INTRODUCTION🔗

In all these verses, Kṛṣṇa talks about various types of sacrifices. 'Sacrifice', it is not just the act of giving, but the attitude of giving. Otherwise, you may do everything, following all rituals according to the scriptures, but you will miss out on the real intent for which the act had to be done.

A beautiful story from the Bhāgavatam, the ancient Hindu epic: Once, Kṛṣṇa was playing with his friends. After playing, his friends were tired and they asked Kṛṣṇa for food. Kṛṣṇa replied, 'Go to the nearby hall where the learned brāhmaṇas (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.'

Kṛṣṇa's friends went as directed and asked the brāhmaṇas,

'Kṛṣṇa sent us here. We are hungry and Kṛṣṇa asked us to seek food from you.'

The brāhmaṇas were all caught up in the rituals and sacrifices, not knowing the intent of the sacrifice. The very divine energy for which the sacrifice was being made was asking for an offering, but the brāhmaṇas could not realise that and did not give the boys any food. Kṛṣṇa's friends returned disappointed.

Kṛṣṇa, on hearing about the foolish brāhmaṇas, just laughed and said, ‘Now, go to the innocent wives of these brāhmaṇas and ask them the same thing. The friends now went to the wives told them,

‘O ladies, we have been sent here by Kṛṣṇa who was 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 enrich by serving, gathered all the food from their houses and rushed to feed Kṛṣṇa and his friends.

The very act of enriching, the welcoming attitude is what is important. A beautiful verse in the Mahābhārat 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 Saṃskṛit, we say, 'atithi devo bhava', the guest is God. 'Tithi' means date and prefix 'a' negates it. Therefore, one who arrives unexpectedly without a prior appointment is atithi or guest. When somebody comes unexpectedly also, serving him is the real welcoming attitude. The word used for ritual giving in Saṃskṛit is 'dāna', which means sharing, imparting.

❖ How should an unexpected guest be treated?

INVITATION CARD

MATERIALS NEEDED:

PROCEDURE

Make an invitation card inviting your friend to come to your home to attend a satsang/meditation program you are hosting. In the alternative, you may make a public flier inviting people to a public satsang / spirituality program.

INFERENCE

Through your card put in every effort to make guests feel welcome.

CONCLUSION

Having a welcoming attitude towards your guests is a must.

ATTITUDE OF GIVING

MATERIALS NEEDED:

1. Some of your favorite organic sattvik food and drinks

PROCEDURE:

You can split the group in 2 or 3 and ask each group to plan a meal for the others whom they will receive as guests. Ask them to contemplate and imbibe the attitude of giving along with the act of giving. At the end, ask the guests to share how their experience was.

INFERENCE:

Receiving a guest is receiving God.

VAAKYARTHA SADHAS

Procedure: Lets Think, Pair and Share. The group is allotted the task of planning a half day spirituality seminar for 20 visually impaired persons at a conference hall at a near-by hotel. Children are asked to think about all the infrastructure and arrangements they would like to put in place to ensure that the event is hospitable, and meets any special needs of the intended audience. Pair up your students. Give each pair of students enough time so they can reach a set of ideas, and permit the kids to share their conclusion in their voice with the rest of the Group. The moderator to list down all viable ideas shared by the group and read them out at the end of the session, as a conclusion reached.

Conclusion: For a sacrifice to be successful, what matters more than the ritualistic steps followed to make the offer, is the attitude with which the offer is made.

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