Bhagavad Gita 18.48 · BG 18.48
Chapter 18Verse 48
Moksha Sanyasa Yoga
सहजं कर्म कौन्तेय सदोषमपि न त्यजेत्। सर्वारम्भा हि दोषेण धूमेनाग्निरिवावृताः॥
sahajaṁ karma kaunteya sa-doṣam api na tyajet, sarvārambhā hi doṣeṇa dhūmenāgnir ivāvṛtāḥ
Translation
One should not give up the work suited to one's nature, Arjuna, even if it is flawed. Every undertaking is clouded by some flaw, as fire is covered by smoke.
Every effort has a flaw in it, like fire has smoke. Do your work anyway.
What does this mean?
Waiting for the flawless version of your work before you commit to it means waiting forever. Every effort has something wrong with it, the same way any fire gives off smoke. That's not a reason to walk away from the work that's genuinely yours. Do it, flaws and all.
In simple words
Krishna says don't abandon the work that fits your nature just because it has problems. Every effort has something wrong with it, the way every fire gives off smoke. That's not a reason to walk away from work that's genuinely yours.
The deeper idea
The verse targets a specific kind of avoidance: quitting, or never starting, because the work isn't clean or perfect. Krishna's point is that flaw is universal, every undertaking is wrapped in some defect the way fire is wrapped in smoke, so waiting for the flawless version is waiting forever. The relevant question isn't whether the work has problems. It's whether the work is suited to your nature. If it is, the flaws come with the territory and you do it anyway.
How it applies to life
People abandon good paths, careers, projects, relationships, on the grounds that they've spotted real problems, as if the existence of problems were the signal to leave. This verse reframes that. Problems are the smoke, present in every fire. The thing to actually evaluate is fit: is this genuinely mine to do? If it is, expecting it to be flawless first is just a way of never doing it.