According to the Gita Theory of Action, the philosophical basis of Gandhi’s approach to nonviolence, inaction is not possible for the human being—our thoughts themselves are actions. In effect, the decision not to act is a kind of action in itself.  Since inaction is impossible, human beings must focus on how to act in any given situation — not just what actions to undertake, but with what attitude or mindset.  Actions that are motivated by personal gain (in Indian terms the [[phalam]], literally, “fruit”) will always be of lower quality than than those where the motive is selfless.   We can become attached to the ‘fruit’ of our actions not only in terms of the concrete outcome but in terms of the fame, social standing, etc. that we personally gain. Detached action, likewise, is undertaken in service of a selfless goal and without entanglement in subtler personal benefits.

Detachment, along with renunciation, may be the most important idea in the Gandhian approach to nonviolence. The only way to break the persuasive power of violence is to be willing to suffer the consequences of an opponent’s violence with neither retaliation nor acquiescence. This sometimes requires an extreme capacity for endurance (tapas) and focus on the goal whatever personal adversity might follow as a result, up to and including the ultimate sacrifice, death. Naturally, this leaves no room for attachment for personal gains, or, paradoxically, even for attachment to ‘victory’, since even that will bring egotism back into the mind and compromise the quality of one’s otherwise selfless action.  Both Gandhi and King warned against triumphalism, for this reason.  In practical terms, this lack of detachment at the point of success can antagonize one’s opponents, whereas in true nonviolence the goal is above all to make them into friends as far as that is possible.