Gita 06.03 – Different levels require different methods for progress

Audio Link: https://www.thespiritualscientist.com/gita-06-03-different-levels-require-different-methods-for-progress/

ārurukṣor muner yogaṁ
karma kāraṇam ucyate
yogārūḍhasya tasyaiva
śamaḥ kāraṇam ucyate (Bg 6.3)

Word-for-word:
ārurukṣoḥ — who has just begun yoga; muneḥ — of the sage; yogam — the eightfold yoga system; karma — work; kāraṇam — the means; ucyate — is said to be; yoga — eightfold yoga; ārūḍhasya — of one who has attained; tasya — his; eva — certainly; śamaḥ — cessation of all material activities; kāraṇam — the means; ucyate — is said to be.

Translation:
For one who is a neophyte in the eightfold yoga system, work is said to be the means; and for one who is already elevated in yoga, cessation of all material activities is said to be the means.

Explanation:
ārurukṣor muner yogaṁ: One who desires to rise in yoga. If we consider a ladder, or anything that requires ascending, such a person is still at the bottom.
karma kāraṇam ucyate: Action is said to be the means. In many vernacular languages like Hindi or Marathi, kāraṇa means “because”—as in, “because of this, he did that.” But kāraṇa in Sanskrit refers to that which is the cause, that which brings about motion, that which activates. Here, it means that karma is the means by which progress takes place.
yogārūḍhasya tasyaiva: For one who has already attained yoga,
śamaḥ kāraṇam ucyate: Mental tranquility is said to be the means.

Kṛṣṇa is saying that in the ārurukṣor stage, karma is the means of progress, and in the ārūḍha stage, śamaḥ is said to be the means. The word “śamaḥ” is often used to refer to complete mental tranquility, which, as we see on the path of yoga, is accompanied by outer renunciation. In its fullest sense, however, inner tranquility culminates in spiritual realization.

Here, Kṛṣṇa is saying that at different levels there are different paths. The Bhagavad-gītā’s teaching is often presented as if all paths lead to the same goal, and Kṛṣṇa does speak about the unifying purpose of different paths in several places. For instance, in the previous verse, He said that sannyāsa and yoga are essentially the same—that is His point in 6.1 and 6.2. Similarly, in 5.4, He states, sāṅkhya-yogau pṛthag bālāḥ—only childish people consider sāṅkhya and yoga to be different.

Kṛṣṇa does give some credence to the idea that different paths lead to the same goal, but here, He clearly speaks in a way that challenges such simplistic phrasing of complex concepts. The statement “all paths lead to the same goal” is not entirely wrong—it can, in a qualified sense, be said that karma-yoga, jñāna-yoga, aṣṭāṅga-yoga, and bhakti-yoga are all ultimately meant to lead a person toward liberation from material existence. However, the way each path does so is different. Without understanding this, one risks not only remaining trapped in material existence but also becoming entangled in intellectual confusion by simplistically equating all paths.

Here, Kṛṣṇa speaks on a different note, one that does not align with the simplistic idea that “all paths lead to the same goal.” He explains that at different levels there are different paths. In the initial stages, karma is the means (ārurukṣor muner yogaṁ karma kāraṇam ucyate), and for one who is already elevated, cessation of all material activities is said to be the means (yogārūḍhasya tasyaiva śamaḥ kāraṇam ucyate).

The word “yogārūḍha” means one who is properly situated on top. For instance, Lord Nārāyaṇa is sometimes described as Garuḍārūḍha—seated comfortably on Garuḍa. Similarly, one who is situated at the top of the yoga ladder has advanced substantially and attained the higher stages of yoga. For such a person, giving up action and directing the quest for realization inward becomes the kāraṇa—the means of progress.

What does this imply for our understanding—when is action the means, and when is contemplation the means? In the initial stages, when a person is practicing karma-yoga, the seeker must engage in activity, because we are not yet at a level where we can live without action. If we prematurely try to live without activity, the passion within us will eventually impel us to act, and that passion will drive us here, there, and everywhere.

In contrast, as one advances on the path of yoga—which consists of eight stages: yama, niyama, āsana, prāṇāyāma, pratyāhāra, dhāraṇā, dhyāna, and samādhi—the focus gradually shifts inward. In the meditative stages of dhāraṇā, dhyāna, and samādhi, one begins to catch glimpses of Viṣṇu, the indwelling divinity. At first, one may not recognize the indwelling divinity as Viṣṇu, but a momentary inner realization arises. That glimpse may fade, then return again, and the yogī strives to focus more and more inwardly to gain clearer and deeper experiences of it.

This is the essence of advanced yoga practice, where the emphasis is on inner contemplation that becomes increasingly concentrated, intense, deliberate, and fixed on the inner reality.

At that level, progress is primarily inward—the focus is inward, the journey is inward, and the destination is inward. Kṛṣṇa has spoken of this earlier in the fifth chapter: yo ’ntaḥ-sukho ’ntar-ārāmas tathāntar-jyotir eva yaḥ (5.24). There too He explained how one can move from action toward contemplation.

Hearing the previous verse (Bg 6.2), Arjuna might feel concerned. If Kṛṣṇa is saying that yoga and sannyāsa are the same, does that mean one should never take sannyāsa at all, or that one never needs to give up action?

Kṛṣṇa clarifies that this is not the case. Action can indeed be given up, but only at a particular stage. When one is at the ārūḍha stage of yoga, then renunciation of action becomes appropriate. But when one is at the ārurukṣor stage, one must work, and through that work, one makes progress.

A common temptation on the spiritual path is to pretend to be at a higher level than one actually is. Someone might think, “I am at the ārūḍha stage, and therefore śamaḥ is the means of progress for me.” To address this, Kṛṣṇa will, in the next verses, explain how one can truly understand whether one has reached the ārūḍha stage. In that context, He will speak about giving up desires and controlling the mind. Those points will be discussed in our future talks.

For now, in this verse, Kṛṣṇa emphasizes that there is a proper time for renunciation. At one stage, renunciation is the means of progress; at another, action is the means. And for Arjuna, Kṛṣṇa clearly states that action is the means of progress.

Thank you.