Bhagavagd Gita - Session 17- Track 1711

yogasaṁnyastakarmāṇaṁ jñānasaṁchinnasaṁśayam |
ātmavantaṁ na karmāṇi nibadhnanti dhanañjaya ||41|| (IV)

“One, yoga-saṁnyasta-karmāṇaṁ, by means of Karma yoga, saṁnyasta-karmāṇaṁ, whose all actions have been renounced…” We have seen that in the Jnana-Agni, all the actions are burnt away, renounced. So, when you do Karma yoga, all Karma yoga ends into Knowledge, Knowledge is like Agni, in which all actions are burnt away. Therefore by Yoga, when all the saṁnyasta-karmāṇaṁ, all actions are renounced, jñāna-saṁchinna-saṁśayam, because of Knowledge all the saṁśaya is finished, chinna, is exhausted, is finished, destroyed; ātmavantaṁ, he attains into the Self. When you have attained to that state, na karmāṇi nibadhnanti dhanañjaya, in that state even if you do action, action does not bind you.”

This is the final answer to the question that was started in the earlier stage, where Sri Krishna says: “There are 2 paths: with Knowledge you attain to freedom, but even while doing actions, you will attain to the freedom.” So, how do you attain to it? All that has been expounded so far; and this is the answer:

ātmavantaṁ na karmāṇi nibadhnanti dhanañjaya ||

He does not therefore mean that now you remain sthita, only that, and therefore now in last sentence says that, “Even when now śāntim acireṇādhigaccati, you attain to peace, complete and you have renounced your actions, all your actions are all finished, exhausted, burnt away, now Sri Krishna says at the end:

tasmād ajñānasaṁbhūtaṁ hṛtsthaṁ jñānāsinātmanaḥ |

chittvainaṁ saṁśayaṁ yogam ātiṣṭhottiṣṭha bhārata ||42|| (IV)

“Your heart is at present bewildered by ignorance: ajñāna-saṁbhūtaṁ hṛt-sthaṁ. You are situated in a condition of a heart, which is bewildered by ajñāna; jñānāsinātmanaḥ, by the sword of jñānā, chittva, you destroy ajñāna, by the sword of Knowledge, chittvainaṁ saṁśayaṁ, you are bewildered by moha bewilderment, and it is resulted in saṁśaya.”

That is the beginning in the first chapter at the end, saṁśaya: “What should I do? What should I not do?” “It is only when you attain to this Knowledge that, saṁśaya, your doubt will be destroyed.”

Then, “yogam ātiṣṭhottiṣṭha, now you attain to Karma yoga…” Having said all this about Knowledge, now the final word is: ‘that is not the end’. “…You attain to śanti, all Karmas are gone, you have reached the highest Karma yoga; having done it, continue Karma yoga, yogam ātiṣṭhottiṣṭha, and then having taken recourse to Karma yoga, uttiṣṭha, now you rise and fight.”

It is because of this sentence that in the 5th chapter you start with arjuna uvāca, I take you to the two first two sentences in the 5th chapter, where Arjuna says:

saṁnyāsaṁ karmaṇāṁ kṛṣṇa punar yogaṁ ca śaṁsasi |

yacchreya etayor ekaṁ tan me brūhi suniścitam ||1|| (V)

“O Krishna, saṁnyāsaṁ karmaṇāṁ, you taught me to get renunciation of all actions, how actions to be burnt away; punar yogaṁ ca śaṁsasi, then you say now can you start action. Yoga is Karma yoga then again you say now, punar yogaṁ ca śaṁsasi; yacchreya etayor ekaṁ, how to have these two, that one which is chreya, which is really better; tan me brūhi suniścitam, that you tell me suniścitam, definitively.” And he complains and says…in the second verse Sri Krishna will answer in one sentence:

saṁnyāsaḥ karmayogaśca niḥśreyasakarāv ubhau | (V, 2)

“Both Jnana and Karma yoga, both lead you to niḥśreyasa, freedom; tayos tu, however between the two, karma-saṁnyāsāt, merely renunciation of action is inferior; karmasaṁnyāsāt karmayogo viśiṣyate || (V, 2), Karma yoga is much better, between the two.”

This, in one word He answers: ‘both of them will lead you to freedom, but if you want only one answer, this one is the best’. Why? Because you are in the field of action, which is the result of the Divine decision, not your decision. This whole world is in dynamic motion, what for? Divine has decided.

If He wanted only immobility, world would have not come out at all, which was possible? So, if you only attain to the nivṛtti, then you have attained to that point from which God Himself has already departed. So, since Karma is the climax of Immobility, when you attain to Immobility it is the climax of Karma, but of nivṛtti, Karma is the climax, this is the inter-relationship. Having attained to nivṛtti, if you still want to manifest, it is only by action that you can manifest; therefore Karma is the crown of nivṛtti, as nivṛtti is the crown of all action. All action ends in nivṛtti, into immobility, all immobility manifests itself in action. For purposes of manifestation, action is the crown; for purposes of non-manifestation, Jnana is the crown, and both are justified, and unless you attain to immobility, you cannot have the power of action. Therefore, Jnana is fundamental. Therefore without Jnana you cannot even do Karma yoga properly.

We shall stop here today…