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 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.

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, the ancient Hindu epic:

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 brāhmanas (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 brāhmanas and asked them, 'Krishna sent us here. We are hungry and Krishna asked us to seek food from you.'

The brāhmanas 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 brāhmanas could not realise that. They did not give the boys any food.

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

The friends now went to the wives of the brāhmanas and told them, 'O ladies, we have been sent here by Krishna 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 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 a prior date or appointment is the atithi or guest.

When somebody comes unexpectedly also, serve him. That is a real welcoming attitude. The word used for ritual giving in Sanskrit is ‘dāna’, which means sharing, imparting.

Ayurveda speaks of four kinds of defects which can afflict cooked food: the defect of time (kāla doṣa) which affects it when the food has been kept for too long, the defect of flavor (rasa doṣa) which causes the food to lose its taste, the defect of company (saṁsarga doṣa) when it is touched by unclean hands, or in which some insect has fallen, and the defect of sentiment (bhāva doṣa) 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. They give shade and fruits and flowers to that man as well. All their many parts, leaves, flowers, fruits, shade, roots, bark, wood and fragrance, are useful to others.

A small story:

Once a small girl had a dreadful disease. Her five-year-old brother had just recovered from it.

The doctor said to the boy, ‘Only a transfusion of your blood will save your sister. Are you ready to give her your blood?’

The boy got frightened. He hesitated for a while, then said, ‘Ok, doctor.’

The transfusion was completed and after some time the boy slowly asked the doctor, ‘Doctor, when will I die?’ Only then the doctor understood the boy’s fear! The boy thought that by giving blood he was giving his life for his sister.

The little boy thought that by giving blood to his sister, he will die. But even then he was ready to sacrifice his life for her! When you give away something that you cannot afford to give, only then it is a true sacrifice. When you give away something that you can afford to give, then it is not a true sacrifice. 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 makeup.

When one sacrifices whatever is dear and whatever is difficult to give away, he 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: Swamiji, many rich people may give with selfish intent, 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 for 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 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 for selfish reasons. He outlines how those who give selflessly benefit by moving towards eternal consciousness.

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

By learning to give without expectation, you break 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 nityānanda, eternal bliss.