अपि चेदसि पापेभ्यः सर्वेभ्यः पापकृत्तमः।
सर्वं ज्ञानप्लवेनैव वृजिनं सन्तरिष्यसि।।4.36।।
यथैधांसि समिद्धोऽग्निर्भस्मसात्कुरुतेऽर्जुन।
ज्ञानाग्निः सर्वकर्माणि भस्मसात्कुरुते तथा।।4.37।।
Even if you are the worst sinner among all sinners, you can still cross over all wickedness with the raft of Knowledge alone.
O Arjuna, just as a blazing fire reduces wood to ashes, similarly the fire of Knowledge reduces all actions to ashes.
Osho’s Commentary
A tremendously hopeful message. Even if you are the greatest of all sinners, says Krishna, the boat of knowledge can carry you across the ocean of sin. Sin is not a positive entity. It is simply darkness, ignorance. It has no substance of its own. You don’t have to fight it. You simply have to bring in the light of knowledge. A single lamp can dispel the darkness of a thousand years. A single moment of awakening can burn away the sins of a million lifetimes. Knowledge is a fire, jnanagnih. It reduces all karmas, all actions, past and present, to ashes. They can no longer create any bondage for you. They lose their power to create a future. The fire of knowing purifies you completely, leaving you utterly innocent, as if you were just born this very moment.