सर्वकर्माणि मनसा संन्यस्यास्ते सुखं वशी | नवद्वारे पुरे देही नैव कुर्वन्न कारयन् || १३ ||
sarva-karmāṇi manasā sannyasyāste sukhaṃ vaśī nava-dvāre pure dehī naiva kurvan na kārayan
sarva-karmāṇi—all activities; manasā—by the mind; sannyasya—renouncing; āste—remains; sukham—in happiness; vaśī—one who is controlled; nava-dvāre—in the city of nine gates; pure—in the body; dehī—the embodied soul; na eva—never; kurvan—doing; na—nor; kārayan—causing to be done.
“Having mentally renounced all actions, the self-controlled embodied soul rests happily in the city of nine gates (the body), neither acting nor causing action.”
The human body is described as a city with nine gates: two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, a mouth, and the two organs of elimination. The soul dwells within this city. The enlightened one knows that the soul is merely the witness-inhabitant; it is not the doer of any action that happens through the gates. This mental renunciation — understanding 'I am not the doer' — is the highest renunciation and the source of unshakeable happiness.
Visualise your body as a city and your awareness as the conscious presence dwelling within it. The eyes see, the ears hear, the mouth speaks — but the awareness itself remains still at the centre. Even a brief return to this perspective during a busy day restores calm.