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'Adugakuve o Manasa
Adugu Koladi Adi Adugunu Padunani
Adugakunna Pani Vadigaanagunani
Adugani Sabarini Aadarincheade

Do not ask, o mind;
The more you ask, the lower it is placed.
Without asking, the task proceeds quickly.
Sabari, who never asked, was showered with grace!

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Chapter 5 The Yoga of Work in Detachment 'About the reality of detachment' 'Karma Sannyāsa Yoga'

" Listen to this chapter sung!  " [slokas 2 to 7] " Listen to this spoken chapter in Audio "   Verse 1. arjuna uvāca sannyāsam karmanām krishna punar yogam ca samsasi yac chreya etayor ekam tan me brūhi suniścitam Verse 2. śrī bhagavān uvāca sannyāsah karma-yogaś ca nihśreyasa-karāv ubhau tayos tu karma-sannyāsāt karma-yogo viśishyate      In karma-sannyāsah yoga, we have three words, karma, sannyāsah, and yoga. Karma means action; sannyāsah means renunciation of worldly taints (vāsanās: one's propensity, one's aptitude, based on one's karma; hindrance in one's own conditioning and experience of possibly also previous lives) and desires and rising above attachment and hatred; and yoga means union with the divine. (yoga: science of the unification or association of consciousness; the linking up of oneself with the absolute truth or God). "O, Arjuna", Krishna said, "this aspect of sannyāsah is lacking in you. You are still swayed by attachment and ego. None can desist from action. Man is continually engaged in action. Therefore, renunciation of action (karma-sannyāsah) is neither realistic nor practical." "Instead, while performing action, transform it into worship. Dedicate all your actions to God and perform them for His pleasure. Such actions will place you on the path of bhakti (devotion)." Thus, Krishna initiated Arjuna into the secret of karma yoga. Karma yoga should become natural to man. Whatever be the act performed, it should elevate and ennoble the doer. It is not enough if one merely listens to something noble; one must take it to heart and ruminate over it. - Summer Showers in Brindavan 1979, pp. 72-3 Verse 3. jñeyah sa nitya-sannyāsī yo na dveshthi na kānkshati nirdvandvo hi mahā-bāho sukham bandhāt pramucyate      Students should listen to the sacred message of the Gītā and imbibe it in their hearts. Recognizing the truth that motive-less action performed for the pleasure of God (karma yoga) is higher than giving up of all activity, they should serve society in a selfless manner without an eye for reward. Develop love for all so that greed does not seize you into a state of godlessness. Also, desire and anger should be controlled to the maximum possible. - Summer Showers in Brindavan 1979, p. 73 Verse 4. sānkhya-yogau prithag bālāh pravadanti na panditāh ekam apy āsthitah samyag ubhayor vindate phalam Verse 5. yat sānkhyaih prāpyate sthānam tad yogair api gamyate ekam sānkhyam ca yogam ca yah paśyati sa paśyati Verse 6. sannyāsas tu mahā-bāho duhkham āptum ayogatah yoga-yukto munir brahma na cirenādhigacchati Verse 7. yoga-yukto viśuddhātmā vijitātmā jitendriyah sarvabhūtātmabhūtātmā kurvann api na lipyate Verse 8-9. naiva kiñcit karomīti yukto manyeta tattva-vit paśyañ śrinvan spriśañ jighrann aśnan gacchan svapan śvasan pralapan visrijan grihnann unmishan nimishann api indriyānīndriyārtheshu vartanta iti dhārayan Verse 10. brahmany ādhāya karmāni sangam tyaktvā karoti yah lipyate na sa pāpena padma-patram ivāmbhasā Verse 11. kāyena manasā buddhyā kevalair indriyair api yoginah karma kurvanti sangam tyaktvātma-śuddhaye Verse 12. yuktah karma-phalam tyaktvā śāntim āpnoti naishthhikīm ayuktah kāma-kārena phale sakto nibadhyate      Man has the right to perform action; to ask for the fruits thereof he has none. God alone can dispense the fruits of man's actions. - Summer Showers in Brindavan 1979, p. 70 Verse 13. sarva-karmāni manasā sannyasyāste sukham vaśī nava-dvāre pure dehī naiva kurvan na kārayan      Sacrifice (tyāga: renunciation) is the essence of spiritual life. All men must necessarily have tyāga. Although one might not be willing to make sacrifices, nature will force him to do so. It behooves man, therefore, to undertake sacrifice even before he is compelled. - Summer Showers in Brindavan 1979, p. 70 Verse 14. na kartritvam na karmāni lokasya srijati prabhuh na karma-phala-samyogam svabhāvas tu pravartate Verse 15. nādatte kasyacit pāpam na caiva sukritam vibhuh ajñānenāvritam jñānam tena muhyantijantavah Verse 16. jñānena tu tad ajñānam yeshām nāśitam ātmanah teshām ādityavaj jñānam prakāśayati tat param Verse 17. tad-buddhayas tad-ātmānas tan-nisthhhās tat-parāyanāh gacchanty apunar-āvrittim jñāna-nirdhūta-kalmashāh Verse 18. vidyā-vinaya-sampanne brāhmane gavi hastini śuni caiva śvapāke ca panditāh sama-darśinah Verse 19. ihaiva tair jitah sargoa yeshām sāmye sthitam manah nirdosham hi samam brahma tasmād brahmani te sthitāh      Brahman is One, unchanging, everlasting. A mind filled with yearning for Brahman will see the One in all; it will remain unaffected by the smiles and sneers of fortune. - Sathya Sai Speaks IX, p. 147 Verse 20. na prahrishyet priyam prāpya nodvijet prāpya cāpriyam sthira-buddhir asammūdho brahma-vid brahmani sthitah Verse 21. bāhya-sparśeshv asaktātmā vindaty ātmani yat sukham sa brahma-yoga-yuktātmā sukham akshayam aśnute Verse 22. ye hi samsparśajā bhogā duhkha-yonaya eva te ādy-antavantah kaunteya na teshu ramate budhah Verse 23. śaknotīhaiva yah sodhum prāk śarīra-vimokshanāt kāma-krodhodbhavam vegam sa yuktah sa sukhī narah Verse 24. yo'ntah-sukho 'ntarārāmas tathāntar-jyotir eva yah sa yogī brahma-nirvānam brahma-bhūto 'dhigacchati      No one seeks grief; all seek joy. But those who know that grief is the interlude between two joys and joy the interlude between two griefs will seek to attain the stage when they will not be agitated by either the fierce or the friendly storm! That stage of equanimity is the most desirable. It is what is called nirvāna (the end of one's material activities or one's material existence which does not mean that one denies spiritual activities or a spiritual existence), when the mind is in perfect equilibrium, unaffected by the blows of fortune, good or bad. For he knows that he has no right to judge whether what happens is good or bad, beneficial or maleficent. - Sathya Sai Speaks VII, p. 174 Verse 25. labhante brahma-nirvānam rishayah kshīna-kalmashāh chinna-dvaidhā yatātmānah sarva-bhūta-hite ratāh      Though you know that there is nothing for you to acquire, for you have placed your complete trust in the Lord and live only as an offering to the Lord, still, like king Janaka [B.G. 3:20] and others, you have to engage yourselves in activity for the well-being of the world, loka-sangraha. The sarva-bhūta-anthar-ātmā, the soul immanent in every being, is not distinct from the ātmā or soul that is in you. So, be sarva-bhūta-hite ratāh, that is to say, eager to promote the well-being of all beings. Perform all acts enjoined by the śāstras and scriptures for this sake, in the spirit of dedication, with no eye on the fruits thereof. This is the true nishkama-karma. - Gītā Vahini, p. 229 Verse 26. kāma-krodha-vimuktānām yatīnām yata-cetasām abhito brahma-nirvānam vartate viditātmanām      Desire impels you to go against the established code of social behavior even at the cost of losing your honor and reputation. It makes you get immersed in selfishness and disregard your duty to society and God. It raises its hood in every aspect of your life and turns you into a demon.      Anger destroys your intelligence and warps your judgment. The angry man forfeits success in all his endeavors and invites societal censure. He brings dishonor to himself, to his friends and relatives, who desert him. He is led to sin and thereby ruins his life. - Summer Showers in Brindavan 1979, p. 71 Verse 27-28. sparśān kritvā bahir bāhyāmś cakshuś caivāntare bhruvoh prānāpānau samau kritvā nāsābhyantara-cārinau yatendriya-mano-buddhir munir moksha-parāyanah vigatecchā-bhaya-krodho yah sadā mukta eva sah      Lord Krishna stresses in the Bhagavad Gītā that absolute purity of heart is an essential requisite for treading the path of sacrifice. What is sacrifice? What is it that one must give up? Is it the transient wealth one has? Does sacrifice mean the giving up of one's wife and children? Nay, these are but matters that relate to the environment conditioning man's external life. Sacrifice means giving up one's desires (kāma), anger (krodha), and greed or extreme miserliness (lobha). Man generally identifies himself with the anātmā (non-atma) without realizing his true nature. The reflection of the sky in a pot of water disappears the moment you pour out the water. Likewise, when you recognize the temporal nature of all that is non-ātmā and attribute their ephemeral existence to worldly desires (water), and give them up, you get closer to the ātmā. Unless you sacrifice desire, anger and greed or miserliness, you cannot attain divinity. - Summer Showers 1979, p. 71      Thus, by desire, anger, and greed, man's devotion and wisdom diminish and his actions are tainted. Therefore, Krishna enjoined Arjuna to be free from these vices, to overcome illusion, to develop inner vision and spiritual wisdom, and to follow the path of karma-sannyāsa yoga (the renunciation of the fruits of one's actions.) - Summer Showers in Brindavan 1979, p. 72      In chapter 5, sloka 28, the Gītā says that the muni (wise or self-realized soul) who is eager to attain liberation must be master of his senses, mind, and intellect and he has also to give up iccha (likes and dislikes, preferences), bhaya (fear of something unpleasant or undesirable happening) and krodha (resentment anger, at those who cause disappointment or grief or loss) - vigatecchā-bhaya-krodho - is the expression used. The sloka goes on to say that such a person is already liberated; he has nothing else to do! - Sathya Sai Speaks VII, p. 452 Verse 29. bhoktāram yajña-tapasām sarva-loka-maheśvaram suhridam sarva-bhūtānām jñātvā mām śāntim ricchati          Contents|Links|Preface