Renunciation and Action are One
sribhagavan uvaca
1. anasritah karmaphalam
karyam karma karoti yah
sa samnyasi ca yogi ca
na niragnir na ca ' kriyah
The Blessed Lord said :
(1.) He who does the work which he ought to do without seeking its fruit he is the samnyasin, he is the yogi, not he who does not light the sacred fire, and performs no rites.
The teacher emphasizes that samnyasa or renunciation has little to do with outward works. It is an inward attitude. To become a sari amamnyasin it is not necessary to give up the sacrificial fire and the daily ritual. To abstain from these without the spirit of renunciation is futile.
S., however, by the use of the word "kevalam," makes out that "he who does not light the sacred fire and performs no rites is not the only sari samnyasin. " This does not seem to be quite fair to the text.
2. yañ samnyasam it prayer
yogam tah viddhi pandava
na hy asamnyastasarhkalpo
yogi bhavati kascana
(2) What they call renunciation, that know to be disciplined activity, 0 Panda (Arjuna), for no one becomes a yogi who has not renounced his (selfish) purpose
samnyasam; renunciation. It consists in the accomplishment of the necessary action without an inward striving for reward. This is true yoga, firm control over oneself, complete self-possession,
This verse says that disciplined activity (yoga) is just as good as renunciation (samnyasam)
3. aruruksor muter yogam
karma karanam ucyate
yogarudhasya tasyai 'va
samah karanam ucyate
(3) Work is said to be the means of the sage who wishes to attain to yoga; when he has attained to yoga, serenity is
said to be the means
When we are aspirants for liberation (sadhanavasthã), work done in the right spirit with inner renunciation helps us. then once we achieve self-possession (siddhavasthii) we act, not for gaining any end but out of our anchorage in God-consciousness. Through work we struggle to obtain self-control ; when self-control is attained, we obtain peace. It does not follow that we then abandon all action. For in VI, i, it is stated that the true yogi is one who performs work and not one who renounces it. samba does not mean the cessation of karma. It cannot be the cause (Parana) of wisdom, for the perfected sage has already attained wisdom. V, 12 says that the yogi attains complete tranquillity by abandoning the fruit of action. He performs actions with a perfect equanimity. He overflows with a spontaneous vitality and works with a generosity which arises from his own inexhaustible strength.
