This śloka continues the teaching of 6.1. The previous śloka said that the true saṁnyāsī and true yogī is not the person who merely gives up rituals or outward actions, but the karma-yogī who does the right duty without depending on material results. Now Bhagavān justifies that statement by explaining what real renunciation means.

The central teaching is that external renunciation alone is not real renunciation. Spiritual growth is not connected with the outer body alone. Self-knowledge is connected with the mind and intellect. If a person changes clothing, gives up a house, gives up rituals, or takes an external form of saṁnyāsa, but the mind continues to worry, compare, scheme, and project, the inner problem remains. A few external changes cannot produce the spiritual benefit if the mind is unchanged. The PDF directly explains this point: real renunciation is not merely external because self-knowledge is connected with the mind or intellect; changing externals while the mind remains the same does not solve the problem.

Therefore Bhagavān says: yaṁ saṁnyāsamiti prāhuḥ yogaṁ taṁ viddhi pāṇḍava — what people call saṁnyāsa, know that to be yoga, meaning karma-yoga here. This does not mean every form of external saṁnyāsa is rejected. It means that the essence of saṁnyāsa is not external abandonment but inner freedom. In the Gītā’s teaching here, the karma-yogī can gain the benefit of saṁnyāsa while still living as a householder. The Gītā is not asking Arjuna to run away from action; it is asking him to act with the right inner attitude.

The key word is saṅkalpa. In ordinary Sanskrit, saṅkalpa can mean thought, intention, resolve, plan, or mental projection. In this teaching, saṅkalpa means the mind’s binding obsession with the future: “What will happen to me? What will happen to my family? What if this fails? What if that person leaves? What if I lose this? What if I do not get that?” It includes planning, scheming, and worrying when the mind is no longer available for the present duty. The PDF explains saṅkalpa here as concern about the future — planning, scheming, and worrying — to such an extent that the person cannot function properly in the present.

A very important distinction must be kept: planning is not the problem; worrying is the problem. Planning is a deliberate action done at an appropriate time. It makes a person efficient in the present. Worrying is not deliberate; it is a mechanical reaction that keeps disturbing the mind. Planning helps action. Worrying weakens action. The teaching explicitly says that karma-yoga is not against planning; it is against worry. Planning makes one efficient in the present, while worrying makes one inefficient in the present.

This is why Bhagavān says: na hyasaṁnyastasaṅkalpo yogī bhavati kaścana — no one becomes a yogī without renouncing saṅkalpa. Here renouncing saṅkalpa means giving up binding worry, fantasy, obsession, and psychological dependence on future outcomes. The mind must become available for the present duty.

This śloka therefore deepens the definition of saṁnyāsa. Saṁnyāsa is not merely leaving home. It is leaving inner agitation. Saṁnyāsa is not merely giving up possessions. It is giving up mental dependence. Saṁnyāsa is not merely changing āśrama. It is changing the mind’s relationship with the future.

For meditation, this is crucial. If the mind is filled with unresolved future-projection, it cannot meditate. Even while sitting in class or meditation, the mind will run toward transportation, money, children, status, health, career, reputation, and countless imagined situations. Such a mind does not have quality time available for self-knowledge or meditation. Therefore, saṅkalpa-sannyāsa — giving up binding future-worry — is a necessary part of karma-yoga and meditation preparation.

The practical teaching is simple but deep: do your duty, plan intelligently, act sincerely, offer the action to Bhagavān, and receive the result as prasāda. Do not let the future occupy the present so completely that the present duty is lost. The one who lives this way is a karma-yogī; and because he has renounced the mind’s disturbing concern for future results, he is also a true saṁnyāsī.