Bhagavad Gita Chapter 3 - Karma Yoga - Sloka 29

The entire content of this mail is from Swami Chidbhavananda's translation of The Bhagavad Gita, published by Ramakrishna Mission.

How to root out the Ego - sloka 27-32

1 Gita Sloka every day - Chapter 3 -Karma Yoga - Sloka 29

Parthasarathy as Vennai Krsna

Prakruteh guna samuddah sajjante guna karmasu I

Tan akritsna vidah mandan krtsnavin na vichalyate II sloka 29

प्रकृतेः गुण संमुढः सज्जन्ते गुण कर्मसु । 

तान् अकृत्स्न विदः मन्दान कर्त्स्नविन न विचाल्येत   ।। श्लोक २९ 

Those deluded by the Gunas of prakriti get attached to the functions of the gunas. The man of perfect knowledge should not unsettle the mediocre whose knowledge is imperfect. 

No differentiation can be made between the skin and the pulp in a tender fruit. It is only after it matures and ripes that this difference comes about. Even so the mediocre make no distinction between the action-fabricated prakriti  and the actionless atman. They are therefore entangled in karma. Attempt at discrimination between atma and prakriti will only lead to confusion of understanding. There is no harm in their performing their duties with attachment. They should therefore be encouraged to be more and more active. Work with attachment has its place in the evolution of man. But the way of the spiritual aspirant is explained in the next sloka.