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Bhagavad Gita

List of Similes and Metaphors from Chapters 3 and 4

Chapter 3

 3.60 He can be likened to a hypocrite!

 3.12 The one, who receives gifts and gives no gifts in return, is verily a thief!

 3:38 …As a flame can be veiled by smoke, as a mirror can be covered by dust, as an

embryo is enveloped in the amnion, even so everything in the world is enshrouded in

passions!

 3.39 The desire of the worldly, which is insatiable as flame!

 3:40.The indriyas, including the mind and buddhi, are the field of its action.

 3.43 Destroy, O mighty-armed, this enemy in the form of the hard-to-conquer desire of

“earthly” boons.

Chapter 4

 4.10 Purified in the Fire of Wisdom attain Great Love for Me.

 4.19 His deeds are purified by the fire of the developed consciousness.

 4.24 Brahman is a Sacrifice coming in a Fiery Appearance.

 4.36 Even then you could cross the sea of suffering on the boat of this wisdom!

 4:37 …As fire turns firewood into ashes, so does the fire of wisdom burns all false

actions to ashes!
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 4.38 No purifier better than wisdom

 4:42. Therefore, cutting the doubts born of ignorance with the sword of Atman’s wisdom

stay in yoga, O Bharata!

Of the metaphors and similes in the third and fourth chapters of the Bhagavad Gita, stands

out, “The one, who receives gifts and gives no gifts in return, is verily a thief” (14). During daily

interactions and in life in general, giving and receiving are essential norms. Humans need to

receive care, nourishments, physiological and other needs from fellow humans. Moreover, they,

plants, and animals require different live-sustaining elements from each other. One who is

always receiving is a thief according to the wisdom of the Gita, because they only deplete yet

never replenish sources from which they take. Their partner soon resents a husband or wife who

only receives complements, material, and emotional support without reciprocating. This applies

to all interpersonal relationships, even between and among some animals. The idea that taking

without giving is hard to communicate to people with a dependency syndrome, and so they need

to be likened to thieves so that they gain awareness of their unfairness. The insight reveals that

even children who benefit from parental care must soon be there for their parents in matters and

manners.

The Bhagavad Gita is a philosophical book from India, similar to the Tao Te Ching from

China, and the Bible from Europe. The epic poem is part of a larger body of work known as the

Mahabharata. It is written in the form of a conversation between a warrior seeking enlightenment

and an incarnated deity providing it. The central concept of the Gita is detachment. “Renouncing

the attachment to the reward for your actions, be-come even-minded in success and failure, O

Dhananjaya! Such equanimity is characteristic of Yoga” (Antonov 12). Detaching means that as

much one enjoys the things they own, feel, or are linked to, they must be indifferent about these.
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Holding, or lacking an item, victory, relationship, or situation should make an enlightened

individual feel the same, or indifferent.

One of the instances that have ever forced me into detachment is breaking up from the

mother of my child, and high-school sweetheart. With this heartbreak came life without the

smiles of my son and his brother. Although recovering from separating from my girlfriend was

relatively smooth, it was almost impossible to get used to life without the children. Emotionally

and cognitively attached, I used to think about them all the time, which caused me distress and

interfered with my work. Finally, when it had taken its toll on me, I received yoga-related

therapy from a relative. A Yogi for a decade, he explained detachment to me and guided me in

meditating on ‘letting go.’ Soon enough, I was happy to see just any child like I would see my

own. I have learned that love is not possessive and that missing my children can be done

healthily and from a productively profound perspective.

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Works Cited

Antonov, Vladimir. Bhagavad Gita with Commentaries. Translated by and Mikhail Nikolenko,

2011.