किं कर्म किमकर्मेति कवयोऽप्यत्र मोहिताः।
तत्ते कर्म प्रवक्ष्यामि यज्ज्ञात्वा मोक्ष्यसेऽशुभात्।।4.16।।
Even the intelligent are confounded as to what is action and what is inaction. I shall tell you of that action, knowing which you will become free from evil.
Osho’s Commentary
Now Krishna touches upon a very subtle distinction. What is action (karma) and what is inaction (akarma)? Even the wise, he says, are confused. Why? Because what appears to be action may be inaction, and what appears to be inaction may be a form of action. A man may be sitting silently in a cave, doing nothing, but if his mind is a raging turmoil of thoughts and desires, he is in a state of intense action. Another man may be in the midst of a battlefield, his body engaged in a thousand movements, but if his inner being is silent, a pure witness, he is in a state of profound inaction. So it is not the outer deed that matters, but the inner state of consciousness. The ignorant look at the act. The wise look at the actor. And Krishna says, I will reveal this secret to you, Arjuna, knowing which you will be free.