Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada

Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya

1-9: From Arurukshato (beginning stage) To Arudha stage (advance Stage)

-Advancement in astang yoga

Now Sri Krishna will explain this sa sannyāsī ca yogī ca in this verse.

Bg 6.2

yaṁ sannyāsam iti prāhur

yogaṁ taṁ viddhi pāṇḍava

na hy asannyasta-saṅkalpo

yogī bhavati kaścana

Word for word:

yam — what; sannyāsam — renunciation; iti — thus; prāhuḥ — they say; yogam — linking with the Supreme; tam — that; viddhi — you must know; pāṇḍava — O son of Pāṇḍu; na — never; hi — certainly; asannyasta — without giving up; saṅkalpaḥ — desire for self-satisfaction; yogī — a mystic transcendentalist; bhavati — becomes; kaścana — anyone.

Translation:

What is called renunciation you should know to be the same as yoga, or linking oneself with the Supreme, O son of Pāṇḍu, for one can never become a yogī unless he renounces the desire for sense gratification.

So yaṁ sannyāsam iti prāhur, that which is known as Sannyasa that is also known as Yoga: yogaṁ taṁ viddhi pāṇḍava, O Arjuna know that is also Yoga. So Sri Krishna is saying Yoga & Sannyasa are same. What he has talked in 5th Chapter about Yoga and Sannyasa there is similarity in destination. Further, Krishna is saying there is similarity in content also.

na hy asannyasta-saṅkalpo, if one doesn’t give up Sankalpa, desire for worldly enjoyment and asannyasta imply without giving up desire for worldly enjoyment, one cannot be a Yogi. yogī bhavati kaścana, one cannot be a yogi, unless one gives up desire for sense enjoyment.

So Sri Krishna is saying: How Yoga and Sanyas are the same. Actually there cannot be yoga, authentic yoga, there cannot be genuine connection with the Lord, unless there is disconnection from enjoyment that takes us away from the Lord.

For example; we say that we wish to light the fire to remove the darkness, so actually we cannot remove darkness, unless we light a lamp. When we light fire, darkness automatically goes away. So the two are connected. Hence, Sanyas and Yoga are inter-connected. If there is no Sanyas, then there is not much real yoga happening.

If people are planning to practice spiritual life (Srila Prabhupada has said this in one of the second canto purport) that if a person is chanting Hare Krishna, but engaged in all kinds of sensory activities, especially immoral sinful sense gratification—such a person is actually not a genuine devotee. That person’s devotion is outward: Of course chanting is good, chanting will help, but if chanted sincerely that should lead to detachment from sense gratification. It may take little time for different people, but there should be gradual progression toward the direction of detachment.

Srila Prabhupada Purport:

Real sannyāsa-yoga or bhakti means that one should know his constitutional position as the living entity, and act accordingly…. The real aim is for a living entity to give up all selfish satisfaction and to be prepared to satisfy the Supreme.

That means we work not for our pleasures but for Sri Krishna’s pleasures so in that way Sanyas and Yoga are combined together.