Verse 11
That sacrifice which is offered by men without desire for
reward as enjoined by the ordinance (scripture), with a firm faith that to do
so is a duty, is Sattwic (or pure).
Verse 12
The sacrifice which is offered, O Arjuna, seeking a reward
and for ostentation, know thou that to be a Rajasic Yajna!
Verse 13
They declare that sacrifice to be Tamasic which is contrary
to the ordinances of the scriptures, in which no food is distributed, which is
devoid of Mantras and gifts, and which is devoid of faith.
Now the Lord goes into details of sattvic sacrifices, rajasic sacrifices, tamasic sacrifices, and the
threefold classification of every blessed item in this world.
Sattvic
Sacrifice
That sacrifice can be called sattvic sacrifice which is
performed by those who expect no particular fruit to follow from that
performance. They do this sacrifice according to rules laid down in the Vedas
and the Brahmana scriptures, and
perform these sacrifices merely because it is obligatory on their part to do
these sacrifices.
Let us take sandhya vandana, early morning prayers—Gayatri japa and prayer to the
sun—which have to be done three times, or two times, or at least once. Sandhya vandana is an obligatory
sacrifice, we may say, because it is a spiritual dedication before the great
Lord of the universe, Suryanarayana Bhagavan, who is indwelt by Narayana, the
spiritual Supreme Reality itself.
There are certain conditions for
the performance of obligatory duty, say, Sandhya
Vandana.
*
We should not expect any ulterior fruit to follow from the
performance of our duty. Then it ceases to be a duty.
*
It should be performed for the pleasure of God, the satisfaction
of the deity which we are worshipping.
*
Also, it should be done according to the rules and regulations,
laid down in the scriptures.
Rajasic
Sacrifice
That performance is called rajasic which is undertaken merely
for the fruit that follows, the result that comes out of it.
The puja is done by
hurriedly mumbling something, because some great blessing will come from that
deity. The blessing is the important thing, and the manner of worship is not
important. The mind is concentrated only on the result that follows, and is
filled with vanity—that kind of sacrifice is rajasic. Puja that is selfishness oriented, fruit
oriented, and not done according to the ordinance of scriptures is rajasic because it is motivated by
a distraction of the mind. It is especially defective on account of there being
no devotion to the means of worship; the devotion is only to that which will
follow from the worship.
Tamasic Sacrifice
Tamasic sacrifice, tamasic worship, tamasic yajna is that which is done contrary to prescribed rules and
is totally oblivious to the regulations laid down in the Vedas, the Brahmanas
and the Smritis, or even by tradition, and is bereft of charity.
It is an unthinkably defective way
of approaching things. The desired result will not follow. An example is a
person who employs a pandit—a yajamana who engages a saint or a purohita for the performance of a
worship—and does not properly respect him, does not give him his due, and he
concentrates only on what he will get out of it, and not on the pleasure of the
gods or the satisfaction of the deity whom he is invoking through the
sacrifice. And he is faithless; inwardly, he has no faith in the very
performance itself.
Faithless performance is tamasic performance. When our heart
is not in a thing, we are also not in that thing. Where our heart is, there we
are; and if we ourselves are not there, what is the good of doing
anything?
To the extent we are involved in
the work, to that extent it is a sacrifice. If we are wholly involved in it,
and we are not separable from the work that we are doing—we ourselves are the
work, as it were—then it is the highest sacrifice, and it will bring us the
best of benefits. Else, it is tamasic.
Who else but our divine Lord Sai can actually
demonstrate how an Yagna has to be
performed??
The Veda
Purusha Saptaha Yagna held in
Puttaparthi during Navaratri, demonstrates Yagna
in the most sattvic manner, in the
presence of the Lord Himself.
Speaking on the Yagna on one such occasion, Swami Said,
"This Puja, this Yajna, and this Homa, are arranged
here every Dasara, in order to help you to learn that other everlasting,
abstract Yajna, which every one of you has to do, to save yourselves from fear,
grief and anxiety."
(Divine discourse -
11-10-1972)
Love.
