संग

Saṅga means attachment: the mind sticking to something, whether an object, a result or a role. The Gita does not ask us to stop acting. It asks us to act without this sticking.

Verse 2.62 shows how it grows. Dwelling on the objects of the senses gives rise to attachment, attachment gives rise to desire, and desire, when blocked, gives rise to anger. Verse 2.48 gives the remedy in one line: act, “having given up attachment”, and stay even-minded in success and failure. Verse 4.20 describes the person who has given up attachment to the fruit of action and so, though fully busy, is not bound.

Common misreading: taking the giving up of attachment to mean becoming cold, or leaving the people and work we love. The verses ask for the release of the grip, not of the care or the effort.

Better sense: do the work and love the people with the whole heart, while the mind does not hold on to a particular outcome as the condition for its peace.

To read further, see the topic Karma and Akarma.