1) There is a grave risk when a text becomes a wishing mirror where we search for and find reinforcement of thoughts we were already leaning towards, perhaps without being aware of it. artofmanliness.com/character/advi…
2) the first flaw is the destruction or erasure of the context of the text itself: who created it for whom, when, and for what. When the Gita is picked apart for pieces that seem to strike a "solution" for our "problems", the context of the war in which it originated -gets lost.
3) even if it is suspected that there were accretions to the original composition, over time - all of those layers, both the presumed core and accretion, all tell a story and a view thats comprehensive - and is intimately connected to how the "Hindu" has traveled over the ages.
4) therefore pretending that the Gita wasnt framed in the context of a war which itself was framed explicitly as a violent conflict to resolve principles of justice and fairness, and can be understood without understanding the "Hindu" - is very problematic.
5) what do these disjointing/erasure from war and "Hindu" result in: for example a conviction that the text was created 2000 yrs ago, or for example the inevitable highlighting of its perhaps most misused "quote" - that on the "ma faleshu".
6) I have heard this phrase from a plethora of advocates - from management gurus, to snide administrators rubbing it in after gleefully blocking something -trying to make people accept that their efforts will not be rewarded: as the fruits will be eaten by those who dont deserve.
7) The only fair interpretation of this phrase is not to get too emotionally linked to outcome to the point that either success or failure takes an overwhelming cut from the remaining journey through life. It doesn't mean you shd not expect your efforts to succeed or be rewarded
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