Karma Sannyasa Yoga
Chapter 5, Verse 7
yoga-yukto viśuddhātmā
vijitātmā jitendriyaḥ
sarva-bhūtātmā bhūtātmā
kurvann-api na lipyate
He who follows the yoga of action, who has conquered the senses, the pure soul, the master of his Self, whose Self becomes the Self of all existences, even though he does works, he is not involved in them.
Again and again, Krishna is reminding Arjuna that a true renunciate is one who has conquered the senses, the mind and especially the speech. It is said that we can control wherever there are bones, but the tongue has no bones, so it is difficult to control, isn’t it? As long as the mind and the senses are not controlled, they naturally run after the senses‘ enjoyment. As long as there is the duality of like and dislike, of failure and success in the mind, and if one has not learned to control and purify the mind and the senses through Atma Kriya Yoga, then it becomes difficult to remain at peace and to surrender to the Divine. If one has not placed God first in one’s life, one still dwells in the outside reality. Whereas when one’s mind and heart are purified, one realises the Divine. Place God first! Place the mind on God’s Reality. Like that, it will become easy to attain Him.
“…the pure soul, the master of his Self…” Here the Lord is referring to the one who has mastered the senses, the mind and the intellect. “…whose Self becomes the Self of all existences...” This means that one perceives the oneness in all: first one perceives the Divine within one own Self, and then one sees the Divine everywhere. One becomes free from the bondage of karma. Even if one is doing any kind of work in the outside world, God will reveal Himself in one’s real Self. One will see the Creator, Narayana in one’s own Self. Then, in everything that one does, one will start to reflect the divine qualities; one will not be controlled by the lower qualities. One will not be proud saying, “I am doing this”, “I am doing that”, “I am beautiful”, “I am everything!” One will rise above the body, the mind and the intellect and only focus on the Divine.
As Krishna explains earlier (in Chapter 3), in Sankhya Yoga one doesn’t consider oneself to be the doer of any actions. So one is not associated with any activities. One feels that he is free from Maya, from Prakriti and is aware that everything is in accordance with the Divine’s Will. Therefore, whatever one does, one is completely free. On the other hand, the karma yogi regards himself as a doer of action, but he is not bound by the action. He does everything only for the sake of serving God. The sankhya yogi, renunciate, is always focused on God and says, “No, I am not doing anything, it is God who is doing it.” Whereas the karma yogi does his duty for the sake of serving God, for the sake of loving Him. Take the example of the gopis: they were true yogis because they could find Krishna in everything, in whatever they were doing. They were doing everything with an attitude of serving Him; they were not attached to anything but Him. In that state of devotion, pride will never arise. Whereas in the state of renunciation, pride can arise and if pride arises, one will lose everything!This is why one has to be very careful. And this was what Krishna is saying, “Do your action! Karma Yoga is an easier way to attain the Divine.” When you have mastered, step by step, the ability to see God in everything, then everything is easy. However, if a renunciate, even for a small moment, considers himself as the doer, he has lost everything!
A true renunciate is fully absorbed in the Divine. That’s why Krishna says that it’s very difficult to reach that state! But if you go step by step through Karma Yoga, it is much easier, it is much nicer and secure! Because you are loving God and serving Him. Then, through the practice of a sadhana like Atma Kriya Yoga you purify yourself, you start to master the mind and the intellect. Then, when the mind is fully focused on OM, focused on the Divine, you have conquered the senses.
At the beginning of your spiritual path, you have many wants, many desires. But as you go deeper and deeper into it, automatically, the wants and desires start to diminish because your mind stops dwelling in the outside world and you start dwelling in the inner reality. So whatever actions you do, bear only good punya. At the same time, Karma Yoga helps you to be free, because you always place God first, at every moment. Even if you perceive a certain negativity inside of you, you don’t hang onto it, because your focus is not on that, it is on the Divine inside of you.
Bhagavad Gita
