The central struggle for a student of Vedānta often begins with a misunderstanding of the nature of Freedom (Mokṣa). We carry a deep-seated assumption that “spiritual” means “static.” We imagine that if a person truly realizes they are the limitless, actionless Ātmā (the Self), they should naturally cease all movement, perhaps sitting in an eternal state of meditative trance.
This section addresses the fundamental error of confusing physical renunciation with knowledge. Through the methodology of Vedānta, we will see why the wise man continues to move, breathe, and participate in the world, while remaining internally as still as a mountain.
The Error: Confusing the Screen with the Movie
Before we can understand why the wise act, we must expose the error in how we view action. We currently live in what is called the Triangular Format. In this view, there are three distinct entities: Jīva (myself, the helpless actor), Jagat (the world, the stage), and Īśvara (the regulator of results). Because we feel small and incomplete, we act to gain something from the world to feel full.
The wise person has shifted to the Binary Format. They see only two things: Ātmā (the Reality/the Screen) and Anātmā (the Appearance/the Movie).
The Dṛṣṭānta (Structural Example): The Screen and the Movie
Think of a cinema screen. On this screen, a movie is playing. In the movie, there is a massive flood. Does the screen get wet? Then, a forest fire breaks out on the screen. Does the screen get burnt?
The screen supports every action in the movie, yet it never “does” anything. It is Akartā (the non-doer). The wise person is one who has realized, “I am the Screen.” Once you know you are the screen, you don’t need to “stop” the movie to be dry. The movie can continue with all its drama, but you remain unaffected.
The Green Room: Mental Renunciation (Jñāna-Karma-Sannyāsa)
In the Bhagavad Gītā (5.13), it is said that the wise person sits happily in the “nine-gated city” (the body), neither acting nor causing others to act. To the observer, the wise person is walking and talking. How do we reconcile this?
Adhyāropa (Provisional Explanation): We say the wise person is an actor.
The Anecdote: The Actor and the Green Room
Imagine an actor playing the role of a beggar. On stage, he wails, “I haven’t eaten in three days! Please, a coin!” He plays the part with such depth that the audience cries.
Now, ask yourself: Does the actor actually feel hungry? In his mind, he is constantly connected to the “Green Room.” In the green room, he knows he is a well-fed, wealthy professional. He takes on the Veṣa (the costume/role) of a beggar, but he never takes on the identity of the beggar.
If he were to stop acting and say, “I’m not actually a beggar, I’m a millionaire,” he would ruin the play. To keep the play going for the sake of the audience, he must act perfectly.
The Jñānī (the wise) uses the “Green Room” of wisdom. Internally, they remember: “I am the Ātmā.” Externally, they play the role of a father, a mother, a king, or a teacher. This is Jñāna-Karma-Sannyāsa – renouncing the sense of being the doer while the body continues its functions.
Why Not Stop? (The Logic of Akartṛtva)
If the Jñānī knows they are the actionless Ātmā, why don’t they just sit still?
- Physical Impossibility: As long as the body exists, “stillness” is an illusion. The heart beats, the lungs breathe, the brain processes. Absolute physical inaction is impossible.
- Knowledge is not an Action: Just as knowing the sun doesn’t move doesn’t require you to stop seeing the sunrise, knowing you are the Ātmā doesn’t require you to stop the body’s movement.
The wise continue to act because they have realized that action is not the enemy of peace; the ‘sense of doership’ is. They act out of Pūrṇatvam (fullness). You and I act to become happy; the wise act because they are happy. Their action is a “leela” (a play), not a “karma” (a struggle).
The Physics of Wisdom – Why the Body Moves
In the previous section, we established that the Wise (jñānī) is internally as still as a screen, even while the movie of life plays on. However, a logical question arises: if the electricity of ignorance has been cut, why does the body continue to move at all? Why does the jñānī eat, speak, or rule a kingdom like Janaka?
To understand this, we must look at the Vedāntic “physics” of action. We distinguish between the cause of action and the momentum of action.
The Electric Fan: Understanding Momentum (Vega)
The most profound way to understand the continued life of a wise person is through the metaphor of the electric fan.
The Dṛṣṭānta: The Fan’s Momentum
Imagine an electric fan spinning at high speed. The “current” powering this fan is Avidyā (ignorance) and Ahaṅkāra (the sense of “I am the doer”). When a person attains knowledge, they essentially “flip the switch” to the OFF position. The current stops instantly.
Does the fan stop the moment you flip the switch? No. It continues to rotate for a significant amount of time. Why? Not because of any new power, but because of Vega – the momentum generated by the power that was already spent.
In Vedānta, this momentum is called Prārabdha Karma. This is the portion of your past actions that has already matured to create this specific physical body and its environment. Knowledge (Jñāna) is like flipping the switch; it destroys the idea that I am the doer, but it does not “un-create” the body that was already launched into motion.
The jñānī allows this momentum to play out. They don’t try to stop the fan manually; they simply know the switch is off.
The Released Arrow: The Irreversibility of the Body
Vedānta uses a sharper example to show why even enlightenment doesn’t stop the physical trajectory of life.
The Dṛṣṭānta: The Mukta-iṣu (The Released Arrow)
An archer sees a shape in the bushes. Thinking it is a tiger (ignorance), he releases an arrow. A second later, the wind clears the brush, and he realizes it is actually a cow (knowledge).
Can the archer recall the arrow? No. Even though he now has the “correct knowledge,” the arrow has already left the bow. It must travel its course and hit the target.
The body of the wise person is that arrow. It was “released” by the force of past actions before knowledge arose. Therefore, the jñānī continues to live out their lifespan, performing duties and interacting with the world, because the “arrow” of this physical life must complete its flight.
Karma vs. Karma-ābhāsa: The Roasted Seed
To the observer, the actions of a wise person look identical to the actions of an ignorant person. Both may go to work, both may eat, both may even get angry if the role demands it. But there is a fundamental “chemical” change in the action itself.
The Concept:
- Karma: Action performed with the “sap” of doership (Kartṛtva) and desire (Bhoktṛtva). This seed is alive; it will sprout into a future life (birth).
- Karma-ābhāsa: A “semblance” of action.
The Dṛṣṭānta: The Dagdha-bīja (The Roasted Seed)
If you look at a raw seed and a roasted seed side-by-side, they look exactly the same. They have the same shape, color, and texture. But if you plant them both, only the raw seed sprouts. The roasted seed has been “fried” by fire; its potential to create a new plant is gone.
The jñānī’s actions are Roasted Seeds. They are “fried” in the fire of knowledge (Jñānāgniḥ – Gītā 4.37). Because the sense of “I am doing this for my benefit” is gone, these actions cannot produce Vāsanās (tendencies) or Āgāmi Karma (future binding results). They are purely functional.
Bādhita-Anuvṛtti: The Falsified Continuity
How does the wise person relate to the world they are acting in? They relate to it through Bādhita-Anuvṛtti.
- Bādhita: Negated/Falsified.
- Anuvṛtti: Persistence/Continuity.
It is like seeing a Mirage.
The Anecdote: The Mirage Water
You are driving on a hot road and see water ahead. Because you are an adult with knowledge, you know there is no water there. Your knowledge “negates” the water (Bādhita). However, the mirage doesn’t disappear just because you know it’s a mirage! You continue to see it (Anuvṛtti).
The difference is that you don’t stop the car to take a swim. You see the water, you acknowledge its appearance, but you don’t rely on it for thirst. Similarly, the jñānī sees the body and the world, acts within them, but never forgets that their reality is the Ātmā.
Loka-Saṅgraha – The Responsibility of the Audio-Visual Aid
If the wise person is a “Roasted Seed” – incapable of sprouting new bondage – and if they have already attained everything there is to attain (kṛtakṛtyaḥ), why do they bother to interact with a world they know to be a “mirage”?
The answer lies in Loka-saṅgraha. This is often translated as “welfare of the world,” but in the Vedāntic method, it has a more precise meaning: the holding together of the social and moral fabric. The wise act because they understand that humanity is essentially imitative.
The “Audio-Visual” Method of Teaching
Vedānta is a Pramāṇa – a means of knowledge. Traditionally, we have the Śruti (the “Audio” or the heard scriptures). But for most people, words alone are insufficient to break through the crust of cynicism and doubt.
The Dṛṣṭānta: The Audio-Visual Aid
Imagine trying to learn a complex dance by only reading a manual (The Audio). You might understand the mechanics, but you lack the conviction that it can actually be performed gracefully. However, when you see a master dancer perform (The Visual), the manual comes to life.
The lifestyle of the wise (Śiṣṭācāra) is the “Visual” component. When a student sees a teacher remain unshaken during a crisis, the “Audio” of the Upanishads is validated. The teacher becomes the “Cassette Player” that makes the silent music of the “Cassette” (Scripture) audible to the world.
The Lost Cassette: One Second vs. One Hour
We often overestimate the power of preaching and underestimate the power of presence.
The Anecdote: The Lost Cassette
A student once lost a precious recording belonging to his teacher. He waited for the teacher’s return, bracing himself for a long lecture on mindfulness and responsibility. When told of the loss, the teacher simply paused and said, “It does not matter,” and continued his work.
That one second of composure taught the student more about the nature of the Self (which is beyond gain and loss) than a forty-minute discourse on the same topic. This is why the wise act: they know that one second’s action is equivalent to hours of verbal advice.
The Gravity of Status (Śreṣṭha)
In Gītā 3.21, Krishna makes a psychological observation: Yadyadācarati śrēṣṭhastattadēvētarō janaḥ. “Whatever the ‘superior’ person does, the masses follow.”
Society is “sheepish.” We look to those we admire – leaders, teachers, parents – to define what is acceptable behavior.
The Dṛṣṭānta: The Traffic Jam
If you are at a red light and a high-ranking official or a respected elder suddenly drives through it, the people waiting behind often feel an impulse to follow. One person’s violation of the “standard” (Pramāṇa) can cause a total collapse of the system, leading to a traffic jam or an accident.
The Jñānī recognizes their status as a Śreṣṭha. If they stop performing their duties (like daily prayers, social service, or professional obligations) under the guise of “I am the actionless Ātmā,” the ignorant will imitate the inaction without having the wisdom. This leads to a social “traffic jam” called Adharma.
The Wisdom of King Janaka: Inward Stillness, Outward Command
King Janaka is the gold standard of Loka-saṅgraha. As a King, his “role” was to maintain the state. Had he retired to a cave, his subjects might have abandoned their own duties, thinking work is a sign of spiritual inferiority.
The Story: Janaka and the Burning Palace
While Janaka was receiving a lesson from Sage Vasiṣṭha, a cry went up: “The palace is on fire!” The other students – monks who had “renounced” the world – bolted from the room to save their drying loincloths.
Janaka didn’t move. He remained focused on the teaching. Only when the lesson was finished did he calmly issue the orders to extinguish the fire.
This story exposes a deep assumption: we think the “renunciate” is the one who runs away from objects. In reality, the monks were attached to their rags, while Janaka, sitting in a palace, was attached to nothing. He continued to rule not because he needed the kingdom, but because the kingdom needed a ruler who knew the Truth.
Avoiding Buddhi-Bheda (The Split Mind)
Finally, the wise act to prevent Buddhi-Bheda (Gītā 3.26). This is the psychological “split” or confusion that occurs when a student is told to “give up doership” before their mind is ready.
If you tell a person who is highly attached to their work that “action is an illusion,” you don’t make them enlightened; you make them conflicted. You create a “split” between their inner desires and their outer behavior.
Instead of creating this confusion, the wise person joins the ignorant in their activity (Joṣayet). They work alongside them, but with a visible sense of peace, detachment, and excellence. By doing so, they provide a “bridge” (Setu) that allows the ignorant to slowly move from selfish action to selfless service, and finally to knowledge.
The Shift from Self-Help to World-Help
For the wise, the focus has shifted entirely:
- From Puruṣārtha to Loka-saṅgraha: They no longer act to achieve a goal (Puruṣārtha) because they have already reached the Goal. Their life is now a contribution to the whole.
- From Sādhana to Lakṣaṇa: Virtues like patience and truth are no longer “practices” (Sādhana) they are trying to master. They have become “characteristics” (Lakṣaṇa) that naturally flow out of them, blessing everyone they touch.
Preventing Buddhi-Bheda – The Compassion of Conformity
In the Vedāntic tradition, teaching is not merely the transmission of data; it is a surgical process of removing ignorance without damaging the patient. One of the greatest risks in this process is Buddhi-Bheda – the creation of a “split mind” or cognitive dissonance in those who are not yet ready for the ultimate truth.
This section explores why the wise person deliberately chooses to “conform” to social and religious norms, performing even mundane duties with great care, specifically to protect the community’s psychological health.
The Anatomy of Buddhi-Bheda (The Split Mind)
Buddhi means “intellect” or “understanding,” and Bheda means “split,” “confusion,” or “division.”
The Trap:
The ignorant person (Ajñānī) is deeply attached to action because they believe that through action, they will achieve happiness. They perform rituals, work hard for their families, and follow social codes with the hope of a result (Phala). This is their “pole” for climbing.
If a wise person – out of misplaced “honesty” – tells an attached person, “Action is an illusion; there is no doer, and results are mithyā,” they do not grant that person liberation. Instead, they create a split. The person stops performing their duties (losing the benefit of mental purification) but hasn’t yet grasped the knowledge (losing the benefit of freedom).
The Dṛṣṭānta: The Pole Vaulter
To reach a great height, a pole vaulter must use a pole (Karma/Activity). The pole is essential to get off the ground. If, mid-air, someone shouts, “The pole is not the destination! Drop it!”, and the vaulter drops it too early, they will crash.
The wise person knows that the “pole” of Karma Yoga must be used until the student is high enough to let go naturally. Therefore, the wise person doesn’t tell people to drop the pole; they show them how to hold it efficiently until the moment of transition.
The Hypocritical Sannyāsī: The Danger of Premature Renunciation
Krishna warns in Gītā 3.6 about the Mithyācāra – the “hypocrite” or the person of false conduct.
The Scenario:
An immature seeker sees a sage sitting quietly and thinks, “I will be spiritual by also sitting quietly.” They restrain their organs of action (Karmendriyas), but their mind is still “wallowing in sense pleasures.”
This creates a double personality. Externally, they look like a saint; internally, they are a frustrated consumer. This “split” is spiritually fatal. The wise person continues to act specifically to prevent the masses from falling into this trap of “faking” renunciation before the mind is actually quiet.
The Non-Stick Pan: Acting Without the Glue
How does the wise person perform these actions without becoming exhausted or bound?
The Dṛṣṭānta: The Non-Stick Doṣa Pan
Think of a traditional iron pan versus a modern non-stick pan. On the iron pan, if you don’t use enough oil, the doṣa (crepe) sticks to the surface, leaving a residue that is hard to scrub off.
The wise person is the non-stick pan. They perform the same actions (doṣas) as everyone else. They rule kingdoms, they manage households, they teach classes. But because they have realized the Asaṅga Ātmā (the unattached Self), there is no “glue” of doership (Ahaṅkāra). The action slides off. There is no residue of Puṇya (merit) or Pāpa (sin) that forces a future birth.
The Blind Leading the Blind: The Social Responsibility
If the elite or the wise in a society abandon their duties, the “blind” masses will follow.
The Anecdote: The Unwise Leader
Imagine a group of blind travelers being led by a guide who can see. If the guide decides, “I am tired of walking, I will just sit here and meditate,” and tells the blind followers, “Walking is an illusion anyway,” the followers will stop walking. But since they are still in the middle of a dangerous forest (Saṃsāra) and cannot see the way out, they will perish.
The Jñānī acts as the guide who keeps walking, not because they need to reach the destination for themselves, but because if they sit down, the whole group stops. By “efficiently performing all duties with discipline” (Gītā 3.26), the wise person validates the path of Dharma for those who still need it.
Pravṛtti for Nivṛtti (Activity for the sake of Withdrawal)
The wise person understands a fundamental paradox of the mind: You cannot reach a state of “No-Thought” by trying to stop thinking; you reach it by thinking correctly. Similarly, you cannot reach “Actionlessness” by stopping your hands; you reach it by acting selflessly.
The wise person encourages Pravṛtti (action/engagement) in the world, but they teach the student how to do it as Karma Yoga. They “join” the ignorant in their rituals and social duties, but they infuse those actions with a new spirit – not “What can I get?” but “How can I serve?”
By acting this way, the wise person slowly transforms the student’s Karma (binding action) into Citta-śuddhi (purification of the mind), making them ready for the final step of knowledge.
The Compassion of Descent – The Father and the Toddler
In the previous sections, we established that the wise person (jñānī) acts to maintain the world and to avoid confusing the seeker. However, there is a specific pedagogical method used in Vedānta to explain how the teacher bridges the gap between their limitless realization and the student’s limited perception. This is the method of compassionate descent.
The wise person does not stand on a pedestal and shout down at the world; they descend to the level of the ignorant, adopting their language and pace to lead them toward the truth.
The Metaphor: The Father and the Toddler
Vidyāraṇya, in the Pañcadaśī, provides a beautiful structural metaphor (dṛṣṭānta) to illustrate this relationship.
The Story: The Walking Lesson
A father is a grown man with the physical strength to walk miles in a short time. His toddler, however, can only take tiny, unstable steps. If the father walked at his natural pace, the child would be left behind, lost and crying.
What does the father do? He doesn’t lecture the child on the physics of walking. Instead, he:
- Matches the Pace: He slows down his great stride to match the child’s tiny steps.
- Adopts the Language: He speaks in “lisping language” (bāla-bhāṣā), using the child’s own simplified vocabulary to communicate.
- Endures the Immaturity: If the child, in a fit of frustration, kicks the father’s shin or pulls his hair, the father does not take it personally. He doesn’t say, “How dare you strike a man of my stature!” He smiles, cajoles the child, and continues to guide them.
This is exactly how the jñānī operates in the world. Although they have the “strength” of knowledge and the “pace” of the infinite, they adopt the “lisping language” of the world. They participate in rituals, follow social etiquette, and use words like “I” and “mine” in a transactional sense, simply to be intelligible to the seeker.
The Two Lenses: Convex and Concave
Why must the wise person be so careful in their conduct? Because the world does not see the jñānī as they are; the world sees them through the lens of its own expectations.
The Dṛṣṭānta: The Critical Eyes of the World
Society views a person of status (śreṣṭha) through two specific lenses:
- The Convex Lens (Magnifying Glass): Used to look at the wise person’s faults. A tiny mistake by a teacher is magnified a thousand times by the public.
- The Concave Lens (Minifying Glass): Used to look at the wise person’s virtues. Their great sacrifices are often seen as “just their duty” or minimized.
Knowing this, the wise person acts impeccably. They follow Dharma with greater discipline than the average person, not out of fear of punishment, but to protect the Sampradāya (the tradition). If the teacher’s character is assassinated, the teaching itself loses its credibility (pramāṇyam) in the student’s eyes.
The Ocean and the Pond: Stability as a Teaching Tool
The ultimate goal of the wise person’s action is to demonstrate Sthitaprajñatā (steadfast wisdom) in the face of life’s dualities.
The Metaphor: The Ocean vs. The Pond
The ignorant person is like a small pond. When a little rain falls (success), the pond overflows (elation/ego). When there is a little heat (failure), the pond dries up (depression/despair).
The wise person is like the Ocean. Rivers of pleasure and rivers of pain flow into the ocean constantly, yet the ocean’s level never changes. It remains Pūrṇa (full).
By acting in the world, the jñānī shows the student that it is possible to be an “Ocean.” When the student sees the teacher handle the “lost cassette” with “it does not matter,” they see the Ocean in action. That “one second of action” validates the entire philosophy.
The Danger of the “Monkey Saving the Fish”
A warning is embedded here: compassion without the Vedāntic method is dangerous.
The Anecdote: The Misguided Monkey
A monkey sees a fish swimming in a turbulent river. Thinking the fish is drowning, the monkey kindly plucks it out of the water and puts it on the dry shore to “save” it. The fish, of course, dies.
This story warns against misguided loka-saṅgraha. Many people want to “save the world” or “teach spirituality” without proper knowledge or adherence to the Sampradāya (tradition). They try to pull people out of their “water” (their duties/culture) prematurely, causing spiritual death (confusion). The wise person, like King Janaka, knows exactly when to act and when to remain still, ensuring that their help actually sustains life rather than destroying it.
The Teacher’s Strategy
- Accessibility: The wise person makes the Truth accessible by “dressing it up” in familiar worldly actions.
- Tolerance: They tolerate the projections of the ignorant, knowing that the “kicks” of the student are born of immaturity, not malice.
- Validation: Their impeccable conduct serves as a “visual aid” that proves the “Audio” of the scriptures is a lived reality.
Sādhana becomes Lakṣaṇa – The Action for Loka-saṅgraha
We conclude this unfolding by addressing the final “Why”—the most public-facing reason for the wise person’s actions. If a knower of the Self (Jñānī) has no duty (kartavya) and no personal goal (puruṣārtha), why do they still act, often appearing more virtuous, disciplined, and compassionate than everyone else? Is this not a contradiction?
The answer lies in two profound Vedāntic concepts: Lakṣaṇa (Natural Characteristic) and Loka-saṅgraha (Sustaining the World Order).The Shift from Struggle to Spontaneity: Lakṣaṇa
The first part of the answer is intrinsic: “That which was a discipline for the seeker becomes a natural characteristic for the wise.” (yāni yatna-sādhyāni tāni sādhanāni bhavanti… tāni ēva ca lakṣaṇāni). For the seeker, values like patience (titikṣā) are Sādhana (disciplines), requiring conscious effort (yatna). When insulted, one must ‘practice’ self-control. This is like the Stationary Cycle—pedaling furiously against mental resistance.
For the wise, these same values are Lakṣaṇa (characteristics). They are no longer a struggle; they are an effortless ornament (alaṅkāra). They are peaceful not because they try to be, but because peace is their nature.
The Metaphor: The Pole Vaulter
The seeker uses the pole (disciplines/action) to cross the bar (attain Knowledge). The Jñānī has crossed the bar. They don’t carry the pole of disciplined effort over the bar; they have naturally dropped it. Their virtue is the spontaneous overflow of realisation.
The Highest Service: Loka-saṅgraha (Teaching by Example)
If the wise person’s own freedom is secure, why do they continue to engage in “heavy” actions—like King Janaka ruling his kingdom or a modern CEO leading a corporation? This is the domain of Loka-saṅgraha, which means “holding the world together” or “maintaining social order.”
Lord Kṛṣṇa explains this perfectly in the Bhagavad Gītā (3.20):karmaṇaiva hi saṁsiddhim āsthitā janakādayaḥ |
loka-saṅgraham evāpi sampaśyan kartum arhasi ||
“Janaka and others attained perfection only by action. You, too, should act with a view to maintaining the order of the world.”
The action of the wise is not for personal result but for the instruction of others. It is Teaching by Example.
The Dṛṣṭānta: The Judge
How can a judge sentence a criminal without incurring the sin of violence? Because the judge does not act as “John Smith” (the individual ego); he acts as an instrument of the Law. He has no personal “doership” (ahaṅkāra) or personal desire for the result (saṅkalpa).
The wise person is the ultimate Judge. They act as an instrument of the cosmic order (Īśvara). Because they know the “ego-overcoat” (Kañcukam) is a mere costume, the actions performed through that costume do not leave a stain on the wearer. Their action is niṣkāma karma—action without selfish desire—performed solely for Dharma and Loka-saṅgraha.
Triangular vs. Binary: The Art of Switching Formats
The sophisticated method the wise use to perform Loka-saṅgraha is the ability to switch “formats”:
- The Binary Format (Absolute Truth): In the “green room” of their own mind, they are the actionless Self (Ātmā). They know, “Nothing has ever truly happened.”
- The Triangular Format (Transactional Reality): When they step onto the “stage” for Loka-saṅgraha, they adopt the format of Jīva (Individual), Jagat (World), and Īśvara (The Law/Cosmic Order).
They follow traffic lights, perform their duties perfectly, and offer a hand to the suffering. They honor the reality of your transaction (the vyāvahārika satyam) while never losing sight of their own liberation (the paramārthika satyam). This is the profound Compassion of the Wise—action for the benefit of all, without attachment.The Final Negation: The Goal of the Teaching
We began asking why the wise act, using:
- The Fan to explain Prārabdha (momentum).
- The Actor to explain Mithyā (roles/illusory nature of action).
- The Roasted Seed to explain Anāsakti (non-binding action).
Ultimately, these explanations are not for the wise person—who only sees the Self—but for your sake. They remove the error in the common assumption that “spiritual” equals “inactive.”
The true success of this teaching is achieved when you realize:
- You no longer look at a person serving the world and assume they are “unspiritual.”
- You no longer see your duties as an obstacle to your freedom, but as a field for Loka-saṅgraha.
- You see that Action is a play (Līlā), Knowledge is the reality, and Peace is the background of both.
The Jñānī continues to walk, talk, and serve, not to get somewhere, but because they have already arrived. Their life is the perfect expression of the Gītā’s command: act for the sake of the world.