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236. Tyagi

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Krishna defines renunciant (tyagi) and says, "Those who neither avoid akushala (disagreeable or miserable) action nor attached to kushala (agreeable or well-being) action are tyagi. Pervaded by purity, being intelligent (methavi) he is free from doubts (sansaya-rahit) " (18.10).  We are all motivated to perform kushala karmas (actions) and avoid akusala ones. We tend to do karmas which are for the well-being of the self, family, organization or society. Though this looks logical, it is the result of the division of karmas as akushala and kushala . Tyagi is the one for whom this internal division disappears. Krishna calls them intelligent and in one way, dropping the internal division can be termed as intelligence. Their doubts also disappear when oneness descends with the end of division. As a result, the tyagi neither hates nor gets attached to any actions.  Krishna further says, "It is impossible for the embodied beings to give up activities tota
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235. Renunciation and Prescribed Actions

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Some of the common threads in the Bhagavad Gita are easy to understand but difficult to inculcate. On the other hand, some of them are very difficult to even comprehend. One such issue is ' Niyat Karma ' (prescribed or obligatory action). The questions like what are our prescribed, obligatory duties; what should be tolerated and what shouldn't be -are always intriguing.  Books and preachings of various enlightened masters add to the confusion as they outwardly look contradictory. Even our own understanding keeps changing with our age and experiences.  Eating when hungry and drinking when thirsty are natural niyat karma . But life is complex and presents many catch-22 situations. That's why Krishna earlier said that this issue is an intricate one and even the wise are confounded about the subtleties of karma and akarma (inaction) (4.16). He further says that the nature of karma is very difficult to know. Certainly, in order to fully understand the nature of right and
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