Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4, Verse 19 (BG 4.19) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

That person whose actions are entirely free from desire and the intention to secure results is called a sage or one who has realized the Self. Desire is the mental plan to gain happiness through the enjoyment of objects in the future. This planning itself is a limitation of one's own freedom. To desire means to insist that circumstances conform to one's wishes. Living in this way, we remain perpetually dissatisfied with the circumstances we obtain, and in our efforts to make them favorable in the future, we delude ourselves and encounter countless obstacles. This method of action robs the doer of joy and inspiration. We have already considered how attachment to the fruits of action destroys our powers. Since the fruits of action always come in the future, to worry about them means to flee from the present and live in an unborn future. It is the law that fruits of action come in accordance with the actions themselves; therefore, the only certain way to achieve success is to work with complete dedication in the present moment. Here it is said that all the actions of the wise person are free from desire and intention. In the context of this passage, these two words must be understood correctly, for taking only their literal meaning would make this statement entirely inappropriate. One should not understand from the Lord's teaching that the wise person established in equanimity does not use his intellect to obtain desired results in his spontaneous actions. The meaning is only that while acting, he does not waste the power of his mind in imaginary fears and anxieties. Vedanta does not neglect human intellect. The path of living taught in the Gita provides us with the means to perform actions with ever-increasing skill, utilizing our full capacities to achieve the highest success in our field of work. The person who learns the art of living intelligently and working skillfully finds joy in action itself and becomes absorbed in it. Our mind remains afflicted by countless anxieties only because of the absence of a divine and supreme goal. The mind of the wise person, being established in divine consciousness, experiences only joy even while performing all kinds of actions in the world. The purpose of describing the mental state of the wise person is to guide seekers like Arjuna along the path of practice. The teaching that Lord Sri Krishna gave for Arjuna's sake is worthy of emulation for all seekers in all ages. If our son wishes to become a physician, we tell him stories of the struggles of other physicians so that he may acquire the qualities necessary to become an excellent physician. Similarly, here Lord Sri Krishna describes the natural characteristics of the wise person to inspire Arjuna to engage in the path of practice, so that he may reach the goal of life. The wise person endowed with the above characteristics, though performing actions for society, in truth performs no action at all. His actions are equivalent to inaction because the fire of knowledge has reduced his actions—the ego and selfishness that are the causes of bondage—to ashes. This is the highest limit of the sattvic state. The Lord says—