नियतं कुरु कर्म त्वं कर्म ज्यायो ह्यकर्मण: | शरीरयात्रापि च ते न प्रसिद्ध्येदकर्मण: || 8|| |
|---|
“Therefore you should perform your prescribed duties, since action is superior to inaction. By ceasing activity, even maintenance of your body will not be possible.”
Commentary
Lord Krishna has stated earlier that no one can live without performing action as they are compelled to work by the effects of three gunās. In this verse, He elucidates that not all actions purify and uplift a person. Only dutiful and wisdom-guided actions can give lasting peace and joy.
The word Akarma (inaction) is a homonym, so it could either mean ultimate freedom from action, passive resistance to dutiful action arising out of negative emotions or active involvement in non-dutiful actions that please the senses. the meaning refers to non-performance of a dutiful action due to a negative emotion.
One of the tamasic qualities is inertia, the nature of opposing any external agency that attempts to put the person in motion. Seeing Arjuna filled with the negative feeling of inertia arising from despair and hopelessness, Lord Krishna says that even the basic bodily activities like eating, bathing, and maintaining proper health require work. Neglecting these obligatory actions, called Nithya karma, will weaken body and mind. On the other hand, a strong and nourished body is a reliable vehicle on the road to spirituality.
Therefore the inactive state of inertia is inferior to dutiful action and does not lend itself either for material or spiritual achievement.