Chapter XVII · Śloka 4
Śrī Kṛṣṇa uvāca
यजन्ते सात्त्विका देवान्यक्षरक्षांसि राजसाः |
प्रेतान्भूतगणांश्चान्ये यजन्ते तामसा जनाः ||
प्रेतान्भूतगणांश्चान्ये यजन्ते तामसा जनाः ||
yajante sāttvikā devān yakṣa-rakṣāṃsi rājasāḥ |
pretān bhūta-gaṇāṃś cānye yajante tāmasā janāḥ ||
pretān bhūta-gaṇāṃś cānye yajante tāmasā janāḥ ||
Those in sattva worship the gods; those in rajas worship yakṣas and rākṣasas; others in tamas worship the spirits of the dead and ghosts.
The deity one gravitates toward in worship is a diagnostic: it reveals which level of being is active in the worshiper. What one worships, one also participates in — the nature of the deity shapes the worshiper over time.