अफलाकाङ्क्षिभिर्यज्ञो विधिदृष्टो य इज्यते | यष्टव्यमेवेति मनः समाधाय स सात्त्विकः ||
aphalākāṅkṣibhir yajño vidhi-dṛṣṭo ya ijyate yaṣṭavyam eveti manaḥ samādhāya sa sāttvikaḥ
Translation
Sacrifice performed according to scriptural injunction, by those who desire no fruit, with the steady conviction that 'sacrifice must be performed' — that is sattvic.
Interpretation
Sattvic yajna: performed correctly (vidhi-drishtah — according to proper method), by those who seek no personal reward (aphalakankshabhih — desireless of results), with the settled conviction that it is simply right to offer (yashtavyam eva iti — 'sacrifice must be performed, period'). This is action as dharma, as offering, as the natural expression of a consciousness that recognizes itself as part of a larger whole. Sattvic sacrifice is not transaction (I give to get) but gift (I give because giving is right and good and complete in itself).