Transcendental understanding of action

One who sees inaction in action, and action in inaction is intelligent although engaged in all sorts of activities

By sense of “Eternal servitorship to Krishna”

For whom – All acts done for Krishna

Attitude

Result – Enjoys transcendental happiness (not available to impersonalists)

For whom – Work with attachment

Attitude – Against scriptural injunctions

Result – Bad reaction (4.17)

For whom – work with attachment

Attitude – according to sastras

Result – good reaction

Facility – Krishna creates Varnasrama according to quality and work

It is action in inaction

Result – Get reaction

Short explanation – “Action in inaction” is the opposite. A sannyasi without transcendental knowledge of Krishna may appear not to be performing work, but as a soul, he can’t avoid either activity or the entangling results of that activity. Devoid of transcendental knowledge about Krishna, he must act, but he cannot act in Krishna’s service, for he has no knowledge of Krishna. He is thus liable to all reactions

E.g. The sannyasi must breathe. He also must eat. He steps on living entities as he walks. Without Krishna consciousness all these activities have no transcendental basis for him, and thus reactions accrue to him

One can perform detached actions in Krishna’s service by applying ‘transcendental knowledge’ They are called akarma

Akarma refers to actions without reactions and such actions are on the absolute platform

Krishna explains how in this way karma can be seen as jnana