Bhagavad Gita 6.1 meaningTaming the mind
In simple wordsSo simple a child gets it
“Doing your work without needing a reward — that is the real spiritual life.”
What it means
Krishna says: “Someone who does the work that is theirs to do without depending on the reward is a true renunciant and yogi — not someone who simply stops working.”
The original Sanskrit
श्रीभगवानुवाच । अनाश्रितः कर्मफलं कार्यं कर्म करोति यः । स संन्यासी च योगी च न निरग्निर्न चाक्रियः ॥
śrībhagavānuvāca anāśritaḥ karmaphalaṃ kāryaṃ karma karoti yaḥ sa saṃnyāsī ca yogī ca na niragnirna cākriyaḥ
Translations
Literal translation
The Blessed Lord said: He who performs an action which is his duty, without depending on the result of action, he is a monk and a yogi; (but) not (so in) he who does not keep a fire and is actionless.
Swami Gambhirananda
हिंदी अनुवाद
श्रीभगवान् ने कहा -- जो पुरुष कर्मफल पर आश्रित न हो कर कर्तव्य कर्म करता है, वह संन्यासी और योगी है, न कि वह जिसने केवल अग्नि का और क्रियायों का त्याग किया है।
Swami Tejomayananda
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Commentaries
How great teachers across 1,200 years have explained this verse.
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Keep reading · 6.2“What people call renunciation is really this discipline. Nobody can be a true yogi without letting go of selfish plans.”