The Bhagavad Gita by Eknath Easwaran

╭ introduction
– is simply to be a thief (3:12). It is not possible to do nothing,
Krishna says; the very nature of the mind is incessant activity.
The Gita’s goal is to harness this activity in selfless service,
removing the poisonous agency of the ego: “As long as one has
a body, one cannot renounce action altogether. True renunciation
is giving up all desire for personal reward” (18:11). Meister
Eckhart explains,
To be right, a person must do one of two things: either he
must learn to have God in his work and hold fast to him
there, or he must give up his work altogether. Since, however,
man cannot live without activities that are both human
and various, we must learn to keep God in everything we
do, and whatever the job or place, keep on with him, letting
nothing stand in our way.
It would be difficult to find a better summary of the Gita’s
message anywhere – and this, incidentally, from someone
considered to represent the path of knowledge.
Krishna wraps all this up in one famous verse: “Abandon
all supports and look to me for protection. I shall purify you
from the sins of the past; do not grieve” (18:66). Krishna is
the Self; the words mean simply to cast aside external props
and dependencies and rely on the Self alone, seeking strength
nowhere but within.
Why does selfless action lead to Self-realization? It is not
a matter of “good” action being divinely rewarded. Self-real-
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