saktāḥ karmaṇy-avidvāṁso yathā kurvanti bhārata |
kuryād-vidvāṁs-tathāsaktaś-cikīrṣur-loka-saṅgraham || 3.25 ||

The manner in which do those with attachment take to their actions, in the same manner should the wise one with detachment perform his actions, aiming at the well-being of the world.

This verse condenses significantly all the instructions Bhagavad Gita has given thus far. Krishna’s exposition about the Soul being impersonal, non-active and unaffected, has one emphasis in practical living and functioning. One should not imagine that his personality in full is involved and immersed in the activities he pursues and the effects they bring about. Deeper down in his being, reigns the transcendent core, like space, which does not at any time get involved or affected the least.

Being aware of this fact will have its sure effect on the seeker’s mind and intelligence. And the strong sense of doership in him will gradually give place to full non-doership. Otherwise, the understanding of the Soul would have no practical relevance for people.

Identification with actions and hence with the various results they bring in is the sole bondage for man. It is ignorance about the Soul-position of himself that makes him deluded and attached like this. Ordinary people are ignorant and deluded, and hence all their actions are a result of attachment and identification. Attachment alone makes the mother bring up her child with so much of passionate love and expectation. But is such attachment and identification necessary in order to do well one’s activities in this world? Krishna categorically says, “No!”

For the ignorant, deluded in their views and ways, attachment is natural. Only with attachment they can derive their motivation for working. But, for the wise it is not so. The wise will also remain active and efficient. But in place of ignorance and delusion, it is the wisdom of the Soul and Prakrti that will motivate them. Wisdom has the power, like light in the case of darkness, to remove attachment and identification.

In fact, the role of wisdom is to rid the buddhi and mind of all their unjust constrictions and delusions. This ridding is an inward process. But only when the external activity is there, attachment will become manifest and the need for removing it also felt. Equally so, only in the presence of activity, the effort to remove attachment can become relevant and facile. Unless one gets into deep waters, can he learn to swim? The swimmer, both while learning and afterwards, does not the least tamper with the drowning power of water. All that he does is to train himself not to be overcome by it. He learns to move his limbs effectively so as to keep his body afloat.

In the same manner, let the drowning water of activities surround the seeker. Let him learn, with his spiritual wisdom, to remain afloat in them, without getting subdued by their binding and deluding power. The wisdom of the impersonal Soul will empower him to do so.

So in the actual performance of the regular activities and functions, Krishna says, there should be no difference between the ignorant and the wise. If at all, the motivation and aims get greatly expanded for the wise. The selfish ignorant do their work for themselves, for their body and its relations. The wise and free people perform their task, considering it as part of the great wheel of creation and that too to ensure the well-being of the society at large. Selfishness leaves and love for the world as a whole reigns strongly. Bondage gives way to freedom in everything that they pursue.

Krishna is quite strong in likening the ignorant and the wise in their seeming external involvements. This should make any one think deeply about the proposition. He asserts that they should be alike in this respect, and herein lie the greatness of spiritual wisdom and the wise. The only difference between them must be in how they do their tasks. The wise must maintain the broader view, the universal vision of all-fold welfare. The ignorant, in contrast, are gripped by their selfish constrictions.

Krishna also emphasizes (verse 3.26) that the wise should take care not to breed confusion in the minds of the people in general. If he resorts to inactivity in the name of spiritual enlightenment, the others, failing to perceive his inner illumination, also would resort to idleness and lethargy. The result will be widespread degeneration. The enlightened should not become a cause for such a general downfall or perversion. Let the wise keep to their benevolent activity, inspiring others around to work hard in their respective fields. Krishna thus insists upon the need to conform to the karmic wheel of Nature at any cost.