Without hope and with the mind and the self controlled, having abandoned all covetousness, doing mere bodily action, he incurs no sin.
In simple words
Krishna describes complete freedom in action: "A person who has given up wanting things, who has their mind and body under control, who acts only with the body and takes nothing for themselves — that person cannot do wrong."
Word-by-word meanings
निराशीःwithout hopeयतचित्तात्माone with the mind and self controlledत्यक्तसर्वपरिग्रहःhaving abandoned all covetousnessशारीरम्bodilyकेवलम्merelyकर्मactionकुर्वन्doingनnotआप्नोतिobtainsकिल्बिषम्sin
4.21 निराशीः without hope? यतचित्तात्मा one with the mind and self controlled? त्यक्तसर्वपरिग्रहः having abandoned all covetousness? शारीरम् bodily? केवलम् merely? कर्म action? कुर्वन् doing? न not? आप्नोति obtains? किल्बिषम् sin.Commentary The liberated sage renounces all actions except what is necessary for the bare maintenance of the body. He has abandoned all possessions. He incurs no sin which will cause evil effects. For a man who thirsts for liberation (Mumukshu) even righteous activity (Dharma) is a sin as it causes bondage to Samsara. Dharma is a golden fetter for him. A golden fetter is also a fetter. A sage is liberated from both Dharma and Adharma? good and evil or virtue and vice. (Cf.III.7)
Contemporary scholarly and practical interpretations for modern seekers.
This interpretation draws on a specific tradition and may not represent the view of any single school. For authoritative guidance within a specific tradition, seek a qualified teacher.
Modern
# BG 4.21
Actions performed by the body alone cannot generate reactions in the form of desires. Desires arise in the inner consciousness, and their origin lies in actions performed with the sense of doership and ego. These desires become binding only when selfishness becomes predominant. Through the false identification of the soul with the body, mind, and intellect—these instruments born of ignorance—ego arises. This ego is sustained by hopes for the future and satisfaction derived from sensory pleasures in the present.
Therefore, this verse declares that the person who (a) is free from desires, (b) has disciplined the body and mind, and (c) is liberated from all possessions—in such a person, this false ego cannot exist. When ego is destroyed, mere bodily actions lose the power to create new impressions in the inner consciousness.
When a person sleeps and becomes unclothed, no blame can be attached for any unseemly conduct. If during sleep one's foot strikes one's own child, no cruelty can be attributed to that person, for in that state, the "I" was not present in the body. The reason is that in both these situations, the person had no sense of doership. Thus it is clear that all suffering, bondage, and affliction befall only the one who identifies with doership, and without this identification, bodily actions have no power to bind a person.
The actions of a saint established in self-realization cannot touch him, for he is not their doer—actions merely express themselves through him. Such a great soul is not the doer of actions, but rather the supreme instrument or medium through which the will of the Divine is expressed.
If sweet music does not flow from a veena, the listeners do not attack the instrument, though the musician himself may not escape blame. The veena does not produce melodious sound by itself; it merely allows music to express through it at the touch of the musician's fingers. The instrument's duty is fulfilled merely by yielding to the musician's will and touch. Similarly, the self-realized person, free from ego, is that supreme medium through which the Divine's will is fully expressed. The actions of such a person cannot create bondage in the form of sin or merit—he is merely the instrument.
The person established in the yoga of knowledge, while performing actions necessary to sustain the body, remains eternally free. The Blessed Lord says: