Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa now gives the lowest and most accessible step in the ladder of bhakti-yoga. If we are not ready for niṣkāma karma, if we are not ready for abhyāsa-yoga, if we are not ready for Viśvarūpa upāsanā, and if we are certainly not ready for nirguṇa jñāna-yoga, then we should begin here.

This step is meant for a person who still has many personal desires. Such a person may be concerned with family, children, health, education, house, money, success, security, and many other legitimate worldly goals. The teaching does not ask such a person to suppress all desires immediately. Suppressed desires will continue to disturb the mind. Therefore, the instruction is: fulfill legitimate desires through dhārmic means, but change the attitude toward the result.

The key instruction is sarvakarmaphalatyāgam kuru — renounce the results of all actions. This does not mean physically throwing away the result. It means mentally offering the result to Bhagavān first, and then receiving it back as Bhagavān’s prasāda. If we build a house, we dedicate it to Bhagavān and live in it as Bhagavān’s gift. If we receive food, clothing, success, or family joy, we first recognize it as prasāda.

Even sakāma karma can become karma-yoga when the result is received as Bhagavān’s prasāda. Ordinary selfish action does not purify because selfishness itself is impurity. But when the result is offered to Bhagavān and received with prasāda-buddhi, even such action slowly purifies the mind. From this first step, we gradually grow into niṣkāma karma, then upāsanā, and eventually jñāna-yoga.