श्रेयो हि ज्ञानमभ्यासाज्ज्ञानाद्ध्यानं विशिष्यते | ध्यानात्कर्मफलत्यागस्त्यागाच्छान्तिरनन्तरम् || १२ ||
śreyo hi jñānam abhyāsāj jñānād dhyānaṁ viśiṣyate dhyānāt karma-phala-tyāgas tyāgāc chāntir anantaram
śreyaḥ—better; hi—certainly; jñānam—knowledge; abhyāsāt—than practice; jñānāt—than knowledge; dhyānam—meditation; viśiṣyate—is considered better; dhyānāt—than meditation; karma-phala-tyāgaḥ—renunciation of fruits of action; tyāgāt—by such renunciation; śāntiḥ—peace; anantaram—immediately after.
“Better indeed is knowledge than practice; better than knowledge is meditation; better than meditation is renunciation of the fruits of action — from renunciation, peace follows immediately.”
Krishna now reverses the order of the previous verses to indicate relative superiority. Mechanical practice without understanding is less than practice with knowledge; knowledge without meditation on its meaning is less than meditation; but renunciation of fruits, being accessible to all and immediately producing peace, is in practice the highest and most potent starting point for most seekers. The phrase 'anantaram' — immediately after — is remarkable: peace is the direct, immediate result of tyaga.
Notice that peace is placed as the immediate fruit of renouncing outcomes, not of achieving outcomes. The modern mind believes peace will come after success; the Gita places peace before success, as the very means of right action. Experiment: before a stressful task, consciously release the attachment to how it will turn out, and observe how differently you approach it.