Chapter 5 · Shloka 10— The Yoga of Renunciation of Action

brahmaṇyādhāya karmāṇi saṅgaṁ tyaktvā karoti yaḥ lipyate na sa pāpena padma-patram ivāmbhasā

brahmaṇi

— to God

ādhāya

— dedicating

karmāṇi

— all actions

saṅgam

— attachment

tyaktvā

— abandoning

karoti

— performs

yaḥ

— who

lipyate

— is affected

na

— never

saḥ

— that person

pāpena

— by sin

padma-patram

— a lotus leaf

iva

— like

ambhasā

— by water

"Brahmany adhaya karmani sangam tyaktva karoti yah, lipyate na sa papena padma-patram ivambhasa." — One who acts, placing all actions in Brahman, abandoning attachment, is not tainted by sin — just as a lotus leaf is not wetted by water. This verse gives karma yoga one of its most famous images. The lotus leaf remains in water, draws its life from the same pond, yet water never clings to it — droplets form and roll off cleanly. The leaf is fully in the water but not of it. The two conditions are precisely stated: 'brahmany adhaya karmani' — placing actions in Brahman — and 'sangam tyaktva' — abandoning attachment. Together these define the karma yogi's inner stance. Actions are not performed with 'I am the doer and the results are mine'; they are offered to the whole, to the divine, to something larger than the ego-self. And the attachment to outcomes is relinquished — not with indifference to quality of action but with non-grasping toward results. Shankaracharya notes that 'brahmany adhaya' (placing in Brahman) means recognizing that all agency in the final reckoning belongs to Brahman, not to the ego. The yogi becomes an instrument through which actions move, rather than an owner who performs them. This is not passivity — the lotus leaf still grows, moves in the water, provides shelter for frogs. It simply doesn't let water define it. This verse is one of the most cited in discussions of engaged spirituality: you can be fully in the world, fully active, deeply engaged in relationships and work — and none of it needs to leave its mark on the inner Self if the two conditions of offering and non-attachment are genuinely held.

The lotus-leaf image offers a practical aspiration for people deeply engaged with the world. You don't need to withdraw to remain unbound — you need to change the inner relationship to what you're doing. 'Placing actions in Brahman' can be understood as acting with a sense of service or offering rather than ego-aggrandizement; 'abandoning attachment' as giving full effort without grasping the outcome. These two shifts are possible in any life, any career, any relationship. The lotus leaf doesn't leave the pond.

The lotus leaf lives in water but water never sticks to it. That's the karma yogi: fully in the world — relationships, work, responsibilities — but nothing clings. Two conditions: offer the action (not 'I'm doing this for ME') and release the result. These aren't superhuman — they're practical inner shifts available to anyone. You don't have to leave the pond to be the lotus.

Have you seen how water rolls right off a lotus leaf? Krishna says the wise person is just like that leaf in water — they live in the world, do everything they need to do, but nothing 'sticks' to their heart in a troubling way! The secret: offer your actions to God and don't worry about the reward. Then you stay as clean as a lotus leaf!