15. Enrich Others Because They Are Part Of You

The sacrifice that Kṛṣṇa refers to comes from a true sense of surrender to the Universe. When we enrich others what we can afford to give, it is no sacrifice. When we enrich others by denying ourselves, then it is a sacrifice. When you enrich others, you function at the level of the Universal energy; you function with the principle of Vasudaiva kuṭuṁbakaṁ meaning 'The whole world is my family'; you operate out of compassion. There is no expectation.

Enrich others. Anything you see, anything you experience is extension of you. Kṛṣṇa says that enriching should be practiced because everyone is part of us. Nobody is separate from us. Only then does enriching become a selfless sacrifice, yajña bhāvitaḥ. There is a joy, a bliss that enters your being when you act out of sacrifice, selflessly to enrich others.

Enriching Sacrifice Or Sin (3.12-3.16)

Kṛṣṇa explains enriching beautifully to Arjuna,

'Satisfied with the selfless enriching, the celestial beings bestow upon you the desired enjoyments. He who enjoys things given by them without offering anything to the celestial beings is certainly a thief, yo bhuṅkte stena eva saḥ (3.12).' Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa says, 'If you don't do yajña and give back to the divine energy, you are certainly a thief!'

Kṛṣṇa talks about proper authentic action. Constantly enriching the source and keeping it alive for the next generation is yajña. Do not touch anything which you can't replace. That is part of enriching yajña. Kṛṣṇa is very clear. If you are not enriching, but only taking and enjoying, you are a thief. Enriching is where life happens to you. I can say that enriching means infusing all the three tattvas of integrity, authenticity, responsibility into satya, truth.

Enrich to Relate with Expressed and Unexpressed God

Enriching is the way in which you relate with the expressed component of God. Integrity and Authenticity are the ways in which you relate with the unexpressed, avyakta part of God. Responsibility and Enriching are the ways in which you relate with vyakta, the expressed part of God.

When we perform a sacrifice, we perform invocations to higher energies. So, we attract corresponding effects for our actions. Our actions are like offerings in a sacrifice. When the actions are in tune with tattvas of integrity, authenticity, responsibility and enriching, which is the flow of Existence, it is like offering ghee (clarified butter) into the fire. When we do not flow with Existence, it is like offering mud into the fire.

Integrity and Authenticity are the right ways to relate with the unexpressed part of God, avyakta**. Responsibility and Enriching are the right ways to relate with the expressed part of God, the world,** vyakta. If you do not enrich, you actively create a selfish pattern and your offerings bring that same result. Be very clear, either you give or you swindle. There is no middle.

Kṛṣṇa says that rains become possible from the enriching sacrifice, yajñād bhavati parjanyo and the enriching sacrifice is born of actions, yajñaḥ karma-samudbhavaḥ (3.14).

Rain is a grosser form of energy activated by the subtler unexpressed energies, our authenticity in actions and integrity in words, thoughts and vibrations. Rain is the cause for the growth of food grains; food is the enrichment for bodies and minds, which give rise to further authentic action and integrated thinking. So, you see this cycle now, how the subtle energy, avyakta, the unexpressed part of God, manifests itself in the grosser world as vyakta, the expressed part of God, and how the actions in the grosser world affect the subtler elements.

If we just understand this, we will realize that everything we do and experience is caused by our own actions. We realize that we are the source of everything, and therefore responsible for everything.