Karma Yoga · Verse 31
सदृशं चेष्टते स्वस्याः प्रकृतेर्ज्ञानवानपि | प्रकृतिं यान्ति भूतानि निग्रहः किं करिष्यति
sadṛśaṃ ceṣṭate svasyāḥ prakṛter jñānavān api | prakṛtiṃ yānti bhūtāni nigrahaḥ kiṃ kariṣyati
Even the wise one acts according to his own nature. Creatures follow their nature; what will repression accomplish?
Naturalness versus repression. The jñānavān — sage — follows svasyāḥ prakṛteḥ — his own nature.
Nigrahaḥ — repression, forced control — is useless against the nature (prakṛti) that impels the bhūtāni. This is not fatalism but realism: transformation comes from knowledge, not willpower. Acting according to sva-dharma — one’s own duty — is natural; forcing oneself to another dharma is violence against nature.