Shloka 21
ध्यानयोगः — Dhyāna-Yoga
Discipline of Meditation and Mental Restraint
निराशीर्यतचित्तात्मा त्यक्तसर्वपरिग्रह:* । शारीरं केवल कर्म कुर्वन् नाप्रोति किल्बिषम्
nirāśīr yatacittātmā tyaktasarvaparigrahaḥ | śārīraṁ kevalaṁ karma kurvan nāpnoti kilbiṣam ||
Wer frei ist von Erwartung, Geist und Selbst gemeistert hat und jede Besitzgier aufgegeben hat—der erlangt, selbst wenn er nur die zur Erhaltung des Körpers nötigen Handlungen vollzieht, keine Schuld und keine moralische Befleckung. Die Lehre zeigt: Pflicht ohne Verlangen und ohne „mein“ lässt notwendige Arbeit das Leben tragen, ohne den Handelnden zu binden.
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Necessary action does not produce sin when performed without expectation of results, with disciplined mind, and without possessiveness; ethical purity depends on inner non-attachment rather than mere outward inactivity.
In the Bhīṣma Parva’s instruction on right action amid the impending war, Arjuna voices a principle of karma-yoga: even bodily maintenance work, when done in renunciation and self-control, does not bind the doer with fault.