“Renunciation” is complete self-abnegation. It is the condition in which the seeker abandons whatever he has and only then does he reach the point when no further action is needed. “Renunciation” and “Attainment of the supreme state of actionlessness” are synonymous.The yogi who has reached the state of actionlessness attains to the Supreme Being.
Sri Krishn says in Bhagwad Geeta:
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asaktabuddhiḥ sarvatra jitātmā vigataspṛhaḥ
naiṣkarmyasiddhiṁ paramāṁ saṁnyāsenādhigacchati
“He whose intellect is aloof all round, who is without desire, and who has conquered his mind, attains to the ultimate state that transcends all action through renunciation.”
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He says:
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siddhiṁ prāpto yathā brahma tathāpnoti nibodha me
samāsenaiva kaunteya niṣṭhā jñānasya yā parā
“Learn in brief from me, O son of Kunti, of how one who is immaculate achieves realization of the Supreme Being, which represents the culmination of knowledge.”
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He adds:
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buddhyā viśuddhayā yukto dhṛtyātmānaṁ niyamya ca
śabdādīnviṣayāṁstyaktvā rāgadveṣau vyudasya ca
viviktasevī laghvāśī yatavākkāyamānasaḥ
dhyānayogaparo nityaṁ vairāgyaṁ samupāśritaḥ
ahaṁkāraṁ balaṁ darpaṁ kāmaṁ krodhaṁ parigraham
vimucya nirmamaḥ śānto brahmabhūyāya kalpate
brahmabhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati
samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu madbhaktiṁ labhate parām
“Blessed with a pure intellect, firmly in command of the Self, with objects of sensual gratification like sound forsaken , with both fondness and revulsion destroyed,dwelling in seclusion, eating frugally, subdued in mind, speech and body, incessantly given to the yog of meditation, firmly resigned,giving up conceit,arrogance of power,yearning,ill humor and acquisitiveness,devoid of attachment,and in possession of a mind at repose,a man is worthy of becoming one with God.”
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Sri Krishn says:
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brahmabhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati
samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu madbhaktiṁ labhate parām
“In this serene-tempered man, who views all beings equally, who abides intently in the Supreme Being, neither grieving over nor hankering after anything, there is fostered a faith in me that transcends all else.’’
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Now faith is at the stage where an outcome can ensue from it, namely, in the form of God-realization.
He adds:
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bhaktyā māmabhijānāti yāvānyaścāsmi tattvataḥ
tato māṁ tattvato jñātvā viśate tadanaṁtaram
“Through his transcendental faith he knows my essence well, what my reach is, and having thus known my essence he is at once united with me.”
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The Supreme Being is perceived at the moment of attainment and, no sooner has this perception come about than the worshipper finds his own Soul blessed with the attributes of God himself: that his soul is-like God-indestructible, immortal, eternal, ineffable, and universal.Sri Krishn has said that the Self is real, eternal, permanent, ineffable, and of the stuff of immortality. But only seers have apprehended him endowed with these qualities. So naturally the question arises as to what is meant by perception of the essence? There are many who set out to make rational tabulations of five or twenty-five principles. But Sri Krishn’s verdict on the problem in is quite clear, that God is the one supreme essence. And one who knows him is the seer. If you desire to know the truth and crave for the essence of God, contemplation and worship are an inescapable necessity.Here Yogeshwar Krishn has laid down explicitly that one has to act in the way of renunciation, too. As promised by him, he will expound in brief how through constant exercise of renunciation-through the Way of Knowledge-the worshipper who is free from desire and attachment, and who has an upright mind, attains to the supreme state of actionlessness?
When the maladies of vanity, brute power, lust, wrath, arrogance, and infatuation-that force one down into the ravines of nature-are rendered feeble, and virtues such as discernment, non-attachment, self-restraint, firmness of will, abiding in solitude, and meditation-that lead one to God-are fully developed and active, the seeker is equipped to be united with the Supreme Being. It is this ability that is called transcendental faith and it is by this that the worshipper comes to apprehend the ultimate reality. He then knows what God is and, knowing his divine glories, he is at once merged with him. Putting it differently, Brahm, Reality, God, the Supreme Spirit, and Self are all substitutes for each other. Knowing any one of them, we come to know them all. This is the final accomplishment, the final liberation, the final goal.
So the Geeta is unambiguous in its view that in both the Way of Knowledge or Discernment (or the Way of Renunciation) and the Way of Selfless Action, the ordained deed-meditation-has to be entered upon and accomplished for the attainment of the supreme state of actionlessness.
Humble Wishes!!!
As expounded by Swami Adgadanand Paramhans,most revered Gurudev.
