Chapter 6 Shloka 1

श्री भगवानुवाच

अनाश्रित: कर्मफलं कार्यं कर्म करोति य:।

स संन्यासी च योगी च न निरग्निर्न चाक्रिय:।।१।।

Bhagwan says:

He who does the prescribed work

without caring for its fruit, is a Sanyasi and a Yogi;

he is no Sanyasi who has renounced the sacred fire,

nor is he a Yogi, who has renounced all activity.

Chapter 6 Shloka 1

श्री भगवानुवाच

अनाश्रित: कर्मफलं कार्यं कर्म करोति य:।

स संन्यासी च योगी च न निरग्निर्न चाक्रिय:।।१।।

Bhagwan says:

He who does the prescribed work without caring for its fruit, is a Sanyasi and a Yogi; he is no Sanyasi who has renounced the sacred fire, nor is he a Yogi, who has renounced all activity.

Bhagwan is clearly saying that:

1. Incumbent action should be performed.

2. Doing one’s duty is essential.

3. Knowledge must be translated into life.

Earlier, the Lord has already said:

a) Act with a balanced intellect. (Chp.2, shloka 48)

b) Yoga begets proficiency in action. (Chp.2, shloka 50)

c) One neither attains freedom from action nor sanyas through abstinence from action. (Chp.3, shloka 4)

d) Action is superior to inaction. (Chp.3, shloka 8)

e) Karmas originate from Brahm. (Chp.3, shloka 15)

f) Your right is only to action. (Chp.2, shloka 47)

g) Act with the organs of action in a spirit of detachment.(Chp.3, shloka 9)

h) Thus devoid of attachment, perform actions with sincerity, in a spirit of yagya or offering to the Lord. (Chp.3, shloka 9)

i)  Yogis engage in action for self purification. (Chp.5, shloka 11)

Little one, now understand the connotation of sanyas. The Lord defines the true Sanyasi as:

a) One who is free from dvesh or hatred. (Chp.5, shloka 2)

b) One who is free from desire. (Chp.5, shloka 2)

c) One who is free from duality. (Chp.5, shloka 2)

­­–  Abandoning all actions does not lead to sanyas. (Chp.3, shloka 4)

­­–  Sanyas is attained through detachment of one’s mind from actions. (Chp.5, shloka 13)

Yoga and Sanyas

Now the Lord once again very clearly explains the subtle essence and core of yoga and Sanyas:

1. He is a sanyasi who performs necessary actions without any desire of fruit.

2. Inactivity does not lead to sanyas; nor is it conducive to yoga.

3. To renounce the hearth is not sanyas; nor is it yoga.

Actions not founded on the expectation of any fruit

1. Where the result does not form the basis for performing the action.

2. Actions performed without any desire for the consequences.

3. Actions performed without an eye on the fruit of that act.

However, others want the fruits of the actions you do for them. What is the sanyasi’s attitude towards such actions?

1. He performs action without seeking any fruit thereof for personal benefit.

2. He acts, having forgotten all selfish interests.

3. He performs deeds in a state of total self-forgetfulness.

4. He abstains from performing even a single deed for self-establishment.

5. He abstains from performing even a single deed to uphold the mind’s desires.

6. In fact he performs no action to attain anything for himself personally.

Actions done with a view to establishing one’s individual entity or ego, are sakaam karmas or deeds instigated by selfish desire. Little one, the sanyasi and the Yogi have no such desires for themselves. They have already given their all to the other.

a) He who does not consider the body to be his own is a sanyasi or a Yogi.

b) He who knows himself to be the Atma is a sanyasi or a Yogi.

All desires emanate in relation to the body. The one who does not believe himself to be the body, what will he desire or seek for this body constituted of dust?

Little one, in accordance with the prevalent concept, a sanyasi is one who:

a) favours inaction;

b) renounces hearth and home;

c) dons ochre robes;

d) forsakes the duties of normal life;

e) engages himself only in contemplation and meditation;

f) prefers only discussions on theoretical knowledge;

g) subsists on alms;

h) distances himself from the world;

i)  is indifferent to the joys and sorrows of others;

j)  takes the Lord’s Name each moment, yet does not support anyone;

k) disassociates himself from finding the solution to any gross problems;

l)  renounces wealth and material objects;

m)   distances himself from people;

n) does not earn for himself or for others;

o) does not provide or ‘cook’ for himself or for others.

The world has since long called such a one a sanyasi.

Therefore the Lord said to Arjuna, “This yoga, obtained through tradition over the ages, has long since been lost. I am imparting to you that same elevated yoga, which has remained veiled for so long.” (Chp.4, shlokas 2, 3)

Little one:

1. Those who go by the prevalent concept of sanyas can naturally not understand the Lord’s words.

2. They who do not consider the Lord’s own life to be the perfect embodiment of sanyas, cannot understand the connotation of sanyas.

3. It is of course not easy to believe that the Lord – Who Himself embodies all the attributes and is still devoid of gunas, is sanyas itself.

4. How can one understand that the One who is ever engaged in action, is still free of action?

5. How can one comprehend the innate detachment of One who is Love Itself?

6. It is difficult to comprehend the total obedience to duty of the One who has no duties.

The Lord’s Swaroop or innate Essence

1. The Lord is the embodiment of sanyas.

2. He is ever established in samadhi.

3. He is ever established in the Atma.

4. He transcends all attributes; He is Nirguni.

5. He is without form.

6. He is ever established in Brahmcharya.

(For explanation of Brahmcharya see shlokas 13 and 14 of this chapter.)

Those who are bound by their own concepts cannot comprehend this elusive Truth. Those who are attached to their own idea of sanyas, cannot grasp its subtle meaning even upon reading the Gita.

Little one, know that each word of the Gita has been imbued with life by the life of the Lord Himself. If you therefore look for the proof of each word in the Lord’s life, you can understand the true and full connotation of each word contained in the Gita. Indeed, this is why the Lord is called the Light of Spirituality, ‘Adhyatam Prakash Swaroop’.

a) Actually, the sanyasi is completely indifferent towards his own body.

b) Such a one is asleep towards his physical being.

c) He no longer views the world for selfish gain.

d) In fact, the world does not really matter to him.

e) Yet, he lives for the world – not for himself.

f) The world has all claims on him.

g) Yet he has no rights or claims on the world.

Niragni (निराग्नि)

In accordance with the prevalent concept, the sanyasi is niragni:

1. One who has ceased to stoke the fire.

2. Fire is an essential requisite for a household to survive. Hence one who renounces the fire, renounces the life of a householder.

3. The niragni survives on alms.

Now understand ‘Agni’ or fire from yet another angle: the fire of knowledge surrounds the sanyasi always.

a) His likes and dislikes are burnt away in this fire.

b) His desires and body identification are reduced to ashes.

c) His sense of doership and moha are consumed in its flames.

Only when the fire of Truth is lit within him, can the true yagya of his life commence. Only when the fire of dharma is lit, can his life furnish the example and proof of adherence to duty.

Little one, when two substances rub against one another, fire is produced. Similarly, when the knowledge of a sanyasi meets with the materialistic intellect of the ordinary man, it emits the luminescence of Adhyatam, or spiritual living. The compassion, love and forgiveness of a sanyasi burn the impurities of others. Those who live in the close proximity of the Atmavaan Sanyasi, find their negative tendencies being burnt away in his innate luminosity by the sheer presence of such a one. In the light of his love, personal enmities vanish.

Little one, the niragni renounces the very yagya of life. But the Lord says, such a one is not a sanyasi.