Gita 05.03 – Renunciation in action is lasting renunciation

Ke yahan sanitya sannyasi yo na dveshti na kankshati nirdvandvo hi mahabaho sukham vandhar pramuchyate ke yahan sanitya sannyasi ke yahan no, that person to be anitya sannyasi, constant nunciate, who is that person yo na dveshti na kankshati that person who does not resent nor hankers nirdvandvo hi mahabaho that person stays free from dualities and mahabaho, Arjuna you are a powerful warrior, sukham vandhar pramuchyate this person happily becomes liberated from vandhar, from bondage becomes happily liberated so this is Krishna answering Arjuna's question about how one can about what is better whether karma sannyas is better or karma yoga is better, so in the previous verse Krishna has stated that both are good but karma yoga is better and now he is continuing that answer and he states here that ke yahan lo sanitya sannyasi no, that person is a constant renunciate, yo na dveshti na kankshati one who does not resent and one who does not crave so now nitya sannyasi what does nitya sannyasi mean actually there is a karma sannyasi who gives up karma and that person becomes a sannyasi, Krishna is contrasting that by introducing a new term here it is new in this discussion, nitya sannyasi one who is constantly a renunciate what this means is that the person is far from being a someone who earlier was not a renunciate and then becomes a renunciate, rather this person by the internal disposition of detachment is always renounced Krishna is is broadening Arjuna's conception so that instead of seeing things in terms of black and white this is karma sannyas, this is karma yoga and which is better, Krishna is saying that actually whatever are the good qualities whatever is the good result that comes from karma sannyas that can come from karma yoga also, so in one sense Krishna is using the word nitya sannyasi to refer to a karma yogi because a person actually does karma but while doing karma normally when we do work if we get the desired result, we are happy and if we don't get the desired result, we are unhappy we resent so before doing the action before doing a particular action, we crave for a particular result and if we don't get the result we get some contrary result then we resent that result so in this way we actually stay or keep ourselves bound in illusion the way out of this is to be able to recognize that ultimately these material dualities are insubstantial either I get something or I don't get something actually happiness is not found in such things and therefore let me stay beyond duality now when we say nirdvandu, what does it mean? actually it is not possible for a person to be free from duality because duality is the characteristic of material existence itself so being free from duality, being beyond duality nirdvandu means that not that the dualities end but a person raises one's consciousness to a height where one does not perceive the duality so nirdvandu, himaha, baho that person is nirdvandu just like if we are going through a road and along the road there is it's a road is bumpy it is jerky and we get irritated by the ride the terrain is rough so then it's an uncomfortable ride on the other hand if it's an expressway with a very smooth road then the journey is very smooth and comfortable so when we are on the road the smoothness or the roughness of the terrain is a duality that we encounter but if we are flying in a plane above the road then going in the same direction as the vehicle which is going on the ground we are not affected by the roughness or the smoothness of the terrain because we are high above so the roughness or the smoothness of the terrain is still there, it's a reality but because we are not at that level of reality we are at a higher level, we are flying in an airplane or a helicopter basically flying, then we are not affected by the topography of the terrain by the topography so similarly as long as we are in also material consciousness then material ups and downs affect us tremendously so if material success is all that we know about is our only conception of happiness and then when we don't get material success then it is a big big jolt for us and similarly when we get material happiness then there is great elation but when our consciousness is raised upwards so that we have a broader picture of reality we perceive that reality is not just material there is a transcendental spiritual reality also and what happens in the spiritual reality is far more substantial far more consequential far more fulfilling than what happens in the material reality when we understand this then we are no longer tempted by what happens at the material level, instead we work at the spiritual level for our purification for our growth for our liberation so we act according to our best interests without being unduly shaken by the worldly ups and downs we are still aware of what's happening at the what kind of terrain is there below us but we are not affected now we may wonder is it actually possible to be detached from worldly things like this yes, there are different kinds of attachments that we have and there are different levels of detachment that are possible for example, a person who has never drunk alcohol, for that person, whether there is alcohol available or not at a particular party makes no difference person may not even notice whether alcohol is there or not but for somebody who is hooked to alcohol, the presence of alcohol will bring elation and the absence of alcohol will bring disappointment or say somebody is not attached to baseball but is in an area where people are fans of baseball, the fans go up and down as the fortunes of their favorite team shifts in the baseball match but one who is not attached, that person is not affected, so like that when we understand that we are different from the object of our attachment and different not just in a, we obviously know that baseball players know that they are physically different from the baseball players in the baseball team but we are not talking just about physical difference, we are talking about emotional distance the baseball match may be going on thousands of miles away but the baseball fans are through the television are so caught in that match that it is as if they are on the sports field so they get affected because they may physical distance but there is no emotional distance, rather there is very there is emotional proximity but when there is emotional distance there is detachment and the person does not get affected so similarly the less we are attached to things, the less we will be affected by worldly dualities and then we can function with a higher purpose in mind, the purpose of making a long-term contribution for our own spiritual growth and for the world's spiritual well-being, for the world's all-round well-being in fact, so that way the person who works the spiritual purpose is working for a higher purpose and in that way the person can say nirdvandvo and because the person is raised above the material dualities so that person is not affected by the ups and downs in that way can abide the more the person acts more the yogi, karma yogi acts with detachment the more that karma yogi realizes the virtue the glory of that detachment and how it keeps me peaceful, how it keeps me strong at all times and in that way the karma yogi can transcend can grow in realization and eventually transcend the misery of material existence so this is the nature of material existence that is talked about in this verse and the nature of how the nature of material existence with its duality is transcended by the nitya sanyasi and as a person acts in this world but because of living at a higher level of consciousness is not affected by the actions but is rather instead instead of being affected adversely that person is progressively liberated through the actions thank you.