Chapter XVIII : Moksha Sannyasa Yoga

THE YOGA OF LIBERATION BY RENUNCIATION

Arjuna said:

I desire to know severally, O mighty-armed, the essence of Sannyasa, O Hrishikesa, as also Tyaga, O Kesinisudana (slayer of Kesi).

The Blessed Lord said:

Sages understand .Sannyasa. to be the renouncing of works with desires; the wise declare the abandonment of the fruits of all works as Tyaga. Acts of sacrifice, gift and austerity should not be relinquished, but should be performed; sacrifice, gift, and also austerity are the purifiers of the wise.

These five causes, O mighty-armed, know thou from Me as declared in the Sankhya system for the accomplishment of all actions. The body, the actor, the various organs, the several functions of various sorts and the presiding deities also, the fifth. He who is free from the notion of egoism, whose intellect is not affected (by good or evil), though he kills these people, he kills not, nor is bound by the action.

• An action which is ordained, done without love or hatred by one not desirous of the fruit and free from attachment, is declared to be Sattvic.
• But that action which is done by one longing for desires or again with egoism or with much effort, is declared to be Rajasic.
• The action which is undertaken from delusion, without regarding the consequence, loss of wealth, injury (to others) and one.s own ability, that is declared to be Tamasic.

• That which knows the paths of action and renunciation, what ought to be done and what ought not to be done, fear and fearlessness, bondage and liberation, that intellect, O Partha, is Sattvic.
• That by which one wrongly understands right (Dharma) and wrong (Adharma), and also what ought to be done and what ought not to be done, that intellect, O partha, is Rajasic.
• That which enveloped in darkness regards wrong (Adharma) as right (Dharma) and sees all things in a perverted light, that intellect, O Partha, is Tamasic.

• That which is like poison at first but like nectar in the end; that happiness is said to be Sattvic, born of the blissful knowledge of the Self.
• That pleasure which arises from the contact of the senses with their objects, at first like nectar but in the end like poison, that is declared to be Rajasic.
• That pleasure which both at first and afterwards is delusion of the Self, arising from sleep; indolence and heedlessness, that is declared to be Tamasic.

Dwelling in solitude, eating but little, speech, body and mind controlled, ever engaged in meditation and concentration, taking refuge in dispassion, having abandoned egoism, violence, arrogance, desire, anger, covetousness, freed from the notion of mine and peaceful, he is fit for becoming Brahman. Becoming Brahman, tranquil-minded, he neither grieves nor desires the same to all beings, he attains supreme devotion to Me. By devotion he knows Me in reality, what and who I am; then having known Me in reality, he forthwith enters into the Supreme.

The Lord dwells in the hearts of all beings, O Arjuna, causing all beings, by His Maya, to revolve as if mounted on a machine. Take refuge in Him with all thy heart, O Bharata; by His grace thou shalt attain supreme peace and the eternal abode. Fix thy mind in Me, be My devotee, sacrifice to Me, bow down to Me, thou shalt reach Myself; truly do I promise unto thee, for thou art dear to Me. Abandoning all duties take refuge in Me alone; I will liberate thee from all sins; grieve not. Has this been heard by thee, O Partha, with an attentive mind? Has thy delusion caused by ignorance been destroyed, O Dhananjaya?

Arjuna said:

My delusion is destroyed, and I have gained knowledge through Thy grace, O Achyuta (O Immutable One), I am firm; my doubts have vanished. Iwill do according to Thy word. Wherever is Krishna, the Lord of Yoga, wherever is Partha, the archer, there are prosperity, victory, happiness and sound policy, so I think.

Hari Om Tat Sat. Om Santi! Santi! Santi!