3-30

मयि सर्वाणि कर्माणि संन्यस्याध्यात्म चेतसा ।
निराशीर् निर्ममो भूत्वा युध्यस्व विगत ज्वरः ॥ ३० ॥

mayi sarvANi karmANi saMnyasyAdhyAtma cetasA |
nirAzIr nirmamo bhUtvA yudhyasva vigata jvaraH || 30 ||

युध्यस्व [yudhyasva] Fight विगत ज्वरः [vigata jvaraH] without grief, संन्यस्य [saMnyasya] dedicating सर्वाणि कर्माणि [sarvANi karmANi] all actions मयि [mayi] in Me, अध्यात्म चेतसा [adhyAtma cetasA] being aware of your relationship with me, निराशीः [nirAzIH] being uninterested in outcomes, निर्ममः [nirmamaH] without feeling ‘it is mine’.

Dedicate your activity to the Lord.

In this Shloka, the Lord says - ‘dedicate all actions in Me’. The phrase ‘in Me’ refers to the Supreme Lord, who is present in every being.

Dedicate all actions to the Supreme Lord while keeping Him in your mind. Have no attachment to outcomes and don’t be possessive. Do all activity without grief or any other kind of pain. When you are aware of the true nature of the Supreme Lord and the Self, your mind is focused in Him. The ‘true nature’ of the Lord and the Self is known from the scriptures. The Lord is described as:

‘The One who pervades all conscious beings and rules over them; One who is in everybody; One who is the ‘doer’ of actions’ यजुरारण्यक, ३-११-२१-२३ [yajurAraNyaka, 3-11-21-23]

‘One who is inside the Self, who is distinct from the Self, one whom the Self does not realize, one for whom the Self is like a body, one who controls the Self, is also within you. He is without death; He is the Self in your Self.’ [bRhadAraNyaka, 3-7-23]

The above references show us that the Lord is the trigger of all activity. That He pervades the Self; that He controls it; that the Self is the Lord’s body; that it is the Lord who stimulates the Self.

‘I am at the heart of everything. Knowledge, memory and the ability to reason come from Me.’ (15-15)

‘The Supreme Lord sits at the heart of every being, spinning all beings, mounting them in the mechanism of the environment’ (18-61).

The Lord has said- Your Self belongs to Me, as though it were My body. Hence, consider Me as the trigger of all activity. Offer your activities completely to Me, the Supreme Lord. Do those activities as a means to worship Me alone. Do not desire other outcomes. Do not have the feeling that ‘these actions are mine’. Fight without any ill-feelings.

Everything happens by the will of The Lord, for his pleasure alone.

Think of it this way: The Supreme Lord, who controls everything, is the owner of your Self. The Lord causes the performance of His own work using the Self and his own instruments, only to please Himself.

With this thought in mind, don’t have any possessive feelings like ‘these are my actions’. Be free from anxieties like ‘How can I be liberated, given that I am bound to infinite actions and sins committed since beginning-less past?’ The Lord Himself, being worshiped by your activity, will free you. Hence, do your work cheerfully without worrying about any personal benefits they seem to bring.

The following scriptures also state that the Lord is the supreme controller and that everything exists for His use:

‘He is the supreme Lord to all the Lords; The Owner of owners’ श्वेताश्वतर, ६-७ [zvetAzvatara, 6-7]

‘The Lord of the Universe’ नारायणीय, ११-३ [nArAyaNIya, 11-3]

Next, the Lord confirms this as the essence of all the Upanishads: