Bhagavad-gita As It Is - Macmillan 1972 Edition -- Prabhupada Books (27 page)

TRANSLATION

In the beginning of creation, the Lord of all creatures sent forth generations of men and demigods, along with sacrifices for Viṣṇu, and blessed them by saying, "Be thou happy by this yajña [sacrifice] because its performance will bestow upon you all desirable things."

PURPORT

The material creation by the Lord of creatures (Viṣṇu) is a chance offered to the conditioned souls to come back home-back to Godhead. All living entities within the material creation are conditioned by material nature because of their forgetfulness of their relationship to Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Vedic principles are to help us understand this eternal relation as it is stated in the
Bhagavad-gītā: vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ
. The Lord says that the purpose of the
Vedas
is to understand Him. In the Vedic hymns it is said:
patiṁ viśvasyātmeśvaram.
Therefore, the Lord of the living entities is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu. In the
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
also Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī describes the Lord as
pati
in so many ways:

śriyaḥ-patir yajña-patiḥ prajā-patir
dhiyāṁ patir loka-patir dharā-patiḥ
patir gatiś cāndhaka-vṛṣṇi-sātvatāṁ
prasīdatāṁ me bhagavān satāṁ patiḥ

(Bhāg. 2.4.20)

The
prajā-pati
is Lord Viṣṇu, and He is the Lord of all living creatures, all worlds, and all beauties, and the protector of everyone. The Lord created this material world for the conditioned souls to learn how to perform
yajñas
(sacrifice) for the satisfaction of Viṣṇu, so that while in the material world they can live very comfortably without anxiety. Then after finishing the present material body, they can enter into the kingdom of God. That is the whole program for the conditioned soul. By performance of
yajña,
the conditioned souls gradually become Kṛṣṇa conscious and become godly in all respects. In this age of Kali, the
saṅkīrtana-yajña
(the chanting of the names of God) is recommended by the Vedic scriptures, and this transcendental system was introduced by Lord Caitanya for the deliverance of all men in this age.
Saṅkīrtana-yajña
and Kṛṣṇa consciousness go well together. Lord Kṛṣṇa in His devotional form (as Lord Caitanya) is mentioned in the
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
as follows, with special reference to the
saṅkīrtana-yajña:

kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇāṁ sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam
yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ

"In this age of Kali, people who are endowed with sufficient intelligence will worship the Lord, who is accompanied by His associates, by performance of
saṅkīrtana-yajña." (Bhāg.
11.5.29) Other
yajñas
prescribed in the Vedic literatures are not easy to perform in this age of Kali, but the
saṅkīrtana-yajña
is
easy and sublime for all purposes.

Bg 3.11

TEXT 11

TEXT

devān bhāvayatānena

te devā bhāvayantu vaḥ

parasparaṁ bhāvayantaḥ

śreyaḥ param avāpsyatha

SYNONYMS

devān-
demigods;
bhāvayata-
having been pleased;
anena-
by this sacrifice;
te-
those;
devāḥ-
the demigods;
bhāvayantu-
will please;
vaḥ-
you;
parasparam-
mutual;
bhāvayantaḥ-
pleasing one another;
sreyaḥ-
benediction;
param-
the supreme;
avāpsyatha-
do you achieve.

TRANSLATION

The demigods, being pleased by sacrifices, will also please you; thus nourishing one another, there will reign general prosperity for all.

PURPORT

The demigods are empowered administrators of material affairs. The supply of air, light, water and all other benedictions for maintaining the body and soul of every living entity are entrusted to the demigods, who are innumerable assistants in different parts of the body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Their pleasures and displeasures are dependant on the performance of
yajñas
by the human being. Some of the
yajñas
are meant to satisfy particular demigods; but even in so doing, Lord Viṣṇu is worshiped in all
yajñas
as the chief beneficiary. It is stated also in the
Bhagavad-gītā
that Kṛṣṇa Himself is the beneficiary of all kinds of
yajñas: bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasām.
Therefore, ultimate satisfaction of the
yajñapati
is the chief purpose of all
yajñas.
When these
yajñas
are perfectly performed, naturally the demigods in charge of the different departments of supply are pleased, and there is no scarcity in the supply of natural products.

Performance of
yajñas
has many side benefits, ultimately leading to liberation from the material bondage. By performance of
yajñas,
all activities become purified, as it is stated in the
Vedas:

āhāra-śuddhau sattva-śuddhiḥ sattva-śuddhau
dhruvā smṛtiḥ smṛti-lambhe sarva-granthīnāṁ vipra-mokṣaḥ

As it will be explained in the following verse, by performance of
yajña,
one's eatables become sanctified, and by eating sanctified foodstuffs, one's very existence becomes purified; by the purification of existence, finer tissues in the memory become sanctified, and when memory is sanctified, one can think of the path of liberation, and all these combined together lead to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the great necessity of present-day society.

Bg 3.12

TEXT 12

TEXT

iṣṭān bhogān hi vo devā

dāsyante yajña-bhāvitāḥ

tair dattān apradāyaibhyo

yo bhuṅkte stena eva saḥ

SYNONYMS

iṣṭān-
desired;
bhogān-
necessities of life;
hi-
certainly;
vaḥ-
unto you;
devāḥ-
the demigods;
dāsyante-
award;
yajña-bhāvitāḥ-
being satisfied by the performance of sacrifices;
taiḥ-
by them;
dattān-
things given;
apradāya
-without offering;
ebhyaḥ-
to the demigods;
yaḥ-
he who;
bhuṅkte-
enjoys;
stenaḥ-
thief;
eva-
certainly;
saḥ-
is he.

TRANSLATION

In charge of the various necessities of life, the demigods, being satisfied by the performance of yajña [sacrifice], supply all necessities to man. But he who enjoys these gifts, without offering them to the demigods in return, is certainly a thief.

PURPORT

The demigods are authorized supplying agents on behalf of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu. Therefore, they must be satisfied by the performance of prescribed
yajñas.
In the
Vedas,
there are different kinds of
yajñas
prescribed for different kinds of demigods, but all are ultimately offered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. For one who cannot understand what the Personality of Godhead is, sacrifice to the demigods is recommended. According to the different material qualities of the persons concerned, different types of
yajñas
are recommended in the
Vedas.
Worship of different demigods is also on the same basis-namely, according to different qualities. For example, the meat-eaters are recommended to worship the goddess Kālī, the ghastly form of material nature, and before the goddess the sacrifice of animals is recommended. But for those who are in the mode of goodness, the transcendental worship of Viṣṇu is recommended. But ultimately, all
yajñas
are meant for gradual promotion to the transcendental position. For ordinary men, at least five
yajñas,
known as
pañca-mahāyajña,
are necessary.

One should know, however, that all the necessities of life that the human society requires are supplied by the demigod agents of the Lord. No one can manufacture anything. Take, for example, all the eatables of human society. These eatables include grains, fruits, vegetables, milk, sugar, etc., for the persons in the mode of goodness, and also eatables for the nonvegetarians, like meats, etc., none of which can be manufactured by men. Then again, take for example heat, light, water, air, etc., which are also necessities of life-none of them can be manufactured by the human society. Without the Supreme Lord, there can be no profuse sunlight, moonlight, rainfall, breeze, etc., without which no one can live. Obviously, our life is dependant on supplies from the Lord. Even for our manufacturing enterprises, we require so many raw materials like metal, sulphur, mercury, manganese, and so many essentials-all of which are supplied by the agents of the Lord, with the purpose that we should make proper use of them to keep ourselves fit and healthy for the purpose of self-realization, leading to the ultimate goal of life, namely, liberation from the material struggle for existence. This aim of life is attained by performance of
yajñas.
If we forget the purpose of human life and simply take supplies from the agents of the Lord for sense gratification and become more and more entangled in material existence, which is not the purpose of creation, certainly we become thieves, and therefore we are punished by the laws of material nature. A society of thieves can never be happy because they have no aim in life. The gross materialist thieves have no ultimate goal of life. They are simply directed to sense gratification; nor do they have knowledge of how to perform
yajñas
. Lord Caitanya, however, inaugurated the easiest performance of
yajña
, namely the
saṅkīrtana-yajña
, which can be performed by anyone in the world who accepts the principles of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Bg 3.13

TEXT 13

TEXT

yajña-śiṣṭāśinaḥ santo

mucyante sarva-kilbiṣaiḥ

bhuñjate te tv aghaṁ pāpā

ye pacanty ātma-kāraṇāt

SYNONYMS

yajña-śiṣṭa-
food taken after performance of
yajña
;
aśinaḥ-
eaters;
santaḥ-
the devotees;
mucyante-
get relief from;
sarva-
all kinds of;
kilbiṣaiḥ-
sins;
bhuñjate-
enjoy;
te-
they;
tu-
but;
agham-
grievous sins;
pāpāḥ-
sinners;
ye-
those;
pacanti-
prepare food;
ātma-kāraṇāt-
for sense enjoyment.

TRANSLATION

The devotees of the Lord are released from all kinds of sins because they eat food which is offered first for sacrifice. Others, who prepare food for personal sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin.

PURPORT

The devotees of the Supreme Lord, or the persons who are in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, are called
santas
, and they are always in love with the Lord as it is described in the
Brahma-saṁhitā: premāñjana- cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti.
The
santas
, being always in a compact of love with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda (the giver of all pleasures), or Mukunda (the giver of liberation), or Kṛṣṇa (the all-attractive person), cannot accept anything without first offering it to the Supreme Person. Therefore, such devotees always perform
yajñas
in different modes of devotional service, such as
śravaṇam, kīrtanam, smaraṇam, arcanam
, etc., and these performances of
yajñas
keep them always aloof from all kinds of contamination of sinful association in the material world. Others, who prepare food for self or sense gratification, are not only thieves, but are also the eaters of all kinds of sins. How can a person be happy if he is both a thief and sinful? It is not possible. Therefore, in order for people to become happy in all respects, they must be taught to perform the easy process of
saṅkīrtana-yajña
, in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Otherwise, there can be no peace or happiness in the world.

Bg 3.14

TEXT 14

TEXT

annād bhavanti bhūtāni

parjanyād anna-sambhavaḥ

yajñād bhavati parjanyo

yajñaḥ karma-samudbhavaḥ

SYNONYMS

annāt-
from grains;
bhavanti-
grow;
bhūtāni-
the material bodies;
parjanyāt-
from rains;
anna-
food grains;
sambhavaḥ-
are made possible;
yajñāt-
from the performance of sacrifice;
bhavati-
becomes possible;
parjanyaḥ-
rains;
yajñaḥ-
performance of
yajña
;
karma-
prescribed duties;
samudbhavaḥ-
born of.

TRANSLATION

All living bodies subsist on food grains, which are produced from rain. Rains are produced by performance of yajña [sacrifice], and yajña is born of prescribed duties.

PURPORT

Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa, a great commentator on the
Bhagavad-gītā,
writes as follows:
ye indrādy-aṅga-tayāvasthitaṁ yajñaṁ sarveśvaraṁ viṣṇum abhyarccya taccheṣam aśnanti tena taddeha-yāntrāṁ sampādayanti te santaḥ sarveśvarasya bhaktāḥ sarva-kilviṣair anādi-kāla-vivṛddhair ātmānubhava- pratibandhakair nikhilaiḥ pāpair vimucyante.
The Supreme Lord, who is known as the
yajña-puruṣaḥ,
or the personal beneficiary of all sacrifices, is the master of all demigods who serve Him as the different limbs of the body serve the whole. Demigods like Indra, Candra, Varuṇa, etc., are appointed officers who manage material affairs, and the
Vedas
direct sacrifices to satisfy these demigods so that they may be pleased to supply air, light and water sufficiently to produce food grains. When Lord Kṛṣṇa is worshiped, the demigods, who are different limbs of the Lord, are also automatically worshiped; therefore there is no separate need to worship the demigods. For this reason, the devotees of the Lord, who are in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, offer food to Kṛṣṇa and then eat-a process which nourishes the body spiritually. By such action not only are past sinful reactions in the body vanquished, but the body becomes immunized to all contamination of material nature. When there is an epidemic disease, an antiseptic vaccine protects a person from the attack of such an epidemic. Similarly, food offered to Lord Viṣṇu and then taken by us makes us sufficiently resistant to material affection, and one who is accustomed to this practice is called a devotee of the Lord. Therefore, a person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, who eats only food offered to Kṛṣṇa, can counteract all reactions of past material infections, which are impediments to the progress of self-realization. On the other hand, one who does not do so continues to increase the volume of sinful action, and this prepares the next body to resemble hogs and dogs, to suffer the resultant reactions of all sins. The material world is full of contaminations, and one who is immunized by accepting
prasādam
of the Lord (food offered to Viṣṇu) is saved from the attack, whereas one who does not do so becomes subjected to contamination.