Krishna maps out two stages of the yogic journey. When a seeker is just starting — still climbing toward yoga — action is the vehicle. Keep working, keep serving, stay engaged with life. Selfless action builds the foundation.
But once that same seeker becomes firmly established in yoga, the vehicle changes. Now shama — inner tranquility, the deep stillness of the mind — becomes the means. The climbing is done. What remains is simply being still at the summit.
Picture someone climbing a mountain. On the way up, every step matters — effort, grip, momentum. But once you reach the peak, you do not keep climbing. You sit and take in the view. The effort that got you there is replaced by the calm of having arrived.