Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6, Verse 2

Chapter 6 – Dhyana Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

यं संन्यासमिति प्राहुर्योगं तं विद्धि पाण्डव ।
न ह्यसंन्यस्तसङ्कल्पो योगी भवति कश्चन ॥

Transliteration

yaṃ saṃnyāsamiti prāhuryogaṃ taṃ viddhi pāṇḍava .
na hyasaṃnyastasaṅkalpo yogī bhavati kaścana ॥

Meaning

O son of Pandu, know that what is called renunciation is in fact yoga; for no one becomes a yogi without renouncing selfish intention (sankalpa).

Word meanings

यम् – that which
संन्यासम् – renunciation
इति – thus
प्राहुः – they call
योगम् – yoga
तम् – that
विद्धि – know
पाण्डव – O son of Pandu (Arjuna)
न – not
हि – for, indeed
असंन्यस्तसङ्कल्पः – one who has not renounced selfish intentions
योगी – a yogi
भवति – becomes
कश्चन – anyone

Anvaya (word order)

पाण्डव, यं संन्यासम् इति प्राहुः, तं योगं विद्धि; हि असंन्यस्तसङ्कल्पः कश्चन योगी न भवति ।

Explanation

Having said that the one who works without craving for fruits is both renunciant and yogi, Krishna now gives the reason. The essence of renunciation and the essence of yoga are identical: the abandonment of sankalpa. Sankalpa is the mind's habit of endlessly projecting — 'if this happens I will be happy; if that does not happen I will suffer'. It is the seed from which desire sprouts.

The formal renunciant gives up the outer world, yet his renunciation is complete only when he gives up these inner projections. The karma yogi continues to act outwardly, yet he too renounces the projection of personal results. Hence both paths converge on a single point. Shankara explains that karma yoga is here praised by being equated with sannyasa, because the renunciation of desire-driven intention is common to both.

Krishna's words are emphatic: not anyone — kashchana — becomes a yogi without this inner renunciation. A person sitting in meditation while busily planning and wishing is not established in yoga at all. That is why later verses (6.4, 6.24) stress sarva-sankalpa-sannyasa, the renunciation of all such intentions.

The verse thus dissolves the supposed conflict between the path of renunciation and the path of action, and shows the seeker that the true field of practice is the mind, not the outward robe.

Context

Verse 6.1 redefined renunciation; this verse grounds that definition in the principle of renouncing sankalpa. The next verse (6.3) explains that for one climbing toward yoga, action is the means, while for one who has attained it, tranquillity is the means.

Life lesson

The mind's endless scheming and insistence that things must turn out a certain way is the root of restlessness. Give your full effort, but stop building castles around the outcome — that, simply put, is both renunciation and yoga.

Key terms

Sankalpa: the mind's desire-generating intention or projection
Sannyasa: renunciation; here especially inner renunciation of intention
Yoga: the discipline of evenness and union with the Divine