Chapter 3, Verse 3
Krishna says,
“In this world
There are two main paths:
The Yoga of discernment,
For contemplatives,
And for those who are active,
The Yoga of selfless action.”
Sri Aurobindo:
“The object of the first six chapters of the Gita is to synthesize these two methods which are ordinarily supposed to be contrary. For the Yoga of the Gita, action is not only a preparation but is itself the means of liberation. It is the justice of this view which Krishna seeks to bring out with such force and insistence. Renunciation is indispensable, but the true renunciation is the inner rejection of unskillful desire and egoism, without the outer physical abandonment of works. By the union of discernment with works, the soul dwells entirely in the Self not only in repose and inactive calm, but also in the midst and stress of action.”
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2 comments:
How wonderful to unite the paths of discernment (is this jnana yoga?) and action (karma). It seems daunting, but I am reminded of what Bhagavan Das taught me a couple years ago:
Stop; and start again.
Thanks for writing, Jess. Jnana is usually translated as “knowledge,” but this can be misleading because it’s not about book knowledge so much as experiential knowledge in which the source of our thoughts is recognized as the background of all the activity. This is also known as Buddhi Yoga, the Yoga of discernment. The one and only source is the foundation of all our mental activity and all of our physical activity as well. This provides a clue to understanding how Buddhi Yoga and Karma Yoga are not opposed but complementary.
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