62. Renunciation of ‘I’

Krishna replies, “As I said earlier, in this world, there are two paths to salvation - for the wise through wisdom and for yogis through the path of action” (3.3). This verse indicates that the path of awareness is for the intellect oriented and the path of action is for the mind oriented.

Krishna further clarifies, “Just by avoiding karma (action), one can’t attain nish-karma (actionlessness) and one cannot attain siddhi (perfection) by mere renunciation” (3.4).

Renunciation is glorified in almost all cultures simply because sacrificers can do something which a normal person cannot. That’s why Arjuna’s standpoint appeals to many of us when he wants to renounce the luxury of the kingdom and the pain of war.

Krishna also favours renunciation, but He implores us to sacrifice ‘I’ in all our actions. War is not an issue for Krishna, but the ‘I’ in Arjuna is. For Krishna, nir-mama (sans- I) and nir-ahankaar (sans- I am doer) are the paths to the eternal state (2.71).

In our daily lives, renunciation can be of money, food, possessions, power or any other thing which is valued by society.  It’s like saying that ‘I made money’ and now ‘I am donating money’. Making and donating money are the two sides of the same coin if ‘I’ remains. 

This is a difficult concept as we usually admire the renunciation of physical possessions. Certainly, renunciation is better than gathering and can be taken to be the second stage of travel towards the eternal state. But there is a chance that this renunciation is for some higher gain like fame or punya (virtue). That’s why Krishna doesn’t let us stop there and demands us to attain the final stage of renouncing ‘I’.

When ‘I’ is dropped, everything becomes a joyful drama, otherwise this drama called life can also become a tragedy.