Speaker: Śrī Kṛṣṇa
दूरेण ह्यवरं कर्म बुद्धियोगाद्धनञ्जय ।
बुद्धौ शरणमन्विच्छ कृपणाः फलहेतवः ॥४९॥
dūreṇa hy avaraṁ karma
buddhi-yogād dhanañjaya
buddhau śaraṇam anviccha
kṛpaṇāḥ phala-hetavaḥ
Word for word (synonyms)
- dūreṇa
- by discarding it at a long distance
- hi
- certainly
- avaram
- abominable
- karma
- activities
- buddhi-yogāt
- on the strength of Kṛṣṇa consciousness
- dhanañjaya
- O conqueror of wealth
- buddhau
- in such consciousness
- śaraṇam
- full surrender
- anviccha
- desire
- kṛpaṇāḥ
- the misers
- phala-hetavaḥ
- those desiring fruitive action
Translation
O Dhanañjaya, rid yourself of all fruitive activities by devotional service, and surrender fully to that consciousness. Those who want to enjoy the fruits of their work are misers.
Defined in the Gītā
Surrender
Who surrenders to Kṛṣṇa, and who does not?
O best among the Bhāratas [Arjuna], four kinds of pious men render devotional service unto Me—the distressed, the desirer of wealth, the inquisitive, and he who is searching for knowledge of the Absolute.
Purport
One who has actually come to understand one's constitutional position as the eternal servitor of the Lord gives up all engagements save working in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. As already explained, buddhi-yoga means transcendental loving service to the Lord. Such devotional service is the right course of action for the living entity. Only misers desire to enjoy the fruit of their own work just to be further entangled in material bondage. Except for work in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, all activities are abominable because they continually bind the worker to the cycle of birth and death. One should therefore never desire to be the cause of work. Everything should be done in Kṛṣṇa consciousness for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa. Misers do not know how to utilize the assets of riches which they acquire by good fortune or by hard labor. One should spend all energies working in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and that will make one's life successful. Like the misers, unfortunate persons do not employ their human energy in the service of the Lord.
What this verse teaches
How to practice Niṣkāma-karma-yoga
Śrīla Prabhupāda lectures 3
- Bhagavad-gītā 2.48–49 1966-04-01 · New York
- Bhagavad-gītā 2.49–51 1966-04-05 · New York
- Bhagavad-gītā 2.46-62 1968-12-16
Bhagavad-gītā As It Is by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda © The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International.