Bhagavad Gita 18.47
श्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुणः परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात्।स्वभावनियतं कर्म कुर्वन्नाप्नोति किल्बिषम्॥
śhreyān swa-dharmo viguṇaḥ para-dharmāt sv-anuṣhṭhitāt svabhāva-niyataṁ karma kurvan nāpnoti kilbiṣham
Translation
Better is one's own duty though destitute of merits than the well-executed duty of another. He who doeth the duty laid down by his own nature incurreth not sin.
What it means
Better one's own duty, though imperfect, than another's duty well done; one who does the duty determined by one's own nature incurs no fault. The Gita repeats its law of authenticity. A flawless imitation loses to an honest original.
Try this today
The authenticity principle restated from chapter 3, now as settled doctrine.
Something to reflect on
Whose well-executed duty am I imitating at the cost of my own imperfect one?
Read it in Yathora