Bhagavad Gita
Chapter V — The Religion of Renouncing Works
Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa18854 min read
Bhagavad GitaKrishnaBhakti
Arjuna
Yet, Krishna! at the one time thou dost laudSurcease of works, and, at another time,Service through work. Of these twain plainly tellWhich is the better way?
Krishna
To cease from worksIs well, and to do works in holinessIs well; and both conduct to bliss supreme;But of these twain the better way is hisWho working piously refraineth not.
That is the true Renouncer, firm and fixed,Who--seeking nought, rejecting nought--dwells proofAgainst the "opposites." O valiant Prince!In doing, such breaks lightly from all deed:'Tis the new scholar talks as they were two,This Sankhya and this Yoga: wise men knowWho husbands one plucks golden fruit of both!The region of high rest which Sankhyans reachYogins attain. Who sees these twain as oneSees with clear eyes! Yet such abstraction, Chief!Is hard to win without much holiness.Whoso is fixed in holiness, self-ruled,Pure-hearted, lord of senses and of self,Lost in the common life of all which lives--A "Yogayukt"--he is a Saint who wendsStraightway to Brahm. Such an one is not touchedBy taint of deeds. "Nought of myself I do!"Thus will he think-who holds the truth of truths--In seeing, hearing, touching, smelling; whenHe eats, or goes, or breathes; slumbers or talks,Holds fast or loosens, opes his eyes or shuts;Always assured "This is the sense-world playsWith senses."He that acts in thought of Brahm,Detaching end from act, with act content,The world of sense can no more stain his soulThan waters mar th' enamelled lotus-leaf.With life, with heart, with mind,-nay, with the helpOf all five senses--letting selfhood go--Yogins toil ever towards their souls' release.Such votaries, renouncing fruit of deeds,Gain endless peace: the unvowed, the passion-bound,Seeking a fruit from works, are fastened down.The embodied sage, withdrawn within his soul,At every act sits godlike in "the townWhich hath nine gateways," neither doing aughtNor causing any deed. This world's Lord makesNeither the work, nor passion for the work,Nor lust for fruit of work; the man's own selfPushes to these! The Master of this WorldTakes on himself the good or evil deedsOf no man--dwelling beyond! Mankind errs hereBy folly, darkening knowledge. But, for whomThat darkness of the soul is chased by light,Splendid and clear shines manifest the TruthAs if a Sun of Wisdom sprang to shedIts beams of dawn. Him meditating still,Him seeking, with Him blended, stayed on Him,The souls illuminated take that roadWhich hath no turning back--their sins flung offBy strength of faith. [Who will may have this Light;Who hath it sees.] To him who wisely sees,The Brahman with his scrolls and sanctities,The cow, the elephant, the unclean dog,The Outcast gorging dog's meat, are all one.
The world is overcome--aye! even here!By such as fix their faith on Unity.The sinless Brahma dwells in Unity,And they in Brahma. Be not over-gladAttaining joy, and be not over-sadEncountering grief, but, stayed on Brahma, stillConstant let each abide! The sage whose soulHolds off from outer contacts, in himselfFinds bliss; to Brahma joined by piety,His spirit tastes eternal peace. The joysSpringing from sense-life are but quickening wombsWhich breed sure griefs: those joys begin and end!The wise mind takes no pleasure, Kunti's Son!In such as those! But if a man shall learn,Even while he lives and bears his body's chain,To master lust and anger, he is blest!He is the Yukta; he hath happiness,Contentment, light, within: his life is mergedIn Brahma's life; he doth Nirvana touch!Thus go the Rishis unto rest, who dwellWith sins effaced, with doubts at end, with heartsGoverned and calm. Glad in all good they live,Nigh to the peace of God; and all those liveWho pass their days exempt from greed and wrath,Subduing self and senses, knowing the Soul!
The Saint who shuts outside his placid soulAll touch of sense, letting no contact through;Whose quiet eyes gaze straight from fixed brows,Whose outward breath and inward breath are drawnEqual and slow through nostrils still and close;That one-with organs, heart, and mind constrained,Bent on deliverance, having put awayPassion, and fear, and rage;--hath, even now,Obtained deliverance, ever and ever freed.Yea! for he knows Me Who am He that heedsThe sacrifice and worship, God revealed;And He who heeds not, being Lord of Worlds,Lover of all that lives, God unrevealed,Wherein who will shall find surety and shield!
HERE ENDS CHAPTER V. OF THE BHAGAVAD-GITA,Entitled "Karmasanyasayog,"Or "The Book of Religion by Renouncing Fruit of Works."