5.3 Renunciation

11. The yogis understand that pursuing material desires in the pursuit of happiness is as futile as chasing the mirage in the desert. Realizing this, they renounce selfish desires, and perform all their actions for the pleasure of God, who alone is the bhoktāraṁ yajña tapasām (Supreme enjoyer of all activities). However, in this verse, Shree Krishna brings a new twist to the samarpaṇ (dedication of works to God). He says the enlightened yogis perform their works for the purpose of purification. How then do the works get dedicated to God?

The fact is that God needs nothing from us. He is the Supreme Lord of everything that exists and is perfect and complete in Himself. What can a tiny soul offer to the Almighty God, that God does not already possess? Hence, it is customary while making an offering to God to say: tvadiyaṁ vastu govinda tubhyameva samarpitaṁ "O God, I am offering Your item back to You." Expressing a similar sentiment, Saint Yamunacharya states:

"O Lord Vishnu, husband of the Goddess of Fortune, when I was in ignorance, I thought I would give You many things. But now when I have gained knowledge, I realize that everything I own is already Yours. What then can I offer to You?"

However, there is one activity that is in our hands and not in God's hands; that is the purification of our own heart (mind and intellect). When we purify our heart and engage it in devotion to God, it pleases Him more than anything else. Realizing this, the great yogis make purification of their heart as the foremost goal, not out of selfishness, rather for the pleasure of God.

Thus, the yogis understand that the biggest thing they can give to God is the purity of their own hearts and they work to achieve it. In the Ramayan, there is a sweet illustration of this principle. Lord Ram found Sugreev to be somewhat frightened before the battle of Lanka so He consoled him in the following manner:

Lord Ram said, "If I, the Supreme Lord, merely bend the little finger of My left hand, what to speak of Ravan and Kumbhakarn, all the demons in the world will die." Sugreev responded, "If that is the case, my Lord, then in order to kill Ravan, what is the need for collecting this army?" The Lord replied, "That is merely to give you all the opportunity to engage in devotional service for your own purification. However, do not assume that I need your help in annihilating these demons."

Our only permanent asset is the purity that we achieve. It goes with us into the next life, while all material assets get left behind. Hence in the final analysis, the success and failure of our life is determined by the extent to which we manage to achieve purity of heart. With this in view, elevated yogis welcome adverse circumstances, because they see them as opportunities for purifying the heart. Saint Kabir states:

"If you are desirous of quickly cleansing your heart, cultivate the company of a critic. When you tolerate his acrimonious words, your heart will be cleansed without water and soap." Thus, when purification of the heart is made the prime motive of actions, adversarial circumstances are then welcomed as God-sent opportunities for further progress, and one remains in equanimity in both success and failure. As we work for the pleasure of God, the heart gets purified; and as the heart gets purified, we naturally offer the results of all our actions to the Supreme Lord.

12. How is it to be understood that performing the same actions some people are bound to material existence and others are released from material bondage? Shree Krishna gives the answer in this verse. Those who are unattached and unmotivated by material rewards are never bound by karma. But those craving reward and obsessed with the desire to enjoy material pleasures become entangled in the reactions of work.

The word yukt means "united in consciousness with God." It can also mean "not wanting any reward other than purification of the heart." Persons who are yukt relinquish desire for the rewards of their actions, and instead engage in works for the purpose of self-purification. Therefore, they soon attain divine consciousness and eternal beatitude.

On the other hand, ayukt means "not united with God in consciousness." It can also denote "desiring mundane rewards not beneficial to the soul." Such persons, incited by cravings, lustfully desire the rewards of actions. The reactions of work performed in this consciousness bind these ayukt persons to the samsara or the cycle of life and death.

13. Shree Krishna compares the body with its openings to a city of nine gates. The soul is like the king of the city, whose administration is carried out by the ministry of the ego, intellect, mind, senses, and life-energy. The reign over the body continues until time, in the form of death, snatches away the corporeal frame. However, even while the reign continues, the enlightened yogis do not see themselves as the body nor do they consider themselves as the lord of the body. Rather, they hold the body and all activities performed by it as belonging to God. Renouncing all actions through the mind, such enlightened souls remain happily situated in their body. This is also called sākṣhī bhāv, or the attitude of being the detached observer of all that is happening around.

The analogy in this verse is also given in the Śhwetāśhvatar Upaniṣhad:

"The body consists of nine gates—two ears, one mouth, two nostrils, two eyes, anus, and genitals. In material consciousness, the soul residing with the body identifies itself with this city of nine gates. Within this body also sits the Supreme Lord, who is the controller of all living beings in the world. When the soul establishes its connection with the Lord, it becomes free like Him, even while residing in the body."

In the preceding verse, Shree Krishna declared that the embodied soul is neither the doer nor the cause of anything. Then the question arises whether God is the actual cause of actions in the world? This is answered in the next verse.

14. In this verse, the word Prabhu has been used for God, to indicate that He is the Lord of the world. He is also omnipotent and controls the entire universe. Yet, though He conducts the activities of the universe, He remains the non-doer. He is neither the director of our actions, nor does He decree whether we will perform a particular virtuous or evil deed. Had He been our director, there would be no need for elaborate instructions on good and bad actions. All the scriptures would have ended in three short sentences: "O souls, I am the director of all your works. So you do not need to understand what good or bad action is. I will make you do as I wish."

Similarly, God is not responsible for our getting stuck with the sense of doership. If He had deliberately created the pride of doing in us, then again we could have blamed Him for our misdoings. But the fact is that the soul brings this pride onto itself out of ignorance. If the soul chooses to do away with the ignorance, then God helps dispel it with His grace.

Thus, renunciation of the sense of doership is the responsibility of the soul. The body is constituted of the three modes of material nature, and all actions are performed by the modes. But out of ignorance, the soul identifies with the body and becomes implicated as the doer of actions, which are in fact done by material nature.