The Yoga of Liberation by Renunciation

Krishna clarifies that all actions, regardless of their nature, involve the five causes. 'Śarīra-vāṅ-manobhir yat karma prārabhate naraḥ'—whatever action (yat karma) a person (naraḥ) undertakes (prārabhate) by body (śarīra), speech (vāk), or mind (manobhiḥ). 'Nyāyyaṁ vā viparītaṁ vā'—whether proper (nyāyyam) or improper (viparītam). 'Pañcaite tasya hetavaḥ'—these five (pañca ete) are its causes (tasya hetavaḥ). This is the key teaching: every action—whether right or wrong, good or bad, proper or improper—involves all five causes. You can't act without these five factors. Understanding this helps you see that action is complex, and that labeling actions as 'good' or 'bad' doesn't change the fact that they all involve the same five causes. This prepares you to understand action according to gunas, where the distinction is in the quality of the action, not just in the causes.