Karma Yoga, as taught in the Bhagavad Gita, is the disciplined path of selfless action, where one performs prescribed duties without attachment to the fruits of those actions. It rests on the insight that action itself is not the problem; bondage arises from clinging to outcomes and acting from ego-centered desire. By emphasizing that one has a right only to action and not to its results, this teaching redirects attention from personal gain or loss to the intrinsic rightness of the deed, aligned with dharma. Duty (svadharma) thus becomes a spiritual discipline rather than a mere social obligation, grounding action in righteousness rather than preference.

A central feature of this path is non-attachment, or nishkāma karma: success and failure, pleasure and pain, gain and loss are to be met with inner evenness. Such equanimity weakens the ego’s habitual pattern of grasping and aversion, gradually loosening the knot of “I and mine.” In this way, Karma Yoga does not require withdrawal from the world but calls for an inner renunciation—relinquishing possessiveness over results while remaining fully engaged in one’s responsibilities. Renunciation is thus understood primarily as letting go of selfish attachment, not as abandoning action itself.

Another key aspect is the offering of all actions to the Divine, seeing oneself as an instrument rather than the ultimate doer. When actions are mentally dedicated to Krishna, or to the highest reality, ordinary work is transformed into worship. The motive shifts from “What will this bring to me?” to “Let this be in harmony with the Divine will” or the welfare of all beings. This orientation fosters compassion and universal concern, allowing duty to be performed for the benefit of others rather than for personal advantage.

Through such selfless, dedicated action, the mind is gradually purified of egocentric desires and agitation. As attachment and the sense of isolated doership diminish, the inner field becomes calm and clear, fit for deeper knowledge and contemplation. Karma Yoga thus guides one from an ego-centered life to a dharma-centered and ultimately God-centered existence, where action continues outwardly but inwardly there is freedom. Lived consistently, this way of acting turns everyday life into a means of spiritual growth, preparing and leading the seeker toward self-realization and liberation while remaining engaged in the world.