Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 5: Renunciation in Action
Bhagavad Gita 5.7
योगयुक्तो विशुद्धात्मा विजितात्मा जितेन्द्रियः ।
सर्वभूतात्मभूतात्मा कुर्वन्नपि न लिप्यते ॥
yogayukto viśuddhātmā vijitātmā jitendriyaḥ | sarvabhūtātmabhūtātmā kurvannapi na lipyate ||
One who is disciplined in yoga, pure in heart, master of the self and of the senses, and whose self has become the self of all beings, is not stained even while acting.
Modern context
This is a portrait of the person whom action does not stain. The qualities build on each other: discipline, a clean heart, mastery of the mind, mastery of the senses, and at the end the widest of them, feeling one's own self to be the self of every being. A person who feels that way does not act against others for private gain, because no one is 'other' any longer. Action from that place cannot be selfish, and so it leaves no stain.