THE HOLY GITA . CHAPTER 4, JNANA KARMA SANYASA YOGA OR THE YOGA OF RENUNCIATION OR ACTION IN KNOWLEDGE OR THE WAY OF KNOWLEDGE, VERSE NUMBER 21.

THE HOLY GITA

CHAPTER 4

JNANA KARMA SANYASA YOGA OR THE YOGA OF RENUNCIATION OF ACTION IN KNOWLEDGE OR THE WAY OF KNOWLEDGE:

VERSE NUMBER 21

Text in Transliteration

niraaseer yatachittaatmaa tyakta sarva parigrahah

saareeram kevalam karma kurvan naa ‘pnoti kilbisham

Text in English:

Hoping for naught, his mind and self controlled, having abandoned all possessions, performing karma by the body alone, he incurs no sin

COMMENTARY BY SWAMI SIDBHAVANANDA:

That karma is classified as sin which retards the moral and spiritual growth of man. Sins are all born of desire. a yogi is he who has conquered desire; so he incurs no sin. His body, mind and senses get themselves purified because of desirelessness. Nobody makes exclusive ownership over air so essential to living. Similar is the attitude of the yogi towards all bodily requirements, which he reduces to the bare minimum. He avoids accepting gifts that would put him under obligation. Owning unnecessary things would distract the mind. There is no thought in him of ownership of the few things kept for proper physical sustenance. He who maintains this state of mind is said to have abandoned all possessions. Useful bodily activities take place in him automatically. The consciousness in him is released from the material plane to revel in the glory of Atman. The question of sinning does not arise in this exalted state.

How will bodily sustenance be kept up if no thought be bestowed on material possessions? The answer comes in the next sloka or stanza.

COMMENTARY BY DR.S.RADHAKRISHNAN:

Saareeram karma is work required for the maintenance of the body according to Shankar and Madhusoodana. It is work done by the body alone according to Vedaanta Desika.

Virtue or vice does not belong to the outer deed. When a man is rid of his passions and self-will, he becomes a mirror reflecting the will of the Divine. The human soul becomes the pure channel of Divine power.

COMMENTARY BY SWAMI SIVANANDA:

The liberated sage renounces all actions except what is necessary for the bare maintenance of the body. He has abandoned all possessions. He incurs no sin which will cause evil effects. For a man who thirsts for the liberation (Mumukshu) even righteous activity (Dharma) is a sin as it causes bondage to Samsara. Dharma is a golden fetter for him. A golden fetter is also fetter. A sage is liberated from both Dharma and Adharma, good and evil or virtue and vice. (Cf. III.7)

Comments by the blogger:

Time and again, the Lord explains through various viewpoints and angles, the nature and greatness of a man who performs bodily functions alone lives in this world. He gives up all possessions since his self-possession is a greater than any other worldly possession. He gives up hopes too. No hopes about himself. No possessions. He simply performs that rudimentary karma like bathing, eating, drinking and sleeping. It is to maintain his body. Because without the body we cannot work for emancipation! The body is a sheath for our soul, and to realise the same we need to indulge in the minimum karma.

He is a muni or ascetic. Then who will look after his bodily welfare? Why it is the society’s duty to look after such a great soul. This necessitates grahasthas or householders who have hopes for themselves and their family members! Such householders have and covet possessions. They work to earn and improve their lots. Thus it is the householders, who are worldly who should look after the sages. The sages do not work to earn money. They exist only by begging. When they come to our doorsteps we must give them food.

Nowadays, fake fakirs and fake ascetics have increased who are none other than beggars and idlers. They know the Indians have the greatest of devotion and respect to the ochre clothes and utilising the same, they come to our doorsteps posing as ascetics. This is present Indian scene. In the ancient India not only Hindu fakirs, but there were Buddha fakirs and Jain fakirs in India! They were all welcomed by the Hindu rulers. The society looked up to them. There was much respect for the ochre clothes. But now a day, there are both genuine fakirs and abject idlers. We have got to be discerning. Using the respect for the ochre clothes a multi-millionaire ascetic was caught in camera as he was making love to a woman disciple. He ran away to North India. And the long arm of the Law reached him their and arrested him. Then he was released. Even after such exposure, the man in ochre clothes is going on as usual. His million dollar game is going great guns. It is we who should be sound in our Judgment.