एवं प्रवर्तितं चक्रं नानुवर्तयतीह यः।
अघायुरिन्द्रियारामो मोघं पार्थ स जीवति।।3.16।।
O Partha, he who does not follow the wheel thus set in motion lives in vain, their life is sinful, and they indulge in the senses.
Osho’s Commentary
Krishna has described the cosmic wheel—from action to sacrifice, from sacrifice to rain, from rain to food, from food to life. He who does not align himself with this cosmic flow, who tries to live for himself alone, is living a life of sin. His life is aghayu, a life of sin, and indriyaramo, one who delights only in the senses. He lives only for momentary pleasures, cut off from the great rhythm of existence. And Krishna says such a life is lived in vain, mogham. It is futile, meaningless. The so-called atheist, who denies the existence of a cosmic order, is essentially trying to break away from this wheel. He wants to live according to his own ego, his own desires. But to fight against the whole is to invite misery. It is to live in constant conflict, in struggle. The religious person is one who flows with the river. He does not swim against the current. He understands that he is part of a larger whole, and he aligns his individual will with the cosmic will. This alignment is what was understood by the ancient system of the four ashramas or stages of life. Brahmacharya, Grihastha, Vanaprastha, Sannyas—these were not arbitrary rules, but a scientific map for a man’s life to unfold in harmony with the cosmic flow. Each stage had its own function, its own discipline. It was a way to ensure that a man lived a full life, experienced all its dimensions, and finally, was able to transcend it gracefully. He who followed this wheel lived a meaningful life. He who broke away from it lived in vain.