184. Peace Follows Renunciation

Krishna earlier advised abhyasa yoga (yoga of practice) in case one is unable to fix the mind on Him. He further says, "If you are unable to do abhyasa, be diligent in performing actions in thought of me. Even by engaging in activities for my sake, you shall attain divine bliss (siddhi). If you are unable to do even this, remaining attached to Me as your shelter, relinquish the fruits of all actions to be centred in the self (atma-vaan)" (12.10 and 12.11).

Every karma (action) has a kartha (doer) and karmaphal (fruits of action). One path is dropping Kartha which Krishna referred to as 'performing actions in thought of Me'. In other words this is dedicating the sense of doership to Paramatma. Another path is renouncing the fruits of action.

Krishna says, "Better indeed is gyan (awareness) than abhyasa (practice); better than gyan is dhyan (meditation); better than dhyan is renunciation of the fruits of actions; peace immediately follows such renunciation" (12.12).

Gyan can be awareness attained through our own experiences or attained through the wisdom taught by enlightened people. Awareness requires changing ourselves which is not an ordinary task. Dhyan is an easier option for someone who finds it difficult to change themselves.

Performing karmas by renouncing the fruits of action (2.47) is at the heart of the Bhagavad Gita. The fundamental question we face in this regard is how do we measure our progress along this path. Krishna gave a benchmark together with an assurance that peace (shanti or manah-shanti) immediately follows when we renounce the fruits of actions. This is irrespective of how successful or unsuccessful we are; how good or bad our external situations are. This benchmark of attaining? 'manah-shanti' can be used to measure our progress in the spiritual journey.