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Chapter 17
Link:- The Lord, in the next verse, explains the means of ascertaining the conviction (state of being), of a person by his worship.
yajante sattvika devanyaksaraksamsi rajasah
pretanbhataganamscanye yajante tamasa janah
Good (sattvika) men worship the gods; the passionate (rajasika) worship the gnomes (yaksa) and the demons; the ignorant (tamasika)
offer sacrifices to the spirits and ghosts. 4
Comment:-
Yajante sattvika devan:-The sattvika (good) people, possessing divine nature, worship the gods. Here, the term Devan' denotes the five chief deities- Visnu (the preserver), (Rama or Krsna etc.), Siva (the destroyer), Ganeia, Durga (Power) and the Sun, because the term 'Deva', stands for God (Divinity) and His nature viz., divine nature, which is conducive to liberation (16/5). Thus, strivers possessing the sattvika (good) faith worship, anyone of five chief deities, according to their natural faith. The worship of twelve Adityas, eight Vasus, eleven Ridras, and two Asvini Kumaras, without any selfish motive, is also regarded as sattvika worship.
Yaksaraksarirsi rajasah:- The passionate, worship the gnomes and the demons. They are included among the gods. The gnomes, hanker after the accumulation of wealth, and then guard it, while the demons are bent upon the destruction, of others. The passionate, worship them, to satisfy their own desires and to destroy others.
Pretanbhutaganamscanye yajante tamasa janah:-The ignorant people, worship spirits and ghosts. Those, who are dead are called 'Pieta', while those who are in the forms of the life of ghosts, are 'Bhuta'.
Here, the manes should not be included in the term 'Prem. (spirit), because those, who worship the manes as a part of their duty without any desire for the fruit of their actions (worship), are sattvika (good). The Lord in the Gita, has not prohibited the worship of manes[1].
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