After getting the answer from Lord Krsna, Arjuna still has doubt about himself. Because abidance of ātmā seems way too difficult for him, he starts to doubt if he couldn't get moksa in this lifetime, what will happen to him? For people who committed in doing prescribed karma where a better lot in this life or next life is the goal, for sure result will be there for them. But for one who pursues self-knowledge where all action to be done are only for citta-suddhi - clarity of the mind, what will be his/her lot if moksa can't be attained in this life? Due to this concern, Arjuna asked...
arjuna uvāca |
ayatiḥ śraddhayopeto yogāccalitamānasaḥ |
aprāpya yogasaṃsiddhiṃ kāṃ gatiṃ kṛṣṇa gacchati ||6.37|| Arjuna said:
The one who is endowed with faith in the śāstra (but) whose effort is inadequate, and whose mind wanders away from yoga, having not gained success in yoga, Krsna! to which end does he/she go?
kaccinnobhayavibhraṣṭaśchinnābhramiva naśyati |
apratiṣṭho mahābāho vimūḍho brahmaṇaḥ pathi ||6.38||
Deluded in the path (knowledge) of Brahman, is one who has fallen from both, being without any support, not destroyed, Krsna, the mighty armed! like a cloudlet torn asunder?
etanme saṃśayaṃ kṛṣṇa chettumarhasyaśeṣataḥ |
tvadanyaḥ saṃśayasyāsya chettā na hyupapadyate ||6.39||
Krsna! You should eliminate this doubt of mine totally. For other than you, there is no one who can be the remover of this doubt.
Śraddha - faith towards śāstra needs to be there for both who pursuing moksa and who pursuing dharma, artha (security), and kāma (pleasure). But having śraddha itself is not enough. One should equip with certain capacity to make the right effort.
ayatiḥ - one whose effort is not sufficient, even though they are endowed with śraddha - śraddhayā upetah. When growing clarity is not there, one might get tired in the course of time and frustrated in this path, then the mind slipped off from abiding in this vision - yogāccalitamānasaḥ. Arjuna would like to know the lot of people who have tried in this moksa pursue, but couldn't get abidance in this knowledge even at the time of death. He described them as people who are being deluded on the path of attaining Brahman - vimūḍho brahmaṇaḥ pathi, being not getting moksa as the result of knowledge. He also described them as people who have fallen from both paths karma and jñāna-marga - ubhayavibhraṣṭah because of pursuing knowledge, they gave up prescribed karma in order to attain the higher lot than the human body, in the same time they are so called failed in attaining self-knowledge also. They are as though scattered without support.
Arjuna request Lord Krsna to remove his doubt, showing a correct attitude of a student who is not stubbornly holding on his view, but showing the doubt which is open to be corrected.
śrībhagavānuvāca |
pārtha naiveha nāmutra vināśastasya vidyate |
na hi kalyāṇakṛt kaścid durgatiṃ tāta gacchati ||6.40||
Śrī-bhagavān said: Indeed, Pārtha (Arjuna)! there is no destruction for him (or her), neither here nor in the thereafter, because any one who performs good actions never reaches a bad end.
Main goal for human life is to attain moksa. Freedom from life of becoming is not another goal among all goals, but it is the basis for all goals which is to be pursued. Generally people only go after anātmā, not ātmā. Dharma, artha (security) and kāma (pleasure), are looked upon as pursuits for the sake of this body-mind-sense-complex (anātmā). But by taking care of anātmā, actually one is taking care of ātmā unintentionally. You don't take care of the body for the body's sake, it is for your sake, ātmā's sake. Therefore moksa pursue which is owned up the limitless nature of me - ātmā, is the basis for all pursuits where the purpose is to fulfil ātmā which we think it is unfulfilled.
Therefore for one who is pursuing moksa is called kalyāṇakṛt - one who performs good actions. Whatever action one does, is having moksa as the only pursuit, therefore he is called one who perform good actions, because there is no action better than the action which support one to get moksa. Listening to vedānta teaching is capable to give 1)punya, 2)qualification for knowledge and 3)self-knowledge as the main result.
For this person certainly there is no destruction in this life or life after. Destruction in this life means one would trap in the bad condition. It doesn't mean he/she will not get any adverse situations in this life. Bad situation will come when one's prarabdha-karma is unfolded, but because of gaining certain understanding of self-knowledge, he/she would have a strong and ease mind to face problems. And destruction for next life means attainment of birth which is inferior to earlier one. It would not happen as well. Because when one has started moksa pursuit, he/she will come back to a situation which is conducive to continue the thread for moksa pursuit.
Exactly what will happen to this person? Lord Krsna explains in next verse.