Bhagavad Gita Chapter 5 (Karma-sanyasa Yoga) - Key Takeaways

 श्रीः

प्रपन्नपारिजाताय तोत्रवेत्रैकपाणये । ज्ञानमुद्राय कृष्णाय गीतामृतदुहे नमः ॥

ॐ नमो भगवते श्रीरमणाय

Chapter 5. कर्मसंन्यासयोगः

In Chapters 3 and 4, Bhagavan Sri Krishna had explained the roles of karma and jnanam in finding one's true nature and therefore, peace and bliss. While knowledge of the aatman-brahman is the final step to moksha, karma has to be performed with the right attitude so as to purify the mind. This way, the mind and intellect are ready to receive the teaching. Hence, karma is the means to ready oneself for knowledge. Karma sanyasa is the topic of discussion here.

When we perform karma with our ego at work, there is a sankalpa in the mind (the idea that I will get something out of this, which will make me happy), which leads to desires. Fulfilled desire leads to greed and unfulfilled desire leads to frustration. Rather, perform karma without being attached to the result, or better still, as a dedication to Ishvara and as His servant, and without the sense of doership. This purifies the mind. It brings about equanimity and liberates the person from the bondage of karma. This renunciation of the ego / agency / attachment is called karma-sanyasa, and is driven by knowledge.

Therefore, the correct way to understand karma-sanyasa is as follows - renounce agency / doership in karma, by knowing that wrong identification with the body-mind-intellect drives agency.

The jeevan-mukta performs karma with this attitude. He is in a state of Brahma-nirvanam, which is one of stable equilibrium, there are no waves in the mind and intellect. Since this state has been achieved through knowledge, it lasts forever. The Jeevan-mukta lives on as long as his prarabdha (the karma for which he has taken birth - ie, for which this body has been created) is exhausted and he is not born again.

The state of nirvana-sukham that a jeevan-mukta experiences, impacts people around him. Several devotees of Bhagavan Sri Ramana, have described the feeling of having left their bodies behind, when they entered his Sannidhi. When he turned his gaze upon them, they too experienced the bliss and contentment that he radiated.

Staying with Bhagavan Ramana, we find that his state was exactly as described in this chapter. He sings, in Aksharamanamalai –

சை எனத்தள்ளில் செய்வினை சுடும் அலால்

உய்வகை ஏது உரை அருணாசலா (அ) 35

O Arunachala! If you spurn and reject me, my prarabdha will burn me. How then can I be saved, do show me the jnana marga !

This is an important verse for mananam. Realisation of the non-dual Self, is the only way to escape the bondage created by karma. Karma, performed with the right attitude, is the means for knowledge and moksha.

Prakruti / nature drives the body – As Vidyaranyapada says in Panchadashi ज्ञानिना चरितुं शक्यं सम्यक्राज्यादिलौककम् (the jnani can perform all karma, including governing a kingdom) but he abides in the Self, he has transcended kartrutvam and bhoktrutvam.

This is real sanyasa – to develop freedom from anger and desire, attachment and aversion, doership, and through it, achieve purity of mind and thereafter find the supreme truth of oneness. By this, one has renounced inwardly and all his actions have been divinised because action has been offered to Ishvara. His senses are under control and he understands why he works. He performs svadharma without interference from his ego. He has renounced all mental identities such as I and mine. He identifies himself with the substratum of all beings, the aatma. He knows that prakruti / svabhava drives action and can stay disassociated with the nature of his karma. He works in a state of Yoga.

Merely renouncing the world outwardly, while holding on to abhimanam of I and mine, is counter-productive. The outer appearance is not relevant but the state of mind is.

Sri Ramakrishna says - the karma yogi has duties to perform, he holds onto Ishvara with one hand and works with the other. The ashrama-sanyasi (formal sanyasi) is free from duties, he holds onto Ishvara with both hands.

When his mind is pure through karma yoga, his mind has turned inwards. He is tranquil and integrated, aware that his body and mind perform their activities but his intellect has one-pointed focus (vyavasayatmika buddhi) on finding his true self. A pure mind reflects the Self perfectly and now when he receives the teaching, the self-luminous aatma is evident to him like the sun shining through the sky. He stays with the Self and is firmly established in it. Since he sees the one Self as the substratum of all, he sees everyone and everything alike, he can pierce through names and forms and see the divine in all. He is now truly a sanyasi and jnani.

यत्र योगेश्वरः कृष्णो यत्र पार्थो धनुर्धरः । तत्र श्रीर्विजयो भूतिर्ध्रुवा नीतिर्मतिर्मम ॥

सर्वं श्रीकृष्णार्पणमस्तु

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4 (Jnana karma-sanyasa Yoga) - Key takeaways

  श्रीः

प्रपन्नपारिजाताय तोत्रवेत्रैकपाणये । ज्ञानमुद्राय कृष्णाय गीतामृतदुहे नमः ॥

ॐ नमो भगवते श्रीरमणाय

Chapter 4. ज्ञानकर्मसंन्यासयोगः - Key takeaways

My  assumed identity with the body, mind and intellect, push me into the idea that I am performing action, I am entitled to the results, I will achieve my goals through this method.  Karma is firmly established in the ego. 

When I renounce my body identity and ego, I am free. 

Karma does not bind me any more because I don't identify myself as a doer of karma and enjoyer of its results, which cause bondage. 

When I realise that I am not the body or mind, I am the aatma, I realise that I am actionless. However, due to ignorance, I superimpose actions performed by the body and mind, on myself. This is called adhyasa / superimposition. It has made me mix up the truth with non-truth.

The only action that is done without retaining the ego, is the jnana-tapas - the penance of knowledge. As a result of this, I accomplish the following

- I let go of my ego, I see everyone as Ishvara.

- I am pervaded by Ishvara.

- I surrender to divine will. I am an instrument in the hands of Ishvara. I perform work but it liberates me rather than binds me.

- I realise my oneness with Ishvara.

The body and mind perform karma, this is driven by our nature. We cannot and should not fight it. The physical and mental activities that are performed, are led by vasanas / samskaras / prakruti. The starting point is sankalpa - this is good for me, this is not good for me, I want this, I do not want this. Action which results out of this, binds me. 

When I renounce sankalpa, I can allow my body and mind to work without superimposing the work and its results on myself. I am merely an instrument and I work as a servant of Ishvara.

I have no attachment / sanga with action or its result, I am satisfied, I do not depend on anything external for my happiness. I am content in the knowledge that I am not the body, but the one supreme Brahman which is the substratum of all.

The signs of such a person are

- He has transcended suffering and is contented because he has no external dependencies for his happiness.

- He has no ego, he remains equanimous always.

- He has no sankalpa and therefore, no feeling of incompleteness or jealousy and hatred. He always maintains inner poise.

- He does not give up his karma, However he works as a yajna - for Ishvara. He accepts the result of work as Ishvara's prasada. Therefore he receives spiritual benefit from every activity. He has burnt his karma and its effects in knowledge.

- He sees Ishvara in all, he has knowledge of the oneness of each aatma with Brahman. He sees beyond upadhis / limiting factors like the body and intellect.

- He has no doubts as to the exact nature of karma and its place in his spiritual journey. He performs karma to purify his mind and because it is his duty to perform it. He has removed the ego from the picture.

- On the strength of this knowledge, he is now able to see akarma in karma - he is not the doer, he is insulated from the bondage of karma. He is a कर्मणि अकर्मदर्शी. Therefore he has renounced karma through knowledge. He is a karma-sanyasi not by renouncing action but by renouncing doership and by renouncing his ego.

- He performs karma in the state of Yoga, and he attains Ishvara.

In 8.7, Bhagavan tells Arjuna 

तस्मात्सर्वेषु कालेषु मामनुस्मर युध्य च।

मय्यर्पितमनोबुद्धिर्मामेवैष्यस्यसंशयम्॥8.7॥

Therefore, think of Me at all times and fight. There is no doubt that by dedicating your mind and intellect to Me, you will attain Me alone.

यत्र योगेश्वरः कृष्णो यत्र पार्थो धनुर्धरः । तत्र श्रीर्विजयो भूतिर्ध्रुवा नीतिर्मतिर्मम ॥

सर्वं श्रीकृष्णार्पणमस्तु

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 3 (Karma Yoga) - Key takeways

 श्रीः

प्रपन्नपारिजाताय तोत्रवेत्रैकपाणये । ज्ञानमुद्राय कृष्णाय गीतामृतदुहे नमः ॥

ॐ नमो भगवते श्रीरमणाय

Chapter 3. कर्मयोगः - Key takeaways

In Chapter 2, Bhagavan Sri Krishna had extolled the path of knowledge, while emphasizing the critical role played by karma, to ensure purity of the mind. Chitta-shuddi is an important prerequisite to receive knowledge of the self from the Guru and to make it a reality for oneself. The chapter had ended with Bhagavan reiterating that Braahmi-sthiti / the state of abidance in the aatma, is the state of no delusion, and therefore, no grief. This is called the state of Brahma-Nirvanam.

Chapter 3 begins with Arjuna's doubt as to which path to follow - the path of knowledge or the path of karma. His confusion arises because Bhagavan has extolled both in Chapter 2.

The essence of the teaching is as follows.

One has to perform ordained karma while keeping the ego aside. The ego / ahankara is the feeling of agency or doership, which leads to enjoyership. I do work, I am the karta / doer, therefore I am entitled to the fruits thereof. This is the ego at work. This is what we call our personalities and we give it a lot of importance. 

The ego is at the root of problems and disappointments.  Bhagavan Ramana says one has no choice between doing and not doing work. But one has the freedom to  renounce doership.

Our karma arises from prarabdha - our past actions and their results. We have no control over it. The story of Dharma-vyaadha in the Mahabharata talks about such a situation - the butcher of Mithila, while performing his ordained karma, was also a great jnani because he remained pure with knowledge. In the same way, can I remain delinked from my prarabdha ?

When we submit our actions to the force of prarabdha, and work with the knowledge that the field of action is one in which the body-mind-intellect triad (BMI) interacts with objects-emotions-thoughts triad (OET), we are no longer Perceivers-Feelers-Thinkers (PFT), as Swami Chinmayananda often used to say. The PFT is the limited jeeva, who is trying to get happiness from external factors.

One is free when one extingushes the ego. Until one has conquered the mind and senses and the intellect is firmly established in the self and free from the ego, one has a few options to pursue - 

- Stop doing all karma (become a sanyasi)  and focus exclusively on the path of knowledge. This is challenging without achieving purity and one-pointedness of the mind.

- Perform karma as yoga - without desire for its results.

- Divinise all karma / perform all karma for Ishvara.

Our nature / prakruti does not let us keep away from karma. Our nature is a combination of the three gunas - sattva, rajas and tamas. We need to transcend the gunas. However, this is the journey. As long as we are yet to reach the end-goal, we cannot force the body to stop working.

The third option above, is the most practical one for us. How do we do this ?

Convert all action into a spiritual experience, perform karma as per divine will and devoid of the ego. Perform work as a servant of Ishvara. Be connected to Ishvara all the time by chanting His name, recollect Him and meditate on Him incessantly.

Perform all work as yajna, as an offering to Ishvara. Even if we perform work with a spirit of sacrifice, while it seems noble, it also strengthens the ego, which works to our detriment. This is because when one feels like one is giving up something for another, a shade of hypocrisy creeps in and the ego also gets fed (one starts expecting recognition or reciprocation). Rather, do it for Ishvara, not for oneself or for another.

Real action does not bind, rather it liberates. The difference between binding action and liberating action arises from the attitude with which it is performed.

The devas nourish us, they create order in the universe and we should in turn, nourish them. We are not allowed to exploit the forces of nature (represented by the Devas) to achieve our ends. We have a duty to share the results of our karma. If we do not offer back, we are thieves.

Several millennia ago, Bhagavan Sri Krishna gave us this upadesha on our responsibility to Mother Nature. The entire cosmos is interlinked, nobody can function in isolation, is the key message.

Ishvara also performs his karma as yajna - we have rain, growth of crops etc, as a result.

Gratitude is a form of bhakti. We should be grateful to whoever helps us.

Renunciation of the ego is the greatest yajna / sacrifice. The omnipresent Brahman is established in sacrifice (तस्मात् सर्वगतं ब्रह्म नित्यं यज्ञे प्रतिष्ठितम् - Shloka 3.15). Keeping the ego restrained, helps us find fulfillment. 

The ego is the thought which I mistake to be who I am. When I think - I am the witness, not the ego, not the doer, I can remain detached.

Karma done without the ego, is yajna. Karma performed with selfish ends, leads to a life of futility.

The jnani who performs karma finds delight in it, then satisfaction and finally deep fulfillment (यस्त्वात्मरतिरेव स्यादात्मतृप्तश्च मानवः। आत्मन्येव च सन्तुष्टस्तस्य कार्यं न विद्यते।।Shloka 3.17।।). He continues to work but without stress because he is unimpacted by it. He has taken the ego out of the scene. 

The jnani also performs karma for the welfare of the world and to set an example for others. We know of several enlightened people who worked incessantly - Bhagavan Sri Krishna, Swami Vivekananda, Ramana Maharshi, etc. They had no vision of their individual personalities while they worked - they had a limitless view. Therefore, free of individuality, they were divine. Through knowledge, they offered their work back to Ishvara and were truly detached / sanyasis.

My svadharma is my nature, it cannot harm me. I have to use it as a means for bhakti. 

My assumed ego (called chidabhasa in Vedanta terminology) is the cause for bondage. The jnani refuses to accept this and offers it to Ishvara, with the feeling - I am not the doer.

All desire-driven actions should be offered into the fire of knowledge. Desire leads to greed or anger, which drives us into action for selfish ends. They are a result of rajo-guna. Desire is a manifestation of ignorance as to who I really am. I think I am not complete and fulfilled, so I pursue a desire to feel complete and fulfilled.

Like smoke obscuring fire, like dust covering a part of the mirror, like the amniotic fluid covering the foetus, ignorance obscures knowledge. Depending on which stage of the spiritual journey I am in, one of these examples would apply to me. My effort has to be towards getting rid of desire is at the root of the problem. The enemy is within me, riding on my mind and sense organs, and deluding my intellect. By controlling the mind and senses and allowing the intellect to rule, I can overcome desire. This way, I can have a vyavasayatmika buddhi / concentrated intellect free of duality and delusions. Now when I listen to Vedanta, it can become my own reality.

यत्र योगेश्वरः कृष्णो यत्र पार्थो धनुर्धरः । तत्र श्रीर्विजयो भूतिर्ध्रुवा नीतिर्मतिर्मम ॥

सर्वं श्रीकृष्णार्पणमस्तु

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2 (Saankhya Yoga)- Key takeways

श्रीः

प्रपन्नपारिजाताय तोत्रवेत्रैकपाणये । ज्ञानमुद्राय कृष्णाय गीतामृतदुहे नमः ॥

ॐ नमो भगवते श्रीरमणाय

                        Chapter 2 – सांख्ययोगः

The Gita is a moksha shastram, it tells us the path to moksha. While there are many other messages the Gita conveys (such as bhakti, karma and upasana), the  core purpose of the Gita, is to tell us the message of the Upanishads - how to reach Moksha through Yoga (letting go of assumed identities and knowing the true nature of the self). Hence it is called Brahmavidya and Yoga shastram.

While studying the Gita, one must keep in mind the following:

- Ishvara Himself is talking to me directly. As long as I think that I am a limited individual, I am Arjuna. 

- Why am I learning it ? The idea is not to achieve academic prowess, but to achieve the Parama-purushartha, which is Moksha, through the realisation of my true Self.

- This is not about the Kurukshetra war. This is about the battles I face in daily life - the indecisions, confusions, fears and anxieties. The war merely provided the setting for Arjuna to receive the upadesha from Narayana Himself.

The goal of every person is to find peace and happiness. The reality of life is that we have bouts of peace and happiness, interspersed with sorrow, all of which are derived from objects external to us. The Gita, which is the essence of the Upanishads, tells us to look within instead. The aim is find Ishvara within ourselves and in everyone around us - this Ishvara is the same as the Brahman-Aatman which Vedanta teaches us.

Grief and delusion are the cause of samsara. These are caused by the feeling of I and mine. These feelings lead to raaga and dvesha, kartrutvam and bhoktrutvam, which extend samsara. The Gitopadesha starts here. The ego (represented by the feeling I and mine) holds the key to our happiness.

The aatma is who I truly am. I am not the body or ego or intellect. These are all instruments which interact with each other and the world. They are external to me, ie, the koshas or sheaths. They are not who I am. They are 'anatma' / non-self, not my true nature.

Penetrating the veil of ignorance and understanding one’s true nature, is the path to moksha - this is characterized by peace while we have the body, and no rebirth after the body is shed.

UNDERSTANDING ONE'S TRUE NATURE: 

The qualities of the aatma present a direct contrast to the qualities of the body, mind, and the other koshas. So what is the problem ? Ignorance as to one’s true nature and absence of discrimination (viveka) cause superimposition of the anatma on the aatma (adhyasa). When we forget who we truly are, this is when the body, mind and ego raise their heads and become all-important. They push us into action based on attachment / dislikes and create the sense of agency and entitlement. Since such action never brings true happiness, it is a vicious cycle of action, success and frustrations, accompanied by fear, insecurity and worry. 

Instead, recognising that these are impermanent phenomena, but the aatma which is the substratum on which the body and mind reside, is the permanent entity, halts the spiral of goal-oriented action, this removes anxiety and fear. We cannot renounce worldly life and responsibilities though - so how exactly does one then perform action, is dealt with in this chapter and in chapter 3 in detail.

Impurities in the mind and scattering of thoughts, make it difficult to enquire as to one's true nature. This is where karma, bhakti and upasana play important roles. 

Developing vairagyam/detachment, and continuing to perform the ordained karma without the ego, leads to contentment and purity within. The intellect finds the highest goal and the instruments (body, mind, etc) work towards it. The clarity as to what the goal is, drives the sadhana / spiritual practices. Through sadhana, the teaching can be well-absorbed by the pure mind and firm intellect. Using the shastram under the guidance of an enlightened Guru, the adhyasa / superimposition of anatma on aatma is removed, and Advaita becomes an experience, not merely a theory.  The experience of the aatmajyoti manifesting within oneself is that of seeing the one divinity in all, leading to bliss and contentment.

These qualities make us the best version of ourselves that we can achieve. Hence a person on the spiritual journey, is an asset to society. This is a journey about finding oneself but it also benefits everyone around me. Bhagavan Ramana said one's primary service to society, is achieved by finding oneself.

Aatma, which is sacchidananda, together with its reflection in the mind (doership, enjoyership, objects), makes the jeeva. This jeeva tries to use the body, mind and intellect to obtain happiness. However they produce experiences of objects, emotions and thoughts instead. Being established in the aatma instead, leads to bliss, free from duality and being unimpacted by karma. Being established in the aatma, the sadhaka feels complete (purna) and unlimited (aparichhinna).

Karma is the adhikara of a jeeva. It has to be performed as per one’s dharma, which is aligned with the role of the jeeva in the current birth. One has no choice but to deliver as per svadharma.

Performing karma as yoga, purifies the mind and readies one for knowledge as to one’s true nature. Karma yoga liberates one from the bonds of karma, while simultaneously enhancing bhakti, because the karmayogi performs all karma as Ishvara-arpanam and accepts all the results as Ishvara-prasada. Therefore, the role of karma, is chitta-shuddhi, which makes the person ready to receive knowledge.

The enlightened person is free from his ego. He performs karma as a yoga. The two key elements of performing karma as yoga are – samattvam (work with equanimity) and kaushalam (work without the sense of doership, and hence, in a non-binding manner)

The “Ishvara exists for me” feeling changes to “I exist for Ishvara’s work”.

The ego is the peg upon which we sustain all unimportant and damaging activities and thoughts, and it clogs the path of spiritual progress. We must strive to keep the ego aside and become instruments in the hands of Ishvara. We must merely allow actions to pass through us.

The qualities of the enlightened one / sthitaprajna, as listed by Bhagavan Sri Krishna, highlight the importance of the guru and satsanga. We will make no progress without a guru, who, out of compassion, gives us the upadesha and who exists purely for the sake of the shishya’s welfare. As long as we keep emulating the enlightened guru, we become better people. Hence it is important to stay in a satsanga and observe the activities of enlightened people.

Letting go of kama /desire and keeping the mind and senses under control, is a good place to start all sadhana. The enlightened person does this, and he goes about life performing all his duties as a yoga.

When the senses are under control (इन्द्रियनिग्रहः) and the mind becomes peaceful (प्रसन्नं मनः), the intellect becomes established in the self (व्यवसायात्मिका बुद्धिः). Desires are created in the mind, hence mind-control is of paramount importance.

In contrast, if the mind runs amok and the deluded intellect associates itself with the ego, one is caught in samsara.

Between birth and death, the jeeva associates with names and forms. These carry attributes and trigger emotions. We do not experience anything before our birth and we do not know what will happen after death. During the intervening period, names and forms are given a lot of importance. Turning the mind inwards, helps find one’s true nature which is one of no attributes, no emotions and only bliss.

Hence the direct path to moksha, is vichara as to one’s true nature. On discovering it and being established in it, one is a jnani and yogi.

 

यत्र योगेश्वरः कृष्णो यत्र पार्थो धनुर्धरः । तत्र श्रीर्विजयो भूतिर्ध्रुवा नीतिर्मतिर्मम ॥

सर्वं श्रीकृष्णार्पणमस्तु