RELINQUISHMENT
nishchayam shrinu me tatra tyaage bharatasattama
tyaago hi purushavyaaghra trividhah samprakeertitah // 18.4 //
Hear from Me the conclusion or the final truth about this relinquishment, O Best of the Bharatas; relinquishment verily, O Best of Men, has been declared to be of three kinds.
Sri Krishna promises Arjuna that He will explain what constitutes Tyaga or spirit of relinquishment and its various kinds.
yajnadaanataph karma na tyaajyam kaaryameva tat
yajno daanam tapashchaiva paavanaani maneeshinaam // 18.5 //
Acts of sacrifice, gift and austerity should not be given up, but should be performed; for verily sacrifice, gift and also austerity are the purifiers of the wise.
The Lord says that practice of worship, charity and austerity should not be given up because these activities bring about a discipline in the mind and its inner peace and equilibrium which are necessary for spiritual unfoldment and final experience of the Infinite.
etaanyapi tu karmaani sangam tyaktwaa phalaani cha
kartavyaaneeti me paartha nischitam matamuttamam // 18.6 //
But even these actions should be performed leaving aside attachment and the desire for rewards, O Partha, this is My certain and conclusive conviction.
Even these actions viz. sacrifice (Yajna), charity (Dana) and austerity (Tapas) should be performed without any attachment i.e. without any sense of egoism and desire for its rewards. Ego and its desires are the components of attachment. When ego tries to satisfy its desires it develops a relationship with the outside world of things and beings. This relationship is attachment. If any action is performed with attachment, the expectations of its fruits affect the efficiency in the action undertaken.
To be rid of attachment and to be free from anxieties regarding the fruits of actions that will accrue at a future time are the roots of the Krishna doctrine in the Gita. Detachment is not a matter of outward action or inaction; it is the possession of the impersonal outlook and inner renunciation of ego while performing action.
THREE KINDS OF RENUNCIATION
niyatasya tu sannyaasah karmano nopapadyate
mohaattasya parityaagas taamasah parikeertitah // 18.7 //
Verily the renunciation of obligatory action is not proper; the relinquishment of the same from delusion is declared to be Tamasic.
Relinquishment of obligatory duties is considered as the worst. Obligatory duties mean unavoidable duties such as daily worship and special duties such as certain rituals on special occasions both individually and from the view point of the society in which one lives. As the performance of these duties makes the aspirant’s heart pure, giving up of such duties is considered as Tamasic.
duhkhamityeva yat karma kaayakleshabhayaat tyajet
sa kritwaa raajasam tyaagam naiva tyaagaphalam labhet // 18.8 //
He, who abandons action from the fear of bodily trouble because it is painful, does not obtain the merit of renunciation by doing such Rajasic renunciation.
If anyone gives up his obligatory duties because they are painful or on account of fear of bodily suffering such Tyaga is considered as Rajasic because for a man of action to perform his duties only so long as they are not risky to his person is no heroism at all. Hence The Lord says that such a person shall not attain any fruit of his renunciation.
kaaryamityeva yatkarma niyatam kriyate'rjuna
sangam tyaktwaa phalam chaiva sa tyaagah saatwiko matah // 18.9 //
Whatever obligatory action is done, O Arjuna, merely because it ought to be done, abandoning attachment and also the fruit, that renunciation is regarded as Sattvic.
A man of pure nature performs actions that have fallen to his lot in accordance with his capacity and inherent nature. He is not filled with pride in performing action nor does he hope to gain any reward therefrom. When a man performs his obligatory duties without the spirit of doership and selfishness, his mind is purified and becomes fit for Self Realization. This kind of renunciation of attachment in performing action as also the expectation of the rewards of such action is considered Sattvic.
It will be noted from the above three verses that the discussion is not so much about what is to be renounced as to how and where one should act. Thus the concept of Tyaga in the Gita is a subjective renunciation of selfishness and desire in the field of activity and not giving up the world and one's duties and actions in it. Acting in the outside world, renouncing ego and egocentric desires, an individual grows in inward purity.
na dweshtyakushalam karma kushale naanushajjate
tyaagi sattvasamaavishto medhaavee chhinnasamshayah // 18.10 //
The man of renunciation, intelligent and pervaded by purity, with his doubts dispelled, has no aversion to disagreeable work and no attachment to agreeable action.
The question how does such a person, purified through Sattvic Tyaga, gain the highest spiritual experience is answered here.
A man of Sattvic relinquishment never hates any disagreeable work and environment nor gets attached to any agreeable fields of action and favorable scheme of things. He does his duties under all circumstances, agreeable or disagreeable, without getting elated when successful or dejected when faced with obstacles.
He is not overwhelmed by joy or sorrow; he is always equanimous. He is independent of the happenings around him. Even the low impulses like jealousy, anger, passion, greed etc. do not influence him. He does not become a victim of his own mental impressions, Vasanas.
Such a man is considered to be pervaded by purity. He is said to be educated, cultured and with clear vision of his goal without getting hampered by all sorts of doubts. He is termed a man of understanding, a Medhavi.
He knows his field of activity and his own divine nature. He is fully aware of the instruments of action and his relationship with the world outside. But a majority of people identify themselves with doership and live in the world conditioned by the happenings around. Such an average man who works with an ego and attachment must learn to work at least renouncing the fruits of his action which is explained in the next verse.
na hi dehabhritaa shakyam tyaktum karmaanyasheshatah
yastu karmaphalatyaagee sa tyaageetyabhidheeyate // 18.11 //
Verily it is not possible for an embodied being to renounce actions entirely; but he who relinquishes the rewards of actions is verily called a man of renunciation.
Since all of us are embodied and therefore cannot abandon all activities so long as the body is alive, the only way is to direct all our actions in such a way as to bring harmony in our inner lives.
If Tyaga of Sattva type is not possible due to attachment to the world, relinquishment of attachment or anxiety to the fruits of actions which will materialize at a future time is advised by The Lord. A man who abandons his longing to enjoy the rewards for his action is called a Tyagi.
THREE TYPES OF FRUITS OF TYAGA
anishtamishtam mishram cha trividham karmanah phalam
bhavatyatyaaginaam pretya na tu sannyaasinaam kwachit // 18.12 //
The threefold fruit of action - desirable, undesirable and mixed - accrues after death to those who have no spirit of renunciation, but never to the relinquishers.
Earlier three types of Tyaga were discussed. Now three types of fruits of Tyaga are explained. The fruits of action mean not only the results of actions accruing at a future date but also the changes that take place at the mental plane or in the thought process itself. Such changes or reactions in the mind are of three types viz. the disagreeable - those that are positively bad, the agreeable - those that are positively good and the mixed - those that include both good and bad.
As the present determines the quality of the future, after death, the next embodiment and its environment would depend upon the type of vasanas produced in the present actions. This is called the Theory of Re-incarnation.
The Lord explains that for a man of renunciation (Sannyasa) there cannot be any response to the actions done in the past or in the present; he realizes the Bliss. The pleasant, unpleasant and mixed reactions - Karma Phalam- are applicable only to those who have an ego-centric identification with actions as well as their results. Relinquishment of the sense of ego and the anxiety for the results and serving the world as a service to The Lord is Tyaga.