November 23, 2023
tyājyaṁ doṣavad ity eke karma prāhur manīṣiṇaḥ
yajñādānatapaḥkarma na tyājyam iti cā ’pare (XVIII-3)
niścayaṁ śṛṇu me tatra tyāge bharatasattama
tyāgo hi puruṣavyāghra trividhaḥ saṁprakīrtitaḥ (XVIII-4)
XVIII/3. Some philosophers declare that action should be
abandoned as an evil; while others (declare) that acts of
sacrifice, gift and austerity should not be relinquished.
XVIII/4. Hear from me the conclusion or the final truth about
this abandonment, O best of the Bharatā; abandonment,
verily, O best of men, has been declared to be of three kinds.
Swamiji's Commentary
Society in those days was divided into two sections. There were those who followed the karma kāṇḍa (ritualistic portion) of the vedā and to whom those rituals were too sacred ever to be abandoned. There were the others who followed the jñāna kāṇḍa (wisdom portion) of the vedā and were convinced that to do anything was to invite rebirth, to enjoy or to suffer the consequences.
The basic philosophy of the latter is sound; but how few can realize that renunciation of the ‘world’ means total abandonment of all attachment, even to one’s own body and the modifications of one’s own mind? Krishna recognizes that that is the goal, though for its achievement no hypocritical abandonment of the world is necessary, but a revolution in the inner attitude, which he has already clearly stated: “While doing all your actions, feel ‘you’ are not doing anything”. This necessarily implies that the saṁnyᾱsī, who realises, ‘I am not doing’, is incapable of withdrawing from life or activity. If, on the other hand, formal renunciation is overemphasized, then the evil pointed out on the previous page cannot be avoided. Such renunciation cancels out the spirit of the scripture.
Who but the Lord can conclusively tell us what the true spirit of renunciation is? Only he knows where and how the devil of human vanity quotes scripture to exploit the gullible. Arjuna had also prayed to the Lord to be definite and conclusive in his instructions. Hence, Krishna’s declaration that what follows is the final truth.