yajñe tapasi dāne ca sthitiḥ saditi cocyate | karma caiva tadarthīyaṁ sadityevābhidhīyate ||17.27|| A commitment with reference to a ritual, a religious discipline, and giving is called “sat”, and a karma for their sake (or for the sake of Īśvara) is also called “sat”.
sthitiḥ - a state of remaining committed to some pursuit. Commitment to performance of ritual - yajñe, religious discipline - tapasi, or giving charity - dāne, is considered to be sat-karma. They are proper pursuits, provided doing them with śraddhā and appropriate attitude. tadarthīyaṁ - they are being done for the sake of Īśvara, because they are to be done karma (doing with the karma-yoga attitude), or for the sake of gaining Īśvara (ātmā-jnanam). Sat-karma can even be a non-religious activity which is done in conformity with dharma, since dharma itself is Parameśvara, naturally, an activity in keeping with dharma becomes a karma offered to Īśvara.
Śankarācārya says that even if the karma is incomplete with some omissions and commissions, by using these three words, “Om tat sat”, it becomes complete, of course when it is done with śraddhā. Finally, he says that even saying, “Om tat sat”, without any śraddhā is useless. Śraddhā is the most important factor, if it is proper, it makes the karma sāttvika.
aśraddhayā hutaṁ dattaṁ tapastaptaṁ kṛtaṁ ca yat | asadityucyate pārtha na ca tatpretya no iha ||17.28||. That which is, without śraddhā, offered (in a religious ritual), given (as charity), performed as a religious discipline, and that (karma) which is done, is called asat, that which does not serve its purpose, Pārtha (Arjuna)! That is not (fruitful) after death and indeed not here.
hutaṁ - oblation which is offered, dattaṁ - that which is given as charity, tapastaptaṁ - religious discipline, such karma which are done without śraddhā is called asat.
It doesn’t mean these karma which are done without śraddhā don’t earn results at all, but they become out of means to gain Īśvara. The same karma use to gain certain result, if it is done with proper attitude, it helps to gain purity of mind, and with a prepared mind, one can understand one’s identity with Īśvara through ātmā-jñānam.
We have to understand that the entire karma-kanda is serving the purpose of preparing someone to know the true nature of oneself (jñāna-kanda), then the culmination of doing these karma is for the sake of purification of the mind to understand Īśvara (ātmā-jnānam). Therefore when recognition of Īśvara / śraddhā is not there, naturally moksa is far away from oneself, therefore it is said that “that is not (fruitful) after death and indeed not here”. As we have seen, “śraddhāvān labhate jñānam - one who has śraddhā gains knowledge.” (Gītā 4.39).
This answers Arjuna’s question. The efficacy of all these karma is entirely dependent upon what kind of śraddhā one has.
Om tat sat
Introduction to 18th chapter
This last chapter is a big chapter, for the purpose of summing up the meaning of the whole gītā-śāstra which is the same meaning of Veda. The subject matter of Veda is the subject matter of gītā-śāstra, which is two-fold - brahma-vidyā and yoga-śāstra. Brahma-vidyā is the understanding of the mahā-vakya, “tat tvam asi,” which reveals the identity of the jīva - the individual and Īśvara - the Lord. In other words anything that deals with reality is brahma-vidyā. And yoga-śāstra is the means of preparing the individual for brahma-vidyā. Thus yoga includes any karma that is in keeping with dharma, and done with proper attitude (karma-yoga), with devotion - bhakti. It also includes a life of renunciation - sannyāsa.
First chapter has the background Arjuna’s sorrow which is caused by killing his own kin. Then Lord Krsna started his teaching in gītā 2.11 telling Arjuna that he is grieving which is not ought to grief for. Since reality never ceases and unreal never really exists, their body is dying but ātmā never dies (gītā 2.16). Brahma-vidya is unfolded in this second chapter therefore titled sānkhya-yoga. Meaning of sānkhya here is different from sānkhya of the six schools of philosophy where it means “numbers”. But the word sānkhya used in vedānta means “revealed very well”, where the reality brahman is revealed very well only in Veda. In the same chapter Lord Krsna changed the topic to karma-yoga in gītā 2.31 because Arjuna needed to fulfil his duty as a ksatria to fight this war. It caused confusion on the part of Arjuna, so he asked in the third chapter, “which one between jñāna and karma will liberate me?” Then Lord Krsna unfolds an important direction for us in this moksa pursuit. There are two-fold committed lifestyles mentioned for the pursuit of moksa, one is sannyāsa - a life of renunciation, the other is a life of karma - activity (gītā 3.3). This life of activity, however, cannot be a means for moksa if it is not attended by the attitude of a karma-yoga. Bhakti which is appreciation of Īśvara with commitment to moksa has to be there for both lifestyles, karma-yoga and sannyāsa.
Four types of bhakta are mentioned in gītā 7.16. Even an ārta or arthārthī who is doing karma purely for material result would offer a prayer to the Īśvara. He also has bhakti. Devotion is common to anyone who recognises Īśvara, but only a jijñāsu (karma-yogī and sannyāsī) is keeping moksa in view, when he recognises the oneness with Īśvara becomes dearest bhakta (gītā 7.17). A karma-yogī is not simply someone who wants to accomplish through karma, but he wants to be free, and for that he wants to know. What he wants to know is his identity with Īśvara, therefore he is a dear bhakta. For the same reason, sannyāsī also is a bhakta, since taking up renunciation is only to commit his life entirely to gain ātmā-jñānam.
Sannyāsī is dismissed from the obligatory duties, which Veda enjoins a person when he takes the vow of sannyāsa. He completely frees himself from all obligatory duties in order to pursue knowledge to the exclusion of everything else. Whereas karma-yogī retains his obligatory duties but gives up all the intention for material results. All action whether it is a ritual, yoga, dharmic action or meditation, recognising Īśvara is a bhakti (gītā chapter 12). Others disciplines to prepare oneself for ātmā-jnānam like meditation (gītā chapter 6), gaining value structure (gītā chapter 13), cultivate sattvika guna (gītā chapter 14, 16 & 17), are included in karma-yoga. For a sannyāsī who doesn’t have the field to practice them, is expected to have a good amount of these values so the mind is more or less sufficient for full time pursuit of ātmā-jñānam.