6.2
Chapter 6, Verse 2
यं संन्यासमिति प्राहुर्योगं तं विद्धि पाण्डव। न ह्यसंन्यस्तसङ्कल्पो योगी भवति कश्चन৷৷
yaṅ saṅnyāsamiti prāhuryōgaṅ taṅ viddhi pāṇḍava. na hyasaṅnyastasaṅkalpō yōgī bhavati kaścana৷৷
Translation
O Arjuna! Renunciation is in fact what is called Right Action. No one can become spiritual who has not renounced all desire.
Translation — Purohit Swami
Commentary
यम् which, संन्यासम् renunciation, इति thus, प्राहुः (they) call, योगम् Yoga, तम् that, विद्धि know, पाण्डव O Pandava, न not, हि verily, असंन्यस्तसङ्कल्पः one who has not renounced thoughts, योगी Yogi, भवति becomes, कश्चन anyone. Commentary: Sankalpa is the working of the imagining faculty of the mind that makes plans for the future and guesses the results of plans so formed. No one can become a Karma Yogi who plans and schemes and expects fruits for his actions. No devotee of action who has not renounced the thought of the fruits of his actions can become a Yogi of steady mind. The thought of the fruits will certainly make the mind unsteady.Lord Krishna eulogises Karma Yoga here because it is the means or an external aid (Bahiranga Sadhana) to Dhyana Yoga. Karma Yoga is a steppingstone to Dhyana Yoga. It leads to the Yoga of Meditation in due course. In order to encourage the practice of Karna Yoga it is stated here that Karma Yoga is Sannyasa. (Cf.V.4)
Commentary — Swami Sivananda
Sanskrit and transliteration of the Bhagavad Gita. Corpus compiled from the vedabase and the IIT Kanpur Gita Supersite.