Bhagavad Gita 18.11

na hi deha-bhṛtā śakyaṁ

tyaktuṁ karmāṇy aśeṣataḥ

yas tu karma-phala-tyāgī

sa tyāgīty abhidhīyate

 

Impossible it is to cease all action,

While one still lives in embodied condition;

But one who lets go the fruits of each deed,

That one is a true renouncer indeed.

 

My dear Lord, help me see how many—indeed most—of the activities that the world prompts me to pursue for pleasure actually entangle me in trouble—sometimes tormenting and traumatizing. Simultaneously, let me not think that this understanding is the summit of all knowledge, for that will only sentence me to a fear of action, which will not lead me to any elevation or liberation.

O omniscient Lord, help me understand that it is neither possible nor desirable to give up all action. As an embodied being, with a body designed for activity, it is impossible for me to cease action entirely. At my core, I am a soul meant to be your dynamic loving servitor, endowed with the precious gift of consciousness. In my pure spiritual state, it is natural, desirable, and beneficial for me to act, using my pure consciousness and spiritual energy for loving you.

O all-attractive Lord, at present, I often act in illusion, craving pleasure that takes me away from you. Please purify my motivation so that everything I do is for seeking you, seeing you, serving you, savoring you, sharing you. Thus may my actions become a part of the energizing, enriching, and enduring life of love that I enter into with you.

O omniscient Lord, help me focus on being engaged in your service, not on worrying about not getting entangled in this world.

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18.11 It is indeed impossible for an embodied being to give up all activities. But he who renounces the fruits of action is called one who has truly renounced.