Gita 18.46
Moksha Sanyasa Yoga
यतः प्रवृत्तिर्भूतानां येन सर्वमिदं ततम् । स्वकर्मणा तमभ्यर्च्य सिद्धिं विन्दति मानवः ॥
yataḥ pravṛttir bhūtānāṁ yena sarvam idaṁ tatam sva-karmaṇā tam abhyarcya siddhiṁ vindati mānavaḥ
In essence: By worshiping through one's own work the One from whom all beings arise and who pervades all existence, a person attains perfection.
A conversation between a seeker and guide to help you feel this verse deeply
Sadhak-Guru Dialogue
Sadhak: "How exactly do I 'worship through work'?"
Guru: "By changing the orientation of your consciousness while working. Instead of 'I am doing this for myself, for my family, for success,' you hold: 'I am offering this work to the Divine source of all.' The action may look identical externally, but internally it is transformed from acquisition to worship. You become a priest performing the ritual of your duty."
Sadhak: "But my work seems so ordinary—filing papers, answering calls, cleaning..."
Guru: "Nothing is ordinary when offered to the Divine. That which pervades 'sarvam idam'—all this—is present in your papers, your calls, your cleaning. The Divine is not only in temples but in every atom. When you recognize this and offer your work to that Presence, the mundane becomes sacred. The limitation is in your perception, not in the work."
Sadhak: "What does it mean that all beings arise from Him and He pervades everything?"
Guru: "The universe emerges from the Divine like waves from the ocean—'pravṛttir bhūtānām.' And the Divine remains present in every part of creation—'yena sarvam idam tatam.' This means: whatever you do, wherever you work, whomever you serve—you are working within the Divine, serving the Divine manifest as the world. There is nowhere that is not sacred, no work that cannot be worship."
Sadhak: "Is this the same as karma yoga?"
Guru: "This IS the culmination of karma yoga. Work without attachment (Chapter 3), work as yajna or sacrifice (Chapter 4), work with equanimity (Chapter 5)—all these aspects unite here: work as worship of the Divine who is both source and presence. When you truly understand and practice this, your entire life becomes yoga. There is no separation between spiritual practice and daily work."
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🌅 Daily Practice
Before beginning work, pause for a moment of conscious offering: 'The work I do today, I offer to the Divine source of all. May this work be my worship.' This simple practice transforms the day's orientation.
At natural breaks—before meetings, between tasks, during lunch—renew the offering mentally: 'This too is worship. The One who pervades all receives this offering.' Let the remembrance become a background awareness that colors all activity.
Review the day's work as a completed offering: 'Whatever I did today—successes and failures, easy tasks and difficult ones—I offer all to the Divine. The offering is complete.' This releases attachment to results and purifies the work retrospectively.