Bhagvad Gita - Chapter: 5 Karma Sannyasa Yogah

Karma Sannyasa Yogah - Renunciation is difficult to attain without yoga, O mighty-armed, but the sage who is steadfast in yoga quickly reaches Brahman.

संन्यासस्तु महाबाहो दु:खमाप्तुमयोगत: |
योगयुक्तो मुनिर्ब्रह्म नचिरेणाधिगच्छति ||6||

Renunciation is difficult to attain without yoga, O mighty-armed, but the sage who is steadfast in yoga quickly reaches Brahman.

Mahabaho: An epithet for Arjuna.
Brahman: The ultimate, formless reality.

For those struggling with renunciation, Krishna advises practicing yoga first. He implies that active engagement with discipline enables the seeker to later renounce effortlessly, emphasizing yoga as a preparatory path to deeper spiritual states.

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Karma Sannyasa Yogah - One established in yoga, who has conquered the mind and senses, and views all beings with equanimity, remains untainted even while performing actions.

योगयुक्तो विशुद्धात्मा विजितात्मा जितेन्द्रिय: |
सर्वभूतात्मभूतात्मा कुर्वन्नपि न लिप्यते ||7||

One established in yoga, who has conquered the mind and senses, and views all beings with equanimity, remains untainted even while performing actions.

Vishuddhatma: A pure-hearted or purified soul.
Jitendriyah: One who has conquered the senses.

By highlighting mastery over mind and senses, Krishna illustrates a practical ideal in karma yoga. The true yogi, rooted in equanimity, remains unaffected by actions, reflecting the Gita’s teaching that duty performed without attachment leads to liberation.

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Karma Sannyasa Yogah - A person who is enlightened, though seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, moving, sleeping, and breathing, should consider themselves as doing nothing.

नैव किञ्चित्करोमीति युक्तो मन्येत तत्त्ववित् |
पश्यञ्शृण्वन्स्पृशञ्जिघ्रन्नश्नन्गच्छन्स्वपञ्श्वसन् ||8||

A person who is enlightened, though seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, moving, sleeping, and breathing, should consider themselves as doing nothing.

Tattva-Vit: Knower of truth.
Yukta: One who is disciplined and balanced.

Krishna explains how enlightened beings perform actions with detachment. Even mundane acts are seen as non-actions by the wise, revealing how a shift in perspective can transform ordinary life into a vehicle for spiritual freedom.

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Karma Sannyasa Yogah - While speaking, giving, taking, opening and closing the eyes, the wise realize that the senses engage with sense objects, and they remain detached.

प्रलपन्विसृजन्गृह्ण्न्नुन्मिषन्निमिषन्नपि |
इन्द्रियाणीन्द्रियार्थेषु वर्तन्त इति धारयन् ||9||

While speaking, giving, taking, opening and closing the eyes, the wise realize that the senses engage with sense objects, and they remain detached.

Indriyani: Refers to senses of perception and action.
Dharayan: The process of sustaining or upholding.

The senses, Krishna notes, function independently when the self is detached, freeing the mind from possessiveness. This cultivates a clear vision where actions are neither owned nor avoided, resonating with the Gita’s ethos of selfless duty.

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Karma Sannyasa Yogah - One who performs actions by dedicating them to Brahman, abandoning attachment, remains unaffected by sin, just as a lotus leaf is untouched by water.

ब्रह्मण्याधाय कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा करोति य: |
लिप्यते न स पापेन पद्मपत्रमिवाम्भसा ||10||

One who performs actions by dedicating them to Brahman, abandoning attachment, remains unaffected by sin, just as a lotus leaf is untouched by water.

Padma-Patram: Lotus leaf, symbolizing detachment.
Brahman: The absolute reality or universal spirit.

The analogy of a lotus leaf illustrates how, in karma yoga, one can remain unaffected by worldly consequences. Actions dedicated to a higher ideal (Brahman) absolve one from attachment, teaching Arjuna about acting with inner purity.

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Karma Sannyasa Yogah - The yogis perform actions merely with the body, mind, intellect, and senses, abandoning attachment, for the purpose of self-purification.

कायेन मनसा बुद्ध्या केवलैरिन्द्रियैरपि |
योगिन: कर्म कुर्वन्ति सङ्गं त्यक्त्वात्मशुद्धये ||11||

The yogis perform actions merely with the body, mind, intellect, and senses, abandoning attachment, for the purpose of self-purification.

Atma-Shuddhaye: For purification of the self.
Yoginah: Practitioners of yoga or self-discipline.

Krishna stresses purity in action. Yogis act without attachment, motivated by self-discipline rather than desire, and thus avoid bondage. This sets the foundation for Arjuna to see duty as a means of inner purification rather than material gain.

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Karma Sannyasa Yogah - One who is disciplined, giving up the fruits of actions, attains lasting peace; while one who is unsteady, attached to results, remains bound.

युक्त: कर्मफलं त्यक्त्वा शान्तिमाप्नोति नैष्ठिकीम् |
अयुक्त: कामकारेण फले सक्तो निबध्यते ||12||

One who is disciplined, giving up the fruits of actions, attains lasting peace; while one who is unsteady, attached to results, remains bound.

Naishthikim: The state of ultimate peace or steadfastness.
Karma-Phalam: The fruits or results of actions.

Krishna contrasts the peace attained by selfless action with the entanglement caused by desire-driven acts. By encouraging detachment, he reveals how the mind’s liberation depends more on intent than on the nature of action itself.

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