Path of Renunciation

Arjuna said, "O Krishna, you praise renunciation of actions and also yoga. Please tell me conclusively which is better of the two."

Thou teachest renunciation of actions and also their performance. This has confused me. Tell decisively now which is better. It is not possible for a man to resort to both of them at the same time. Yoga here means Karma Yoga. (Cf.III.2)

The Blessed Lord said, "Renunciation and the Yoga of action both lead to the highest bliss; but of the two, the Yoga of action is superior to the renunciation of action."

Sannyasa (renunciation of action) and Karma Yoga (performance of action) both lead to Moksha or liberation or the highest bliss. Though both lead to Moksha, yet of the two means of attaining to Moksha, Karma Yoga is better than mere Karma Sannyasa (renunciation of action) without the knowledge of the Self.But renunciation of actions with the knowledge of the Self is decidedly superior to Karma Yoga.Moreover, Karma Yoga is easy and is therefore suitable to all. (Cf.III.3V.5VI.46)

He should be known as a perpetual Sannyasi who neither hates nor desires; for, free from the pairs of opposites, O mighty-armed Arjuna, he is easily freed from bondage.

A man does not become a Sannyasi by merely giving up actions because of laziness or ignorance or some family quarrel or calamity or unemployment. A true Sannyasi is not a hypocritical coward.The Karma Yogi who neither hates pain and the objects which give him pain, nor desires pleasure and the objects that give him pleasure, who has neither attachment nor aversion to any senseobject and who has risen above the pairs of heat and cold, joy and sorrow, success and failure, victory and defeat, gain and loss, praise and censure, honour and dishonour, should be known as a perpetual Sannyasi though he is ever engaged in action.One need not have taken Sannyasa formally but if he has the above mental attitutde, he is a perpetual Sannyasi. Mere ochrecoloured robe cannot make one a Sannyasi. What is wanted is a pure heart with true renunciation of egoism and desires. Physical renunciation of objects is no renunciation at all. (Cf.VI.1)

Children, not the wise, speak of knowledge and the Yoga of action, or the performance of action, as though they are distinct and different; he who is truly established in one, obtains the fruits of both.

Children the ignorant people who have no knowledge of the Self, and who have only a theoretical knowledge of the scriptures.Children or ignorant people only say that knowledge and the performance of action are different and produce distinct and opposite results. But the wise who have the knowledge of the Self say that they produce the same result only, viz., Moksha or liberation. He who is duly established in,one, he who truly lives in one, Sankhya or Yoga, obtains the fruits of both. Therefore there is no diversity in the result or the fruit. This is the gist of this verse. (Cf.VI.2)

That place which is reached by the Sankhyas or the Jnanis is also reached by the Yogis (Karma Yogis). He who sees knowledge and the performance of action (Karma Yoga) as one, sees truly.

Those who have renounced the world and are treading the path of Jnana Yoga or Vedanta are the Sankhyas. Through Sravana (hearing of the Srutis or Vedantic texts), Manana (reflection on what is heard) and Nididhyasana (constant and profound meditation) they attain to Moksha or Kaivalya directly. Karma Yogis who do selfless service, who perform their duties without expectation of the fruits and who dedicate their actions as offerings unto the Lord also reach the same state as is attained by Sankhyas indirectly through the purification of their heart and renunciation and the conseent dawn of the knowledge of the Self. That man who sees that Sankhya and Yoga are one, as leading to the same result, sees rightly. (Cf.XIII.24,25V.2)

But, O mighty-armed Arjuna, renunciation is hard to attain without Yoga; the sage who is in harmony with Yoga quickly goes to Brahman.

Muni is one who does Manana (meditation or reflection). Yoga is performance of action without selfish motive as an offering unto the Lord.Brahman here signifies renunciation or Sannyasa because renunciation consists in the knowledge of the Self. A Muni, the sage of meditation, the Yogaharmonised, i.e., purified by the performance of action, quickly attains Brahman, the true renunciation which is devotion to the knowledge of the Self. Therefore Karma Yoga is better. It is easy for a beginner. It prepares him for the higher Yoga by purifying his mind.

He who is devoted to the path of action, whose mind is pure, who has conquered the self, who has subdued his senses, and who realizes his Self as the Self in all beings, though acting, is not tainted.

He who is harmonised by Yoga, i.e., he who has purified his mind by devotion to the performance of action, who has conered the body and who has subjugated the senses, whose Self is the Self of all beings, he will not be bound by actions although he performs actions for the wellbeing or protection of the masses in orer to set an example to them. (Cf.XVIII.17)

I do nothing at all," thus would the harmonized knower of Truth think, seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, going, sleeping, and breathing.

A person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is pure in his existence, and consequently he has nothing to do with any work which depends upon five immediate and remote causes: the doer, the work, the situation, the endeavor and fortune. This is because he is engaged in the loving transcendental service of Kṛṣṇa. Although he appears to be acting with his body and senses, he is always conscious of his actual position, which is spiritual engagement. In material consciousness, the senses are engaged in sense gratification, but in Kṛṣṇa consciousness the senses are engaged in the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa’s senses. Therefore, the Kṛṣṇa conscious person is always free, even though he appears to be engaged in affairs of the senses. Activities such as seeing and hearing are actions of the senses meant for receiving knowledge, whereas moving, speaking, evacuating, etc., are actions of the senses meant for work. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person is never affected by the actions of the senses. He cannot perform any act except in the service of the Lord because he knows that he is the eternal servitor of the Lord.

Speaking, letting go, seizing, opening, and closing the eyes, one should be convinced that the senses move among the sense-objects.

The liberated sage or a Jnani always remains as a witness of the activities of the senses as he identifies himself with the Self or Brahman. He thinks and says, I do not see the eyes perceive. I do not hear the ears hear. I do not smell, the nose smells, etc. He beholds,inaction in action as he has burnt his actions in the fire of wisdom. (Cf.XIV.1923)

He who does actions, offering them to Brahman and abandoning attachment, is not tainted by sin, just as a lotus leaf is not tainted by water.

Chapter IV verses 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 37, 41 Chapter V verses 10, 11 and 12 all convey the one idea that the Yogi who does actions without egoism and attachment to results or fruits of the actions, which he regards as offerings unto the Lord, is not tainted by the actions (Karma). He has no attachment even for Moksha. He sees inaction in action. All his actions are burnt in the fire of wisdom. He escapes from the wheel of Samsara. He is freed from the round of births and deaths. He gets purity of heart and through purity of heart attains to the knowledge of the Self. Through the knowledge of the Self he is liberated. This is the gist of the above ten verses. (Cf.III.30)

Yogis, having abandoned attachment, perform actions only through the body, mind, intellect, and even the senses, for the purification of the self.

Yogis here means Karma Yogis who are devoted to the path of action, who are free from egoism and selfishness, who work for the purification of their hearts without the least attachment to the fruits or results of their actions, and who dedicate all actions to the Lord as their offerings.Kevalam only by (free from egoism and selfishness) applies to the body, mind, intellect and the senses.

The one who is united (the well-poised or harmonized) having abandoned the fruit of action attains eternal peace; whereas the one who is not united (the unsteady or unbalanced), impelled by desire and attached to the fruit, is bound.

Santim naishthikim is interpreted as peace born of devotion of steadfastness. The harmonious man who does actions for the sake of the Lord without expectation of the fruit and who says, I do actions for my Lord only, not for my personal gain or profit, attains to the peace born of devotion, through the following four stages, viz., purity of mind, the attainment of knowledge, renunciation of actions, and steadiness in wisdom. But the unbalanced or the unharmonised man who is led by desire and who is attached to the fruits of the actions and who says, I have done such and such an action I will get such and such a fruit, is firmly bound.

Mentally renouncing all actions and being self-controlled, the embodied one happily rests in the nine-gated city, neither acting nor causing others (body and senses) to act.

All actions -- (1) Nitya Karmas These are obligatory duties. Their performance does not produce any merit but their nonperformance produces demerit. Sandhyavandana, etc., belong to this category.(2) Naimittika Karmas These Karmas are performed on the occurrence of some special events such as the birth of a son, eclipse, etc.(3) Kamya Karmas These are optional. They are intended for the attainment of some special ends (for getting rain, son, etc.)(4) Nishiddha Karmas These are forbidden actions such as theft, drinking liour, etc.(5) Prayaschitta Karmas Actions performed to neutralise the effects of evil actions or sins.The man who has controlled the senses renounces all actions by discrimination, by seeing inaction in action and rests happily in this body of nine openings (the ninegated city), because he is free from cares, worries, anxieties and fear and his mind is ite calm and he enjoys the supreme peace of the Eternal. In this ninegated city the Self is the king. The senses, the mind, the subconscious mind, and the intellect are the inhabitants or subjects.The ignorant wordly man says, I am resting in the easychair. The man of wisdom who has realised that the Self is distinct from the body which is a product of the five elements, says, I am resting in this body. (Cf.XVIII.17,50)

Neither does the Lord create agency nor actions for the world, nor union with the fruits of actions; rather, it is Nature that acts.

The Lord does not create agency or doership. He does not press anyone to do actions. He never tells anyone, Do this or do that. He does not bring about the union with the fruit of actions. It is Prakritit or Nature that does everything. (Cf.III.33)

The Lord takes neither the demerit nor the merit of any; knowledge is enveloped by ignorance, and beings are deluded.

Knowledge is enveloped by ignorance. Conseently man is deluded. He thinks, I act. I enjoy. I have done such and such a meritourious act. I will get such and such a fruit. I will enjoy in heaven. I will get a birth in a rich family.Of anyone even of His devotees.Man is bound when he is identifies himself with Nature and its effects -- body, mind, Prana or the lifeforce, and senses. He attains freedom or Moksha when he identifies himself with the immortal, actionless Self that dwells within his heart.When I does not act how can God accept good or evil deeds (Cf.V.29)

But to those whose ignorance is destroyed by knowledge of the Self, like the sun, knowledge reveals the Supreme Brahman.

When ignorance, the root cause of human sufferings, is annihilated by the knowledge of the Self, this knowledge illuminates the Supreme Brahman or that highest immortal Being, just as the sun illumines all the objects of this gross, physical universe.

Their intellect absorbed in That, their self being That, established in That, with That as their supreme goal, they go whence there is no return, their sins dispelled by knowledge.

They fix their intellects on Brahman or the Supreme Self. They feel and realise that Brahman is their self. By constant and protracted meditation, they get established in Brahman. The whole world of names and forms vanishes for them. They live in Brahman alone. They have Brahman alone as their supreme goal or sole refuge. They rejoice in the Self alone. They are satisfied in the Self alone. They are contented in the Self alone. Such men never come back to this Samsara, as their sins are dispelled by knowledge (BrahmaJnana). (Cf.IX.34)

Sages look with an equal eye on a Brahmana endowed with learning and humility, on a cow, an elephant, a dog, and even an outcaste.

The liberated sage or Jivanmukta or a Brahmana has eal vision as he beholds the Self only everywhere. This magnificent vision of a Jnani is beyond description. Atman or Brahman is not at all affected by the Upadhis or limiting adjuncts as He is extremely subtle, pure, formless and attributeless. The suns reflection falls on the river Ganga, on the ocean or on a dirty stream. The sun is not at all affected in any way. This makes no difference to the sun. So is the case with the Supreme Self. The Upadhis (limiting adjuncts) cannot affect Him. Just as the ether is not affected by the limiting adjuncts, viz., a pot, the walls of a room, cloud, etc., so also the Self is not affected by the Upadhis.The Brahmana is Sattvic. The cow is Rajasic. The elephant, the dog and the outcaste are Tamasic. The sge sees in all of them the one homogeneous immortal Self Who is not affected by the three Gunas and their tendencies. (Cf.VI.8,32XIV.24)

Even here in this world, those whose minds rest in reality overcome birth; Brahman is indeed spotless and real; therefore they are established in Brahman.

When the mind gets rooted in equanimity or evenness or equality, when it is always in a balanced state, one coners birth and death. Bondage is annihilated and freedom is attained by him. When the mind is in a perfectly balanced state he overcomes Brahman Himself, i.e., realises Brahman.Brahman is ever pure and attributeless and so He is not affected even though He dwells in an outcaste, dog, etc. So He is spotless. He is homogeneous and one, as He dwells eally in all beings.

Resting in Brahman, with a steady intellect and undeluded, the knower of Brahman neither rejoices upon obtaining what is pleasant nor grieves upon obtaining what is unpleasant.

This is the state of a Jivanmukta or a liberated sage or a Brahmana who identifies himself with the Self or Atman. He always has a balanced mind. He is never deluded. He has abandoned all actions as he rests in Brahman. He who has an unbalanced mind, who identifies himself with the body and mind feels pleasure and pain, exhilaration of spirits when he gets a pleasant object and grief when he obtains an unpleasant object. (Cf.VI.21,27,28XIII.12XIV.20)

With the self unattached to external contacts, he finds happiness in the Self; with the self engaged in the meditation of Brahman, he attains endless happiness.

When the mind is not attached to external objects of the senses, when one is deeply engaged in the contemplation of Brahman, he finds undecaying bliss in the Self within. If you want to enjoy the imperishable happiness of the Self within, you will have to withdraw the senses from their respective objects and plunge yourself in deep meditation on the Self within. This is the gist of this verse.

The enjoyments that arise from contact are only sources of pain, for they have a beginning and an end, O Arjuna; the wise do not rejoice in them.

Man goes in quest of joy and searches in the external perishable objects for his happiness. He fails to get it but instead he carries a load of sorrow on his head.You should withdraw the senses from the senseobjects as there is no trace of happiness in them and fix the min on the immortal, blissful Self within. The senseobjects have a beginning and an end. Separation from the senseobjects gives you a lot of pain. During the interval between the origin and the end you experience a hollow, momentary, illusory pleasure. This fleeting pleasure is due to Avidya or ignorance. Even in the other world you will have the same experience. He who is endowed with discrimination or the knowledge of the Self will never rejoice in these sensual objects. Only ignorant persons who are passionate will rejoice in the senseobjects. (Cf.II.14,XVIII.38)

He who is able, while still here in this world, to withstand the impulse born out of desire and anger before the liberation from the body, he is a Yogi, and he is a happy man.

Yukta means harmonised or steadfast in Yoga or selfabiding.Desire and anger are powerful enemies of peace. It is very difficult to annihilate them. You will have to make very strong efforts to destroy these enemies.When the word Kama (desire) is used in a general sense it includes all sorts of desires. It means lust in a special sense.While still here means while yet living. The impulse of desire is the agitation of the mind which is indicated by hairs standing on end and cheerful face. The impulse of anger is agitation of the mind which is indicated by fiery eyes, perspiration, biting of the lips and trembling of the body. In this verse you will clearly understand that he who has controlled desire and anger is the most happy man in this world, nor he who has immense wealth, a beautiful wife and beautiful children. Therefore you must try your level best to eradicate desire and anger, the dreadful enemies of eternal bliss.Kama (desire) is longing for a pleasant and agreeable object which gives pleasure and which is seen, heard of, or remembered. Anger is aversion towards an unpleasant and disagreeable object which gives pain and which is seen, heard or, or remembered.A Yogi controls the impulse born of desire and anger, destroyes the currents of likes and dislikes,and attains to equanimity of the mind, by resting in the innermost Self, and so he is very happy.(Cf.VI.18)

He who is happy within, who rejoices within, and who is illuminated within, that Yogi attains absolute freedom, or Moksha, becoming Brahman himself.

Within meansin the Self. He attains Brahmanirvanam or liberation while living. He becomes a Jivanmukta.

The sages obtain absolute freedom or Moksha when their sins have been destroyed, their dualities have been torn asunder, they are self-controlled, and they are intent on the welfare of all beings.

Sins are destroyed by the performance of Agnihotra (a daily obligatoyr ritual) and other Yajnas (vide notes on verse III. 13) without expectation of their fruits and by other selfless services. The duties vanish by constant meditation on the nondual Brahman. He never hurts others in thought, word and deed, and he is devoted to the welfare of all beings as he feels that all beings are but his own Self. (Cf.XII.4)

Absolute freedom exists on all sides for those self-controlled ascetics who are free from desire and anger, who have controlled their thoughts, and who have realized the Self.

Those who renounce all actions and practise Sravana (hearing of the scriptures), Manana (reflection) and Nididhyasana (meditation), who are established in Brahman or who are steadily devoted to the knowledge of the Self attain liberation or Moksha instantaneously (Kaivalya Moksha). Karma Yoga leads to Moksha step by step (Krama Mukti). First comes purification of the mind, then knowledge, then renunciation of all actions and eventually Moksha.

Shutting out all external contacts and fixing the gaze between the eyebrows, realizing the outgoing and incoming breaths moving within the nostrils.

The verses 27 and 28 deal with the Yoga of meditation (Dhyana). External objects or contacts are the sound and the other senseobjects. If the mind does not think of the external objects they are shut out from the mind. The senses are the doors or avenues through which sound and the other senseobjects enter the mind.If you fix the gaze between the eyrows the eyalls remain fixed and steady. Rhythmical breathing is described here. You will have to make the breath rhythmical. The mind becomes steady when the breath becomes rhythmical. When the breath becomes rhythmical there is perfect harmony in the mind and the whole system. (Cf.VI.10,14VIII.10)

With the senses, mind, and intellect ever controlled, having liberation as their supreme goal, free from desire, fear, and anger, the sage is truly liberated forever.

If one is free from desire, fear and anger he enjoys perfect peace of mind. When the senses, the mind and the intellect are subjugated, the sage does constant contemplation and,attains for ever to the absolute freedom or Moksha.The mind becomes restless when the modifications of deisre, fear and anger arise in it. When one becomes desireless, the mind moves towards the Self spontaneously liberation or Moksha becomes his highest goal.Muni is one who does Manana or reflection and contemplation.

He who knows Me as the enjoyer of sacrifices and austerities, the great Lord of all the worlds, and the friend of all beings, attains peace.

I am the Lord of all sacrifices and austerities. I am their author, goal and their God. I am the friend of all beings, the doer of good to them without expecting any return for it. I am the dispenser of the fruits of all actions and the silent witness of their minds, thoughts and actions as I dwell in their hearts. On knowing Me, they attain peace and liberation or Moksha (deliverance from the round of birth and death and all worldly miseries and sorrows). (Cf.V.15IX.24)