18-10

न द्वेष्टि अकुशलम् कर्म कुशले न अनुषज्जते ।
त्यागी सत्त्व समाविष्टो मेधावी छिन्न सम्शयः ॥ १० ॥

na dveSTi akuzalam karma kuzale na anuSajjate |
tyAgI sattva samAviSTo medhAvI chinna samzayaH || 10 ||

त्यागी [tyAgI] A person who lets go in this way सत्त्व समाविष्टः [sattva samAviSTaH] enters the quality of sattva , मेधावी [medhAvI] gains intelligence छिन्न सम्शयः [chinna samzayaH] and loses all doubt. न द्वेष्टि [na dveSTi] He does not loath अकुशलम् कर्म [akuzalam karma] work that makes him unhappy, न अनुषज्जते [na anuSajjate] neither does he cling कुशले [kuzale] to happiness.

In this way, being in the quality of sattva , a person gains intelligence - the knowledge of things in their true form. With this, he loses all doubt. This person lets all attachment go, along with their outcomes and the misconception of making things happen.

He doesn’t loathe the idea of doing work that makes him unhappy - work that has undesired effects. He also doesn’t cling to work that makes him happy - work that has desirable outcomes such as comfort, progeny and prosperity.

He isn’t possessive about his actions in any way. In this manner, he has let go of all outcomes - other than the outcome of achieving the Lord. Hence, he doesn’t have likes and dislikes towards his work. The misfortune of encountering an undesirable effect comes from our flaws - it’s unintentional and comes from ignorance.

It is said in कठोपनिशत् [kaThopanizat] , 1-2-23: ‘This knowledge is not achieved by people who are restless, not by those who conduct misdeeds, not by those who are not at peace, who do not apply themselves, even though they may try by learning a great deal’.

The statement here, is that misdeeds and instability are opposed to the growth of knowledge.

In this way, ‘letting go’ is about giving up attachment to actions, their outcomes and giving up the sense of ‘I made it happen’. This is meant by the word त्याग [tyAga] in the scriptures - it’s not about giving up all forms of actions. The Lord elaborates this next: