Karma Yoga – The Right Attitude in Practice

Bhagavad Gita : Chapter-3

Opening Context

The Bhagavad Gita is a silent flame within the Mahabharata. It is a still moment found in the midst of war. A conversation that transforms external conflict into internal inquiry, internal inquiry into internalised knowledge, and internalised knowledge into a realised complete freedom. Across eighteen chapters, the Gita charts a path from confusion to clarity, from fear to freedom.

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From Sorrow to Twofold Path

The first chapter of the Gita is Arjuna Vishada Yoga. Here Arjuna represents the ordinary human being. External circumstances deeply unsettle his inner personality, leaving him shaken in judgment and overcome by sorrow. As a symbol of this collapse, Arjuna declares he does not desire victory (na kāṅkṣe vijayaṁ kṛṣṇa – 1.32). Overcome by grief, he drops his bow (evam uktvā’rjunaḥ saṅkhye – 1.47). Unless we see ourselves as Arjuna, the Gita does not speak to us.

The second chapter is Sankhya Yoga. The teachings begin to refine Arjuna — and through him, us — both from inside and outside. This is generally understood as a two‑fold path. The first path addresses the inner personality namely, ‘Self’. The true nature of the ‘Self’ is eternal. The self is never born, never dies, and always exists (na jāyate mriyate vā – 2.20). Fire cannot burn it, water cannot wet it, weapons cannot pierce it (nainaṁ chindanti śastrāṇi – 2.23). The second path addresses outer action (karmaṇy-evādhikāraste – 2.47), the duties of the individual. These two paths converge in the goal of sthitaprajñatā, the steady wisdom that arises when desires are abandoned (prajahāti yadā kāmān – 2.55).

For an overview on Chapter-2 : Click here : https://nvsatish.com/2025/10/17/bg-sankhya-yoga-02/

Beginning of Karma Yoga

In the third chapter, the Gita turns fully to Karma Yoga. Both the path of knowledge and the path of action are good. For those engaged in activity, action is the right way. Therefore the Gita does not ask us to abandon action. Instead, it teaches that performing action is better than renouncing it (niyataṁ kuru karma tvaṁ – 3.8). It instructs us to act with the right attitude. The Gita explicitly rejects the idea of avoiding action. No one can remain without action even for a moment. Everyone is compelled by the forces of nature (na hi kaścit kṣaṇam api – 3.5). Even the wise continue to act. Their actions guide others and sustain the world (yad yad ācarati śreṣṭhaḥ – 3.23). They act without attachment, setting an example, and take care not to disturb those still learning.

The Right Attitude in Action

Karma Yoga proclaims that action done without selfishness, as yajña, frees one from bondage (3.9). Such selfless action is known to purify the mind, making it fit for knowledge. This philosophy is explained through yajña, the method of mutual offering that sustains life. Rain supports food. Food supports beings. Beings support the cycle by acting in the right spirit (sahayajñāḥ prajāḥ sṛṣṭvā – 3.10–3.15). When this harmony is ignored or disturbed, the cycle of life becomes incomplete and disjointed. On the other hand, when it is honoured, individuals become free and a sense of cosmic responsibility prevails.

Qualities and Non‑Doership

Through this chapter, the Gita says that all actions of an individual arise only from the three guṇas, the characteristic qualities of nature (prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni – 3.27). Action is merely an interaction between such qualities, and the individual is not the doer. One who knows this truth does not claim to be the doer. By giving up doership, ego falls away. Fear disappears. Actions continue, but the burden of “I” is gone.

Surrender and Duty

Another mark of right action is surrendering all actions to the Lord. Then fear and expectation vanish (mayi sarvāṇi karmāṇi – 3.30). Each person acts according to their own nature (sadṛśaṁ ceṣṭate svasyāḥ – 3.33). Therefore the Gita teaches us to perform our own duty. Action that does not belong to one’s dharma can be dangerous. Only action in line with one’s own dharma is safe (śreyān svadharmo viguṇaḥ – 3.35).

Desire and Its Veils

Desire clouds judgment, hiding the inner light (kāma eṣa krodha eṣaḥ – 3.36–3.37). Like smoke covering fire, dust covering a mirror, or a womb covering the embryo (dhūmenāvriyate vāhnir – 3.38), desire veils clarity. The way to overcome desire is to know the Self to be higher than the senses, mind, and intellect. Use that knowledge of the intellect to discriminate between right and wrong and let the intellect control the mind from desires (evaṁ buddheḥ paraṁ buddhvā – 3.43).

Closing Message

We need to understand that renunciation, in the context of karma Yoga, is not escape from work. It is giving up attachment to the outcome, while acting with focus and skill in every work. This chapter begins with the necessity-to-act and ends with freedom-while-working. Such attitude ultimately leads to liberation.