Chapter 18: Mokṣha Sanyās Yog – Yoga through the Perfection of Renunciation and Surrender

Verses

1. 18.1 — Arjuna said: O mighty-armed Hrishikesa, O slayer of Kesi, I wish to understand the true nature of…
2. 18.2 — Shri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, said: The learned know that the renunciation of…
3. 18.3 — Some philosophers declare that action is to be abandoned as an evil, while others maintain that the acts of…
4. 18.4 — Hear from Me the final conclusion regarding this renunciation, O best of the Bharatas; renunciation, O best…
5. 18.5 — Acts of sacrifice, charity, and austerity should not be abandoned, but must be performed; for sacrifice,…
6. 18.6 — O Arjuna, even these actions must be performed, relinquishing all attachment and the desire for fruits; this…
7. 18.7 — Verily, the renunciation of prescribed duties is not proper. The abandonment of such duties out of delusion…
8. 18.8 — He who abandons prescribed duties because they are troublesome or out of fear of bodily discomfort, performs…
9. 18.9 — O Arjuna, when an obligatory duty is performed merely because it is one's duty, renouncing all attachment…
10. 18.10 — The person who is endowed with the quality of goodness (sattva), who is intelligent, and whose doubts have…
11. 18.11 — It is indeed impossible for one who possesses a body to relinquish all actions completely; however, he who…
12. 18.12 — The threefold fruit of action—evil, good, and mixed—accrues after death to those who do not renounce the…
13. 18.13 — Learn from Me, O mighty-armed Arjuna, these five causes, as declared in the Sankhya system, for the…
14. 18.14 — The seat of action (the body), the performer (the ego), the various senses, the different functions of many…
15. 18.15 — Whatever action a person performs by their body, speech, and mind—whether it be right or wrong—these five…
16. 18.16 — Therefore, he who, due to an untrained understanding, perceives his self—which is pure and isolated—as the…
17. 18.17 — He who is free from the egoistic notion, whose intelligence is not tainted by good or evil, though he slays…
18. 18.18 — Knowledge, the object of knowledge, and the knower constitute the threefold impulse to action; the senses,…
19. 18.19 — Knowledge, action, and the performer of action are declared in the science of the Gunas (Sankhya) to be of…
20. 18.20 — That knowledge by which one sees the one, undivided, and indestructible Reality in all beings, despite their…
21. 18.21 — But that knowledge which sees in all beings various entities of distinct kinds as being distinct from one…
22. 18.22 — But that knowledge which clings to one single effect as if it were the whole, devoid of reason, without…
23. 18.23 — An action that is ordained, free from attachment, performed without love or hatred, and devoid of any desire…
24. 18.24 — But that action which is performed by one seeking the fulfillment of desires, with a sense of egotism, and…
25. 18.25 — That action which is undertaken from delusion, without regard for the consequences, loss, injury, and one's…
26. 18.26 — The agent who is free from attachment, devoid of egoism, endowed with fortitude and enthusiasm, and remains…
27. 18.27 — The agent who is passionate, desiring the fruits of actions, greedy, violent, impure, and moved by joy and…
28. 18.28 — Unsteady, vulgar, inflexible, deceitful, malicious, lazy, despondent, and procrastinating—such an agent is…
29. 18.29 — O Arjuna, hear now the threefold classification of the intellect and the firmness according to the Gunas, as…
30. 18.30 — The intellect which knows the path of work and renunciation, what ought to be done and what ought not to be…
31. 18.31 — O Arjuna, that intellect by which one fails to correctly discern dharma and adharma, as well as what ought…
32. 18.32 — O Arjuna, that intellect which is shrouded in darkness, which perceives irreligion as religion and views all…
33. 18.33 — The unwavering firmness, O Arjuna, by which the functions of the mind, the life-force, and the senses are…
34. 18.34 — But that determination, O Arjuna, by which one holds fast to duty, pleasure, and wealth—being attached and…
35. 18.35 — O Arjuna, that determination by which a foolish person does not abandon sleep, fear, grief, despair, and…
36. 18.36 — Now, O Arjuna, hear from Me regarding the three types of happiness in which one finds delight through…
37. 18.37 — That which in the beginning is like poison, but in the end is like nectar—that happiness is declared to be…
38. 18.38 — That happiness which arises from the contact of the senses with their objects, which is like nectar at first…
39. 18.39 — That happiness which both in the beginning and at the end is delusive to the self, arising from sleep,…
40. 18.40 — There is no being on earth or among the celestial gods in the higher realms who is free from these three…
41. 18.41 — The duties of Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, and Sudras are distributed according to the qualities born of…
42. 18.42 — Serenity, self-restraint, austerity, purity, forgiveness, and uprightness, as well as knowledge,…
43. 18.43 — Heroism, splendor, firmness, dexterity, and not fleeing from battle, generosity, and lordliness are the…
44. 18.44 — Agriculture, cattle-rearing, and trade are the natural duties of the Vaisya; and service is the natural duty…
45. 18.45 — Devoted to one's own duty, man attains perfection. Now hear from Me how one engaged in his own duty attains…
46. 18.46 — By worshipping Shri Krishna, from whom all beings have emanated and by whom this entire universe is…
47. 18.47 — Better is one's own duty (Svadharma), though imperfectly performed, than the duty of another well performed.…
48. 18.48 — O Arjuna, one should not abandon the duty born of one's own nature, even if it has flaws; for all…
49. 18.49 — One whose intellect is unattached everywhere, who has subdued the self, and from whom all desires have fled,…
50. 18.50 — Learn from Me, O Arjuna, in brief how one who has attained perfection reaches Brahman—the Eternal, the…
51. 18.51 — Endowed with a pure intellect, controlling the self with firm resolve, abandoning the objects of the senses…
52. 18.52 — Dwelling in solitude, eating sparingly, with speech, body, and mind subdued, always engaged in meditation…
53. 18.53 — Having abandoned egoism, strength, arrogance, desire, anger, and covetousness, and being free from the…
54. 18.54 — One who has attained the state of Brahman, being serene in the Self, neither grieves nor desires; being…
55. 18.55 — Through pure devotion, one realizes Shri Krishna in His absolute truth—who He is and what He is. Having…
56. 18.56 — Always performing all actions, taking refuge in Me alone, by My grace one attains the eternal, imperishable…
57. 18.57 — Mentally renouncing all actions unto Me, holding Me as the supreme goal, and resorting to the yoga of…
58. 18.58 — If you fix your consciousness upon Me, you will, by My grace, overcome all obstacles. But if, due to ego,…
59. 18.59 — If, filled with egoism, thou thinkest, 'I will not fight,' then thy resolve is vain; nature will compel thee.
60. 18.60 — O Arjuna, bound by your own karma born of your own nature, that which from delusion you do not wish to do,…
61. 18.61 — The Supreme Lord Krishna dwells within the hearts of all living beings, O Arjuna, and by His divine illusory…
62. 18.62 — Surrender yourself unto Him alone with all your being, O Arjuna. By His grace, you will attain supreme peace…
63. 18.63 — Thus, the knowledge most secret of all secrets has been declared to you by Me, Shri Krishna; having…
64. 18.64 — Hear again My supreme word, the most confidential of all secrets; because you are My dear friend, I shall…
65. 18.65 — Fix your mind on Me, be devoted to Me, worship Me, and bow down to Me. Thus, you will surely come to Me. I…
66. 18.66 — Abandon all varieties of religion and surrender unto Me alone. I will deliver you from all sinful reactions.…
67. 18.67 — Never impart this knowledge to one who is devoid of austerities, nor to one who lacks devotion, nor to one…
68. 18.68 — He who, having offered supreme devotion unto Me, imparts this supreme secret to My devotees, shall…
69. 18.69 — There is no one among men who does service more pleasing to Me than him, nor shall there be anyone on earth…
70. 18.70 — And he who will study this sacred dialogue of ours, by him I shall have been worshipped through the…
71. 18.71 — And that man who listens with faith and without malice, even he, being liberated, shall attain the…
72. 18.72 — O Arjuna, has this been heard by you with a one-pointed mind? O Dhananjaya, has the delusion caused by…
73. 18.73 — Arjuna said: My delusion is destroyed, and I have regained my memory through Your grace, O Achyuta. I am now…
74. 18.74 — Sanjaya said: Thus, I have heard this wonderful and hair-raising dialogue between Lord Krishna and the…
75. 18.75 — By the grace of Vyasa, I have heard this supreme and most confidential Yoga, being spoken directly by Shri…
76. 18.76 — O King, as I recall this wonderful and holy dialogue between Lord Krishna and Arjuna, I rejoice again and…
77. 18.77 — And, remembering again and again that most wonderful form of Shri Hari, I am filled with great wonder, O…
78. 18.78 — Wherever there is Krishna, the Lord of Yoga, and wherever there is Arjuna, the wielder of the bow, there…