Chapter 6 Verse 3
Dhyān Yog
आरुरुक्षोर्मुनेर्योगं कर्म कारणमुच्यते। योगारूढस्य तस्यैव शमः कारणमुच्यते।।6.3।।
ārurukṣhor muner yogaṁ karma kāraṇam uchyate yogārūḍhasya tasyaiva śhamaḥ kāraṇam uchyate
Word Meanings
| ārurukṣhoḥ | a beginner |
| muneḥ | of a sage |
| yogam | Yog |
| karma | working without attachment |
| kāraṇam | the cause |
| uchyate | is said |
| yoga ārūḍhasya | of those who are elevated in Yog |
| tasya | their |
| eva | certainly |
| śhamaḥ | meditation |
| kāraṇam | the cause |
| uchyate | is said |
Translation
For a sage who wishes to attain to Yoga, action is said to be the means; for the same sage who has attained Yoga, inaction is said to be the means.
Philosophical Significance
Core Meaning
When someone is beginning the spiritual path, right action is the main way to progress. Doing your duty selflessly, with discipline and without clinging to results, cleans the mind and prepares it for deeper practice. Action becomes a training ground for steadiness.
When a person has reached steady Yoga — inner balance and freedom — outward doing is no longer the primary means. True "inaction" here means resting in inner stillness and not being driven by desire or fear. It is not laziness but a quiet source from which natural, right action flows.
These two stages are not opposed but consecutive and complementary. First, practice through engaged work; later, rest more in being. Both are parts of the same growth toward freedom.
Life Application
- Do your daily work with full attention and without attachment to outcome — offer results and let go.
- Keep a regular short meditation practice to build inner calm; even 10–20 minutes daily helps.
- As calm deepens, notice when actions can be done effortlessly from presence rather than from anxiety or craving.
Reflection Question
Are my actions coming from inner calm or from a need for a specific result?