Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Verse 15

शरीरवाङ्मनोभिर्यत्कर्म प्रारभते नरः | न्याय्यं वा विपरीतं वा पञ्चैते तस्य हेतवः ||

śarīra-vāṅ-manobhir yat karma prārabhate naraḥ nyāyyaṁ vā viparītaṁ vā pañcaite tasya hetavaḥ

Whatever action a person undertakes by body, speech, or mind, whether proper or improper, these five are its causes.

Krishna clarifies that all actions, regardless of their nature, involve the five causes. 'Śarīra-vāṅ-manobhir yat karma prārabhate naraḥ'—whatever action (yat karma) a person (naraḥ) undertakes (prārabhate) by body (śarīra), speech (vāk), or mind (manobhiḥ). 'Nyāyyaṁ vā viparītaṁ vā'—whether proper (nyāyyam) or improper (viparītam). 'Pañcaite tasya hetavaḥ'—these five (pañca ete) are its causes (tasya hetavaḥ). This is the key teaching: every action—whether right or wrong, good or bad, proper or improper—involves all five causes. You can't act without these five factors. Understanding this helps you see that action is complex, and that labeling actions as 'good' or 'bad' doesn't change the fact that they all involve the same five causes. This prepares you to understand action according to gunas, where the distinction is in the quality of the action, not just in the causes.