Bhagavad Gita Chapter 3, Verse 25 (BG 3.25) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

# BG 3.25 All of us engage in action throughout our lives with full enthusiasm and interest in our respective fields of work. An ordinary person, constantly under the pressure and stress of action, exhausts and weakens themselves. Without concern for physical health, the suffering caused by seasonal changes, and other joys and sorrows of life, they remain perpetually engaged in earning more wealth and in its enjoyment. Sri Krishna teaches that the person of self-knowledge also works with tireless enthusiasm, just as the ignorant person does. The sole difference between their actions is this: the ignorant person performs action while attached to the fruits of action, whereas the wise person, completely free from attachment, works solely for the welfare of the world. It is possible that an ordinary person may not perceive the subtle distinction between the actions of the wise and the ignorant as particularly significant, unless their attention is drawn to the universal utility of this knowledge. Attachment to the fruits of action and anxiety about them are the very gaps through which the power of the doer dissipates, and in life they receive only failure. The wise person also performs all actions through body, mind, and intellect, but they do not squander the power of the mind in vain. It is the nature of the mind that it acts only when attached to something. The non-attachment described in this verse means the absence of attraction in the mind toward false and fleeting objects. The means to attain this is to direct the mind toward a higher and nobler goal. Therefore, when Sri Krishna teaches the performance of action without attachment, He also reveals the means: the wise person should act with the desire for the welfare of humanity. Attachment becomes an obstacle to the path of welfare only when one is excessively self-centered. To the extent that we broaden our vision and work for a greater cause or for society, to that very extent the poisonous sorrow of attachment ceases and brings joy to the age. Many kinds of poisons, when mixed in proper proportion, serve as life-saving medicine, whereas those same poisons in their concentrated form become the cause of instant death. Desires that are excessively self-centered cause harm to a person, but when one elevates oneself and establishes unity with the entire universe, the very actions of that person become radiant with divinity and dispel their sorrows and weaknesses. Here Arjun is taught to fight against his enemies with this spirit of non-attachment, in order to protect the higher values of civilization. The wise person engaged in the service of the world is given the following counsel: