यत्करोषि यदश्नासि यज्जुहोषि ददासि यत् |
यत्तपस्यसि कौन्तेय तत्कुरुष्व मदर्पणम् || 27||
yat karoṣhi yad aśhnāsi yaj juhoṣhi dadāsi yat
yat tapasyasi kaunteya tat kuruṣhva mad-arpaṇam
yat—whatever; karoṣhi—you do; yat—whatever; aśhnāsi—you eat; yat—whatever; juhoṣhi—offer to the sacred fire; dadāsi—bestow as a gift; yat—whatever; yat—whatever; tapasyasi—austerities you perform; kaunteya—Arjun, the son of Kunti; tat—them; kuruṣhva—do; mad arpaṇam—as an offering to Me
Translation:
Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer in sacrifice, whatever you give away, and whatever you practise in the form of austerities, Ο son of Kunti— do it as an offering to Me.
Commentary:
The Lord teaches Arjuna to cultivate the basic attitude of mind which enables him to offer whatever he does, to the Lord alone. Everything should be offered to the Lord, the food eaten, the sacrifice made, and the austerity performed. In fact, all the activities of life should be offered unto the Lord, without the expectation of any personal reward. The actions and the fruits of actions should be surrendered to the Lord with a loving heart.
Yat Karoshi: This does not mean bad actions.
Yadasnasi: This does not mean prohibited food.
Man has to do some work in the world, and instead of binding himself with that, the Lord instructs that it should be surrendered to Him, in the spirit of ‘Krishnarpanamastu‘ or ‘Brahmarpanamastu‘. By such surrender, man escapes the bondage of karma and also acquires God’s grace. This indeed is an easy path to liberation. To the house-holders particularly this method is of great help in their spiritual advancement.
The devotee should make self-surrender to the Lord whatever he is doing.
Swami Vivekananda Says —
Here are the two ways of giving up all attachment. The one is for those who do not believe in God, or in any outside help. They are left to their own devices; they have simply to work with their own will, with the powers of their mind and discrimination, saying, “I must be non-attached”. For those who believe in God there is another way, which is much less difficult. They give up the fruits of work unto the Lord; they work and are never attached to the results. Whatever they see, feel, hear, or do, is for Him. For whatever good work we may do, let us not claim any praise or benefit. It is the Lord’s; give up the fruits unto Him. Let us stand aside and think that we are only servants obeying the Lord, our Master, and that every impulse for action comes from Him every moment. Whatever thou worshippest, whatever thou perceivest, whatever thou doest, give up all unto Him and be at rest. Let us be at peace, perfect peace, with ourselves, and give up our whole body and mind and everything as an eternal sacrifice unto the Lord. Instead of the sacrifice of pouring oblations into the fire, perform this one great sacrifice day and night — the sacrifice of your little self.[Source]
Name, fame, good deeds, “Whatever sacrifices you perform, whatever penances you undergo, whatever you eat” — surrender everything to his feet. What on earth do we want? He has given us refuge, what more do we want? Bhakti is verily its own reward — what else is needed?[Source]
Sri Ramakrishna Says —
Two monks had arrived at the temple garden in the morning. They were devoted to the study of the Bhagavad Gita, the Vedanta, and other scriptures. They entered the Master’s room, saluted him, and sat on the mat on the floor. Sri Ramakrishna was seated on the small couch. The Master spoke to the sadhus in Hindusthani.
MASTER: “Have you had your meal?”
SADHU: “Yes, sir.”
MASTER: “What did you eat?”
SADHU: “Dal and bread. Will you take some?”
MASTER: “No, I take only a few morsels of rice. Well, your japa and meditation must be without any desire for results. Isn’t that so?”
SADHU: “Yes, sir.”
MASTER: “That is good. One must surrender the result to God. What do you say? That is the view of the Gita.”
One sadhu said to the other, quoting from the Gita: ‘O Arjuna, whatever action you perform, whatever you eat, whatever you offer in sacrifice, whatever you give in charity, and whatever austerities you practise, offer everything to Me.”
MASTER: “If you give God something, you receive it back a thousand times over. That is why after doing meritorious deeds one offers a handful of water to God. It is the symbol of offering the fruit to God. When Yudhisthira was about to offer all his sins to Krishna, Bhima warned him: ‘Never do such a thing. Whatever you offer to Krishna you will receive back a thousandfold.’
(To one of the sadhus) “Well, sir, one should be desireless; one should renounce all desires. Isn’t that so?”
SADHU: “Yes, sir.”
MASTER: “But I have the desire for bhakti. That is not bad. Rather, it is good. Sweets are bad, for they produce acidity. But sugar candy is an exception. Isn’t that so?”
SADHU: “Yes, sir.”
MASTER: “Well, sir, what do you think of the Vedanta?”
SADHU: “It includes all the six systems of philosophy.”
MASTER: “But the essence of Vedanta is: ‘Brahman alone is real, and the world illusory; I have no separate existence; I am that Brahman alone.’ Isn’t that so?”
SADHU: “That is true, sir.”
MASTER: “But for those who lead a householder’s life, and those who identify themselves with the body, this attitude of ‘I am He’ is not good. It is not good for householders to read Vedanta or the Yogavasishtha. It is very harmful for them to read these books. Householders should look on God as their Master and on themselves as His servants. They should think, ‘O God, You are the Master and the Lord, and I am Your servant.’ People who identify themselves with the body should not have the attitude of ‘I am He.”
The devotees in the room remained silent. Sri Ramakrishna was smiling a little, a picture of self-contentment. He appeared happy in his own Self.
One of the sadhus whispered in the other’s ear: “Look! This is the state of the paramahamsa.”
MASTER (to M.): “I feel like laughing.”
Sri Ramakrishna smiled like a child. (Source: Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna)
—–
BRAHMO: “If the power of avidya is the cause of ignorance, then why has God created it?”
MASTER: “That is His play. The glory of light cannot be appreciated without darkness. Happiness cannot be understood without misery. Knowledge edge of good is possible because of knowledge of evil.
“Further, the mango grows and ripens on account of the covering skin, You throw away the skin when the mango is fully ripe and ready to be eaten. It is possible for a man to attain gradually to the Knowledge of Brahman because of the covering skin of maya. Maya in its aspects of vidya and avidya may be likened to the skin of the mango. Both are necessary.”
BRAHMO: “Sir, is it good to worship God with form, an image of the Deity made of clay?”
MASTER: “You do not accept God with form. That is all right. The image is not meant for you. For you it is good to deepen your feeling toward your own Ideal. From the worshippers of the Personal God you should learn their yearning — for instance, Sri Krishna’s attraction for Radha. You should learn from the worshippers of the Personal God their love for their Chosen Ideal. When the believers in the Personal God worship the images of Kali and Durga, with what feeling they cry from the depths of their souls, ‘Mother! O Mother!’ How much they love the Deity! You should accept that feeling. You don’t have to accept the image.“
BRAHMO: “How does one cultivate the spirit of dispassion? Why don’t all attain it?”
MASTER: “Dispassion is not possible unless there is satiety through enjoyment. You can easily cajole a small child with candies or toys. But after eating the candies and finishing its play, it cries, “I want to go to my mother.’ Unless you take the child to its mother, it will throw away the toy and scream at the top of its voice.” (Source: Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna)
Question: How should man work?
Answer: Whatever he does, should be surrendered to the Lord.
Question: What is the effect?
Answer: He is freed from the bondage of karma, and obtains God’s grace.
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 9 
(34 Verses)
