Bhagavatgita adetailed study chapter17 Three kinds of faith

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7. ahaaro api sarvasya thriviDho bhavathi priyaH

 

yajnaH

thapaH thaThaa dhaanam theshaam bhedham imam

srNu

 

The

food liked is also of

three kinds and hear the difference in

yajna thapas and dhaana likewise.

 

The

food, yajna . austerity and acts of charity also differ according to the three

gunas.

 

8. aayuH

satthva balaarogya

sukhapreethi

vivirDhanaaH

 

rasyaaH

snigDhaaH sThiraa hrdhyaa

ahaaraa

saathvikapriyaaH

 

The sAttvik kind of food promotes longevity,

strength of mind, power, health, comfort

and pleasure and the food that is

delectable, oily, firm and appetizing are that which is enjoyed by people of

satthvik temperament.

 

The kind of food one eats determines their

character. annath bavanthi bhoothaani says the Lord (ch.3.14) Even among

animals we find that those which are carnivorous are fierce and raajasiK while

the herbivorous are sathvak. Those which eat impure things as the pigs do are

thamasik. Similar is the case with men.

 

The sathvik food consists of all fresh foods which are bland and they are not eaten in excess and

which promote physical and mental well being.

 

 

9.katvamlalavaNaathyushnaa

theekshNa rookshavidhaahinaH

 

aahaaraa

raajasasya ishtaa duhkhaSoka kaamapradhaaH

 

The food which is excessively bitter, sour, saltish,

hot, pungent, harsh, burning, which

causes pain and suffering and ill-health and which kindles passion and desire

is liked by the rajasik people.

 

Any

food that has strong taste is rajasik and eaten in excess produce ill health

and pain. Since they kindle the desire for them they are eaten in excess and

results in duhkha and Soka.

 

10.yaathayaamam gahtharasam poothi paryushitham cha

yath

 

Ucchishtamapi

cha ameDhyam bojanam thaamasapriyam

 

The ill-cooked, tasteless, smelling, decayed, refuse

and impure is the food that is eaten by thamasik people.

 

Food that is stale and impure is liked by the people

who are ignorant and lazy.

 

Gita does not tell anything about refrigerated and tinned food and it is left to our

discretion to classify them among the three kinds mentioned above!

 

 

11. aphalaakaankshibhiH yajnaH viDhidhrshto cha

ijyathe

 

Yashtavyam

eva ithi manaH samaaDhaaya sa saathvikaH

 

The sAthvik

yajna is the one which is done without expectation of fruit, aphalAkAnksha

and as enjoined in the scriptures with the resolve that it has to be done.

 

The yajna done by the saathvik people are not for

any personal gain but it is only for the welfare of the world and becaseu they

are enjoined in the sastras. So there is no palaakaanksha but done as a duty according to the varnasrama

dharma.

 

12.abhisanDhaaya thu phalamdhambhaarTham api chaiva

yath

 

Ijyathe bharathSreshTa

tham yajnam vidDhi raajasam

 

 

The rAjasik yajna, oh the best among the clan of

Bhartha, is the one undertaken with the expectation of result or for

ostentation.

 

All yajnas done with the expectation of fruit are

rajasik only, says Krishna because they are

performed out of desire for worldly things or at its best with the desire for

heaven. Hence it creates more karma and results in more births. These could also

be done for the sake of ostentation which is even worse as it only results in

arrogance and does not produce the result expected. Such people are the ones

described in the previous chapter as aasruik.

 

13.vizdhiheenam asrshtaannam manthraheenam

adhakshiNam

 

Sraddhaavirahitham yajnam thaamasam parichakshathe

 

 

The thAmasic is the one done without scriptural sanction,

with no offering of food, without proper chanting of manthras and without gifts to

the priests and without faith.

 

 

This

is exactly what was described in the previous chapter in sloka 16 as the one

done by the aasurik. In modern days we find that in many places the rituals

have become a matter of routine with the priests also becoming mercenary and the

householders treat the rituals as a necessary evil to be done with as quickly

as possible. It is better not to do the rituas at all rather than doing them

without the proper respect to the manthras and the injunctions in the sastras.

To give dhakshina or the gift to the priests and others if neglected or done

without respect does not bring any result