Chapter 18 · Verse 8 · Moksha Sanyaas Yoga
Bhagavad Gita 18.8
Sanskrit
दुःखमित्येव यत्कर्म कायक्लेशभयात्त्यजेत्।स कृत्वा राजसं त्यागं नैव त्यागफलं लभेत्।।18.8।।
Transliteration
duḥkham ity eva yat karma kāya-kleśha-bhayāt tyajet sa kṛitvā rājasaṁ tyāgaṁ naiva tyāga-phalaṁ labhet
In plain words
When you want to walk away from something hard—a marriage, a job, a responsibility, even healing itself—because the pain feels unbearable, you're being pulled by fear, not wisdom. Krishna says: running from discomfort doesn't free you; it traps you deeper in the very suffering you're fleeing. Stay. Not because it's easy, but because the act of staying—with courage, with love for what's true—is what actually transforms you.
Word by Word
When we abandon our duties simply to escape discomfort or bodily pain, we are renouncing from a place of fear and aversion—the rajasic quality that binds us deeper into suffering rather than freeing us from it. True renunciation comes not from running away, but from inner clarity and love of truth; it is the fire of wisdom that burns away attachment, not the smoke of avoidance.
When you find yourself wanting to quit a responsibility because it feels hard, pause and ask: Am I serving truth, or am I serving my fear?
Listen
Bhagavad Gita 18.8 — BG 18.8
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