Chapter 3 - Verse 4

‘Action’ refers to the acts of worship (Yajña) which, performed in this or a previous birth, conduce to the destruction of sins committed in the past and cause purity of mind

(sattva, antaḥ-karaṇa); and by thus purifying mind, they cause knowledge to spring up and lead to the path of devotion to knowledge. It is said in the Mahābhārata :

“Knowledge springs in men on the destruction of sinful karma, when the Self is seen in self as in a clean mirror.” (Śāntiparva, 204-8.)

By abstaining from action man cannot attain to actionlessness (naishkarmya), freedom from activity, i.e., devotion in the path of knowledge, the condition of the actionless Self. From the statement that man wins not freedom from activity by abstaining from action, it is understood that by the opposite course, i.e., by performing action, man attains freedom from activity. For what reason, then, does he not attain freedom from activity by abstaining from action? The answer follows:—For, performance of action is a means of attaining freedom from activity. Certainly there is no attaining of an end except by proper means. Devotion to action is the means of attaining freedom from activity, i.e., devotion to knowledge,—as taught in the sruti, as well as here. In the sruti, for instance, karma-yoga is declared to be a means to jnana-yoga in the following passage :

“The Brāhmaṇas seek to know this (the Self) by the study of the Vedas, by yajna or worship.” (Bri. Up. 4-4-22).

In this passage, karma-yoga is pointed out as a means of realising the Self that is sought after. Here (in the Bhagavad-Gītā) the following passages point to the same view :

“But without Yoga, O mighty-armed, renunciation is hard to attain.” (v. 6.)

“Having abandoned attachment, Yogins perform action for the purification of the Self.” (v. 11.)

“Sacrifice, gift and also austerity are the purifiers of the wise.” (xviii. 5.)

Now the following objection may be raised :—A passage in the smriti,—“Having promised* immunity from fear to all beings, one should resort to freedom from activity (naishkarmya),”—shows that actionlessness can be attained by renouncing the prescribed duties. Our experience also favours the idea that freedom from activity can be attained by abstaining from action. Of what use then is the performance of action to one who seeks for freedom from action?

Having promised that he would sacrifice no animal, that he would do no harm to any being as he used to do when he was grihastha i.e., having renounced all the sacrificial rites enjoined on a grihastha.

In reply the Lord says : Nobody can attain perfection,—i.e., freedom from activity, or devotion in the path of knowledge—by mere renunciation, by merely abandoning action, without possessing knowledge.

The ignorant are swayed by Nature.

For what reason, then, does a person not attain perfection, i.e., freedom from activity, by mere renunciation unaccompanied with knowledge?—The reason thus asked for is given as follows :