233. Four Paths of Renunciation

The Bhagavad Gita contains eighteen chapters and 700 verses. The eighteenth chapter is called ‘Moksha Sannyas Yoga’ - Union with liberation through renunciation. It is reaching the destination, which is moksha or liberation, through the path of sannyas or renunciation. This liberation means freedom from a divisive mindset; freedom from belief systems; and finally, even freedom from renunciation itself.

This chapter begins with Arjuna’s question, “O Hrishikesha, I wish to know distinctly the truth of sannyas (renunciation) and tyaga (relinquishment or abandonment)” (18.1). Krishna replies, “Sages call ‘sannyas’ the renunciation of all desire ridden actions. The wise declare that ‘tyaga’ is the relinquishment of the fruits of activities (18.2). Some philosophers declare that all work is tainted and should be forsaken; others declare that acts of yajna (fire rituals or selfless actions), daan (charity), and tapah (penance or self-discipline) should not be relinquished” (18.3). Krishna uses sannyas and tyaga interchangeably, thus, indicating that these are two different names used for renunciation.

Krishna makes us aware of the four schools of thought on the aspect of renunciation. All belief systems are based on one school of thought or another. The first one is about the renunciation of all desire-ridden actions. It is the absence of motivation or desire while performing actions. The second one states that renunciation is relinquishing the fruits of action while performing any karma (action).

The third school of thought is about renouncing all the actions as they are all tainted and suggests dropping the sense of doership by treating the ‘existence’ as the doer of all actions. Finally, the fourth one is about being selective about actions and actions like yajna, daan and tapah shouldn’t be relinquished.

Whatever may be the school of thought, in one way or another all these paths lead to the same destination - moksha.