CHAPTER
Arjuna says to Krishna: Keshava, first you ask me to renounce action, and then you inspire me to do action, to do selfless work. Now tell me for certain, which of these is the better way.
Lord Krishna replies: Partha, the renunciation of action, and the doing of selfless work, both these paths, lead the soul to salvation. But of the two, I regard the doing of selfless work, to be far superior to renouncing action.
One who neither desires the reward of work, nor hates it, such a one, it must be understood, is always full of the spirit of renunciation, because, freed from all doubts, and all dualities, he easily breaks free from the shackles of this world.
Renunciation and doing action, are considered to be separate only by the ignorant, not by the learned, the pundits. Whosoever applies himself assiduously to either of these paths, gets the fruit of both, he gets the reward of both.
The stage or position, attained by those who renounce, that very stage or position is reached by those who do selfless work. He who understands that both the paths, that of renunciation, as well as that of selfless work, are one and the same, he truly understands, he truly sees.
However, renunciation is very difficult to achieve without yoga. But the sage who, with full devotion, is absorbed in yoga, he soon attains to Brahm, the Supreme.
While doing work, only that person is not attached to work and is not entangled in work, who is skilled in doing work, whose Atma is pure and unsullied, who is the master of his Atma, who has subdued all his senses, and whose Atma has become the Atma of all beings, that is, one who has merged himself with the Param Atma, who has become one with the Param Atma.
The person who knows the truth, and who has become one with the Supreme, he, using all his senses and their objects, while seeing, while listening, while touching, while smelling, while tasting, while walking, while dreaming, and while breathing, always understands that " it is not I who am doing any of these things, doing any of these activities, I do nothing ";
For, while speaking, while dispersing, while accepting, and while opening and closing the eyes, he understands, that all this is being done by the senses acting on their objects, and that "I do nothing".
Actually it is Nature, which is always at work, doing everything, we do nothing.
Just as water does not stick to the leaf of the lotus flower, so too, sin does not stick to the person who renounces attachment, and who does all his work, all his actions, as an offering to Brahm, the Supreme.
The yogis, for the purification of the soul, renounce all their attachments, and do all their works, only with their mind, only with their intelligence, or only with their senses.
The Atma, who is thus immersed in yoga, and who has renounced all attachments to the reward of work, attains to everlasting and eternal peace.
But those who are separate from Brahm, the Supreme, whose soul has not become one with Brahm, they remain inspired by their desires.
They are attracted and attached to the fruit of their works, to the rewards of their actions, and therefore, they always remain in bondage.
The person who, through his mind, has renounced all actions, and who has brought his nature under his control, who has subdued it completely, he, neither doing work, nor getting others to do work, lives peacefully, in this body with nine openings.
The highest God Atma, the Param Atma, does not make people the doers of action, nor does it do work, nor does it connect action with their results. It is, in fact, the inherent nature of all these, that is responsible for all actions.
But because man's wisdom is veiled and covered by ignorance, he remains trapped in delusion, as a result of which he is unable to see the truth.
But those who, through their knowledge, and their wisdom, have been able to lift the veil of ignorance and delusion, for them, their wisdom makes their Atma shine, and just as the bright sun lights up the whole world, so too, does their Atma light up everything, and then they are able to see the truth very clearly.
Always thinking of that Brahm, propelling their entire body and soul towards that very Brahm, making that as their sole and only aim, making that as the only focal point of their devotion, they reach that status, that place, from where there is no return, and cleansed by wisdom, all their sins are washed away.
The learned ones, on account of their wisdom, and the accompanying humility, regard all creation, and all beings equally, as one and the same; the high and the low born, men and women, birds and animals, and other creatures, they see them all with the same eye, they regard them all as the same, seeing no difference whatsoever.
The person whose mind is stable and balanced, he has, here on earth itself, in his very own lifetime, won the world.
The Param Atma is without any blemish, without any taint, and is the same in everyone. Therefore, such a one, is always established in the Param Atma.
One should neither rejoice on obtaining the good or the pleasant, nor grieve on obtaining the bad or the unpleasant, or when sorrow or misfortune strike. He should neither be happy, nor should he be sad, when happiness, or sorrow visit him.
The person who, in this way, is able to make his intelligence stable and fixed, and become free from delusion, only he knows Brahm, and eventually he becomes established in Brahm, and then, Brahm, the Absolute, becomes his home.
When the Atma does all acts, all works, and enjoys all pleasures, and all enjoyments, without being attracted or attached to outside contacts, outside things, or outside objects, without being entangled in them, then that person, who has set himself on the path of yoga, to achieve the Param Atma, he experiences the joy and the bliss, which is eternal, which is never ending, and which never wanes.
Pleasures obtained through the enjoyment of material objects, are fleeting in nature. They are temporary, they come and they go, they have a beginning and they have an end , they do not last forever, and they also house sorrow within them as well. Such temporary, finite, and limited pleasures, have no charm for the wise, they give no joy to the wise, who seek joy, only in the eternal, and in the everlasting.
The person who, in his very own lifetime, before he leaves the human body, before his death, is successful in curbing, and in mastering, the rising tide of his passions, his desires and his anger, he is the true yogi, and he is truly happy.
The person who finds happiness within himself, who finds bliss within himself, and who finds the light within himself, such a one, such a yogi, becomes one with Brahm, the Supreme, and he attains the the Supreme State, the state of salvation.
Those pure souls, whose all sins have been destroyed, whose all doubts have been resolved, whose mind and thoughts are disciplined, and who find joy in doing good to all, liberation and final release is very near to them.
Those ascetic, and austere souls, who have stilled their desire, their passion, and their anger, who have freed themselves from these, who have brought their minds under their control, and who have known their Atma, who have known Me, the Param Atma, final release and salvation, is always near them.
That sage, who is able to keep all outside objects and issues outside himself, focusing his sight between his eyebrows, equalizing both the incoming and the outgoing breaths, and who is able to control his senses, his mind and his intelligence, such a sage is ever keen on salvation; and the sage who has controlled his desires, his passions, his fears and his anger, such a one is always liberated, he is always free.
That sage, knowing Me to be the Supreme, The Param Atma, and also knowing that it is I who am the enjoyer of all the sacrifices, and of all the austerities, and that I am the Lord of all beings, and their friend too, then, knowing all this, he attains to the Supreme bliss of salvation.
End of Chapter Five
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Om
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