Kṛṣṇa explains the benefit of this detached intelligence. A person working in ‘buddhi-yoga’ gets rid of both good and bad karmic reactions even in this life. We usually think ‘good karma’ is desirable, but Kṛṣṇa says that even good karma binds us to the material world. To be truly free, one must transcend both sin and piety. Therefore, He tells Arjuna to strive for yoga, which He defines as ‘karmasu kauśalam’—the art or skill of all work. This skill is the ability to act in the world with total intensity while remaining completely free from entanglement. It is the highest form of mastery: to be able to kill on a battlefield (the act) without becoming a murderer (the reaction). This is possible only when the ego is removed from the action. Yoga is the technique that allows one to participate in life’s dramas without getting stained by them.