HARMONY BY ACTION - SWAMI TATWANANDA

[Guest guest]

ACT IN THE SPIRIT OF YAGNA

 

Recognition as a Cosmic Being-3

 

The Cosmic spirit, which is the womb of all creation, brought together

mankind and the potential act of Sacrifice (yagna). Man as such is a cosmic

entity, related and sustained by the benevolence of the many operative forces

of the elemental world and other cosmic beings. There is concentrated

coordination and interaction of the cosmic forces taking place constantly in

this world for the welfare of the created.

 

Our bodies are but modifications of what we eat. Food came from the world of

minerals as vegetables, grains, etc. Rain is the cause for the vegetable

kingdom to flourish and thereby provide the necessary nourishment for all

living beings. It is the interaction of the sun, moon, winds, oceans, rivers,

mountains and many more such natural phenomena that give us the rain. The

ceaseless activity of the cosmic forces, which came into being spontaneously

from the very beginning of the creation "unasked," is called "yagna" in a

wider sense.

 

The jiva is a product of many such yagna. The psychophysical realms of the

jiva being matter, both in the physical and subtle aspects, are governed by

the relative principles of Nature. The "I" in the jiva, which is the

all-pervasive Atma, however, is not governed by any such factor.

"Existence-Consciousness," the "I," is One and Independent and precedes all

that is revealed as existing - the relative "matter-energy" realms.

 

Matter, which is a composite structure, is dependent and unconscious by

nature. However, as it evolves it is capable of reflecting its basis,

Consciousness, and thus the evolved matter structure "appears" as conscious.

The jiva is a conscious entity who comes into being by the reflection of

Consciousness in the highly evolved matter realms that constitutes the

psychophysical structure.

 

The Atma-sadhak must learn to discriminate between the Real (Atma) and the

"not-real" (matter) and thus recognize his freedom as Atma and equally

understand the dependency upon the cosmic forces, which govern the

psychophysical matter realms. Recognition of the interdependency as a jiva

makes the individual a sensitive human being. There is appreciation towards

all the cosmic forces and awareness that all comes from Esvara alone.

 

As an Atma-sadhak, one is called upon to invoke the "potential sacrifice" of

the cosmic forces, which is active in satisfying the needs and welfare of the

created, and also the "potency to sacrifice from within oneself" for the

benevolence of others. This mutual "offering and sharing" connotes the spirit

of yagna. Invocation can be by one's own appreciative lifestyle based on

offering and sharing what one has and can do for others - "unasked" - as

Nature does.

(Excerpted from Swamiji's talks on Karma Yoga-published as harmony by

Action.1989)