A man of wisdom is described here. He who has abandoned all concern for actions and has also renounced all his attachments for their fruits is a perfect worker. This, however, does not mean that the Path of Action is to act without an eye upon the fruits of activities. It only means that we should avoid our mental dependence and intellectual attachment to the desired or expected results of our activities. Only when one gets pre-occupied with the expected fruits of actions, he gets worried and anxious and thereby becomes ineffective. Hence we are advised to work for the happiness and welfare of the society by forsaking (Tyaktwaa) our clinging (Sangam) to the fruits of action (Karma phalam).

If an attitude of non-attachment to fruits of actions is developed one becomes anxiety- free and his intellect can have no more desires because anxiety is the direct result of desires. He thus becomes ever content (Nitya-Tripta) in his experience of the Self acting in the world not seeking any fulfillment for himself.

An ordinary man lives entirely depending on the fruits of his actions and derives joy out of such fruits. In the case of a sage, he expects no fruits of his activities and his very actions are by themselves a reward for him. Hence he depends on nothing (Niraashraya).

The weaknesses of anxiety for the fruits of action, a sense of discontentment and a feeling of dependency on things and beings of the world, belong to the Ego. When the seeker ends his ego and realized his identity with the Self, he though seemingly engaged in activity does not do anything. He is an emancipated soul who sees inaction in action and action in inaction.

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With the help of the above-mentioned wisdom, tyaktva, having given up the idea of agentship; and phala-asangam, attachment to the results of action; he who is nitya-trptah, ever-trptah, ever-contented, i. e. has no hankering for objects; and nirasrayah, dependent on nothing-. Asraya means that on which a person leans, desiring to achieve some human goal. The idea is that he is dependent of any support which may be a means of attaining some coveted seen or unseen result.

In reality, actions done by a man of Knowledge are certainly inactions, since he is endowed with the realization of the actionless Self. Actions together with their accessories must be relinquished by one who has become thus, because they have no end to serve. This being so, api, even though; he remains abhi-pravrttah, engaged as before; karmani, in actions-getting out of those (actions) being impossible-, either with the intention of preventing people from going astray or with a view to avoiding the censure of the wise people; sah, he; eva, really; na karoti, does not do; kincit, anything, because he is endued with the realization of the actionless Self. [From the subjective standpoint of the enlightened there are no actions, but ordinary people mistakenly think them to be actions, which in reality are a mere semblance of it.]

On the other hand, one who is the opposite of the above-mentioned one, (and) in whom, even before undertaking works, has dawned the realization of his identity with Brahman, the all-pervasive, inmost, actionless Self; who,being bereft of solicitation for desirable objects seen or unseen, has renounced actions along with their accessories, by virtue of seeing no purpose to be served by undertaking actions meant to secure some seen or unseen result, and makes effort only for the maintenance of the body, he, the monk steadfast in Knowledge, becomes free.

Hence, in order to express this idea the Lord says: