Rooted Sangha: The Bhagavad Gita | Chapter 2 | Verses 46-49 - Action, Outcome and Evenness
- sjholisticyoga
- 15 hours ago
- 5 min read
This week in sangha, we continue our discussion of 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.
Collecting spiritual awareness
SRI KRISHNA
46. Just as a reservoir is of little use to people when the country is flooded all around, so
the scriptures are of little use to the illumined man or woman, who sees the Lord everywhere.
Easwaran explains that Krishna is speaking here about the role of spiritual teachings themselves. He says, 'as long as the living waters of spiritual awareness are not flowing all the time within, you have to get little pots of water from outside..... But when the living fountain from within bursts forth....why would you want pots? Why would a person want pools who is in the midst of the limitless sea of love?'
Action without grasping
SRI KRISHNA
47. You have the right to work, but never to the fruit of work. You should never engage in
action for the sake of rewards, nor should you long for inaction.
This is one of the most well-known teachings in the Gita, and also one of the most easily misunderstood.
Krishna is not telling Arjuna that outcomes do not matter, or that he should stop caring about what happens. Instead, he is pointing to something much more subtle.
We are responsible for our actions, but we are not in control of how those actions unfold.
Easwaran explains that most of our anxiety comes from confusing these two.
We focus on the results, trying to secure a particular outcome, and in doing so, we become tense, distracted, and often overwhelmed. The mind moves ahead of the present moment, trying to manage something that cannot yet be known.
Krishna gently brings the focus back.
Your role is to act. To show up with clarity, care, and integrity. To bring your full attention to what is in front of you. The result is not yours to control.
Krishna also warns that we must not interpret his words as counsel for inaction. As we will see later on in our reading, we each have a duty to ourselves and the rest of humanity to take action. Easwaran reminds us that both grasping and avoidance keep us bound in the same way.
Evenness in success and failure
SRI KRISHNA
48. Perform work in this world Arjuna, as a man established within himself - without selfish attachments, and alike in success and defeat. For yoga is perfect evenness of mind.
49. Seek refuge in the attitude of detachment and you will amass the wealth of spiritual
awareness. The man who is motivated only by desire for the fruits of his action, and is
anxious about the results, is miserable indeed.
Krishna now brings the teaching to its heart.
To act without attachment to the outcome is not a detached or distant way of living. It is a deeply engaged way of being, rooted in something steady within.
Easwaran explains that this steadiness comes from being established in the Self rather than in the changing conditions of life. When we are anchored in what is more stable, we are less easily shaken by success or failure.
This is what Krishna means by evenness of mind.
Not indifference or suppression. But a quiet balance that allows us to meet both gain and loss without being thrown off course.
A reflection for practice and daily life
These verses invite us to notice not only what pulls our attention away from steadiness, but also where we place our energy within our actions.
We might recognise moments of restlessness, when the mind reaches forward, chasing an outcome or trying to control what has not yet happened. We might notice moments of resistance, where we push away discomfort or hold tightly to what feels good.
And we may also begin to notice how much of our sense of ease is tied to whether things go the way we hoped.
The practice is not to stop these movements or to become indifferent to what happens. It is to see them clearly, and to return, again and again, to what is ours to do. To act with care and attention, while loosening our grip on the result.
This also reminds me of a wonderful book I read in 2025, called The Courage To Be Disliked, by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga. They state that
'All interpersonal relationship troubles are caused by intruding on other people’s tasks, or having one’s own tasks intruded on. … do not intervene in other people’s tasks, or allow even a single person to intervene in one’s own tasks.'
'Intervening in other people’s tasks and taking on other people’s tasks turns one’s life into something heavy and full of hardship. If you are leading a life of worry and suffering, learn the boundary of “From here on, that is not my task.” And discard other people’s tasks. That is the first step toward lightening the load and making life simpler.”
In other words, the only thing you control is your own actions. Take responsibility for what you do rather than blame others, but don’t assume responsibility for others’ actions. I have been following this principle for over a year now, and it has made a huge difference in my relationships and emotional well-being.
Journal reflections
Where in my life am I being invited to act, even though I cannot control the outcome?
What does it look like for me to bring care, honesty, or integrity to an action without knowing how it will unfold?
Do I tend to lean more towards over-efforting or avoiding action altogether? What sits underneath that?
How do I respond internally when things go well? And how do I respond when they do not?
What might “evenness of mind” feel like in a situation I am currently navigating?
If I let go of needing a specific result, what becomes simpler about the way I act?
Where am I intervening in other people's tasks?
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 to see your 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
Book Recommendations:
The Courage To Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga
Likeable by Fearne Cotton
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