यथैधांसि समिद्धोऽग्निर्भस्मसात्कुरुतेऽर्जुन |
ज्ञानाग्नि: सर्वकर्माणि भस्मसात्कुरुते तथा || 37||
yathaidhānsi samiddho ’gnir bhasma-sāt kurute ’rjuna
jñānāgniḥ sarva-karmāṇi bhasma-sāt kurute tathā
yathā—as; edhānsi—firewood; samiddhaḥ—blazing; agniḥ—fire; bhasma-sāt—to ashes; kurute—turns; arjuna—Arjun; jñāna-agniḥ—the fire of knowledge; sarva-karmāṇi—all reactions from material activities; bhasma-sāt—to ashes; kurute—it turns; tathā—similarly
Translation:
O Arjuna! Just as blazing fire reduces wood to ashes, even so, the fire of, Knowledge destroys all actions.
Commentary:
There is no sorrow when there is no birth; there is no birth when there is no action, and there is no action when Knowledge is acquired. All actions done in the former state of ignorance are destroyed by the Knowledge now acquired. But this Knowledge should be perfect. Burning fire consumes all fuel thrown into it. The fire covered by ashes is simply extinguished if the wood is thrown over it. So the blazing fire of Knowledge destroys all actions.
For the man who possessed knowledge and perceived Atma all actions are destroyed. In the former verse, it is said that the ocean of sin is crossed over by the raft of Knowledge. Here it is further stated that all actions are destroyed by the fire of Knowledge.
Sri Ramakrishna Says —
(To Keshab, with a smile) “Why is it that you are ill? There is a reason for it. Many spiritual feelings have passed through your body; therefore it has fallen ill. At the time an emotion is aroused, one understands very little about it. The blow that it delivers to the body is felt only after a long while. I have seen big steamers going by on the Ganges, at the time hardly noticing their passing. But oh, my! What a terrific noise is heard after a while, when the waves splash against the banks! Perhaps a piece of the bank breaks loose and falls into the water.
“An elephant entering a hut creates havoc within and ultimately shakes it down. The elephant of divine emotion enters the hut of this body and shatters it to pieces.
“Do you know what actually happens? When a house is on fire, at first a few things inside burn. Then comes the great commotion. Just so, the fire of Knowledge at first destroys such enemies of spiritual life as passion, anger, and so forth. Then comes the turn of ego. And lastly a violent commotion is seen in the physical frame.
“You may think that everything is going to be over. But God will not release you as long as the slightest trace of your illness is left. You simply cannot leave the hospital if your name is registered there. As long as the illness is not perfectly cured, the doctor won’t give you a permit to go. Why did you register your name in the hospital at all?” (All laugh.)
Keshab laughed again and again at the Master’s allusion to the hospital. Then Sri Ramakrishna spoke of his own illness. (To Keshab) -“Hriday used to say, ‘Never before have I seen such ecstasy for God, and never before have I seen such illness.’ I was then seriously ill with stubborn diarrhoea. It was as if millions of ants were gnawing at my brain. But all the same, spiritual talk went on day and night. Dr. Rama of Natagore was called in to see me. He found me discussing spiritual truth. ‘What a madman!’ he said. ‘Nothing is left of him but a few bones, and still he is reasoning like that!'”
MASTER (to Keshab): “All depends on God’s will.
O Mother, all is done after Thine own sweet will;
Thou art in truth self-willed, Redeemer of mankind!
Thou workest Thine own work; men only call it theirs. …..
(Source: Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna)
Question: How can people get rid of Karma?
Answer: By Knowledge.
Question: What is the excellence of Knowledge?
Answer: Knowledge destroys all actions, and thus man attains liberation.
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 4 
(42 Verses)
