Glossary · Practice
Karma Yoga
कर्मयोग
What does Karma Yoga mean?
Karma Yoga turns work into spiritual practice. Its formula appears in 2.47: you have a right to your actions, but never to their fruits. Act fully, then release the outcome. Action performed this way does not bind — it purifies.
Krishna prefers Karma Yoga to renunciation for most people: 'The yoga of action is superior to renunciation of action' (5.2). One cannot escape action even for a moment; the choice is only between selfish and selfless action.