Bhagavatgita a detailed study chapter5-yoga of renunciation

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7. yogayuktho viSudDhaathmaa vijithaathmaa jithendhriyaH

sarvabhoothaathmabhoothaathmaa kurvan api na lipyathe

 

One who is established in yoga, has conquered his mind and senses and sees himself in all beings is not tainted by work.

 

How does the Karmayoga becomes the means of attaining self knowledge? Krishna answers this in the next sloka. Established in yoga, his mind purified and self controlled he sees himself in all beings and therefore he is not tainted by his work. That is, he is not doing anything for his benefit alone but works for the welfare of all, which attitude has been described in the previous chapter as acting in the spirit of yajna

 

This sloka defines the karmayogi who can be called yoga yuktha, established in karmayoga.

 

Three adjectives are given which, though look similar, are not so. jithendhriyaH denotes the control of the senses, of course through the mind and intellect, which makes him vijithaathma, one who has controlled himself. By this the mind becomes pure, which is indicated by viSudDhaathma. He understands that the same Brahman who is his inner self is the self of all. This enables him to see himself in all beings. Such a yogi is not tainted by anything he does which is elucidated in the next two slokas

 

8.naiva kinchith karomi ithi yuktho manyetha thatthvavith

paSyan SrNvan sprSan jighran asnanan gacchan svapan

Svasan

 

Such a yogi who has the knowledge of reality should think " I am not doing anything," while seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating going, sleeping or breathing.

 

9. pralapan visrjan grhNan unmishan nimishan api

indhriyaaNi indhriyaarTheshu varthantha ithi Dhaarayan

 

Speaking, discharging, grasping, opening and closing his eyes, he should think that the senses are interacting with the sense objects

 

 

 

.. The knower of Truth , who sees only non-work in all work, is alone fit to renounce the world. He knows that it is only his senses which operate in whatever he does and Krishna lists the common activities he engages in through his senses as `pasyansrnvan sprsan jighran,' seeing, hearing touching smelling and so on.

 

This has already been explained in the third chapter as ` .prakrtheH kriyamaaNaani gunaiH karmaaNi sarvaSaH,'(3.27) All actions are due to the gunas of prakrthi in all respects, and that the wise is not attached, knowing that the gunas are reacting with gunas, `guNaa guNaeshu varthntha ithi mathvaa na sajjathe.' (3.28) The same attitude is described here.

 

Everything except the Self are made up of gunas. So the like gunas inside are attracted towards the like gunas outside. The indhriyas are tha product of the gunas which includes the n mind and intellect as they are also the products of prakrthi. Sense objects, being the effects of Prkrthi, are also made up of the three gunas. This is what is meant by indhriyaaNi indhriyaarTheshu varthantha.