Gita for Life · Situations
What does the Gita say about duty and work?
5 passages of the Gita on this question. Each shows what the verse says, why it belongs here, and Śrīla Prabhupāda’s explanation.
In short
Everyone has work to do: at school, at home, in a job or in a business. The Gītā teaches us to do our own work sincerely, without running away from it and without being bound by its results, and to offer it to Kṛṣṇa as service.
Do your own work, do it well, and offer it to Kṛṣṇa.
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Don’t run away from your work
niyataṁ kuru karma tvaṁ Bhagavad-gītā 3.8
What the verse says
Kṛṣṇa tells Arjuna to perform his prescribed duty, “for action is better than inaction.” Without work, He says, one cannot even maintain one’s physical body.
Read 3.8 in Bhagavad-gītā As It Is
Perform your prescribed duty, for action is better than inaction. A man cannot even maintain his physical body without work.
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that Kṛṣṇa did not want Arjuna to become a pretender who gives up his work in the name of spiritual life. Arjuna was a householder and a military general, and it was better for him to remain so and do his duties, because such work gradually purifies the heart.
“Such activities gradually cleanse the heart of a mundane man and free him from material contamination.”
Lesson
Running from responsibility is not renunciation. Your daily duties, done honestly, are part of your spiritual growth, not an obstacle to it.
Example
A young man who quits his job saying “I want to be spiritual”, while his parents struggle to pay the bills, has not renounced anything. Doing his work honestly while he grows in devotion would be real progress.
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Your own path, even imperfect, is better than copying another’s
sva-dharme nidhanaṁ śreyaḥ Bhagavad-gītā 3.35
What the verse says
It is far better to discharge one’s own prescribed duties, even if they are faulty, than another’s duties, for to follow another’s path “is dangerous.” Just before, Kṛṣṇa says that even a man of knowledge acts according to his own nature, and asks what repression can accomplish 3.33.
Read 3.35 in Bhagavad-gītā As It Is
It is far better to discharge one's prescribed duties, even though they may be faulty, than another's duties. Destruction in the course of performing one's own duty is better than engaging in another's duties, for to follow another's path is dangerous.
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that prescribed duties suit one’s own psychophysical condition, and that we should not imitate the duties of others. Everyone has to cleanse the heart gradually, he says, not abruptly, and with a full sense of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
“one should stick to his prescribed duties even up to death, rather than imitate another's prescribed duties.”
Lesson
Don’t choose a path only because it looks impressive on someone else. Find the work that suits your nature and your responsibilities, and do it sincerely, even if you do it imperfectly at first.
Example
A boy with a gift for teaching chases a career he has no feeling for, only because his cousins did, and he is miserable. When he becomes a teacher, he works with his whole heart and keeps getting better.
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No honest work is low
śreyān sva-dharmo viguṇaḥ Bhagavad-gītā 18.47
What the verse says
It is better to engage in one’s own occupation, even imperfectly, than to take up another’s and do it perfectly; duties prescribed “according to one’s nature” are never affected by sinful reactions. Kṛṣṇa has just said that by following his own qualities of work every person can become perfect 18.45.
Read 18.47 in Bhagavad-gītā As It Is
It is better to engage in one's own occupation, even though one may perform it imperfectly, than to accept another's occupation and perform it perfectly. Prescribed duties, according to one's nature, are never affected by sinful reactions.
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that one should work according to one’s own nature and not artificially claim another’s position, even on the strength of the family one was born into. And, he says, no work is to be looked down upon when it is done in the service of the Lord.
“In this way one should work according to his own nature; no work is abominable, if performed in the service of the Supreme Lord.”
Lesson
Respect every kind of honest work, your own and everyone else’s. A farmer, a nurse, a shopkeeper, a teacher and an engineer can all serve Kṛṣṇa fully through their own work.
Example
A delivery worker who is honest and punctual, and offers his day to Kṛṣṇa, is not doing “small” work. Dignity comes from how we work and for whom, not from the job title.
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Every work has some smoke
dhūmenāgnir ivāvṛtāḥ Bhagavad-gītā 18.48
What the verse says
Every endeavour is covered by some sort of fault, “just as fire is covered by smoke.” Therefore one should not give up the work born of one’s nature, even if it is full of fault.
Read 18.48 in Bhagavad-gītā As It Is
Every endeavor is covered by some sort of fault, just as fire is covered by smoke. Therefore one should not give up the work which is born of his nature, O son of Kuntī, even if such work is full of fault.
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that in this world no occupation is completely free from contamination, and changing to another one will not change that. Just as we keep using fire in spite of its smoke, we should not give up our natural work because of some disturbing elements, but serve the Lord through it; then its defects are purified.
“Although fire is pure, still there is smoke. Yet smoke does not make the fire impure.”
Lesson
Every job, course of study and family role has parts you will not like. Don’t keep running after a perfect one; it does not exist. Do your work, and let serving Kṛṣṇa purify it.
Example
A doctor’s long night shifts, a shopkeeper’s difficult customers, a mother’s sleepless nights: that is the smoke. The fire, their service, is still pure.
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Your right is to the work, not to the fruits
karmaṇy evādhikāras te Bhagavad-gītā 2.47
What the verse says
Kṛṣṇa tells Arjuna that he has a right to perform his prescribed duty but is not entitled to the fruits of action. He should never consider himself the cause of the results, and “never be attached to not doing your duty.”
Read 2.47 in Bhagavad-gītā As It Is
You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself to be the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty.
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains
Śrīla Prabhupāda distinguishes prescribed duty from capricious work and from inaction. The Lord did not want Arjuna to be inactive, he explains; and one who is attached to the result becomes its cause, and so must enjoy or suffer it.
“The Lord advised that Arjuna not be inactive, but that he perform his prescribed duty without being attached to the result.”
Lesson
Fear of results can make us idle just as easily as greed for results can make us anxious. Do what is yours to do today, and leave the outcome where it belongs.
Example
A graduate who does not prepare for an interview because “I won’t get selected anyway” is still attached to the result. Prepare well, go, and do your part.
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Work as an offering, and it stops binding you
tad-arthaṁ karma kaunteya Bhagavad-gītā 3.9
What the verse says
Work done as a sacrifice for Viṣṇu has to be performed; otherwise work binds one to this material world. So Kṛṣṇa asks Arjuna to perform his prescribed duties for His satisfaction, and in that way remain unattached and free from bondage.
Read 3.9 in Bhagavad-gītā As It Is
Work done as a sacrifice for Viṣṇu has to be performed, otherwise work binds one to this material world. Therefore, O son of Kuntī, perform your prescribed duties for His satisfaction, and in that way you will always remain unattached and free from bondage.
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that both good and bad work have reactions that bind the worker, but one who works to satisfy Kṛṣṇa is in a liberated stage. This is the great art of doing work, he says, and in the beginning it needs the expert guidance of a devotee.
“Nothing should be performed for sense gratification, but everything should be done for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa.”
Lesson
The same work can bind you or free you, depending on whom it is for. Before you begin, ask yourself, “Whom am I doing this for?” and let the answer be Kṛṣṇa.
Example
A mother can cook for her family out of routine, or she can cook for Kṛṣṇa, offer the food to Him and serve it as prasādam. The work is the same; the consciousness turns it into worship.
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Your daily work can be worship
sva-karmaṇā tam abhyarcya Bhagavad-gītā 18.46
What the verse says
By worshipping the Lord, who is the source of all beings and who is all-pervading, a person can attain perfection “in the performance of his own duty.”
Read 18.46 in Bhagavad-gītā As It Is
By worship of the Lord, who is the source of all beings and who is all-pervading, man can, in the performance of his own duty, attain perfection.
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains
Śrīla Prabhupāda says that everyone should think that Hṛṣīkeśa, the master of the senses, has engaged him in his particular occupation, and should worship Kṛṣṇa with the result of that work. The Lord Himself then takes charge of delivering such a devotee.
“In whatever occupation one may be engaged, if he serves the Supreme Lord, he will achieve the highest perfection.”
Lesson
You don’t have to leave your desk, shop or kitchen to worship Kṛṣṇa. Think, “Kṛṣṇa has given me this work,” do it carefully, and offer its results to Him.
Example
A software engineer begins the day with a short prayer, works honestly and carefully, and uses part of his earnings in Kṛṣṇa’s service. His office work has become his worship.
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Offer it all to Kṛṣṇa, and work without fever
mayi sarvāṇi karmāṇi Bhagavad-gītā 3.30
What the verse says
Kṛṣṇa tells Arjuna to surrender all his works to Him, with his mind intent on Him, and to fight without desire for gain, free from egoism and lethargy.
Read 3.30 in Bhagavad-gītā As It Is
Therefore, O Arjuna, surrendering all your works unto Me, with mind intent on Me, and without desire for gain and free from egoism and lethargy, fight.
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that we should act on the order of the master without claiming anything as our own, because everything belongs to the Supreme Lord. Working in this way, one becomes free from a feverish mentality and from lethargy.
“The cashier may count millions of dollars for his employer, but he does not claim a cent for himself.”
Lesson
When you remember that your talents, your job and even your salary belong to Kṛṣṇa, work loses both its feverish anxiety and its laziness. You work hard, but lightly.
Example
A bank cashier handles lakhs of rupees every day without tension, because he knows none of it is his. When we see our work and wealth as Kṛṣṇa’s, we can handle them with the same calm honesty.
Burden or offering? Two ways to do your work
| Work as a burden | Work as service | Verse |
|---|---|---|
| “I just want to escape my responsibilities.” | “Doing my duty honestly purifies my heart.” | 3.8 |
| “His career looks better; I’ll copy it.” | “I’ll do the work that suits my nature, sincerely.” | 3.35 |
| “My work is too ordinary to matter.” | “No honest work is low when it is done for Kṛṣṇa.” | 18.47 |
| “This job has problems; I’ll keep looking for a perfect one.” | “Every work has some smoke; I’ll serve through mine.” | 18.48 |
| “Why try, if the result isn’t certain?” | “My part is the work; the fruit is not mine to command.” | 2.47 |
| “I work only for myself.” | “I work for Kṛṣṇa’s satisfaction, and that sets me free.” | 3.9 |
| “It’s all mine.” | “It all belongs to Kṛṣṇa; I am only His cashier.” | 3.30 |
Our reflections, each based on the verse named beside it.
Ask yourself
- Is there a duty I am avoiding because it is hard, boring or uncomfortable?
- Am I choosing my path because it suits my nature, or because it impresses others?
- Do I look down on any kind of honest work, including my own?
- Do I give up too easily when my work has some “smoke”?
- Whom am I really working for, and how could I offer today’s work to Kṛṣṇa?
The essence
Duty is not a weight to drag but an offering to make. Do your own work honestly, without running from it and without clinging to its fruits, and give it to Kṛṣṇa; then ordinary work becomes worship.
Sticking to your duty never means putting up with abuse, at work or at home. If your work situation is harming you, seek advice from people you trust.
The headings, explanations, lessons, examples, table and questions are ours, written to help you apply the verses. The Sanskrit lines, the verse translations and Śrīla Prabhupāda’s quoted words are from Bhagavad-gītā As It Is as published on vedabase.cc, unaltered.
All the verses for this topic
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Bhagavad-gītā 2.47
You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself to be the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty.
Why this verse is here
One should responsibly perform prescribed duties with detachment (2.47)
From the thematic compilation The Five Topics
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains
From the purport to 2.47
There are three considerations here: prescribed duties, capricious work, and inaction. Prescribed duties refer to activities performed while one is in the modes of material nature. Capricious work means actions without the sanction of authority, and inaction means not performing one's prescribed duties. The Lord advised that Arjuna not be inactive, but that he perform his prescribed duty without being attached to the result. One who is attached to the result of his work is also the cause of the action. Thus he is the enjoyer or sufferer of the result of such actions.
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Bhagavad-gītā 2.48
Be steadfast in yoga, O Arjuna. Perform your duty and abandon all attachment to success or failure. Such evenness of mind is called yoga.
Why this verse is here
Duty needs to be performed with equanimity abandoning all attachment to success or failure. Such equanimity is called yoga. (2.48 samatvaṁ yoga ucyate)
From the thematic compilation Equanimity and Satisfaction
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains
From the purport to 2.48
Kṛṣṇa tells Arjuna that he should act in yoga. And what is that yoga? Yoga means to concentrate the mind upon the Supreme by controlling the ever-disturbing senses. And who is the Supreme? The Supreme is the Lord. And because He Himself is telling Arjuna to fight, Arjuna has nothing to do with the results of the fight. Gain or victory are Kṛṣṇa's concern; Arjuna is simply advised to act according to the dictation of Kṛṣṇa. The following of Kṛṣṇa's dictation is real yoga, and this is practiced in the process called Kṛṣṇa consciousness. By Kṛṣṇa consciousness only can one give up the sense of proprietorship. One has to become the servant of Kṛṣṇa, or the servant of the servant of Kṛṣṇa. That is the right way to discharge duty in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, which alone can help one to act in yoga.
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Bhagavad-gītā 3.33–35
Even a man of knowledge acts according to his own nature, for everyone follows his nature. What can repression accomplish?
Show the other 2 verses of 3.33–35
Attraction and repulsion for sense objects are felt by embodied beings, but one should not fall under the control of senses and sense objects because they are stumbling blocks on the path of self-realization.
Bhagavad-gītā 3.34 It is far better to discharge one's prescribed duties, even though they may be faulty, than another's duties. Destruction in the course of performing one's own duty is better than engaging in another's duties, for to follow another's path is dangerous.
Bhagavad-gītā 3.35 Why this verse is here
One should do one’s own duty according to one’s nature for purification, instead of imitating others.
From the study outline of the chapter
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains
From the purport to 3.33
Unless one is situated on the transcendental platform of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he cannot get free from the influence of the modes of material nature, as it is confirmed by the Lord in the Seventh Chapter (7.14). Therefore, even for the most highly educated person on the mundane plane, it is impossible to get out of the entanglement of māyā simply by theoretical knowledge, or by separating the soul from the body. There are many so-called spiritualists who outwardly pose to be advanced in the science, but inwardly or privately are completely under the particular modes of nature which they are unable to surpass. Academically, one may be very learned, but because of his long association with material nature, he is in bondage. Kṛṣṇa consciousness helps one to get out of the material entanglement, even though one may be engaged in his prescribed duties. …
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Bhagavad-gītā 3.30
Therefore, O Arjuna, surrendering all your works unto Me, with mind intent on Me, and without desire for gain and free from egoism and lethargy, fight.
Why this verse is here
Do your duty depending on Me (Stage of Bhakti-yoga
From the verse-by-verse study notes
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains
From the purport to 3.30
This verse clearly indicates the purpose of the Bhagavad-gītā. The Lord instructs that one has to become fully Kṛṣṇa conscious to discharge duties, as if in military discipline. Such an injunction may make things a little difficult; nevertheless duties must be carried out, with dependence on Kṛṣṇa, because that is the constitutional position of the living entity. The living entity cannot be happy independent of the cooperation of the Supreme Lord because the eternal constitutional position of the living entity is to become subordinate to the desires of the Lord. Arjuna was, therefore, ordered by Śrī Kṛṣṇa to fight as if the Lord were his military commander. One has to sacrifice everything for the good will of the Supreme Lord, and at the same time discharge prescribed duties without claiming proprietorship. …
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Bhagavad-gītā 18.45–48
By following his qualities of work, every man can become perfect. Now please hear from Me how this can be done.
Show the other 3 verses of 18.45–48
By worship of the Lord, who is the source of all beings and who is all-pervading, man can, in the performance of his own duty, attain perfection.
Bhagavad-gītā 18.46 It is better to engage in one's own occupation, even though one may perform it imperfectly, than to accept another's occupation and perform it perfectly. Prescribed duties, according to one's nature, are never affected by sinful reactions.
Bhagavad-gītā 18.47 Every endeavor is covered by some sort of fault, just as fire is covered by smoke. Therefore one should not give up the work which is born of his nature, O son of Kuntī, even if such work is full of fault.
Bhagavad-gītā 18.48 Why this verse is here
Importance of sticking to one’s prescribed duty
From the study outline of the chapter
Everyday questions answered by these verses
Related topics
Each verse is linked to this topic by a statement in our primary study source, shown under “Why this verse is here”. The verses and Śrīla Prabhupāda’s words are quoted from Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, unaltered.