Gita 06.04 – Rigorous renunciation characterizes the yogarudha stage

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yadā hi nendriyārtheṣu
na karmasv anuṣajjate
sarva-saṅkalpa-sannyāsī
yogārūḍhas tadocyate (Bg 6.4)

Word-for-word:
yadā — when; hi — certainly; na — not; indriya-artheṣu — in sense gratification; na — never; karmasu — in fruitive activities; anuṣajjate — one necessarily engages; sarva-saṅkalpa — of all material desires; sannyāsī — renouncer; yoga-ārūḍhaḥ — elevated in yoga; tadā — at that time; ucyate — is said to be.

Translation:
A person is said to be elevated in yoga when, having renounced all material desires, he neither acts for sense gratification nor engages in fruitive activities.

Explanation:
In this verse, Kṛṣṇa speaks of one who is situated on the ārūḍha stage—one who is accomplished in yoga. In the previous verse, He described two stages: the initial stage of yoga, called ārurukṣa, and the advanced stage, called ārūḍha. Someone may claim to already be on the ārūḍha stage, and Kṛṣṇa states that for such a person, śamaḥ kāraṇam ucyate—outer inaction, coupled with inner peaceful contemplation, is the means. A person might therefore assert that he is at this level and, on that basis, justify practicing śamaḥ without performing karma.

But Kṛṣṇa cautions against making such assumptions by clearly describing the qualification required here. He says:
yadā hi nendriyārtheṣu: When one no longer craves sense objects,
na karmasv anuṣajjate: and does not engage in fruitive work,
sarva-saṅkalpa-sannyāsī: having renounced all desires for enjoyment,
yogārūḍhas tadocyate: such a person is said to be established in yoga.

Again, we need to look at the contextual meaning of words to make proper sense here. In the previous verse, Kṛṣṇa said that for the ārurukṣa, karma is the means of progress. But in this verse, He explains that one who does not engage in karma (na karmasv anuṣajjate) can rise beyond the ārurukṣa stage and reach the ārūḍha stage.

Here, however, the word “karma” does not carry the same meaning as in the previous verse. In verse 6.3, karma simply meant action, and in context it referred to detached action—that is, karma performed as part of karma-yoga. In this verse, karma refers instead to kāmya-karma [action performed for the fulfillment of desires].

Thus, when Kṛṣṇa says yadā hi nendriyārtheṣu na karmasv anuṣajjate—one who does not work for the sake of sense gratification—He is pointing to a person fully situated in detached work. Such a person not only refrains from attached activity but also embraces internal renunciation, becoming a sarva-saṅkalpa-sannyāsī [one who has renounced all desires for material enjoyment].

The word “sannyāsī” normally refers to someone in the renounced order of life. But here Kṛṣṇa uses the term as part of a compound word, sarva-saṅkalpa-sannyāsī. Such a person does not necessarily have to be in the formal renounced order, but must renounce all saṅkalpa [resolutions or desires for material enjoyment]. One who has done this is said to be situated on the yogārūḍha stage [accomplished in yoga].

Is this verse talking about perfection on the path of yoga? We may wonder: if someone has no attachment to sense objects (na indriyārtheṣu), does not engage in fruitive activities (na karmasv anuṣajjate), and has renounced all desires (sarva-saṅkalpa-sannyāsī), then what more is left to be attained?

The answer is that this is not the final stage. There is detachment from the material, and there is attachment to the spiritual. When one is at least free from gross attachment to material things, one can then turn inward. The phrase “sarva-saṅkalpa-sannyāsī” specifically means not just freedom from desires. Although saṅkalpa can be translated as “desires,” it more precisely refers to the intention to fulfill desires.

Kṛṣṇa earlier used the phrase kāma-saṅkalpa-varjitaḥ (Bg 4.19). There is saṅkalpa and vikalpa—first a decision, and then the retraction of that decision. We may decide to do something and later feel, “No, this is not what I should do,” and withdraw. The mind often oscillates between wanting to enjoy sense gratification and wanting to give it up.

Here, however, Kṛṣṇa is describing the sarva-saṅkalpa-sannyāsī—one who has renounced all such material resolutions. Such a person is said to be situated at the advanced stage of yoga (yogārūḍhas tadocyate).

Here, Kṛṣṇa is describing a person who has at least developed the intelligence to recognize that sensual desires lead to bondage, and therefore should not be indulged in or allowed to cause entanglement. Once we grasp this understanding, we can move forward and work on giving up such desires internally as well.

This verse marks a transition. From here onwards, in the next three to four verses, Kṛṣṇa focuses on the mind and speaks about the inner purification required for advancement on the path of yoga, leading to the stage where one can accept śamaḥ and then progress further.

In the practice of aṣṭāṅga-yoga, there are eight stages. The first four—yama, niyama, āsana, and prāṇāyāma—can be followed while one is still engaged with the world. However, the higher stages begin with pratyāhāra, the withdrawal of the senses from their objects, and progress through dhāraṇā, dhyāna, and samādhi. For these stages, one needs to be disconnected from worldly involvement. Thus, renunciation and seclusion—such as going to the forest—become necessary, as Kṛṣṇa will explain later in this chapter, beginning from verse 11 onwards.

However, in this verse Kṛṣṇa is speaking of the precursor. Arjuna may wonder: since Kṛṣṇa has said that sannyāsa and yoga are the same, does it mean one never needs to physically accept sannyāsa or renounce the world? Kṛṣṇa clarifies that one must actually come to the ārūḍha stage—the stage where one is no longer attached to sense enjoyment.

If desires for sense gratification still remain, along with the inclination to fulfil them, then such desires inevitably lead to complication and entanglement. For a renunciate, indulging in sense gratification is especially grave, for it is both karmically binding and spiritually degrading. Having renounced the world, one must not again return to worldly indulgence.

By placing renunciation on such a high pedestal, Kṛṣṇa ensures that people do not misuse the renounced order as an escape from the complexities of worldly duties. He will later instruct Arjuna that he too must work, while at the same time explaining that there is a sādhana by which one can renounce the world and still move forward in life. Kṛṣṇa will explain the details of that sādhana later in this chapter.

At this stage, however, He emphasizes that the ārūḍha stage cannot be simplistically assumed—that one is already established in yoga. One must progress from striving for and indulging in sense gratification to rising beyond even the intention to enjoy sense gratification. Only then can one be rightly situated on the path of yoga.

Thank you.