Chapter V · Śloka 12
Śrī Kṛṣṇa uvāca
युक्तः कर्मफलं त्यक्त्वा शान्तिमाप्नोति नैष्ठिकीम् |
अयुक्तः कामकारेण फले सक्तो निबध्यते ||
अयुक्तः कामकारेण फले सक्तो निबध्यते ||
yuktaḥ karma-phalaṃ tyaktvā śāntim āpnoti naiṣṭhikīm |
ayuktaḥ kāma-kāreṇa phale sakto nibadhyate ||
ayuktaḥ kāma-kāreṇa phale sakto nibadhyate ||
The steadfast, having abandoned the fruits of action, attains lasting peace. The unsteady, impelled by desire and attached to results, becomes bound.
Two people perform the same outward action. One does it in surrender; one does it in craving. The outer is identical; the inner is entirely different. It is the inner attitude — not the action itself — that binds or liberates.