CH 4, Verse 25

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Chapter 4

Verse 25

 

Daivam ev'aapare yajna.n yoginaH paryupaasate /

brahm'aagnau apare yajnaM yajnen'aiv'opajuhvati //

 

Some yogis perform sacrifices to Gods alone while

others offer the Self as sacrifice by the Self in the

fire of Brahman alone.

 

LESSONS FROM BHAGAVAD GITA – 38

As taught by Parama Pujya Sri Swamiji

Compiled by: Swami Dattananda

Bhakti Mala, January 1996

 

The man who sees the divinity within him and in

everything around him is a realized soul. He

transcends the delusive world. Such a man performs

work in the spirit of yajna (sacrifice). He does not

seek anything in return. And so he is free from the

law of action and reaction. To him there is only one

reality in this world and that is Atman or Brahman.

He sees this Reality pervading everything. This

Reality is the cosmic Existence, the unchangeable

Divine spirit.

 

A man’s mind, senses and the whole body may be

working. But he who sees Brahman everywhere cannot

have the feelings of agency to the performance of any

work. This understanding is never lost for the man of

realization. While making gifts, he does not have the

idea that he is the giver and somebody else is the

receiver. He feels that the giver is Brahman, the

receiver is Brahman, and the act of giving is also

Brahman. But he who works or gives away something

with the thought of receiving something is bound by

the law of action and reaction. He cannot realize the

divinity residing in his heart and pervading

everything.

 

But for the realized sages, everything is God. The

food that they eat is the manifestation of divine

power. The fire within them that digests food is the

manifestation of the same power. The act of eating is

also the expression of the same divinity and the eater

is also divine. Thus they see only divinity in every

action. As such, they have transcended all laws of

action and reaction. This is the highest stage one

should try to attain.

 

But those who are desirous of getting fruits of their

actions, perform actions with the sense of ‘I and

mine.’ “I am the doer and I must get this result. I

want to enjoy life.” With this motivation when they

worship, they get the desired result. They pray to

the minor spirits like Devas and Yakshas to obtain the

quicker results. When a man worships a spirit and it

has the power to give him the desired object, then the

result will be quicker. So people worship the minor

Gods and spirits. But these spirits cannot give the

highest and the eternal Bliss. Supreme Bliss can be

obtained only by worshipping the supreme Godhead.

 

Offering of prayers or some objects to one’s deity is

considered as sacrifice (yajna.) But the highest

kind of sacrifice is to see the divinity pervading

everywhere and in everything. Therefore, in the 24th

verse (of Chapter 4,) it is said that he alone

realizes Brahman to whom in a sacrifice the act of

offering is Brahman, the oblation is Brahman, offered

by Brahman, in the fire of Brahman. That means in

this sacrifice, the performer does not have feelings

of distinction between himself and the deity that is

propitiated and the things offered to the deity. This

is the higher type of sacrifice as it directly leads

to God-realization.

 

There are other types of sacrifices. “Some yogis

perform sacrifices to Gods alone while others offer

the Self as sacrifice by the Self in the fire of

Brahman alone” (Chapter 4, Verse 25).

 

Some yogis perform sacrifices to Gods like Siva,

Vishnu, Ganesha, Subramania and Goddesses like

Lakshmi, Parvati, Durga, etc. These Gods and

Goddesses are all different facets of the same

Brahman. Therefore prayers and sacrifice to them

leads to one’s spiritual growth.

 

Some other Yogis offer their individual Self into the

Brahman fire, the receptacle of oblation.

Metaphysically this individual Self is the Supreme

Brahman. But it is conditioned by the adjuncts like

body, mind and intellect. Some Yogis cast it in the

fire of Brahman. The sacrifice in the fire means the

perception of the conditioned individual Self as the

Supreme Brahman, devoid of all conditions or adjuncts.

The idea is that after divesting the individual Self

of its limiting adjuncts like body, mind and

intellect, it is found to be the Brahman, the Supreme

Self. This is the sacrifice or Yagna referred to

here.

 

 

 

 

 

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