Yoga as Reestablishing Relations with Kṛṣṇa.

“One who is unattached to the fruits of his work and who works as he is obligated is in the renounced order of life, and he is the true mystic; not he who lights no fire and performs no work.” (Bg. 6.1) Everyone is working and expecting some result. One may ask, What is the purpose of working if no result is expected? A remuneration or salary is always demanded by the worker. But here Kṛṣṇa indicates that one can work out of a sense of duty alone, not expecting the results of his activities. If one works in this way, then he is actually a sannyāsī; he is in the renounced order of life.

According to Vedic culture, there are four stages of life: brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha and sannyāsa. Brahmacārī is student life devoted to training in spiritual understanding. Gṛhastha life is married householder life. Then upon reaching the approximate age of fifty, one may take the vānaprastha order—that is, he leaves his home and children and travels with his wife to holy places of pilgrimage. finally he gives up both wife and children and remains alone to cultivate Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and that stage is called sannyāsa, or the renounced order of life. Yet Kṛṣṇa indicates that for a sannyāsī, renunciation is not all. In addition, there must be some duty. What then is the duty for a sannyāsī, for one who has renounced family life and no longer has material obligations? His duty is a most responsible one; it is to work for Kṛṣṇa. Moreover, this is the real duty for everyone in all stages of life.

In everyone’s life there are two duties: one is to serve the illusion, and the other is to serve the reality. When one serves the reality, he is a real sannyāsī. And when one serves the illusion, he is deluded by māyā. One has to understand, however, that he is in all circumstances forced to serve. Either he serves the illusion or the reality. The constitutional position of the living entity is to be a servant, not a master. One may think that he is the master, but he is actually a servant. When one has a family he may think that he is the master of his wife, or his children, or his home, business and so on, but that is all false. One is actually the servant of his wife, of his children and of his business. The president may be considered the master of the country, but actually he is the servant of the country. Our position is always as servant—either as servant of the illusion or as servant of God. If, however, we remain the servant of the illusion, then our life is wasted. Of course everyone is thinking that he is not a servant, that he is working only for himself. Although the fruits of his labor are transient and illusory, they force him to become a servant of illusion, or a servant of his own senses. But when one awakens to his transcendental senses and actually becomes situated in knowledge, he then becomes a servant of the reality. When one comes to the platform of knowledge, he understands that in all circumstances he is a servant. Since it is not possible for him to be master, he is much better situated serving the reality instead of the illusion. When one becomes aware of this, he attains the platform of real knowledge. By sannyāsa, the renounced order of life, we refer to one who has come to this platform. Sannyāsa is a question of realization, not social status.

Source : Yoga as Reestablishing Relations with Kṛṣṇa.