Finding Freedom Through Skillful Action and Sacred Offering
Chapter 3 v. 8-9
Freedom arises from conscious, non-attached action and the sacred practice of offering.
Freedom is possible not by avoiding action, but by engaging skillfully—with discernment, dedication, and the sacred intention to offer all to the Divine.
We continue our study of Chapter 3 of the Bhagavad Gita, the chapter on Karma Yoga, or the yoga of action, focusing on how non-attached, skillful engagement in life—through dharma, discernment, and sacred offering—can become a path to spiritual freedom. Building on Verse 7, which emphasized the importance of self-mastery and action without attachment, we now explore Verses 8 and 9 to understand why action is unavoidable, how it can be liberating, and how the practice of offering transforms ordinary duties into spiritual discipline.
The Power of Action in Spiritual Life
Winthrop Sargent translates Bhagavad Gita 3.8 verse as:
“Perform your duty, for action is indeed better than nonaction. Even the mere maintenance of your body could not be accomplished without action.”
This verse sets a clear tone: just to be embodied is to act. Action is not optional. The body is always engaged in action, and we must act to maintain it. In Yoga philosophy and Vedanta, we learn that our thoughts, speech, and actions create karmic imprints—samskaras—that bind us to future action and cloud our discernment. When we see this, a question arises: how can we avoid action? The answer is clear. We cannot. Being embodied means we are already acting.
Three key teachings emerge from this verse:
1. Action is unavoidable.
2. Skillful action is a path of liberation.
3. Action is our participation in the reciprocal nature of life.
Even refraining from action is itself a kind of action. Since action is unavoidable and karma-producing, the spiritual seeker must ask: how can I act skillfully, in a way that does not bind but liberates?
"“Give up, let go, turn over, sacrifice, surrender. Why? You have to remember the why. The why is freedom."
—Yogacharya Ellen Grace O'Brian
Transforming Daily Life into Spiritual Practice
Starting with the Bhagavad Gita verse 3.7 as a foundation, “One who controls the senses by the mind and without attachment engages the organs of actions in the path of work, that person is superior,” Sri Krishna is going to offer Arjuna some additional tips about how to act in ways that are non-binding, that do not lead to sorrow, but instead move us in the direction of freedom, in the direction of liberation of consciousness.
What can we see when we look at the potential for action as a path of liberation? I was thinking about the saying that it is easy to be a saint on a mountaintop. It is a familiar fantasy that we all have at a certain point and on certain days—that if we could just get away from people and from circumstances in life, that we would not be troubled. We would not lose our temper. We would not be upset about things. We would be perfect yogis. We would be peaceful, we would be serene. We would be better at our meditation. All of that.
But here is the point. Just because we have removed ourselves from relationships and situations and there is no one there to push our buttons does not mean that the buttons do not exist. And neither does it mean that they will magically be removed. Those mental imprints are there. And once we understand that, it is possible to see that being in relationships with situations where we must not only act, but interact with others is tremendously valuable to our spiritual practice because we see what the buttons are.
That is, it is valuable to us first if we see it that way—as being valuable to our spiritual practice, to our sadhana. And if we have the right perspective about it, and essentially, if we have the necessary tools to deal with it skillfully, all those things need to be in place in order for our interactive engagement with the world to be beneficial.
Dharma and the Art of Giving Back
Karmic bondage is related to the ego, to selfishness, while true freedom or liberation is related to the soul or the divine Self. When we live with higher purpose to fulfill our dharma, we participate in life by giving back what we have been given. To me, that is a simple definition of dharma, that we're here to give back the goodness that we have been given.
Sometimes people say, “What is my svadharma? What am I here to do?” I say, “What have you been given?” That would be your talent, your responsibility. What have you been given? Give that. We have been given this life to awaken, to experience, to find freedom. Give that and take nothing for yourself.
When liberation is our goal, one of the things that can be really helpful—and really is essential—for us to understand is that everything we are given carries with it an obligation. Everything. That is the way of nature. Nothing belongs to us. It's just the cycle of life.
Freedom Through the Sacred Practice of Offering
This leads to the next verse that offers us a way to find freedom in action itself. How do we do that? By offering all that we do and all that we have. By offering it. It's a beautiful way. Offering.
Bhagavad Gita verse 3.9, Sargent's translation:
“Aside from action for the purpose of sacrifice, this world is bound by action. Perform action for the purpose of sacrifice, Arjuna, free from attachment.”
Swami Rama translated it as:
“This world is the cause of bondage of karma, except for actions performed for the purpose of sacrifice.”
Whatever we do that is self-serving is binding, is karmically binding. It binds us to future action and it binds us to future sorrow. That is its nature. When it is self-serving, it is sorrow-producing. Thus, we have the wisdom of offering—doing what we do in the highest way and offering it.
Yajna can refer, of course, to ritualistic offering, but also to the way in which we engage in this reciprocity in life, the way that we harmoniously contribute to nature, to other beings, to family, to society, to the Cosmos. This is our assignment—to contribute in all of those ways.
Trying to hold on to things in life is like... you ever have that experience when you were a child of going and standing right at the edge of the waves at the ocean and trying to hold your feet in the sand while the wave is washing through? It all washes away from beneath you.
We need to perform action without expectation of reward. That means giving something back, including accolades and appreciation. Forget about that because that is going to be a form of entrapment. So, if we are giving it to God, that is all we need to do.
Everyday Yajna: Living in the Spirit of Offering
We perform a symbolic yajna at Center for Spiritual Enlightenment every morning with our morning sadhana, with the ritual offerings to Lord Dakshinamurti and the gurus in our lineage, with the offering of the light, the flowers, and the fruits. We symbolize offering our speech, our thoughts, our actions, and we say to each guru, Om Swaha.
Our prayer—one that my guru taught me—is:
May my thoughts and my speech and my actions be constructive.
May what I think, may what I say, may what I do be constructive. May it contribute to uplifting life around me.
I would like to conclude with a poem by contemporary poet Pat Schneider. It's called Instructions for the Journey. Reflect on letting go, sacrifice, and non-attachment as you participate in your own journey of awakening and freedom.
The self you leave behind is only a skin you have outgrown.
Don't grieve for it. Look to the wet, raw, unfinished self, the one you are becoming...
Be present. Keep letting go.
Live in wonder and awe and participate in life with joy and with freedom.
Listen to the full podcast episode below.
Bhagavad Gita, pt 22: Power of Sacrifice and Non-Attachment
Chapter 3, v. 8-9
Explore the power of skillful action and its role in liberation. Understand how our thoughts, speech, and actions shape our destiny and the importance of conscious, non-binding engagement. Learn about the concept of sacrifice as a way to participate in the reciprocal energy of life and contribute to the uplifting nature of the universe. Embrace the wisdom of letting go, non-attachment, and surrender for lasting happiness, bliss, and Self-realization.
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