18. These self-realized personalities are situated on the transcendental platform of the soul. Their every activity is transcendental, in service of God. So the duties prescribed for worldly people at the bodily level, in accordance with the Varṇāśhram Dharma, no longer apply to them.
Here, the distinction needs to be made between karm and bhakti. Previously, Shree Krishna was talking about karm, (or prescribed worldly duties) and saying that they must be done as an offering to God. This was necessary to purify the mind, helping it rise above worldly contamination. But self-realized souls have already reached absorption in God and developed purity of mind. These transcendentalists are directly engaged in bhakti, or pure spiritual activities, such as meditation, worship, kīrtan, service to the Guru, etc. If such souls reject their worldly duties, it is not considered a sin. They may continue to perform worldly duties if they wish, but they are not obliged to do them.
Historically, Saints have been of two kinds. 1) Those like Prahlad, Dhruv, Ambarish, Prithu, and Vibheeshan, who continued to discharge their worldly duties even after attaining the transcendental platform. These were the karm yogis—externally they were doing their duties with their body while internally their minds were attached to God. 2) Those like Shankaracharya, Madhvacharya, Ramanujacharya, and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who rejected their worldly duties and accepted the renounced order of life. These were the karm sanyāsīs, who were both internally and externally, with both body and mind, engaged only in devotion to God. In this verse, Shree Krishna tells Arjun that both options exist for the self-realized sage. Now, he states this in the next verse which of these he recommends to Arjun.
19. Shree Krishna strongly urged those who have not yet reached the transcendental platform to perform their prescribed duties. and, he stated that the transcendentalist is not obliged to perform prescribed duties. So, what path is more suitable for Arjun? Shree Krishna's recommendation for him is to be a karm yogi, and not take karm sanyās. He explained the reason.
20-21. King Janak attained perfection through karm yog, while discharging his kingly duties. Even after reaching the transcendental platform, he continued to do his worldly duties, purely for the reason that it would set a good example for the world to follow. Many other Saints did the same.
Humanity is inspired by the ideals that they see in the lives of great people. Such leaders inspire society by their example and become shining beacons for the masses to follow. Leaders of society thus have a moral responsibility to set lofty examples for inspiring the rest of the population by their words, deeds, and character. When noble leaders are in the forefront, the rest of society naturally gets uplifted in morality, selflessness, and spiritual strength. But in times when there is a vacuum of principled leadership, the rest of society has no standards to pursue and slumps into self-centeredness, moral bankruptcy, and spiritual lassitude. Hence, great personalities should always act in an exemplary manner to set the standard for the world. Even though they themselves may have risen to the transcendental platform, and may not need to perform prescribed Vedic duties, by doing so, they inspire others to perform prescribed Vedic actions.
If a great leader of society becomes a karm sanyāsī, and renounces work, it sets an errant precedent for others. The leader may be at the transcendental platform and therefore eligible to renounce work and engage completely in spirituality. However, others in society use their example as an excuse for escapism, to run away from their responsibilities. Such escapists cite the instances of the great karm sanyāsīs, such as Shankaracharya, Madhvacharya, Nimbarkacharya, and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Following their lofty footsteps, these imposters also renounce worldly duties and take sanyās, even though they have not yet attained the purity of mind required for it. In India, we find thousands of such sadhus. They copy the examples of the great sanyāsīs and don the ochre robes, without the concurrent internal enlightenment and bliss. Though externally renounced, their nature forces them to seek happiness, and devoid of the divine bliss of God, they begin indulging in the lowly pleasure of intoxication. Thus, they slip even below the level of people in household life, as stated in the following verse:
Sage Tulsidas says: "One who renounces worldly duties, without the concurrent internal enlightenment with divine knowledge, treads the quick path to hell."
Instead, if a great leader is a karm yogi, at least the followers will continue to do their karm and dutifully perform their responsibilities. This will help them learn to discipline their mind and senses, and slowly rise to the transcendental platform. Hence, to present an example for society to follow, Shree Krishna suggests that Arjun should practice karm yog. He now gives his own example to illustrate the above point.
22.The reason why we all work is because we need something. We are all tiny parts of God, who is an ocean of bliss, and hence we all seek bliss. Since, we have not attained perfect bliss as yet, we feel dissatisfied and incomplete. So whatever we do is for the sake of attaining bliss. However, bliss is one of God's energies and he alone possesses it to the infinite extent. He is perfect and complete in himself and has no need of anything outside of himself. Thus, he is also called Ātmārām (one who rejoices in the self), Ātma-ratī (one who is attracted to his or her own self), and Ātma-krīḍa (one who performs divine pastimes with his or her own self).
If such a personality does work, there can be only one reason for it—it will not be for oneself, rather for the welfare of others. Thus, Shree Krishna tells Arjun that although in his personal form as Shree Krishna, he has no duty to perform in the universe, yet he works for the welfare of others. He next explains the welfare that is accomplished when he works.
23. In his divine pastimes on the Earth, Shree Krishna was playing the role of a king and a great leader. He appeared in the material world as the son of King Vasudeva from the Vrishni dynasty, the foremost of the righteous. If Lord Krishna did not perform prescribed Vedic activities then so many lesser personalities would follow in his footsteps, thinking that violating them was the standard practice. Lord Krishna states that he would be at fault for leading mankind astray.