Important verse of Srimad Bhagvadgita-9

Even the intelligent are bewildered in determining what is action and what is inaction. Now I shall explain to you what action is, knowing which you shall be liberated from all sins.....4:16

One who sees inaction in action, and action in inaction, is intelligent among men, and he is in the transcendental position, although engaged in all sorts of activities.......4:18

 What is the purpose of performing actions as a matter of duty? The satisfaction consists in the knowledge of knowing why the duty is to be discharged.1) The knower is the person who performs works aspiring for moksa. 2)The ignorant is one who performs work for sense gratification.

The former performs work without egoism while the latter performs works full of egoissm. The former is eligible for liberation the latter is eligible for bondage. Lord Krishna now promises to explain it definitively, therefore by knowing and performing actions properly one will be freed from the disease of materialism which binds one tightly to samsara the cycle of birth and death.

Out of compassion Lord Krishna states the truth of action, inaction and prohibited actions. One who sees inaction in action meaning actions bringing no reaction and are not binding to samsara or the cycle of birth and death such as yagna or the worship of the Supreme Lord which leads to knowledge, purity of mind and liberation know it is not binding to samsara. . Then Lord Krishna praises the one who knows the truth about the intricacies(गूढता ) of action and inaction as those of superior intelligence and is firmly on the spiritual path obtaining all fruits because the performer of Vedic actions receives the fruits of the actions included by inaction as well.

The person performing karma or actions accrues reactions by attachment to desires and hankering for rewards. This is delusion as desires are imagined and fantasised before enactment. Thus it is merely a false idea or wrong notion of the mind. The fantasizing alluded to here consists of the mentality which erroneously identifies the atma or soul with prakriti or material nature along with the three gunas being the modes of goodness, passion and ignorance and mistakenly conceives of them as all being one principle. But to that person seeking moksa (liberation from bondage) or liberation all acts regular and occasional performed by them and necessitated by bodily maintenance are not subject to reactions being devoid of desire. Further exemption is guaranteed as the aspirant for moksa is not living in a world of imagination or fantasy because such a person performs every action while being cognisant of the eternal atma. Whoever performs karma in this manner while meditating on the atma is one of spiritual intelligence situated in atma tattva or soul realisation and all reactions to a myriad of past actions have been eradicated by the fire of knowledge. Thus Lord Krishna is praising the person who performs prescribed Vedic activities in atma tattva as being highly laudable. This is in sharp contrast to the karmi or one who performs actions for fruitive rewards being forced to accept reactions.