The understand of self according to Krishna is essential in the process of becoming a wise and knowledgeable man. Krishna tells Arjuna that the human body goes through transformations such as youth and old age, birth and death, but the self goes on forever changing one body after another. Hence, the cycle of birth and death is unavoidable and as such emotions of sorrow and grief at the thought of death are impractical according to Krishna. Executing action with understanding of self and discipline is Krishna's most important teaching to Arjuna. "Wise men disciplined by understanding relinquish the fruit born of action; freed from these bonds of rebirth, they reach a place beyond decay". Krishna contradicts an ancient belief here by stating that a wise man who implements action with discipline and understanding giving up the desire of success from his actions, achieves freedom from the tedious circle of death and rebirth. He secures a much higher stature and reaches a certain level beyond ordinary humans to attain immortality. Desire and attachment, for and to material objects, are the biggest hurdles faced by men. Conquering these roadblocks is significant in order to accomplish the objective of action with discipline. Krishna tells Arjuna that one should shift his focus from these sense objects and instead focus on Krishna with discipline in order to successfully conquer them.
Two important aspects of action highly regarded by Krishna are detachment and sacrifice.While detachment and sacrifice may have different meaning in the contemporary world, in the Vedas and mainly in the Bhagvad Gita these two have very similar meanings. "Action imprisons the world unless it is done as sacrifice; freed from attachment, Arjuna, perform action as sacrifice!". An action performed for selfish reasons can never fulfill it's purpose , rather action should be performed unselfishly and as a sacrifice to achieve it's objective.