He who sees inaction in action and action in inaction is distinguished by his intelligence, and although he is engaged in all kinds of actions, he is on a purely spiritual level.
He who, in action, has freed himself from all desire for material enjoyment, can be considered as firmly established in knowledge. The sages say that the fire of perfect knowledge has reduced the consequences of his actions to ashes. Totally detached from the fruits of his actions, always satisfied and self-sufficient, he does not act materially, although he is continually active. The man thus enlightened has perfect control over his mind and his intelligence. He renounces all sense of possession and acts only to provide for his strict vital needs.
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, such a one, though he acts, never gets bogged down. The actions of one who, firm in absolute knowledge, is not influenced by the three gunas, 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 actions are all purely spiritual, and by oblation and offering, they participate in the absolute.
The man acting in accordance with the principles of Krishna consciousness is the highest, most perfect spiritualist and mystic. But it is not only Krishna devotees who offer sacrifices. There are also people who offer sacrifices to divine beings, or to the Supreme Impersonal Spiritual 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, 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 the mastery of the senses and the mind, offer in sacrifice in the fire of the mastered mind, the activities of all their senses and their vital breath.
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 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 within themselves.