18-9

कार्यम् इत्येव यत् कर्म नियतम् क्रियते अर्जुन ।
सङ्गम् त्यक्त्वा फलम् चैव स त्यागः सात्विको मतः ॥ ९ ॥

kAryam ityeva yat karma niyatam kriyate arjuna |
sangam tyaktvA phalam caiva sa tyAgaH sAtviko mataH || 9 ||

अर्जुन [arjuna] Arjuna, यत् कर्म नियतम् [yat karma niyatam] work that’s prescribed, क्रियते [kriyate] done कार्यम् इति एव [kAryam iti eva] with an attitude that ‘It must be done’, त्यक्त्वा [tyaktvA] letting go of सङ्गम् [sangam] attachment फलम् चैव [phalam caiva] and outcomes - स त्यागः [sa tyAgaH] Such an act of ‘ letting go ‘ मतः [mataH] is regarded as सात्विकः [sAtvikaH] being in the quality of sattva.

Activities like the various rituals are ‘prescribed’ to a person according to his role in society and the stage of his life. They are to be performed as My worship. ‘ Letting go ‘ is about performing these activities with My worship itself as the purpose, without attachments - without being possessive towards those actions and their outcomes.

’ Letting go ‘ in this way is regarded as being in the quality of sattva . This is the first step to sattva - the first step to gain clear knowledge of the Lord’s words in the scriptures.

It is said that the quality of sattva alone gives clarity of knowledge, letting us see things in their true form - as said in 14-17: ‘From the quality of sattva , knowledge arises’

Further in this chapter, it is said in 18-30: ‘The person who knows the distinction between doing things for himself and doing it for the Lord, who knows what’s to be done and what not, who knows the fear of consequences and being free of such fear, who knows activities that bind us from activities that free us - the intentions of such a person are in the quality of sattva ‘.