नियतं कुरु कर्म त्वं कर्म ज्यायो ह्यकर्मणः।
शरीरयात्रापि च ते न प्रसिद्ध्येदकर्मणः।।3.8।।
You should perform your obligatory duties, for action is superior to inaction. Moreover, even the maintenance of your body will not be possible without action.
Osho’s Commentary
Krishna brings Arjuna back to the immediate, to the present. He says, “Do your niyatam karma—your prescribed duty, your own intrinsic action.” Action is superior to inaction. Why? Because inaction is an illusion, an impossibility. Even to maintain the body, you must act. A man who tries to do nothing will simply die. Action is life. But what is this “prescribed duty”? Here, Krishna refers to the ancient vision of a society based on one’s inner nature—the four varnas. This was not a system of hierarchy, of high and low, but a horizontal division of human psychotypes. The Brahmin, the Kshatriya, the Vaishya, the Shudra—these were not castes decided by birth, but categories of the soul’s inclination. The system became corrupt, it became a hierarchy based on birth, and its whole scientific basis was lost. But in its essence, it was a profound way of helping each individual find their swadharma, their own nature. Krishna is telling Arjuna, “You are a Kshatriya. Fighting is your nature. Your soul has been prepared for this over many lifetimes. To fight is your fulfillment. To flee would be to go against your own grain, to betray your own being.” For each person, there is a path of action that is in tune with their deepest core. To follow that path is a joy. To be forced onto another’s path is misery. Action in itself is not bondage. But action that is against your nature, action that is borrowed, action that is an imitation—that is bondage. Therefore, find your own path, your own action, and pour your whole being into it.