Chapter 5: Karma-yoga-Action in Kåñëa Consciousness
Bg 5.11
TEXT 11
kayena manasa buddhya
kevalair indriyair api
yoginah karma kurvanti
sangam tyaktvatma-suddhaye
SYNONYMS
käyena—with the body; manasä—with the mind; buddhyä—with the intelligence; kevalaiù—purified; indriyaiù—with the senses; api—even with; yoginaù—the Kåñëa conscious persons; karma—actions; kurvanti—they act; saìgam—attachment; tyaktvä—giving up; ätma—self; çuddhaye—for the purpose of purification.
TRANSLATION
The yogés, abandoning attachment, act with body, mind, intelligence, and even with the senses, only for the purpose of purification.
PURPORT
By acting in Kåñëa consciousness for the satisfaction of the senses of Kåñëa, any action, whether of the body, mind, intelligence or even of the senses, is purified of material contamination. There are no material reactions resulting from the activities of a Kåñëa conscious person. Therefore, purified activities, which are generally called sadäcära, can be easily performed by acting in Kåñëa consciousness. Çré Rüpa Gosvämé in his Bhakti-rasämåta-sindhu describes this as follows:
éhä yasya harer däsye karmaëä manasä girä
nikhiläsv apy avasthäsu jévanmuktaù sa ucyate
A person acting in Kåñëa consciousness (or, in other words, in the service of Kåñëa) with his body, mind, intelligence and words is a liberated person even within the material world, although he may be engaged in many so-called material activities. He has no false ego, nor does he believe that he is this material body, nor that he possesses the body. He knows that he is not this body and that this body does not belong to him. He himself belongs to Kåñëa, and the body too belongs to Kåñëa. When he applies everything produced of the body, mind, intelligence, words, life, wealth, etc.—whatever he may have within his possession—to Kåñëa's service, he is at once dovetailed with Kåñëa. He is one with Kåñëa and is devoid of the false ego that leads one to believe that he is the body, etc. This is the perfect stage of Kåñëa consciousness.