ब्रह्मण्याधाय कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा करोति यः।
लिप्यते न स पापेन पद्मपत्रमिवाम्भसा।।5.10।।
One who acts by dedicating their actions to Brahman and by renouncing attachment, they do not become polluted by sin, just as a lotus leaf is not by water.
Osho’s Commentary
A beautiful metaphor. The one who offers all his actions to the divine, to Brahman, and acts without any attachment, remains untouched by sin, just like a lotus leaf in water. A lotus grows in the water, it is surrounded by water, yet the water cannot wet it. The drops of water remain on its surface like pearls, but they cannot penetrate it. So too is the man of wisdom. He lives in the world, he acts in the world, but the world cannot touch him. The sins of the world cannot stain him. Why? Because he has offered everything to the divine. His actions are no longer “his.” They are an offering, a sacrifice. The ego, which is the only thing that can be stained by sin, has been surrendered. He remains pure, untouched, a lotus flower in the muddy waters of the world.