सक्ताः कर्मण्यविद्वांसो यथा कुर्वन्ति भारत | कुर्याद्विद्वांस्तथासक्तश्चिकीर्षुर्लोकसंग्रहम् || २५ ||
saktāḥ karmaṇy avidvāṁso yathā kurvanti bhārata kuryād vidvāṁs tathāsaktaś cikīrṣur loka-saṁgraham
saktāḥ—being attached; karmaṇi—in work; avidvāṁsaḥ—the ignorant; yathā—as much as; kurvanti—they do; bhārata—O descendant of Bharata; kuryāt—should do; vidvān—the learned; tathā—thus; asaktaḥ—without attachment; cikīrṣuḥ—desiring to lead; loka-saṁgraham—the people in general.
“Just as the ignorant act with attachment to their work, O Bharata, so should the wise act without attachment, desiring to uphold the world.”
The wise and the ignorant may perform identical external actions, but with entirely different inner orientations. The ignorant act from desire and attachment; the wise act from a sense of duty and care for the world. Externally, both may appear equally active. The difference lies in the quality of consciousness behind the action — this inner difference is everything.
You can do the same work — raise children, run a business, practice a craft — with attachment (driven by results and ego) or without (as a form of service). The work itself need not change immediately; transform the spirit in which you do it. Over time, this inner shift will manifest in how you work, relate, and respond to success and failure.