Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 3: The Path of Action

Bhagavad Gita 3.9

yajñārthātkarmaṇo'nyatra loko'yaṃ karmabandhanaḥ | tadarthaṃ karma kaunteya muktasaṃgaḥ samācara ||

This world is bound by action, except for action done as sacrifice. So do your work for that purpose, Arjuna, free from attachment.

Modern context

Here Krishna introduces a key idea: yajna, sacrifice, in the sense of work done as an offering. Action done only for oneself ties a person to its results. The same action offered to something larger, to the common good or to the divine, does not. The difference lies in whom the work is for.