Bhagavat Gita a detailed study-chapter4The truth about action

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29.apaane juhvathi praaNam praaNe apaanam thaThaa apare

praaNaapaana gathee rudDhvaa

praaNaayaamaparaayaNaaH

 

Some sacrifice the inward breath into outgoing breath and others as vice versa. Some intent of pranayama, control both inward and outgoing breath.

 

This sloka describes the pranayama which is elevated to the status of yajna. The first type of breath control refers to rechaka, emptying breath, and the second to pooraka, filling with breath and the third to kumbaka, holding breath respectively.

 

30. apare niyathaahaaraaH praaNaan praaNeshu juhvathi

sarve api ethe yajnavidhaH yajna kshapitha kalmashaaH

Others with restricted diet, sacrifice the vital breath in the vital breath. All these are conversant with the mode of sacrifice and have their sins washed off by their yajna.

 

The main idea in these two slokas is that even to practice pranayama with detachment towards the result and done as karmayoga with the sole intention of liberation, is yajna only.

 

The technique of pranayama cannot be explained in detail as it should be learnt through a guru. But the general meaning of the slokas are as follows.

 

When the inward breath, prana is inhaled it merges in the apana which is situated at the base of the body. This is denoted as offering prana in apana, as in a fire. On the other hand when the outward breath apana is let out fully it merges in prana , which is mentioned as offering apana into the fire of prana.

 

When the breath is held it is the sacrifice of the pranas into the pranas because all the five pranas are stopped in their respective places.

 

The five pranas are, praaNa. the life breath, Apaana, which does the excretion, samaana, causing digestion, vyaana , which causes circulation and udhaana, the breath of evolution.

 

The word niyathaahaara , restricted diet, denotes the necessity of diet control for spiritual evolution. This is mentioned again in the fifth chapter as an important requisite of yoga.

 

All the different kinds of yajnas mentioned so far are extolled in the second half of the sloka 30. Those who perform all these yajnas are described as yajnavidhaH and yajnakshapitha kalmashaaH. They all know the meaning of yajna and perform all their actions with the spirit of yajna and hence their sins are washed away through the yajna.

 

31.yajnaSishtaamrtha bhujaH yaanthi brahma sanaathanam

na ayam loko asthi ayajnasya kuthH anyaH kurusatthama

 

Oh the greatest of kurus, those who partake the nectar of the remnants of a yajna attain the supreme self. Even this world is not for those who do no sacrifice. How could there be other world for them?

 

Unless all the actions are performed with the spirit of yajna and the result of actions are accepted as the prasadha or grace of the Lord and shared equally there is no way to get released from the bondage. On the other hand those who follow this discipline outlined above attain salvation.

 

The statement that those who do not do all their activities in the spirit of yajna do not enjoy this world and hence also the other world should be understood properly. By `this world' the experience as an embodied soul is meant. Unless one learns to act without selfish motive and as an offering to the Lord, all his actions are binding and will produce further births. Hence the other world, namely the freedom from bondage will not result from desire motivated actions.

 

But a question arises that we normally see the people who have no devotion or spiritual outlook but are out and out materialistic do prosper and enjoy everything in this world and those who act selflessly often suffer. This is the result of their past karma not necessarily in this birth but in the previous birth. Present karma unless done with the spirit of yajna is bound to yield result but again not necessarily in this birth but may be in next birth. This holds true even for those who commit sin but are not punished and on the contrary have a good life.

 

Those who know the all the pleasures are transitory and often followed by suffering wish to be free from the bondage of karma and for those the yajnas specified in the foregoing slokas are prescribed.