BHAGAVAD-GITA 4:25

[Guest guest]

what a clear concise explanation of so many debated philosophies. Thank

you so much for reminding me of it. All glories to your service.

bhaktijan das

[Guest guest]

BHAGAVAD-GITA 4:25

 

daivam evapare yajnam

yoginah paryupasate

brahmagnav apare yajnam

yajnenaivopajuhvati

 

WORD FOR WORD

 

daivam--in worshiping the demigods; eva--like this; apare--some

others; yajnam--sacrifices; yoginah--mystics; par yupasate--worship

perfectly; brahma--of the Absolute Truth; agnau--in the fire;

apare--others; yajnam--sacrifice; yajnena--by sacrifice; eva--thus;

upajuhvati--offer.

 

TRANSLATION

 

Some yogis perfectly worship the demigods by offering different

sacrifices to them, and some of them offer sacrifices in the fire of

the Supreme Brahman.

 

PURPORT

 

As described above, a person engaged in discharging duties in Krsna

consciousness is also called a perfect yogi or a first-class mystic.

But there are others also, who perform similar sacrifices in the

worship of demigods, and still others who sacrifice to the Supreme

Brahman, or the impersonal feature of the Supreme Lord. So there are

different kinds of sacrifices in terms of different categories. Such

different categories of sacrifice by different types of performers

only superficially demark varieties of sacrifice. Factually sacrifice

means to satisfy the Supreme Lord, Visnu, who is also known as Yajna.

All the different varieties of sacrifice can be placed within two

primary divisions: namely, sacrifice of worldly possessions and

sacrifice in pursuit of transcendental knowledge. Those who are in

Krsna consciousness sacrifice all material possessions for the

satisfaction of the Supreme Lord, while others, who want some

temporary material happiness, sacrifice their material possessions to

satisfy demigods such as Indra, the sun-god, etc. And others, who are

impersonalists, sacrifice their identity by merging into the existence

of impersonal Brahman. The demigods are powerful living entities

appointed by the Supreme Lord for the maintenance and supervision of

all material functions like the heating, watering and lighting of the

universe. Those who are interested in material benefits worship the

demigods by various sacrifices according to the Vedic rituals. They

are called bahv-isvara-vadi, or believers in many gods. But others,

who worship the impersonal feature of the Absolute Truth and regard

the forms of the demigods as temporary, sacrifice their individual

selves in the supreme fire and thus end their individual existences by

merging into the existence of the Supreme. Such impersonalists

sacrifice their time in philosophical speculation to understand the

transcendental nature of the Supreme. In other words, the fruitive

workers sacrifice their material possessions for material enjoyment,

whereas the impersonalist sacrifices his material designations with a

view to merging into the existence of the Supreme. For the

impersonalist, the fire altar of sacrifice is the Supreme Brahman, and

the offering is the self being consumed by the fire of Brahman. The

Krsna conscious person, like Arjuna, however, sacrifices everything

for the satisfaction of Krsna, and thus all his material possessions

as well as his own self--everything--is sacrificed for Krsna. Thus, he

is the first-class yogi; but he does not lose his individual

existence.

 

Copyright 1983 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. Used with

permission.