Hinduism · Compare this tradition with another
An Unattached Loving Yogi Has Become an Instrument of God - Bhagavad Gita XVIII 49
Sukadev Bretz ·
Yoga Vidya – Tägliche Inspirationen ·
2026-09-18
· Horn-Bad Meinberg
· Source
Humility · main message
Knowledge · carrying
Patience
One who keeps the mind unattached, masters the desires, and lets go of the result of one's actions attains the extraordinary liberation from karma and a high spiritual state.
Not being attached to the result. When you do something as well as you can, you let go afterwards. Perhaps you succeed, perhaps you fail, perhaps you are praised for it, perhaps rebuked.
The text expounds on Bhagavad Gita 18,49 and explains the state of the 'unattached mind' (aschakta buddhi). The core is that the person fulfils one's duty but does not cling to the result. The speaker emphasises that one can act without binding oneself to success, failure, praise, or blame. Whoever recognises that they were attached gains a new insight and can act differently next time. The text describes the 'Nishkarmaja Siddhi' as the extraordinary ability not to create new karma and to be truly selfless. The desire flees when one masters oneself and is unattached. The speaker encourages making a resolve to be unattached, to master the desires, and to be connected to the Divine in the here and now without expectation.
- What, according to this text, is the root of the evil?
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Clinging, desire, the inability to let go
- Where does the evil reside?
-
in the heart, the will, or the soul of the individual
- What helps against it?
-
contentment, fasting, voluntary sacrifice, letting go; insight, learning, enlightenment, right understanding
- What is human being according to this text?
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entangled in deception or desire, but capable of being set free
- Where is history heading?
-
the message stands outside of history
- What does the text base its claim on?
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on the holy scripture of its own tradition
- To whom does the text's call for devotion apply?
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to every human being, regardless of faith
- Where is the text's criticism directed?
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at one's own community and at oneself
Related texts from other traditions
by similarity of the analysis, one text per tradition
What the text calls for
- Wünsche beherrschen (inward)
- Geist beherrschen (inward)
- Loslassen und nicht verhaftet sein (inward)
Passages cited
Bhagavad Gita 18,49
Measured
- Basic stance
- 1 from -2 to 2
- Insistence
- 2 of 3
- Reach
- 1 of 5
- Concreteness
- 2 of 3
- Boundary
- 0 of 3
- Time
- past 1, present 3, future 1
Analysed with qwen3.8-27b, version v3.
The same standards apply to every tradition, see Values.
Full text in English
Bhagavad Gita 18. Chapter 49 is captured. The person whose mind is everywhere unattached, who has mastered himself and from whom desire has fled, he attains through renunciation the highest state of freedom from karma. The person whose mind is everywhere unattached. Aschakta buddhi. Mind, intellect, Aschakta unattached. Being unattached is not so easy, but it is possible, to do one's duty, to do one's task and at the same time to know, I was not the actor, I am part of the Divine and I have offered everything to God. Not being attached to the result. If you do something as well as you can, you let go afterwards. Perhaps you have success, perhaps failure, perhaps you are praised for it, perhaps scolded. This applies also to equanimity in success and failure, equanimity in praise and blame, equanimous, no matter what fruits come out of it. Let everything go, be unattached, be engaged, but not attached. And whenever you recognize that you are unhappy, you can determine, ah, there I was attached again. And so be glad, every time you determine that you were attached, you have gained a new insight. You can take it upon yourself the next time to do it differently. He speaks of it further. That is to say, one attains the state of freedom from karma. This is also a special siddhi. Siddhi means, you have success in something and have an extraordinary ability. And this Nishkarmaja siddhi is a special ability. That is to say, you create no new karma. It means, you are not bound to the action and it means, you are truly selfless. This is a siddhi, so an extraordinarily high state. You attain this by being unattached, by not following desires. He even says, from whom desire has fled. Desire flees when you master yourself and when you are not attached. So set yourself the goal, right today, to be unattached. That is to say, not to identify, not to cling to notions. Let it go. More often master your desires, more often master also your mind. More often do not follow the desires and so feel what a wonderful state it is, to be unconditional, to be in the here and now, without expectation, without desire, connected with the Divine.
Full text in the original
Bhagavad Gita 18. Kapitel 49 ist erfasst. Der Mensch, dessen Verstand überall unverhaftet ist, der sich selbst bezwungen hat und vor dem der Wunsch geflogen ist, er erlangt durch Entsagung den höchsten Zustand des Freiseins von Karma. Der Mensch, dessen Verstand überall unverhaftet ist. Aschakta buddhi. Verstand, Intellekt, Aschakta unverhaftet. Unverhaftet zu sein ist nicht so einfach, aber es ist machbar, seine Pflichttun, seine Aufgabe tun und dabei zu wissen, ich war nicht der Handelnde, ich bin Teil des Gottlichen und ich habe alles Gott dargebracht. Nicht verhaftet sein an das Ergebnis. Wenn du etwas tust so gut wie du es kannst, lässt du anschließend los. Vielleicht hast du Erfolg, vielleicht Misserfolg, vielleicht wirst du dafür gelobt, vielleicht getatelt. Das gilt auch Gleichmord in Erfolg und Misserfolg, Gleichmord in Lob und Tatl, gleichmütig, egal welche Früchte dabei rauskommen. Lass alles los, sei nicht verhaftet, sei engagiert, aber nicht verhaftet. Und wenn immer du erkennst, dass du mal unglücklich bist, kannst du feststellen, ah, da war ich wieder verhaftet. Und so sei froh, jedes Mal, wenn du feststellst, dass du verhaftet warst, hast du eine neue Erkenntnis gewonnen. Du kannst es beim nächsten Mal vornehmen, es anders zu machen. Er spricht es weiteren. Das heißt, man erlangt den Zustand des Freiseins von Karma. Das ist auch eine besondere City. City heißt, du hast in etwas Erfolg und hast eine außergewöhnliche Fähigkeit. Und diese Neishkarmaja City ist eine besondere Fähigkeit. Das heißt, du schaffst kein neues Karma. Es heißt, du bist nicht gebunden an der Handlung und es heißt, du bist wirklich uneigennützig. Das ist eine City, also ein außergewöhnlich hoher Zustand. Diesen erreichst du, indem du unverhaftet bist, indem du wünschen, nicht nachgehst. Er sagt sogar, vor dem der Wunsch geflohen ist. Wunsch flieht, wenn du dich selbst behaust und wenn du nicht verhaftet bist. Nimm dir also vor, gerade heute verhaftungslos zu sein. Also nicht identifizieren, nicht an Vorstellungen haften. Lass er los. Öfters mal beherrsche deine Wünsche, öfters mal beherrsche auch dein Geist. Öfter mal geh nicht den Wünschen nach und so spüre, welch toller Zustand es ist, unbedingt zu sein, im Hier und Jetzt zu sein, erwartungslos, wunschlos verbunden mit dem Göttlichen.