श्रीभगवानुवाच ।
पार्थ नैवेह नामुत्र विनाशस्तस्य विद्यते ।
न हि कल्याणकृत्कश्चिद्दुर्गतिं तात गच्छति ।। ६.४० ।।

śrī-bhagavān uvāca -
pārtha naiveha nāmutra vināśas-tasya vidyate |
na hi kalyāṇa-kṛt-kaścid-durgatiṁ tāta gacchati || 6.40 ||

Auspiciousness wards off adversity

Not only Arjuna, but many indeed are the sadhakas who seek this hope, this clarity. Krishna takes a wholesome stand, practical and effective. It calls for deep study and contemplation by all seekers and thinkers:

O son of Kunti, for him neither here on earth nor in the higher worlds, can destruction ever be. One intending to do good (set on auspicious path), will never meet an adverse plight. Such is the spiritual law.

In the spiritual field, no question or doubt is merely objective, theoretical or impersonal. It has its relevance first and last to the person who fosters it. Unless the question is treated at the questioner level, the mind level, the full purpose will not be served. Krishna’s answer is thus objective as well as subjective, impersonal and personal alike. This is the excellence of the Bhagavad Gita dialogue.

Krishna assures that for the yoga practitioner, no decline or downfall will ever be; he adds, ‘either here or elsewhere’. Why say much, declares Krishna, whoever aims to do something good and auspicious, will never meet any peril or adversity. Any fear, doubt or apprehension in this regard is purely imaginary or puerile. To imagine risk or danger is the characteristic of the mind, especially the deluded one. Whether the imaginations are factual, and whether the events and courses in one’s life will take such a turn, is altogether another consideration.

So far as yoga-pursuit is concerned, it has the intrinsic merit and strength to safeguard the performer assuredly. Fire burns, water flows and the wind blows, naturally, irresistibly. So too, does goodness safeguard the human and fetches felicity for him. Krishna’s words are an enunciation of a mental, spiritual law – a truth, a principle. It stands wholesomely with Krishna. In fact, all such statements of Bhagavad Gita as well as the scriptures are thus intrinsically potent, forceful.

Is this a sudden revelation? Remember how Krishna, at first, introduced karma-yoga (2.40): “In this no abhikrama nasa (loss of the effort already made) is there; nor is there any pratyavaya (adverse result). Even a small measure of this yoga practice will deliver one against the mighty fear of worldly life.” Are not these sufficient explanation, promise and safeguard? What more is needed to understand that yoga-pursuit is wholesome and benevolent?