Chapter 5 – Karma-Sannyāsa Yoga
Chapter 5 of the Bhagavad Gita contains 29 verses and explains the essential relationship between renunciation (sannyāsa) and selfless action (karma yoga). After understanding the nature of knowledge and the eternal Self in the earlier chapters, Arjuna remains confused about the value of renouncing action versus performing duties. Krishna resolves this by teaching that true renunciation is inner detachment, not merely abandonment of activity. Thus, this chapter reconciles the paths of action and renunciation, showing how both can lead to liberation when rightly understood. Click Here To Access more other text.
Meaning of Karma-Sannyāsa Yoga
The phrase Karma-Sannyāsa Yoga refers to renunciation of attachment to action, not renunciation of action itself. Krishna teaches that:
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Sannyāsa is giving up the attachment to the fruit of action.
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Karma Yoga is performing one’s duties selflessly, without ego or desire.
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The one who acts without attachment in this way is truly a renunciant, even while engaging in life.
This yoga synthesizes knowledge, action, and inner renunciation, leading the seeker toward the supreme goal of peace and liberation. Click view PDF.
Significance of Chapter 5 in the Bhagavad Gita
This chapter is significant because it:
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Clarifies the real meaning of renunciation — inner rather than external.
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Teaches that action itself is not binding, but attachment to results is.
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Shows that selfless action can purify the mind and prepare it for realization.
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Helps Arjuna move from confusion to clarity about how to live a spiritually engaged life.
Krishna emphasizes that true liberation does not mean inactivity but detachment amidst activity.
Key Concepts & Teachings
1. Arjuna’s Question: Renunciation or Yoga (Verses 1–3)
Arjuna asks Krishna to clarify whether renunciation of action or yoga of action is better. He is still puzzled about the right approach after learning about knowledge and detachment.
Krishna replies that both paths lead to liberation, yet performing action without attachment is superior for most people, because mere physical renunciation without inner transformation is difficult to sustain.
2. True Renunciation (Verses 3–6)
Krishna explains that one who neither hates nor desires — one free from dualities of pleasure and pain — is a true renunciant, even while acting.
People often mistake the outward giving up of duties for renunciation, but the wise understand that real renunciation is internal — the renunciation of ego, desire, and attachment.
3. The Liberated Actor (Verses 7–12)
Krishna describes the Karma Yogi: a person whose mind is pure and who sees the Self in all beings. Though the body acts, the Self remains untouched by action.
Such a person perceives that actions belong not to the Self but to the body and senses — like a witness of experiences.
Krishna uses the lotus-leaf analogy: just as a lotus leaf remains untouched by water, so does a self-renounced person remain untouched by sin and attachment, even while active in the world. Click view PDF.
4. Equality and Peace (Verses 13–18)
Krishna explains that the wise accept whatever comes without complaint — whether pleasure or pain, gain or loss. They remain equanimous, free from fear and desire.
This inner peace arises when the mind is steady and no longer identifies with temporary outcomes. In such a state, action becomes purification and spiritual discipline.
5. Knowledge of the Supreme (Verses 19–23)
Krishna explains that the liberated person sees the Self as the witness of all and realizes that the Self is beyond both the mind and senses.
Knowledge destroys ignorance, like the sun dispels darkness. When ignorance is gone, the soul stands in its own light and attains liberation. Click view PDF.
Psychological and Spiritual Dimensions
Chapter 5 addresses the inner nature of motivation:
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Attachment to results creates stress, ego, and conflict.
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When action is offered without expectation, the mind becomes clear, peaceful, and strong.
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True renunciation brings balance in all circumstances, enabling freedom from emotional turbulence.
Krishna teaches that freedom is not outside action, but within the mind that acts. Click view PDF.
Practical Applications
Living with Detachment
Daily responsibilities — work, family, and service — become spiritual practice when performed without attachment to success or failure.
Emotional Balance
By practicing non-attachment, one can maintain calmness in success and failure, pleasure and pain, and pleasant or unpleasant situations.
Purification of Mind
Selfless action leads to purification, reducing greed, ego, fear, and desire — the main obstacles to spiritual realization. Click view PDF.
Conclusion
Chapter 5 – Karma-Sannyāsa Yoga teaches that true renunciation is a matter of the heart and mind. The person who performs action without attachment, seeing the Self in all beings and offering all work to the Divine, attains inner peace and liberation. Renunciation does not require quitting life or responsibilities but requires freedom from ego, desire, and expectation.
This chapter thus harmonizes knowledge, action, and renunciation into a single practice — the practice of selfless living with inner detachment — leading to lasting peace and the realization of the Self.
