If thy thought is that vision is greater than action, why dost thou enjoin upon me the terrible action of war?
My mind is in confusion because in thy words I find contradictions. Tell me in truth therefore by what path may I attain the Supreme.
My mind is in confusion because in thy words I find contradictions. Tell me in truth therefore by what path may I attain the Supreme.
In this world there are two roads of perfection, as I told thee before, O prince without sin: Jñana Yoga, the path of wisdom of the Sankhyas, and Karma Yoga, the path of action of the Yogis.
Not by refraining from action does man attain freedom from action. Not by renunciation does he attain supreme perfection.
For not even for a moment can a man be without action. Helplessly are all driven to action by the forces born of Nature.
He who withdraws himself from actions, but ponders on their pleasures in his heart, he is under a delusion and is a false follower of the Path.
But great is the man who, free from attachments, and with a mind ruling its powers in harmony, works on the path of Karma Yoga, the path of consecrated action.
Action is greater than inaction: perform therefore thy task in life. Even the life of the body could not be if there were no action.
The world is in the bonds of action, unless the action is consecration. Let thy actions then be pure, free from the bonds of desire.
Thus spoke the Lord of Creation when he made both man and sacrifice: 'By sacrifice thou shalt multiply and obtain all thy desires.
'By sacrifice shalt thou honour the gods and the gods will then love thee. And thus in harmony with them shalt thou attain the supreme good.
'For pleased with thy sacrifice, the gods will grant to thee the joy of all thy desires. Only a thief would enjoy their gifts and not offer them in sacrifice.'
Holy men who take as food the remains of sacrifice become free from all their sins; but the unholy who have feasts for themselves eat food that is in truth sin.
Food is the life of all beings, and all food comes from rain above. Sacrifice brings the rain from heaven, and sacrifice is sacred action.
Sacred action is described in the Vedas and these come from the Eternal, and therefore is the Eternal everpresent in a sacrifice.
Thus was the Wheel of the Law set in motion, and that man lives indeed in vain who in a sinful life of pleasures helps not in its revolutions.
But the man who has found the joy of the Spirit and in the Spirit has satisfaction, who in the Spirit has found his peace, that man is beyond the law of action.
He is beyond what is done and beyond what is not done, and in all his works he is beyond the help of mortal beings.
In liberty from the bonds of attachment, do thou therefore the work to be done: for the man whose work is pure attains indeed the Supreme.
King Janaka and other warriors reached perfection by the path of action: let thy aim be the good of all, and then carry on thy task in life.
In the actions of the best men others find their rule of action. The path that a great man follows becomes a guide to the world.
I have no work to do in all the worlds, Arjuna—for these are mine. I have nothing to obtain, because I have all. And yet I work.
If I was not bound to action, never-tiring, everlastingly, men that follow many paths would follow my path of inaction.
If ever my work had an end, these worlds would end in destruction, confusion would reign within all: this would be the death of all beings.
Even as the unwise work selfishly in the bondage of selfish works, let the wise man work unselfishly for the good of all the world.
Let not the wise disturb the mind of the unwise in their selfish work. Let him, working with devotion, show them the joy of good work.
All actions take place in time by the interweaving of the forces of Nature; but the man lost in selfish delusion thinks that he himself is the actor.
But the man who knows the relation between the forces of Nature and actions, sees how some forces of Nature work upon other forces of Nature, and becomes not their slave.
Those who are under the delusion of the forces of Nature bind themselves to the work of these forces. Let not the wise man who sees the All disturb the unwise who sees not the All.
Offer to me all thy works and rest thy mind on the Supreme. Be free from vain hopes and selfish thoughts, and with inner peace fight thou thy fight.
Those who ever follow my doctrine and who have faith, and have a good will, find through pure work their freedom.
But those who follow not my doctrine, and who have ill-will, are men blind to all wisdom, confused in mind: they are lost.
'Even a wise man acts under the impulse of his nature: all beings follow nature. Of what use is restraint?'
Hate and lust for things of nature have their roots in man's lower nature. Let him not fall under their power: they are the two enemies in his path.
And do thy duty, even if it be humble, rather than another's, even if it be great. To die in one's duty is life: to live in another's is death.
Not by refraining from action does man attain freedom from action. Not by renunciation does he attain supreme perfection.
For not even for a moment can a man be without action. Helplessly are all driven to action by the forces born of Nature.
He who withdraws himself from actions, but ponders on their pleasures in his heart, he is under a delusion and is a false follower of the Path.
But great is the man who, free from attachments, and with a mind ruling its powers in harmony, works on the path of Karma Yoga, the path of consecrated action.
Action is greater than inaction: perform therefore thy task in life. Even the life of the body could not be if there were no action.
The world is in the bonds of action, unless the action is consecration. Let thy actions then be pure, free from the bonds of desire.
Thus spoke the Lord of Creation when he made both man and sacrifice: 'By sacrifice thou shalt multiply and obtain all thy desires.
'By sacrifice shalt thou honour the gods and the gods will then love thee. And thus in harmony with them shalt thou attain the supreme good.
'For pleased with thy sacrifice, the gods will grant to thee the joy of all thy desires. Only a thief would enjoy their gifts and not offer them in sacrifice.'
Holy men who take as food the remains of sacrifice become free from all their sins; but the unholy who have feasts for themselves eat food that is in truth sin.
Food is the life of all beings, and all food comes from rain above. Sacrifice brings the rain from heaven, and sacrifice is sacred action.
Sacred action is described in the Vedas and these come from the Eternal, and therefore is the Eternal everpresent in a sacrifice.
Thus was the Wheel of the Law set in motion, and that man lives indeed in vain who in a sinful life of pleasures helps not in its revolutions.
But the man who has found the joy of the Spirit and in the Spirit has satisfaction, who in the Spirit has found his peace, that man is beyond the law of action.
He is beyond what is done and beyond what is not done, and in all his works he is beyond the help of mortal beings.
In liberty from the bonds of attachment, do thou therefore the work to be done: for the man whose work is pure attains indeed the Supreme.
King Janaka and other warriors reached perfection by the path of action: let thy aim be the good of all, and then carry on thy task in life.
In the actions of the best men others find their rule of action. The path that a great man follows becomes a guide to the world.
I have no work to do in all the worlds, Arjuna—for these are mine. I have nothing to obtain, because I have all. And yet I work.
If I was not bound to action, never-tiring, everlastingly, men that follow many paths would follow my path of inaction.
If ever my work had an end, these worlds would end in destruction, confusion would reign within all: this would be the death of all beings.
Even as the unwise work selfishly in the bondage of selfish works, let the wise man work unselfishly for the good of all the world.
Let not the wise disturb the mind of the unwise in their selfish work. Let him, working with devotion, show them the joy of good work.
All actions take place in time by the interweaving of the forces of Nature; but the man lost in selfish delusion thinks that he himself is the actor.
But the man who knows the relation between the forces of Nature and actions, sees how some forces of Nature work upon other forces of Nature, and becomes not their slave.
Those who are under the delusion of the forces of Nature bind themselves to the work of these forces. Let not the wise man who sees the All disturb the unwise who sees not the All.
Offer to me all thy works and rest thy mind on the Supreme. Be free from vain hopes and selfish thoughts, and with inner peace fight thou thy fight.
Those who ever follow my doctrine and who have faith, and have a good will, find through pure work their freedom.
But those who follow not my doctrine, and who have ill-will, are men blind to all wisdom, confused in mind: they are lost.
'Even a wise man acts under the impulse of his nature: all beings follow nature. Of what use is restraint?'
Hate and lust for things of nature have their roots in man's lower nature. Let him not fall under their power: they are the two enemies in his path.
And do thy duty, even if it be humble, rather than another's, even if it be great. To die in one's duty is life: to live in another's is death.
What power is it, Krishna, that drives man to act sinfully, even unwillingly, as if powerlessly?
It is greedy desire and wrath, born of passion, the great evil, the sum of destruction: this is the enemy of the soul.
All is clouded by desire: as fire by smoke, as a mirror by dust, as an unborn babe by its covering.
Wisdom is clouded by desire, the everpresent enemy of the wise, desire in its innumerable forms, which like a fire cannot find satisfaction.
Desire has found a place in man's senses and mind and reason. Through these it blinds the soul, after having over-clouded wisdom.
Set thou, therefore, thy senses in harmony, and then slay thou of sinful desire, the destroyer of vision and wisdom.
They say that the power of the senses is great. But greater than the senses is the mind. Greater than the mind is Buddhi, reason; and greater than reason is He—the Spirit in man and in all.
Know Him therefore who is above reason; and let his peace give thee peace. Be a warrior and kill desire, the powerful enemy of the soul.
—The Bhagavad Gita
All is clouded by desire: as fire by smoke, as a mirror by dust, as an unborn babe by its covering.
Wisdom is clouded by desire, the everpresent enemy of the wise, desire in its innumerable forms, which like a fire cannot find satisfaction.
Desire has found a place in man's senses and mind and reason. Through these it blinds the soul, after having over-clouded wisdom.
Set thou, therefore, thy senses in harmony, and then slay thou of sinful desire, the destroyer of vision and wisdom.
They say that the power of the senses is great. But greater than the senses is the mind. Greater than the mind is Buddhi, reason; and greater than reason is He—the Spirit in man and in all.
Know Him therefore who is above reason; and let his peace give thee peace. Be a warrior and kill desire, the powerful enemy of the soul.
—The Bhagavad Gita
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