Bhagavat Gita a detailed study-chapter4The truth about action

February 3, 2009

28. dhravyayajnaa thapoyajnaa yogayajnaaH thaThaa apare

svaaDhyaayajnaanayajnaaH cha yathayaH

samSithavrathaaH

Others, self controlled and firm of resolve, perform the sacrifice of material objects or austerities or yoga, while others offer their scriptural study and knowledge.

Dravya yajna which normally means the yajna as it is commonly understood, that is offering material objects in the fire chanting manthras, it also includes sacrifice of any material objects including money, done for the purpose of charity. Spending rightfully earned money, (nyaayathaH dhravyaaNi, says Ramanuja) for worship of the Lord or for the welfare of the needy and in holy places , all this comes under dhrayayajna. This is mostly done by householders, those who are in the grahastasrama,

Thapoyajna means the austerities like vrathas, like ekadasi vrata which could be done by householders and rigorous disciplines undertaken by the ascetics, which only those in vanarastha asrama, could perform. When any austerity is done as an offering to the Lord and not for selfish purposes it becomes a yajna.

Yogayajna is differently interpreted by the acharyas like Ramanuja and Sankara. While Ramanuja takes it to be an aspect of karmayoga only because of the contexr, (iha yogasabdhaH karmanishTaaprakaraNaath thadhvishayaH) namely, devoting one self to making pilgrimages to holy places, Sankara takes it to means ashtangayoga. As yoga without context denotes only ashtangayoga and also because Krishna proceeds to talk about pranayama etc. subsequently which is a part of ashtanga yoga it would be relevant to examines what the term ashtangayoga means.

It is so called because of its eight angas , limbs. They are, Yama, Niyama, Aasana, Praanaayasma, Prathyaahaara, Dhaarana, Dhyaana and Samaadhi.

1. Yama - Ahimsaastheyabrahmacharyaaprigrahaa yamaah – This consists of ahimsa, nonviolence mental and physical, sathyam, truthfulness in thought, word and deed, astheya, not appropriating something that belongs to others, brahmacharya, celibacy, aparigraha, non- possession.

2.Niyama – souchasanthoshathapasvaadhyaayesvarapranidhaanaani niyamaah - Soucha, purity of body and mind, santhosha, contentment and joy, thapas, spiritual disciplines like upavasa and vratha, svaadhyaaya, learning the scriptures conducive to salvation, isvarapranidhaana, worship of the Lord.

3. Aasana - Sthirasukhamaasanam – A comfortable posture , but not too comfortable to induce sleep! The yoga discipline prescribes the kind of posture in which the head, neck and spine are in a straight line and the eyes looking towards the nose, neither open nor closed.

4.Praanaayama – Svaasaprchvaasayorgathivichchedhah – Breath-control exercises.

5.Prathyaahaara - Indhriyaanaam prathyaahaarah - Withdrawing the senses from the sense objects and merge them in the consciousness of the Self.

6. Dhaarana - Desabandhah chitthasya dhaaranaa.- concentrating on a particular object for a long time is dhaaranaa. In this context it means concentrating on Brahman.

7. Dhyaanam - Thathra prathyayaikathaanatha dhyaanam – Dhaaranaa continued for long duration of time with continuous meditation like the trickling of oil, thaoladhaaraavat, is dhyaana.

8. Samaadhi - When the object of meditation, the act of meditation and the meditator, all the three merge into one it is called Samaadhi. Here the consciousness that `I am meditating' is absent and there is only the presence of the object of meditation and nothing else.

SvaaDhyaaya jnaanayajna refers to those who do the study of Vedas and sastras and acquire knowledge as an offering to the Supreme self, meaning, only with he purpose of attaining the Lord and not for self aggrandizement.

Since most of these disciplines come under the yajnas mentioned in this sloka and the pranayama being mentioned separately, it is not irrelevant to interpret the term yogayajna as Ramanuja does.

All these seekers are termed as yathayaH, striving and samSithavrathaaH, of firm determination.