April 21 – Bhagavadgita Chapter 5; Verses 5.10-5.11 (Day 112) Karma Yoga

 April 21 – Day 112

Verse 5.10-5.11

ब्रह्मण्याधाय कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा करोति यः ।

लिप्यते न स पापेन पद्मपत्रमिवाम्भसा ॥ ५-१०॥ 

brahmaṇyādhāya karmāṇi saṅgaṁ tyaktwā karoti yaḥ;
lipyate na sa pāpena padma-patram ivāmbhasā (10) 

ப்³ரஹ்மண்யாதா⁴ய க¹ர்மாணி ஸங்க¹ம் த்¹யக்¹த்¹வா க¹ரோதி¹ ய: |
லிப்¹யதே¹ ந ஸ பா¹பே¹ன பத்³மப¹த்¹ரமிவாம்ப⁴ஸா ||10|| 

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

Commentary: 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) 

कायेन मनसा बुद्ध्या केवलैरिन्द्रियैरपि ।

योगिनः कर्म कुर्वन्ति सङ्गं त्यक्त्वात्मशुद्धये ॥ ५-११॥ 

kāyena manasā buddhyā kevalair indriyair api;
yoginaḥ karma kurvanti saṅgaṁ tyaktvātma-śhuddhaye (11) 

கா¹யேன மனஸா பு³த்³த்⁴யா கே¹வலைரிந்த்³ரியைரபி¹ |
யோகி³ன: க¹ர்ம கு¹ர்வன்தி¹ ஸங்க³ம் த்¹யக்¹த்¹வாத்¹மஶுத்³த⁴யே ||11 || 

11. Yogis, having abandoned attachment, perform actions only by the body, mind, intellect and also by the senses, for the purification of the self. 

Commentary: 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. 

Commentary by Swami Venkatesananda: 

The emphasis on ‘abandoning attachment’ is worth meditating upon. Those two words are like a double-edged sword without even a handle – it is difficult to hold! Likewise it is difficult to realise this state of non-attachment. The man who says: “I am not attached to anything” is terribly attached to that estimation of himself. It is not ‘doing this’ or ‘refraining from this’ that is the criterion; for both may be born of ‘attachment’! No guidance whatsoever can be given here – the mind may get attached to the guidance, and mistake the description for the truth. Only the vigilant yogi knows what this means.

The yogi is ever mindful of the presence of God in himself (which he had mistaken for the ‘I’) and the omnipresence of God in all beings. He endeavours to keep this awareness steady in his mind all the time. But the mind might play wonderful tricks with him, too. A pleasurable object or person might appear to be truly full of God; and the yogi might find his mind sticking to it (incidentally, the Sanskrit word for ‘friendship’ is ‘sneha’ which also means ‘glue’!). He has to retrieve his heart from it with skill but retain the right attitude to God’s omnipresence. Again, the ego might assert itself and proclaim that God is the indwelling presence, especially manifest in the yogi’s heart, goading him to keep away from this or that. The ego might speak in God’s voice! The ego might spread a subtle net of self-importance in which the yogi might be caught. If, however, he is able to find the subtle middle path – without withholding himself and without getting attached – he will live in God, doing his will, never tainted by the sin of egoism. The second verse gives freedom of action not only to the body and the senses, but to the mind and the rational faculty. The ego? It has no permanent existence. 

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