It is necessary to consider what is right action, what is wrong action, and what is inaction,
for mysterious is the law of action.
He who can see inaction in action, and action in inaction, is the wisest among men. He is a
saint, even though he still acts.
The wise call him a sage, for whatever he undertakes is free from the motive of desire, and
his deeds are purified by the fire of Wisdom.
Having surrendered all claim to the results of his actions, always contented and
independent, in reality he does nothing, even though he is apparently acting.
Expecting nothing, his mind and personality controlled, without greed, doing bodily
actions only; though he acts, yet he remains untainted.
Content with what comes to him without effort of his own, mounting above the pairs of
opposites, free from envy, his mind balanced both in success and failure; though he acts,
yet the consequences do not bind him.
He who is without attachment, free, his mind centered in wisdom, his actions, being done
as a sacrifice, leave no trace behind.
For him, the sacrifice itself is the Spirit; the Spirit and the oblation are one; it is the Spirit
Itself which is sacrificed in Its own fire, and the man even in action is united with God,
since while performing his act, his mind never ceases to be fixed on Him.
Some sages sacrifice to the Powers; others offer themselves on the alter of the Eternal.
Some sacrifice their physical senses in the fire of self-control; others offer up their contact
with external objects in the sacrificial fire of their senses.
Other again sacrifice their activities and their vitality in the Spiritual fire of self-
abnegation, kindled by wisdom.
And yet others offer as their sacrifice wealth, austerities and meditation. Monks wedded
to their vows renounce their scriptural learning and even their spiritual powers.
There are some who practise control of the Vital Energy and govern the subtle forces of
Prana and Apana, thereby sacrificing their Prana unto Apana, or their Apana unto Prana.
Others, controlling their diet, sacrifice their worldly life to the spiritual fire. All understand
the principal of sacrifice, and by its means their sins are washed away.
Tasting the nectar of immortality, as the reward of sacrifice, they reach the Eternal. This
world is not for those who refuse to sacrifice; much less the other world.
In this way other sacrifices too may be undergone for the Spirit’s sake. Know thou that
they all depend on action. Knowing this, thou shalt be free.
The sacrifice of wisdom is superior to any material sacrifice, for, O Arjuna, the climax of
action is always Realisation.
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