Acting for the Good of All: The Path of Selfless Service
Bhagavad Gita Ch. 3 v. 22-26
Living for the good of all means acting without self-interest, offering our work in service, and contributing to the harmony of life itself.
Contents
The Question of Action in the Awakened Life
Freedom from the Weight of Desire
Verses 3.22–3.24: Why the Awakened Continue to Act
The Cosmic Order and Our Place in It
Karma Yoga as Engaged Enlightenment
The Integrity of Our Offering
Verse 3.25: Acting for the Wellbeing of All
Discernment: The First Step Toward Freedom
Verse 3.26: Leading by Example
Walking the Path of Karma Yoga
PODCAST EPISODE: Living in Fullness - The Enlightened Approach to Karma Yoga
Awakened action arises not from need or compulsion, but from the natural joy of contributing to the harmony of all life.
In our continued exploration of Chapter Three of the Bhagavad Gita, we turn now to verses 3.22 through 3.26—verses that illuminate the nature of awakened action and the liberating vision of Karma Yoga. This teaching invites us to consider what it means to live in the world as a spiritually awake person—fully engaged, contributing to life, and acting for the welfare of all without losing the freedom of Self-realization.
The Question of Action in the Awakened Life
The Bhagavad Gita reassures us: action is not the enemy of liberation. Rather, action performed with clear awareness, without selfish motive, becomes a means of awakening and a blessing to all. This is the essence of Karma Yoga—the yoga of skillful action, where every deed is in harmony with our true nature and aligned with the sacredness of life.
From the beginning of the chapter, we are reminded that action is unavoidable. Simply living in a body requires action—breathing, thinking, deciding. Even choosing not to act is itself an action. The question, then, is not whether to act, but how to act.
Skillful action is rooted in dharma—what is ours to do given our nature, stage of life, responsibilities, and the needs of the times we live in. It is also defined by motive: are we acting to serve the ego’s desires, or are we acting as an offering for the well-being of all?
The key the Bhagavad Gita gives us is this: act without selfish motive, without clinging to the outcome, without the sense of personal doership. Offer every action in the spirit of worship—wholeheartedly, with integrity, and free from the burden of “I, me, mine.”
"Those who practice Karma Yoga act without clinging to results, always focused on loka samgraha—the wellbeing of all beings."
—Bhagavad Gita 3.25
Freedom from the Weight of Desire
The poet Rainer Maria Rilke once wrote, “Everything wants to fly… but we weigh ourselves down by desire.” Selfish desire is heavy—it binds us to results, entangles us in expectations, and obscures the joy of the present moment.
Karma Yoga asks us to act without that weight. To give as life gives—freely, without calculation or demand. The Bhagavad Gita earlier warned us: don’t be a thief, taking from the abundance of life without contributing in return. Enter instead into the sacred reciprocity of giving and receiving that sustains the cosmic order.
We’ve been given examples of sages such as King Janaka, who shouldered great responsibility yet lived in freedom through selfless service. These examples remind us that this path is not reserved for those with little to do—it is practical, possible, and available to any of us, no matter our role.
Verses 3.22–3.24: Why the Awakened Continue to Act
My dear Arjuna, in all the trilokas—three cosmic realms—there is no object that I seek to attain and nothing that I am compelled to do. Still, I continue to act. ( Bhagavad Gita 3:22)
If I refused to act for the benefit of all, even though I have the power to do so, people everywhere would follow my example. (Bhagavad Gita 3:23)
If I did not perform the necessary and balanced actions, these worlds would collapse, great confusion would arise, and all beings would perish. (Bhagavad Gita 3:24)
These verses give us a profound truth: even the awakened—free from compulsion, free from seeking—continue to act. Why? Because their actions sustain harmony. They contribute to the cosmic order, not from need, but from love.
The awakened one acts as a natural expression of their realization. They see that life itself is an offering, and they respond in kind. Yogananda, when asked why he meditated daily despite his enlightenment, replied, “It is what awakened people do.” My own teacher said the same—not as a discipline to gain something, but as a natural way of living awake.
The Cosmic Order and Our Place in It
Further, these verses point us back to the earlier teachings about divine order—the interdependence of all beings, the mutual giving and receiving that sustains life. When we truly see this order, we recognize the giftedness of life. The Earth opens and yields food. The air sustains us. The sun’s light reaches across space without asking for payment.
Nothing is insignificant in this great web of life. Not a single leaf, not a single cell, and certainly not a single human soul. Who we are and how we contribute matter profoundly.
One of the great tragedies of our time is forgetting this truth—forgetting that what we do and how we do it makes a real difference. Karma Yoga restores that awareness, showing us that every act can be part of the cosmic offering.
Karma Yoga as Engaged Enlightenment
I often think of Karma Yoga as a form of engaged enlightenment: living in full awareness of life’s sacredness and participating in it with love. The poet Rabindranath Tagore expressed it beautifully:
“I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted, and behold—service was joy.”
When our action is worship—an offering to God, Spirit, Truth—then desire and self-interest loosen their grip. Our energy goes into the integrity and love of the doing itself, not into chasing results. In this way, service becomes joy.
The Integrity of Our Offering
Karma Yoga is not about rushing through our days to check items off a list. Mindless action, stripped of love and presence, leaves our lives empty.
Years ago, I read a teaching that asked: If a carpenter, building the unseen structure of a house, bent a nail and knew it would be hidden behind the wall, would they remove it and do it right, or leave it? If we are awake to God’s omnipresence, we know there is always One who sees the quality of our offering. The integrity of each act shapes our character, and our character shapes our destiny.
Verse 3.25: Acting for the Wellbeing of All
Those who do not understand perform their actions attached to selfish outcomes. The yogi acts without clinging to results, always remaining focused on loka samgraha—the wellbeing of all beings. (Bhagavad Gita 3:25)
This is the heart of the matter: act for the wellbeing of all. Loka samgraha is the guiding principle. It frees us from the narrow confines of self-interest and aligns us with the vast flow of divine life.
Discernment: The First Step Toward Freedom
Self-interest is natural to the ego-mind. Karma Yoga does not pretend it isn’t there—it teaches us to recognize it, examine it, and dismantle it. The place to begin is motive. Why am I doing this? What outcome am I clinging to?
Baba Hari Dass distinguished four types of action that deepen our discernment:
1. Action with desire (sakama karma)—including even virtuous deeds done with attachment to results.
2. Action without desire (nishkama karma)—selfless service offered to the Divine without thought of personal gain.
3. Renunciation of action (sannyasa karma)—releasing worldly aims to act solely for spiritual awakening.
4. Action in response to the needs of others (paricchinna karma)—the spontaneous, unattached action of the awakened.
Only nishkama karma fulfills the promise of Karma Yoga: action that purifies the mind, loosens the ego’s hold, and leads toward liberation.
Verse 3.26: Leading by Example
The wise should not disturb the minds of those still attached to selfish results. Instead, they should inspire by their own example of unselfish action. (Bhagavad Gita 3:26)
Here the Gita gives practical wisdom: don’t try to preach people out of their attachments. Transformation happens more powerfully through example than through words.
As Emerson wrote, “What you are stands over you… and thunders so that I cannot hear what you say to the contrary.” Our consciousness and conduct speak louder than any lecture.
Because consciousness is one and indivisible, we affect each other simply by who we are. Just as we can feel another’s anger or joy, we also feel their peace, their clarity, their love. This is why the company of the wise is so transformative.
Karma Yoga is not merely about what we do, but about the consciousness from which we do it. Every selfless act uplifts the shared field of life.
Walking the Path of Karma Yoga
The Bhagavad Gita shows us a progression: from selfish, harmful action… to “doing good” still tinged with self-interest… to the freedom of selfless service. Along the way, we practice discernment, offer our actions as worship, and cultivate the intention to serve the greater whole.
The awakened act not because they must, but because it is their nature to love and to serve. This is the invitation to each of us: to step into the joy of contributing to the harmony of all, until service itself becomes our joy.
Listen to the full podcast episode below.
Bhagavad Gita, pt 27: Living in Fullness - The Enlightened Approach to Karma Yoga
Chapter 3, v. 22-26
This episode guides us through the philosophy that inspires selfless service, revealing how contentment shapes character and influences the world. Listen and transform the understanding of your role in the cosmic dance, acting not for self but for the tapestry of life itself.
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