Renunciation and Actionकर्मसंन्यासयोग

संन्यासं कर्मणां कृष्ण पुनर्योगं च शंससि।
यच्छ्रेय एतयोरेकं तन्मे ब्रूहि सुनिश्चितम्॥

saṁnyāsaṁ karmaṇāṁ kṛṣṇa punar yogaṁ ca śaṁsasi,
yac chreya etayor ekaṁ tan me brūhi su-niścitam.

O Krishna, you praise the renunciation of actions, and then again the yoga of action. Tell me for certain which one of these two is better.

संन्यासः कर्मयोगश्च निःश्रेयसकरावुभौ।
तयोस्तु कर्मसंन्यासात्कर्मयोगो विशिष्यते॥

saṁnyāsaḥ karma-yogaś ca niḥśreyasa-karāv ubhau,
tayos tu karma-saṁnyāsāt karma-yogo viśiṣyate.

Renouncing action and the yoga of action both lead to the highest good. But of the two, the yoga of action is better than giving up action.

Live it todayDoing your work in the right spirit is better than walking away from it.

ज्ञेयः स नित्यसंन्यासी यो न द्वेष्टि न काङ्क्षति।
निर्द्वन्द्वो हि महाबाहो सुखं बन्धात्प्रमुच्यते॥

jñeyaḥ sa nitya-saṁnyāsī yo na dveṣṭi na kāṅkṣati,
nirdvandvo hi mahā-bāho sukhaṁ bandhāt pramucyate.

Know that one who neither hates nor craves is a true renunciant at all times. Free from the pairs of opposites, O mighty-armed one, such a person is easily released from bondage.

Live it todayRenunciation can happen at home: drop the hating and the craving.

सांख्ययोगौ पृथग्बालाः प्रवदन्ति न पण्डिताः।
एकमप्यास्थितः सम्यगुभयोर्विन्दते फलम्॥

sāṁkhya-yogau pṛthag bālāḥ pravadanti na paṇḍitāḥ,
ekam apy āsthitaḥ samyag ubhayor vindate phalam.

It is the childish, not the wise, who speak of the path of knowledge (Sankhya) and the path of action (Yoga) as different. One who is truly established in even one of them gains the fruit of both.

Live it todayGo deep in one sincere path instead of arguing about paths.

यत्सांख्यैः प्राप्यते स्थानं तद्योगैरपि गम्यते।
एकं सांख्यं च योगं च यः पश्यति स पश्यति॥

yat sāṁkhyaiḥ prāpyate sthānaṁ tad yogair api gamyate,
ekaṁ sāṁkhyaṁ ca yogaṁ ca yaḥ paśyati sa paśyati.

The state reached by those on the path of knowledge is reached by those on the path of action as well. One who sees these two paths as one truly sees.

Live it todayYour understanding and your daily work are one road, not two.

संन्यासस्तु महाबाहो दुःखमाप्तुमयोगतः।
योगयुक्तो मुनिर्ब्रह्म नचिरेणाधिगच्छति॥

saṁnyāsas tu mahā-bāho duḥkham āptum ayogataḥ,
yoga-yukto munir brahma na cireṇādhigacchati.

But renunciation, O mighty-armed one, is hard to attain without the yoga of action. The sage who is steady in yoga reaches Brahman before long.

Live it todayLetting go is learned by doing your work, not by escaping it.

योगयुक्तो विशुद्धात्मा विजितात्मा जितेन्द्रियः।
सर्वभूतात्मभूतात्मा कुर्वन्नपि न लिप्यते॥

yoga-yukto viśuddhātmā vijitātmā jitendriyaḥ,
sarva-bhūtātma-bhūtātmā kurvann api na lipyate.

One who is steady in yoga, pure in heart, master of mind and senses, and who feels their own self to be the self of all beings, is not stained even while acting.

Live it todaySee yourself in everyone, and your work stays clean.

नैव किंचित्करोमीति युक्तो मन्येत तत्त्ववित्।
पश्यञ्शृण्वन्स्पृशञ्जिघ्रन्नश्नन्गच्छन्स्वपञ्श्वसन्॥

naiva kiṁcit karomīti yukto manyeta tattva-vit,
paśyañ śṛṇvan spṛśañ jighrann aśnan gacchan svapañ śvasan.

One who is steady in yoga and knows the truth thinks: I am not doing anything at all. This understanding holds even while seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, walking, sleeping and breathing.

प्रलपन्विसृजन्गृह्णन्नुन्मिषन्निमिषन्नपि।
इन्द्रियाणीन्द्रियार्थेषु वर्तन्त इति धारयन्॥

pralapan visṛjan gṛhṇann unmiṣan nimiṣann api,
indriyāṇīndriyārtheṣu vartanta iti dhārayan.

Speaking, letting go, taking hold, even opening and closing the eyes, such a one stays firm in knowing that it is only the senses moving among their objects.

Live it todayWalk, eat, speak and rest without the weight of being the doer.

ब्रह्मण्याधाय कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा करोति यः।
लिप्यते न स पापेन पद्मपत्रमिवाम्भसा॥

brahmaṇy ādhāya karmāṇi saṅgaṁ tyaktvā karoti yaḥ,
lipyate na sa pāpena padma-patram ivāmbhasā.

One who acts offering all actions to the Divine, abandoning attachment, is untouched by sin as a lotus leaf is untouched by water.

Live it todayBe in the water without being soaked by it.

कायेन मनसा बुद्ध्या केवलैरिन्द्रियैरपि।
योगिनः कर्म कुर्वन्ति सङ्गं त्यक्त्वाऽऽत्मशुद्धये॥

kāyena manasā buddhyā kevalair indriyair api,
yoginaḥ karma kurvanti saṅgaṁ tyaktvā ‘ ‘tma-śuddhaye.

Giving up attachment, yogis act with the body, the mind, the intellect, and even with the senses alone, only to purify the self.

Live it todayLet your work be a way of cleansing the heart.

युक्तः कर्मफलं त्यक्त्वा शान्तिमाप्नोति नैष्ठिकीम्।
अयुक्तः कामकारेण फले सक्तो निबध्यते॥

yuktaḥ karma-phalaṁ tyaktvā śāntim āpnoti naiṣṭhikīm,
ayuktaḥ kāma-kāreṇa phale sakto nibadhyate.

One who is steady in yoga gives up the fruit of action and attains lasting peace. One who is not, driven by desire and attached to the fruit, is bound.

Live it todayPeace begins where the demand for a certain outcome ends.

सर्वकर्माणि मनसा संन्यस्यास्ते सुखं वशी।
नवद्वारे पुरे देही नैव कुर्वन्न कारयन्॥

sarva-karmāṇi manasā saṁnyasyāste sukhaṁ vaśī,
nava-dvāre pure dehī naiva kurvan na kārayan.

Having renounced all actions in the mind, the self-controlled embodied one rests happily in the city of nine gates (the body), neither acting nor causing anything to be done.

Live it todayLet go inwardly, and rest even in the middle of a full day.

न कर्तृत्वं न कर्माणि लोकस्य सृजति प्रभुः।
न कर्मफलसंयोगं स्वभावस्तु प्रवर्तते॥

na kartṛtvaṁ na karmāṇi lokasya sṛjati prabhuḥ,
na karma-phala-saṁyogaṁ svabhāvas tu pravartate.

The Lord does not create the sense of doership in people, nor their actions, nor the link between action and its fruit. It is one’s own nature that sets all this in motion.

नादत्ते कस्यचित्पापं न चैव सुकृतं विभुः।
अज्ञानेनावृतं ज्ञानं तेन मुह्यन्ति जन्तवः॥

nādatte kasyacit pāpaṁ na caiva su-kṛtaṁ vibhuḥ,
ajñānenāvṛtaṁ jñānaṁ tena muhyanti jantavaḥ.

The all-pervading Lord takes on no one’s sin and no one’s good deed. Knowledge is covered by ignorance, and that is why beings are deluded.

ज्ञानेन तु तदज्ञानं येषां नाशितमात्मनः।
तेषामादित्यवज्ज्ञानं प्रकाशयति तत्परम्॥

jñānena tu tad ajñānaṁ yeṣāṁ nāśitam ātmanaḥ,
teṣām āditya-vaj jñānaṁ prakāśayati tat param.

But for those in whom this ignorance has been destroyed by knowledge of the Self, that knowledge shines like the sun and reveals the Supreme.

Live it todayWhen understanding dawns, the way ahead becomes clear as daylight.

तद्बुद्धयस्तदात्मानस्तन्निष्ठास्तत्परायणाः।
गच्छन्त्यपुनरावृत्तिं ज्ञाननिर्धूतकल्मषाः॥

tad-buddhayas tad-ātmānas tan-niṣṭhās tat-parāyaṇāḥ,
gacchanty apunar-āvṛttiṁ jñāna-nirdhūta-kalmaṣāḥ.

Those whose intellect rests in That, whose whole being is in That, who are devoted to That and hold That as their highest refuge, their impurities washed away by knowledge, go to the state from which there is no return.

Live it todayLet your thoughts, heart and hopes all rest in the Divine.

विद्याविनयसंपन्ने ब्राह्मणे गवि हस्तिनि।
शुनि चैव श्वपाके च पण्डिताः समदर्शिनः॥

vidyā-vinaya-saṁpanne brāhmaṇe gavi hastini,
śuni caiva śva-pāke ca paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ.

The wise look with an equal eye on a brahmin rich in learning and humility, on a cow, an elephant, a dog, and on one who cooks dogs for food.

इहैव तैर्जितः सर्गो येषां साम्ये स्थितं मनः।
निर्दोषं हि समं ब्रह्म तस्माद्ब्रह्मणि ते स्थिताः॥

ihaiva tair jitaḥ sargo yeṣāṁ sāmye sthitaṁ manaḥ,
nirdoṣaṁ hi samaṁ brahma tasmād brahmaṇi te sthitāḥ.

Even here in this life, those whose minds rest in evenness have conquered the world of birth. Brahman is flawless and the same in all, and so they abide in Brahman.

Live it todayAn even mind is a victory you can win today.

न प्रहृष्येत्प्रियं प्राप्य नोद्विजेत्प्राप्य चाप्रियम्।
स्थिरबुद्धिरसम्मूढो ब्रह्मविद्ब्रह्मणि स्थितः॥

na prahṛṣyet priyaṁ prāpya nodvijet prāpya cāpriyam,
sthira-buddhir asammūḍho brahma-vid brahmaṇi sthitaḥ.

One who does not rejoice on gaining what is pleasant, nor shrink on meeting what is unpleasant, steady in understanding and free of confusion, knows Brahman and rests in Brahman.

Live it todayLet neither good news nor bad news knock you off balance.

बाह्यस्पर्शेष्वसक्तात्मा विन्दत्यात्मनि यत्सुखम्।
स ब्रह्मयोगयुक्तात्मा सुखमक्षयमश्नुते॥

bāhya-sparśeṣv asaktātmā vindaty ātmani yat sukham,
sa brahma-yoga-yuktātmā sukham akṣayam aśnute.

One who is unattached to outer pleasures finds the joy that lies within the Self. United with Brahman through yoga, such a one enjoys a happiness that never fades.

Live it todayThe joy that lasts is found within, not bought outside.

ये हि संस्पर्शजा भोगा दुःखयोनय एव ते।
आद्यन्तवन्तः कौन्तेय न तेषु रमते बुधः॥

ye hi saṁsparśa-jā bhogā duḥkha-yonaya eva te,
ādy-antavantaḥ kaunteya na teṣu ramate budhaḥ.

Pleasures born of contact with the senses are, in truth, sources of sorrow. They have a beginning and an end, O son of Kunti, and the wise do not delight in them.

Live it todayDo not build your happiness on pleasures that begin and end.

शक्नोतीहैव यः सोढुं प्राक्शरीरविमोक्षणात्।
कामक्रोधोद्भवं वेगं स युक्तः स सुखी नरः॥

śaknotīhaiva yaḥ soḍhuṁ prāk śarīra-vimokṣaṇāt,
kāma-krodhodbhavaṁ vegaṁ sa yuktaḥ sa sukhī naraḥ.

One who, here in this life before leaving the body, can withstand the surge that arises from desire and anger is steady in yoga; that person is truly happy.

Live it todayWhen desire or anger surges, pause; the wave will pass.

योऽन्तःसुखोऽन्तरारामस्तथान्तर्ज्योतिरेव यः।
स योगी ब्रह्मनिर्वाणं ब्रह्मभूतोऽधिगच्छति॥

yo ‘ntaḥ-sukho ‘ntar-ārāmas tathāntar-jyotir eva yaḥ,
sa yogī brahma-nirvāṇaṁ brahma-bhūto ‘dhigacchati.

One whose happiness is within, whose delight is within, and whose light is within: that yogi becomes one with Brahman and attains liberation in Brahman.

Live it todayFind your joy, your rest and your light within.

लभन्ते ब्रह्मनिर्वाणमृषयः क्षीणकल्मषाः।
छिन्नद्वैधा यतात्मानः सर्वभूतहिते रताः॥

labhante brahma-nirvāṇam ṛṣayaḥ kṣīṇa-kalmaṣāḥ,
chinna-dvaidhā yatātmānaḥ sarva-bhūta-hite ratāḥ.

Sages whose impurities are worn away, whose doubts are cut through, who are self-controlled and who delight in the welfare of all beings, attain liberation in Brahman.

Live it todayTake joy in the good of everyone around you.

कामक्रोधवियुक्तानां यतीनां यतचेतसाम्।
अभितो ब्रह्मनिर्वाणं वर्तते विदितात्मनाम्॥

kāma-krodha-viyuktānāṁ yatīnāṁ yata-cetasām,
abhito brahma-nirvāṇaṁ vartate viditātmanām.

For the disciplined ones who are free from desire and anger, who have mastered their thoughts and know the Self, liberation in Brahman is near on every side.

Live it todayFreedom is close the moment anger and craving loosen their grip.

स्पर्शान्कृत्वा बहिर्बाह्यांश्चक्षुश्चैवान्तरे भ्रुवोः।
प्राणापानौ समौ कृत्वा नासाभ्यन्तरचारिणौ॥

sparśān kṛtvā bahir bāhyāṁś cakṣuś caivāntare bhruvoḥ,
prāṇāpānau samau kṛtvā nāsābhyantara-cāriṇau.

The sage shuts out outer contacts, fixes the gaze between the eyebrows, and evens out the outgoing and incoming breaths that move within the nostrils.

Live it todayPause, close out the noise, and let your breath grow even.

यतेन्द्रियमनोबुद्धिर्मुनिर्मोक्षपरायणः।
विगतेच्छाभयक्रोधो यः सदा मुक्त एव सः॥

yatendriya-mano-buddhir munir mokṣa-parāyaṇaḥ,
vigatecchā-bhaya-krodho yaḥ sadā mukta eva saḥ.

The sage who has mastered the senses, mind and intellect, who is intent on liberation and free from desire, fear and anger, is truly free forever.

Live it todayLess craving, less fear, less anger: that is freedom, here and now.

भोक्तारं यज्ञतपसां सर्वलोकमहेश्वरम्।
सुहृदं सर्वभूतानां ज्ञात्वा मां शान्तिमृच्छति॥

bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram,
suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati.

Knowing me as the one who receives all sacrifices and austerities, the great Lord of all the worlds and the friend of all beings, one attains peace.

Live it todayThe Lord of all worlds is also your friend; rest in that.