Chapter 5 Shloka 2

श्री भगवानुवाच

संन्यास कर्मयोगश्च नि:श्रेयसकरावुभौ।

तयोस्तु कर्मसंन्यासात्कर्मयोगो विशिष्यते।।२।।

The Lord replied:

Sanyas and yoga are both beneficial;

of the two, performance of selfless action (Karma Yoga)

is superior to renunciation of action (Karma Sanyas).

Chapter 5 Shloka 2

श्री भगवानुवाच

संन्यास कर्मयोगश्च नि:श्रेयसकरावुभौ।

तयोस्तु कर्मसंन्यासात्कर्मयोगो विशिष्यते।।२।।

The Lord replied patiently:

Sanyas and yoga are both beneficial; of the two, performance of selfless action (Karma Yoga) is superior to renunciation of action (Karma Sanyas).

The Lord has upheld both sanyas and yoga as beneficial for the spiritual aspirant. Like all worldly people, Arjuna too, understood sanyas to mean renunciation of the world, escape from all duties, choosing a solitary location and engaging oneself in meditation.

The Lord specifies otherwise. “Arjuna, sanyas is praiseworthy, but so is yoga.” Thus the Lord is reiterating His earlier injunction to Arjuna (see Chp.3, shloka 4), that man does not attain selflessness through inaction – nor does he attain perfection or success in this manner. In support of this principle, the Lord continues, “Yoga, through engaging in actions with a spirit of detachment, is far preferable to the abnegation of action.” In saying this, the Lord is upholding sanyas, but not the renunciation or tyaag of action.

Sanyas:

1. The absence of attachment with action;

2. The disavowal of the idea ‘I am the body’;

3. The consequence of the abolition of excessive attachment or hatred – raag and dvesh;

4. The result of revoking the intellect that favoured body establishment;

5. To be completely detached whilst engaging in action – not escaping action;

6. To seek no fruit of one’s actions and to maintain equanimity and objectivity towards success and failure, profit and loss.

(Sanyas is discussed in detail in Chp.18, Shloka 2)

Little one, although the Lord has praised yoga through action, He has not disregarded the eminence of sanyas.

Karma

1.    In fact, karma yoga alone effects union with the Atma through sanyas. Abandoning action does not lead to union with the Self.

2. Life is a flow of actions, which cannot be halted as long as life exists.

3. The presence of divine qualities too, is proved through one’s actions. The proof of sadhana too, lies in action.

4. The nature of Brahm – Adhyatam – is the greatest act of yagya. The whole of Creation is proof of this.

When the sadhak is unable to comprehend the highest knowledge, the Sadguru comes to his level and explains to him again and again. Lord Krishna too, is doing the same. He tells Arjuna,

1. “You are the Atma! Why are you distressed by questions which pertain only to the body?

2. Attachment with actions is foolishness.

3. It is foolish to think that you are the doer.

4. Aim to achieve Yoga.

5. I shall give you that intellect, obtaining which you will imbibe the knowledge of Saankhya.”

          Then He described the qualities of the stable intellect, which takes one to union with the Atma and said:

6. “Acquire the stable intellect with which you can transcend both sin and virtue and attain Yoga.”

          Then explaining the attributes of One who had achieved Yoga, the Lord said:

7. “Such a One becomes perfect in the performance of action and transcends good and evil deeds.

8. Abandon mental restlessness, attachment and hatred, fear, anger, desire and the body idea and your intellect will be stable.

9. To renounce actions and revel in objects within the mind is deceitful.”

          Giving examples of those who had achieved perfection through actions, the Lord said:

10. “King Janak and others also achieved Realisation through deeds.”

The Lord then gave His own example and explained the mystery of karma: He explained the secret of inaction in action and action in inaction.

Remember little one! Lord Krishna’s principle aim in explaining all this was to urge Arjuna to engage in war.

The Lord then said that one who had attained sanyas from actions as a result of yoga, that one is not bound by action.

In spite of hearing all this, Arjuna had obviously not understood the mysterious depths of karma. He had failed to understand that:

a) He was essentially the Atma – not the body.

b) With the annihilation of attachment, the seeds of actions become impotent. No longer is such a one subject to the fruits of action.

c) The pure intellect is imperative for yoga with the Atma. When the intellect is united with the Atma, the individual is emancipated from his body idea and from the intellect that was partial to the body. The individual then becomes a sanyasi.

Through all these explanations, the Lord is coming down to the level of the sadhak. Since Arjuna was not able to fully imbibe the knowledge of Saankhya that the Lord put before him, the Lord began to take him forward through answers to his own questions. The goal is the Atma, but to become steadfast in it, one must begin with one’s actions in daily life. Arjuna has not understood what sanyas connotes in daily life.