32. evam bahuvidha yajna
vi tat a brahmano mukhe
karinajan viddhi tan sarvan
evam jnatva vimokyase
(32) Thus many forms of sacrifice are spread out in the face of Brahman (i e. set forth as the means of reaching the Absolute) Know thou that all these are born of work, and so knowing thou shalt be freed.
Wisdom and Work
33. sreyan dravyamayad yajnaj
jnanayajnah paramtapa
sarvam karma ' kkhilam artha
jnane parisamaayate
(33) Knowledge as a sacrifice is greater than any material sacrifice, 0 scourge of the foe (Arjuna), for all works with-out any exception culminate in wisdom.
The goal is the life-giving wisdom, which gives us freedom of action and liberation from the bondage of work.
34 tad viddhi prampaten
parirasnena sevay
u ppadeksyanti te jnanam
ii animas tattvadarsinah
(34) Learn that by humble reverence, by inquiry and by service. The men of wisdom who have seen the truth will instruct thee in knowledge Wise men will teach us the truth if we approach them in a spirit of service and reverent inquiry. Until we realize the God within, we must act according to the advice of those who have had the experience of God. If we accept what is said in the sastras or taught by the teacher in unthinking trust, that will not do. Reason must be satisfied. "He who has no personal know-ledge but has only heard of many things cannot understand the meaning of scriptures even as a spoon has no idea of the taste of the soup."[1] We must combine devotion to the teacher with the most unrestricted right of free examination and inquiry. Blind obedience to an external authority is repudiated. Today there are several teachers who require of their followers unthinking obedience to their dictates. They seem to believe that the death of intellect is the condition of the life of spirit. Many credulous and simple-minded people are drawn to them not so much by their spiritual powers as by the publicity of their agents and the human weakness for novelty, curiosity and excitement. This is against the Hindu tradition which insists on jijnasa or inquiry, manna or reflection or pariprasna in the words of the it.
But mere intellectual apprehension will not do. Intellect can only give fragmentary views, glimpses of the Beyond, but it does not give the consciousness of the Beyond. We must open the whole of our inner being to establish personal contact. The disciple has to tread the interior path. The ultimate authority is the inner light which is not to be confused with the promptings of desire. By the quality of service and self-effacement, we knock down the obstructing prejudices and let the wisdom in us shine. Truth achieved is different from truth imparted. Ultimately, what is revealed in the scriptures (pranipata.-Sravana), what is thought
out by the mind (pariprana-manana) and what is realized by the spirit through service and meditation (evã-nididhyasana) must agree. [2] We must consort with the great minds of the past, reason about them and intuitively apprehend what is of enduring value in them.This verse makes out that in spiritual life, faith comes first, then knowledge, and then experience.Those who have experienced the truth are expected to guide us. The seers owe a duty to their less fortunate brethren and guide them to the attainment of illumination which they have reached.
