Bg. 3.7 · Bhagavad-gita As It Is

Devanagari

यस्त्विन्द्रियाणि मनसा नियम्यारभतेऽर्जुन । कर्मेन्द्रियैः कर्मयोगमसक्तः स विशिष्यते ॥ ७ ॥

Verse text

yas tv indriyāṇi manasā niyamyārabhate ’rjuna karmendriyaiḥ karma-yogam asaktaḥ sa viśiṣyate

Synonyms

yaḥ — one who ; tu — but ; indriyāṇi — the senses ; manasā — by the mind ; niyamya — regulating ; ārabhate — begins ; arjuna — O Arjuna ; karma-indriyaiḥ — by the active sense organs ; karma-yogam — devotion ; asaktaḥ — without attachment ; saḥ — he ; viśiṣyate — is by far the better.

Translation

On the other hand, if a sincere person tries to control the active senses by the mind and begins karma-yoga [in Kṛṣṇa consciousness] without attachment, he is by far superior.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

7. He who, free from attachment, controlling the senses by the mind, begins karma-yoga with his active senses, is superior.

Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

7. He who, free from attachment, controlling the senses by the mind, performs karma yoga with his active senses, is superior to a person acting prematurely from the position of jṣāna .

Translation (Bhurijana Dasa)

Perform your prescribed duty, for doing so is better than not working. One cannot even maintain one's physical body without work.

Purport

Instead of becoming a pseudo transcendentalist for the sake of wanton living and sense enjoyment, it is far better to remain in one’s own business and execute the purpose of life, which is to get free from material bondage and enter into the kingdom of God. The prime svārtha-gati, or goal of self-interest, is to reach Viṣṇu. The whole institution of varṇa and āśrama is designed to help us reach this goal of life. A householder can also reach this destination by regulated service in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. For self-realization, one can live a controlled life, as prescribed in the śāstras, and continue carrying out his business without attachment, and in that way make progress. A sincere person who follows this method is far better situated than the false pretender who adopts show-bottle spiritualism to cheat the innocent public. A sincere sweeper in the street is far better than the charlatan meditator who meditates only for the sake of making a living.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

In contrast to this, the householder (not the sannyāsī), who performs scriptural actions (karma-yogam) without longing for fruits of his actions (asaktaḥ) is superior. Rāmānujācārya says in this regard that he is superior to the person practicing jṣāna because of the impossibility of going astray by this method.

Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

On the other hand, the householder who performs his prescribed activities is better. That person is superior who, devoid of desire for the results (aśaktaḥ), performs the method (yoga) in the form of actions (karma) by the action senses, with regulation of those senses by the mind (manasā) which has the intention of realizing ātmā. He is better than a person acting on the platform of jṣāna which is only to be achieved in the future.

Surrender Unto Me

Gradually we will fill all the stages on this yoga ladder. There is karma by which one is attached ‑ this is called "sakama" where in the beginning one's adhikary is that one has material attachments (this comes from the mode of passion). And then, when one is in the mode of passion, by working according to the authority of the scriptures then gradually one detachment and that practically means that he changes from passion to goodness,because detachment is the quality of goodness. Then one comes to the platform of jnana which is detachment or renunciation. But what we have heard befor that in this jnana platform one should still work ‑ this wh going to be explained in this Chapter. That work on the jnana platform is called Buddhi‑yoga or "Niskama‑karma". That is karma but on the jnana platform. This yoga ladder is very, very important because one has to know where to place himself and where to place others. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% niyatam kuru karma tvam karma jyayo hy akarmanah sarira‑yatrapi ca te na prasiddhyed akarmanah niyatam‑‑prescribed; kuru‑‑do; karma‑‑duties; tvam‑‑you; karma‑‑work; jyayah‑‑better; hi‑‑certainly; akarmanah‑‑than no work; sarira‑‑bodily; yatra‑‑maintenance; api‑‑even; ca‑‑also; te‑‑your; na‑‑never; prasiddhyet‑‑is effected; akarmanah‑‑without work. TRANSLATION Perform your prescribed duty, for doing so is better than not working. One cannot even maintain one's physical body without work. "Karma for you whose adhikary is to work, is better than to renounce work, because you are not on the jnana platform to renounce work. And now to bring that niskama‑karma, or jnana and karma combined platform, to Krsna consciousness platform, (because one can perform one's prescribed duties in a detached way, but that is not Krsna consciousness, because Krsna consciousness means materially detached but spiritually attached to Krsna) explains that which what makes it Krsna consciousness.