Thus neither sin nor the consequences of sin reach him. He who, free from duality and envy, sees failure and success with the same eye, satisfied with what comes naturally to him, even though he acts, never gets bogged down. The actions of one who, firm in absolute knowledge, is not influenced by the three gunas (virtue, passion, ignorance), are purely spiritual, performed for the sole satisfaction of Yajna [Krishna]. The man who is fully absorbed in Krishna consciousness is assured of attaining the eternal kingdom, for his acts are all purely spiritual: and by oblation and by offering, they participate in the absolute.
As stated above, the man acting in accordance with the principles of Krishna Consciousness is the highest, most perfect spiritualist and mystic. But Krishna devotees are not the only ones who offer sacrifices; there are also people who offer sacrifices to celestial beings, or to the Supreme Impersonal Being (the only aspect of God known to believers on earth). Depending on the nature of their recipients, these sacrifices take different forms, but this diversity is superficial, since all sacrifice ultimately goes to the Supreme Lord, Visnu, or Krishna.
Some sacrifice hearing and other senses in the fire of the mastered mind, and others offer sound and other sense objects to the fire of sacrifice.
Those who wish to attain spiritual realisation through mastery of the senses and the mind, offer the activities of all their senses and their vital breath as a sacrifice in the fire of the mastered mind.
Others, enlightened by the sacrifice of their material possessions and by great austerities, take strict vows and adopt the eight-phase yoga. Still others study the Vedas (the original holy scriptures) to acquire absolute knowledge. Some also seek exaltation in the mastery of the respiratory functions: they practise melting the exhaled breath into the inhaled breath, and then the reverse; in this way they manage to suspend all breathing and experience ecstasy. Some, restricting their food, sacrifice the exhaled breath in itself.
Among them, all those who know the purpose of sacrifice are freed from the chains of karma (the law of action-reaction or the law of cause and effect). Having tasted the nectar of the fruits of sacrifice, they attain the supreme spheres of eternity.
Know that without sacrifice, one cannot live happily in this life, in this world; and what of the next?
These various sacrifices are authorised by the Vedas and are designed according to the various forms of action; knowing this, you will attain liberation.
Superior to the sacrifice of material goods is the sacrifice of knowledge, for ultimately the sacrifice of action finds its end in absolute knowledge.