Summary:

Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 4, Verse 23: “I have to” is the language of binding karma — originating from likes-dislikes and unrealistic expectations, causing loss of perspective, imperfect decisions, and victim mentality. Each decision based on binding likes-dislikes deepens the impression, narrowing capacity to think differently. Expecting the world to validate your generosity or wisdom is a formula for disappointment, disconnecting you further from recognizing Ishvara's grand order. A mature mind recognizes nothing external provides lasting contentment, and acknowledging this prematurely can lead to depression, which is why Krishna warned against unsettling immature minds. Karma-yoga is not a specific type of action but the right attitude — engaging the world to uncover subjectivities coloring self-knowledge. Clearly seeing that short-term pleasures yield no meaningful results naturally dissolves binding karma.

Revision:

Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 4, Verse 21:  Freedom from expectations (disappointment)

The person who is free of expectations – [thus is one] whose body, mind, and senses have been mastered:

• 1. First way of mind mastery: Would you stake your house on a 2 minute speech going exactly as rehearsed one hundred time? No, because many variables will affect the wording. Would you stake your life savings on getting a promotion, having sincerely worked hard for 2 years? No, because even if you do everything necessary for getting a promotion, outcome depends on whether the promoter likes you, or someone else more, on competition, performance of company, sudden “work-from-home” rules, etc. Similarly, staking your life on hundreds of unpredictable variables is risky and unrealistic. Because at any time you get as expected, more, less, or opposite. Acknowledging this, letting go of “I’m entitled, I should get __”, builds genuine mental composure.
  2. Second way of mind mastery: Second way to mental composure is trusteeship, rather than ownership, which reduces anxiety of “missing out”, and falling for stubborness, extreme self-assurance in one's opinions, that amplifies in aging. Recognize multiple unseen stakeholders are the sustainers of your privileged life.

Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 4, Verse 22:  Freedom from jealousy (or fear someone will take away something precious, or near-and-dear to you.)

Krishna gives hint as to “how”: One who is happy with whatever comes by chance, who is unaffected by the opposites.

Meaning, you acknowledge world operates on cause-effect which isn't entirely in your hands. So opposite (something unfavourable) is the price you pay for having a human body.

Solution: When things don't go your way, healthy response is throwing another cause into the field rather than blaming the world for being unfair. IF there’s jealously (which comes in form of competition, insecurity, fear of losing something precious to you), convert it to a prayer that the insecurity resolves in you. Jealously is when your sense of wellbeing is tied to an object, and there is threat of object leaving.

NEXT VERSE: Doing exactly what you're doing now, what slight attitudinal change would you have to make so mundane actions make you smarter/wiser, more discerning, and  less mechanical?

Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 4, Verse 23:
How Karma-Yoga dissolves binding actions

गत-सङ्गस्य मुक्तस्य ज्ञान-अवस्थित-चेतसः ।
यज्ञाय आचरतः कर्म समग्रम् प्रविलीयते ॥ ४-२३॥
gata-saṅgasya muktasya jñāna-avasthita-cetasaḥ ।
yajñāya ācarataḥ karma samagram pravilīyate ॥ 4-23॥
The karma of one who is free from attachment, who is liberated, whose mind is rooted in self-knowledge, who performs for the sake of daily yajña, resolves totally.

The verse discusses how karma-yoga dissolves binding power of action…

Meaning of word “karma”

Word “karma” can mean two things…

1. Action: Action performed based on faculty of choice (choosing one option over another).
2. Result of Past Action: “It is my karma”. Karma-Phala.

Actions (karmas) are unhealthy when originate from binding likes-dislikes:

Everyone has likes-dislikes. Eating to live is a healthy like. Living to eat is an unhealthy like. Let's compare the two for clarity…

Binding / Unhealthy:

It's binding or unhealthy when the pressure of pleasing the displeased-now-you, is greater then the well-being of the future-you. For instance, right now, I'm displeased. I watch a movie, missing out on the project deadline for tomorrow. The tomorrow-me suffers. A compromise could've been watching half way, and the other half invested in finishing the project.

Example of binding likes-dislikes:

• • • I have to defend myself when criticized. (Based on binding dislike)
    • I have to know if you're upset with me, else I can't function. (Binding like for reassurance)
    • I have to win an argument.
    • I have to be in peace 24/7.
    • I have to keep achieving to feel worthy.

“I have to” is the language of a binding or unhealthy karma. 

Each time, a decision based on binding likes-dislikes, it further deepens the impression, narrowing your capacity to think differently.

EG: For example, Arjuna’s initial decision to collect weapons was driven by dvesha (dislike), while his later decision not to fight on Kurukshetra was driven by raga, or familial love. But Krishna was showing him that he must look at the bigger picture: the kingdom needs a righteous king, a psychologically healthy leader. Same principle applies to household families. That larger responsibility has priority over personal likes and dislikes.  The right decision is neither simply to fight nor to not fight, but to serve the bigger vision that stands above personal fancies. 

Order how binding likes-dislikes causes one to lose perspective:

Binding likes-dislikes > Loss of perspective > imperfect decisions > disharmonious results of actions > have to deal with it. For example…

1. 1. 1. 1. Politically motivated voter has dislike for the wiser leader, thus loses perspective of future reprecussions of an ignoble leader running.
         2. Spiritual seeker's binding like for “feel good” advice, dislike for self-inquiry, self-introspection, and scriptures. Thus becomes selective.

Non-Binding / Healthy:

It's non-binding or healthy when the action considers the wellbeing of the present you, and the future you. Meaning, it's not something you'll regret later as it was thought through.

Actions (karmas) are also unhealthy when originate from expectations of what should and shouldn't happen…

When your wellbeing is contingent on the situation working out as you had imagined, and it doesn't work out – most fall in victim mentality, where instead of acknowledging reality isn't designed to make me happy – one unloads disappointment or anger towards oneself outwards – usually those closest to them, society, government, God, etc.

When we blame situations outwards, it forces mind to create enemies. Me vs. you or them. It separates and isolates you from the world further. What comes next is you forget standards of proper conduct – such as remaining reasonable and considerate towards other's view. One forgets the harmonious times you've had with this person. Various faults of the other person suddenly get recalled, then twisted to make them the villain and justify your improper conduct.  This further disconnects you from recognizing situations are within Ishvara’s grand order.

All the while externally showing a composed character, while being eaten with dissatisfaction inside, which creates a split personality.

Example how unrealistic expectations can ruin one's life:

Suppose you give advice, but there's an unspoken expectation or dependance your advice is taken and acted upon. 

Meaning, if your well-being is contingent on people recognizing your wisdom and acting upon it, but they don't (and most won't) – then it can lead to your bitterness, resenting them, or even self-condemnation for not being good enough to be taken seriously. 

Expecting the world to give you a pat on the back for being of service, expressing your generosity — is formula for disappointment.  Remember, you're never being generous for another's sake, you're doing it because it makes you feel good to be generous. 

Additionally, if one is oblivious to Ishvara's impersonal cause-effect order, then noticing someone put one tenth of the work that you do, and gets compensated more – it can cause you to erroneously conclude “Ishvara doesn't reward hard sincere work”. 

Solution to make binding karma into non-binding:

Instead of not doing karma (impossible), rather make your karma into a non-binding karma through karma-yoga, which isn’t a specific TYPE of action, but right ATTITUDE or MENTALITY behind a performed action.

For instance what is common mentality for a commoner? Things of world make me happy. Thus I attribute meaning and purpose to situations/objects/people. 

As you mature:

As you mature and gain life experience, you come to understand that situations/objects/people are not the problem. The problem is value attribution onto them. Projection of subjective meaning onto them is the problem. After which we conclude  the object or person is the solution to my well-being.

So the first thing that a mature, discerning mind concludes, which an immature mind hasn't concluded yet, is that nothing external can give me worthwhile contentment. 

Acknowledging this prematurely can lead one to depression as one has invested whole life believing joy was in objects. That's why Krishna said in BG 3.26, “A wise person should not unsettle the minds of the ignorant who are attached to actions based on binding likes-dislikes”.

Whereas the one with maturity comes to gradually realize the only real solution in stable, consistent satisfaction is in knowing my true nature. This recognizing restores one’s enthusiasm and hope that went dim in world of “romance searching”.

A mature mind comes to see that I am small, I am insignificant. This is the default conclusion I carry. Then I expect the world in which I am located to remove my smallness. Since every promise fails to maintain satisfaction. Perhaps something is wrong with “me”.

Eventually one comes to suspect the root problem is in “I”. So the solution must also be in this “I”. Consequently, one turns to self-inquiry to find out who is it that “I”. And to do this, one needs to engage in the world for sake of further maturing up in order to understand my place in grand scheme of things, and my true nature.

The one who does naturally what we described above, is a Karma-Yogi according to Krishna.

About the Karma-Yogi:

A Karma-yogi has moved away from engaging in world to please oneself, to engaging in the world to refine perception, to uncover binding subjectivities, emotional loads, stifling beliefs – for sake of knowing oneself.   

Each interaction and challenge is an opportunity (yajña per the verse) to undo unhelpful orientations. Each time a distortion is undone, capacity to understand deeper increases.

Karma-Yogi recognizes that my life is about my liberation. Despite having duties to fulfill and services to provide and family to engage with, I didn’t come here to get entangled with others. My connections to others are incidental.

This recognition automatically changes your attitude towards your actions, and makes you realize binding actions don't serve you, so they automatically start to gradually lose their grip on you. 

Therefore converting binding to non-binding actions isn't a technique or an injunction. It comes from clearly seeing that short term pleasures (that arise from binding likes/dislikes) won't yield you any meaningful results. You come to see you'll be just fine without fancy experiences, romantic connections and societal status.

And whoever sees this, becomes naturally…

“Free from attachment”

Firstly, whenever you see the word “attachment” in the Bhagavad Gita, immediately add filler “healthy vs. unhealthy”. For example, attachment to discovering the truth is healthy. Attachment to spiritual experiences is unhealthy.

Healthy attachment: Krishna doesn’t mean distancing or non-care towards objects/people in your life, but having a proper relationship to them in light of karma-yoga attitude.

Unhealthy-attachment: This is when object or person becomes your purpose and meaning in life. This is converted to healthy-attachment by re-remembering, “My ultimate purpose here is to figure out my true nature. Connections I have are merely incidental”.

Karma-yoga makes your mind self-knowledge friendly, which eventually leads to a jñāni who is…

1. Gata-saṅga (free from attachment): Freedom from attachment to life (to world of forms/beauty/birth/etc).
2. Mukta (liberated): Freedom from ignorance (ajñāna), doership (kartṛtva), and therefore from dharma and adharma, puṇya and pāpa.
3. Jñāna-avasthita-cetasaḥ (mind rooted in self-knowledge): The knowledge is clear with no vagueness or doubt.
4. Yajñāya ācarataḥ (performs for the sake of daily yajña): Whatever duty or ritual is done, no result is accrued onto Self.

Distinction: Karma-Yogī versus Jñānī

NEXT VERSE: Gives a practical example of doing an action in spirit of Karma-Yoga, or bringing Ishvara into your life…

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Course was based on Swami Dayananda (Arsha Vidya) home study course.

Recorded 5 April, 2026