Commentary on the Bhagavadgita : 10.1 - Swami Krishnananda

 

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Friday,  July 16, 2021. 8:02. PM.
Discourse-10. The Fifth Chapter Begins: Knowledge and Action are One -1.
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Chapter-4 of Gita : Slokas- 25 to 30.( 6 nos )

1.

daivam evāpare yajñaṁ yoginaḥ paryupāsate

brahmāgnāvapare yajñaṁ yajñenaivopajuvhati (4.25)

2.

śrotrādīnīndriyāṇyanye saṁyamāgniṣu juvhati

śabdādīn viṣayān anya indriyāgniṣu juvhati (4.26)

3.

sarvāṇīndriyakarmāṇi prāṇakarmāṇi cāpare

ātmasaṁyamayogāgnau juvhati jñānadīpite (4.27)

4.

dravyayajñās tapoyajñā yogayajñās tathāpare

svādhyāyajñānayajñāś ca yatayaḥ saṁśitavratāḥ (4.28)

5.

apāne juvhati prāṇaṁ prāṇe’pānaṁ tathāpare

prāṇāpānagatī ruddhvā prāṇāyāmaparāyaṇāḥ (4.29)

6.

apare niyatāhārāḥ prāṇān prāṇeṣu juvhati

sarve’pyete yajñavido yajñakṣapitakalmaṣāḥ (4.30)

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In these Slokas from the Fourth Chapter are further details as to actually putting the spirit of yajna into practice in daily life. We have heard a lot about yajna, sacrifice, in the earlier chapters. We envisaged, in a philosophical light, what yajna, or sacrifice, is. Now in a very down-to-earth, practical way we are told how we can practise spiritual sadhana as a yajna, or a sacrifice, and what the methods of actually manifesting yajna in our daily performance are.

Varieties are the ways of the daily performance of yajna. Some people offer everything, including themselves, to the gods in heaven. They worship Brahma, Vishnu, Siva, Ganesha, Devi, Durga, Surya. Every day there is a dedication of oneself in an act of submission and surrender, through prayers offered by way of Veda mantras or verses from the Puranas and the epics, or from the Tantra and Agama Shastras. The gods are worshipped according to the injunctions that are given to us mostly in the Agama Shastra, which is a scripture dealing with the rituals of worship.

We may have seen people worshipping gods in a large public temple or worshipping a little image kept in front of them in their own house—a Siva linga, or Vishnu’s image, or Surya’s sphatika, or whatever it is. They perform varieties of entertainment to the god who comes to their house as a royal guest.

Actually, the ways of worship in temples, particularly in large temples of public worship, are similar to the ways in which we receive a king into our house. Suppose we are informed that tomorrow the emperor is paying a visit to our house. What do we do? There are a series of things that we do. We clean the premises, and make everything tidy. We arrange a beautiful seat for him. We receive him with honour and say, “Please be seated.” Afterwards, in Indian tradition, we have to wash his feet. This system may not be there in the West, but in India one of the important gestures of reception given to an honoured guest is to offer him a very comfortable seat and wash his feet. Afterwards we enquire how he is and whether there is anything we can do for him, and then offer him something to eat or drink, give him some clothing or jewels, and place before him fruit and all the delicious dishes that we have prepared. We wave a sacred light before him, called arati, and then calmly sit and enquire about his welfare. We serve him a meal, and afterwards—very, very honourably—we bid him farewell. This is what is done in worship in very large temples like Tirupati, though they do not go into all these details in small temples.

God comes to us as an emperor, and He comes every day by way of invocation. After some time, we bid Him farewell; and so the next day, we have to invite him again. After bidding a guest farewell, the person leaves. Every day this gorgeous reception is given to the honoured guest who is God; and finally, we offer ourselves: I am Thine.

To be continued ....

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