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Category Archives: yajnyam

Bhagavad Gita Verse 13, Chapter 17

03 Friday May 2013

Posted by in 17.13, adakshinam, asrishtaannam, chapter 17 verse 13, mantraheenam, parichakshate, shraddhaavirahitam, taamasam, vidhiheenam, yajnyam

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vidhiheenamasrishtaannam mantraheenamadakshinam |
shraddhaavirahitam yajnyam taamasam parichakshate || 13 ||
 
They call that sacrifice to be taamasic which is contrary to scripture, in which no food is distributed, without chanting of hymns or donations to priests, and performed without faith.
 
vidhiheenam : contrary to scripture
asrishtaannam : without distribution of food
mantraheenam : without chanting of hymns
adakshinam : without donation to priests
shraddhaavirahitam : performed without faith
yajnyam : sacrifice
taamasam : taamasic
parichakshate : they call
 
Here, Shri Krishna describes the attitude of taamasic individuals towards action, using the symbolism of a sacrificial ritual once again. He says that taamasic attitude towards action totally disregards shaastra or scripture. Scripture refers to a higher law, any notion of ethics or morality. There is no thought as to the consequence of the action to oneself and to other individuals whatsoever. Any task done without proper planning or performed haphazardly falls into this category.
 
Next, Shri Krishna says that there is no distribution of food in the sacrifice. In the taamasic attitude, the person not only claims the results of the action as their own, but goes to great lengths to ensure that no one else gains the benefit of the action, even if it is their due. For instance, if a business has a good year, the owner may hoard the profits instead of giving employees a bonus. Furthermore, the taamasic attitude does give respect or listen to advice of senior people, referred to as “priests” in this shloka.
 
The main problem with the taamasic attitude is that all actions are performed with lack of faith. In other words, actions are performed for all the wrong reasons – someone else told us to perform the action, we are just doing it for the sake of doing it, we are doing it grudgingly, we are not putting our heart into it, we are not involved in it and so on. The performance of actions is as if it is being done by a lifeless entity, a corpse.

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Bhagavad Gita Verse 12, Chapter 17

02 Thursday May 2013

Posted by in 17.12, abhisandhaaya, bharatashreshtha, chapter 17 verse 12, dambhaartham, ijyate, phalam, raajasam, tam, viddhi, yajnyam

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abhisandhaaya tu phalam dambhaarthamapi chaiva yat |
ijyate bharatashreshtha tam yajnyam viddhi raajasam || 12 ||
 
That which is performed with the intent of reward and for ostentation alone, know that such a sacrifice is raajasic.
 
abhisandhaaya : intent
tu : but
phalam : reward
dambhaartham : ostentation
api : also
cha : and
eva : alone
yat : that which
ijyate : performed
bharatashreshtha : O foremost among Bharataas
tam : such
yajnyam : sacrifice
viddhi : know
raajasam : raajasic
 
Our attitude towards our actions determines the texture of our faith. Continuing with this theme, Shri Krishna describes the attitude with which a raajasic person performs his actions. He says that such a person constantly thinks “what is in it for me” in each and every action he performs. Personal gain is paramount, anyone else’s gain is secondary or even overlooked. Such a person is also constantly interested in the impression created by his action in the minds of others, and how will it benefit him. In other words, his actions are only performed for name and fame, for show and display. There is always an ulterior motive.
 
So far we have heard about the attitudes of saattvic and raajasic people towards action. This may raise several questions with respect to our life. We may say, I am a businessman, how can I not think what is in it for me? To answer this, we need to go back to the notion of our svadharma, our chosen career path. As long as ethics and laws are observed, a businessman should absolutely be focused on maximizing profits, otherwise he is not performing his duty. However, the businessman’s profit motive should only be restricted to business deals. A transaction mindset creeps into interactions with friends and family, it ends up causing trouble.
 
Now, we may be tempted to point our fingers at those who spend a lot of time and energy in maintaining their appearance. We may also say, when others make negative comments about our appearance, we do not get stressed. All this is well and good. However, we may get insulted or stressed when someone comments upon our intellect or our competency in our job. This means that we harbour a strong sense of aham, a strong sense of the “I” notion with our intellect. This stress is also an indicator that somewhere within us, the texture of our faith is tinged with rajas.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 25, Chapter 4

15 Wednesday Feb 2012

Posted by in 4.25, apare, brahmaagnau, chapter 4 verse 25, daivam, paryupaasate, upajuhyati, yajnena, yajnyam, yoginaha

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daivamevaapare yajnyam yoginaha paryupaasate |
brahmaagnauvapare yajnyam yajnenaivopajuhyati || 25 ||

Some yogis also worship deities through devotion, other yogis engage in worship by offering the self into the sacrificial flame of the self.

daivam : deities
eva : also
apare : some
yajnyam : devotion
yoginaha : yogis
paryupaasate : worship
brahmaagnau : self in the form of sacrificial flame
apare : others
yajnyam : worship
yajnena : self
upajuhyati : engage

In the last shloka, Shri Krishna gave us the ultimate vision of a karma yogi. This person thinks of brahman in everything and every action that he performs; it is 24/7, every second. For seekers who have just begin their journey, such a grand vision is difficult to consistently maintain. So in the following shlokas, Shri Krishna gives us simpler forms of worship for practice, so that we can ultimately build ourselves up to this grand vision.

For most of us it is difficult to comprehend the formless brahman. Therefore, many yogis worship a deity, in other words they invoke Ishvaraa in a particular idol or photograph. This offering of services to Ishvaraa is called “pooja”. Now in pooja, imagination plays an important role. Just like children play the house house game – the better the imagination, better they enjoy it. The process of pooja helps us develop rapport with Ishvaraa.

Once we get into the habit of pooja, we then imagine Ishvaraa in every action that we perform. We can even imagine Ishvaraa in the form of our friend, brother, parents and so on. It helps us to purify our mind and reduce fear caused by our attachments. As our trust in Ishvaraa increases, our fear decreases and we become calmer.

In addition to seekers who worship Ishvaraa, there is another group of seekers that are more thought oriented and more contemplative. They strive to realize the formless brahman through inquiry, contemplation, meditation, and by understanding their oneness with brahman. This form of worship is called jnyaana saadhanaa or spiritual practice through knowledge. It is like the wave surrendering completely to the ocean to realize its oneness with the ocean.

As we study the different forms of yagnyas that we can practice, it is easy to get carried away by the variety and the details. But the key point to remember is this. Any action we perform as part of a yagnya must not ever have even a tinge of expectation of result. If that happens, the yagnya becomes an ordinary, selfish action. The goal is to get better at these practice yagnyas so that we can bring that yagnya spirit into all actions in our daily life.