Knowledge, action, and the teaching of yoga
Bhagavad Gita 4.18
Source: verified public-domain translation.
Original text
कर्मण्यकर्म यः पश्येदकर्मणि च कर्म यः । स बुद्धिमान्मनुष्येषु स युक्तः कृत्स्नकर्मकृत् ॥
Transliteration
karmaṇy akarma yaḥ paśyed akarmaṇi ca karma yaḥ | sa buddhimān manuṣyeṣu sa yuktaḥ kṛtsna-karma-kṛt ||
Translation
“He who sees inaction in action, and action in inaction, he is wise among men; he is a yogi and performer of all actions.”
Translation · Swami Sivananda
Context
A deliberately paradoxical teaching about the nature of karma. It is not an instruction to freeze. Commentators use it to distinguish bodily movement from binding doership.