Bhavagad Gita Chapter 2 on Dedicated Action

Knowing that the true Self is beyond cause and effect, while in this world action is unavoidable, the true Yoga practice is, to act—to do what is required of us—but without concern for the results. This is the real way to be free of the constraints of action and reaction, the way to attain inner peace, and ultimately to approach the supreme Truth.

Your concern is with action alone, not with the results. Do not let the fruit of action be your motive. Firm in this Yoga, do your tasks, casting off attachment, being the same in success and failure. Evenness of mind is the way. [2:47-48]

Why act like this? What is the purpose of acting without concern for the outcome? This is a deep question at the heart of the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita. For now the answer is given briefly in its most direct form.

One who is wise casts off here both good and bad deeds. So apply yourself to this Yoga. In regard to action, Yoga is a power. [2:50]

The meaning is that when we act in this way, action loses its binding power over us. Normally one action leads to another in the endless process of cause and effect. The more we act in order get the results of actions, the more we are bound to this process. But if we learn to act without attachment to the fruits, our actions become a liberating force. It does not mean that our bodies will cease to be part of the world process. It means that our inner vision will be purified and we will increasingly realize that we are not just the body, that our true identity is the Self of all, which abides beyond the level of cause and effect.

This is an extract from The Bhagavad Gita – From Grief to Peace in Self Knowledge Journal.