Chapter 5, Verse 6
saṁnyāsas-tu mahābāho
duḥkham-āptum-ayogataḥ
yoga-yukto munir brahma
na cireṇādhigacchati
But renunciation, O mighty-armed, is difficult to attain without the yoga of action; the sage who follows the yoga of action soon attains Brahman.
Krishna says, “The path of renunciation is very difficult if you have not mastered Karma Yoga.” Here the Lord addresses Arjuna as ‘mighty-armed’, mahābāho, trying to encourage him. He reminded him that he had a brother, Yudhishtir, who was pious and completely surrendered to the deities, to God, and so he should not worry about anything, because Yudhishtir was there with him. Krishna says, “Because he is completely surrendered to the Divine, don’t fear anything! Do your duty! By doing your duty, you’ll be able to cleanse and purify your heart. You’ll not be able to renounce just because I am telling you to renounce; there would be no truth in it. The path of renunciation is very difficult if you have not mastered Karma Yoga.”
Some renunciates perceive the world as being a dream, not real. They think that everything is just an emptiness; there is no goal to achieve. Here Krishna says that the people who meditate on this reality attain Brahma. They go to the world of Brahma. But due to limiting the Divine or imposing restrictions on the Divine, their hearts are not pure. Deep inside them, there is still attraction and repulsion, anger and lust.
If people have not purified the heart but straight away take the path of renunciation saying, “Today I will go and renounce everything. I will go, sit on the mountain and meditate,” they are running away from their dharma due to an intellectual belief. They have read a book and think that they have already mastered renunciation. Many people read one book, and think that they are already enlightened! Isn’t it true? This will not lead them anywhere! True renunciates perfect themselves through Karma Yoga and then they are free. They don’t identify themselves with the body and are not attached to enjoyment of the senses. If one thinks that by reading a book one can easily take the path of renunciation, know that it is very difficult! First learn to surrender to the Feet of the Master! First learn to humble yourself! Learn to accept your duty and do it with a constant focus on the Divine. Like that, you will become free of all the past samskaras which you have cultivated. You will realise the Absolute and, through faith in God, you will attain the vision of the Lord.
Yoga-yukto munir brahma: when one is not attached to any reward, then one becomes a yogi. One is not even attached to attaining Heaven or liberation! Like a Muni who considers everything as belonging to God, one doesn’t lose one’s balance of mind in success or in failure. By renouncing the attachment to the fruits of the action one is performing, one is not even attached to gaining good punya. You don’t do something to get good punya or to receive a ‘thank you’. These things don’t matter, you are free! When you have faith and devotion, when with every breath you focus only on His Divine Names, on His glory, on His Leela, then God becomes real. This is the Reality.
Bhagavad Gita
