Devanagari
दु:खमित्येव यत्कर्म कायक्लेशभयात्त्यजेत् ।
स कृत्वा राजसं त्यागं नैव त्यागफलं लभेत् ॥ ८ ॥
Verse text
duḥkham ity eva yat karma
kāya-kleśa-bhayāt tyajet
sa kṛtvā rājasaṁ tyāgaṁ
naiva tyāga-phalaṁ labhet
Synonyms
duḥkham
—
unhappy
;
iti
—
thus
;
eva
—
certainly
;
yat
—
which
;
karma
—
work
;
kāya
—
for the body
;
kleśa
—
trouble
;
bhayāt
—
out of fear
;
tyajet
—
gives up
;
saḥ
—
he
;
kṛtvā
—
after doing
;
rājasam
—
in the mode of passion
;
tyāgam
—
renunciation
;
na
—
not
;
eva
—
certainly
;
tyāga
—
of renunciation
;
phalam
—
the results
;
labhet
—
gains.
Translation
Anyone who gives up prescribed duties as troublesome or out of fear of bodily discomfort is said to have renounced in the mode of passion. Such action never leads to the elevation of renunciation.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
8. One who gives up the obligatory actions out of fear of bodily pain, thinking it is an unnecessary inconvenience for the body, performs tyāga in the mode of rajas, and does not attain the intended result of that tyāga.
Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
8. One who gives up the obligatory actions out of fear of bodily pain, thinking it is an unnecessary inconvenience for the body, and performs tyāga in the mode of rajas, does not attain the intended result of that tyāga.
Purport
One who is in Kṛṣṇa consciousness should not give up earning money out of fear that he is performing fruitive activities. If by working one can engage his money in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or if by rising early in the morning one can advance his transcendental Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one should not desist out of fear or because such activities are considered troublesome. Such renunciation is in the mode of passion. The result of passionate work is always miserable. If a person renounces work in that spirit, he never gets the result of renunciation.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Even though one knows that performance of nitya-karma is necessary and to do it is praiseworthy and to neglect to do it is a sinful, if one rejects the action thinking it is useless trouble to the body, it is known as rajasic tyāga. One will not attain the desired result of tyāga, knowledge, by doing so.
Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
Even knowing that performing prescribed actions with no desire is a cause of liberation, if the desirer of liberation gives up those actions out of fear of bodily pain (kāya kleśa bhāyāt), such as having difficulties to obtain the materials for sacrifice or disliking the discomfort of a morning bath, his renunciation is in the mode of passion, since such experience of discontent is the quality of the mode of passion. Having given up the actions, that person will not attain steadiness in jṣāna (tyāga phalam), which is the result of performance of the action.
Surrender Unto Me
Someone may take sannyasa because he is having so many business troubles, the family his giving him so much trouble, and his work is so difficult, he finds no happiness in the world... one may take sannyasa and think 'what is the use of working hard to get bread, if I go to Vrndavana I can get so many capatis to eat and I don't have to work at all and I save myself so much trouble.' In that way if someone takes sannyasa and dresses in the sannyasa way ‑ this is in the mode of passion, not what Krsna recommends. A person in this consciousness knows that he should do his duty in detachment but he rejects doing the duty because it is too hard, too difficult. And yet, he still wants to get some spiritual benefit, 'I will be a sadhu, I will be a sannyasi, but I don't work hard, it is too difficult.'