Bhagavad Gita 3.12
इष्टान्भोगान्हि वो देवा दास्यन्ते यज्ञभाविताः । तैर्दत्तानप्रदायैभ्यो यो भुङ्क्ते स्तेन एव सः ॥
iṣṭān bhogān hi vo devā dāsyante yajña-bhāvitāḥ | tair dattān apradāyaibhyo yo bhuṅkte stena eva saḥ ||
Translation
The gods nourished by sacrifice will give you the desired enjoyments. He who enjoys what is given by them, without offering anything in return, is verily a thief.
Reflection
Where have you been eating from a cycle you have not contributed to?
Read this verse in its chapter: Chapter Three
Stena eva saḥ. He is verily a thief. The verse is sharp by Gita standards. To take and not return is theft, plain. Not metaphor, not moral suggestion: the same word used for ordinary stealing. The man who lives only on the in-breath, who eats what others grew and drinks what fell from clouds he did not call, and offers nothing back, has been operating on stolen goods. The verse is not asking for grand ritual. It is naming a posture. The teacher has narrowed the question of action to a question of orientation: are you turning the wheel or only riding on it?