The Song Divine (The Bhagavadgītā) Chapter III Karmayogā, or the Yoga of Action
Arjuna said: Kṛṣṇa, if You consider Knowledge as superior to Action, why then do You urge me to this dreadful action, Keśava! (1) You are, as it were, puzzling my mind by these seemingly conflicting expressions; therefore, tell me the one definite discipline by which I may obtain the highest good. (2) Śrī Bhagavān said: Arjuna, in this world two courses of Sādhanā have been enunciated by Me in the past. In the case of the Sāṅkhyayogī, the Sādhanā proceeds along the path of Knowledge; whereas in the case of the Karmayogī, it proceeds along the path of Action. (3) Man does not attain freedom from action without entering upon action; nor does he reach perfection merely by ceasing to act. (4) Surely, none can ever remain inactive even for a moment; for, everyone is helplessly driven to action by modes of Prakṛti. (5) He who outwardly restraining the organs of sense and action, sits mentally dwelling on the objects of senses, that man of deluded intellect is called a hypocrite. (6) On the o...