Nevertheless, the problem of Karma, as the Gita itself admits (4.16), is one of the most difficult problems we meet with in the whole range of the philosophy and psychology of religion. Whether the effects of Karma live beyond the death of a man in the form of Apūrva or Sancita and become the cause of a future life for him or not, will be the concern of speculative philosophers. To us, what is important in the present context are its direct and concrete effects on the life of a man on this side of death, and its power of moulding the life of a man for good or for evil. Our task at present is to show how the Karma of a man is able to promote his ethico-spiritual well-being in all its stages, and how, instead of being a dead weight on him, it begins to make his life more and more valuable as it comes in relation with the other aspects of spiritual life. Of course, left to itself, it has its own defects and limitations; but these can be overcome when it is brought in connection with morality, bhakti, jñāna and dhyāna. The earliest such attempt in the direction of both morality and religion was the ritualistic aspect of Karma. The various deities were to be propitiated for having in return rain, harvest, progeny and wealth. Though this was a crude form of worship, a sort of bargain, as if, between gods and men, it soon developed into a very important institution known as Sacrifice (Yajña), the basic moral principle of which is self-denial. So, instead of outright denouncing the Yajña, the Gita has eulogised it by saying that it is a ‘wish-yielding cow’, and that like penance and charity it is the means of purifying the soul (3.10; 18.5). We are told that actions which are not meant for some kind of sacrifice bind a man, and that while those who eat the food which is left after the sacrifice is performed become free from sins, those who cook for themselves only eat nothing but sin (3.9-13). In its praise of the sacrifice, the Gita goes a step further and connects it with the Brahman itself, and thereby raises the dignity of works. The rituals of sacrifice are ordained by the Vedas; and the Vedas, in their turn, have their origin in the immutable Brahman. Thus, it wishes to show that the sacrificial works are raised to eminence by being connected not only with gods but also with the Vedas and the Brahman (3.14-15).