Chapter 6, Verse 1
śrī bhagavān uvāca
anāśritaḥ karma-phalaṁ
kāryaṁ karma karoti yaḥ
sa saṁnyāsī ca yogī ca
na nir-agnir-na cākriyaḥ
The Lord says: Whoever does the work to be done without attachment to its fruits, he is a sannyasin and a yogi, not the man who doesn’t light the sacrificial fire and doesn’t do works.
Here Lord Krishna says that a Karma Yogi who performs every sacrifice, with an attitude of surrender, keeping the mind, the body, and the soul focused on God, serving society, doing seva, and following what He teaches is a true yogi. He says that someone who practises Karma Yoga, who is working with the mind attached to the Lord, having renounced all the thoughts of the world, attains true knowledge of the Self and is regarded as a renunciate and as a yogi.
Then the Lord continues, saying, “...not the man who doesn’t light the sacrificial fire.” It is important to note that traditionally when a sannyasin truly renounces the world, and enters the order of Sannyas, he should not even light a fire for his own benefit, whether it be a fire for a yagna ceremony or any other kind of fire! If he lights a fire, he will start to think about heat, food, and so on. Very often you see people who call themselves renunciates, who pretend to have let go of everything, saying, “We don’t need anything. Everything is just an illusion.” Yet their minds are fully attached to the fruits of their actions and they always want, want, want. They are always focusing more on the outside world than on the inner Self. They are always identifying with the body and the mind! Even if they appear to be externally renounced, they are not. Here Lord Krishna says that such people are not true sannyasins. On the other hand, there are many people who live in the outside world, but they are not attached to it and they are doing their seva there. A bhakta is not doing anything for his own benefit!
The ones who have truly renounced the mind’s egoism, desires, attachments and serve the Lord with an attitude of surrender, seeing the Lord everywhere, are the true yogis. Bhagavan Krishna says to Arjuna, “Don’t think that you are doing your duty by just saying, ‘I am renouncing, I am letting go’, or ‘I will let go of this war and run away for their sake, so they will be saved.’” He says, “No! Do your duty with an attitude of surrender! Be detached in whatever you do! When you have this Jyaana, when you have this knowledge, you become a true yogi, a true renunciate, even if you are living in the outside world.” Be like a bhakta to whom God always comes first. Whatever bhaktas do, even in their daily life, the image of the Lord is never far away, it is always in their minds. That was what Lord Krishna emphasised in this verse: one can be fully engaged in action and immersed in meditation. The mind is free, undisturbed by likes and dislikes or by ʻWhat am I getting?ʼ, ʻWhat am I not getting?ʼ One just enjoys what God is giving and knows deeply that everything comes from Him.
Bhagavad Gita
