Commentary
Krishna breaks down all man-made distinctions,
created by a mind limited by its own preconceived ideas and
imperfections. The man of renunciation (samnyasi) wore the orange
robe, had the title of "swami" and was learned in Vedanta:
he abandoned all rites and rituals, and did not engage himself even in
social activity. The yogi, on the other hand, practiced certain
psycho-physical exercises and possessed and exhibited certain psychic
powers. The samnyasi need not necessarily do these and the yogi
need not necessarily be a man of renunciation. That was the belief.
It is not the validity of these distinctions
but the underlying idea that matters. Caught in the snare of these
distinctions, we often tend to lose sight of the goal of both
renunciation and yoga! We make them an end in themselves, leading in
different directions.
Krishna points out the synthesis. Yoga is samnyasa.
How can we ever contemplate God if we have not learnt to detach the mind
from the world, and to remove worldliness from our mind? How, on the
other hand, can we learn to detach the mind from the world, if we do not
attach it to God? The two attributes - detaching the mind from the world
(samnyasa) and attaching it to God (yoga) - are but two ends of
the same stick.
Where such synthesis does not prevail, there
is hypocrisy, pride and conflict. Where it does, there is sincerity,
humility and harmony - whatever be the outward appearance.
