न कर्मणामनारम्भान्नैष्कर्म्यं पुरुषोऽश्नुते।
न च संन्यसनादेव सिद्धिं समधिगच्छति।।3.4।।
A person does not attain freedom from action by abstaining from action; nor does he attain fulfillment merely through renunciation.
Osho’s Commentary
Such a revolutionary statement! For centuries, humanity has been taught that to be free, one must renounce, one must escape, one must stop acting. But Krishna turns this whole idea on its head. He says you cannot achieve a state of naishkarmya, of actionlessness, simply by not starting any action. Why? Because even inaction is a form of action. To run away from the world is a great act! To sit silently in a cave is also an act. The ego, the doer, is still very much present. It is the ego that says, “I will not act.” It is the ego that says, “I have renounced the world.” The problem is not karma, action. The problem is the karta, the doer. The problem is the sense of “I am doing.” You can stop all outer actions, but this inner “I” will remain, and it will find new actions to perform—even the action of renouncing action. A man who simply renounces the world has not achieved perfection. He is merely trading one set of actions for another. He leaves his shop, but builds an ashram. He stops earning money, but starts collecting disciples. The game remains the same, only the field has changed. Krishna is making a very subtle distinction. The goal is not inaction, but action without the actor. It is not renunciation of action, but renunciation of the ego. When the “I” disappears, then whatever happens through you is divine. It is no longer your action; it is a happening. A flower blooms—it is not an act, it is a happening. A river flows—it is not an act, it is a happening. When you are not, God is. And then, action becomes liberation itself.