Bg. 18.49

BG 18.49

Devanagari

असक्तबुद्धि: सर्वत्र जितात्मा विगतस्पृह: । नैष्कर्म्यसिद्धिं परमां सन्न्यासेनाधिगच्छति ॥ ४९ ॥

Verse text

asakta-buddhiḥ sarvatra jitātmā vigata-spṛhaḥ naiṣkarmya-siddhiṁ paramāṁ sannyāsenādhigacchati

Synonyms

asakta-buddhiḥ having unattached intelligence ; sarvatra everywhere ; jita-ātmā having control of the mind ; vigata-spṛhaḥ without material desires ; naiṣkarmya-siddhim the perfection of nonreaction ; paramām supreme ; sannyāsena by the renounced order of life ; adhigacchati one attains.

Translation

One who is self-controlled and unattached and who disregards all material enjoyments can obtain, by practice of renunciation, the highest perfect stage of freedom from reaction.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

49. He whose intelligence is unattached, whose mind is under control, and who is devoid of desire for material happiness, attains the highest perfection by complete renunciation of action.

Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

49. He whose intelligence is unattached, whose mind is under control, and who is devoid of desire for material happiness, attains the highest perfecton by complete renunciation of action.

Purport

Real renunciation means that one should always think himself part and parcel of the Supreme Lord and therefore think that he has no right to enjoy the results of his work. Since he is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, the results of his work must be enjoyed by the Supreme Lord. This is actually Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The person acting in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is really a sannyāsī, one in the renounced order of life. By such a mentality, one is satisfied because he is actually acting for the Supreme. Thus he is not attached to anything material; he becomes accustomed to not taking pleasure in anything beyond the transcendental happiness derived from the service of the Lord. A sannyāsī is supposed to be free from the reactions of his past activities, but a person who is in Kṛṣṇa consciousness automatically attains this perfection without even accepting the so-called order of renunciation. This state of mind is called yogārūḍha, or the perfectional stage of yoga. As confirmed in the Third Chapter, yas tv ātma-ratir eva syāt: one who is satisfied in himself has no fear of any kind of reaction from his activity.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The first type of sannyāsī gives up the faults in his work, characterized by attachment to being the doer and attachment to the results. When that sannyāsī perfects his sādhana over time, then he reaches the yogārūḍha stage. Then he gives up actions completely. That is the second type of sannyāsa, mentioned here. He whose intelligence is free from all attachments to material objects (asakta- buddhiḥ), whose mind is under control (jitātmā), who has no desire for the happiness even of Brahmaloka (vigata-spṛhaḥ), then, by complete renunciation of all activities (sannyāsena), attains the highest perfection of no action at all (naiṣkarmyam). In other words, at the stage of yogārūḍha (no actions), with attainment of naiṣkarmyam, one reaches the highest perfection.

Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

The aspirant for liberation (arurukṣa), a saniṣtha fixed in doing his duties, after having realized his svarūpa by being fixed in karma which contains jṣāna within it, should give up completely that level of karma. That is explained in this verse. He whose intelligence is unattached (asakta buddhiḥ) to all things except ātmā (sarvatra), because his mind is under control from tasting the bliss of ātmā (jitātmā), and because he is devoid of desires for the varieties of happiness derived from objects other than ātmā (vigata spṛhaḥ), attains the highest perfection called yogārūḍha, characterized by non-action, through renouncing completely (sannyāsena) all actions, which are causes of disturbance in tasting of ātmā. This has also already been stated in the third chapter: yas tv ātma-ratir eva syād (BG 3.17)