The Yoga of Meditation

Krishna continues clarifying the relationship between renunciation (saṁnyāsa) and yoga. 'Yaṁ saṁnyāsam iti prāhuḥ'—what they call renunciation—'yogaṁ taṁ viddhi'—know that as yoga. They're not different paths—they're the same. Both require 'saṁnyasta-saṅkalpa'—renouncing desires (saṅkalpa means desires, intentions, resolutions). 'Na hi saṁnyasta-saṅkalpo yogī bhavati kaścana'—no one becomes a yogi without renouncing desires. This doesn't mean suppressing desires or pretending they don't exist—it means not depending on them, not being driven by them. The person who renounces attachment to desires becomes a yogi. The one who still depends on desires—even if they've abandoned external things—isn't truly a yogi. This verse builds on 6.1: true renunciation and yoga are the same because both require inner detachment from desires, not external abandonment of action.