Yatharth Geeta -Swami Adgadanand Ji
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CHAPTER 4
Elucidation of The Deed of Yagya
श्रेयान्द्रव्यमयाद्यज्ञाज्ज्ञानयज्ञ: परंतप। [ “Sacrifice through wisdom is, O Parantap, in every way superior to sacrifices made with material objects, because (O Parth) all action ceases in knowledge, their culmination.’’ ] The yagya of wisdom, made by means of austerity, continence, faith, and knowledge, which brings about a direct perception of God, is the most propitious. All actions are fully dissolved in this knowledge. Knowledge is thus the crowning point of yagya. Thenceforth there is neither any profit in the doing of action nor any loss in abstaining from it.In the same way there are yagya that are performed with material objects, but they are insignificant in comparison with the yagya of knowledge which enables a man to have direct perception of God[1]. Even if we sacrifice millions, build hundreds of altars for the sacred fire, contribute money to good causes, and invest money in the service of sages and saints, this yagya is much inferior to the sacrifice of knowledge. Krishn has just told us, that real yagya is restraint of the vital winds of life, subduing of the senses, and control of the mind. From where can we learn its mode? From temples, mosques or churches? Shall we get it by going on pilgrimage to holy places or by dipping ourselves in sacred rivers? Krishn’s pronouncement is that it can be had from only one source, namely, the sage who has known the reality.
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References and Context
- ↑ The sage of Pippalad says, in the Prashn Upanishad, that they who desire children and are given to rites, considering them the highest accomplishment, attain to the world of the Moon (Rayi) and are born again on earth, but they who are devoted to the worship of the Self, by means of austerity, continence, faith, and knowledge, go by the northern path and attain the world of the Sun. (Pran)