12. It is this important truth which is described in the Ninth Chapter, where karma-yoga and bhakti-yoga are beautifully blended. Karma-yoga means doing the action, but renouncing the fruit. Act with such skill that the fragrance of the fruit, the desire for reward, does not touch the mind. It is like planting a walnut tree. The walnut tree takes twenty-five years to yield fruit. The man who plants it rarely gets the chance of eating, in his own lifetime, the fruit of the tree he planted. And yet he has to plant and water and look after the tree lovingly. Karma-yoga means planting and minding the tree but not desiring the fruit. What is bhakti-yoga?

It means becoming one with the Lord through devotion. In raja-yoga, both karma and bhakti are combined. Raja-yoga has been explained by different people in different ways. But I should describe it briefly as a beautiful combination of karma-yoga and bhakti-yoga. Let us perform action, and not throw away the fruit but dedicate it to God. To throw away the fruit would be to reject it, but dedication is different. What a lovely arrangement! There is a wonderful sweetness in it. Renouncing the fruit does not mean that no one would get the benefit of it. It will reach someone or the other, someone or other will surely receive it.

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