कर्मेति कवयोऽप्यत्र मोहिताः ।

kavayo ‘py atra mohitah

tat te karma pravaksyami

y—in this matter; mohitāḥ—bewildered; tat—that; te—unto you; karma—work; pravakṣyāmi—I shall explain; yat—which; jñātvā—knowing; mokṣyase—be liberated; aśubhāt—from ill fortune.

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.

boddhavyam ca vikarmanah

akarmanas ca boddhavyam

gahana karmano gatih

karmaṇaḥ—working order ; hi—certainly; api—also; boddhavyam—should be understood; boddhavyam—to be understood; ca—also; vikarmaṇaḥ—forbidden work; akarmaṇaḥ—inaction; ca—also; boddhavyam—should be understood; gahanā—very difficult; karmaṇaḥ—working order; gatiḥ—to enter into.

The intricacies of action are very hard to understand. Therefore one should know properly what action is, what forbidden action is, and what inaction is.

If one is serious about liberation from material bondage, one has to understand the distinctions between action, inaction and unauthorized actions. One has to apply oneself to such an analysis of action, reaction and perverted actions because it is a very difficult subject matter. To understand Kṛṣṇa consciousness and action according to the modes, one has to learn one’s relationship with the Supreme; i.e., one who has learned perfectly knows that every living entity is the eternal servitor of the Lord and that consequently one has to act in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The entire Bhagavad-gītā is directed toward this conclusion. Any other conclusions, against this consciousness and its attendant reactions, are vikarmas, or prohibitive actions. To understand all this one has to associate with authorities in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and learn the secret from them; this is as good as learning from the Lord directly. Otherwise, even the most intelligent person will be bewildered.

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