Learn to meditate

People will have differing opinions about what is right and wrong.  When you become confused by conflicting opinions, still your mind and turn it inward towards the image of God within you.  Focusing on that will lead you beyond intellectual reasoning and allow your innate wisdom to come through.  Therefore, by all means, learn to meditate so you can contact the source of that wisdom.

Just because you have given up your attachment to how things turn out, it is not an excuse to stop trying your best and bringing every effort to bear to get the best results.  You actions still have to be just like those who seek to have their desires fulfilled.  It is your mental attitude and your motivation that is different. Do the work that comes your way to the best of your abilities, then let go of the fruits of those actions.  It is your duty to fulfill your role in this drama of life.

The kind of even-mindedness that allows you to express the image of God within you comes from casting aside the desire to have things turn out the way you want them to, getting your way all the time and getting everything you want materially. Therefore, devote yourself to learning how to release your attachment to the fulfillment of your desires.  Act purely for the sake of doing good and you will undoubtedly find yourself beyond all sorrows.

So, always do the best you can and let the results take care of themselves.  Don’t consider yourself to be responsible for things turning out good and don’t blame yourself if they turn out badly.  The first will lead to pride and the latter to apathy.

A mini summary of Ch 1 provided by the Gita

The world’s scriptures are like a well of spiritual knowledge that provides life-giving water to the ignorant.  Those who have no direct experience of applying their spiritual truths are content to hear flowery discourses on the scriptures and focus on the rituals of the church, which they believe will bring them the life they desire.  Focused on heaven as their reward, these deluded people keep their minds full of desires and remain deeply attached to the pleasures and power of this world. They cannot keep their thoughts fixed one-pointedly on God nor can they keep their minds balanced and centered on the reflection of the divine within, which is the true self. Their joy and satisfaction comes and goes with every experience of pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat.  Those who are happy only when the results of their efforts turn out like they want them to are bound to be disappointed. The spiritually wise are free from the interplay of power, lust and greed that dominates the world.  Ever calm and not thinking about being rewarded for their efforts or getting and keeping material things, the wise keep their attention fixed on the divine within.  Those who do the right thing for its own sake do not care if their efforts turn out the way the wanted them to because they know they did the right thing anyway.  When you do everything centered in that equanimity, renouncing all attachments, you will enjoy an undisturbed mind and it will lead to union with God. Those who have already achieved that union with God and who are living a divine life have an intuitive understanding of God’s will that makes the scriptures about as useful as a well that is located right next to a flowing river of pure water.  The written scriptures then become something they can use to confirm their own spiritual experiences.

When you have the resolve to behave properly and really believe that it will lead to a better life, you will always know what to do in any situation. There will only be one decision that is consistent with your values.  For people who lack this, the choices they think they have lead to endless confusion and a lack of one-pointed clarity.

If you believe in sin and God’s judgment, living a righteous life will earn you a place in the kingdom of heaven.  If you don’t believe, you will still enjoy the best possible life on earth.  Resolve to do good and be good no matter how hard it is or how imperfectly you do it.  Remember that no effort at putting this wisdom into practice will go to waste.  There are no adverse effects from doing the right thing.  Even a little effort to avoid doing things that are considered “sins” will prevent a lot of suffering in your life.