Contents
Shri Sankara's Gita Bhashya
(Sri Sankaracharya's Commentary on the Gita)
CHAPTER -4
|
|
That Brahman is (Itself) the fire here, the receptacle wherein the oblation is offered. The self (ātman) (here, the individual self),—one of whose synonyms is yajiia—who in truth is none but the Supreme Brahman, but who associated with the limiting adjuncts such as the intellect (huddhi) and with all the attributes of the adjuncts superimposed on him constitutes the offering (āhuti), is offered in that fire of Brahman by the Self Itself, of the description given above[1]. To perceive the self limited by adjuncts in its true form as (identical with) the Supreme Brahman devoid of adjuncts is the sacrifice (offering the self) in the fire (of Brahman); and this (sacrifice) is performed by samnyāstns (those who have renounced all and are) devoted to the perception of the identity of the Self with Brahman. This sacrifice, of the form of Right Knowledge, is mentioned along with others such as the sacrifice to gods (Daiva-yajña) in the verses beginning with "The process is Brahman "[2], for the purpose of extolling it in the words, "Knowledge-Sacrifice is superior to sacrifice (performed) with (material) objects"[3]. |
 |
