sahaja.

                                       सहजं कर्म कौन्तेय सदोषमपि न त्यजेत् |

सर्वारम्भा हि दोषेण धूमेनाग्निरिवावृता: || 48||

saha-jaṁ karma kaunteya sa-doṣham api na tyajet
sarvārambhā hi doṣheṇa dhūmenāgnir ivāvṛitāḥ

saha-jam—born of one’s nature; karma—duty; kaunteya—Arjun, the son of Kunti; sa-doṣham—with defects; api—even if; na tyajet—one should not abandon; sarva-ārambhāḥ—all endeavors; hi—indeed; doṣheṇa—with evil; dhūmena—with smoke; agniḥ—fire; iva—as; āvṛitāḥ—veiled

One should not abandon duties born of one’s nature, even if one sees defects in them, O son of Kunti. Indeed, all endeavors are veiled by some evil, as fire is by smoke.

People sometimes recoil from their duty because they see a defect in it. Here, Shree Krishna states that no work is free from defect, just as fire naturally has smoke on top of it. For example, we cannot breathe without killing millions of microbes. If we cultivate the land, we destroy innumerable microorganisms. If we succeed against competition in business, we deprive others of wealth. When we eat, we deprive another of food. Since swa-dharma entails activity, it cannot be devoid of defects.

But the benefits of the swa-dharma far outweigh its defects. And the foremost benefit is that it provides a comfortable and natural path for one’s purification and elevation. In his book, Making a Life, Making a Living, Mark Albion, who was a professor at the Harvard Business School, cites a study in which the careers of 1,500 business school graduates were tracked from 1960 to 1980. From the beginning, graduates were grouped in two categories. In category A were those who said they wanted to make money first, so that they could do what they really wanted to do later, after they had taken care of their financial concerns. Eighty-three percent fell in category A. In category B were those who pursued their interests first, sure that money would eventually follow. Seventeen percent came in category B. After 20 years, there were 101 millionaires. One person was from category A (who wanted to make money first), and one hundred from category B (who pursued their interest first). The overwhelming majority of the people who became wealthy did so thanks to the work they found profoundly absorbing. Mark Albion concludes that for most people there is a difference between work and play. But if they do what they love, then work becomes play, and they never have to work for another day in their life. That is what Shree Krishna is asking Arjun to do—not to abandon the work that is best suited to his nature, even if it has defects in it, rather to work according to his natural propensity. But for work to be elevating, it must be done in the proper consciousness, described in the next verse.

असक्तबुद्धि: सर्वत्र जितात्मा विगतस्पृह: |
नैष्कर्म्यसिद्धिं परमां सन्न्यासेनाधिगच्छति || 49||

asakta-buddhiḥ sarvatra jitātmā vigata-spṛihaḥ
naiṣhkarmya-siddhiṁ paramāṁ sannyāsenādhigachchhati

Those whose intellect is unattached everywhere, who have mastered the mind, and are free from desires by the practice of renunciation, attain the highest perfection of freedom from action.

In this last chapter, Shree Krishna repeats many of the principles he has already explained. In the beginning of this chapter, he explained to Arjun that merely running away from the responsibilities of life is not sanyās, nor is it renunciation. Now he describes the state of actionlessness, or naiṣhkarmya-siddhi. This state can be reached even amidst the flow of the world by detaching ourselves from events and outcomes, and simply focusing on doing our duty. This is just as water flowing under a bridge enters from one side and flows out from the other. The bridge is neither the recipient of the water nor its distributor; it remains unaffected by its flow. Likewise, the karm yogis do their duty, but keep the mind unaffected by the stream of events. They do not neglect putting in their best efforts in doing their duty, as an act of worship to God, but they leave the final outcome in his hands, and are thus contented and undisturbed with whatever happens.

Here’s a simple story to illustrate this point. A man had two daughters; the first was married to a farmer and the second was married to a brick kiln owner. One day, the father rang up the first daughter and inquired how she was doing. She replied, “Father, we are going through economic hardships. Please pray to God for us that we may have plentiful rains in the coming months.” He then rang up the second daughter, and she requested, “Father, we are low on funds. Please request God not to send rains this year, so that we may have lots of sunshine and a good production of bricks.” The father heard the opposite requests of his daughters, and thought, “God alone knows what is best. Let him do what he feels is best.” Such acceptance of the will of God brings detachment from outcomes, despite being immersed in the incessant stream of events in the world.