“This is the centre round which the Gita is woven. This renunciation is the central sun, round which devotion, knowledge and the rest revolve like planets. The body has been likened to a prison. There must be action where there is body. Not one embodied being is exempted from labour. And yet all religions proclaim that it is possible for man, by treating the body as the temple of God, to attain freedom. Every action is tainted, be it ever so trivial. How can the body be made the temple of God? In other words how can one be free from action, i.e. from the taint of sin? The Gita has answered the question in decisive language: ‘By desireless action; by renouncing fruits of action; by dedicating all activities to God, i.e., by surrendering oneself to Him body and soul.”
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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: The Bhagavad Gita According to Gandhi (Anasaktiyoga) - the 'renunciation is the central sun' passage.
About this quote
The heart of the teaching is doing your work fully while letting go of any claim on its rewards. Bodies must act; the freedom lies in dedicating each action rather than grasping at its fruit. Approached this way, ordinary labor turns into a kind of offering instead of a transaction to be tallied.
When to use it
- A volunteer who cooks at the shelter each week without keeping score of the thanks he receives.
- A gardener who tends the plot carefully and accepts whatever the season's harvest turns out to be.
- An artist who pours herself into a piece and releases it without clinging to how well it will sell.