Gita 9.27
Raja Vidya Raja Guhya Yoga
यत्करोषि यदश्नासि यज्जुहोषि ददासि यत्। यत्तपस्यसि कौन्तेय तत्कुरुष्व मदर्पणम्॥
yat karoṣi yad aśnāsi yaj juhoṣi dadāsi yat yat tapasyasi kaunteya tat kuruṣva mad-arpaṇam
In essence: Life itself becomes worship when every action, every bite, every gift, every effort is consciously offered to the Divine.
A conversation between a seeker and guide to help you feel this verse deeply
Sadhak-Guru Dialogue
Sadhak: "This sounds beautiful but impossible. How can I remember to offer everything to God when I'm caught up in work, in problems, in just living?"
Guru: "When you deeply love someone, do you need to remember them? Or are they simply present as the background of your awareness even when you're busy?"
Sadhak: "They're just there... in the background, yes. But that's different - they're a person, tangible."
Guru: "Is God less real than a person? Perhaps what you're describing is the weakness of your love for the Divine, not the impossibility of continuous offering. The verse is not asking you to verbally dedicate every action. It's inviting you into a state where the dedication is implicit, like breathing."
Sadhak: "But there are things I can't offer - angry thoughts, selfish actions, things I'm ashamed of. How can I offer those?"
Guru: "Do you think Krishna is unaware of your anger, your selfishness, your shame? By offering even these, you stop hiding from God. You say: 'This anger too - I don't want it, but here it is. Take it.' The offering doesn't make the anger holy; it prevents the anger from becoming a wall between you and Krishna. Often, the very act of offering transforms what is offered."
Sadhak: "So I should offer my failures too?"
Guru: "Everything. Success, failure, virtue, vice, clarity, confusion. The offering is the constant; what is offered varies. This protects you from spiritual pride when things go well and from spiritual despair when things go poorly. In both cases, you are simply one who offers."
Sadhak: "What about purely worldly activities - watching television, casual conversations, even using the bathroom? Can these be offerings?"
Guru: "Can anything exist outside of God's presence? If He is omnipresent, then every location, every activity occurs within Him. The question is not whether the activity is worthy but whether your heart is connected. You can watch a sacred film with a distracted heart - not an offering. You can sweep the floor with divine remembrance - a true offering. The activity is the vessel; the heart's orientation is the content. This verse says: fill every vessel with the same content. Then your entire life becomes a river flowing toward the ocean."
Sadhak: "I begin to understand... it's about who I'm doing it for, not what I'm doing."
Guru: "Precisely. And slowly, this 'doing for Krishna' dissolves into 'doing as Krishna's instrument.' Then you realize: there was never a separate doer making offerings. Krishna was playing all the parts - the giver, the giving, the gift, and the receiver. Your role was simply to realize this and let the play continue consciously."
Did this resonate with you? Share it with someone who needs to hear this.
🌅 Daily Practice
Choose one category from the verse to focus on today: either 'what you do' (work), 'what you eat,' 'what you give,' or 'what you practice.' Create a simple dedication: 'Today, every time I [eat/work/give/practice], I will pause briefly and mentally say: This is for You.' Track how many times you remember. The goal is not perfection but increasing consciousness. This focused approach eventually expands to include all categories naturally.
Implement the 'invisible offering' practice. Three times during your workday, pause for just 10 seconds. In those seconds, mentally gather whatever you've been doing since the last pause - tasks completed, conversations had, emails sent - and release them toward Krishna like releasing a handful of petals into a stream. The tasks are already done; you're simply directing where their subtle effects flow. This takes no time from work yet transforms work's spiritual significance.
Perform a 'day-end offering' ritual. Sit quietly and mentally review your day in fast-forward. See the morning routine, the commute, the work, the interactions, the meals, the entertainment, everything. Then imagine gathering all of it - beautiful and ugly, productive and wasteful - into a large basket. Visualize placing this basket at Krishna's feet with the thought: 'This day was Yours. You lived through me. I return it to You.' This practice prevents accumulated karma and establishes non-ownership of daily experiences.