Today’s subject is “Yajiṋa and the Fruit of Yajiṋa”. The word “Yajiṋa” is formed by the root “Yaj” and the suffix “na”. It means actions. Whatever a person does, we can call it a yajiṋa. What is the origin of actions? Where is the unmanifested potentiality of action? The doer of an act is the mind. Before doing an act a person thinks of it and the thought gets manifested as corresponding vibrations or sensations in his mind. Those mental vibrations are then transformed into the actions in the external world. That is, when after thinking about doing an act, the hands and feet begin to move, then the action being done is called an act or kriyá. Vibration exists in the mind or Sublime level and an act exists both in the crude and sublime levels, because all vibrations are not necessarily transformed into acts. Whenever there is an act, then the existence of a precedent thought is a certainty. That is why Karma or Yajiṋa is called psycho-physical.
Human beings cannot exist even for a moment without doing an act. Salvation means the eternal emancipation from this very Karma or Yajiṋa. Ordinarily Yajiṋa is of four kinds: Bhúta Yajiṋa, Nr Yajiṋa, Pitr Yajiṋa and Adhyátma Yajiṋa. Of these four Yajiṋas, the first three, namely Bhúta, Nr, and Pitr Yajiṋas, are psycho-physical, that is, both mental and physical, but Adhyátma Yajiṋa is one hundred percent internal. The origin of Bhúta, Nr and Pitr Yajiṋa is in mental vibrations and they take shape in the physical world. The actual origin of Karma, however, is in the arena of the mind. Suppose I donated ten rupees to a particular person. This is called Nr Yajiṋa. In the first instance I gave the donation mentally, and when this mental donation took the shape of a physical act, then I practically made the donation. As soon as the thought of giving the donation occurs in the mind, the physical act of donating flashes before the mind, that is, the act actually originated in the mental domain. Adhyátma Yajiṋa, on the other hand, originates in the domain of the soul and terminates in the soul.
(1) Bhúta-Yajiṋa: Bhúta Yajiṋa means services rendered to any created entity of the manifested world. For example, watering trees, serving cattle, undertaking scientific explorations and doing anything for the sake of welfare. In Saḿskrta, Bhúta means that which has been created. It does not mean ghost or spirit. The Saḿskrta synonym of the English words ghost and spirit is “Preta”.
(2) Nr Yajiṋa: Nr Yajiṋa is action for human welfare. In fact Nr Yajiṋa is a part of Bhúta Yajiṋa because human beings are also created beings, I will explain Nr Yajiṋa later on.
(3) Pitr Yajiṋa: Pitr Yajiṋa means remembering the ancestors and the sages. As long as a person possesses the physical body, he remains indebted to his ancestors. Those who are capable of working for their own emancipation, as well as of the society by virtue of the knowledge acquired through the austerities practised by the sages, are indebted to the sages. Sages are those who are helping and who have helped human society in numerous ways, such as the invention of new subjects. You enjoy the fruits of the inventor of railway engines. Is it not a fact that present intellectual currents originated from the fountain of their wisdom? Many people say that science is detrimental to civilization and an impediment to civilization, that the old world was indeed good. They forget that science also existed in the old world and, although it was very undeveloped, the people had adopted it according to their standard of wisdom and knowledge. We are progressing on the road constructed by them. We proceed and extend these roads by cutting down the jungles and the hills. Their bullock carts have given us the incentive for our railways and cars. We have converted the yachts constructed by them into submarines. That is why I say that there is no fault in the development of science. Time is also not to blame. The fault rests with us. Science does not tell us to use nuclear energy in destructive ways. To do so is to use science to establish our animality. Those who have invented destructive weapons with the help of science are not sages, because their Sádhaná does not contribute to the welfare of humanity. On the other hand, those sages who have looked to the well-being of humanity certainly deserve our revered memory. To pay homage to them is Pitr Yajiṋa.
(4) Adhyátma Yajiṋa: I have already said that Adhyátma Yajiṋa is one hundred percent internal. The impetus for Adhyátma Yajiṋa comes from the soul and this impetus becomes operative in the mental province. The mind performs the sádhaná and the Karma also terminates in the province of the soul. That is, the ultimate goal of mental sádhaná lies in the province of the soul. Adhyátma Yajiṋa is a liberating sádhaná and the remaining three, Bhúta, Nr and Pitr yajiṋa are both liberating and subjugating (Nivrtti Pravrtti).
Nr Yajiṋa is of four kinds: (a) Shúdrocita, (b) Vaeshyocita, (c) Kśatriyocita and (d) Viprocita. To serve the world by the physical body, to make others happy by one’s own sacrifice, or to alleviate the afflictions of others, for example by example by nursing the patients, comes within the scope of Shúdrocita sevá.
The services rendered by supplying food, money, etc. are termed Vaeshyocita sevá. Protecting others, even by risking one’s life is Kśatriyocita Sevá. Viprocita Sevá is to give expression of Adhyátma yajiṋa by imparting the spiritual knowledge you have gained. Instil in others the earnest desire to follow the path of virtue – only then will you justify your existence as a social creature.
Shúdrocita sevá is the backbone of society. Those who undervalue Shúdrocita sevá cannot render Vaeshyocita sevá. In the same way, one has to become a Shúdra, in order to be eligible for rendering Vaeshyocita-sevá. Exactly in the same way, one has to become a Shúdra, a Vaeshya and a Kśatriya in order to be eligible to render Viprocita Sevá. Hence only those who possess these four qualities are Vipras.
Although the excellence of all the different services is equal, Viprocita sevá is particularly glorious because it is directly related to Adhyátma yajiṋa. But it must be remembered that the value of a particular service depends on time, place and circumstances. Suppose a wayfarer is in distress in a lonely place and is about to die. In this situation viprocita sermons are entirely useless. While Shúdrocita sevá, i.e. nursing will be of great value. What will you do for a man who is dying of starvation? Will you nurse or preach sermons? Food must be arranged for him. In this circumstance Vaeshyocita sevá is of great value. In another situation, some men are attacking a helpless person. In this case neither sermons nor nursing is needed, nor is food to be offered; there you will have to render Kśatriyocita service. In this situation, Kśatriyocita Sevá is of greater value and other services are entirely meaningless.
Shúdrocita service is meaningless to a drunkard, so is Vaeshyocita, because giving money to him gives impetus to the addiction to drinking and does not encourage him or her to give it up, If you give the drunkard a beating then he or she will leave the place and go elsewhere to get a drink. Therefore, a drunkard has to be treated firmly with Kśatriyocita sevá and with Viprocita sermons. They must be emancipated from this bad habit by good counsel. The problem can not be solved just by simply inflicting punishment or enacting laws to close the liquor shop. In such circumstances the drunkard will seek to satisfy his or her bad habit in secrecy and consequently the whole society is affected. Thus we see that all the four types of services are important in particular circumstances. Still the effect of Viprocita sevá is stable whereas the effects of other types of service is not.
At the time of rendering service, you should feel that object of service is Náráyańa or God and that you are a spiritual aspirant. With such feelings there is no room for conceit. Conceit causes the fall of human beings. To get rid of conceit we will have to regard the object of our service as Náráyańa.
When you render service to anyone you must mentally address them with sincere devotion. “O Lord, O Náráyańa! Oblige me by accepting my services. You are merciful to me, and for this reason you have appeared before me as a living being to offer this very precious opportunity of rendering service to You.” By maintaining such sentiments, conceit will not arise in you, nor will you be bound by the reactions of your actions. The principal cause for bondage to the fruits of actions is conceit or the yearning for fame. Suppose a certain man donates one thousand rupees to a particular institution. The next day he looks anxiously for his name in the newspaper. If his name does not appear in the paper, then with an air of conceit he brags amongst his kith and kin. “I have donated a thousand rupees, but I do not desire recognition and therefore I have not published my name in the paper.” The desire for fame exists in a concealed form in that man’s mind. Clearly, he did not make the donation with the spirit of service. However, when you perform acts with the ideation that the person served is Náráyańa, there is no possibility of arrogance or the desire for fame growing in your mind. Then you will realize that through the grace of Náráyańa you have been given the opportunity of serving Náráyańa. Our hands and feet are not ours, they are His, and by serving Himself with those hands and feet, He sports with Himself. Such an action is an action without attachment. Only in this way can one attain salvation from the bondage of Karma. You must feel that the person served is Brahma. The person served is a finite manifestation of Him. Never, even by mistake, take the object as a human being. A devotee in ecstasy says:
Wherever I look Hari is visible. To attain this stage is the consummation of the aspirant’s efforts. By working with ideation of Brahma, you will gradually be able to perceive Brahma in everything. Why should ideation of Brahma or Hari be adopted? Before realizing this you will have to understand what Bháva signifies.
Shuddhasattvavisheśádvá premasuryáḿshu sámyabhak
Rucibhishcittamásrńya krdasao bháva ucyate
Rucibhishcittamásrńya krdasao bháva ucyate
Bháva is where the mind is sanctified. All the ten directions are brightened by the rays of the sun of Love, and love is developed for the Supreme Brahma. The mind develops gentleness or tenderness. This is the aim behind treating the objects of service with ideation of Brahma.
The development of ideas in a person’s mind takes place in three ways: direct imposition, indirect imposition and spontaneous idea.
Direct imposition: Suppose you are playing the role of Sháhjáhán in a certain drama. Though your mother tongue is Saḿskrta you speak in Persian. In that situation you have consciously thought, “I am Sháhjahán”, and having influenced the mind accordingly, you behave in that manner. Here your own personality is masked by that of Sháhjahán. This is known as direct imposition of ideas.
Indirect imposition: Here you do not knowingly assume any idea, but are influenced and hypnotized by another person. You act unconsciously. Your personal exclusiveness is drowned in the currents of another’s ideas. Under directions of a hypnotist, you will take sand for sugar and find it sweet as well.
Spontaneous idea: In this case, the ideas spring from within and only the true ideas get expressed. This occurs while you are in Iishvara Prańidhána. Initially the feeling of “I am” certainly exists in the aspirant’s mind. He or she feels that “I am practicing Sádhaná for a realization of Brahma.”
In the method of Sádhaná this feeling of “I am” having been developed and expressed spontaneously is then transformed into feelings of Brahma. This spontaneous idea is not easily understood by those who do not practice Sádhaná. For this very reason, more often than not, non-aspirants are overtaken with false apprehensions since they do not know the transcendental currents of happiness in which the Sádhaka is drifting. You don’t have to take the idea “I am Hanuman”, or “I am Rádhá”. Adhyátma yajiṋa is performed entirely in the mental arena and there is no necessity of any experiment or imposition.
But in Bhúta, Nr or Pitr Yajiṋa, experiment or imposition is necessary. One has to feel that the object of service is Náráyańa. If you do not adopt this feeling your efforts are in vain. It should be remembered that the reaction of an action is intimately connected with the action itself and when you perform an act you have got to bear its brunt.
You are free to act, but you are bound to undergo the reaction. The moment you do an act you acquire the possibility of its reaction. Simultaneously with the performance of an act is being done, the seed for its reaction is also sown and its consequences have to be undergone. There is no escape from it. It is not within your right to get rid of it or to escape its fruits and consequences. You have a right only to the action. Just by wishing you may or may not do an act.
What we call Saḿskára is the reaction of Karma in potential forms, that is, it is the seed of the reaction to an action. The completion of a Yajiṋa lies in its offerings. Karma and Yajiṋa are the same and the accomplishment of the four varieties of Karma lies in offering one’s dearest thing, that is, in offering one’s own self. Ráma Yajiṋa signifies offering or surrendering unto Ráma. Viśnu Yajiṋa has a similar significance. The word Vishnu means all-pervasive. For this reason the accomplishment of Viśnu Yajiṋa lies in merging oneself into the Supreme Entity. Those who offer clarified butter in Yajiṋa are misguided. They think that by offering ghee in the fire, it will rain. Still today people are following such blind superstition. Science tells us that when ghee is offered in the fire, the ghee is burnt and the unburnt carbon particles evaporate in the form of smoke. Everyone knows that ghee is basically the chemical composition of hydrogen and carbon and that the water vapor generated by burning ghee is negligible. Therefore, what will be the magnitude of the cloud formed by burning even one thousand tons of ghee? It is an utter misuse of ghee. The proper use of ghee is to feed it to the weak so that they may have a good health. If you want rain you should perform Bhúta Yajiṋa. Scientific research comes within the purview of Bhúta Yajiṋa. Manufacture artificial clouds and make use of them wherever rainfall is needed.
O Sádhakas! Justify Ráma Yajiṋa by offering yourselves unto Ráma or Paramátman. Accomplish your Maháviśńu Yajiṋa by merging the arrogance of your “I” feeling in the all-pervading Paramátman. For this you need not go begging from door to door. Adhyátma Yajiṋa is an internal affair and money has no use. Only in the case of Bhúta, Nr and Pitr Yajiṋa are crude physical things needed and not in the case of Adhyátma Yajiṋa. By this the mind gradually obtains enlightenment and there is no need to entertain the idea of Ráma or any similar idea.
It is necessary to adopt a special sentiment in the case of Bhúta, Nr, and Pitr Yajiṋa, the sentiment that you will not be attached to Karma because the arrogance of your “I” feeling will not have any opportunity to arise. By Lord’s direction, you are serving Him, being a part and parcel of his manifestation. By maintaining such sentiments arrogance cannot arise. You know that the results of your actions will conformity to your intentions. If you submit the subjective feeling of your actions to the Lord, the reactions also appertain to the Lord. However, while taking this sentiment, one has to see that it is born out of love and not out of fear. Fear does not generate love. There is no service where love is absent and your Bhúta, Nr and Pitr Yajiṋa become meaningless. The sentiment must be surcharged with Prema or Love. What is Prema?
Love must be selfless. Suppose you rear hens, you feed them rice and of course you love them also. If takes one of your hens you may fall out with him and even come to come to blows with him. But is that selfless love? Love must be untarnished, free from all caprice. How will love be untarnished? While rendering services you should think that you are serving for his or her comfort and well-being. This will make your service selfless and your love untarnished. Services rendered with a selfless motive are not without blemishes. You feed the hens for your benefit. You are motivated by the thought that one day this hen will lay eggs and you will earn money by selling them.
Inculcate divine sentiment by saturating love wherever you have to perform Bhúta Yajiṋa, Nr yajiṋa, and Pitr yajiṋa. It is meaningless to love out of fear. Where there is no love, there cannot be complete surrender of the self and the yajiṋa is fruitless.
Karma, tapa, yoga, jiṋána,
Vidhibhakti japa dhyána,
Ihá haite mádhurya durlabh,
Keval ye, rágmárge,
Bhaje Krśńa anuráge,
Tá’re Krśńa mádhurya sulabh.
Vidhibhakti japa dhyána,
Ihá haite mádhurya durlabh,
Keval ye, rágmárge,
Bhaje Krśńa anuráge,
Tá’re Krśńa mádhurya sulabh.
People’s life becomes mechanical, if they are overwhelmed with the sentiment that they must do such acts, must perform such yajiṋa, must rise in this manner and sit in this manner and get up in this manner and so on. Such a person is not happy and this type of ritualism cannot be called real Karma. To serve others at one’s sacrifice is called penance. In the absence of love any service or penance is for show and is therefore fruitless. All ritualistic devotion, sham penance, counting beads etc. are meant only for public show and true love and the Supreme goal are lost from sight. Brahma cannot be attained through actions, since the sweetness of joy is lacking in such ritualism. On the other hand the divine bliss is easily attainable to those who base their Sádhaná on love.
One has to see appreciate how the consequences of actions are annihilated through service. Where there is the arrogance of “I” feeling, then the consequences exist with the actions. Where the “I” is the doer then the same “I” is the receiver of the consequences. In detached actions the “I” is not the doer and is not therefore liable to reap the consequences. In an unattached action there is no bondage of the consequences because whatever the person does is consigned to Brahma, and therefore, the consequences of the actions are also consigned to Brahma. In other words, both the actions and consequences appertain to Paramátman. You should regard yourself as an instrument of Náráyańa and go on doing your work in a detached manner. Where a person is suffering from pain, you may ask whether they are only reaping the consequences of their actions and whether in these circumstances it is proper for you to serve them. The answer is very simple. I should not even think that he or she is reaping the consequences of actions. My purpose is to decide the intention with which I will act. I will have to think that in the pursuit of a particular design, Paramátman is suffering distress and in this way, He is giving me an opportunity to render service. Out of His grace He is obliging me by accepting my services. Náráyańa’s designs are inscrutable, so you must look upon the distressed with divine sentiments.
Just as vibrations take the shape of actions, so too counter vibrations bear exact opposite consequences of these actions. The nature of consequences is shaped by the tune of the nature of the intentions to act or vibrations. Then in the physical world the consequences of such an action are treated according to the status of the doer, irrespective of the magnitude of the action and is in consonance with his or her mental endurance. If there be no pain from a cut in the hand, that is, if the mind does not feel the consequence, the action then is not punitive. For those free from a debased mind and accomplished in universality the question of unitary suffering of the consequences of actions does not arise, since such individual do not work with unit feelings.
Where action yoga, penance or knowledge is affected with feelings of distinctions, arrogance is bound to come into play and individual distinctions are created. When an act is dedicated to Paramátman, its consequences are also dedicated to Him. The unit is neither the doer nor the bearer of the consequences. What is it to you then?
Occasionally, an affectatious vanity is seen in the aspirant which is not meant for his or her personal end, but rather for the sake of Paramátman. This is called Sáttvika vanity. The vanity associated with selfless service is not derived from the mean unit “I” feeling, but from the feeling of Universal “I”. Rádhá says,
“I pride in You. This beauty that Rádhá has belongs to You. It is your beauty which has given comeliness to Rádhá. Is it not that I receive the inspiration to act from you? You are the doer and You alone are the enjoyer.”
You should act precisely with this sentiment. The more a person works with feelings of detachment, the greater is his or her Godward speed and the more the “I” feeling is annihilated. The Unit “I” feeling will be completely annihilated by the time you are completely established in the divine feeling. Detached actions are the fight against the unit self and for the attainment of the Universal “I”. The Unit “I” will go on abating in proportion to the decline of arrogance. By the same proportion, the mind’s sphere will get enlightened by refulgence of the Universal Self. Along with Adhyátma Yajiṋa, Bhúta, Nr, and Pitr yajiṋa also have to be performed and then the true sacrifice of the self in the fire of Brahma is accomplished.
The feelings of “I” or self work just like a mirror. The original entity is Paramátman or Cosmic Consciousness and its reflection in the mirror is the Jiivátman or unit consciousness.
Yathá darpańabháva ábhásahánao
Mukhaḿ vidyate kalpanáhiinamekam.
Tathá dhiiviyoge nirábhásako yah
Sah nityopalabdhi svarúpehamátma.
Mukhaḿ vidyate kalpanáhiinamekam.
Tathá dhiiviyoge nirábhásako yah
Sah nityopalabdhi svarúpehamátma.
Where there is no mirror there cannot be any reflection. Where there is no mirror of the “I” feeling or Mahattattva or Budhitattva, there is no Jiivátman as the reflection. After annihilation of the ego, the condition in which one lives, is the initial form. He alone is the life of lives, the soul of souls, namely the Lord. Genuine spiritual practice is that which does away with the mirror of Buddhitattva and enables Jiivátman, in the shape of the reflection to get absorbed in Paramátman – the original entity. For this the inevitable requisite is detached action.
Yajiṋa is performed to achieve emancipation from the consequences of action and to annihilate the Unit “I”. The fourfold services enumerated under Nr yajiṋa can be easily be performed by anyone. Every human being gets more or less opportunity for rendering services. If a poor man thinks that he cannot render Vaeshyocita type of service because he is devoid of money he is wrong. The charity of a few paise of the poor has the same value as a thousand rupees from a millionaire. Indeed the charity of these few paise is greater. Lord Krśńa attached greater importance to a handfuls of grains from Vidura than to the sumptuous royal dishes of Duryodhana. Even so, everyone should render service to the world in accordance with their capacity and work for the welfare of the living beings to the best of their ability. Perform viprocita type of service by projecting your convictions to others as best as you can. Let every person perform the four kinds of service as much as possible. Adhyátma yajiṋa is an internal yajiṋa and ultimately it terminates in Paramátman, the original self. Therefore, your Sádhaná should be with a detached sentiment. All types of Yajiṋa begin and proceed in an externalized manner, but ultimately they will reverse their course towards the inner self and will gratify your innermost entity on the jewelled throne attained by your birthright. Remember, no one yajiṋa is inferior to another.
As long as you exist, you have got to perform Yajiṋa. The moment you cease from discharging duties, either due to incapacity or wrong choice you will fall into an abyss. You should not let this happen. It is your dharma to move from narrowness to vastness, from greatness to divinity. To allow yourself to fall into an abyss is against the characteristic of your existence. You long for eternal bliss and endeavour for eternal life. You are associated with that unending vitality in the blood circulation of your arteries and veins and in the rhythmic throbbing of your heart. You have been listening day and night the voice of eternal youth. Can you ever imagine remaining inert matter in an inactive state where there is no yajiṋa? Even in the state of supreme realization you will be infused with boundless knowledge. O human beings! be established in the radiance of divinity and the splendour of valour and chivalry, because yours is the path of revolution. Your path is not the path of extra caution and scheduled movement. You are the traveller of a rugged path. You are travellers of an impregnable path. You have no time to stagger or to look behind.
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