Introduction: Bhagavad Gita Chapter 5—The Yoga of Action and Renunciation. This chapter explains the work ethic based on devotion (Bhakti) and wisdom without egoic motives. It bridges the gap between the path of knowledge and the path of selfless action to achieve true inner freedom.
5:1 arjuna uvāca saṁnyāsaṁ karmaṇāṁ kṛṣṇa punar yogaṁ ca śaṁsasi yacchreya etayor ekaṁ tan me brūhi suniścitam
Arjuna asked: “O Kṛṣṇa, first You praise the renunciation of actions, and then You recommend the practice of Yoga (selfless action). Tell me decisively, which of these two is better for me?”
5:2 śrī-bhagavān uvāca saṁnyāsaḥ karma-yogaś ca niḥśreyasa-karāv ubhau tayos tu karma-saṁnyāsāt karma-yogo viśiṣyate
The Blessed Lord said: “Both the renunciation of action and the Yoga of Action lead to the highest goal; but of the two, the Yoga of Action is superior to the renunciation of action.”
5:3 jñeyaḥ sa nitya-saṁnyāsī yo na dveṣṭi na kāṅkṣati nirdvandvo hi mahā-bāho sukhaṁ bandhāt pramucyate
“One who neither hates nor desires the fruits of his activities is known to be always a Sanyāsī (renunciant). Such a person, free from all dualities, is easily liberated from material bondage, O mighty-armed Arjuna.”
5:4 sāṅkhya-yogau pṛthag bālāḥ pravadanti na paṇḍitāḥ ekam apy āsthitaḥ samyag ubhayor vindate phalam
“Only the ignorant speak of Sāṅkhya (analytical knowledge) and Yoga (selfless action) as being different; the wise do not. One who is firmly established in either of these paths achieves the results of both.”
5:5 yat sāṅkhyaiḥ prāpyate sthānaṁ tad yogair api gamyate ekaṁ sāṅkhyaṁ ca yogaṁ ca yaḥ paśyati sa paśyati
“The goal reached by the practitioners of Sāṅkhya is also attained by those who practice Yoga. He who sees that Sāṅkhya and Yoga are one truly sees the truth.”
5:1 arjuna uvāca saṁnyāsaṁ karmaṇāṁ kṛṣṇa punar yogaṁ ca śaṁsasi yacchreya etayor ekaṁ tan me brūhi suniścitam
Arjuna asked: “O Kṛṣṇa, first You praise the renunciation of actions, and then You recommend the practice of Yoga (selfless action). Tell me decisively, which of these two is better for me?”
5:2 śrī-bhagavān uvāca saṁnyāsaḥ karma-yogaś ca niḥśreyasa-karāv ubhau tayos tu karma-saṁnyāsāt karma-yogo viśiṣyate
The Blessed Lord said: “Both the renunciation of action and the Yoga of Action lead to the highest goal; but of the two, the Yoga of Action is superior to the renunciation of action.”
5:3 jñeyaḥ sa nitya-saṁnyāsī yo na dveṣṭi na kāṅkṣati nirdvandvo hi mahā-bāho sukhaṁ bandhāt pramucyate
“One who neither hates nor desires the fruits of his activities is known to be always a Sanyāsī (renunciant). Such a person, free from all dualities, is easily liberated from material bondage, O mighty-armed Arjuna.”
5:4 sāṅkhya-yogau pṛthag bālāḥ pravadanti na paṇḍitāḥ ekam apy āsthitaḥ samyag ubhayor vindate phalam
“Only the ignorant speak of Sāṅkhya (analytical knowledge) and Yoga (selfless action) as being different; the wise do not. One who is firmly established in either of these paths achieves the results of both.”
5:5 yat sāṅkhyaiḥ prāpyate sthānaṁ tad yogair api gamyate ekaṁ sāṅkhyaṁ ca yogaṁ ca yaḥ paśyati sa paśyati
“The goal reached by the practitioners of Sāṅkhya is also attained by those who practice Yoga. He who sees that Sāṅkhya and Yoga are one truly sees the truth.”
5:6 saṁnyāsas tu mahā-bāho duḥkham āptum ayogataḥ yoga-yukto munir brahma na cireṇādhigacchati
“Unless one is engaged in the Yoga of Action, O mighty-armed one, mere renunciation of action is difficult to attain. A sage (Muni) purified by Yoga quickly reaches Brahman (The Supreme).”
5:7 yoga-yukto viśuddhātmā vijitātmā jitendriyaḥ sarva-bhūtātma-bhūtātmā kurvann api na lipyate
“One who works in devotion, who is a pure soul, and who controls his mind and senses is dear to everyone, and everyone is dear to him. Though always working, such a man is never entangled.”
5:8-9 naiva kiñcit karoti iti yukto manyeta tattva-vit paśyañ śṛṇvan spṛśañ jighrann aśnan gacchan svapan śvasan pralapan visṛjan gṛhṇann unmiṣan nimiṣann api indriyāṇīndriyārtheṣu vartanta iti dhārayan
“A person in the divine consciousness, although engaged in seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, moving about, sleeping, and breathing, always knows within himself that he actually does nothing at all. Because while speaking, evacuating, receiving, or opening and closing his eyes, he always knows that only the material senses are engaged with their objects.”
5:10 brahmaṇy ādhāya karmāṇi saṅgaṁ tyaktvā karoti yaḥ lipyate na sa pāpena padma-patram ivāmbhasā
“One who performs his duty without attachment, surrendering the results unto the Supreme Lord, is unaffected by sinful action, just as the lotus leaf is untouched by water.”
5:11 kāyena manasā buddhyā kevalair indriyair api yoginaḥ karma kurvanti saṅgaṁ tyaktvātma-śuddhaye “The Yogīs, abandoning attachment, perform action only with the body, mind, intellect, and even the senses, for the sole purpose of self-purification.”
5:12 yuktaḥ karma-phalaṁ tyaktvā śāntim āpnoti naiṣṭhikīm ayuktaḥ kāma-kāreṇa phale sakto nibadhyate “One who is disciplined in Yoga abandons the fruits of action and attains steady peace. But one who is undisciplined, driven by desire and attached to the fruits of their actions, becomes entangled and bound.”
5:13 sarva-karmāṇi manasā saṁnyasyāste sukhaṁ vaśī nava-dvāre pure dehī naiva kurvan na kārayan “Mentally renouncing all actions, the self-controlled soul dwells happily in the City of Nine Gates (the body), neither acting nor causing others to act.”
5:14-15 na kartṛtvaṁ na karmāṇi lokasya sṛjati prabhuḥ na karma-phala-saṁyogaṁ svabhāvas tu pravartate nādatte kasyacit pāpaṁ na caiva sukṛtaṁ vibhuḥ ajñānenāvṛtaṁ jñānaṁ tena muhyanti jantavaḥ “The Supreme Lord does not create the sense of doership, nor the actions of the people, nor the connection with the fruits of action; all these are performed by the laws of nature (Svabhāva). Nor does the Omnipresent One take on the sins or merits of anyone. Wisdom is veiled by ignorance, and by this, mortals are deluded.”
5:16 jñānena tu tad ajñānaṁ yeṣāṁ nāśitam ātmanaḥ teṣām ādityavaj jñānaṁ prakāśayati tat param “But for those whose ignorance is destroyed by Self-Knowledge, that knowledge, like the sun, reveals the Supreme Reality within them.”
5:17 tad-buddhyas tad-ātmānas tan-niṣṭhās tat-parāyaṇāḥ gacchanty apunar-āvṛttiṁ jñāna-nirdhūta-kalmaṣāḥ “With their intellect fixed on Him, their soul absorbed in Him, and being devoted solely to Him—their sins are wiped away by the fire of knowledge, and they reach the state from which there is no return.”
5:18 vidyā-vinaya-sampanne brāhmaṇe gavi hastini śuni caiva śva-pāke ca paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ “The wise look with an equal eye (Sama-darśinaḥ) upon a learned and humble scholar, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and even an outcast.”
5:19-20 ihaiva tair jitaḥ sargo yeṣāṁ sāmye sthitaṁ manaḥ nirdoṣaṁ hi samaṁ brahma tasmād brahmaṇi te sthitāḥ “Even here in this life, the cycle of birth and death is conquered by those whose minds are established in equanimity. Since Brahman is flawless and equal, they are truly established in Brahman.”
5:21-23 bāhya-sparśeṣv asaktātmā vindaty ātmani yat sukham… “One who is not attached to external sensory pleasures finds happiness within the Atman (Self). Such a person, united with Brahman through Yoga, enjoys eternal bliss. For the pleasures born of contact with the senses are sources of sorrow; they have a beginning and an end. The wise do not rejoice in them.”
5:24 yo’ntaḥ-sukho’ntar-ārāmas tathāntar-jyotir eva yaḥ sa yogī brahma-nirvāṇaṁ brahma-bhūto’dhigacchati “One who finds happiness within, who rejoices within, and who is illuminated within—that Yogī attains the state of Supreme Liberation (Brahma-nirvāṇa), becoming one with Brahman.”
5:25-26 labhante brahma-nirvāṇam ṛṣayaḥ kṣīṇa-kalmaṣāḥ… “Those holy sages whose sins are purged, whose doubts are resolved, and who are engaged in the welfare of all beings, attain Supreme Liberation. For those who are free from anger and lust, who have controlled their minds, the beatitude of Brahman is present everywhere.”
5:27-28 sparśān kṛtvā bahir bāhyāṁś cakṣuś caivāntare bhruvoḥ prāṇāpānau samau kṛtvā nāsābhyantara-cāriṇau “Shutting out all external sense objects, fixing the gaze between the eyebrows, and balancing the incoming and outgoing breaths within the nostrils—the seeker who controls the senses, mind, and intellect, and is free from desire, fear, and anger, is indeed liberated forever.”
5:29 bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati “Knowing Me as the ultimate enjoyer of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all worlds, and the Friend of all living beings, the seeker attains eternal peace.”
Thus ends the Fifth Conversation of the Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 5.
“May all beings be well, may all beings be at peace, may all beings attain perfection, and may all beings experience divine glory.”
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