यं सन्न्यासमिति प्राहुर्योगं तं विद्धि पाण्डव ।
न ह्यसन्न्यस्तसङ्कल्पो योगी भवति कश्चन ॥
yaṁ sannyāsam iti prāhur yogaṁ taṁ viddhi pāṇḍava |
na hy asannyasta-saṅkalpo yogī bhavati kaścana ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 6.2)
“O Pāṇḍava, know that which they call sannyāsa [i.e., rejection of the results of karma] to be yoga [i.e., karma-yoga], since no one who has not given up resolve (saṅkalpa) [i.e., desire for enjoyment of the results of karma] becomes a yogī.”
Commentary
na sannyastaḥ phala-saṅkalpo yena sa karma-niṣṭho jñāna-niṣṭho vā kaścid api na hi yogī bhavati | ataḥ phala-saṅkalpa-tyāga-sāmyāt sannyāsī ca phala-saṅkalpa-tyāgād eva citta-vikṣepābhāvād yogī ca bhavaty eva sa ity arthaḥ |
(Excerpt from the Subodhinī-ṭīkā)
“Anyone engaged in karma [-yoga] or engaged in jñāna [-yoga] by whom resolve for results is not given up does not become a yogī. Therefore, because of the equivalence of renouncing resolve [i.e., desire] for results [of karma], one becomes a sannyāsī just because of renouncing resolve for results [of karma] and as well as a yogī because of the absence of distraction in the mind [that ensues when no resolve for the results of karma is present]. This is the meaning.”
karma-phala-tyāga eva sannyāsa-śabdārthaḥ | vastutas tathā viṣayebhyaś citta-naiścalyam eva yoga-śabdārthaḥ | tasmāt sannyāsa-yoga-śabdayor aikyārtham evāgatam ity āha yam iti | asannyasto na sannyastas tyaktaḥ saṅkalpaḥ phalākāṅkṣā viṣaya-bhoga-spṛhā yena saḥ |
(Sārārtha-varṣinī-ṭīkā)
“Renunciation of the results of karma is the meaning of the word sannyāsa. Actually so also, only fixity [i.e., immovability] of the mind in regard to objects of the senses [i.e., the mind remaining undisturbed by the sense objects] is the meaning of the word yoga. Therefore, a oneness in meaning of the words sannyāsa and yoga is understood. Thus, he [i.e., Bhagavān] speaks this verse (yaṁ …). He by whom saṅkalpa, that is, expectancy of results, that is, desire for enjoyment of the objects of the senses, has not been rejected [is the meaning of the compound asannyasta-saṅkalpo].”
yaṁ karma-yogam artha-tātparya-jñāḥ saṁnyāsṁ prāhus tam eva taṁ yogam aṣṭāṅgaṁ viddhi | he pāṇḍava! nanu siṁho mānavakaḥ ity ādau śauryādi-guṇa-sādṛśyena tathā prayogaḥ | prakṛteḥ kiṁ sādṛśyam iti cet tatrāha na hīti | asannyasta-saṅkalpaḥ kaścana kaścid jñāna-yogy aṣṭāṅga-yogī ca na bhavaty api tu sannyasta-saṅkalpa eva bhavatīty arthaḥ | sannyastaḥ parityaktaḥ saṅkalpaḥ phalecchā ca yena saḥ | tathā phala-tyāga-sādṛśyāt tṛṣṇā-rūpa-citta-vṛtti-nirodha-sādṛśyāc ca karma-yoginas tad-ubhayatvena prayogo gauṇa-vṛttyeti |
(Excerpt from the Gītā-bhūṣaṇa-ṭīkā)
“Know karma-yoga, that which knowers of the intent in meaning [in the word] call sannyāsa [i.e., jñāna-yoga], to be that very yoga, that is, aṣṭāṅga [-yoga, i.e., know all three of these yogas to be one and the same in fundamental intent], O Pāṇḍava!
“‘Well, in expressions such as, “The man is a lion,” the usage is because of similarity in qualities [between the subject and object of the comparison] such as prowess. [So,] what is the similarity in nature [in this case]?’
“If such [a question is raised], [then] to this, he speaks the second half of the verse (na hi …). Although no one who has not given up resolve becomes a jñāna-yogī or aṣṭāṅga-yogī, one who has, rather, given up resolve certainly becomes one. This is the meaning. [‘One who has given up resolve’ (asannyasta-saṅkalpo) means] One by whom resolve and desire for results has been given up, that is, rejected. Because of the similarity in renouncing results, and the similarity of ceasing of the vṛttis (fluctuations) in the mind in the form of desires [that ensues from there being no resolve for the results of karma], this usage occurs by means of the secondary vṛtti [i.e., sense of the words] because of a karma-yogī’s being possessed of both of these [i.e., both renunciation of resolve for the results of karma and the cessation of the vṛttis of desire in the mind].”