Krishna, you praise both renunciation of actions and the performance of actions. Tell me decisively which of the two is more beneficial.

Both renunciation of actions and the yoga of selfless action lead to the highest good, but between the two, the yoga of selfless action is superior.

The true renunciant is one who neither hates nor desires; for, O mighty-armed Arjuna, they are free from dualities and are released from the bondage of material existence.

Only the ignorant claim that the paths of knowledge (Sānkhya) and action (Yoga) are different. Those who are truly learned know that the two are one and the same. Anyone who properly understands either path attains the fruits of both.

One who sees the path of renunciation and the path of selfless action as one, sees correctly.

But the renunciation of actions, O mighty-armed Arjuna, is hard to attain without the practice of selfless action. The sage who is disciplined in yoga quickly attains Brahman.

One who is united with yoga, whose soul is purified, who has conquered the senses, and who sees their self in all beings, though engaged in action, is not tainted.

A person who is truly learned in spiritual knowledge thinks, “I do nothing at all,” even though engaged in seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, moving, sleeping, breathing.

Thinking that the senses are interacting with the sense objects, the self actually thinks that they are the doers.

One who performs their duties without attachment, surrendering the results to the Supreme, is not tainted by sin, just as a lotus leaf remains untouched by water.

The yogis perform actions with their body, mind, intellect, and senses alone, forsaking attachment, for self-purification.

The one who renounces the fruits of actions attains everlasting peace; whereas the one who is attached to the results of actions, being motivated by desire, becomes bound.

The embodied soul who renounces all actions mentally, and remains established in the self, is not tainted by sin, just as a lotus leaf remains untouched by water.

The Lord neither creates the doer of actions nor the actions themselves, nor does He create the connection between actions and their fruits. Rather, the inherent nature (Swabhava) is responsible for these.

The omnipresent Lord neither accepts nor absorbs anyone's sin or merit; knowledge is covered by ignorance, and thereby, beings are deluded.

But for those whose ignorance has been destroyed by knowledge of the Self, that knowledge reveals the Supreme like the sun, which illumines everything.

Those who are absorbed in that intelligence and self, who are committed to that goal, and who have taken refuge in that, their impurities having been washed away by knowledge, go to the place from which there is no return.

The wise see with equal vision a learned and humble brāhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and even an outcaste.

Those whose minds are established in equanimity have already conquered the material world; they are flawless and situated in Brahman, the Supreme Truth.

The wise one, who is established in Brahman, does not rejoice upon achieving the pleasant nor become agitated upon encountering the unpleasant, having a steady intellect and free from delusion.

One who is unattached to external sense objects finds happiness within oneself; through the practice of Brahma yoga, they experience eternal joy.

Pleasures born of contact with the senses are sources of suffering, they have a beginning and an end, O son of Kunti. The wise do not delight in them.

One who can control the impulses of desire and anger before the liberation of the body, is a yogi; such a person is happy.

One who finds happiness within, contentment within, and light within, that yogi attains liberation and becomes one with Brahman.

The seers, whose sins have been destroyed, who are free from the duality of joy and sorrow, and who are engaged in the welfare of all beings, attain the state of Brahman-nirvana.

For those ascetics who are free from attachment and anger, and who have controlled their minds, Brahman-nirvana, the state of liberation, is easily attained.

Closing the gates of the senses such as touch, sight, and hearing, and stabilizing the forces of inward and outward breaths, one should focus the mind between the eyebrows, and thus, in yoga, engage the mind.

One who has controlled their senses, mind, and intellect, and is devoted to liberation, free from desire, fear, and anger, is always liberated.

Knowing Me as the enjoyer of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all worlds, and the friend of all living beings, one attains peace.