Chapter 18 Shloka 46

यतः प्रवृत्तिर्भूतानां येन सर्वमिदं ततम्।

स्वकर्मणा तमभ्यर्च्य सिद्धिं विन्दति मानवः।।४६।।

A man attains the highest perfection 

by worshipping That One, 

through his actions,

from Whom all beings emanate

and Who pervades this entirety.

Chapter 18 Shloka 46

यतः प्रवृत्तिर्भूतानां येन सर्वमिदं ततम्।

स्वकर्मणा तमभ्यर्च्य सिद्धिं विन्दति मानवः।।४६।।

The Lord now specifies how one can gain perfection even whilst performing one’s natural and spontaneous actions.

A man attains the highest perfection by worshipping That One, through his actions, from Whom all beings emanate and Who pervades this entirety.

Little one, the Lord is revealing the mysterious cause of the disappearance of the knowledge of Truth.

1. Thus the Lord is explaining the essence of life.

2. He is revealing the mainstay of all action.

3. He is illuminating the base of yagya.

4. He is revealing the foundation of duty in life.

He is saying:

1. Whatever you do, do it as an offering to the Lord.

2. Whatever you do, do it as the Lord’s worship.

3. Believe this world to belong to the Lord and then engage in action.

4. Know the Lord to be the Creator of all beings and then interact with all.

5. Your life must be surrendered to the Lord.

Look, let me clarify:

1. This world indeed belongs to the Lord.

2. This world belongs to the Lord’s children.

3. All the todays and tomorrows belong to all beings.

All this does not belong merely to you and to me – nor will it ever be so.

1. Knowing this, perform every deed as an offering to the Lord.

2. Knowing this, offer your every deed to others.

The art of offering each deed as an act of worship to the Lord has been explained in Chp.9, shloka 27.

1. Practice the art of keeping the Lord beside you at all times as your constant witness.

2. Practice keeping death before you as your constant witness.

3. Practice keeping the Atma Self beside you always as your constant witness.

4. That is, make eternal knowledge your constant witness and experience its proximity always.

Do whatever you must do – but do it with the constant memory of Truth within you.

1. Actions are not elevated or lowly –  one’s internal point of view is lofty or low.

2. It is sheer ignorance to dub actions as high or low.

3. A man is considered to be great on account of his humane qualities.

4. A devotee is revered on account of his devotion.

5. A sage is considered to be one on account of his sagacity.

6. One becomes a man of wisdom, not through the accumulation of knowledge, but by adopting a wise attitude.

The natural actions you perform at the physical level in life have no connection with your inner state. You may be a Brahmin, a Kshatriya, a Vaishya or a Shudra – whatever you may be, fulfil your obligatory duties with shrewdness and diligence. However:

1. If you perform all deeds having first offered them to the Lord, you are bound to attain perfection.

2. If you perform deeds with the Lord Himself as your witness, you will inevitably attain perfection.

3. If you act only for the Lord, success is inevitably yours.

Little one,

1. Then there can be no talk of running away.

2. Then there will be no thought of causing harm to anyone.

3. Greed will never arise.

4. Nor will you then agonise others.

Then your every deed will become pure and pristine. You will be purity itself and you will gain perfection.

The Lord’s worship comprises of:

a) surrendering your body at the feet of the Lord;

b) surrendering your mind at the feet of the Lord;

c) surrendering your intellect at the feet of the Lord;

d) surrendering your ego at the feet of the Lord.

Once you have offered your body at the Lord’s feet:

a) then whether He chooses to make you a master or a servant, both are equally acceptable to you;

b) then if He makes others instrumental in engaging you in important or unimportant tasks, it is all the same to you.

When the individual has accepted this entirety to be the Lord Himself, his body automatically belongs to the Lord. Then all belongs to the Lord. That individual remains a mere witness – pure Atma Itself.

He perceives the rest of the world, including his own body-self, as a mere interplay of qualities. This is the Lord’s worship. To live in this attitude and act in this manner leads to perfection.

Little one, notable feats or actions that are acknowledged by the world do not necessarily lead one to perfection.

Performing small, insignificant actions:

a) changes one’s perspective;

b) automatically and naturally annihilates one’s pride;

c) infuses a loving attitude in one’s habitual deeds;

d) teaches one to give of oneself;

e) teaches one to become forgetful of oneself;

f) prevents one from considering oneself all important;

g) teaches one to tolerate others;

h) protects one from the conflicts in one’s own mind.

i)  helps one to transcend duality in everyday living.

1. It is whilst performing these seemingly insignificant jobs that one can attain one’s true Self.

2. It is whilst performing these inconsequential tasks that one can learn to forget oneself.

3. It is whilst engaging in these small tasks that one can learn identification with others.

4. It is comparatively easy to give someone one lakh of rupees but relatively difficult to dwell in subservience to another, in order to serve him. Yet, if one spends as much time in the service of the other as one takes to earn the lakh of rupees, one can be greatly benefited. Because when you serve the other with your own hands,

–  you will learn to be humble;

–  you will learn to love;

–  you will learn how to give of yourself to another;

–  you will learn how to become indifferent to your own self;

–  you will learn to forget yourself.

It is through such inconsequential deeds that fresh, tiny seedlings sprout from the seeds of divine qualities to form fruits again and thus disseminate the qualities of divinity.

Therefore the Lord clarifies that an individual attains perfection through the pursuance of his own allotted deeds. It is foolishness to consider some deeds to be inconsequential and others to be important.