Bhagavad Gita Chapter 5 The Yoga of Renunciation and Selfless Action

Shloka 1 Which Is Superior: Renunciation of Action or Karma Yoga? arjuna uvācha | saṁnyāsaṁ karmaṇāṁ kṛṣṇa punar yogaṁ cha śhaṁsasi | yach chhreya etayor ekaṁ tan me brūhi suniśchitam || 5.1 || Arjuna said: O Krishna, at times You praise the renunciation of actions, and at other times You praise Karma Yoga. Therefore, please tell me clearly and decisively which of these two paths is truly more beneficial for my spiritual progress. → Shloka 2 The True Relationship Between Renunciation and Karma Yoga śhrī bhagavān uvācha | saṁnyāsaḥ karmayogaśh cha niḥśhreyasakarāv ubhau | tayos tu karmasaṁnyāsāt karmayogo viśhiṣhyate || 5.2 || The Blessed Lord said: Both renunciation and Karma Yoga lead to the highest spiritual good. However, of the two, Karma Yoga is considered superior to the renunciation of action. → Shloka 3 Who Is a True Renunciate? jñeyaḥ sa nityasaṁnyāsī yo na dveṣhṭi na kāṅkṣhati | nirdvandvo hi mahābāho sukhaṁ bandhāt pramuchyate || 5.3 || O mighty-armed Arjuna, the person who neither hates nor craves anything should be understood as a true and constant renunciate. One who rises above the dualities of life becomes free from worldly bondage with ease. → Shloka 4 The Mistake of Seeing Knowledge Yoga and Karma Yoga as Separate sāṅkhyayogau pṛthag bālāḥ pravadanti na paṇḍitāḥ | ekam apy āsthitaḥ samyag ubhayor vindate phalam || 5.4 || Only the spiritually immature consider Jñāna Yoga and Karma Yoga to be completely separate paths. The wise understand their essential unity. A seeker who sincerely and correctly follows either path ultimately attains the fruit of both. → Shloka 5 Both Paths Lead to the Same Goal yat sāṅkhyaiḥ prāpyate sthānaṁ tad yogair api gamyate | ekaṁ sāṅkhyaṁ cha yogaṁ cha yaḥ paśhyati sa paśhyati || 5.5 || The supreme state attained through Jñāna Yoga is also reached through Karma Yoga. One who understands that these two paths ultimately lead to the same destination is the one who truly sees reality as it is. → Shloka 6 Renunciation Is Difficult Without Karma Yoga saṁnyāsas tu mahābāho duḥkham āptum ayogataḥ | yogayukto munir brahma na chireṇādhigacchati || 5.6 || O mighty-armed Arjuna, renunciation is difficult to attain without the discipline of Karma Yoga. But a thoughtful seeker who is established in selfless action quickly reaches the realization of Brahman. → Shloka 7 The Karma Yogi Remains Unattached Even While Acting yogayukto viśhuddhātmā vijitātmā jitendriyaḥ | sarvabhūtātmabhūtātmā kurvann api na lipyate || 5.7 || A person established in Karma Yoga, whose heart is purified, who has mastered the mind and senses, and who perceives the same Self in all beings, remains untouched by bondage even while actively performing actions. → Shloka 8 The Knower of Truth Sees Himself as a Non-Doer naiva kiñchit karomīti yukto manyeta tattvavit | paśhyañ śhṛṇvan spṛśhañ jighrann aśhnan gachchhan svapan śhvasan || 5.8 || A knower of truth, established in yoga, understands that the Self is not the doer. Therefore, even while seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, walking, sleeping, and breathing, he inwardly knows, 'I am not truly doing anything.' → Shloka 9 The Senses Alone Function Among Their Objects pralapan visṛjan gṛhṇann unmiṣhan nimiṣhann api | indriyāṇīndriyārtheṣu vartanta iti dhārayan || 5.9 || Even while speaking, releasing, accepting, opening and closing the eyes, the knower of truth understands that it is merely the senses functioning among their respective objects. Therefore, he remains free from the egoistic notion of being the doer. → Shloka 10 Actions Offered to Brahman Do Not Create Bondage brahmaṇy ādhāya karmāṇi saṅgaṁ tyaktvā karoti yaḥ | lipyate na sa pāpena padmapatram ivāmbhasā || 5.10 || One who performs all actions as an offering to God, abandoning attachment and possessiveness, does not become bound by karmic impurity. Such a person remains untouched by the effects of action, just as a lotus leaf remains unwetted even while resting upon water. → Shloka 11 Karma Yoga for Inner Purification kāyena manasā buddhyā kevalair indriyair api | yoginaḥ karma kurvanti saṅgaṁ tyaktvātmaśhuddhaye || 5.11 || Karma Yogis perform actions through the body, mind, intellect, and senses, while giving up attachment. Their purpose is not merely external achievement but the purification of the heart and mind, which prepares them for higher spiritual realization. → Shloka 12 Renouncing the Fruits Brings Peace; Attachment to Them Brings Bondage yuktaḥ karmaphalaṁ tyaktvā śhāntim āpnoti naiṣṭhikīm | ayuktaḥ kāmakāreṇa phale sakto nibadhyate || 5.12 || A person established in Karma Yoga attains deep and lasting peace by renouncing attachment to the fruits of action. In contrast, one who is driven by personal desires becomes attached to outcomes and thereby falls into bondage and inner restlessness. → Shloka 13 The Non-Acting Self Dwelling in the City of Nine Gates sarvakarmāṇi manasā saṁnyasyāste sukhaṁ vaśhī | navadvāre pure dehī naiva kurvan na kārayan || 5.13 || One who has mastered the mind and senses mentally renounces all sense of doership and remains peacefully established within the body, the city of nine gates. Such a person understands that the Self neither performs actions nor causes actions to be performed. → Shloka 14 The Self Creates Neither Doership Nor Actions na kartṛtvaṁ na karmāṇi lokasya sṛjati prabhuḥ | na karmaphalasaṁyogaṁ svabhāvas tu pravartate || 5.14 || The Lord neither creates the sense of doership in beings, nor causes their actions, nor connects actions with their results. Rather, it is one's own nature (prakṛti) that operates. → Shloka 15 Ignorance Is the Cause of Bondage nādatte kasyacit pāpaṁ na caiva sukṛtaṁ vibhuḥ | ajñānenāvṛtaṁ jñānaṁ tena muhyanti jantavaḥ || 5.15 || The all-pervading Lord neither accepts anyone's sin nor virtue. Knowledge is covered by ignorance, and because of that ignorance, living beings become deluded. → Shloka 16 Knowledge Destroys Ignorance Like the Sun Dispels Darkness jñānena tu tad ajñānaṁ yeṣāṁ nāśitam ātmanaḥ | teṣām ādityavaj jñānaṁ prakāśayati tat param || 5.16 || For those whose ignorance has been destroyed by true knowledge, that knowledge shines like the sun and reveals the Supreme Reality. Just as sunlight effortlessly removes darkness and makes everything visible, spiritual wisdom removes delusion and reveals the truth of the Self and Brahman. → Shloka 17 The Wise Established in Brahman Are Freed from Rebirth tadbuddhayas tadātmānas tanniṣṭhās tatparāyaṇāḥ | gacchanty apunarāvṛttiṁ jñānanirdhūtakalmaṣāḥ || 5.17 || Those whose intellect, mind, steadfastness, and ultimate goal are all centered in the Supreme Brahman, and whose impurities have been removed through true knowledge, attain the state beyond rebirth. Having realized the Highest Truth, they are no longer bound by the cycle of worldly existence. → Shloka 18 The Equal Vision of the Wise vidyāvinayasampanne brāhmaṇe gavi hastini | śuni caiva śvapāke ca paṇḍitāḥ samadarśinaḥ || 5.18 || The truly wise see the same divine Self present in a humble and learned brāhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and even an outcaste. Because they perceive the underlying spiritual reality rather than external differences, they regard all beings with equal vision. → Shloka 19 Equal Vision Conquers the World ihaiva tair jitaḥ sargo yeṣāṁ sāmye sthitaṁ manaḥ | nirdoṣaṁ hi samaṁ brahma tasmād brahmaṇi te sthitāḥ || 5.19 || Those whose minds are firmly established in equanimity have already conquered worldly existence while living in this very life. Since Brahman is free from all defects and sees all equally, such people, possessing the same vision, are considered established in Brahman itself. → Shloka 20 The Knower of Brahman Remains Unshaken by the Pleasant and Unpleasant na prahṛṣyet priyaṁ prāpya nodvijet prāpya cāpriyam | sthirabuddhir asammūḍho brahmavid brahmaṇi sthitaḥ || 5.20 || A knower of Brahman neither becomes excessively joyful upon obtaining what is pleasant nor disturbed when faced with what is unpleasant. Possessing a steady intellect and freedom from delusion, such a person remains firmly established in Brahman. → Shloka 21 The Inwardly Joyful Yogi Attains Imperishable Happiness bāhyasparśeṣv asaktātmā vindaty ātmani yat sukham | sa brahmayogayuktātmā sukham akṣayam aśnute || 5.21 || A seeker who is not attached to external objects and sensory pleasures discovers the joy that exists within the Self. Established in Brahma-yoga, such a person experiences an imperishable happiness that does not diminish with time or circumstances. → Shloka 22 Sense Pleasures Are Sources of Suffering ye hi saṁsparśajā bhogā duḥkhayonaya eva te | ādyantavantaḥ kaunteya na teṣu ramate budhaḥ || 5.22 || O son of Kuntī, pleasures that arise from the contact of the senses with external objects are ultimately sources of suffering, because they have a beginning and an end. Therefore, a wise person does not become attached to them or seek lasting fulfillment in them. → Shloka 23 The Yogi Who Endures the Impulses of Desire and Anger śaknotīhaiva yaḥ soḍhuṁ prāk śarīravimokṣaṇāt | kāmakrodhodbhavaṁ vegaṁ sa yuktaḥ sa sukhī naraḥ || 5.23 || A person who, while still living in this world and before death, is able to withstand the powerful impulses arising from desire and anger is truly established in yoga. Such a person alone is genuinely happy and inwardly free. → Shloka 24 The Yogi Who Finds Happiness Within Attains Brahma-Nirvāṇa yo ’ntaḥsukho ’ntarārāmas tathāntarjyotir eva yaḥ | sa yogī brahmanirvāṇaṁ brahmabhūto ’dhigacchati || 5.24 || The seeker who finds happiness within, delights within, and draws light from inner spiritual awareness attains Brahman-consciousness. Such a yogi realizes Brahma-Nirvāṇa, the state of supreme peace and liberation. → Shloka 25 Sages Free from Impurities Attain Brahma-Nirvāṇa labhante brahmanirvāṇam ṛṣayaḥ kṣīṇakalmaṣāḥ | chinnadvaidhā yatātmānaḥ sarvabhūtahite ratāḥ || 5.25 || The sages whose impurities have been removed, whose doubts have been dispelled, whose minds are disciplined, and who are devoted to the welfare of all beings attain Brahma-Nirvāṇa, the state of supreme peace and liberation. → Shloka 26 The Self-Restrained Sage Free from Desire and Anger Attains Brahma-Nirvāṇa kāmakrodhaviyuktānāṁ yatīnāṁ yatacetasām | abhito brahmanirvāṇaṁ vartate viditātmanām || 5.26 || For disciplined seekers who are free from desire and anger, whose minds are under control, and who have realized their true Self, Brahma-Nirvāṇa—the supreme peace of Brahman—is present all around them. → Shloka 27 The Preliminary Practice of Dhyāna Yoga sparśān kṛtvā bahir bāhyāṁś cakṣuś caivāntare bhruvoḥ | prāṇāpānau samau kṛtvā nāsābhyantaracāriṇau || 5.27 || By withdrawing the mind from external sense objects, fixing the gaze between the eyebrows, and balancing the movements of prāṇa and apāna within the nostrils, a seeker practices the initial discipline of Dhyāna Yoga. → Shloka 28 The Sage Free from Desire, Fear, and Anger yatendriyamanobuddhir munir mokṣaparāyaṇaḥ | vigatecchābhayakrodho yaḥ sadā mukta eva saḥ || 5.28 || The contemplative seeker whose senses, mind, and intellect are under control, who has made liberation the supreme aim of life, and who is free from desire, fear, and anger, is truly liberated even while living. → Shloka 29 The Lord, the Supreme Friend of All bhoktāraṁ yajñatapasāṁ sarvalokamaheśvaram | suhṛdaṁ sarvabhūtānāṁ jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati || 5.29 || A person who understands Me as the ultimate recipient of all sacrifices and austerities, the supreme Lord of all worlds, and the selfless friend of every living being attains true and lasting peace. →