Bhagavad Gita 12.10

Verse 10

अभ्यासेऽप्यसमर्थोऽसि मत्कर्मपरमो भव | मदर्थमपि कर्माणि कुर्वन्सिद्धिमवाप्स्यसि || १० ||

Transliteration

abhyāse 'py asamartho 'si mat-karma-paramo bhava mad-artham api karmāṇi kurvan siddhim avāpsyasi

Synonyms

abhyāse—in practice; api—even; asamarthaḥ—unable; asi—you are; mat-karma—My service, work for Me; paramaḥ—as supreme; bhava—become; mad-artham—for My sake; api—also; karmāṇi—actions; kurvan—performing; siddhim—perfection; avāpsyasi—you will achieve.

Translation

If you are even unable to practice, let performing actions for My sake be your supreme goal — performing actions for My sake, you will achieve perfection.

Multi-Tradition Commentary

Swami Gambhirananda (Advaita Vedanta)

The third step in the graduated teaching: if formal meditation and systematic practice are both beyond reach, dedicate all one's actions to the Lord. This is karma-yoga purified by devotion. The work itself becomes the altar, the effort itself becomes the offering. Even this relatively accessible practice leads, by purifying the mind of ego and desire, to the higher stages.

Practical Application (Modern Life)

When life is too busy or the mind too agitated for formal practice, dedicate the activity itself to the Divine. Before a difficult meeting, before writing, before caring for a child — a silent offering of 'let this be for the good of all' transforms ordinary action into spiritual practice. No circumstance is too mundane for this consecration.

Chapter Content

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