Devanagari
निर्विण्णानां ज्ञानयोगो न्यासिनामिह कर्मसु ।
तेष्वनिर्विण्णचित्तानां कर्मयोगस्तु कामिनाम् ॥ ७ ॥
Verse text
nirviṇṇānāṁ jṣāna-yogo
nyāsinām iha karmasu
teṣv anirviṇṇa-cittānāṁ
karma-yogas tu kāminām
Synonyms
nirviṇṇānām
—
for those who are disgusted
;
jṣāna
—
yogaḥ — the path of philosophical speculation
;
nyāsinām
—
for those who are renounced
;
iha
—
among these three paths
;
karmasu
—
in ordinary material activities
;
teṣu
—
in those activities
;
anirviṇṇa
—
not disgusted
;
cittānām
—
for those who have consciousness
;
karma
—
yogaḥ — the path of karma-yoga
;
tu
—
indeed
;
kāminām
—
for those who still desire material happiness .
Translation
Among these three paths, jṣāna-yoga, the path of philosophical speculation, is recommended for those who are disgusted with material life and are thus detached from ordinary, fruitive activities. Those who are not disgusted with material life, having many desires yet to fulfill, should seek perfection through the path of karma-yoga.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Jṣāna-yoga is recommended for those who are unattached to material life and thus reject material activities. Karma-yoga is recommended for those who are not disgusted with material life and have great attachment to pleasures.
Who is qualified for what? Two verses answer. Jṣāna is for persons who are unattached to house and family and therefore renounce material actions of household life. Karma is for those who are not detached from material action because they are extremely attached to enjoying their body, house, and wife.
Purport
In this verse the Lord reveals the different propensities that lead human beings to adopt different processes of perfection. Those who are frustrated in the ordinary material life of society, friendship and love, and who understand that promotion to heaven simply brings further domestic miseries, take directly to the path of knowledge. Through authorized philosophical discrimination they transcend the bonds of material existence. Those who are still desirous of enjoying material society, friendship and love, and who are excited by the prospect of going with their relatives to material heavenly planets, cannot take directly to the path of rigorous philosophical advancement, which requires great austerity. Such persons are advised to remain in family life and offer the fruits of their work to the Supreme. In this way, they also can become perfect and gradually learn detachment from material life.