18-2

श्री भगवान् उवाच -
काम्यानाम् कर्मणाम् न्यासम् संन्यासम् कवयो विदुः ।
सर्व कर्म फल त्यागम् प्राहुः त्यागम् विचक्षणाः ॥ २ ॥

zrI bhagavAn uvAca -
kAmyAnAm karmaNAm nyAsam saMnyAsam kavayo viduH |
sarva karma phala tyAgam prAhuH tyAgam vicakSaNAH || 2 ||

श्री भगवान् उवाच [zrI bhagavAn uvAca] The Lord said - कवयः [kavayaH] The wise विदुः [viduH] know that संन्यासम् [saMnyAsam] renunciation न्यासम् [nyAsam] is to leave काम्यानाम् कर्मणाम् [kAmyAnAm karmaNAm] actions that come from desire. विचक्षणाः [vicakSaNAH] Those who are experienced प्राहुः [prAhuH] say that त्यागम् [tyAgam] ‘letting go’ फल त्यागम् [phala tyAgam] is about giving up expectation सर्व कर्म [sarva karma] in all actions.

Some learned people believe that all actions are driven by desire, so they believe in leaving actions themselves - not doing them at all. This is ‘renunciation’.

Others with experience believe in letting go of expectation in all actions. This is called ‘letting go’ in all scriptures that deal with Moksha. The phrase ‘all actions’ here includes routine actions, prescribed actions and other activities having various outcomes.

Here, the Lord illustrates the contention between two phrases - ‘renunciation’ and ‘letting go’, both of which have been used in the scriptures.

Does ‘letting go’ mean that we must leave expectations in our actions or leave the actions themselves? Does renunciation mean ceasing all actions? The Lord has used the phrase ‘renunciation’ in some places and ‘letting go’ in others interchangeably, affirming that they mean the same.

As He says in the next few Shlokas- 18-4: ‘Arjuna, listen to My firm conclusion about letting-go’ – with this, He conveys His conclusion using the phrase ‘letting go’ itself. In 18-7, He says - ‘It is not appropriate to renounce activities that are prescribed. Getting confused and letting go of them is said to be in laziness, a quality of tamas’.

In 18-12, He says - ‘Actions have three types of results - desirable, undesirable and mixed. They follow a person who hasn’t let-go, even after he departs from this world. In the next life, he is born again in one of these three situations. None of this happens to someone who has renounced’.

In this way, the Lord has mutually substituted the phrases ‘renunciation’ and ‘letting go’. Hence, it is accepted that they have the same meaning.