Nishkama Karma -- The Teaching of Desireless Action

karmany evadhikaras te ma phaleshu kadachana | ma karma-phala-hetur bhur ma te sango stv akarmani ||

Karmany evadhikaras te ma phaleshu kadachana | Ma karma-phala-hetur bhur ma te sango stv akarmani ||

Translation. You have a right to perform your prescribed duties, but you are not entitled to the fruits of your actions. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty.

Meaning

This verse encapsulates the philosophy of Nishkama Karma -- action without attachment to results. Krishna teaches Arjuna that the proper orientation toward action is to perform one's duty with full effort and excellence, while simultaneously releasing attachment to specific outcomes. The ego-self wants guarantees before it acts. The liberated self acts fully from inner clarity, surrendering results to the Divine.

Commentary

This is perhaps the most famous verse of the Bhagavad Gita and has been called the essence of yoga. The verse addresses three traps simultaneously: attachment to fruits, which creates anxiety; the illusion of being the ultimate cause of results, which inflates the ego; and inaction, which the ego uses as a defense against the possibility of failure. Mahatma Gandhi called this verse the "central sun" of the Gita and returned to it throughout his life as his guiding star.

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Reference: BG 2.47 · Deity: Krishna · Tradition: Gita