Non-attachment

Tattva-vit tu maha-baho guna-karma-vibhagayoh, guna guneshu vartanta iti matva na sajjate

But one who knows the truth, O mighty-armed, about the division of the modes of nature and their actions, understands that it is merely the modes acting upon modes, and does not become attached.

Na mam karmani limpanti na me karma-phale sprha, iti mam yo 'bhijanati karmabhir na sa badhyate

Actions do not taint Me, nor do I desire the fruits of action. One who understands this truth about Me is also not bound by the reactions of their own work.

Yoga-yukto vishuddhatma vijithatma jitendriyah, sarva-bhutatma-bhutatma kurvann api na lipyate

The one united in yoga, with a purified self, mastered mind, and conquered senses, whose very self has become the Self of all beings — though acting, that person is never bound. This is the hallmark of the true karma yogi: action without bondage.

Na prahrisyet priyam prapya nodvijet prapya capriyam, sthira-buddhir asammudho brahma-vid brahmani sthitah

One who is not elated upon receiving the pleasant and not disturbed upon receiving the unpleasant, with steady intellect and undeluded — such a knower of Brahman is established in Brahman. Emotional equanimity in both pleasure and pain is the sign of the Brahman-knower.

Sri bhagavan uvaca: Anashritah karma-phalam karyam karma karoti yah, sa sannyasi ca yogi ca na niragnir na cakriyah

The Lord says: One who performs prescribed duty without depending on the fruits of action is both a sannyasi and a yogi — not one who has merely given up fire or ceased all activity. True renunciation is defined by inner non-attachment, not by outer withdrawal.

Yada hi nendriyartheshu na karmasv anushajjate, sarva-sankalpa-sannyasi yogarudhas tadocyate

When a person is no longer attached to sense objects or to actions, and has renounced all personal desires, that person is said to have ascended to yoga. The culmination of the active path is this complete inner freedom from craving and attachment.

Na ca mam tani karmani nibadhnanti dhananjaya, udasina-vad asinam asaktam teshu karmasu

These acts of creation do not bind Me, O Dhananjaya. I remain like one sitting apart, unattached to these actions. The Lord acts through His nature but is never affected by karma, illustrating the perfect freedom that comes from desireless, ego-free action.

Mat-karma-kṛin mat-paramo mad-bhaktaḥ saṅga-varjitaḥ, nirvairaḥ sarva-bhūteṣhu yaḥ sa mām eti pāṇḍava

O Pandava, one who performs My work, considers Me as the supreme, is devoted to Me, is free from attachment, and is without enmity toward any being — such a person comes to Me.

Samaḥ śhatrou cha mitre cha tathā mānāpamānayoḥ, śhītoṣhṇa-sukha-duḥkheṣhu samaḥ saṅga-vivarjitaḥ

One who is equal toward friend and foe, the same in honor and dishonor, cold and heat, pleasure and pain, free from attachment—

Asaktir anabhishvangah putra-dara-grihadishu, nityam cha sama-cittatvam ishta-anishta-upapatishu

Non-attachment, freedom from over-identification with children, wife, home, and the rest; constant equanimity in both pleasant and unpleasant events — these are qualities of one abiding in knowledge. Detachment is not indifference but a liberated engagement with life.