What Krishna teaches about the Yoga of Wisdom and Renunciation of Action
Because of our addiction to sense pleasures and attachment to the body we have forgotten the supreme Self. Krishna said, “Thinking solely of me, resorting to me, many whose greed, fear and anger have departed, purified by the austerity of knowledge, have attained My state of being.” Because our supreme Self is one with God, the supreme knowledge is of the true Self. The yoga of wisdom is knowledge of the true Self, taking refuge in God. We take refuge in God through direct experience of the supreme Self in meditation, remembrance of God, devotion to God and surrender to God.
Krishna said, “He who perceives inaction in action… he is a yogi.” Just as a wave arises from the still ocean, the mind and its unceasing thought creation arise from the supreme stillness of unmanifest consciousness, the true Self. Permanently infusing the state of unmanifest consciousness into the mind, is the essence of the yoga of wisdom. When we realize the true Self and act, we are the witness, the watcher, the observer of action and remain always in the supreme stillness of pure Consciousness. Established in pure Consciousness, as the witness of action, we are neither bound nor attached to the fruit of our action. In this detachment, action is sacrifice, duty, dharma.
Krishna said, “Action does not bind him who has renounced action through yoga.” Renunciation is achieved through wisdom of the true Self. When we realize we are the supreme Self, we become free from the pairs of opposites, attachments and aversions. As the witness of action, established in the bliss of the supreme Consciousness, we perceive inaction in action; supreme stillness while acting. We retain the silence of pure awareness, the true Self, even as the mind is thinking and while the senses and body are active. We renounce the misperception that we are the thoughts and action, the mind and body. We realize we are the pure awareness that is the Source of the mind. Action does not bind when we become the witness of action. The witness is pure consciousness, impersonal God. The true Self.
Blessings,
