Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 5, Verse 5

यत्साङ्ख्यै: प्राप्यते स्थानं तद्योगैरपि गम्यते |
एकं साङ्ख्यं च योगं च य: पश्यति स पश्यति || 5||

yat sānkhyaiḥ prāpyate sthānaṁ tad yogair api gamyate
ekaṁ sānkhyaṁ cha yogaṁ cha yaḥ paśhyati sa paśhyati

yat—what; sānkhyaiḥ—by means of karm sanyās; prāpyate—is attained; sthānam—place; tat—that; yogaiḥ—by working in devotion; api—also; gamyate—is attained; ekam—one; sānkhyam—renunciation of actions; cha—and; yogam—karm yog; cha—and; yaḥ—who; paśhyati—sees; saḥ—that person; paśhyati—actually sees

Translation

BG 5.5: The supreme state that is attained by means of karm sanyās is also attained by working in devotion. Hence, those who see karm sanyās and karm yog to be identical, truly see things as they are.

Commentary

In spiritual practice, the intention of the mind is what matters, not the external activities. One may be living in the holy land of Vrindavan, but if the mind contemplates on eating rasgullās in Kolkata, one will be deemed to be living in Kolkata. Conversely, if a person lives amidst the hubbub of Kolkata and keeps the mind absorbed in the divine land of Vrindavan, he will get the benefit of residing there. All the Vedic scriptures state that our level of consciousness is determined by the state of our mind:

mana eva manuṣhyāṇāṁ kāraṇaṁ bandha mokṣhayoḥ
(Pañchadaśhī)

“The mind is the cause of bondage, and the mind is the cause of liberation.” Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj states the same principle:

bandhan aur mokṣha kā, kāraṇ manahi bakhān
yāte kauniu bhakti karu, karu mana te haridhyān
(Bhakti Śhatak verse 19)

“Bondage and liberation depend upon the state of the mind. Whatever form of devotion you choose to do, keep the mind engaged in meditation upon God.”

Those who do not possess this spiritual vision see the external distinction between a karm sanyāsī and a karm yogi, and declare the karm sanyāsī to be superior because of the external renunciation. But those who are learned see that both the karm sanyāsī and the karm yogi have absorbed their minds in God, and so they are both identical in their internal consciousness.

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