Longing for, desiring, the success of actions, the ripening of their fruit, men worship the deities here in this world, Indra, Agni and the rest. So the scripture, 'whoever worships another deity, thinking the deity is one and he himself another, does not know; he is like an animal for the gods' (Bṛhadāraṇyaka 1.4.10). For those who sacrifice to separate deities, longing for fruit, the success born of action comes quickly, swiftly, in the world of men. By the qualification 'quickly, in the world of men', the Blessed Lord shows that there is a winning of the fruit of action in other worlds too; the distinction is that the actions of class and stage of life belong to the world of men, and for those eligible for them the success of their fruit comes quickly. Why is the eligibility for the actions of class and stage of life confined to the world of men and not found in other worlds? Or rather: it was said that men endowed with the divisions of class and stage of life follow My path in every way; why is it that they follow Your path alone, by rule, and no one else's? He says.

All men whatever, craving the fruit of their actions, worship, propitiate, the deities Indra and the rest according to scripture. But no one, with no eye to the fruit, worships Me, the enjoyer of all sacrifices, who am the inner self of Indra and the other deities. Why so? Because the success born of action, a son, cattle, food, and the rest, comes swiftly, in this very world of men. The word 'world of men' is meant to point also to heaven and the other worlds. For all worldly men, being without discernment because the endless heap of sin set going from beginningless time is unexhausted, craving swift fruit, do all their actions as mere worship of the deities Indra and the rest, for the sake of a son, cattle, food, heaven, and the like; but no one whose heart is wearied of transmigration, a seeker of liberation, undertakes the discipline of action of the character described, which is the worship of Me. This is the meaning. The Lord states the cause of the destruction of the sin that obstructs the undertaking of the discipline of action.

This is a brief sub-gloss. For a fuller reading of this verse, see Madhusūdana, Śaṅkara, or Rāmānuja above.

Why do they follow My path? Because the success is swift, and it is for that very reason that fruit is gained, as the scripture says, 'therefore they are winners of wealth' (Chandogya Upanishad 1.7.6).