Know The Meaning Of Sacrifice And Be Purified

4.26 Some sacrifice the hearing process and other senses in the fire of equanimity

And others offer as sacrifice the objects of the senses, such as sound, in the fire of the sacrifice.

4.27 One who is interested in knowledge offers all the actions due to the senses,

Including the action of taking in the

life breath into the fire of yoga and is engaged in the yoga of the equanimity of the mind.

4.28 There is the sacrifice of material wealth, sacrifice through penance, sacrifice through yoga

And other sacrifices while there is sacrifice through self-study and through strict vows.

4.29 There are others who sacrifice the life energy in the form of incoming breath and outgoing breath,

Thus checking the movement of the incoming and outgoing breaths and controlling the breath.

4.30 There are others who sacrifice through controlled eating and offering the outgoing breath, life energy.

All these people know the meaning of sacrifice and are purified of sin or karma.

4.31 Having tasted the nectar of the results of such sacrifices, they go to the supreme eternal consciousness.

This world is not for those who have not sacrificed. How can the other be, Arjuna?

4.32 Thus, there are many kinds of sacrifices born of work mentioned in the Vedas*.*

Thus, knowing these, one will be liberated.

In all these verses, Krishna talks about the various types of sacrifices. You should know that when we say 'sacrifice', it is not just the act of giving, but the attitude of giving. This understanding is important. Otherwise, you may do everything, following all the rituals according to the scriptures, but you will miss out on the real intent for which the ritual or the act had to be done.

A beautiful story from the Bhagavatam:

Once, Krishna was playing with his friends. After playing, his friends were tired and they asked Krishna, 'O Krishna, we are feeling hungry. Please tell us where we can go for food.' Krishna replied, 'Go to the nearby hall where learned brahmanas (priests) are performing a great ritual to attain heaven. Tell them that you have been sent by me and request them to give you some cooked rice.'

Krishna's friends went as directed by Krishna to the brahmanas and asked them, 'Krishna sent us here. We are hungry and Krishna asked us to seek food from you.'

The brahmanas were all caught up in the rituals and sacrifices according to the prescribed procedures. They did not, however, know the intent of the sacrifice. The very divine energy for which the sacrifice was being made was asking for an offering, but the brahmanas could not see that.

Krishna's friends returned disappointed and came back and told Krishna what happened. Krishna, on hearing about the foolish brahmanas, just laughed and said, 'Now, go to the innocent wives of these brahmanas and ask them the same thing.'

The friends now went to the wives of the brahmanas and told them, 'O ladies, we have been sent here by Krishna who is playing with us nearby. We are hungry and have come to you for food.' The ladies, on hearing that they had been given such a wonderful opportunity to serve, gathered all the food from their houses and rushed to feed Krishna and his friends.

The very act of service, the welcoming attitude is what is important.

There is a beautiful verse in the Mahabharata that says, 'A guest comes with all the Gods. If the guest is honored, so are the Gods; if he goes away disappointed, the Gods are disappointed too.'

That is why in Sanskrit, we say, 'atithi devo bhava', the guest is God. 'Tithi' means date and the prefix 'a' negates it. Therefore, one who arrives unexpectedly without prior date or appointment is the guest.

When somebody comes unexpected also, serve him. That is a real welcoming attitude. The word used for ritual giving in Sanskrit is 'dana', which means sharing, imparting.

Ayurveda speaks of four kinds of defects which can afflict cooked food: the defect of time (kala dosha) which affects it when the food has been kept for too long, the defect of flavor (rasa dosha) which causes the food to lose its taste, the defect of company (samsarga dosha) when it is touched by unclean hands, or in which some insect has fallen and the defect of sentiment (bhava dosha) which affects the food when it is offered with ill grace or without affection. Such food is not food; it is poison and is the worst out of the four categories.

The true meaning of sacrifice lies in the meaning with which it is done. Look at the trees. They live for the welfare of others, themselves facing the stormy winds, heavy showers, heat and snow, all the while protecting us from them. They never turn away anyone coming to them. They don't turn their back even on the man who is coming to fell them down. They still give shade and fruits and flowers to that man as well. All of their many parts, leaves, flowers, fruits, shadow, roots, bark, wood and fragrance, are useful to others.

In the Mahabharata, after Yudhishtra had won the Great War, he celebrated it by performing the Aswameda yagna (horse sacrifice). A reigning monarch would let his champion horse loose to wander as it pleased, and all the land it covered would become his. If any other king tried to stop the horse, there would be a war. In Yudhishtra's case after the defeat of the Kauravas, he was the unchallenged monarch.

After the rituals were over, a mongoose came into the ritual space and rolled around on the ashes of the sacrificial fire. All those who watched were perplexed. This mongoose seemed to be no ordinary mongoose. One side of it was all golden. The other side was normal brown. Having rolled around, the

mongoose looked up with a disappointed look and announced, 'This sacrifice is nothing compared to that of the Brahmana!'

Yudhishtra, the Pandava prince was startled. Being a gentle soul, he enquired of the mongoose, 'what do you mean?'

The mongoose recited its experience.

Once there was a brahmana, his wife, his son and his daughter-in-law who lived in Kurukshetra. This brahmana was very poor and subsisted on alms he obtained every day. He would never stock any food, and would live on what he got each day. One day all that he managed to get was some corn flour. Over the previous few days he had received nothing, and the family has not eaten at all. His wife cooked this flour and made four portions. As they sat down to eat, a stranger knocked on the door seeking food.

The brahmana invited him in, gave him water to wash and drink, and requested him to sit with them. He gave the guest his own portion. The guest ate that portion and looked unsatisfied. Immediately, the brahmana's wife gave her portion to the guest. The guest ate that too with relish and seemed hungry still. In turn the son gave his portion too, though he too was famished.

The guest ate all that was offered to him. He then blessed the brahmana and his family. 'You had nothing for yourself except this little cooked flour. You had not eaten for days, yet you sacrificed it to a stranger when he walked in hungry. Hunger destroys a man's awareness, and leads him astray. You, despite your hunger, maintained your awareness and dharma. Yours is the greatest of all sacrifices. Your sacrifice has earned you all and all your ancestors the right to heaven.'

So saying this, the guest disappeared. A chariot came down to take the brahmana and his family to heaven. I was in that house when this happened. There was a beautiful fragrance that arose from the flour that the brahmana's wife had cooked. Attracted by that fragrance, I rolled on a bit of the flour that was scattered. Immediately, my body that touched the flour turned golden. But, alas, there was not enough flour left to cover my entire body.

Since then I have been to all the great sacrifices of all the great kings, and I have failed to convert my other half to golden. Not even one amongst these great sacrifices matched the sacrifice of the brahmana's family.

So saying, the mongoose disappeared.

No sacrifice is truly a sacrifice, if one could 'afford' to give away what is being sacrificed. A wealthy man giving away alms is not sacrificing anything. He may be doing a good deed; that is all.

Krishna mentions many forms of sacrifice here. He talks of sacrifices of material wealth, yoga and penance - a combination of material, physical, mental and spiritual sacrifices. When a person does these at some cost and pain to himself, they would be genuine sacrifices. Otherwise they would merely be meaningless rituals.

However, even that which is given away by someone who can afford what he is giving, if done with good intentions, would result in gains to that person. His very intention would alter his mindset and liberate him. A person who does not believe in sharing his wealth will not only not enjoy his wealth in this life, but will also suffer in future births as a result of his mental make up.

When one sacrifices whatever is dear and whatever is difficult to give away, that one enters a completely different plane of sacrifice, one that liberates the person. Such a person enters a plane of true non-attachment leading to liberation.

Q: Master, many rich people may give with selfish intents, but those who benefit do not see the intent. They see just the benefit. If one insists on noble intentions while giving, very little may then be given. This will only affect those who need it most. What to do then?

Whether now or in Krishna's time, what you say has been true. Most givers give to boost their ego, or give so that they can receive more than what they give. All the great kings of Krishna's age conducted sacrifices as rituals, more to enhance their status than from any deep sense of selflessness.

Nothing can be done about this. That is the way the world is. Before he gives away any money to any charitable purpose, the CEO would like to make sure that the photographer is ready and waiting and that the picture is published in the next day's papers.

The entire meaning of sacrifice is lost in the process. What is there to sacrifice then? What is happening is a business deal. Let us say you practice yoga purely for health reasons, for being fit. It is not the sacrifice of breath or life force that Krishna is talking about here. When each breath is surrendered to the cosmic energy, from where it actually originates, with a complete awareness and understanding of this truth, it becomes a sacrifice.

Krishna is guiding those who wish to advance in their path to Self-realization on what to do. He is not stopping those who give with selfish reasons. He outlines how those who give selflessly benefit in moving towards eternal consciousness.

Ramakrishna has said that if you keep repeating the word Gita you end up saying taag or tyaag, which means sacrifice. The entire focus of Gita is sacrifice or nonattachment. This is the key issue here. Giving without expecting something in return leads to doing everything that you do without expecting anything in return. In turn this leads to doing what you have to do without worrying about issues like what you can get out of it, what will happen if you don't do it, and how I can get more out of it.

By learning to give without expectation, you break a bondage; the bondage of expectations. This liberates you.

Do not worry about other people or how the rest of the world will survive. This universe has survived for eternity, not just some billions of years as scientists estimate it. It will survive such people also. When you understand Krishna's words, try to follow them. Give without asking, sacrifice without intent. This will uplift you. It will take you into nithyananda, eternal bliss.

You Are No Sinner

4.33 O conqueror of foes, the sacrifice of wisdom is superior to the sacrifice of material wealth.

After all, all activities totally end in wisdom.

4.34 Understand these truths by approaching a spiritual Master, by asking him your questions, by offering service.

The enlightened person can initiate the wisdom unto you because he has seen the truth.

4.35 O Pandava, knowing this you will never suffer from desire or illusion,

You will know that all living beings are in the supreme, in me.

4.36 Even if you are the most sinful of all sinners,

You will certainly cross completely the ocean of miseries through the boat of knowledge.

We spoke about the story of Brahma and Vishnu trying to reach Shiva's crown or head. Vishnu was able to accept that he failed, whereas Brahma could not. This symbolically indicates that a wealthy person (symbolized by Vishnu) realizes the limitations of wealth, whereas a person of knowledge (symbolized by Brahma) becomes arrogant and refuses to acknowledge the limitations of knowledge. Sacrificing knowledge is far more difficult than sacrificing wealth. For a scholar to admit that he does not know is similar to committing suicide. He is losing his identity.

Krishna advises the seeker to sacrifice one's knowledge and one's intellect at His feet, at the feet of the Master to experience the ultimate truth.

A Master is one who has experienced the truth. A teacher, on the other hand, is one who teaches knowledge by just communication. A Master is one who can simply transfer his experience of truth to you. He communes with you.

In Sanskrit, there are three beautiful words to describe this. You are born in the bhu garbha, the womb of the mother; this signifies your physical birth. The teacher with his love and teachings gives birth to you in the hrid garbha, the womb of the heart. The Master gives birth to a completely new you, a transformed being in the gnana garbha, the womb of knowledge. You then become re-born, dvija.

All you need to do is be open to the guru, the Master. When you open yourself to the Master, his presence simply heals you. He can elevate you to the same experience as his. This is what the vishwarupa darshan is. Vishwarupa darshan refers to Krishna revealing His cosmic form to Arjuna in order to show him who He really is. Krishna elevated Arjuna to the same level of consciousness in which He himself was.

Understand, Masters have no vested interest for themselves; they have no karma to exhaust. They descend into this planet Earth out of sheer compassion for humanity.

Just like a low pressure region attracts the winds, so also when a depression is created in this world, when people desire for a Master to descend, the formless energy of Existence descends in a form. This energy is what is known in different forms as Krishna, Christ, Buddha etc.

Buddha says,

Buddham sharanam gacchami Dhammam sharanam gacchami Sangam sharanam gacchami

This means,