Lord Krishna talks about performing duties in a disinterested and detached manner. To be able to do this, one must have certain qualities. The Lord elaborates on what they are, in chapter 12, said Valayapet Ramachariar, in a discourse. From verse 14 onwards, He spells out the qualities that a person should possess, and if a person has these qualities, the Lord assures us that such a person will be dear to Him.
A person should be contented (santushtaH). He must believe in the sanctity of the Vedas. He should surrender mind and intellect to the Lord — arpita manO buddhih. He must be sama dukhah sukhah — he does not react to sorrow or happiness, but quietly accepts whatever is destined. The Lord says that he should be adveshta — this means he must not hate anyone. This includes even those who harm him. The Lord goes one step further. It is not enough to be merely free from malice, but one must be friendly with them. So, He talks of maitrah.
A person must be unattached to his body and must not think of anything as his — nirmamah. He should be nirahankArah — that is he should know that the body is not the atma. In the performance of his duties, he may come across difficulties. He must bear with them (kshami) and not let them hinder him in the tasks he must undertake. The Lord says — satatam yogi — one should always be thinking only of the atma and not the body. We cannot suddenly switch to worship mode, if we have never learnt the art of concentration. Only constant thinking in the right direction will train the mind to be focused. The Lord uses the word madbhaktah, to show that a devotee of the Lord, due to his bhakthi, does all deeds as a form of worship.
