Talks on the Gita -Vinoba 46

Chapter 5 TWO-FOLD STATE OF AKARMA: YOGA AND SANNYASA 24. But Still Yoga Is Better Than Sannyasa 28. Nevertheless, the Lord has given a little more weight to yoga. He says that karmayoga is superior to sannyasa. Why does He say so when there is no difference between them? What does it mean? When the Lord says so, it is from the standpoint of a seeker. Doing everything without being active oneself is possible for a realised soul, not for a seeker. But it is possible for a seeker, at least to some extent, to follow the way of doing everything without getting attached to work, i.e. acting outwardly but remaining inactive within. Working without acting will be a riddle for a seeker; he will be at a loss to understand it. For a seeker, karmayoga is both the way and the goal. But sannyasa is only the goal; it cannot be the way. Hence, from the standpoint of the seeker, karmayoga is superior and preferable to sannyasa. 29. By the same reasoning the Lord has, in the Twelfth Chapter, said that saguna is preferable to nirguna. All the organs can be put to use in saguna sadhana; it is not so in the nirguna sadhana where there is no work for the organs. This is difficult for a seeker to follow. In saguna sadhana, eyes can behold the Lord’s form, ears can hear His praise, hands can worship Him (in the form of an idol) and serve the people, feet can be used to go on a pilgrimage. In this way, all the organs can be given some work; putting them to such use, they can be gradually saturated with the divine consciousness. This is possible in saguna sadhana, not in the nirguna one where there is no use for any organ; there is, as it were, a ban on the use of all the organs. Such a blanket ban could very well frighten the seeker. How can then nirguna get imprinted on his mind? If he sits still, his mind will get filled with all sorts of useless and untoward thoughts. The nature of the sense-organs is such that they invariably tend to do what they are told not to do. Do not the advertisements exploit this very fact? They start with the headline: ‘Don’t read this’. So the reader is intrigued and invariably reads what follows. That is the very purpose of the advertisements—to induce the people to read their contents attentively. In nirguna sadhana, the mind will wander aimlessly, while in saguna bhakti it will be engaged in something or the other. In saguna bhakti, there is place for worship, service, compassion. The organs have something to do in it. If the organs are so engaged, the mind will not go anywhere even if given freedom to do so; it will get interested in the activities and will automatically get concentrated without even being aware of it. But if you try to concentrate the mind forcibly, it will run away in no time. It is, therefore, better to engage the organs in some good work and let the mind go anywhere; it will not do so. But if you try to force it to be still in one place, it will invariably run away.