Bhagavad Gita 11.33
तस्मात्त्वमुत्तिष्ठ यशो लभस्व जित्वा शत्रून्भुङ्क्ष्व राज्यं समृद्धम् | मयैवैते निहताः पूर्वमेव निमित्तमात्रं भव सव्यसाचिन् ||
tasmāt tvam uttiṣṭha yaśo labhasva jitvā śatrūn bhuṅkṣva rājyaṁ samṛddham | mayaivaite nihatāḥ pūrvam eva nimitta-mātraṁ bhava savya-sācin ||
Translation
Therefore arise. Win glory. Conquer your enemies, enjoy the rich kingdom. By me alone these have already been slain. Be the mere instrument, O left-handed archer.
Reflection
In which present action could you remove yourself as the source while still acting fully?
Read this verse in its chapter: Chapter Eleven
Therefore arise. Win glory. Defeat the enemies and enjoy a flourishing kingdom. These have already been slain by me. Be only the instrument, O left-handed archer. Nimitta-matram bhava savya-sachin. The most quoted line of the chapter. Nimitta, the occasioning cause. Matra, only. Arjuna is not being asked to become the slayer. He is being asked to be the local hand of a slaying that has already been done at a deeper level. The freedom this offers is the same freedom the karma-yoga chapters established. The deed is to be performed without the doer's investment in being its source. The verse turns the cosmic vision into a directly practical instruction. The shock of the seeing has not removed the duty. It has rearranged the doer.