Elements of Buddhi-Yoga: The Art of Work

Chapter Two Passage Six (2.47-53):

• Krishna tells Arjuna he’s suited for karma (i.e social dharma) but should never make the fruit of karma the motive for which he performs it. He should also not be attach to the non-performance of the work he’s suited for [2.47]
• To be “suited for karma” is taken as a vocation as oppose to just doing any work for making money for example. Vocation here means a coherence between what our nature is (svabhava) and what we do in and for the world (svadharma). This was clearly divided into four types [4.13] during the Gita’s time with Arjuna belonging to the warrior-vocation (Kshatriya).
• One should perform one’s vocation “standing in yoga” which Krishna defines as even-ness of mind (samatvam) when encountering life’s dualities like success and failure (another good reason not to make the fruit of karma the motive for one’s work, lest one’s heart be overrun by life’s dualities).
• This work (karma) with mental even-ness (yoga), i.e buddhi-yoga, is the shelter of the wise where as work motivated by the fruit is for the foolish [2.49].
• To perform buddhi-yoga is a great art, and if cultivated leads one beyond the fetters of vice and virtue  [2.50] and unto the domain without blemish [2.51].
• When the intelligence crosses over the thicket of illusion (presumably the desires which make it irresolute from 2.41-44) it becomes indifferent to the Vedas dealing with Vedic ritual (for the sake of earthly and celestial enjoyment) [2.52]
• When the intelligence is unmoved by desire for enjoyment through Vedic ritual, that unflinching intelligence is “standing in samadhi”, which is the attainment of yoga [2.53].

After thoughts:

• So yoga is spoken of as a means [2.48], a part of the process of buddhi-yoga known as even-ness and yoga is also the attainment of samadhi [2.53]
• Samadhi was indicated as the goal of the resolute intelligence [2.41-42] possessed by the buddhi-yogin and again as the attainment of an unmoved intelligence called yoga. What this samadhi is needs clarification so in the next passage Arjuna inquires about it.