Shloka 32
Karma Yoga — Karma Yoga
ये त्वेतदभ्यसूयन्तो नानुतिष्ठन्ति मे मतम् । सर्वज्ञानविमूढांस्तान्विद्धि नष्टानचेतसः ॥ ३.३२ ॥
ye tv etad abhyasūyanto nānu-tiṣṭhanti me matam | sarvajñāna-vimūḍhāṁs tān viddhi naṣṭān acetasaḥ || 3.32 ||
Doch jene, die diese meine Lehre tadeln und nicht befolgen, erkenne als in allem Wissen Verblendete, ohne Unterscheidungskraft, dem Verderben (geistigen) entgegengehend.
But those who, finding fault, do not follow My teaching—know them to be deluded in all knowledge, lacking discernment, and headed for ruin (spiritually).
But those who disparage this and do not practice my view—understand them as confused regarding all knowledge, without awareness, undone.
Naṣṭān can be read as ‘ruined’ ethically/spiritually rather than physically; the contrast is with 3.31’s śraddhā and anasūyā. The verse functions as a rhetorical warning about the epistemic cost of hostile dismissal.
FAQs
Persistent disparagement can function as a defense against self-change; it preserves old habits by rejecting the discipline that would challenge them.
The verse suggests that rejecting the teaching is not mere disagreement but a deeper confusion about the nature of action, self, and liberation.
Krishna closes this subsection by contrasting faithful practice (3.31) with fault-finding non-practice (3.32), reinforcing karma-yoga as a lived discipline.
Evaluate traditions and methods critically but fairly; dismissiveness without engagement can impede learning and ethical growth.