Bhagavad Gita Verse 16, Chapter 9

aham kraturaham yajnyaha svadhaahamahamaushadham |
mantrohamahamevaajyamamagniraham hutam || 16 ||
 
I am the vedic ritual, I am the sacrifice, I am the oblation, I am the herb, I am the chant, I am the butter, I am the fire and I am the act of offering.
 
aham : I am
kratuhu : vedic ritual
yajnyaha : sacrifice
svadhaa : oblation
aushadham : herb
mantraha : chant
aajyam : butter
agnihi : fire
hutam : act of offering
 
Shri Krishna begins to enumerate several opportunities to see Ishvara in our life. It is not enough to consider Ishvara as a finite resident in a picture or an idol. We should be able to incorporate Ishvara in all aspects of our lives. In this shloka, Shri Krishna emphasizes work as a connection to Ishvara by saying that Ishvara is present within all aspects of action.
 
During the time of the Mahabharata war, Vedic rituals were a part and parcel of life and were well understood by all. To that end, Shri Krishna asks Arjuna to view Ishvara in each and every aspect of the vedic ritual. Since such rituals comprise herbs, butter, chanting, fire, and offering of oblations, Shri Krishna says that Ishvara is present in all of them. Arjuna would have had no trouble in ensuring that Ishvara was ever present in such a ritual after he heard this shloka.
 
We, however, lack exposure to such rituals, and therefore we adapt this shloka towards any action that we perform daily. For example, if we are cooking a meal for our family, we can see Ishvara in the cooking flame, in the spices, in the vegetables, in the oil, in the knife and so on. Or if we spend a lot of time creating documents on the computer, then we can try to see Ishvara in the laptop, the mouse, the word document, the browser and so on.
 
Shri Krishna, by redefining action as worship of Ishvara, does not demarcate when and who can worship Ishvara. Sant Kabirdas was a cobbler and Arjuna was a warrior. But both of them could access Ishvara without leaving their respective professions. We have the opportunity to do the very same thing. It is our attitude while performing our work which is most important.
 
Further means to access Ishvara are provided next.