अर्जुन उवाच
संन्यासस्य महाबाहो तत्त्वमिच्छामि वेदितुम्।
त्यागस्य च हृषीकेश पृथक्केशिनिषूदन।।18.1।।
श्री भगवानुवाच
काम्यानां कर्मणां न्यासं संन्यासं कवयो विदुः।
सर्वकर्मफलत्यागं प्राहुस्त्यागं विचक्षणाः।।18.2।।
त्याज्यं दोषवदित्येके कर्म प्राहुर्मनीषिणः।
यज्ञदानतपःकर्म न त्याज्यमिति चापरे।।18.3।।
Arjuna said, O mighty-armed Hrsikesa, O slayer of Kesi, I want to know separately the truth about sannyasa as well as about tyaga.
The Blessed Lord said, “The learned ones know sannyasa to be the giving up of actions done with a desire for reward. The adepts call the abandonment of the results of all works ‘tyaga’.”
Some learned persons say that action, beset with evil as it is, should be abandoned, and others say that the practice of sacrifice, charity, and austerity should not be abandoned.
Osho’s Commentary
The final chapter of Krishna’s song has arrived. And what begins must also end. The words of even the most unique beings are like lines drawn on water. But do not be mistaken. My words, your words, are just empty bubbles. Krishna’s words are bubbles that reflect the eternal moon. Do not get caught in the bubble, my friend. See the reflection, and then turn your back to the lake and begin the journey towards the moon itself. Arjuna stands at the very precipice. His journey from being a friend to a disciple is complete. His questions are no longer of the mind, but of the soul. He asks the ultimate question: What is renunciation? What is abandonment? This is the final inquiry, for the eighteenth chapter is named Moksha-Sannyasa-Yoga—the yoga of liberation and renunciation. India’s vision soars beyond all others. The world stops at dharma, at religion. But India says even dharma is a beautiful bondage. The ultimate is moksha, a freedom so total that all identities—Hindu, Muslim, Christian—dissolve. You become one with the whole. And the path to this ultimate freedom is sannyas. Krishna begins by laying out the different views. Some say sannyas is the renunciation of desire-filled actions (kamya karma)—not the necessary actions of life, but those born of the ego’s madness for more. A beautiful path. Others, the wise, say it is not about renouncing action, but renouncing the fruit of action. A subtler, more difficult path. And still others say all action is flawed, so renounce everything! While some insist that the sacred acts of sacrifice, charity, and austerity must never be abandoned. Krishna is not giving one answer. He is opening all the doors. He is showing Arjuna the entire landscape of human seeking.