Bhagavad Gita Verse 9, Chapter 9

na cha maam taani karmaani nibandhanti dhananjaya |
udaaseenavadaaseenamasaktam teshu karmasu || 9 ||
 
Nor do those actions bind me, O Dhananjaya. I remain as though indifferent and unattached to those actions.
 
na : not
cha : and
maam : my
taani : those
karmaani : actions
nibandhanti : bind
dhananjaya : O Dhananjaya
udaaseenavat : as though indifferent
aaseenam : sit
asaktam : unattached
teshu : those
karmasu : in actions
 
Earlier in the chapter, Shri Krishna addressed several misconceptions that we have about Ishvara. He asserted that Ishvara cannot be contained in any one part of the universe, in any one object. He also asserted that we need to wait for a long time to Ishvara. Ishvara is accessible at this very moment. What is missing is knowledge that enables us to recognize Ishvara in everything.
 
In this shloka, Shri Krishna addresses another misconception of Ishvara, that he has a personal agenda in each and everyone’s destiny. To that end, Shri Krishna clarifies that Ishvara delegates the functioning of the universe to the laws of Prakriti. He does not personally get involved, nor does he claim credit for the creation, destruction and sustenance of billions of beings in this universe.
 
Our Puranaas contains several stories about the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva who are charged with the responsibilities of creation, sustenance and dissolution respectively. They are aided by their consorts. Saraswati provides the knowledge needed for creation. Lakshmi provides the wealth needed for sustenance. Parvati provides the power needed for dissolution. The stories may portray that these deities personally take effort to perform their duties, but at the universal level, they are all part of the fully automatic system of Prakriti.
 
Therefore, the lesson for us here is that we should follow karma yoga because it is a universal law. Like Ishvara, who runs the universe while knowing that it is Prakriti’s handiwork, we too should perform our duties in a spirit of vairagya or detachment, knowing that Prakriti is running everything. If we worry about who will get the credit for our actions, then we will get bound, taking us further away for liberation.
 
So then, how should we use this knowledge to refine our vision towards the world? This is explained next.