30-Day Bhagavad Gita Study
Sacred Interdependence
Day 10
The Wheel of Sacrifice
“One who does not follow the cycle of sacrifice thus established by the Vedas lives in vain.”
— BG 3.16
Chapter 3 introduces yajna, meaning sacrifice or offering. In the Gita's view of the world, everything is kept alive by a cycle of giving: rain feeds the crops, crops feed living beings, living beings make offerings, and those offerings bring the rain again. When you act without ego, treating your action as an offering, you become part of this cycle instead of breaking it.
Reflection
In your daily work, what are you contributing that is larger than yourself? Who is fed by what you do?
Today's Practice
Choose one of your regular tasks. Trace, as far as you can, what other people or systems depend on you doing it well.
BG 3.16