Chapter 18

The previous two chapters spoke about activities like worship, discipline and charity - as specified in the Vedas. They explained that the achievements in this world, as well as supreme joy ( Moksha ) come from such activities, not from other sources.

All these activities are associated with the sound of ‘Om’, which is about a higher purpose. It is the common characteristic of all activities in the Vedas.

The words ‘tat’ and ‘sat’ give the distinction between the achievement of Moksha and the achievements in this world. Activities like worship lead to Moksha, when they are not bogged down by expectations. Such activities commence in an abundance of sattva . This quality is enhanced by nurturing the body with food that’s made in the quality of sattva.

Next, this chapter explains that त्याग [tyAga] - ‘letting go’ and संन्यास [saMnyAsa] - ‘renunciation’ are synonymous. Their purpose is to achieve Moksha. It goes on to describe the characteristics of ‘letting go’, which is the scheme of placing all transactions in the Supreme Lord.

This chapter also describes the effects of sattva , rajas and tamas and the inevitable excellence of sattva . It illustrates the way to achieve of the Lord with activities that are natural to us. We worship the Lord with our normal activity.

These Shlokas state that devotion to the Lord is the summary of the entire text of the Gita.

While going into this summary, Arjuna first wants to determine if ‘letting go’ is same as ‘renunciation’, or if they’re something different. Here, the phrase ‘letting go’ is to lose possessiveness towards our actions and their outcomes; ‘renunciation’ is about giving up actions themselves. He asks to know their characteristics.