The Bhagavad Gita by Eknath Easwaran

chapter three
╭ Selfless Service
T HE TITLE of this chapter in Sanskrit is
Karma Yoga, “The Way of Action,” and here we take an apparently
sharp turn away from the subject of the previous chapter.
In fact, Arjuna changes the subject completely. Krishna
has been trying to convince him that he has an immortal soul,
but Arjuna continues to worry about his immediate predicament.
It is not that he is uninterested in mystical enlightenment,
but his main concern at the moment is just what he is
supposed to do next.
Or, he asks, perhaps what he does is not so important after
all. Has Krishna been telling him to concentrate on acquiring
spiritual wisdom and to forget about his apparent duties in
the world?
Krishna replies that there is no way Arjuna can avoid the
obligation of selfless action, or karma yoga. Arjuna must act
selflessly, out of a sense of duty. He must work not for his own
sake, but for the welfare of all. Krishna points out that this is a
basic law underlying all creation. Each being must do its part
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