Chapter 5 of Bhagavad Gita is entitled " KARMA-SANNYASA YOGA" Renunciation & action. Here Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that both Karma Yoga & Renunciation are the two sides of the same coin. A Karma yogi does all his actions renouncing the fruits of his actions. He is thus a Yogi & a Sannyasi. Both activities if pursued sincerely will lead to eternal liberation.

1. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
T K G NAMBOODHIRI
THIRUVALLA, KERALA
Presentation adapted from
The Bhagavad Gita According to Gandhi, Orient
Paperbacks,2011
T K G Namboodhiri

2. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
T K G Namboodhiri
CHAPTER 5
KARMA-SANNYASA YOGA

3. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verse 5.1
Arjuna asks the Lord: Thou laudest renunciation of
actions, O Krishna, whilst at the same time thou laudest
performance of action; tell me for a certainty which is
the better?
A person may be eating, yet we may say that he is not
eating. Of whom can we say this? One who eats as
though he is performing a Yajna, who offers up his action
of eating to the Lord, who feels that it is not he, but his
body that is eating, he will then eat to serve others. That
person’s karma of eating will in truth be akarma, and will
not bind him. If we aspire to be good, we must
ceaselessly work to serve others, serve them in a
perfectly disinterested spirit. We may serve a person not
expecting anything in return, but because the Lord
dwells in him. After doing what is needed, we should feel
that it was all a dream.
T K G Namboodhiri

4. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verse 5.2
The Lord Said: Renunciation & performance of
action both lead to salvation; but of the two, karma
yoga (performance) is better than Sannyasa
(renunciation).
Man cannot completely refrain from karma, &
therefore, it is easy for everyone to follow karma
yoga. Renunciation of karma is a difficult matter, for
it requires knowledge, whereas karma yoga can be
followed even by an ordinary man. The Lord
therefore tells us that karma yoga is a better path,
since the other one is beset with obstacles & is
likely to encourage hypocrisy.
T K G Namboodhiri

5. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 5.3 & 5.4
Him one should know as ever renouncing who has no dislikes &
likes; for he who is free from the pairs of opposites is easily
released from bondage.
It is the ignorant who speak of Sankhya & yoga as different, not
so those who have knowledge. He who is rightly established
even in one wins the fruits of both.
A karmayogi is necessarily a sannyasi. One who has no ill will,
who desires nothing & is ever devoted to his duty, who is not
affected by dualities like happiness & sorrow, easily becomes
free from the binding effects of karma.
Men of little understanding think Sankhya (Sannyasa) to be
different from Karmayoga, but not so the wise. In truth, they
are two sides of the same coin. Anyone who becomes
established in either reaps the fruit of success in the other too.
A thing at rest & another in intense motion seem alike, like the
earth. Rest & motion are a pair of opposites. He who remains
unaffected by such opposites reaps the fruit of both.
T K G Namboodhiri

6. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verse 5.5
The goal that the Sankhyas attain is also reached by the
Yogis. He sees truly, who sees both Sankhya & Yoga as
one.
The state which is attained through Sankhya (renunciation
of karma), is attained by the Karmayogi too. He alone who
understands that Sankhya & Karmayoga are the same thing
has true knowledge. There is no difference between the
essence of the two. Work done in the spirit of Yajna, done
without egotism for our higher good & for the service of
others, has a place in both.
Karma means work which circumstances make it necessary
for us to do, not that which we do of our own choice. When
the ‘I’ in a person has vanished, he will do only such work
that comes to him, & he will do it with the feeling that
Narayana does everything. We should do any work which
comes to us & leave the burden of such work to God.
T K G Namboodhiri

7. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 5.6 & 5.7
But renunciation, O Mahabahu, is hard to attain except by Yoga.
The ascetic equipped with Yoga attains Brahman ere long.
The Yogi who has cleansed himself, has gained mastery over
his mind & all his senses, who has become one with the Atman
in all creations, although he acts, he remains unaffected.
Sannyasa is impossible to practice except through Karmayoga.
He who has become free from attachments & aversions, who
has shed the ‘I’ in him, has become a true sannyasi. He who is
established in Yoga soon attains the Brahman.
He who has become pure, whose evil impulses have been all
burnt away, will act without any egoistic feeling that he himself
is doing anything. The man who lives in the Atman, who has
subdued the demons in him & mastered the senses; who sees
himself in all creatures & all creatures in himself, will make no
distinction between relations & others. He will forever live as a
servant of all & will partake only of what remains after others
have had their share. He works, but is not bound by the effects
of karma.
T K G Namboodhiri

8. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 5.8 & 5.9
The Yogi who has seen the Truth knows that it is not he that
acts whilst seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, walking,
sleeping or breathing.
Talking, letting go, holding fast, opening or closing the eyes– in
the conviction that it is the senses that are moving in their
respective spheres.
The man who knows the Truth acts as if he himself did nothing.
Whether seeing or hearing, smelling, eating, walking, breathing
speaking, etc.---in all these he will feel that it is his senses
which are functioning according to their nature. Such a person
acts but does not do anything. He who has consecrated his
heart to the Lord will feel no desire to do anything for himself.
Only that person can apply these verses to himself who is
always completely absorbed in the task on hand, whose every
action is dedicated to Sri Krishna & who seeks no benefit for
himself from anything he does. He has completely overcome
the feeling of ‘I’.
T K G Namboodhiri

9. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 5.10 & 5.11
He who dedicates his actions to Brahman & performs them
without attachment is not smeared by sin, as the lotus leaf
by water.
Only with the body, senses, mind & intellect do the Yogis
perform action without attachment for the sake of self-
purification.
The person described in the past two verses remains
untouched by sin, as the lotus leaf remains untouched by
water. Here sin includes both sin & virtue. He does not have
to suffer the consequences of either sinful or virtuous
action. He goes on working, but remains unaffected by work.
The Yogis work with their bodies, minds, intellect, & senses,
--- but do not feel that they themselves are working since
they work without attachment, devoid of cravings for any
rewards, & with the aim of self-purification. All their work is
dedicated to Brahman.
T K G Namboodhiri

10. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verse 5.12
A man of yoga obtains everlasting peace by
abandoning the fruit of action; the man ignorant of
yoga, selfishly attached to fruits, remains bound.
Renouncing the fruits of karma, the yogi wins the
peace which is the reward of faith & devotion, the
peace which brings moksha- the peace enjoyed by a
man established in Brahman, the bliss which
belongs to the Atman.
The man who is not established in yoga stays in the
grip of desire. He is a man attached, one who is
bound through attachment to fruits of work with the
snake-like coil of expectation & sense-cravings.
T K G Namboodhiri

11. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verse 5.13
Renouncing with the mind all actions, the dweller in the
body who is master of himself, rests happily in his city of
nine gates, neither doing nor getting anything done.
The Atman dwells, ever at rest, in the body with 9 doors (2
ears, 2 eyes, 2 nostrils, mouth, & the organs of generation
&excretion), doing nothing & causing nothing to be done.
The self-controlled man, established in the Atman, mentally
renounces all actions & live in peace. To renounce mentally
means to make the mind indifferent to them, to withdraw it
into an attitude of detachment towards work, & feel that we
are not doing what we are engaged in, that it is God who
impels us to do it. We do not feel, as we breathe, that we are
breathing. We have mentally renounced that karma. The life
is a play proceeding before us. Devote ourselves to our work
without taking interest in the play or letting our mind be
distracted by it. Then we would have renounced action.
T K G Namboodhiri

12. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 5.14 & 5.15
The Lord creates neither agency nor action for the world,
neither does He connect action with its fruit. It is nature
that is at work.
The Lord does not take upon Himself anyone’s vice or virtue;
it is ignorance that veils knowledge & deludes all creatures.
The Lord says: Ultimately I am the Creator of all beings,
when you see, I see, when you do not see, I too, do not see.
That is His nature. From another point of view, God is the
Doer, & also that He is not. The Atman does nothing, nor
does it cause anything to be done.
Man’s real nature is to serve others & to work for self-
purification, & so we should not cherish the ‘I’ in us. Hence,
God does not take upon Himself anyone’s sin.
T K G Namboodhiri

13. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 5.16 & 5.17
But to them whose ignorance is destroyed by the knowledge of
Atman, this their knowledge, like the sun, reveals the Supreme.
Those whose intellect is suffused with That, whose self has
become one with That, who abides in That, & whose end & aim
is That, wipe out their sins with knowledge, & go whence there
is no return.
When a man’s ignorance has been destroyed by knowledge, the
light of God is revealed to him. God is the witness of all that
occurs. The awareness that we should live our lives by obeying
Him & act only as prompted by Him- that is knowledge. We can
experience this truth directly only when our mind is filled with
Atman.
He whose intellect has become fixed on the Lord, who has
merged in Him, who is exclusively devoted to Him, & who lives
absorbed in Him, who has dedicated his all to the Lord & trusts
in Him alone, such a person attains deliverance. The sins of
such a person are washed away by knowledge.
T K G Namboodhiri

14. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 5.18 & 5.19
The men of Self-realization look with an equal eye on a Brahmin
possessed of learning & humility, a cow, an elephant, a dog & even a
dog-eater.
In this very body they have conquered the round of birth & death,
whose mind is anchored in sameness; for perfect Brahman is same to
all, therefore in Brahman they rest.
Men of knowledge see all things with an equal eye. They have the same
regard for a Brahmin rich in learning & gentleness, for a cow, an
elephant, a dog or one who eats dogs. The Atman in each is identical &
same as that in themselves. Only difference is the sheathing of the
Atman.
Those who are equal in mind to all beings & have regard for all, who
have no taint of impurity in them, who abide in God & live devoted to
Him, have, in this very life, conquered the cycle of birth & death.
A man of equal-vision (Sama darsi) is one who gives to each according
to his or her need. He doesn’t feed the same amount of food to an ant &
an elephant. None can be like God- absolutely free from impurity &
equal towards all. One can, therefore become Sama darsi only by losing
oneself in Brahman. Those who follow this rule in their conduct have
won the battle of this life. They hold enemy & friend in equal regard.
T K G Namboodhiri

15. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 5.20 & 5.21
He whose understanding is secure, who is undeluded, who
knows Brahman & who rests in Brahman, will neither be glad to
get what is pleasant, nor sad to get what is unpleasant.
He who has detached himself from contacts outside finds bliss
in Atman; having achieved union with Brahman, he enjoys
eternal bliss.
The person who has become liberated into unity with Brahman,
& who is not attached to the objects of his outgoing senses,
experience true happiness in his Atman. One can have peace
only by remaining unattached. The impact of sense impressions
is hard to prevent, hence the need to become unattached. If we
constantly meditate on God, the external objects will have no
effect on us. The Atman united in yoga with Brahman, (in
Samadhi) abides in it forever, & the yogi enjoys eternal Bliss.
T K G Namboodhiri

16. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 5.22 to 5.24
For, the joys derived from sense-contacts are nothing but mines
of misery; they have beginning & end, O Kaunteya; the wise
man does not revel therein.
The man who is able even here on earth, ere he is released
from the body, to hold out against the floodtide of lust & wrath -
---- he is a yogi, he is happy.
He who finds happiness only within, rest only within, light only
within --- that yogi, having become one with Brahman, enjoys
Eternal Bliss.
Verses 22 & 23 already explained in Chapter 2 before.
That yogi who finds happiness & peace within him, who
does not need external objects to make him happy, who is
ever Self-absorbed & is inspired by the light which shines
within him, such a yogi has merged into Brahman, and
attains Brahma-nirvana --- A state of void filled within with
Bliss of illumination.
T K G Namboodhiri

17. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 5.25 & 5.26
They win oneness with Brahman ---- the seers whose sins
are wiped out, whose doubts are resolved, who have
mastered themselves, & who are engrossed in the welfare
of all beings.
Rid of lust & wrath, masters of themselves, the ascetics
who have realized Atman, find oneness with Brahman
everywhere around them.
Rishis who are sinless & pure attain Brahma-Nirvana. These
are persons whose doubts have vanished, who hold their
body, mind & intellect in control, & who rejoice in the good
of all creatures. They bear ill will to none & are ready to
serve the whole world.
Those yogis who are free from desire & anger, whose minds
have become steady & who have realized the Self, & are
ever absorbed in their Self, are always, & in all
circumstances, in a state of Brahma-Nirvana.
T K G Namboodhiri

18. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 5.27 to 5.29
That ascetic is ever free --- who, having shut out the
outward sense contacts, sits with his gaze fixed between
the brows, outward & inward breathing in the nostrils
made equal; his senses, mind, & intellect held in check;
rid of longing, fear & wrath; and intent on Freedom.
Knowing Me as the Acceptor of sacrifice & austerity, the
great Lord of all the worlds, the Friend of all creation, the
yogi attains peace.
The yogi shuts out all external contacts & sits in
meditation on the Brahman. Knowing Brahman to be the
Acceptor of all sacrifices, the Friend of all creatures, &
the Lord of the universe, the yogi attains Peace Absolute.
T K G Namboodhiri