9. Act Without Worry About Results (2.47-2.48)

The entire essence of Bhagavad Gītā can be summarized in these two verses. The sheer brilliance of the Universal Master! He says, 'You have the right and responsibility to work. You have no right to the results of that work. Do not focus on the result and make it either a pattern of greed to chase or fear to stay away from. Do what you have to do with a centered mind, a complete inner space without worrying about whether you will succeed or fail.'

karmaṇy evādhikāras te mā phaleṣu kadācana I mā karmaphala hetur bhur mā te saṅgo'stv akarmaṇi II 2.47

yoga-sthaḥ kuru karmāṇi saṅgaṁ tvaktvā dhanañjaya I siddhy-asiddhyoḥ samo bhūtvā samatvaṁ yoga ucyate II 2.48

What beautiful wisdom! Nothing more can be said or ever needs to be said about why and how one should perform.

Kṛṣṇa says, 'Stop! Who do you think you are? You are here to do My work. You have no right to take the results that are Mine.' Do what you have to do as your responsibility, without worrying about the results. Do not act with hopes of a certain reward. Do not stop doing what you need to do because you are afraid of what may lie ahead.

Constantly bring integrity to your thinking, authenticity to your feeling, responsibility to your actions, enriching to your lifestyle! You will see, you will realize an extraordinary space in your life, what Kṛṣṇa calls as being balanced in success and failure and being complete in yoga, 2siddhy-asiddhyoḥ samo bhūtvā samatvaṁ yoga ucyate (2.48).

Be Steady With Authenticity In Action (2.49-2.59)

Kṛṣṇa again emphasizes, 'Act without attachment. Center yourself in wisdom of completion that takes you beyond action and the desire for fruits of action. Kṛṣṇa now begins initiating Arjuna into Yoga with the second tattva of authenticity or śraddha. Kṛṣṇa is the greatest strategist of life. Here, He begins revealing authenticity, the strategy of life, the strategy that will make Arjuna succeed and expand!

Kṛṣṇa declares, 'yogaḥ karmasu kauśalam(2.50), Yoga is Authenticity in action.' Kṛṣṇa gives the ultimate winning strategy of Life to Arjuna to stand up with the courage of authenticity in all his actions, yogaḥ karmasu kauśalam. He urges Arjuna to devote himself to yoga, to bring authenticity in his action. Arjuna can complete his root pattern of fear, only when he raises and expands himself fighting as a kṣatriya warrior. Only then Arjuna will be authentic.

Listen. With integrity you experience the space of positivity. With authenticity you experience the space of possibility. Only a man who lives authenticity is a liberated one, a Yogi, the one devoted to authenticity in action. Only when you surrender yourself to practice integrity in thinking and authenticity in action–yogaḥ karmasu kauśalam, you will realize that you are responsible for success and failure, for everything you experience. You drop your attachments and fear patterns, and experience self-realization–tadā yogam avāpsyasi (2.53).