The Bhagavad Gita - Chapter 5
The Path of Renunciation
On 5th July 2020, my dear Dad passed away and moved on to the next realm. The Bhagavad Gita, a book sacred to Hinduism, was by far his most cherished text and he studied it up to the very end. In his memory, I am committing to write 18 pieces - one for each chapter - and will attempt to capture the essence of this great text. No prior knowledge of Hinduism is necessary and I shall steer clear of jargon as much as possible. If you haven’t already, do subscribe below to get all the pieces straight to your inbox. Lastly if you are just joining and would like to start at the beginning, click here for Chapter 1
A quick recap
In Chapter 4 Krishna explained the Yoga of Wisdom and how there are various paths to the Supreme. The central theme of action without attachment is repeated again. Krishna reiterates the importance of sacrifice (without which it is not possible to live happily) as well as having trust (in the Self) - with the senses under control.
The Path of Renunciation
Arjuna mentions that Krishna has recommended two paths, i.e the Path of Action (Karma Yoga) and the Path of Renunciation (Sanyasa Yoga). He asks Krishna - which is the better of these two paths?
Krishna replies:
“Both renunciation of action & selfless action leads to the highest bliss. But of the two, the path of action is superior to the path of renunciation. One who has renounced - who neither hates nor covets, who is beyond opposites - is easily released from bondage (note: here bondage refers to being tied to the fruits and reactions of one’s actions, as well as the cycle of birth and rebirth).
“Those who are ignorant see the path of action and the path of knowledge as different. But the wise see them as identical. The person who practises either of these correctly attains the results of both. The state reached by the seekers of knowledge is also reached by those who follow the path of action. A person who sees both paths as one is the one who actually sees. Renunciation is tough to attain without the practice of Yoga, however he who performs Yoga attains the Supreme without delay.”
“One who follows the path of Yoga, with the mind purified, the senses conquered, and who has identified his Self as the Self existing in all beings is untainted by any action he performs.”
Krishna then speaks about the senses and reiterates that they are deceptive:
“The knower of the truth is ever aware that by oneself one does nothing, even when seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, walking, sleeping, breathing, speaking, evacuating, grasping and opening or closing the eyes. Such a person knows that it is not he who does this but rather it is the senses that are acting in relation to the sense objects.”
By dedicating all deeds to Brahman (The Supreme) a person who acts without attachment remains untainted by sin, just like a lotus flower remains untouched by the water.
“Yogis abandoning attachments act with the body, mind, intellect and even the senses for self-purification. A Yogi gives up attachments to the fruits of actions and attains everlasting peace. But a person who is not proficient in Yoga and attached to the fruit of actions due to desire gets entangled.”
“Having mentally renounced all actions, the embodied happily dwells with self control in the ‘City of Nine Gates’, neither acting, nor causing action to be performed.”
Note: The City of Nine Gates refers to the body which has nine openings.
“The Lord neither creates the world’s sense of doership nor the actions, nor the associations with results of those actions. Rather the inherent nature (gunas) accomplishes this. Beings are deluded because their knowledge is covered by ignorance. But ignorance is destroyed by the knowledge of the Self, and like the Sun the knowledge reveals the Ultimate (Brahman).”
“Those whose intelligence, mind, devotion and dedication are fixed upon the Ultimate go to that place where one does not take birth again - with all their vices purified by wisdom. The Wise see with equal vision a learned one, a cow, an elephant, a dog or a dog-eater.”
“Rebirth is conquered by those whose minds are rooted in equanimity. The one Brahman is free of all faults - they are thus settled in Brahman. They neither rejoice upon receiving something pleasant nor grieve upon receiving something unpleasant.”
“One whose mind is unattached to the external touches (of sensual experiences) and finds bliss within himself - the mind of such a one has accomplished union with Brahman and inexhaustible joy. Pleasures arising from the contact of the senses have a definite beginning and end and result in misery. The wise do not rejoice in them. A person who is able to overcome desire and anger before giving up the body, such person is a Yogi, a blissful human being.”
“The one whose happiness is within, whose delight is within, whose light is within - such a Yogi, who having become one with the Supreme (Brahman) attains the Nirvana of the Ultimate Reality. Those whose sins have subsided, have cut through dualities, who have mastered themselves and who are immersed in the welfare of all beings attain the Nirvana of Brahman. For those who are free of craving and anger and have realised the Self, the Nirvana of Brahman is everywhere.”
Krishna concludes:
“Shutting all external contacts, fixing the gaze between the eyebrows, equalising the inward and outward breaths moving through the nostrils the sage who has controlled the mind, intellect and senses who is solely pursuing liberation (Moksha), and who has cast away craving and anger, is indeed liberated forever. Those who know Me as the enjoyer of all sacrifices and austerities, as the Supreme Lord of the worlds and as the friend of all beings attain Eternal Peace.”
Parting thoughts
Renunciation is the central theme of this Chapter and I found this article useful to expand on the topic. Essentially it boils doing to “giving up” the fruits of any action (good or bad) as well as giving up the desire that drives actions in order to fulfil a “wish”. It is also said that anger and craving/desire should be renounced.
Going down the paths of action, wisdom or renunciation doesn’t really matter in the end - they all lead to the Supreme. Each person will probably go through a mixture of these paths in their lifetime. It depends on one’s inclinations. At this stage in my life - engaging wholeheartedly in action without being attached to the result seems apt to me.
Also highlighted is the universal natural of our essence. The self in us is the same in all beings - there is no difference and none should be seen.
Krishna highlights the Ultimate Reality and how what we perceive through the senses is a very limited and misleading picture - for more on this very interesting (and vast) topic do check out the core teachings of Advaita Vedanta. Once these concepts are internalised, a sense of calm is definitely achieved. We are all perfect at our core and part of the same Ultimate Reality and life force that binds us all.
Deepak