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08/13/2003

BG Chapter 18

Renunciation and Liberation

According to Brahma Sūtra, the individual soul is a repository of knowledge, a knower, an enjoyer, and a participating agent. The soul takes its qualities from the limiting adjuncts inherited from prakriti and karma, while the natural state of the soul is that state, when it is not burdened with limiting adjuncts. The natural state is pristine and pure as that seen in a diamond, while the adjuncts are the dirt and grime covering the diamond. The apparent negative qualities of the soul are extrinsic in their origin and therefore are liable to change from birth to birth. The soul becomes an agent when it wraps itself with the kosas (sheaths such as body) and Indriyas (sense organs). When the kosas fall, the agency falls. That the soul is atomic¹ is not a connotation of its size but indicates its adventitious nature in relation to Brahman. It is nondifferent from Brahman, when it is not covered with kosas or is in a state of liberation (compared to pure diamond without dirt and grime). It is different from Brahman when it is burdened with adjuncts or upādhis. The adjuncts are real and beginningless, because their cause is beginningless māyā. Māyā is neither SAT nor ASAT (Being or Nonbeing) and has the ability to transform one object or substance to another object or substance, and a substrate into a substance: The substrate is Brahman (Prakrti) and the substance is the manifest world. This transformation is called Parināma. Māyā is enzymatic in its quality and arises from Brahman; avidya or ignorance induces this enzymatic māyā. When avidya is removed or inhibited, the fog of māyā lifts and Brahman comes into view. This avidya-induced māyā regulates this phenomenal world. Brahman is One, but has the urge and capacity to become many. This phenomenal world is a toy for His plays (lila), pastimes (Vilāsa) and māyā.

According to Garuda Purana (1.194.28), Kavaca of Visnu (coat of arms) is the origin of Māyā. This Kavaca has the ability to destroy all sins through the agency of Māyā  

atomic¹: Tirumular (Tirumantiram: Tantra Seven, Verses 2011-2014) says that the soul (Jiva) is the size equal to 1 in 100,000 parts of a cow’s downy hair. Cow’s downy hair is approximately 16 microns in width.

18.1:  Arjuna said:

I wish (or desire) to know the Truth about Sannyāsa and Tyāga and the difference (thereof), O Mahabaho, O Kesi-nisūdana.

Mahā bāho: Mighty-armed one. Hrisi kesa: Master of the senses. Kesi nisudana: Killer of demon Kesi. These are some of the names for Lord Krishna. 

Sannyāsa and Tyāga are renunciation of selfish acts and performance of deeds without expectation of rewards respectively. Sannyāsi renounces material objects and worldly comforts and has ascended the eight arduous steps or angas to reach that status. Sannyāsa is the fourth stage of life and the sannyāsi has no worldly possessions. A Tyagi on the other hand can be anybody who does acts without expectation of rewards. A householder can be a Tyagi, but not a Sannyāsi. The criteria for a Sannyāsi are more stringent and on a different and higher plane. A yogi (Sannyāsi) is capable of Kaivalya, Samādhi and Ānanda. See elsewhere for description.

As mentioned below, a yogi or a Sannyāsi has to climb eight arduous steps in full faith and accomplishment to reach the top. A true renouncer (Sannyāsin) is the one who relinquishes action without expectation fruits of such an action. Desirelessness (vairāgya) is one of the cardinal symptoms of a yogi. The Eight-in-one-yogi climbs the rungs of the ladder: withdrawal, observance, postures, breath-control, withdrawal of senses, fixed attention or concentration, contemplation or meditation, and superconsciousness or samādhi. He is an exemplar by practice:  Ahimsa, truth, nonstealing, continence, patience, firmness, compassion, honesty, purity and rejection of gifts and moderation in food intake (only animal products allowed are dairy products). A yogi can attain samādhi only when he adheres strictly to the tenets.

Inaction is dereliction of duty (which he is sworn to, trained for, or ordained by birth) and performance of action with rewards on the mind. (Go to BG Chapter Six- The Yoga of self-control for more details.)

18.2:  Sri Bhagavan said:

The seer knows that sannyāsa is renunciation of work attached to desires. The wise declare Tyāga as renouncing the fruits of all actions.

Between Tyāga and sannyāsa, sannyāsa is a higher calling. Tyāga is for karma yogis and sannyāsa is for the Jnāna yogis. For a sannyāsi, even the life-sustaining biological functions are work, and it is a burden that prevents him from total continuous immersion and absorption into Brahman.

18.3:  Some wise men say that all work is evil and should be renounced, while others say that acts of sacrifice, charity, and penance should not be relinquished.

18.4:  Certainly, hear from Me, O the Best of the Bharatas. In renunciation, Tyāga is declared to be of three kinds, O Tiger among men.

There are three parts to Tyāga: the doer, the deed, and the reward. The Tyagi should surrender all three to the Lord because he is a mere anonymity, a mere instrument, a mere slave: The agency or doership is not his, but belongs to the Lord. When one claims actions or deeds as his, he claims the fruits of those deeds. Therefore, the tyāgi should surrender them too, to the Lord. Since you are a mere slave, you keep what is given to you; you work for Him and therefore, all your being (and existence) and anything that goes with that belong to the Lord. The Lord owns each one of us lock, stock, and barrel. He is the instrumental, material, and spiritual cause of our being. He enjoins the deed whether you know it or not, and therefore, the reward belongs to Him.

18.5:  Acts of sacrifice, charity, and penance should not be renounced and must be done. Sacrifice, charity, and penance purify the wise.

Yajna, Dāna and Tapah: sacrifice, charity, and penance. Tapah or tapas means heat. The generative heat is conserved, sublimated, and channeled into asceticism.

18.6:   All actions should be performed renouncing the attached fruits. It is thus My decided (considered) and supreme opinion, O Partha.

18.7:  Renunciation of prescribed duty is improper. Renunciation because of illusion is (said to be) due to Tamas or ignorance.

“Duty before all else:” The whole universe revolves on duty, work, sacrifice, universal and personal Dharma, or laws.

18.8:  He, who renounces his work because of difficulty or for fear of bodily pain, does not gain the fruits of Tyāga by doing Rajasic Tyāga or renunciation.

18.9:   When he does the prescribed duty, that ought to be done, O Arjuna, giving up the attached fruits, in My opinion, is sattvic Tyāga or renunciation.

18.10:  He, who neither hates disagreeable action nor is attached to agreeable action, is a sattvika, a Tyagi, and a wise man, having cut off all doubts.

18.11:  It is certainly never possible for the embodied one to renounce all actions. However, anyone renouncing the fruit of work is (said to be) a Tyagi.

18.12:  The desirable, the undesirable, and the mixed are the three kinds of fruits of work that come after death for the Atyagi but not for the Tyagi.

18.13:  Learn from Me O Mahā-Bāho, these five causes for fulfillment of all actions as stated in the Samkhya doctrine (Sānkhye-krtānte).

18.14:  The body, also the agent or the doer, the instruments of various kinds, various and separate efforts (vital functions or energies) and the fifth also here, the divinity.

The action has five causes (elements) for its accomplishment: physical body, agent, organs of perception, various individual functions, and divinity.

Kartā: Agent or doer. It should be understood that the Acharyas offer different interpretations of the agent. Who is this agent? Samkhya doctrine: Purusa is only a spectator or a witness; He does not participate in action and has week limbs; on the other hand, Prakrti is muscular but blind. If Purusa is weak-limbed, how could he be the agent or doer? It is said that Purusa is the agitator, the activator of gunas and therefore a doer. Without Purusa, prakrti cannot act.

According to Sankara, Ahankāra (ego) is the agent. It is the “I” factor powered by Rajas, and both are in collusion. 

Ramanuja claims that jivātman is the agent, while Madhava says that Lord Vishnu Himself is the Agent. For Sankara, the instrument and the agent are the same. Divinity is the wild card here: When the agent and the instruments go one way, divinity may go the other way. Is it karma? According to Sankara, the nature of deity (divinity) is not for analysis or inference by logic; what little we know is derived from scriptures: Divinity is beyond logic and reason.

18.15:  Whether karma is done in a proper or perverse manner (right or wrong), a man does it by his body, speech and mind; these are its five primary causes.

Nyāyam: Right or fit, axiomatic, standard, proper. Viparīta: contrary, perverse.

18.16:   He sees his own “self” as the doer or agent due to lack of intelligence. This, ignoramus never sees. 

Durmatih: ignoramus, one with false notion or opinion.

18.17:  He who is free from doership or ego, whose intelligence is not tainted, though he kills in this world, never kills and is never bound (by his killing).

This verse has contextual meaning and advice, directed to Arjuna, the prince and the warrior under battlefield conditions. It does not mean that somebody can kill somebody else and claim immunity. Every one acts according to his duty that he is born to fulfill, trained for, or ordained. Arjuna is ordained to fight to kill his enemy, since he is the warrior. One's duty is one's consciousness. Performance of one's duty according to one's consciousness is Sattva. Killing an enemy under battlefield conditions is a duty of a warrior, and therefore, his actions do not bind him. Brahmanda Purana (1.2.36.188) states that killing an individual to save many is neither a major nor a minor sin.  

18.18: Knowledge, object of knowledge, and the knower are the three kinds of stimulus (impelling) to action. The sense organs, the karma, and the doer are the three constituents of action.

18.19:   Jnāna, karma, and kartā are threefold, according to the difference in Gunas as said in the science of Gunas of Sankhya doctrine. Hear it rightly.

Jnāna, karma, and kartā: knowledge, action and doer (agent) yathāvat: duly, properly, rightly.

18.20:   That is knowledge, by which “One” Being is seen in all beings as the Imperishable, and the Undivided (in the divided). Know that knowledge is Sattva.

18.21:  The knowledge by which one sees manifold divisions among all beings because of their separateness, distinct nature and diverse condition, know that knowledge is Rajas.

Rajasic knowledge sees manifold divisions among all creatures due to separate and distinct nature, and diverse condition.

Prthaktvena: due to separateness or distinct nature. Nānā-bhāvan: diverse conditions. Prthakvidhān: manifold divisions or types.

A Rajasic person is the one who sees diversity in unity, due to natural distinction and individuality among living beings. He does not see the pervasiveness of the Lord or Brahman running through all living beings like a thread running through the beads in a chain. He notices the differences but does not see the Oneness of Brahman in all living beings. 

18.22:  Tamas holds to a single result as if it were the whole, without regard to the cause, and knowledge of the Reality and therefore, is frivolous.

Kārye: effect, result, act

The physical body comes from Prakrti (matter). If body, being an incomplete entity, were considered as whole, it is an irrational and foolish thought because body without soul is incomplete and contradicts the existence of Reality. Ramanuja’s interpretation is different: He calls Kārye as an act. While an act of worship of Ghosts (anyone less than the Lord) offers minor fruits (as if they are the ultimate goal), the worship of the Lord offers many fruits including the ultimate fruit of salvation.

18.23:  That action, which is performed as duty or obligation, without attachment to its fruits, and without love, hatred, or desire, is called Sattva.

18.24:  Action, which is performed with an extraordinary effort and a desire to enjoy the fruits, and is prompted by ego, is considered Rajasic.

bahula-āyāsam: abundance of exertion, extraordinary effort, or great effort.

18.25: Work that is undertaken with attachment and delusion, and with disregard to loss, injury, and ability, is said to be Tamasic.

Anubhandam: attachment. Ksayam: loss. Himsam: injury to others. Anapeksya:  carelessness, disregard. Paurusam: human ability, relating to purusa or human. Mohāt: error, folly, ignorance, delusion

18.26:   The doer or agent, who is unattached, not egoistic in speech, endowed with determination and enthusiasm, and unaffected by success or failure, is said to be sattvic.

18.27:  The doer, who is passionate and desires fruits of actions; who is greedy, injurious, and impure; and who is subject to joy and sorrow, is said to be Rajasic.

18.28:  The doer, who is not devout, uncultivated, obstinate, deceitful, dishonest, lazy, despondent, and procrastinating, is said to be Tamasic.

18.29: Hear the three kinds of differences in intellect and steadiness explained fully and severally according to the gunas, O Dhananjaya.

18.30:  Buddhi, by which one knows action and nonaction (renunciation), what should be done and what should not be done, fear and fearlessness, bondage and liberation, O Partha, is sattvic.

Pravrttim: activity, exertion or effort. Nivrttim: renunciation of action

18.31:  Buddhi, by which it knows imperfectly dharmam and adharmam, what should be done and what should not be done, is Rajasic, O Partha.

Dharmam and adharmam: right and wrong.

18.32:  Tamasic Buddhi, covered by ignorance, thinks Adharmam as Dharmam, and perverts all things, O Partha. 

18.33:  The unswerving determination, by which one controls and steadies the mind, the life-breaths, and the activities of the senses by yoga (meditation), O Partha, is sattvic.

18.34:  The determination, by which one holds fast to Dharma, Kāma, and Artha with attachment to desires of fruit O Partha, is Rajasic.

Dharma, Kāma, and Artha: Duty, pleasure and wealth. Kāma has a carnal element.

18.35:  The determination by which a fool never gives up (excessive) sleep, fear, grief, despondence, and conceit or arrogance, O Partha, is Tamasic.

Here “a fool who does not give up sleep” means that he does not want to give up excessive sleep. Sleep in another context means ignorance.

18.36:  And now hear from Me, O Best among Bharatas, the three kinds of happiness, which one enjoys by practice and by which he reaches the end of suffering.

18.37:  That happiness, which is like the poison at the beginning and nectar at the end, comes from Atma buddhi and is sattvic.

Sattvic happiness, coming from Atma buddhi, is like poison at the beginning and nectar at the end.

Atma buddhi: Knowledge of the Self.

18.38:  The happiness, which comes from the contact of objects of senses with the senses, is nectar at the beginning and poison at the end, and is known as Rajasic.

Rajasic happiness coming from contact of senses with objects of senses is nectar at the beginning and poison at the end.

18.39:  That happiness, which deludes the atman in the beginning and at the end and which comes from sleep, laziness, and negligence, is said to be Tamasic.

 Tamasic happiness deludes the atman in the beginning and the end and comes from sleep, laziness, and negligence.  

18.40:  There is no being either on earth or in heaven or among the gods, who is free from the three modes of Gunas born of Prakrti.

Prakrti: Material nature.

18.41: Brāhmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Sūdra, O Parantapa, and their activities are divided according to their own nature born of their own Gunas.

There is clear evidence here that the Varna system, commonly called caste division, is based not on birth but on character, aptitude, and ability.

Siva in answer to a question from Parvati tells her: Veda is not Veda, the eternal Brahma  is Veda. Whosoever knows the Brahma Vidya is a Brahmin, skilled in the Vedas (Verse 50).  After knowing Brahma Jnana, one is free from all distinctions of caste (57). Jnana Sankalini Tantra.

18.42:  Tranquillity, self-control, austerity, purity, patience, honesty, knowledge, wisdom, and belief in God are the duty of the Brāhmana born of his own nature.

18.43:  Heroism, power, determination, resourcefulness, not fleeing from the battle, generosity, and leadership are the duty of Kshatriya born of his own nature.

18.44:  Cultivation, cow protection, and trade are the duty of Vaishya, born of his own (Vaishya) nature. Duty of Sudra is of the nature of service (to other three), born of his own nature.

Cow protection is rearing of cattle.

18.45:  Devoted to his own duty, man attains perfection. Hear now as to how he engaged in his own duty attains perfection. 

18.46: Worshipping Him, from Whom all beings arise, and Who pervades all this, and by doing his own duties, man attains perfection.

(Man attains perfection by doing his own duties and by worshipping Him, from whom all beings arise and who pervades all this.)

18.47:   Better is one's own dharma though imperfectly performed than the dharma of another however perfectly done. By performing one's karma according to one's own nature, one does not incur any sin.

18.48:  One should not give up one’s innate karma, O Kaunteya, though defective. All endeavors are covered with defects as the fire is covered by smoke.

Sahajam karma: usual and innate karma.

18.49:  He, whose buddhi is unattached everywhere, having control of his self, and from whom the desires have left, attains sannyāsa through supreme perfection by transcending all karma.

Sannyāsa: renunciation. Naiskarmya: transcending karma or work.

18.50:  Learn from Me briefly, O Kaunteya, having achieved perfection, he attains Brahman, which is the supreme state of knowledge.

18.51:  Endowed with purified Buddhi, controlling self with determination, giving up sound, and sense objects, and casting aside likes and dislikes (continued)

“Giving up sound,” means getting away for the din, hustle and bustle of daily activity around him and practicing silence (mauna).

18.52:  Living in solitude, eating lightly, controlling speech, body, and mind, engaged all the time in yoga of meditation, having taken refuge in detachment (continued)

18.53:  giving up ego, power, pride, lust and anger, possession, and in perfect indifference to “mine,” and endowed with peace, he becomes worthy of attaining Brahma-būyāyas (absorption in Brahman).

18.54:  Being one with Brahman, the tranquil atma neither laments nor desires. Regarding all beings equal, he attains Supreme devotion to Me.

18.55:  Through devotion to Me, he comes to know in Truth who I am, and what My nature is. Knowing Me thus in Truth, he enters into Me instantaneously.  

18.56:  While performing all activities all the time, he, who takes refuge in Me, attains the eternal imperishable abode by My grace.

18.57:  Mentally renouncing all actions to Me, and practicing Buddhi-yoga, think of Me in your mind as the Supreme Goal all the time.

18.58:  Thinking of Me, you will overcome all your difficulties by My grace. However, if you do not listen to Me because of your ego, you will perish.

18.59:  Taking refuge in your ego, you think: “I shall not fight.” Your decision is contrary (to Dharma). Your nature will compel you (to fight).

Mithyā: vain, contrary, to no purpose, fruitlessly, incorrectly.

18.60:   Born of your own nature O Kaunteya, bound by your own activities, what you wish not to do because of delusion, you will do (even that) against your will.

18.61:  The Supreme Lord resides within the hearts of all living beings, O Arjuna. By His māyā power, He causes all beings to spin as if they are mounted on a machine (carousel or upright wheel).

Hrt-dese: within the hearts. Brahman resides in the hearts of all individuals. According to Chāndogya Upanishad 8.1- 6, in the city of Brahman, there is an abode called a small lotus flower (heart). There is a small space within that heart. The question arises in the mind: What is there to seek or what is there to understand? In that space, there is heaven and earth, fire and air, sun and moon, lightning and stars. Whatever there is of Him in this world and beyond is contained within the heart. What is left behind in the space of the heart (hrd-ākāsa), when death strikes? It is the Self that remains, free from sin, old age, death, sorrow, hunger, and thirst. Desire and thought of the Self is after the Real. Once merits and demerits have resolved upon death, liberation is obtained only when the desire of Self is realized. Sankara interprets the vision and the goal of the self: Seeing the Self in all and all in the Self, the self becomes autonomous and liberated.

The Māyā power, owned by the Lord, has three dissimilar sons: Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas. It is Rajas who spins the wheel of creation, it is Sattva that sustains it, and it is Tamas who brings it to dissolution. This Maya power works at Cosmic level.

Here wheel allegorizes the sheaths of the body, according to Panchadasi (6.173-176). Spinning denotes good and bad deeds by the individual. At individual level, Maya power works with the Intellectual sheath and prompts Jiva to act. This does not preclude self-motivation of an individual.

18.62:  Surrender unto Him with all your being, O Bharata; by His grace, your will attain the Supreme peace and eternal abode.

18.63:  Thus, knowledge that is more secret than the most secret has been related unto you by Me. Reflect on that fully, and then do as you wish.

18.64:  Hear from Me the most secret of all, My Supreme word. You are very dear to Me; therefore, I speak to you for your benefit.

18.65:  Think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me, and offer your obeisance to Me. Certainly you will come to Me. I truly promise you that you are dear to Me.

18.66:  Abandoning all duties, surrender unto Me only. I shall deliver you from all sins.

Do not lament.

18.67:  This should never be divulged by you at any time to any one who is not austere, who is not a devotee (of Mine), who is disobedient (not god-obedient), or who speaks ill of Me.

18.68:  Anyone who teaches the Supreme secret of Mine amongst My devotees shall be doing the highest devotional service to Me and will come to Me without doubt. 

Samsara is compared to a poisonous fruit-bearing tree; only two of its fruits are full of nectar, one is devotion to the Lord and the other is a chance encounter with His devotee.

                                                                                                    --Garuda Purana, 1.227.33

My mind is a horse that falters and suffers myriad pains from samsara. The sense organs pull me hither and thither. May I be tied down to your feet by the reins of devotion?

                                                                                                    --Garuda Purana, 1.227.38  

18.69:  There is no one other than him among men who performs a service dearer to Me and nor will there be any one other than him dearer to Me in this world.

18.70:  He, who studies the sacred conversation of ours, steeped in Dharma, will worship Me through the sacrifice of knowledge. This is My opinion.

18.71:  The man, who listens with faith and good will (anasūyah), being liberated, attains the auspicious world of the pious karmics.

An+asūyah: absence of ill will, envy, spite, displeasure, or indignation

18.72:  O Partha, did you hear this with a (focused) single-minded attention. Has your delusion born of ignorance been destroyed, O Dhananjaya. 

18.73:  Arjuna said:

My delusion has been destroyed; I gained knowledge (smrti) by Your grace, O Acuyta. I stand firm with all doubts removed. I shall act according to Your word.

18.74:  Sanjaya said:

Thus, I heard this marvelous dialogue between Vasudeva (Lord Krishna) and the great-souled Partha (Arjuna). (It was) so wonderful that it made my hair stand on end. 

18.75:  By the grace of Vyasadeva, I heard this supreme secret and yoga directly from Yoga-Isvara Krishna as he was speaking (to Arjuna).

Yoga-Isvarat: The Lord of Yoga.

18.76:  O King, again and again remembering this pious and wonderful dialogue between Lord Krishna and Arjuna, I am thrilled with joy again and again.

This is what clairvoyant Sanjaya told Dhrtarāstra in real time as the conversation was held between Lord Krishna and Arjuna.

18.77:  Remembering again and again the most wondrous form of Hareh (Lord Krishna) in amazement I rejoice again and again, O King.

Sanjaya in this instance was able to behold the wondrous forms of the Lord as He revealed them to Arjuna.

18.78:  Wherever there is Krishna, the Lord of Yoga, wherever Partha, the archer is, there will be fortune, victory, power, and morality. That is my opinion (according to Sanjaya).

fortune (Sri), victory (Vijaya), power (Bhūti), and morality, right conduct (dhruva nīti)

End BG Chapter 18 Renunciation and Liberation

AUM