Babaji stressed that knowledge is very important because a person’s action and behavior depend on his or her knowledge. In India the emphasis has always been on improving a person’s character which depends upon having proper understanding of the principles of life. Merely possessing knowledge without using it as the basis for one’s actions is only a burden.
The first chapter of Bhagavad Gītā is crucial to understanding Arjuna’s existential dilemma – his attachment to material ego – which represents the basic problem of every human being. Babaji explained how many people have difficulties in understanding the first chapter because, like Arjuna, they identify with their body and thus fail to grasp the implication of non violence. As long as this identification exists, there is no question of non-violence, because of the distinction between one’s own possessions and relatives, and that of others. Violence or non-violence is a type of consciousness, rather than the action itself. Only a self-realized person can be truly non-violent as he has nothing to gain for himself and works only for the welfare of others. Many people have the misconception that Krishna propagates violence, while in actuality he wants Arjuna to examine his heart and understand his dharma. If there is a duty to be performed it should not be avoided on the pretext of religion or compassion.
Krishna then teaches that both happiness and distress constitute disturbances that need to be transcended. He explains to Arjuna the principles of karma yoga. Since action leads to bondage, the desire for the result needs to be given up. The result of the action should be offered to God. Problems lie neither with the object nor with the activity, which are both external–what counts is only the consciousness of the performer of action
