Giving & service · Karma yoga

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Karma yoga: act with care, release attachment

Use Bhagavad Gita context and multiple responsible interpretations.

Manuscript page of Bhagavad Gita chapter 3, verses 1–2, in Gurmukhi script
Bhagavad Gita chapter 3, verses 1–2, in a Gurmukhi-script manuscript from Punjab. Image: Ms Sarah Welch, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Gita 3.19

Act diligently without attachment to fruits.

Meaning

Not an excuse to ignore outcomes or fairness.

Practice

Reflection on intention and service.

What this guide is (and is not)

Yoga.org already answers “What is karma yoga?” in the FAQ and in the glossary. This page is the longer companion: Gita context, caution about “karma points,” and a practice of intention. It does not replace the FAQ.

Gita 3.19 — paraphrase

In Bhagavad Gita 3.19, Krishna tells Arjuna, in paraphrase: do the work that is yours to do, and release clinging to the result. The Sanskrit and multiple English renderings are hosted at the Gita 3.19 on gita.yoga.org (Sanskrit and English). Yoga.org paraphrases here because translation rights differ by edition; follow the linked text for wording.

Related verses often read with this teaching include 2.47 (you have a claim to action, not to its fruits — paraphrase) and 3.9 (work offered without binding desire — paraphrase). See the thematic path on gita.yoga.org.

Not a score, not indifference

Karma yoga is not a leaderboard. It is not a reason to ignore harm you caused. Releasing attachment to praise is different from refusing responsibility. Commentators disagree on how far “non-attachment” reaches into politics, family, and livelihood; this page names that disagreement instead of flattening it.

A small practice

  1. Name one action you will do today for someone else, including household work.
  2. Do it fully — not half-heartedly because it “doesn’t count.”
  3. Notice the wish for thanks, payment, or status. Let the wish be seen. Then finish the work anyway.
  4. If the work should be paid, pay or be paid. Non-attachment is not a wage exemption.

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Sources

Links were checked for a successful response before this preview. Verse wording on these pages is paraphrase with verse numbers; read the linked editions for full translations.