Chapter 5, Verse 5
yat-sāṅkhyaiḥ prāpyate sthānaṁ
tad-yogair-api gamyate
ekaṁ sāṅkhyaṁ ca yogaṁ ca
yaḥ paśyati sa paśyati
The status which is attained by Sankhya Yoga, the men of the yoga of action also achieve: he who sees Sankhya Yoga and yoga of action as one, truly sees.
Without Karma Yoga, one will never be able to truly renounce the mind, the senses and the body. Without Karma Yoga one will never become a sankhya yogi. Whereas when one performs whatever duty God has given, keeping the mind fixed on God, one reaches Him and truly sees Him.
If one is a renunciate, but has not fully let go of the outside world and completely surrendered to the spiritual path, if the world is still very present in the mind, then one is not free. It is like the story of the two monks.
The story is told:
Two monks were returning to their ashram and on the way they came to a river. Next to the river there was a beautiful young woman. One of the monks took the woman and carried her across the river, so that she wouldn’t get wet. After crossing the river, he put her down and said, “Goodbye!” When they arrived at the ashram, the other monk angrily asked him, “How could you carry this woman? You are a monk! You should not touch a woman, especially a young and beautiful woman.” The monk who had carried the woman replied, “I simply took her and carried her across the river, but you have carried her all the way back to the ashram and you are still carrying her!”
You see how the mind functions, and where the mind was focused? The true renunciate had let go of it. He was not hanging onto it. Whereas the other one was still hanging onto it, the incident was still playing in his mind.
The goal is very important! If the goal is God, it doesn’t matter what path you take, you’ll reach Him! If you live in India and want to go to New York, you can take any route to reach there. Whether you go through Europe or through China and Japan, doesn’t matter; both routes will lead you to the same place, because your destination is clear! Your goal is clear! And when your goal is clear it doesn’t matter if you go to the left or to the right. However, practising Karma Yoga is the easiest spiritual path to follow, due to the way the mind functions, and due to how a human being is made, acts and works.
Bhagavad Gita
