IV: 21

Chapter 4, Verse 21

"Not hoping nor lusting,
Fearless and serene,
Calling nothing their own,
They act
And do not miss the mark."

Sri Aurobindo:

"Skill in action is easier when done tranquilly in Yoga with the Divine than when action is done in the blindness of hopes and fears. The wise know that the power bestoyed will be adapted to the fruit decreed, the divine thought behind the work equated with the work to be done, and the will within subtly regulated in its energy and direction by the divine wisdom. The result may be success as the ordinary mind understands it, or it may seem to that mind to be defeat or failure, but to the wise it is always the success intended by the all-seeing Intelligent Director of action and result.

Victory is not thirsted for, but only the fulfillment of the divine wisdom, which works out its ends through apparent failure as well as, and often with greater force, than through apparent triumph. Arjuna, bidden to fight, is assured of victory; but even if certain defeat were before him, he must still fight, because that is the present work assigned to him as his immediate share in the great sum of energies by which the divine will is surely accomplished."

Srila Prabhupada:

"Krishna conscious people know that because they are parts and parcels of the Supreme, the roles played by them, as parts and parcels of the Whole, are not their own activities but are only being done through them by the Supreme. They are therefore immune to all the reactions of their endeavors."

Arthur Osborne:

"Those who devote their lives to following the paths laid down for them regard all worldly advantages as nothing on the road to blessedness. It is possible only for those who have surrendered to God's will and accept whatever comes as right and necessary even though it may be a misfortune from worldly standards. Maharshi once said to a student, 'You thank God for the good things that come to you, but you don't thank him for those things that seem to you bad. That is where you miss the mark.' " ("Ramana Maharshi and the Path of Self-Knowledge," p. 63)