कर्मण्य कर्म यः पश्येदकर्मणि च कर्म यः ।
स बुद्धिमान्मनुष्येषु स युक्तः कृत्स्नकर्मकृत् ॥
यस्य सर्वे समारम्भाः कामसंकल्पवर्जिताः ।
ज्ञानाग्निदग्धकर्माणं तमाहुः पंडितं बुधाः ॥
Transliteration
karmaṇya karma yaḥ paśyed akarmaṇi ca karma yaḥ |
sa buddhimān manuṣyeṣu sa yuktaḥ kṛtsna karma-kṛt || 18 ||
yasya sarve samārambhāḥ kāma saṅkalpa varjitāḥ |
jñānāgni dagdha karmāṇāṃ tam āhuḥ paṇḍitaṃ budhāḥ || 19 ||
Translation
He who perceives Action in non-Action, and non-Action in Action, he, verily, is the intelligent among men. He is indeed in communion, being accomplished in Action. He whose all activities are devoid of desires and whose actions are burned by the fire of wisdom, him the wise call a man of intelligence(sage).
Purport
Above two Shlokas define one of the most subtle concepts of Karma yoga, The Karma(action) and Akarma(non-action). What we normally understand about karma (action) to do something and Akarma(non-action) as not to doing something. But that is a very worldly and very gross view. The truth is that no doing something is not possible. As Shrmad Bhagvad Gita explains in Ch3: Sh5 as follows:
All men are forced to act helplessly according to the impulses born of the modes of material nature; therefore no one can refrain from doing something, not even for a moment.
-Shrimad Bhagvad Gita Ch3: Sh5
So not doing anything is never possible and so in practical not doing something is not an option and so division is not possible. Above Shlokas gives the correct definition of karma(Action) and Akarma(non-action) as follows:
Any action done without the attachment to the fruits of actions makes humans free from the bounds of actions. Such actions are in real action(karma)
On the other when a human performs actions with the desires of the fruits of action, he has to be present in one body or other to receive the fruits of actions. He is hence bounded to his action and not going to be free till he has even one of his desires left unfulfilled. Actions did with the desires of fruits hence does not bring human to the ultimate goal, that is that the liberation and hence such actions are called Akarma.
