BG 3.5
“
“
Devanagari
न हि कश्चित्क्षणमपि जातु तिष्ठत्यकर्मकृत् ।
कार्यते ह्यवशः कर्म सर्वः प्रकृतिजैर्गुणैः ॥ ५ ॥
Verse text
na hi kaścit kṣaṇam api
jātu tiṣṭhaty akarma-kṛt
kāryate hy avaśaḥ karma
sarvaḥ prakṛti-jair guṇaiḥ
Synonyms
na
—
nor
;
hi
—
certainly
;
kaścit
—
anyone
;
kṣaṇam
—
a moment
;
api
—
also
;
jātu
—
at any time
;
tiṣṭhati
—
remains
;
akarma-kṛt
—
without doing something
;
kāryate
—
is forced to do
;
hi
—
certainly
;
avaśaḥ
—
helplessly
;
karma
—
work
;
sarvaḥ
—
all
;
prakṛti-jaiḥ
—
born of the modes of material nature
;
guṇaiḥ
—
by the qualities.
Translation
Everyone is forced to act helplessly according to the qualities he has acquired from the modes of material nature; therefore no one can refrain from doing something, not even for a moment.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
5. No one can remain without doing activity even for a moment. All are forced to engage in action by the guṇas arising from prakṛti.
Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
5. No one can remain without doing activity even for a moment. All are forced to engage in action by the guṇas arising from prakṛti.
Purport
It is not a question of embodied life, but it is the nature of the soul to be always active. Without the presence of the spirit soul, the material body cannot move. The body is only a dead vehicle to be worked by the spirit soul, which is always active and cannot stop even for a moment. As such, the spirit soul has to be engaged in the good work of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, otherwise it will be engaged in occupations dictated by the illusory energy. In contact with material energy, the spirit soul acquires material modes, and to purify the soul from such affinities it is necessary to engage in the prescribed duties enjoined in the śāstras. But if the soul is engaged in his natural function of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, whatever he is able to do is good for him. The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.5.17) affirms this:
tyaktvā sva-dharmaṁ caraṇāmbujaṁ harer bhajann apakvo ’tha patet tato yadi yatra kva vābhadram abhūd amuṣya kiṁ ko vārtha āpto ’bhajatāṁ sva-dharmataḥ
“If someone takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, even though he may not follow the prescribed duties in the śāstras or execute the devotional service properly, and even though he may fall down from the standard, there is no loss or evil for him. But if he carries out all the injunctions for purification in the śāstras, what does it avail him if he is not Kṛṣṇa conscious?” So the purificatory process is necessary for reaching this point of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Therefore, sannyāsa, or any purificatory process, is to help reach the ultimate goal of becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious, without which everything is considered a failure.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Rather, the person of impure heart who gives up scriptural activities becomes engrossed in material actions. That is explained in this verse.
“But sannyāsa, renunciation of activities, means a negation of all tendencies for both Vedic and material activities, does it not?”
“Beyond one’s will (avaśaḥ), one will engage in action anyway.”
Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
If a person with impure heart renounces prescribed activities, taking vedic karma saṁnyāsa, he reverts to material action, for such a person cannot remain inactive. He cannot remain for even a moment being inactive.
“But saṁnyāsa is opposed to all activities.”
The next line answers. “By the qualities such as desire and repulsion (guṇaiḥ) arising from his nature (prakṛti jaiḥ), [Note: Later it is explained that nature or svabhāva means the impressions fixed in the jīva from experiences in successive bodies.] all action will be done, beyond his will (avaśaḥ).”
Surrender Unto Me
Srila Prabhupada says in his Purport: "It is not a question of embodied life, but it is the nature of the soul to be always active. Without the presence of the spirit soul, the material body cannot move. The body is only a dead vehicle to be worked by the spirit soul, which is always active and cannot stop even for a moment. As such, the spirit soul has to be engaged in the good work of Krsna consciousness, otherwise it will be engaged in occupations dictated by illusory energy.". The idea is that the soul is active by nature, he must act."
Krsna has told Arjuna in the 2nd Chapter, "karmany evadhikaras te ma phalesu kadacana", that means "your adhikary, your eligibility on the yoga ladder is to act. Your eligibility is karma or work".
Krsna has explained that there is a stage of sannyasi where one gives up his prescribed duty. The nature of the soul is active, therefore the Vedas prescribe "prescribed duties" that one can act and his activities won't drag him down but actually will elevate one. And what elevation means? It means purification of the heart, it means getting transcendental knowledge and then when one's heart is pure one is on the jnana platform. Karma, working after one is pure, one is actually free from material nature by adding jnana, one will be above the modes of material nature and he understands that he is not his body. If one's heart is not clean yet, is not beyond the modes of material nature and he accepts the externals of the jnana platform which is described for sannyasis (the giving up of prescribed duties), then he will find himself in a very difficult situation. His nature is to act, he cannot act on the transcendental platform because his heart is not yet clean, but he has to act and he has desires to act and now he is not allowed to act because of renouncing his prescribed dut therefore Krsna describes what happens to such a person