न मे पार्थास्ति कर्तव्यं त्रिषु लोकेषु किञ्चन |
नानवाप्तमवाप्तव्यं वर्त एव च कर्मणि || 22||
na me pārthāsti kartavyaṁ triṣhu lokeṣhu kiñchana
nānavāptam avāptavyaṁ varta eva cha karmaṇi
na—not; me—mine; pārtha—Arjun; asti—is; kartavyam—duty; triṣhu—in the three; lokeṣhu—worlds; kiñchana—any; na—not; anavāptam—to be attained; avāptavyam—to be gained; varte—I am engaged; eva—yet; cha—also; karmaṇi—in prescribed duties
Translation:
There is no duty for me to do in the three worlds. There is nothing unattained or to be attained for me. And yet I am also engaged in work.
Commentary:
Lord Krishna is God himself. He is in all the worlds and all the worlds are in Him. What then should he work for? What is he to gain by work? He is everything, and yet out of compassion for humanity, He incarnates Himself, again and again, to maintain Dharma for the well-being and progress of the world. He is ceaselessly working everywhere for establishing Dharma. He, the infinite formless Brahman, takes birth, comes into the world, mingles with men, teaches them, elevates them, and leads them on to freedom and bliss. If the Lord Himself is thus engaged in work, should not the common man work for his own good? The great Jivanmuktas like Buddha, Shankara, and a long line of sages and prophets have all done tremendous work in the World. Why? Not for their own gain, because they have nothing to gain, but for the sake of humanity. So the seekers and aspirants should do honest and sincere work to purify themselves and attain the spiritual aim. They should not be inactive, because inaction is tamas. Work, work, is the Lord’s command. Work without attachment, performing one’s duty unmindful of the results, is the law of karma yoga.
Swami Vivekananda Says —
Our best work is done, our greatest influence is exerted, when we are without thought of self. All great geniuses know this. Let us open ourselves to the one Divine Actor, and let Him act, and do nothing ourselves. “O Arjuna! I have no duty in the whole world”, says Krishna. Be perfectly resigned, perfectly unconcerned; then alone can you do any true work. No eyes can see the real forces, we can only see the results. Put out self, lose it, forget it; just let God work, it is His business. We have nothing to do but stand aside and let God work. The more we go away, the more God comes in. Get rid of the little “I”, and let only the great “I” live.[Source]