THE HOLY GITA, CHAPTER4, JNANA KARMA SANYASA YOGA OR THE YOGA OF RENUNCIATION OF ACTION IN KNOWLEDGE OR THE WAY OF KNOWLEDGE, VERSE NUMBER 25

THE HOLY GITA

CHAPTER 4

JNANA KARMA SANYASA YOGA OR THE YOGA OF RENUNCIATION OF ACTION IN KNOWLEDGE OR THE WAY OF KNOWLEDGE:       

VERSE NUMBER 25:

Text in Transliteration:

daivam eva ‘pare yajnam yoginah paryupaasate

brahmaagnaav apare yajnam yajnenai ‘vo ‘pajuhvati

Text in English:

Some yogis perform sacrifices to Devas alone, while others offer the self as sacrifice by the self verily in the fire of Brahman.

COMMENTARY BY SWAMI SIDBHAVANANDA:

The Devas and Davis such as Ganesa, Subramanya, Ganga, Parvati, Lakshmi and Saraswati (individually  worshiped now as God and Goddess) are all facets of Brahman. Sacrifices and adoration done to them with devotion are conducive to spiritual growth. The senses are also called ‘devas’ because of their benign function. Sublimation of the senses is the sacrifice that certain sadhakas perform devoutly. Jivatman or the individual self is also termed yagna or sacrifice. Sacrifice, therefore, of the self by the self is to dedicate oneself to Iswara. It is surrendering the individual consciousness to the Cosmic Consciousness, even as the river re-enters the sea. Crucifying the ego, the apparent man becoming the real man—these are the other ways of expressing the same spiritual fact. This solemn act is verily jnana-yajna.

COMMENTARY BY DR.S.RADHAKRISHNAN:

Shankara interprets yajna in the second half of the verse as atman. “Others offer the self as self into the fire of Brahman.”

Those who conceive the Divine in various forms seek favours from them by performing the consecrated rites of action, while others offer all works to the Divine itself.

COMMENTARY BY SWAMI SIVANANDA:

Some Yogis who are devoted to karma Yoga perform sacrificial rites to the shining ones or Devas (gods). The second Yajna is Jnana-Yajna or wisdom sacrifice performed by those who are devoted to Jnana Yoga. The oblation in this sacrifice is the Self, Yajna here means Self. The Upadhis or limiting adjuncts such as the physical body, the mind, the intellect, etc., which are super-imposed on Brahman through ignorance are sublimated and the identity of the individual soul with the Supreme Soul or Brahman is realised. To sacrifice the self in Brahman is to know through direct cognition (Aparoksha Anubhuti) that the individual soul is identical with Brahman. This is the highest Yajna. Those who are established in Brahman, those who have realised their oneness with the Supreme Soul or Paramatma perform this kind of sacrifice. This is superior to all other sacrifices.

Comments by the blogger:

There are people who deny God or the existence of God. They live in denial and lead a negative life in the present incarnation. But God is Love personified. Even those who deny him in the present birth have to take births after birth till they reach our stage in the present birth or incarnation.

Then there are “faithful” people who believe in God but live for themselves. They are enamoured of the stanzas in the Karma Kanda of the Vedas and they try to increase their and their families’ wealth here and do every homam and Vedic sacrifice intended for longevity of life and great wealth and after death, for a heavenly life. They want to enjoy more in the heaven after their death. With that single-minded intention they perform sacrifices of all sorts. They perform sacrifices for their individual Moorthy called Devas.

Devas or the shining ones also mean the five senses. This is highly allegorical. We can do sacrifice by the senses of seeing, hearing, touching, smelling and eating. The saintly poet of Tamil Literature, Thiruvalluvar, has said two thousand years ago that those who do not look at others’ wife are great in their manhood! That act is a sacrifice in not seeing the others’ women with lust in heart. We can, likewise, perform sacrifice by the sense of hearing by hearing good things alone. And wherever bad things are being spoken to that kind of people would turn a deaf ear and leave the place. Tasting good food is all right. But by feeding the poor by restricting one’s needs of food and acts of austerities and wow that include denial of food for oneself on a particular day or occasion, and deliberately denying food items that enslaves one to that sense are all acts of sacrifices. Like this sacrifices are possible through denying senses to feast on the sense objects.

And the greatest sacrifice is Atmanivedanam or sacrifice of one’s self in the knowledge of Brahman and become one with Him.

Since it is not possible for me, I have to assume it is not possible for the majority of my readers.

So what do we do?

We do sacrifices through a denial or sense object to senses and become staunch devotees of the Lord and take to the habit of studying one’s Scriptures along with Gita. Gita is a must for every human being irrespective of religion. Gita is for Arjnunan alone. It is not for the Hindus alone. Like Thiruvalluar’s Precepts in Tamil Literature, Bhagavat Gita is for the entire humanity. So we must make a faithful and devout study of Gita everyday.