Verse 4-21 – Bhagavad Gita

निराशीर्यतचित्तात्मा त्यक्तसर्वपरिग्रह: \| शारीरं केवलं कर्म कुर्वन्नाप्नोति किल्बिषम् \|\| 21 \|\|

“Free from expectations and sense of ownership, with the mind and intellect fully controlled, they incur no sin even though performing actions in the body.”

Commentary Sinful actions (किल्बिषम्) are those that fundamentally strengthen one’s identity with the body by disrespecting the divine Self within and in the Nature. The result of a sinful action is ignorance which is the highest form of suffering in the world. As long as the devotee is ignorant of his true self, he is subject to rebirths.

Ignorance leads to identification with suffering and pleasure. In both these outcomes, there is false identification with the body and the environment. When people identify too much with physical pain, loss of money and love, they are disrespecting their own divine, powerful, omnipresent and omniscient nature. To avoid ‘something bad’ happening to body, mind, money and love, people follow extreme sentiments. This fear is propagated throughout future generations. People should only fear their own ignorance and try to realise their true self as quickly as possible.

Saintly people are in full command over their body, mind and emotions. They master the art of sense-control and perform wise actions as responsible custodians of the body. Avoiding any sin of identification with the body, they return it with gratitude at the appropriate time and leave to the divine abode.

Engaging in sensory experiences solely for personal pleasure while identifying with the body is considered sinful. One may occasionally indulge in them only if there is a noble outcome but regular indulgences just for the sake of enjoyment or pure pleasure are obstacles for evolution.