Gita 12.06 Devotional renunciation centers not on what we renounce but on for whom we renounce

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Thank you. Bhagavad Gita 12.6 ये तु सर्वानी कर्मानी मैं सन्यस्यमत परहा अनन्ये नई वयोगेना मां ध्यायन्त उपासते So here Krishna is speaking to Arjuna and he is talking about ultimate principles here.

He's talking about the ultimate process of devotion and how it is preferable to the process of impersonal worship. There is a cyclicity here that can be appreciated. The cyclicity centers on understanding that the context.

Arjuna started with the question of which is better, impersonal, worshipping the impersonal absolute or the personal absolute. That was 12.1. Krishna answered in 12.2 by stating that the personal worship is better. And then 12.3, 12.4 and 12.5 talks about impersonal worship.

12.5 states that impersonal worship involves klesha, nirsudhukha, klesho dhiktas tesha, avyakta asat chetasam, avyakta higatir dukkham deha vadhiravapyate. That was 12.5 and 12.6 and 7 is unit. And in 12.7 Krishna will say that तेशामः समुद्धर्ता नुत्यु संसार सागरात् भवामिनचिरात् पार्थम् मयावेशित चेतसाम् So he will say that for such people, I am the swift deliverer.

So Krishna talks about how his personal intervention helps those who are on the path of bhakti. And what are the characteristics of those people who are on the path of bhakti that is talked about in 12.7. That was talked about in 12.6. So 12.7 uses the pronoun तेशाम to refer to them. And who are those तेशाम that is referred to in this verse 12.6. येतु सर्वाणि कर्माणि मैं सन्यस्य Those who renounce all the fruits of work, do their work for Krishna's sake.

सर्वाणि कर्माणि मैं सन्यस्य The significant point here is not just सन्यस्य, but मैं सन्यस्य. That means, it's not just that they renounce their work, they renounce for Krishna's sake. It is not renunciation for renunciation's sake, it is renunciation for Krishna's sake.

And that implies that their purpose is Krishna. Their purpose is not rejection of the world, their purpose is connection with Krishna. So the Bhagavad Gita gives us a vision of renunciation that centres not on what we renounce, but for whom we renounce.

Not what we turn away from, but what we turn towards. That is the distinctive vision of renunciation. So in the Gyanamarga, renunciation is valued.

Because there also it is understood that renunciation is ultimately for liberation. But renunciation itself is considered a fairly high value. In contrast, in devotion, the purpose of renunciation is primarily connection with Krishna.

And that connection with Krishna is established through the practice of bhakti. Through one's intention to serve Krishna and one's action to serve Krishna. And that's why action itself is not given up in the process of bhakti.

Action is actually embraced for the service of Krishna. So here the theme is, sarvāṇi karmāṇi mai sannyāsya They renounce it for my sake. matparaha matparaha means actually they are focused on me.

Their goal is to attain me. Their goal is, I am their ultimate aspiration. The word matparaha comes repeatedly in the Bhagavad Gita.

First time it came in 2.61. tani sarvāṇi sannyāmyayuktāsita matparaha vaśehi asya indriyāyitasya prajñāpratiṣhitaḥ matparaha With me as their supreme goal. Just recently, in the 11th chapter, also this word has come when Krishna speaks about the fact that we all are meant to be like those who work for him also. In 11.55 he says that matkarmakrun matparamo matbhaktasangavarjitaḥ nirvairah sarvabhuteshu yaḥ samāmeti pāṇḍavaḥ There also he said that matparamo matparaha and matparamo are similar in their import.

In Krishna, the supreme goal. So, ye tu sarvāṇi karmāṇi mayi sannyāsya matparaha ananya naiva yogena māṁ dhāyanta upāsate ananya naiva ananya That means without any distraction. Ananya is other.

Ananya is no other. So, ananya means this is devotion that is fixed on Krishna, not distracted to anyone else. ananya naiva and then yogena by the practice of yoga.

māṁ dhāyanta upāsate māṁ dhāyanta That 8. Yogis focus on devoting themselves to Krishna. māṁ dhāyanta They meditate on him. upāsate They worship him.

So, this is significant. The word upāsate was there, right? The word upāsate is coming repeatedly in this section because it came in Arjuna's question. evam satata-yuktāhi bhaktāstvāṁ upāsate ecchāpya kṣaraṁ avyaktaṁ teṣhāṁ ke yogavittam ahaṁ So, since that time the word upāsate has come and here Krishna is making it clear that makparaham māṁ dhāyanta upāsate that the yogis meditate on me and they worship me and I am their goal.

The impersonalists may also worship Krishna. They may also meditate on Krishna but they may some of them see him as a tool to the impersonal Brahman. That is not the vision that Krishna asks his devotees to have.

The vision that Krishna asks for his devotees is that they worship him for his sake. That they worship him so that they can attain him. That is the aspiration with which they should work.

mā ānanyenaiva yogena māṁ dhāyanta upāsate Such are the devotees who will be specially helped by Krishna. What that help will be will be mentioned in the next verse. But a quick recap.

What kind of devotees is Krishna asking us to become here? We renounce the work for his sake. That means we work for him and we make him our goal. Sometimes people work in a job but their goal is something else.

That is not the job, not the satisfaction of the boss, that is their own career or whatever else. Now since work for me and work for me in both senses. You work as per what I have told me, you work for me and then you work for me.

That means you work for attaining me. And then do not be distracted to anything else. ānanyenaiva yogena māṁ dhāyanta upāsate and then worship me, meditate on me with me as the goal.

So the karma indicates the external part and the dhāyanta indicates the internal part. So Krishna is asking us to be his devotees both externally and internally. Thank you.