गीता-गीत GITA GEET
तृतीयो अध्याय (श्लोक10-19)Third chapter(Verses 10-19)
यज्ञ (Sacrifice for the society as a whole)
सहयज्ञाः प्रजाः सृष्टा पुरोवाचप्रजापतिः ।
अनेन प्रसविष्यध्वमेष वोऽस्त्विष्टकामधुक्॥3-10॥
रच कर यज्ञ मनुज के ही संग, देते ब्रम्हा ज्ञान |
सर्व-हिताय व्यक्तिगत-आहुति, दैवी-यज्ञ विधान ||
यही यज्ञ मानव समाज के विकास हित सोपान |
करे पूर्ण इच्छित अभिलाषा, हो जग में निर्मान ||॥3-10॥
देवान्भावयतानेन ते देवा भावयन्तु वः ।
परस्परं भावयन्तः श्रेयः परमवाप्स्यथ ॥3-11॥
भाव लोकहित में देने का, देव-भाव ही जान |
देव भाव की उन्नति से हो देवों का सम्मान ||
प्रकृति रहे संतुलित, देव-भाव की यह पहचान |
एक दूसरे की उन्नति से, हो सबका कल्यान ||॥3-11॥
इष्टान्भोगान्हि वो देवा दास्यन्ते यज्ञभाविताः ।
तैर्दत्तानप्रदायैभ्यो यो भुंक्ते स्तेन एव सः ॥3-12॥
इच्छित भोग तुम्हें देंगे सब देव वहाँ |
यज्ञ भाव से प्रेरित-कर्म आचरित जहां||
स्वयं ही केवल देव-प्रदत्त भोगते भोग |
जो, वह चोर स्वभाव, यही कहेंगे लोग||3-12||
यज्ञशिष्टाशिनः सन्तो मुच्यन्ते सर्वकिल्बिषैः ।
भुञ्जते ते त्वघं पापा ये पचन्त्यात्मकारणात् ॥3-13॥
यज्ञ संपन्न कर के, लेते जो प्रसाद शेष|
सर्वदोष मुक्त संत, बनते हैं वही विशेष||
परन्तु, इन्द्रिय-सुख के हेतु करें जो कार्य|
घोर पाप भोगते वह, स्वयं धरे पाप-वेष||3-13||
अन्नाद्भवन्ति भूतानि पर्जन्यादन्नसम्भवः ।
यज्ञाद्भवति पर्जन्यो यज्ञः कर्मसमुद्भवः ॥3-14॥
कर्म ब्रह्मोद्भवं विद्धि ब्रह्माक्षरसमुद्भवम् ।
तस्मात्सर्वगतं ब्रह्म नित्यं यज्ञे प्रतिष्ठितम् ॥3-15॥
सब प्राणी अन्न से, अन्न बादल बरसने से|
बादल यज्ञ से, यज्ञ जन-हित कर्म करने से||
कर्म ज्ञान से हो, ज्ञान ब्रम्ह-अक्षर से संभव|
सर्व-व्याप्त ब्रम्ह, नित्य यज्ञ-स्थित रहने से||3-14,15||
एवं प्रवर्तितं चक्रं नानुवर्तयतीह यः ।
अघायुरिन्द्रियारामो मोघं पार्थ स जीवति ॥3-16॥
इस प्रचलित चक्र के अनुसार जो नहीं चलते|
अपने कर्तव्यों का अनुपालन जो नहीं करते||
केवल इन्द्रियों-भोगों में रमण करने वाले लोग|
पाप-आयु, आत्म-केन्द्रित व्यर्थ ही जीते रहते||3-16||
यस्त्वात्मरतिरेव स्यादात्मतृप्तश्च मानवः ।
आत्मन्येव च सन्तुष्टस्तस्य कार्यं न विद्यते ॥3-17॥
लेकिन जो मानव, आत्मा में करते हैं रमण |
आत्मतुष्ट हुए अंतरात्मा में करते जो भ्रमण ||
आत्म-ज्ञान से ही रहते हैं प्रकाशित वह सदा|
उनके लिए नहीं कार्य शेष जो कर सकें ग्रहण॥3-17॥
नैव तस्य कृतेनार्थो नाकृतेनेह कश्चन ।
न चास्य सर्वभूतेषु कश्चिदर्थव्यपाश्रयः ॥3-18॥
उनके करने का, न ही कुछ अर्थ है|
नहीं करने से, न इनका अनर्थ है ||
सभी-प्राणियों में न है आश्रय इनका ,
स्वार्थ-सम्बन्ध न, यह स्वयं समर्थ है||3-18||
तस्मादसक्तः सततं कार्यं कर्म समाचर ।
असक्तो ह्याचरन्कर्म परमाप्नोति पुरुषः ॥3-19॥
अतः बिन आसक्ति सदा नियत-कर्म कार्य कर |
अनासक्त आचरण से ही पहुंचें पुरुष कर्म-शिखर ||3-19||
The design of human-being is such that each and everyone is dependent on other’s contribution right from the beginning. So, for the welfare of this race, spirit of sacrifice is necessary in each and every human-being. The spirit of sacrifice has been termed as YAGYA.
In the beginning, after creating the mankind along with spirit of sacrifice (Yagya), the Creator said to human-being, “By this spirit of sacrifice for all others” (i.e.yagya) may you prosper and multiply! May this yagya yield the enjoyment you seek and fulfill you and your coveted desires.”(3-10).
You may cherish gods by yagya and may gods foster you, for this is the means by which you will finally achieve the ultimate state. Nourish the Devas through this yagya and may those Gods nourish you. Thus through mutual satiation, both shall attain the highest good.(3-11)
The gods you foster by yagya will shower upon you without asking all the joys you wish for, but the man who avails himself of these joys without having paid for them is truly a thief.(3-12)
The wise who partake of what is left over from yagya are rid of all evil, but the sinners who cook only for the sustenance of their bodies partake of nothing but sin. (3-13)
Krishna says it is this spirit of offering or yajna which harmoniously moves the cosmic wheel. The sun offers itself to form clouds after taking water as offering of Yagya, clouds offer themselves to form rain, rains offer themselves to grow food. In this manner, all members of the universe offer themselves at the altar of the macrocosm and thereby help move the cosmic wheel. All living bodies subsist on food grains, which are produced from rains. Rains are produced by performance of yajna [sacrifice], and yajna is born of prescribed duties. (3-14)
The duties of humans have been laid down by God himself. Since it is the collective experiences of experienced great men, so it is mentioned here that the Vedas are manifested by God himself. To give importance it is said that the all-pervading Lord is eternally present in acts of sacrifice.(3-15)
The man in this world, O Parth, who loves sensual pleasure and leads a sinful life; i.e. does not perform his duties, and does not conduct himself in accordance with the thus prescribed cycle. He lives in vain. No individual is a separate entity. “A person who fails to fulfil his obligations in this Cycle of Creation leads a wretched, sinful and wasteful life” ॥3-16॥
But, for a person who takes delight only in the self, is satisfied with the self and content in the self alone, verily there is no further work to be done by him. (3-17)
For the person who is thus rejoicing in the Self does not gain anything by doing any action. For him really no purpose is served by an action. He does not lose anything from inaction. He need not depend upon anybody to gain a particular object. He need not exert himself to get the favour of anybody. Nor does such a person depend on any being for any object whatsoever.(3-18)
Therefore without attachment, one should act as a matter of duty; for by performing action without attachment one attains the Supreme.(3-19)
Learning:
Interdependence in the world: All our actions, however small or insignificant, do have an effect on the entire world. What ever a man is enjoying today that is not his creation only but the contribution of other generations before. Even a single thoughtless comment can cause alienation. Let us then begin viewing the world from the enlightened perspective of interdependence. So, we all are required to contribute further to maintain continuity of development.
- Spirit of offering (or yajna): The entire universe is a cosmic wheel of action set in motion by spirit of ‘yajna’. If nature does not work in the spirit of sacrifice then life would come to stand still.
- No place for personal desire: Personal desires have to be sacrificed for the benefit of the larger society aiming at the happiness for all. Yagya is an Act of contributing for the society as a whole. Any action that is beneficial to society is called Yajna. It is sharing and cooperating through that one can find the way to selflessness, which in turn benefits the entire community. When an organizations fails, it is only because of lack of cooperation and misunderstanding among the members. The spirit of sacrifice for the great causeWhen there is no team spirit.
- Be egoless: The spirit of yajna involves giving up our sense of’ ‘I’ and ‘mine’, our ego and selfishness, and endeavour to grow thru joint efforts. During the conventional yagya (HAVAN), also one chants mantra IDAM NA MAM after each SWAHA. Or we say ‘what we sacrificed does not belong to me.’
- Everybody is a role-player: One should lead a healthy life to liberate himself from the clutches of materialism. Every action can become a yagya once we understand the spirit of it.Everybody is assigned a certain role in life. May that role be performed to the best of one’s ability, for the well-being of the macrocosm. All duties and actions that one has to perform may be looked upon as an opportunity to serve the universe.
- The human being is indebted to each and every member of the universe such as elements, trees, animals, sages, parents, teachers, ancestors and scientists for what he is today. One who enjoys favours from the universe but does not return those favours, is a thief. Also, if one wishes only to accept happiness alone instead of sharing with others, he can be considered as selfish and as low as thief.
Eco-Friendly Environment (Man & Nature) : When we pollute air by smoke, rivers by throwing garbage, and we waste water we destroy Nature and harm ourselves. If Nature becomes weak, we, too, are adversely affected. These actions are self-destructive. Man has no alternative but to perform yajna by planting trees, saving water, recycling resources and respecting the environment.
We can thus either contribute to the harmony of the cycle or bring about discord in the smooth running of this cosmic mechanism. When the majority of the people of human society accept their responsibility to live as integral parts of the universal system, material prosperity abounds and spiritual growth is engendered. Conversely, when a major section of humankind begins to violate the universal system and rejects its responsibility as an integral part of the cosmic system, then material nature begins to punish, and peace and prosperity become scarce.
Bhagwati Prasad Gupta 