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Bhagavad Gita · 4.18 · Path of Knowledge and the Disciplines of Action·18 of 42

कर्मण्यकर्म यः पश्येदकर्मणि च कर्म यःस बुद्धिमान् मनुष्येषु स युक्तः कृत्स्नकर्मकृत्

karmaṇyakarma yaḥ paśhyed akarmaṇi cha karma yaḥ sa

buddhimān manuṣhyeṣhu sa yuktaḥ kṛitsna-karma-kṛit

Sanskrit recitation

What counts as real action · 4.16–4.23 · Teaching

Translation

He who sees inaction in action and action in inaction, he is wise among men; he is a yogi and performer of all actions.

Meaning

In common parlance action means movement of the body, movement of the hands and feet, and inaction means to sit quiet.It is the idea of agency, the idea I am the doer that binds man to Samsara. If this idea vanishes, action is no action at all. It will not bind one to Samsara. This is inaction in action. If you stand as s spectator or silent witness of Natures activities, feeling Nature does everything I am nondoer (Akarta), if you identify yourself with the actionless Self, no matter what work or how much of it is done, action is no action at all. This is inaction in action. By such a practice and feeling, action loses its binding nature.A man may sit quietly. He may not do anything. But if he has the idea of agency or doership, or if he thinks that he is the doer, he is every doing action, though he is sitting quietly. This is action in inaction. The restless mind will ever be doing actions even though one sits quietly. Actions of the mind are real actions. Nor can anyone even for one moment remain really actionless, for helplessly is everyone driven to action by the alities of Nature. (Chapter III.5)Inaction also induces the feeling of egoism. The inactive man says, I sit quietly I do nothing. Inaction, like action, is wrongly attributed to the Self.He is the performer of all actions who knows this truth

After Swami Sivananda

What counts as real action· 4.16–4.23

Teachers usually read this idea across several verses together, one shared reflection covers the whole unit.

Word-by-word
cha
also
karma
action
saḥ
they
yaḥ
who
akarma
in inaction
paśhyet
see
yuktaḥ
yogis
karmaṇi
action
akarmaṇi
inaction
buddhi-mān
wise
manuṣhyeṣhu
amongst humans
kṛitsna-karma-kṛit
performers all kinds of actions

Related verses

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