BHAGAVAD-GITA 9:26

[Guest guest]

BHAGAVAD-GITA 9:26

 

patram puspam phalam to yam

yo me bhaktya prayacchati

tad aham bhakty-upahrtam

asnami prayatatmanah

 

WORD FOR WORD

 

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--from 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

 

For the intelligent person, it is essential to be in Krsna

consciousness, engaged in the transcendental loving service of the

Lord, in order to achieve a permanent, blissful abode for eternal

happiness. The process of achieving such a marvelous result is very

easy and can be attempted even by the poorest of the poor, without any

kind of qualification. The only qualification required in this

connection is to be a pure devotee of the Lord. It does not matter

what one is or where one is situated. The process is so easy that even

a leaf or a little water or fruit can be offered to the Supreme Lord

in genuine love and the Lord will be pleased to accept it. No one,

therefore, can be barred from Krsna consciousness, because it is so

easy and universal. Who is such a fool that he does not want to be

Krsna conscious by this simple method and thus attain the highest

perfectional life of eternity, bliss and knowledge? Krsna wants only

loving service and nothing more. Krsna accepts even a little flower

from His pure devotee. He does not want any kind of offering from a

nondevotee. He is not in need of anything from anyone, because He is

self-sufficient, and yet He accepts the offering of His devotee in an

exchange of love and affection. To develop Krsna consciousness is the

highest perfection of life. Bhakti is mentioned twice in this verse in

order to declare more emphatically that bhakti, or devotional service,

is the only means to approach Krsna. No other condition, such as

becoming a brahmana. a learned scholar, a very rich man or a great

philosopher, can induce Krsna to accept some offering. Without the

basic principle of bhakti, nothing can induce the Lord to agree to

accept anything from anyone. Bhakti is never causal. The process is

eternal. It is direct action in service to the absolute whole.

 

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 one 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. 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 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

enables 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 Bhagavad-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.

 

Copyright 1983 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. Used with

permission.