Bhagavad-Gita: 06 - The Yoga of Contemplation

= 06.2 =

yaṁ saṁnyāsam iti prāhur yogaṁ taṁ viddhi pāṇḍava | na hy asaṁnyasta-saṁkalpo yogī bhavati kaścana ||2||
What they call total renunciation, know that as union (yoga), Pandava; Without total resignation of desire, never will one become a yogi.
Notes: The forsaking of self-centered desire is a natural and obvious implication from the call for union. Pursuit of fragmented desire reinforces the separation of the individual from the whole and, as such, is evidently antithetical to unification. The yogī (unifier) necessarily pursues yoga (union) — instead of separation. When fragmented desires stem from the pursuit of a natural potential and promise beneficial collective outcomes, they can be repurposed into a pure and selfless momentum, integrated into the agency of the collective sphere. An aspiring yogi must discern between desires to be abandoned and desires that may be repurposed — releasing desires from the shackles of the finite self.