You have finished the work. You prepared, and you did as much as you could. Yet at night you cannot sleep. The mind runs ahead to the result: what will they say, what if something goes wrong. Sometimes the same thoughts go round again and again.

There is nothing wrong with the work. It is done. What remains is the clinging to the outcome. The Gita offers a plain remedy: do the work with your whole mind, and then hand it over to the Lord. As the work is handed over, the weight of worry gets lighter.

What does the Gita ask us to do with our work?

Lord Krishna tells Arjuna to offer all his actions to Him. There are five things in that one sentence.

• Hand the work over to the Lord.
• Keep the mind turned inward, on the self.
• Do not tie hope to the result.
• Let go of the feeling "this is mine".
• Do not keep a fever of worry in the mind.

Arjuna was in a hard hour when he heard this. In the first chapter his body trembles and his mouth goes dry (Gita 1.29). The worry was his. Lord Krishna does not tell him which task to take up. He tells him how to do a task that has to be done.

Why does offered work not cling to us?

A lotus leaf stands in water, and water falls on it. But the drops roll off, and the leaf stays dry. The Gita says that whoever offers the work to the Lord and acts without attachment is not marked by the work.

So we can live in the world like the lotus leaf, doing all our tasks, and keep the mind light. Two things are needed together: handing the work over, and loosening the clinging.

What do we gain from it?

One who gives up the grip on the fruit of action gains lasting peace. One who acts out of desire and clings to the fruit stays bound. Peace is not a prize that comes later. It begins to come as the grip loosens.

What are we really holding on to?

The restlessness that is left after work is often made of three grips. The first is "I did it", so whatever happens falls on me. The second is "it is mine", so any remark stings. The third is "it must turn out as I want". The worry of the night is mostly the third grip.

In the verse, these are the three that are let go: the sense of "mine", expectation, and the fever of the mind. They do not have to be fought one by one. As the work is handed over, all three begin to loosen.

What offering does not mean

First, it is not carelessness. The Gita says karma yogis act with body, mind and intellect (Gita 5.11), so the whole person is in the work. A half-hearted job is no offering.

Second, it is not pretending that you do not care. You may care a great deal. What loosens is the hold of worry.

Third, it is not a bargain, as in "I offer this so that it succeeds". That is again an offering with an eye on the fruit.

An example: Neha's presentation

Take Neha, who has to present a plan to her team tomorrow morning. She has prepared all week. Still, at night she keeps wondering what her manager will say.

This time, when her preparation is done, Neha says one thing in her mind: "I have done my part. I give this to You." Then she sleeps. The next day she gets praise, or some suggestions for improvement. Neha takes both as advice and not as a verdict on her. She did not prepare any less. All she handed over was the weight of the result.

What if the worry comes back?

It will. An old habit of the mind does not leave in a night. That is no sign that the offering failed. Each time the worry returns, say the same line again and go back to the next task.

Take Imran, who has taken an exam and must wait three weeks for the result. Every two or three days his mind goes to the one answer he doubts. Each time Imran says, "I did what I could, I hand this over," and opens the next day's reading. The worry still visits now and then, but its grip is a little weaker every time. Lord Krishna says the right is to the work and not to the fruit (Gita 2.47). The result of the three weeks is not in Imran's hands, but tomorrow's study is.

Questions readers ask

Do I need to believe in God for this?

The verse speaks of offering to the Lord. But the Gita gives a step for the person who finds that hard: to act with mind and senses controlled and give up the fruit of action (Gita 12.11). By learning to let go of the fruit, the feeling of offering can grow.

If I offer my work, can I be a little careless?

No. The Gita says yoga is skill in action (Gita 2.50). Careless work is not an offering. What you let go of is the grip on the result, and the effort stays.

What if the result still goes badly?

Then it will hurt, and that is natural. But Lord Krishna says the right is to the work and not to the fruit (Gita 2.47). Work that has been offered is not wasted, and one who has handed it over is not broken by a bad result.

Can small everyday jobs be offered?

Yes. Lord Krishna says that whatever you do, eat or give is to be made an offering (Gita 9.27). The full reading is in A Leaf, a Flower, a Fruit, Water.

Going deeper

The three verses are taken in order, with an example and a practice, in the detailed reading. The hard objections and the streams of commentators are in the deeper reading. The next step on the path is Equanimity, which teaches how to keep an even mind between pleasure and pain.