Moksha Sanyasa Yoga

At the threshold of the final teaching, Arjuna asks the question that every sincere seeker must eventually ask: What is the difference between giving up action altogether and giving up attachment to action?

The sages define sannyasa as abandoning desire-driven actions; the wise define tyaga as abandoning the fruits of all actions—a distinction that separates external renunciation from internal freedom.

The debate continues: Some wise ones say all action is faulty and must be abandoned; others insist that sacrifice, charity, and austerity should never be given up. Krishna will resolve this ancient controversy.

Having presented the debate, Krishna now announces his definitive conclusion: Hear My certain verdict on tyaga, O tiger among men—for renunciation itself is of three kinds.

Krishna takes his stand: sacrifice, charity, and austerity should never be abandoned—they must be performed. For these sacred actions purify even the wise.

THIS IS MY FINAL WORD: These actions—sacrifice, charity, austerity—must be performed, but with complete abandonment of attachment and all expectation of results. This is My highest teaching.

Abandoning one's prescribed duties is never justified—renouncing obligatory action from delusion is declared tamasic, the lowest form of tyaga.

Abandoning action simply because it is painful or fearing bodily exertion—this rajasic tyaga gains nothing. Fear and comfort-seeking cannot produce liberation.

When action is performed simply because it ought to be done—prescribed duty executed without attachment or desire for results—that is sattvic tyaga, the true and liberating renunciation.

The true renouncer, established in sattva with doubts destroyed, neither hates unpleasant duty nor clings to pleasant work—equanimity in action is the mark of wisdom.

Complete renunciation of action is impossible for embodied beings—even breathing is action. The true renouncer is one who abandons not action itself but the fruits of action.

Actions bear three kinds of fruit after death: painful, pleasant, and mixed—but only for those who have not renounced. For true renouncers, there is no binding fruit whatsoever.

Learn from Me the five factors that bring about the accomplishment of all actions—as declared in the Sankhya philosophy, which is the end-conclusion of Vedic wisdom.

No action is solely yours—five factors converge: body, ego, senses, effort, and the mysterious fifth: divine providence.

Every action—whether through body, speech, or mind, whether righteous or sinful—arises from the same five causes.

To believe 'I alone am the doer' is the mark of uncultured intelligence—such a person sees, but does not truly see.

The one free from ego-sense, whose intelligence remains untainted, does not truly kill even when killing—and is never bound.

All action springs from the triad of knower-knowing-known, and executes through the triad of doer-doing-instrument.

Knowledge, action, and the doer are each threefold according to the gunas—now hear this classification properly.

Sattvic knowledge sees one imperishable reality undivided among all divided beings—the infinite within the finite.

Rajasic knowledge sees only separateness—different beings with different natures, divided where there is underlying unity.

Tamasic knowledge clings irrationally to one small thing as if it were everything—without truth, without reason, without breadth.

Sattvic action is duty performed without attachment, without craving or aversion, by one who seeks no personal reward.

Rajasic action is desire-driven, ego-fueled, and exhaustingly effortful—much strain, little peace.

Tamasic action is born of delusion, heedless of consequences, loss, harm to others, and one's own capacity.

The sattvic doer is free from attachment, free from ego, endowed with determination and enthusiasm, unchanged by success or failure.

The rajasic doer is a slave to results—passionate, greedy, violent, impure, and tossed perpetually between elation and despair.

The tamasic doer is a study in spiritual darkness—undisciplined, crude, stubborn, deceitful, malicious, lazy, depressed, and endlessly procrastinating.

Now hear the threefold division of both intellect and firmness according to the gunas—explained completely and distinctly.

The sattvic intellect is a lamp of discernment—knowing when to engage and when to withdraw, what must be done and what must be avoided, what binds and what liberates.

The rajasic intellect lives in confusion—it perceives dharma and adharma, right and wrong, but always slightly off, always distorted by desire and self-interest.

The tamasic intellect is shrouded in darkness so complete that it sees adharma as dharma, wrong as right—a complete inversion of reality where all values are reversed.

Sattvic firmness is the unwavering resolve that holds mind, breath, and senses steady through the practice of yoga—an unshakeable steadfastness that never deviates from the path.

Rajasic firmness persists in dharma, desire, and wealth—but always with attachment, always craving fruits. It is determination polluted by self-interest.

Tamasic firmness is perverse persistence—stubbornly clinging to sleep, fear, grief, despair, and pride, refusing to release the very things that destroy inner peace.

Now hear of threefold happiness—that in which one learns to rejoice through practice and which leads to the end of all sorrow.

Sattvic happiness is like medicine—bitter at first, nectar at last. It is born from the clarity of Self-knowledge, requiring effort initially but yielding immortal bliss in the end.

Rajasic happiness is the great deceiver—nectar at first, poison at last. It arises from sense contact and seduces with immediate pleasure, only to leave behind emptiness and craving.

Tamasic happiness deludes from beginning to end—it arises from sleep, laziness, and negligence, offering only the false comfort of unconsciousness and avoidance.

No being exists anywhere—on earth, in heaven, or among the gods—that is free from the three gunas born of material nature.

The duties of brahmanas, kshatriyas, vaishyas, and shudras are divided according to the gunas born of their own inherent nature.

Serenity, self-restraint, austerity, purity, patience, uprightness, knowledge, experiential wisdom, and faith—these are the natural qualities defining brahmana-dharma.

Heroism, energy, firmness, skill, never fleeing in battle, generosity, and lordly leadership—these are the natural qualities defining kshatriya-dharma.

Agriculture, cattle-rearing, and trade are the vaishya's natural work; service is the shudra's natural calling—each arising from inherent disposition.

Each person devoted to their own duty attains complete perfection—hear now how one absorbed in svadharma finds the highest fulfillment.

By worshiping through one's own work the One from whom all beings arise and who pervades all existence, a person attains perfection.

Better is one's own dharma, though imperfect, than another's dharma well-performed. Performing action ordained by one's nature incurs no sin.

One should not abandon natural duty even if faulty, for all undertakings are covered by defect as fire is covered by smoke.

One whose intellect is unattached everywhere, who is self-conquered and free from longing, attains the supreme perfection of actionlessness through renunciation.

Learn from Me in brief, O Arjuna, how one who has attained perfection reaches Brahman—the supreme culmination of knowledge.

Endowed with purified intellect, controlling the self with firmness, abandoning sense objects like sound, and casting aside attraction and aversion...

Resorting to solitude, eating lightly, controlling speech-body-mind, constantly devoted to meditation, fully taking refuge in dispassion...

Only by releasing ego, force, pride, desire, anger, and possessiveness—becoming peaceful and free from 'mine'—does one become fit for Brahman-realization.

Established in Brahman, serene-souled, free from grief and desire, seeing all beings equally—one attains supreme devotion to the Lord.

Through devotion alone one truly knows Me—who I am and how great I am. Having known Me in truth, one immediately enters into My being.

Even while always performing all actions, one who takes refuge in Me attains, by My grace, the eternal imperishable state.

Surrender all actions to Me mentally, hold Me as supreme, take shelter in buddhi-yoga, and keep your mind fixed on Me always.

With mind fixed on Me, you will cross all obstacles by My grace—but if from ego you refuse to listen, you will perish.

If from ego you think 'I will not fight,' this resolve is vain—your own nature will compel you.

Bound by your own karma born of your nature, O Arjuna, what you do not wish to do from delusion, even that you will do helplessly.

The Lord dwells in the hearts of all beings, O Arjuna, causing them to revolve by maya as if mounted on a machine.

Take refuge in Him alone with your whole being—by His grace you shall attain supreme peace and the eternal abode.

Thus I have declared to you knowledge more secret than all secrets. Reflect on it fully, then do as you wish.

Hear again My supreme word, the most secret of all: You are exceedingly dear to Me, therefore I shall speak for your welfare.

Fix your mind on Me, be My devotee, worship Me, bow to Me—you shall surely come to Me. I promise you truly, for you are dear to Me.

Abandon ALL dharmas and take refuge in Me ALONE - I shall liberate you from ALL sins. Grieve not.

This teaching should never be spoken to one without austerity, without devotion, unwilling to hear, or to one who speaks ill of Me.

One who teaches this supreme secret to My devotees, performing the highest devotion to Me, shall undoubtedly come to Me.

No one among human beings does more pleasing service to Me than such a teacher, nor shall anyone on earth be dearer to Me.

One who studies this sacred dialogue between us worships Me through the sacrifice of knowledge - this is My view.

Even one who simply listens with faith and without envy shall be liberated and attain the auspicious worlds of the righteous.

Krishna's tender inquiry: O Arjuna, have you heard this with one-pointed mind? Has your delusion born of ignorance been destroyed?

ARJUNA'S TRIUMPHANT RESPONSE: My delusion is destroyed, memory is restored by Your grace, O Infallible One! I stand firm, doubts gone—I shall do Your bidding.

SANJAYA SPEAKS: Thus I heard this wonderful, hair-raising dialogue between Vasudeva and the great-souled Partha.

By Vyasa's grace, I heard this supreme secret yoga directly from Krishna, the Lord of Yoga Himself, speaking in person.

O King, remembering again and again this wonderful and sacred dialogue between Keshava and Arjuna, I rejoice repeatedly!

And remembering again and again that most wonderful form of Hari, great is my amazement, O King, and I rejoice again and again!

THE FINAL VERSE: Where Krishna the Lord of Yoga is, and where Arjuna the archer stands—there is prosperity, victory, glory, and firm righteousness: this is my certain conviction.