|| 18.8 ||
दुःखमित्येव यत्कर्म कायक्लेशभयात्त्यजेत्। स कृत्वा राजसं त्यागं नैव त्यागफलं लभेत्।।
duḥkham ity eva yat karma kāya-kleśa-bhayāt tyajet sa kṛtvā rājasaṁ tyāgaṁ naiva tyāga-phalaṁ labhet
Word by Word
duḥkham (painful) iti (as) eva (certainly) yat (which) karma (work) kāya-kleśa (bodily discomfort) bhayāt (out of fear) tyajet (one renounces) saḥ (he) kṛtvā (doing) rājasam (in the mode of passion) tyāgam (renunciation) na (never) eva (certainly) tyāga-phalam (the result of renunciation) labhet (gets).
Translation
Anyone who gives up prescribed duties as troublesome or out of fear of bodily discomfort is said to have renounced in the mode of passion. Such action never leads to the elevation of renunciation.
Meaning
Kṛṣṇa describes renunciation in the mode of Passion (Rajas). This is when someone gives up their duty simply because it is difficult or ‘Duḥkham’ (painful). They quit out of fear of bodily discomfort (‘Kāya-kleśa-bhayāt’). Kṛṣṇa warns that such a person never gets the actual spiritual result of renunciation. They have merely ‘retired’ to seek comfort.
This is the ‘Lazy Man’s Sannyāsa’. If a student stops studying because it’s boring, or a father leaves his home because the bills are too high, that is Rajasic ‘Tyāga’. They aren’t seeking God; they are seeking a vacation. Real spiritual renunciation requires courage and the willingness to face discomfort for a higher cause. Quitting for the sake of comfort is just another form of material desire.
It teaches us that ‘hard’ doesn’t mean ‘wrong’. Sometimes, our duty is uncomfortable, but that discomfort is the ‘tapas’ that purifies us. We should not use spirituality as an excuse to avoid the challenges of life. If we want the real ‘Tyāga-phalam’—the peace of liberation—we must be willing to do the right thing, even when it’s tough. Comfort-seeking is the opposite of soul-seeking.