“Nor is the Gita a collection of do’s and dont’s. What is lawful for one may be unlawful for another. What may be permissible at one time, or in one place, may not be so at another time, and in another place. Desire for fruit is the only universal prohibition. Desirelessness is obligatory.”
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Probable attribution
This saying is widely associated with Mahatma Gandhi, but the attribution is not supported by a reliable primary source.
Likely origin: M. K. Gandhi, commentary in The Bhagavad Gita According to Gandhi (Anasaktiyoga), 1929/1946; Gandhi's own introduction/gloss on the Gita.
About this quote
A fixed rulebook fails because circumstances keep shifting — what's fitting for one person or moment can be wrong for another. The single anchor that survives every situation is releasing the craving for a payoff, so you act on what the moment truly asks rather than on what you'll collect.
When to use it
- A nurse bends the usual visiting rules for a dying patient's family because the situation, not the policy, decides what's right.
- A manager gives one employee blunt feedback and another gentle framing, reading each person instead of a single script.
- A cook follows no strict recipe, adjusting salt and heat to whatever ingredients are actually in front of her that day.