Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 2 · Verse 47
BG 2.47
You have the right to work only, never to the fruit of work. Let not the fruits of action be your motive, nor let your attachment be to inaction.
karmaṇy evādhikāras te mā phaleṣu kadācana | mā karmaphalahetur bhūr mā te saṅgo 'stv akarmaṇi ||
Sanskrit / Transliteration
TRANSLATION
You have a right to perform your prescribed duties, but you are not entitled to the fruits of your actions. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty.
EXPLANATION
This is the most famous verse in the Bhagavad Gita and the seed of karma yoga. Four instructions in one verse: (1) Do your work. (2) Don't cling to outcomes. (3) Don't think of yourself as the cause of results. (4) Don't fall into inaction. This is not pessimism — it is the formula for peak performance without burnout.