184. Peace Follows Renunciation

 

Krishna advised abhyaas yoga (yoga of practice) in case one is unable to fix the mind on Him. He further says, “If you are unable to do abhyaas, be diligent in performing actions in the thought of Me. Even by engaging in activities for My sake, you shall attain divine bliss (siddhi). If you are unable to do even this, remaining attached to Me as your shelter, relinquish the fruits of all actions to be centred in the self (atma-vaan)” (12.10 and 12.11).

Every karma (action) has a karta (doer) and karma-phal (fruits of action). One path is dedicating the sense of doership (kartapan) to Paramatma which Krishna describes as ‘performing actions in the thought of Him’. Another path is renouncing the fruits of action. Krishna assures that devotion to swa-karma (own deeds) leads to siddhi (perfection or freedom) (18.45).

Krishna says, “Better indeed is jnana (awareness) than abhyaas (practice); better than jnana is dhyan (meditation); better than dhyan is renunciation of the fruits of actions; peace (shanti) immediately follows such renunciation” (12.12).

Jnana can be awareness attained through our own experiences or attained through the wisdom bestowed by enlightened people. Awareness requires changing ourselves which is not an ordinary task. Dhyan is an easier option for someone who finds it difficult to change themselves.

Performing karmas by renouncing the fruits of action (2.47) is at the heart of the Bhagavad Gita. The fundamental question we face in this regard is how to measure our progress along this path. Krishna assured us that peace immediately follows when we renounce the fruits of actions. This is irrespective of how successful or unsuccessful we are in our lives; or how good or bad our external situations are. This benchmark of attaining peace can be used to measure our progress in the spiritual journey.


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