Patram pushpam phalam toyam

yo me bhaktya prayacchati

tad aham bhakty-upahrtam

asnami prayatatmanah

(Bhagavad Gita, 9:26)

What is the inner significance of the reference to the four kinds of offerings? Patram refers not to some kind of leaf, which is subject to withering. Your body is the leaf that has to be offered. Pushpam refers to the flower of your heart. Phalam refers to the fruit of your mind. And Toyam signifies the tears of joy flowing from the devotees eyes. These are to be offered to God.

When one offers these things to the Lord, he enters the state of the Over-Mind. This devotion, moreover, should not be a part-time exercise. It should be present all the time, through weal or woe, pleasure or pain. ‘Satatam yoginah,’ declares the Gita. The yogis are in constant communion with God. To be yogis in the morning, bhogis (lovers of food) at noon and rogis (victims of disease) in the evening are the ways of men today. The true devotee is immersed in the Lord all the time and performs all action as offerings to the Lord. (SSS Vol.26, pp.216-217)