Let’s try to understand what is happening till chapter 5 and further:

In Arjun’s mind there were two options: action or renunciation, So Sri Krishna has told him about how there can be renunciation in action, these two need not be opposite, it can be integrated, it need not be fragmented. When Sri Krishna spoke how it can be integrated then the question comes up, is it that action alone will ultimately lead to liberation? So Karma Yoga alone can lead to liberation, it can, when a person is practicing Karma Yoga, eventually the person can renounce the world and go to forest. When the person is a grihasta he lives in the world and acts in Karma Yoga, but later on when the person takes Vanaprastha and Sanyas the person may not be acting in Karma Yoga. That time the person may take up Gyana Yoga, Astanga Yoga, the person may take up full time Bhakti Yoga also, that can vary. The way Sri Krishna has explained Karmanev He samsidhi, by Karma alone one can take up liberation that means one can stay in liberated stage even while practicing one’s work, but eventually as Varnaashram progression is there one will renounce the world, so when one renounces the world what one does at that time to complete the process towards liberation. Sri Krishna is telling here, instead of Gyana Yoga Sri Krishna has already told Dhukam Aptu Ayogta, Sri Krishna said if one is not practicing Karma Yoga one will get only Dhuka, so here Sri Krishna is saying if one wants to practice liberation one should practice Astanga Yoga, this is described in two verses and it is elaborated in sixth chapter, there he will talk about how to renounce world through astanga yoga. In the last verse of this chapter Sri Krishna will talk about Bhakti Yoga, this Bhakti Yoga will be elaborated in the next section of Bhagavat Gita from Chapter 07 to Chapter 12.

So this is the progression in first 5 chapters Sri Krishna has established for Arjuna, action is better than renunciation, Karma Yoga is better than Gyana Yoga and when he does Karma Yoga and eventually he wanted to renounce the world that time he can practice Astanga Yoga or he can Practice Bhakti Yoga and Bhakti Yoga can be continuously practiced, he need not have to change the process, that he will talk elaborately in later chapters 07 to 12. So now let us talk about brief glimpse of Astanga Yoga that Sri Krishna gives over here.

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Completed Ch4 Gyana yoga or Transcendental knowledge this is sandwiched between ch3 Karma Yoga  and Karma Yoga – Action in Krishna Consciousness. Conventionally Ch5 is titled as Karma Sannyas Yoga and conventionally Ch4 is titles as gyana Karma Sanyas Yoga -> this means by gyana one understands how to do karma in such a way that one renunciate within Karma, it is Sannyas in Karma not Sannyas of karma.

So in Ch5 Shri Krishna is going to talk about renunciation in Karma not renunciation of karma yoga.

In whole Bhagavad Gita Krishna talks about action itself can lead to liberation or entanglement depending upon how action is done.

Ch4 concludes with Krishna telling Arjuna to raise and fight. Ch5 begins with Arjuna having doubt, Arjuna gets doubt comes because prior to that in 4.39 Shri Krishna has talked about peace Shanti and 4.41 Shri Krishna has talked about Karma Sannyas, so both these coupled with non-reference of fighting in Ch4. Arjuna doubt is, does Krishna really wanted him to fight? So the last verse when Krishna tells Arjuna to fight, it rises doubt in Arjuna’s mind, so Arjuna asked the question and this question is similar to Arjuna’s question in 3rd Ch, some Chapter in Bg are similar e.g. Ch3 & Ch5 are similar, Ch7 and Ch9 are also similar. Although themes are similar, when Shri Krishna takes the same theme again he takes it deeper.

Chp5 Overview

1-6: KY Karma Yoga is equal to, but easier than JY Gyana Yoga

7-16: By fixing mind on atma, Karma Yogi remains free from bondage. (This is elaboration of the first 6 verses from 1-6. How is Karma Yoga equal? As Karma causes bondage and renunciation leads to liberation. So here Krishna tells that if one is not fixing mind on sense object instead he fixes his mind on atma-the soul, then the Karma yogi will remain free from bondage. Then Krishna is saying by fixing mind on Super Soul-Paramatam in 17-29, a Karma Yogi will attain liberation. So here are two phases, one is not getting bound further and second is getting liberated. E.g. When we are sick one part is to remove the infection, the virus or germs etc. and second is to regain strength, so first part is to prevent aggravation of sickness so that it should not spread further and second is to remove the sickness and regain health. Recovery is in two parts: stopping the negative and bringing out the positive. So Atma Gyana will help us not get bound further and Parmatma Gyana will lead to liberation.

17-29: By fixing mind on Parmatma, Karma yogi attains liberation

27-28: Astanga Yoga – elaborated in ch 6

29: Bhakti Yoga – elaborated in chp7-12

 

Bg 5.1

arjuna uvāca

sannyāsaṁ karmaṇāṁ kṛṣṇa

punar yogaṁ ca śaṁsasi

yac chreya etayor ekaṁ

tan me brūhi su-niścitam

Word for word: 

arjunaḥ uvāca — Arjuna said; sannyāsam — renunciation; karmaṇām — of all activities; kṛṣṇa — O Kṛṣṇa; punaḥ — again; yogam — devotional service; ca — also; śaṁsasi — You are praising; yat — which; śreyaḥ — is more beneficial; etayoḥ — of these two; ekam — one; tat — that; me — unto me; brūhi — please tell; su–niścitam — definitely.

Translation: 

Arjuna said: O Kṛṣṇa, first of all You ask me to renounce work, and then again You recommend work with devotion. Now will You kindly tell me definitely which of the two is more beneficial?

 

sannyāsaṁ karmaṇāṁ kṛṣṇa => when one take Sanyas and does work accordingly. 

yac chreya => which is better out of this

tan me brūhi => Please tell me

su-niścitam => definitely, with absolute definiteness with conclusive definiteness please tell me.