यं संन्यासमिति प्राहुर्योगं तं विद्धि पाण्डव ।
न ह्यसंन्यस्तसंकल्पो योगी भवति कश्चन ॥६-२॥
Transliteration:
Lord Krishna says: O Arjuna that which is called sanyasa can also rightly be called yoga for the end goal of the two always remains the same. We may proceed towards God via any path of yoga… our goal always remains reaching God at the earliest! Whether we indulged in nishkama karma yoga, offering fruits of karma performed to God Almighty all the time or path of sanyasa karma, wherein we treated God Almighty as the doer of all things cosmic. When everything in cosmos belonged to God Almighty… the question of I, our ego did not exist! Total submission to God Almighty in all respects is what sanyasa karma all about.
Path of Sankhya yoga (jnana yoga) demands our establishing absolute control over five senses and mind. Those who find themselves incapable of controlling their desires and passions could never travel path of jnana yoga ever in life. To follow path of karma yoga or jnana yoga (path of absolute wisdom)… one had to establish total control over five senses and mind. Path to God Almighty was not that easy. It required highest level of patience, persistence and perseverance that could ever be practiced by human beings! A true Yogi steadily step-by-step establishes firm control over five senses. The moment we established absolute control over five senses… control over mind power comes automatically!
Seekers of God travelled path of Sankhya yoga (jnana yoga) to negate their karma to zero. The purpose of karma yoga also was negation of karma to zero. We engaged in karma to reduce dross impurities within our soul atman, the spirit within. This was also the purpose of path of jnana yoga (absolute wisdom). Normal human beings who clung to ephemeral riches of life preferred travelling path of religion (path of rituals)… that never led to God Almighty! Why travel path of religion (rituals), when we had no definite goal of life? Pretensions, make-believe world of religion never lay in domain of God Almighty. Our soul atman manifested human form to cleanse self of dross impurity within. There was no other reason for souls’ atmans manifesting human body!
The Explanation:
Comparing sanyasa with yoga makes it clear that all spiritual goals lead to god Almighty! One who had a fixed goal of reaching God in present life can do it via path of karma yoga and bhakti yoga or path of jnana yoga (Sankhya yoga). Both paths led to God Almighty. How? By indulging in Sankhya yoga, jnana yoga… path of sanyasa human beings wanted to badly reach God. Those indulging in path of nishkama karma yoga also wanted to reach God by offering fruits of all karma performed to God Almighty all the time.
A Sankhya Yogi, Jnana Yogi is absolutely clear about one thing… that unless we dissolved our ego in totality… we could never reach God! For a Sankhya Yogi, Jnana Yogi… when everything belonged to God Almighty… even karma, fruits of karma performed also belonged to God Almighty. The futility of clinging to our ego (Aham in Hinduism) was meaningless. By letting go our ego (Aham)… we surrendered in totality to God Almighty! All our indulgences, our karma were for the sake of reaching God.
All indulgences in our actions, senses, buddhi (intellect) and mind were directed towards God Almighty. As per Adi Shankaracharya… when God Almighty (termed Brahman in Hinduism) was the only truth of life… how could our actions, karma… buddhi (intellect) and mind be directed towards any other thing! Path of bhakti yoga involves total surrender to God Almighty which in present scientific age is extremely difficult to practice… prime reason why Lord Krishna says that in present Kali Yuga… dark age, metal age it is only through path of karma yoga and jnana yoga human beings reached God!
Travelers of religious path… who found it extremely difficult to establish control over five senses and mind must never pretend to be a Yogi! For establishing control over five senses… we had to curtail our desires and wishes! Making vows and promises at every stage of religious life… also carried no meaning! By travelling path of jnana yoga… we have not to gain anything. Rather, path of jnana yoga helps removal of ignorance from within! Dross impurities, ignorance is inherent in all human beings from beginning of life. It is only through path of karma and jnana yoga… we become wiser in spiritual affairs of life!
Standing in battlefield facing Kaurava clan… Arjuna decides not to fight! It is at this stage Lord Krishna advises Arjuna to forego his ego and work for welfare of entire mankind! For saving lives of millions, if few get sacrificed in battlefield… then no sin is incurred. To finish evil forces of adharma (lawlessness) and re-establish dharma (righteousness), Arjuna had to indulge in karma yoga… no matter what! Prime reason why battle of Mahabharata is also termed dharma yuddha! The moment Arjuna surrendered his ego in totality… he readied himself to fight his enemy! As per Lord Krishna… laws of karma are applicable in all circumstances of life!
As we sow so shall we reap… nothing less or more! In a nutshell, Lord Krishna advised Arjuna to follow any path to reach absolute truth. As per Lord Krishna, Arjuna was free to follow either path of sanyasa, Sankhya yoga… jnana yoga or path of nishkama karma yoga. As following all paths Arjuna would have finally ended fighting his enemy… Lord Krishna was never disturbed on account of what path Arjuna would take! Lord Krishna asking Arjuna to lift battle gear announced that Dharma (righteousness) had to be established at all costs. It was not for Arjuna to choose… as destiny of mankind lay in hands of Lord Krishna alone!
Commentary by: Vijay Kumar “Atma Jnani”… The Man who Realized God in 1993 – April 24, 2013
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