Category Archives: chapter 3 verse 13

Bhagavad Gita Verse 14, Chapter 3

22 Thursday Dec 2011

Posted by in 3.14, anna, annaat, bhavanti, bhavati, bhootaani, chapter 3 verse 13, karmasamudhbhavaha, parjanyaat, parjanyah, sambhavaha, yajnaad, yajnah

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annaadbhavanti bhootaani parjanyaadannasambhavaha |
yajnaadbhavati parjanyo yajnah karmasamudhbhavaha || 14 ||

From food are all beings created, from rain, food is created. Yajna gives birth to rain, and rain is born out of action.

annaat : from food
bhavanti : is created
bhootaani : all beings
parjanyaat : from rain
anna : food
sambhavaha : is created
yajnaad : from yajna
bhavati : is created
parjanyah : rain
yajnah : yajna
karmasamudhbhavaha : is created from action

Shri Krishna illustrates how yajna is embedded within the fabric of the entire universe. If we interpret this shloka literally, it refers to Vedic rituals that were used to invoke the rain-gods. But if we want to go deeper, we have to interpret this shloka symbolically.

We have seen that action is an integral tendency of any object in the universe. Even a tiny atom is always acting. So when any group of organisms – plants, animals, humans – collectively work for the sake of a higher ideal, that is called yajna. The output of this yajna is an environment that is charged with the potential to create almost anything. This environment is symbolically called “rain” in this shloka. Finally, this rain or productive potential creates all kinds of objects that are useful to organisms. The shloka refers to these objects as “food”.

For instance, take a largely unknown area in northern California during World War II. Many scientists, lawyers, professors, business people came to this area with a higher ideal : to further the frontier of technology. Through their collective efforts, they created an environment which became conducive to technological innovation, which we now know as silicon valley. And silicon valley, even to this day, produces cutting edge products that benefit people around the world.

There are several such examples of environments born out of yajna: India’s freedom struggle, the economic success of Singapore, the entertainment industry in Bombay and so on.

So the message here is that if people come together to work towards a higher ideal, it is a guarantee that their efforts will be successful.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 13, Chapter 3

21 Wednesday Dec 2011

Posted by in 3.13, aatmakaaranaat, agham, bhunjate, chapter 3 verse 13, kilbishaih, muchyante, paapah, pachanti, santah, sarva, te, tu, yajnashishtaashinah, ye

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yajnashishtaashinah santo muchyante sarvakilbishaih |
bhunjate te tvagham paapaa ye pachantyaatmakaaranaat || 13 ||

Those wise individuals who consume the remains of yajna, they are liberated from all sins. But those sinful ones who cook only for themselves, they consume only sin.

yajnashishtaashinah : remains of yajna
santah : wise individuals
muchyante : are liberated
sarva : from all
kilbishaih : sins
bhunjate : consume
te : they
tu : but
agham : sin
paapaah : sinful ones
ye : those
pachanti : cook
aatmakaaranaat : for themselves

In the previous shloka, Shri Krishna began the topic of the three levels of action. We saw that in the first level, the individual does not perform any action and only consumes. In this shloka, Shri Krishna explains the second and third levels of action.

Selfish action is the second level of action. In this level, the individual only thinks about himself. His vision is very narrow and limited. When this individual works in a team, his only thought is : how much of the result can be kept for myself? He also treats everyone he works with as his competitors. For him to win, they have to lose. Shri Krishna says that such individuals “cook only for themselves” and “consume only sin”.

The third level and highest level of action is that of selfless action. The individual who works selflessly seldom thinks about himself. His vision is broad : he is always thinking about how to act such that his family will benefit, his employer will benefit, his nation will benefit and so on. He always treats others with respect, and as partners in collectively achieving the highest possible goal. Shri Krishna says that by working in this highest level of action, such “wise individuals” are “liberated from all sins”.

Another mark of this individual that he treats everything that he possesses as materials to be used in a yajna. Which means that he does not consider anything as “mine” – everything belongs to the higher ideal (family, company, nation etc). So therefore, he is more than happy to partake in what’s left after everyone else has consumed their share of the fruits of the yagna. Our natural tendency is to make a grab for our share and then let others worry about theirs. But this individual, keeping sight of the higher ideal at all times, ensures that others are taken care of before taking care of himself.

So what does this mean for us? When we perform any action every day, let us make an attempt to gauge the level of the action being performed by us. Is it selfish? selfless? or are we so lazy that we are not acting at all?