Shastra: rules, Path of Self-control. Gita

Let Shastra be your authority to determine the do's and don'ts. Bhagavad Gita 16-24

The meaning of Shastra could be the rules of conduct according to the Dharma, that is, what we can and cannot do, defined in sacred texts such as the Bhagavad Gita, marking the path of Bhagavad Gita).

The Gita-Shastra is Yoga. Bhagavad Gita is Yoga-Shastra

Let us remember that the Bhagavad Gita is above all a Moksha Shastra, a book of liberation and Self-Knowledge, it is ultimately the study of the science of the soul, of our immortal part, unlike Patanjali's Yoga Sutras focused above all on the study of the mind.

In the last verse of Chapter 15 - The Yoga Supreme Being (Purushottama Yoga) we find for the first time the term Shastra.

Sri Krishna say to Arjuna:
«Thus have I revealed to you, O sinless man, the most mysterious secret (Shastra). He who understands it, O Bharata, is a comprehensive man, he has fulfilled the mission of his life» Bhagavad Gita 15-20.

In Chapter 16 - The Yoga of Divine and Demoniacal Inheritance we find:

«He who abandons the rules of Shastra and does nothing but obey his selfish desires, neither obtains perfection, nor happiness, nor the highest state» Bhagavad Gita 16-23.

In the next verse, Krishna's explanation is definitive: Shastra teaches man what he should and should not do:

«Therefore let Shastra be your authority to determine what should and should not be done; make sure that the Shastra rule is fulfilled and (accordingly) do your work here» Bhagavad Gita 16-24.

And Krishna insists again: work, act, do your duty following your Dharma.

«Shastra does not refer to the rites and formulas established in the so-called Dharmashastra, but to the path of self-control established by sages and saints.» Gandhi.

«Shastra also has the same meaning above. Let no one be a law by himself, but take as his authority the law established by those men who have known and lived religion.» Gandhi.

Important reflection: that no one be a law by themselves.

In chapter 17- The Yoga of the Threefold Faith we find again several references to Shastra:

«Those men who, bound by pretension and arrogance, possessed by the violence of lust and passion, practice cruel austerities not commanded by Shastra» Bhagavad Gita 17-5.

Yoga Shastra: Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and Bhagavad Gita

Bhagavad Gita in Spanish Shastra Bhagavad Gita Bhagavad Gita in Portuguese Shastra.