Chapter 18, Verse 7
Moksha Sanyaas Yoga — Sanskrit shloka, transliteration, word meanings, English translation, and commentary.
Original Sanskrit verse
Transliteration
Word meanings
niyatasya—of prescribed duties; tu—but; sanyāsaḥ—renunciation; karmaṇaḥ—actions; na—never; upapadyate—to be performed; mohāt—deluded; tasya—of that; parityāgaḥ—renunciation; tāmasaḥ—in the mode of ignorance; parikīrtitaḥ—has been declared
English translation
Verily, the renunciation of obligatory action is not proper; the abandonment of the same out of delusion is declared to be Tamasic.
— Swami Sivananda
Listen to Shloka 18.7
Commentary
Renunciation of obligatory action is not proper because it is purifying in the case of an ignorant man. Should a man renounce actions that he should perform as a duty; such renunciation can only be of the ality of darkness. Prescribed duties must not be abandoned and if anyone does so; he is certainly deluded by ignorance. Tamas is ignorance. Niyata Prescribed according to ones religion. To hold that a duty is obligatory and then to relinish it is indeed selfcontradictory.
Commentary by Swami Sivananda
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