அரjuna senses the importance of controlling the mind and senses. Krishna explains that one who moves among the sense objects, but keeps his senses under control—free from attachment and dislike, with self-mastery—gains peace. In that peaceful state, all suffering ceases, and the mind quickly becomes steady. But Krishna cautions: if the mind is unsteady, wisdom cannot arise, nor can true contemplation. Without contemplation, there is no peace; and without peace, happiness is impossible. Krishna further compares the mind to a boat—when it follows the wandering senses, it is swept away like a boat carried by the wind. Therefore, he says, those who completely restrain their senses from their objects have their wisdom firmly established. He then describes the difference between the wise and the ordinary: what is night for all beings is the time when the disciplined one is awake; and what beings are awake to is night for the sage who truly sees. Like the ocean, which remains unmoved though waters flow into it, the person who is unmoved by desires attains peace—not the one who constantly seeks desires. Whoever abandons all desires, moves without longing, and is free from possessiveness and ego, attains true peace. Krishna concludes, “This is the state of Brahman, O Partha. Once attained, one is never deluded. If one remains established in this state even at the end of life, he attains Brahman-nirvana.” Hearing this, Arjuna asks, “O Janardana, if you consider knowledge superior to action, why do you urge me to engage in this dreadful action, O Keshava? Your words seem to confuse me, as if they are contradictory. Please tell me decisively that which will lead me to the highest good.” Krishna responds with compassion, “O sinless one, I have explained before that there are two paths in this world: the path of knowledge for the Sankhyas, and the path of action for the Yogis. One does not attain freedom from action just by abstaining from action, nor does perfection come by renunciation alone. In truth, no one ever remains even for a moment without acting; everyone is compelled to act by the qualities born of nature. If someone restrains only the organs of action but mentally dwells on sense objects, he is deluded—a hypocrite. But the one who controls the senses with the mind and acts through the organs of action, without attachment, excels. Therefore, Arjuna, perform your prescribed actions; action is superior to inaction. Even the maintenance of your body would not be possible without action. Except for actions done for the sake of sacrifice, the world is bound by action. So, O son of Kunti, perform action for that purpose, free from attachment. At the beginning, the Creator made beings along with sacrifice and said, ‘By this you shall multiply; let this be the fulfiller of your desires.’ Nourish the gods with sacrifice, and they will nourish you; thus, nourishing one another, you will attain the highest good. The gods, nourished by sacrifice, will grant you your desired enjoyments. But one who enjoys what they give without offering to them is a thief. The virtuous, who partake of the remnants of sacrifice, are freed from all sins; but those who cook only for themselves eat only sin. All beings are born from food; food comes from rain; rain arises from sacrifice, and sacrifice is born of action. Action comes from the Veda, and the Veda comes from the Imperishable. Thus, the all-pervading Veda is ever established in sacrifice. If one does not follow this cycle, living in pleasure of the senses, his life is in vain, O Partha, and he leads a sinful life. But the person who delights only in the Self, who is satisfied in the Self and content in the Self alone, has nothing to do. For him, there is no purpose in what is done or not done, nor does he depend on any being for any purpose. Therefore, always perform the action that ought to be done, without attachment; for by acting without attachment, a person attains the highest. Indeed, Janaka and others attained perfection through action alone. Even for the welfare of the world, you ought to act. Whatever a superior person does, others follow; whatever standard he sets, the world follows that. O Partha, for me, there is nothing to do in the three worlds, nothing unattained to attain; yet I engage in action. If I did not act with diligence, men would follow my path in every way. These worlds would perish if I did not perform action; confusion would arise and I would destroy these beings. As the ignorant act with attachment to action, O Bharata, so should the wise act, but without attachment, wishing for the welfare of the world. Let the wise not disturb the understanding of those ignorant and attached to action; instead, acting with discipline, he should encourage all actions. All actions are performed by the qualities of nature, but one whose mind is deluded by ego thinks, ‘I am the doer.’ The one who knows the truth, mighty-armed, understands the distinction between qualities and actions and thinks, ‘qualities act upon qualities,’ and does not become attached. Those whose minds are confused by the qualities of nature become attached to actions of the qualities; the wise should not unsettle the ignorant and dull who do not know fully. Surrender all actions to me, with your mind focused on the self; free from desire and possessiveness, fight without distress. Those people who always follow this teaching of mine with faith and without envy are also freed from actions.