Timeless Wisdom from the Bhagavad Gita

18.11 Verily, it is not possible for an embodied being to abandon actions entirely; but he who relinishes the rewards of actions is verily called a man of renunciation.

न हि देहभृता शक्यं त्यक्तुं कर्माण्यशेषतः | यस्तु कर्मफलत्यागी स त्यागीत्यभिधीयते ||१८-११||

18.12 The threefold fruit of action (evil, good and mixed) accrues after death to the non-abandoners, but never to the abandoners.

अनिष्टमिष्टं मिश्रं च त्रिविधं कर्मणः फलम् | भवत्यत्यागिनां प्रेत्य न तु संन्यासिनां क्वचित् ||१८-१२||

18.13 Learn from Me, O mighty-armed Arjuna, these five causes as declared in the Sankhya system for the accomplishment of all actions.

पञ्चैतानि महाबाहो कारणानि निबोध मे | साङ्ख्ये कृतान्ते प्रोक्तानि सिद्धये सर्वकर्मणाम् ||१८-१३||

18.14 The seat (body), the doer, the various senses, the different functions of various sorts, and the presiding deity, also, the fifth.

अधिष्ठानं तथा कर्ता करणं च पृथग्विधम् | विविधाश्च पृथक्चेष्टा दैवं चैवात्र पञ्चमम् ||१८-१४||

18.15 Whatever action a man performs with his body, speech and mind whether right or the reverse these five are its causes.

शरीरवाङ्मनोभिर्यत्कर्म प्रारभते नरः | न्याय्यं वा विपरीतं वा पञ्चैते तस्य हेतवः ||१८-१५||

18.16 Now, such being the case, verily he who owing to untrained understanding looks upon his Self, which is isolated, as the agent, he of perverted intelligence, sees not.

तत्रैवं सति कर्तारमात्मानं केवलं तु यः | पश्यत्यकृतबुद्धित्वान्न स पश्यति दुर्मतिः ||१८-१६||

18.17 He who is free from the egoistic notion, whose intelligence is not tainted (by good or evil), though he slays these people, he slayeth not, nor is he bound (by the action).

यस्य नाहंकृतो भावो बुद्धिर्यस्य न लिप्यते | हत्वाऽपि स इमाँल्लोकान्न हन्ति न निबध्यते ||१८-१७||

18.18 Knowledge, the knowable and the knower form the threefold impulse to action; the organ, the action and the agent form the threefold basis of action.

ज्ञानं ज्ञेयं परिज्ञाता त्रिविधा कर्मचोदना | करणं कर्म कर्तेति त्रिविधः कर्मसंग्रहः ||१८-१८||

18.19 Knowledge, action and actor are declared in the science of the Gunas (Sankhya philosophy) to be of three kinds only, according to the distinction of the Gunas. Of these also, hear duly.

ज्ञानं कर्म च कर्ताच त्रिधैव गुणभेदतः | प्रोच्यते गुणसङ्ख्याने यथावच्छृणु तान्यपि ||१८-१९||

18.20 That by which one sees the one indestructible Reality in all beings, not separate in all the separate beings know thou that knowledge to be Sattvic.

सर्वभूतेषु येनैकं भावमव्ययमीक्षते | अविभक्तं विभक्तेषु तज्ज्ञानं विद्धि सात्त्विकम् ||१८-२०||