The Yoga of Renunciation

Krishna describes the yogi's state of consciousness: the yogi who knows the truth (tattvavit) should think (manyeta) 'I do nothing at all' (naiva kiñcit karomi). This is the perception of non-doership. Even while performing all actions—seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, going, sleeping, breathing—the yogi understands that actions are performed by the senses and mind, not by the Self. The key insight: the yogi acts, but understands they're not the doer. The senses act, the body acts, but the Self is the witness. This understanding prevents attachment because there's no sense of 'I am doing this'—there's only 'this is happening through me.' This is the state of true karma yoga—action without doership.