Bhagavad-gita As It Is (Ch 9)

[Guest guest]

Bhagavad-gita As It Is (Ch 9) The Most Confidential Knowledge

 

Text 26

pat ram puspam phalam toyam

yo me bhaktya prayacchati

tad aham bhakty-upahrtam

asnami prayatatmanah

 

patram-a leaf; puspam-a flower; phalam-a fruit; toyam-water; yah-

whoever; me-unto Me; bhaktya-with devotion: prayacchati-offers; tat-

that; aham-I; bhakti-upahrtam-offered in devotion; asnami-accept;

prayata-atmanah-of one in pure consciousness.

 

TRANSLATION

 

If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or

water, I will accept it.

 

PURPORT

 

Here Lord Krsna having established that He is the only enjoyer, the

primeval Lord, and the real object of all sacrificial offerings,

reveals what types of sacrifices He desires to be offered. If one

wishes to engage in devotional service to the Supreme in order to be

purified and to reach the goal of life-the transcendental loving

service of God-then he should find out what the Lord desires of him.

One who loves Krsna will give Him whatever He wants, and he avoids

offering anything which is undesirable or unasked for. Thus, meat,

fish and eggs should not be offered to Krsna If He desired such

things as offerings, He would have said so. Instead He clearly

requests that a leaf, fruit, flowers and water be given to Him, and

He says of this offering, "I will accept it." Therefore, we should

understand that He will not accept meat, fish and eggs. Vegetables,

grains, fruits, milk and water are the proper foods for human beings

and are prescribed by Lord Krsna Himself. Whatever else we eat cannot

be offered to Him, since He will not accept it. Thus we cannot be

acting on the level of loving devotion if we offer such foods.

In the Third Chapter, verse thirteen, Sri Krsna explains that only

the remains of sacrifice are purified and fit for consumption by

those who are seeking advancement in life and release from the

clutches of the material entanglement. Those who do not make an

offering of their food, He says in the same verse, are said to be

eating only sin. In other words, their every mouthful is simply

deepening their involvement in the complexities of material nature.

But preparing nice, simple vegetable dishes, offering them before the

picture or Deity of Lord Krsna and bowing down and praying

for Him to accept such a humble offering, enable one to advance

steadily in life, to purify the body, and to create fine brain

tissues which will lead

to clear thinking. Above all, the offering should be made with an

attitude of love. Krsna has no need of food, since He already

possesses everything that be, yet He will accept the offering of one

who desires to please him in that way. The important element, in

preparation, in serving and in offering, is to act with love for

Krsna.

The impersonalist philosophers, who wish to maintain that the

Absolute Truth is without senses, cannot comprehend this verse of

Bhagavad-gita. To them, it is either a metaphor or proof of the

mundane character of Krsna, the speaker of the Gita. But, in

actuality, Krsna, the Supreme Godhead, has senses, and it is stated

that His senses are interchangeable; in other words, one sense can

perform the function of any other. This is what it means to say that

Krsna is absolute. Lacking senses, He could hardly be considered full

in all opulences. In the Seventh Chapter, Krsna has explained that He

impregnates the living entities into material nature. This is done by

His looking upon material nature. And so in this instance, Krsna's

hearing the devotee's words of love in offering foodstuffs is wholly

identical with His eating and actually tasting. This point should be

emphasized: because of His absolute position, His hearing is wholly

identical with His eating and tasting. Only the devotee, who accepts

Krsna as He describes Himself, without interpretation, can understand

that the Supreme Absolute Truth can eat food and enjoy it.

 

 

TEXT 27

 

 

yat karosi yad asnasi

yaj juhosi dadasi yat

yat tapasyasi kaunteya

tat kurusva mad arpanam

 

yat-what; karosi-you do; yat- whatever; asnasi-you eat; yat-

whatever; juhosi-you offer; dadasi-you give away; yat-whatever; yat-

whatever; tapasyasi-austerities you perform; kaunteya-O son of Kunti;

tat- that; kurusva-make; mat-unto Me; arpanam-offering.

 

TRANSLATION

 

O son of Kunti, all that you do, all that you eat, all that you

offer and give away, as well as all austerities that you may perform,

should be done as an offering unto Me.

 

PURPORT

 

Thus, it is the duty of everyone to mold his life in such a way that

he will not forget Krsna in any circumstance. Everyone has to work

for maintenance of his body and soul together, and Krsna recommends

herein that one should work for Him. Everyone has to eat something to

live; therefore he should accept the remnants of foodstuffs offered

to Krsna Any civilized man has to perform some religious ritualistic

ceremonies; therefore Krsna recommends, "Do it for Me," and this is

called arcana. Everyone has a tendency to give something in charity;

Krsna says, "Give it to Me," and this means that all surplus money

accummulated should be utilized in furthering the Krsna consciousness

movement. Nowadays people are very much inclined to the meditational

process, which is not practical in this age, but if anyone practices

meditating on Krsna twenty-four hours by chanting the Hare Krsna

mantra round his beads, he is surely the greatest yogi, as

substantiated by the Sixth Chapter of Bhagavad- Gita.

 

All Translations Are done By His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada

 

Your Servant Jaya Kesava Dasa