April 17 – Bhagavadgita Chapter 5; Verses 5.01-5.03 (Day 108) Karma-Sannyasa Yoga

 CHAPTER 5

The Yoga Of Renunciation of Action (Karma-Sannyasa Yoga)

अथ पञ्चमोऽध्यायः ।   कर्मसंन्यासयोगः

அத பஞ்சமோ‌த்யாய: கர்ம ஸன்யாஸ யோகம் 

Lesson 5.1 (Verses 1-12)

Sannyasa (renunciation of action) and Karma Yoga (performance of action) both lead to liberation

April 17 – Day 108
Verse 5.01-5.03

अर्जुन उवाच ।

संन्यासं कर्मणां कृष्ण पुनर्योगं च शंससि ।

यच्छ्रेय एतयोरेकं तन्मे ब्रूहि सुनिश्चितम् ॥ ५-१॥ 

Arjuna uvācha
sannyāsaṁ karmaṇāṁ kṛiṣhṇa punar yogaṁ cha śhamsasi
yach chhreya etayor ekaṁ tan me brūhi su-niśhchitam (1) 

அர்ஜுன உவாச¹ |
ஸன்யாஸம் க¹ர்மணாம் க்¹ருஷ்ண பு¹னர்யோக³ம் ச¹ ஶந்ஸஸி |
யச்¹ச்²ரேய ஏத¹யோரேக¹ம் த¹ந்மே ப்³ரூஹி ஸுநிஶ்சி¹த¹ம் || 1 || 

Arjuna said:

1. Renunciation of actions, O Krishna, Thou praisest, and again Yoga! Tell me conclusively which is the better of the two. 

Commentary: 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) 

श्रीभगवानुवाच ।

संन्यासः कर्मयोगश्च निःश्रेयसकरावुभौ ।

तयोस्तु कर्मसंन्यासात्कर्मयोगो विशिष्यते ॥ ५-२॥ 

śhrī bhagavān uvācha
sannyāsaḥ karma-yogaśh cha niḥśhreyasa-karāvubhau
tayos tu karma-sannyāsāt karma-yogo viśhiṣhyate (2) 

ஶ்ரீப¹க³வானுவாச¹ |
ஸன்யாஸ: க¹ர்மயோக³ஶ்ச¹ நி: ஶ்ரேயஸக¹ராவுபௌ⁴ |
த¹யோஸ்து¹ க¹ர்மஸன்யாஸாத்¹க¹ர்மயோகோ³ விஶிஷ்யதே¹ ||2|| 

The Blessed Lord said:

2. 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. 

Commentary: 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.3; V.5; VI.46) 

ज्ञेयः स नित्यसंन्यासी यो न द्वेष्टि न काङ्क्षति ।

निर्द्वन्द्वो हि महाबाहो सुखं बन्धात्प्रमुच्यते ॥ ५-३॥ 

jñeyaḥ sa nitya-sannyāsī yo na dweṣhṭi na kāṅkṣhati
nirdvandwo hi mahā-bāho sukhaṁ bandhāt pramuchyate (3) 

ஞேய: ஸ நித்¹யஸன்யாஸீ யோ ந த்³வேஷ்டி¹ ந கா¹ங்க்ஷதி¹ |
நிர்த்³வந்த்³வோ ஹி மஹாபா³ஹோ ஸுக²ம் ப³ந்தா⁴த்¹ப்¹ரமுச்¹யதே¹ ||3|| 

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

Commentary: A man does not become a Sannyasin by merely giving up actions due to laziness, ignorance, 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 sense-object 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 dishonor, 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 attitude, he is perpetual Sannyasi.  Mere ochre-coloured robe cannot make one a Sannyasi. Physical renunciation of objects is no renunciation at all. What is wanted is a pure heart with true renunciation of egoism and desires. 

Commentary by Swami Venkatesananda:

The confusion arose over a misunderstanding of verse forty-one of the previous chapter! The word ‘saṁnyᾱsa’ meant (and means even now to the narrow-minded, orthodox bigot) giving up of all activities and enjoyments. Enjoyment was supposed to cause attachment and action provided the fuel to keep the wheel of karma revolving. To talk of saṁnyᾱsa and activity in the same breath was obviously a contradiction in their eyes.

The famous story of queen Cūḍālā in the Yoga Vāsiṣṭha brings out the kernel of renunciation graphically. Renunciation should be of that which is ‘mine’. Worldly objects belong to the world; renouncing them would be like the beggar in South India renouncing his claims to the throne of England: they do not exist! Attachment to worldly activities may be replaced by attachment to so-called spiritual activities, with no real spiritual benefit! If a king enjoys his cup of wine, a mendicant might sip a cup of milk with equal pleasure! Patañjali warns us that even the ‘bliss’ of savikalpa samādhi is an extremely subtle substitute for sense-pleasure. Real renunciation is abandonment of egoistic acceptance and rejection, love and hatred, likes and dislikes. Real renunciation is renunciation of the only thing that ‘belongs to me’ viz., ignorance, the foolish ideas of ‘I’ (in relation to the body) and ‘mine’ (in relation to the objects of the world).

Longing and aversion both spring from false values. By giving both up one is freed from their bondage while remaining active. 

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