Gita Daily Readings

11th April
Chapter Four: 28-29
Others again offer wealth, austerity and yoga as sacrifice, while the ascetics of self-restraint and rigid vows offer study of scriptures and knowledge as sacrifice.

Others offer as sacrifice the apana in the prana, and the prana in the apana, restraining the courses of the prana and the apana, solely absorbed in the restraint of the life-force.

Commentary

Gradually, the spirit of yajna or sacrifice should widen to include all of one's activities, sacred and secular. In all these the symbolism of "sacred oblation" should be well understood and rightly applied.

1. In charity, the receiver is the fire and the gift is the oblation. The wise man expects not even a word of thanks; the act is complete in itself.
2. In austerity, the fire is renunciation and self-denial, and desires and cravings are the oblation. The fire blazes more brightly with each oblation.
3. In yoga, the inner self is the fire and the mental modifications are the oblations. The fire purifies the latter, transforms them into pure thoughts (sat samkalpa).
4. Svadhyaya or self-study of scriptures: desire for self-knowledge is the fire which is augmented with successive oblations of study of scriptures.
5. Jnana-yajna or the wisdom-sacrifice: seekers after truth are the fire and knowledge itself is the oblation. The former are enlightened.
6. In pranayama, the solar (positive, prana) force is offered in (united with) the lunar (negative,apana) force; and the negative is poured into the positive - at the solar plexus. The fire thus generated rouses the latent kundalini shakti, whose union with Shiva at the crown of the head is enlightenment.

     

Web Editor's Notes

The Venkatesa Gita Daily Readings
The Song of God: The Bhagavad Gita
Translation by Swami Sivananda and Commentary by Swami Venkatesananda
Copyright © 1997 
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