यस्त्विन्द्रियाणि मनसा नियम्यारभतेऽर्जुन |
कर्मेन्द्रियै: कर्मयोगमसक्त: स विशिष्यते || 7||
yas tvindriyāṇi manasā niyamyārabhate ’rjuna
karmendriyaiḥ karma-yogam asaktaḥ sa viśhiṣhyate
yaḥ—who; tu—but; indriyāṇi—the senses; manasā—by the mind; niyamya—control; ārabhate—begins; arjuna—Arjun; karma-indriyaiḥ—by the working senses; karma-yogam—karm yog; asaktaḥ—without attachment; saḥ—they; viśhiṣhyate—are superior
Translation:
But, O Arjuna! he who controls the senses with the mind, and commences the discipline of Karma yoga by his organs of action without attachment, is the best.
Commentary:
Both the organs of action and inner instruments of cognition are included in the practice of karma yoga. Then only the discipline is complete. It is the mind that moves the bodily organs of action and the sense-organs of perception. So the mind should be kept detached from desire and longing for material pleasures. Such a man does his prescribed work without any desire for personal enjoyment.
The senses and instruments of action should be under the control of the mind, and the mind should be under one’s control. Bondage results from mental attachment to material objects, whether the body and the senses work or remain inactive. So the point is how to keep the mind free from becoming entangled in the meshes of the material world. Such freedom is its Moksha. So the Lord here says that, when the mind is kept free and pure, though a man moves and works in the world, he is not affected by it at all. Keeping the mind in a pure and harmonised state comes first, and the control of the body and the senses follow as a natural effect. Great men have done immortal work for the benefit of humanity by following this law.
Swami Vivekananda Says —
But none can attain to peace by renouncing actions. None in this life can stop activity even for a moment. Nature’s qualities [gunas] will make him act. He who stops his activities and at the same time is still thinking about them attains to nothing; he only becomes a hypocrite. But he who by the power of his mind gradually brings his sense-organs under control, employing them in work, that man is better. Therefore do thou work.[Source]
Question: What is Karma Yoga?
Answer: Control of body and senses by the mind, and doing selfless work in the world is Karma Yoga.
