannot tolerate it. Hence, Bhagavān स्वतः (automatically) fulfills it. Similarly, when a sādhaक is distressed by the doubt within them, that distress becomes unbearable for Bhagavān. One does not need to pray to Bhagavān to remove doubt. The doubts that trouble a sādhaक are automatically removed by Bhagavān, who thereby alleviates their suffering. A samshayātmā’s silent cry reaches Bhagavān automatically. Due to doubt, a sādhaक’s true progress is hindered, and therefore, it is beneficial to remove doubt. Bhagavān is a friend to all beings—'suhṛdaṃ sarvabhūtānām' (Gītā 5.29). Thus, when doubt troubles a person and becomes unbearable, Bhagavān removes it. The mistake often made is that a person, having learned a certain amount, considers it complete and becomes arrogant, thinking they know everything. This arrogance leads to great downfall. 'Nāyaṃ loko’sti na paro na sukhaṃ saṃśayātmanaḥ'—This shloka describes the doubting person, who is 'ajña' (ignorant) and 'aśraddhālu' (faithless). The implication is that even with doubt within, such a person lacks their own discriminative intellect and does not heed the words of others. Therefore, the doubting person falls. For them, there is neither this world nor the next, nor happiness. A doubting person's conduct in this world deteriorates. The reason is that they doubt everything, for example—'Is this person good or bad?', 'Is this food suitable or not?', 'Is this beneficial for me or not?', etc. A doubting person also does not achieve welfare in the afterlife; because welfare requires a resolute intellect, and a doubt-ridden person, being indecisive, cannot make any decisions, for example—'Should I chant or study the scriptures?', 'Should I pursue worldly matters or the attainment of Paramātmā?', etc. Due to the presence of doubt within, there is no peace or happiness in their mind. Therefore, doubt must be dispelled through vivekabuddhi (discriminative intellect) and shraddha. Doubt arises from reading or hearing two different things. That doubt can be resolved through viveka-vichāra (discriminative inquiry) or by accepting the words of shāstras and saint-mahāpuruṣas with shraddha. Therefore, if a doubting person is ajñānī, they should cultivate viveka-vichāra; and if they lack shraddha, they should cultivate shraddha; because without specifically adopting one of these, doubt cannot be removed. From the thirty-third shloka, Bhagavān began the topic of Jñānayoga, explaining the means of attaining knowledge and the glory of knowledge. He concluded the section by describing the deserving and undeserving recipients of knowledge, stating that the knowledge obtained through service to a Guru is automatically attained by one perfected in Karmayoga. Now, the question arises: what should a Karma Yogi do to become perfected? Bhagavān answers this question in the subsequent shloka.