The Bhagavad Gita by Eknath Easwaran

The Royal Path ╯
mate good. This kind of love, called bhakti , is far more potent
than observances and rituals – a point the Gita is slowly
revealing. But to have this devotion without understanding
Krishna’s nature is not enough. In the end, to attain his goal,
Arjuna must have devotion and understand it is Krishna’s
universal aspect that he loves. Then he will truly attain the
eternal, immortal state.
This chapter contains a famous and very popular series of
verses:
Whatever you do, make it an offering to me – the food you
eat, the sacrifices you make, the help you give, even your
suffering. In this way you will be freed from the bondage
of karma, and from its results both pleasant and painful.
(9:27–28)
Krishna accepts every offering made to him in the right
spirit; he assures Arjuna of this. Then he demands that Arjuna
make everything – every act, every meal, every sacrifice, every
gift, even his sufferings – an offering to God. He demands this
so that Arjuna can be released from the bondage of karma.
This is a new emphasis, a new way. If Arjuna can live in complete
union with Krishna’s will, doing everything for Krishna
alone, then by that very purity of will he will be free from selfish
motives and thus released from karma. His spirit will be
free, and he will attain his goal of mystic union with Krishna.
Krishna declares that he is impartial to all creatures: he
neither favors nor rejects anyone. It is their sincere love that
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