Rooted Sangha: The Bhagavad Gita | Chapter 2 | Verses 39-43 - Action & Outcome
- sjholisticyoga
- 17 hours ago
- 6 min read
This week in sangha, we continue discussing The Bhagavad Gita for Daily Living by Eknath Easwaran. Each week, I will do my best to summarise the parts of the book we discuss. Please refer to https://www.sjholisticyoga.co.uk/post/what-is-the-bhagavad-gita if you need a grounding in what The Bhagavad Gita itself is.
I cross-reference with other versions of the Bhagavad Gita, so sometimes the translations differ from Easwaran's.
Yoga as a way of living
SRI KRISHNA
39. You have heard the intellectual explanation of sankhya, O Partha. Now listen to the principles of yoga; by practicing these you can break through the bonds of karma. Up to this point, Krishna has been speaking to Arjuna about the nature of the Self - what changes and what does not. This is the path of Sankhya, the path of understanding.
Now the teaching shifts. Krishna begins to speak about yoga, not as a theory but as a way of living. Not a physical practice or a set of postures (asana). It is a way of acting in the world with steadiness and clarity.
A key quote from Easwaran is
Yoga is the practice of meditation and the allied spiritual disciplines. When the senses are stilled, when the mind is stilled, when the intellect is stilled, when the ego is stilled, then the state of perfect yoga is reached.
Easwaran explains that while sankhya helps us understand reality, yoga shows us how to live in alignment with that understanding.
When our actions are driven by fear, desire, or attachment to outcomes, we become caught in cycles of reaction. But when we act with evenness of mind, our actions begin to free us rather than bind us.
Effort is never wasted
SRI KRISHNA
40. On this path effort never goes to waste, and there is no failure. Even a little effort towards spiritual awareness will yield protection from the greatest fear.
In this beautiful verse, Krishna reassures Arjuna that the effort made on the path of yoga is never lost. Unlike many areas of life where success and failure are measured by visible results, the work of inner transformation unfolds more quietly.
Easwaran explains that every small step towards awareness strengthens something within us. Even moments of practice that seem insignificant - a pause before reacting, a moment of patience, a return to the breath - gradually reshape the patterns of the mind.
Over time, these small efforts accumulate, creating a steadiness that can support us even in difficult circumstances. What Krishna calls “the greatest fear” can be understood as the deep anxiety that arises when we feel lost, uncertain, or disconnected from our deeper centre.
Yoga does not remove life’s challenges, but it slowly builds the inner stability that allows us to meet them with greater clarity and courage.
Even the smallest effort begins that process. Nothing is wasted.
A steady mind
SRI KRISHNA
41. Those who follow this path, Arjuna, who resolve deeply within themselves to seek me alone, attain singleness of purpose. For those who lack resolution, the decisions of life
are many-branched and endless.
Krishna now turns to the nature of the mind itself. Easwaran explains that progress on the path of yoga requires a certain steadiness of attention. When our purpose becomes clear, the mind gradually gathers itself. Our energy is no longer scattered across countless desires, worries, and distractions.
A mind that is “many-branched” is constantly pulled in different directions. It chases outcomes, approval, comfort, and security all at once. In this state, it becomes very difficult to act with clarity or peace.
Yoga slowly cultivates the opposite: a mind that knows where it is placing its attention.
The pull of external rewards
SRI KRISHNA
42-43.There are ignorant people who speak flowery words and take delight in the letter of the law, saying that there is nothing else. O Partha: whose hearts are filled with selfish desires, whose idea of heaven is their own enjoyment, and who engage in myriad activities for the attainment of pleasure and power. The fruit of their actions is
continual rebirth.
Those whose minds are swept away by the pursuit of pleasure and power are incapable of following the supreme goal and will not attain samadhi.
Here, Krishna warns against becoming overly focused on external rewards. Easwaran explains that this passage is not rejecting tradition or scripture, but cautioning against a mindset that approaches spiritual life as a way of accumulating benefits.
When practice becomes another way of chasing pleasure, recognition, or future reward, the mind remains restless. It is still operating within the same patterns of desire and fear. Krishna’s teaching invites something deeper: a shift from seeking reward to cultivating awareness itself.
In this way, the mind gradually becomes quieter, more unified, and less easily pulled about by the changing promises of the world.
As Krishna continues the teaching in the next verses, he begins to reveal the subtle forces that influence our thoughts, moods, and actions — the three qualities of nature known as the gunas. I can't wait to get into this next week!
A reflection for practice and daily life
These verses invite us to notice where our attention and energy are going each day.
When the mind is scattered, it is often because we are trying to pursue too many outcomes at once - approval, success, comfort, certainty. The result is a sense of restlessness and fragmentation.
Krishna’s teaching suggests that steadiness begins when we simplify our focus. Instead of becoming absorbed in what we might gain from our actions, we return our attention to the quality of the action itself.
In daily life, this might mean pausing before reacting, bringing care to an ordinary task, or acting from our values rather than from the promise of reward.
Small moments of awareness gradually gather the mind together.
Over time, this steadiness becomes the ground from which yoga unfolds - not as something we perform, but as a way of moving through the world with greater clarity and ease.
A simple practice: action and outcome
These verses invite us to reflect on the difference between the actions we can take and the outcomes we cannot control and should not attach ourselves to. This short exercise can help bring that distinction into everyday awareness.
Take a moment to think of one small action you need to take this week. Something real but manageable:
a conversation
sending a message
making a decision
On a page in your journal, draw a simple line down the middle.
On one side write “What I can bring to this action.”
On the other side write “What I cannot control.”
In the first column, note the qualities you can offer. These might include honesty, patience, kindness, clarity, or effort. These are the things that lie within your influence.
In the second column, write the aspects of the situation that are beyond your control. This might include how another person responds, how quickly things change, or the final outcome.
Pause for a moment and look at both columns together.
What happens when you place your attention more fully on the first column?
Krishna’s teaching reminds us that we cannot control the unfolding of life, but we can bring integrity and awareness to the actions we take. When our focus shifts from the outcome to the quality of the action itself, the mind often becomes quieter and more steady.
This is the beginning of what the Gita calls evenness of mind.
Giving Back
After covering room and fuel costs, all proceeds from Rooted are being saved to support a local cause, to be chosen together later this year - as a small act of Bhakti yoga, the yoga of devotion in action.
On 21st September, we made our first donation (£110) to Kettering Samaritans.
On 23rd December, we donated £100 to Johnny's Happy Place, a wonderful mental health support cafe in Kettering.
We agreed that our next beneficiary will be The Green Patch, Kettering. There is currently £90 in the pot!
Going Forward
Next week, we will continue Chapter 2. If you would like to join us in person, do get in touch or book online. If you would like to buy the book, click the image below for options.
Please Note:
My thoughts draw on teachings from the Bhagavad Gita, a sacred text within Hindu philosophy. I share my reflections as a yoga practitioner and teacher, not as a scholar or religious authority. My intention is to explore how these teachings can be lived and contemplated within contemporary practice, and always with the utmost respect for their cultural and spiritual roots.
Om Shanti.
Vicki x
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