Commentary by Swami Mukundananda

Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 4, Verse 21

निराशीर्यतचित्तात्मा त्यक्तसर्वपरिग्रह: |
शारीरं केवलं कर्म कुर्वन्नाप्नोति किल्बिषम् || 21||

nirāśhīr yata-chittātmā tyakta-sarva-parigrahaḥ
śhārīraṁ kevalaṁ karma kurvan nāpnoti kilbiṣham

nirāśhīḥfree from expectations; yatacontrolled; chitta-ātmāmind and intellect; tyaktahaving abandoned; sarvaall; parigrahaḥthe sense of ownership; śhārīrambodily; kevalamonly; karmaactions; kurvanperforming; nanever; āpnotiincurs; kilbiṣhamsin

Translation

BG 4.21: Free from expectations and the sense of ownership, with the mind and intellect fully controlled, they incur no sin even though performing actions by their body.

Commentary

Even according to worldly law, acts of violence that happen accidentally are not considered as punishable offences. If one is driving a car in the correct lane, at the correct speed, with eyes fixed ahead, and someone suddenly comes and falls in front of the car and dies as a result, the court of law will not consider it as a culpable offence, provided it can be proved that the person had no intention to maim or kill. It is the intention of the mind that is of primary importance, and not the action. Similarly, the mystics who work in divine consciousness are released from all sins, because their mind is free from attachment and proprietorship, and their every act is performed with the divine intention of pleasing God.

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Swami Mukundananda
4. Jñāna Karm Sanyās Yog

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