Bhagavad Gita Chapter 12, Verse 11 (BG 12.11) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

12.11 अथ if? एतत् this? अपि also? अशक्तः unable? असि (thou) art? कर्तुम् to do? मद्योगम् My Yoga? आश्रितः resorting to? सर्वकर्मफलत्यागम् the renunciation of the fruits of all actions? ततः then? कुरु do? यतात्मवान् selfcontrolled.Commentary This is the easiest path. If thou art unable to perform actions for My sake? if thou canst not even be intent on My service? if thou art unable to practise the Bhagavata Dharmas? if thous wishest to do actions impelled by personal desires? then do thou perform them (for your sake from a sense of duty) renouncing them all in Me and also abandon the fruits of all actions? at the same time practising selfcontrol.In verse 8 the Yoga of meditation is prescribed for advanced students in verse 9 the Yoga of constant practice if one finds that? too? to be difficult? the performance of actions for the sake of the Lord alone has been taught in verse 10 and those who cannot do even this are asked to abandon the fruits of all actions.Madyogam My Yoga. Surrendering all actions and their fruits to Me is My Yoga.Yatatmavan The man of discrimination who has controlled all the senses? who has withdrawn the senses from sound? touch? form? taste and smell.Now the Lord eulogises the renunciation of the fruits of all actions in order to encourage the aspirants to practise the Yoga of renunciation of the fruits of actions.

Commentaries

Contemporary scholarly and practical interpretations for modern seekers.

This interpretation draws on a specific tradition and may not represent the view of any single school. For authoritative guidance within a specific tradition, seek a qualified teacher.

Modern

In the previous verse, we were taught to renounce ego entirely and perform action in the world. For a person consumed by arrogance and pride, this task is not so simple. Such a person remains greatly agitated due to the rajasic quality, and their personality remains poisoned by the base tendencies of the tamasic quality. Even for such a person of lower development, the Gita has prescribed a path of practice. Often such a person becomes a subject of despair for all spiritual traditions. Yet the Gita has thoughtfully prescribed a remedy even for those afflicted by this chronic ailment. That remedy is simple, yet so potent that through it the afflicted person can be entirely freed from this disease and granted the radiance and skillfulness of the highest personality. If it is impossible to perform all actions with the understanding of offering them to the Divine, then for such a seeker, an equally effective alternative is prescribed here: Established in self-restraint, taking refuge in the yoga of attaining Me, renounce the fruits of all actions. It appears that those people who work merely for wages are displeasing to Lord Sri Krishna. Yet this aversion should not be understood as contempt from the middle or upper classes toward laborers who toil for their sustenance. In a nation with a socialist system, every educated person feels this impatience of Sri Krishna. They cannot tolerate in their nation those who work only for wages or personal gain. In such a socialist nation, every employee who demands the highest wage for work done with maximum incompetence in minimum time would be considered a criminal worthy of punishment. This displeasure of Lord Sri Krishna toward such wage-earners is clearly evident in His teachings. The action performed in the present moment ripens and manifests as fruit in the future moment. Today, if a farmer tills the soil and sows seeds, he will obtain the harvest only after two or three months. And if that farmer abandons the work he should do in the present and wastes time worrying about the fruit that will come in the future, then certainly he can never gain benefit. Although this is a well-known fact, yet the majority of people lose the opportunities available in the present by merely worrying about the future. Due to anxiety and fear about the future, all our capacities are destroyed, and that imagined dark future has not yet come, and perhaps may never come. Here Lord Sri Krishna merely inspires us to abandon these futile imaginings about the future and to live a conscious, complete, and effective life in the present moment itself. By living such a life, our personality can become well-integrated, our mind focused and capable. In the three verses above, three different practices have been prescribed for three types of seekers. All humans are extroverted to some extent. The difference between two persons lies in the thickness of the layers of desires residing in their inner nature. If a brass vessel is lightly tarnished, it is sufficient to polish it with ash alone. If the tarnish is denser, then some acid is needed for its cleansing. Similarly, if the mind has only a thin layer of desires, the distractions arising from them can be controlled through the yoga of practice. But when there is an excess of desires, the yoga of action becomes necessary, in which the seeker is taught to offer all actions to the Divine. If a person's inner nature has even thicker layers of desires, then he is instructed to renounce the fruits of action. Here, renouncing the fruits of action means entirely abandoning the futile worries and imaginings about fruits that will come in the future, while continuing to act in the present. As I have said before, no spiritual text in the world has discussed such diverse and extensive paths for self-development as the Bhagavad Gita has. These three practices cannot be performed simultaneously. They must be undertaken in sequence. Demonstrating this point, in the next verse, the Lord praises the renunciation of all fruits of action.