Action with non-binding desire. Actions (karma) with only the desire (kāma) for freedom (mokṣa), with the intermediate goal of a balanced, calm, neutral mind, achieved through karma yoga. This is in contrast to binding worldly desires (kāmya karma).
- niskama karma
You do this by honoring īśvara by following the dharmas (the laws of things) in the field. And thus affirming an aligned life, in harmony with the divine practical life. īśvara will thus be 'forced' to produce soothing (prasāda) results. Through the right attitude, you can thus invoke the blessing of īśvara itself.
Nis in niṣkāma does not mean 'no' (karma). Niṣ means "away from" kamya karma, the desiring karma that chains you to worldly concerns like security, possessions (artha), pleasure, distraction (kama), or the pressure to be a good, perfect person, which concerns itself with responsibilities (dharma) beyond those provided by īśvara.
Niṣ also means "forth." It is an expression of inner growth, namely, the desire for a mind qualified for the knowledge that frees me forever from every trace of karma, because I realize that I am not consciousness, the doer.