Please tell the correct interpretation of the following verse from the Gita.

[Prof. JSR Prasad asked:- Saashtaanga Namaskaaram Swami. Please tell the correct interpretation of the following verse from Gita (6.1):

‘Anāśritaḥ karmaphalaṃ kāryaṃ karma karoti yaḥ |
Sa saṃnyāsī ca Yogī ca na niragni rna cā kriyaḥ ||

-At Your divine holy lotus feet]

Swami replied:- Who is a real saint (Samnyaasi) and Yogi? This question is answered in this verse. Generally, we think that a Samnyaasi and Yogi is that person, who leaves the household life and is not involved in worldly works related to earning. This verse says that such impression is totally wrong. A person staying as householder and doing worldly works related to earning can be the real Samnyaasi and Yogi, provided such person does not aspire for the fruit of the worldly work done by him. This does not mean that you should do worldly work without taking salary benefiting the employer, in which case, you are called as scapegoat (bakaraa)! If you are leaving the worldly work along with its fruit, then also you are not the saint and Yogi. Both these cases are wrong.

You must do the worldly work and earn the salary, which should not be for your selfish excessive enjoyment. The amount that is needed for maintaining yourself and your family members is also excluded because they are inevitable. This means that you must at least do the work for the maintenance of yourself and your family (Śarīrayātrā'pi ca te... - Gita). Such essential worldly work must be done and such work is called as the work that is inevitable (Kaaryam karma). If the fruit of such worldly work is sufficient for the maintenance of yourself and your family members, you are not selfish in aspiring for the fruit. If the fruit is sufficient for the maintenance and minimum basic enjoyment of yourself and your family, you are also considered to be such person doing worldly work without aspiring for its fruit. If you are earning more than the basic needs and the basic enjoyment, then, that excess shall be sacrificed to the Lord because the entire creation is His wealth. If you are doing work without taking salary, you are sacrificing the fruit to your employer, who is not the creator or God. If you are escaping the worldly work and its fruit, you are a thief (Yo bhuṅkte stena eva saḥ - Gita) and not a true saint and Yogi. If you simply leave the household life (Gruhastha aashrama) that is signified by the worship of fire, you are leaving household life (Niragnih) in order to escape from doing the worldly duties (Akriyah) and hence, you must be a thief only and not a saint and Yogi.

The Gita says that the fruit shall be sacrificed to the Lord or the mission of the Lord and not to anybody or anything else (Madarthamapi kaunteya…, Tatkuruṣva madarpaṇam…– Gita). If you are sacrificing the fruit to temples, it is sometimes taken by the Government to misuse it through corruption. Even if the management of the temple spends it, it is not spending properly. For example, the management spends for improving the facilities for devotees and giving food to the visiting devotees. But, it should actually spend the funds for building beggar homes so that the poorest human being gets food, shelter, clothes and medicine, which are the fundamental amenities for a soul and by such work, God is highly pleased. The human incarnation like Shri Satya Sai Baba could spend the funds in the utmost proper way, which is impossible for any human brain.

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