स्वभावजेन कौन्तेय निबद्धः स्वेन कर्मणा ।
कर्तुं नेच्छसि यन्मोहात्करिष्यस्यवशोऽपि तत् ॥ १८.६० ॥

svabhāvajena kaunteya nibaddha: svena karmaṇā |
kartum necchasi yan-mohāt-kariṣyasy-avaśo’pi tat || 18.60 ||

Nature’s grip is so infallible and wholesome that one cannot escape it, says Krishna:

O Kunti’s son, that which you are unwilling to undertake because of delusion, you shall still perform, irresistibly bound by your own nature.

You are, says Krishna, inextricably bound by the activities born of your own inner nature (svabhāva). Even if you feel or say that you will not fight, it is but sheer delusion. At best it can remain an imagination. In reality, you will irresistibly be led to fight.

The whole creation exists and survives under Nature. Any move, says Krishna, against its trends will only be wrong and impractical. Any desire to abstain from any action is merely an indulgence of the mind. Mind may bring up its preferences and prejudices. But whether one can really abstain from action is a far different consideration. Taking Arjuna’s psychic constitution, his kṣātriya nature, the fact that he had all along been preparing for this war, and also considering the societal and other compulsions behind the great event, Krishna is sure that Arjuna’s verbal assertion will not be able to sustain itself.

Any thought, disregarding the constitution of the world, the human nature and the society, can never be realistic. One may say he will not do this or that. But that will be more a wish or imagination, not an eventual outcome.

Krishna has taken the discussion to an absolute level, where any kind of ego becomes false. The seeker has to rise above his constrictions and understand the harmonious note of Nature prevailing everywhere. To think and act in tune with such a harmony will alone be meaningful, truthful and practical. Anything else is pretentious and self-defeating.

To summarize the position:

1. That prakṛti with its guṇas has a full hold over everyone is the primary message of Bhagavad Gita (3.5,27, 9.7, 13.21,30). None in the world can escape or exit from this hold (18.40).

2. All activities, no matter whether they have an individual locus or not, are governed by Nature. “I am doing” is simply a wrong notion. It is the result of delusion enveloping the mind and intelligence.

3. This does not negate the role of the intelligence and the mind, which are free to think and understand matters. But the moment desire and possessiveness overtake them, they inevitably lead to chaos and downfall. Freed of desire, they radiate brilliance and benevolence, the real intent of Nature.

4. To renounce all activities to the Supreme, is verily to eschew desire, and generate harmony and felicity.

5. Then, all questions on virtue and vice along with all doubts and indecisions become irrelevant, and the human becomes the best instrument for Nature. He also begins to enrich the world.

6. The difference between doing all activities having a full reliance on the Supreme and renouncing all activities to the Supreme is that in the former the actional ego reigns, while in the latter what prevails is the renunciational sublimity.

7. Such a one, Krishna assures, will irresistibly surmount all hardships, by virtue of ego-renunciation. His personality begets the required strength and power to assimilate any kind of input from the world.

8. One failing to heed this message, says Krishna, will be led to downfall.

9. Even if Arjuna were to decide not to fight, as he proposed first, that would be a sheer fallacy. Prakṛti’s hold will compel him to fight.

10. The more the seeker reflects on these ultimate truths, the sooner will dwindle his ego, to become extinct before long. That will usher in an abiding harmony with Nature, which will make life facile and effective.

The four verses beginning from ‘cetasā sarva-karmāṇi’ (18.57) and ending with ‘kariṣyasy-avaśo’pi tat’ (18.60) go together. They constitute the formula of inner renunciation, adopting which one can do all activities, without getting into the least torment or bondage. The whole refinement, imbued with ample spiritual purity and non-possessiveness, rests on the mind.

Like the centre in a huge circle, this purity of non-possessiveness acts centrally in the mind. Despite the variety and magnitude of activities, this central embellishment is resourceful enough to make everything light, easy and harmonious. The seeker must go on reflecting upon the point, until it begins to govern all his activities and interactions.