Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 6: The Path of Meditation

Bhagavad Gita 6.1

anāśritaḥ karmaphalaṃ kāryaṃ karma karoti yaḥ | sa saṃnyāsī ca yogī ca na niragnirna cākriyaḥ ||

One who does the work that ought to be done without depending on its fruit is both a renouncer and a yogi; not the one who merely gives up the sacred fire and does no work.

Modern context

The chapter opens by settling the question of the last one. A real renouncer is the person who does the work that needs doing without leaning on its results. The one who has merely stopped tending the household fire and doing tasks has not earned the name. Outward signs of renunciation are easy to adopt and prove little. The inward sign is harder: doing what ought to be done and letting go of what it brings.