Those involved in a life of service tend to be those who have sublimated the ego. To place ones mission, or the mission of one's leader as the goal, implies that personal selfish motivations are no longer a priority. And such servants are freed from the reaction to their work because it is not for themselves, but under orders from above.
For example, a soldier or police personnel may engage in war, violence and even killing of another person, yet they are not judged guilty of murder because they acted under instruction or direct orders in the service of the country and state.
Righteous work, when done in a mood of selfless service, is a way to channel the working propensity in such a way that we don't have to personally bear the consequences or reap the fruits of that work.
Some schools of thought, who also wish to dodge the repercussions or karma that comes from work, may try to cease action altogether. This is done out of fear of the consequences, namely the obligation to receive the rewards of the work, which usually implies taking another birth in another material body.
However, no one can refrain from action, not even for a moment. If we have to eat to survive, then we must find food, cook it on fire and eat it. Even if we renounce cooking and farming, still we have to find fruit and vegetables or something to eat, either via begging or foraging. We have to work to survive.
Not only that, but the mind will soon grow restless if we try to cease action altogether. After a while - be it a month or a year or two - and even the yogi in the cave will feel the push to leave the cave and engage with the world to a small degree.
We are not meant to cease action altogether. The conscious being is by nature eternally active. More than that, we are pleasure seeking. Our inherent nature is one of happiness, joy and blissful consciousness, not dormant inactive ignorance, or even mere observation. That is a misnomer, based upon faulty teachings introduced by those who were afraid of action and the results of action, as well as fearful of their own individual identity.
Such fearful souls may take to the impersonalist philosophies like voidist Buddhism and Adwaita non-dualism, but they will soon grow bored in their void of non-action and will seek out action once more.
Therefore, our real place is to follow our calling as a servant of the higher source. For some that means service to family, community or nation. Yet that implies karmic reaction. Above and better than these humanitarian types of service is selfless transcendental service to the source of everything, the divine consciousness behind it all.
This position requires abandonment of ego and selfish motivations, even the motivation to transcend or free ourselves from the clutches of karma. To act without selfish desire and for the pleasure of the divine, as instructed in the ancient texts, is work beyond that which results in reaction.
There is no reaction or karma because such work is not actual work. It is not action. Action means reaction, and is found on the material platform. But above that is selfless service to the divine. This is not karmic and is considered transcendental. It's like the action of a soldier that bears no personal consequence due to being done under order of higher authority. Or the action of a mother toward her baby. It is pure, natural and selfless.
Some fight jihad against the enemy of their religion in order to gain a place in paradise with the creator. They kill and die for their religious cause. However, how do we know it is a just and divine cause? We have to check with the original ancient texts and instruction on the matter. Also we check with the teachers and with the fellow wise souls, both past and present. That's the best that we can do.
Others may not appreciate your jihad. They might not like being called kafir or infidel and may have a jihad of their own, a crusade ordered by their church patriarch. And these soldiers of God may clash, as we have seen throughout history and still to this day. Will these crusaders and soldiers die as martyrs? Will they receive the keys to paradise? We shall see.
Those who are truly on the path of transcendence will indeed escape the karmic repercussions of their actions. Others will not. I'm not one to judge any soul against the weight of a feather. All I can do is choose my source and follow that to my best ability. The rest is up to the higher powers whom we all serve, one way or the other.
Bhagavad Gita ch4:18
karmaṇy akarma yaḥ paśyed
akarmaṇi ca karma yaḥ
sa buddhimān manuṣyeṣu
sa yuktaḥ kṛtsna-karma-kṛt
SYNONYMS
karmaṇi—in action; akarma—inaction; yaḥ—one who; paśyet—observes; akarmaṇi—in inaction; ca—also; karma—fruitive action; yaḥ—one who; saḥ—he; buddhimān—is intelligent; manuṣyeṣu—in human society; saḥ—he; yuktaḥ—is in the transcendental position; kṛtsna-karma-kṛt—although engaged in all activities
TRANSLATION
One who sees inaction in action, and action in inaction, is intelligent among men, and he is in the trancendental position, although engaged in all sorts of activities.
PURPORT
A person acting in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is naturally free from the bonds of karma. His activities are all performed for Kṛṣṇa; therefore he does not enjoy or suffer any of the effects of work. Consequently he is intelligent in human society, even though he is engaged in all sorts of activities for Kṛṣṇa. Akarma means without reaction to work. The impersonalist ceases fruitive activities out of fear, so that the resultant action may not be a stumbling block on the path of self-realization, but the personalist knows rightly his position as the eternal servitor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore he engages himself in the activities of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Because everything is done for Kṛṣṇa, he enjoys only transcendental happiness in the discharge of this service. Those who are engaged in this process are known to be without desire for personal sense gratification. The sense of eternal servitorship to Kṛṣṇa makes one immune to all sorts of reactionary elements of work.
Reference: Bhagavad Gita As It Is, translation and commentary by Swami A C Bhaktivedanta, original Macmillan 1972 edition, freely available at www.prabhupadabooks.com.
Image: https://pixabay.com/illustrations/ai-generated-armor-knight-templar-9024992/ edited using Canva.