Krishna’s teaching centers on dharma, the rightful duty that arises from one’s nature and station in life. One is urged to perform this svadharma steadfastly, even when it appears difficult or imperfect, rather than adopt another’s role because it seems more attractive. This duty is to be carried out without clinging to personal gain or fear of loss, for attachment to outcomes clouds judgment and leads to spiritual decline. By fulfilling one’s responsibilities with clarity and courage, ethical action becomes a vehicle for inner growth rather than a source of bondage.

Within this framework, Krishna presents karma yoga, the path of selfless action, as a disciplined way of living. Actions are to be performed without attachment to their fruits, offered inwardly as service or worship to the divine. When work is undertaken in this spirit, it purifies the mind and gradually loosens the grip of ego and desire. Such action, free from selfish motive, becomes a means of liberation rather than a cause of further entanglement in the cycle of birth and death.

Alongside action, Krishna expounds jnana yoga, the path of knowledge, and bhakti yoga, the path of devotion, as complementary ways to the same ultimate realization. Jnana involves discerning the eternal Self (Atman), which is unborn, undying, and distinct from the perishable body and mind, and recognizing the difference between the unchanging reality and the changing world. Bhakti emphasizes loving devotion, constant remembrance, and surrender to God, with the assurance that sincere devotion is received regardless of one’s background. These paths are not mutually exclusive; rather, action, knowledge, and devotion are portrayed as interwoven disciplines that support and deepen one another.

A recurring emphasis falls on equanimity and inner discipline. The ideal practitioner remains steady amid pleasure and pain, success and failure, praise and blame, seeing them as passing dualities rather than ultimate realities. Desire, anger, and greed are identified as inner enemies that disturb this balance, and their mastery requires control of the mind and senses, supported by meditation and moderation. Through such discipline, one cultivates discrimination between the real and the unreal and gains a peace that does not depend on external circumstances.

Underlying these teachings is a vision of the soul and the divine. The soul is described as immortal, journeying through many births according to karma, while the body is transient. Krishna reveals himself as the supreme divine reality, pervading all beings and yet beyond the manifest world, and teaches that God dwells within as the inner controller. Ultimately, he calls for complete surrender to this divine reality, promising freedom from sin and release from sorrow to those who take refuge in him with wholehearted devotion and rightly guided action.