UB: अर्जुन उवाच

ये शास्त्रविधिमुत्सृज्य यजन्ते श्रद्धयाऽन्विताः। तेषां निष्ठा तु का कृष्ण सत्त्वमाहो रजस्तमः।।17.1।।

17.1 “अर्जुन asked: O कृष्ण! Those who (ये) do यज्ञ (यजन्ते), casting away (उत्सृज्य) scriptural injunction (शास्त्र-विधिम्) yet being endowed (तु अन्विताः) with श्रद्धा (श्रद्धया), what is (का) their (तेषां) disposition (निष्ठा)? Is it सत्त्वम्, रजस् or तमस् (सत्त्वमाहो रजस्तमः)?

श्री भगवानुवाच

त्रिविधा भवति श्रद्धा देहिनां सा स्वभावजा। सात्त्विकी राजसी चैव तामसी चेति तां श्रृणु।।17.2।।

17.2 The भगवान् said – For embodied ones (देहिनां), that (सा) श्रद्धा – born of one’s nature (स्व-भाव-जा) is threefold (त्रिविधा भवति)- predominantly सत्त्वम् (सात्त्विकी्), predominantly रजस् (राजसी) and predominantly तमस् (तामसी च इति). Listen about these (तां श्रृणु).

सत्त्वानुरूपा सर्वस्य श्रद्धा भवति भारत। श्रद्धामयोऽयं पुरुषो यो यच्छ्रद्धः स एव सः।।17.3।।

17.3 O भारत! Everyone’s श्रद्धा is सर्वस्य (श्रद्धा भवति) in keeping (अनुरूपा) with their minds (सत्त्व) (with its specific latent tendencies). This person (अयं पुरुष:) is permeated by that श्रद्धा  (श्रद्धामय:) (for most of his life). Whatever is one’s श्रद्धा (य: यच्-छ्रद्ध:), that one (स: एव) is (ie lives).

UB: 17:1/3 (1) – अर्जुन asks a rather pertinent question – what if a person is not acquainted with शास्त्र? He may have a good intent but not had an opportunity to know शास्त्र – what is the nature of his intent or निष्ठा? Just because he does not know शास्त्र, should he be considered inferior? This is a valid question for us since our ecosystem including parents are not imparting any idea of शास्त्र to the young minds. While such people may also worship भगवान् and do other good works, they may be unfamiliar with the methods and rules of the शास्त्र – what is their state?

UB: 17:1/3 (2) – All people are born with an innate श्रद्धा or a default mental setting or disposition. It is either oriented towards सत्व, रजस् or तमस्. And this default setting makes each person choose arguments and adopt life that is tuned to his default setting. In fact, all people are nothing else but a manifestation of their default setting. And such default setting does not come about owing to education or experience – irrespective of their education, they take on to arguments that are tuned to their default setting. This default setting is their innate श्रद्धा orientation.

UB: 17:1/3 (3) – Even a so-called atheist has श्रद्धा towards atheist books. Many today appear to have श्रद्धा towards an idea that wealth maximization is akin to more happiness. Though these people may intellectually make statements rejecting this idea, our lifestyle suggests otherwise. So if we do not get bonus in a certain year or a raise or our business does not make as much profit as last year, if we get disappointed even internally, it reinforces that we hold श्रद्धा on wealth maximization. This chapter elaborates how each one with an innate श्रद्धा-type chooses a certain lifestyle automatically. Watch this lifestyle and you can assess his or her default setting.

VB: This is sounding to be a very relevant chapter

PK: Amen 🙏

UB: यजन्ते सात्त्विका देवान्यक्षरक्षांसि राजसाः। प्रेतान्भूतगणांश्चान्ये यजन्ते तामसा जनाः।।17.4।।

17.4 The predominantly सत्व (सात्त्विका) worship (यजन्ते)  the देव (देवान्); the predominantly रजस् (राजसाः), worship the यक्ष and the रक्षस् (यक्षरक्षांसि)(protectors and stealers of wealth); and other (च अन्ये) people who are predominantly तमस् (तामसा जनाः) worship (यजन्ते) ghosts and hosts of harmful spirits (प्रेतान् -भूत-गणां).

अशास्त्रविहितं घोरं तप्यन्ते ये तपो जनाः। दम्भाहङ्कारसंयुक्ताः कामरागबलान्विताः।।17.5।।

17.5 Those men who (ये जनाः) are given to (संयुक्ताः) hypocrisy (दम्भ) and exaggerated self-opinion (अहङ्कार), and filled with pressure of (बलान्विताः) काम and राग who (ये) perform (तप्यन्ते) gruesome तपस् (घोरं तप:) not enjoined in the शास्त्र (अ-शास्त्र-विहितं)

कर्षयन्तः शरीरस्थं भूतग्राममचेतसः। मां चैवान्तःशरीरस्थं तान्विद्ध्यासुरनिश्चयान्।।17.6।।

17.6 These non-discerning (अचेतसः), torturing (कर्षयन्तः) the group of elements (भूत-ग्रामम्) in their bodies (शरीर-स्थं) and Me also (मां च एव) who dwell within the body (अन्तः-शरीर-स्थं)- know them (तान् विद्धि) to be असुरी in their resolves (आसुरी निश्चयान्).

UB: 17:4/6 (1) – We had various kinds of देवता to whom people used to worship for different ends. The choice of the देव is as per one’s own innate श्रद्धा. As we discussed many times earlier, each देव represents a certain kind of शक्ति that we invoke from the भगवान्. And the शक्ति we seek is as per our own श्रद्धा. And worship or यज्ञ does not simply mean having a photo of such a देव or offer flowers at an altar but represents the शक्ति that we seek to achieve whatever we want for success in any endeavour. During the time of श्रीकृष्ण, people used to worship different देवता in a prominent manner. Today, many of these different देवता have ceased to remain prominent in a visible sense; however, we still seek different शक्ति from one देव, say श्रीविष्णु or श्रीगणेश or “self-effort”. Thus, though the देव शक्ति we seek may vary (money, physical power, education, etc), what distinguishes each of us is not WHOM we seek but WHAT we seek.

UB: 17:4/6 (2) – Thus, those in whom सत्व is prominent seek देव – this means they seek powers or दैवी संपदा which aid in their own expansion in an अध्यात्म sense. This thus also determines what books we read, what movies we watch and what company we enjoy. Those with रजस् are devoted to यक्ष like कुबेर who are mainly deities for wealth and luxury. Those with तमस् go after ghosts, etc., viz essentially such शक्ति that seek to harm others or pull others down. Thus, our own श्रद्धा takes us to a देवता to seek what fulfils our own innate need.

UB: 17:4/6 (3) – Thus, a सात्विक may seek physical power (हनुमान/ दुर्गा) to save others (eg Army) and will also attempt to learn humility from lifestyle of हनुमान. A राजस may seek हनुमान शक्ति to win a Marathon or an Olympic Wrestling award. A तामस may seek हनुमान शक्ति to become an underworld don. All of them “BELIEVE” in the ability of such acquired शक्ति to give them the outcomes that they seek. Can we thus call a राजस & तामस as a भक्त of हनुमान even though he may prominently sport His photo at his home and wallet? But we do this today and thus demean the word भक्ति by applying this foolishly. Equally, we must note that people from non-वैदिक traditions or even atheists are also seeking दुर्गा शक्ति as per their own श्रद्धा whether they use the word दुर्गा or not.

UB: 17:4/6 (4) – Now, भगवान् is castigating people who pursue extreme तपस् and put the body into a lot of pain. Even रावण, हिरण्यकश्यप, etc had undertaken intense तपस् and we always read पुराण events when the nature of तपस् is always intense by an असुर and this is because the degree of काम is extremely intense. Even the celebrated ध्रुव did intense तपस् to get respect from his father. Intense तपस् (focussed disciplined effort) by anyone will certainly guarantee outcomes that they seek, whether सात्विक-राजस-तामस, but an असुर puts the body at risk and thus the temple in which भगवान् is residing starts to weaken – this is being dissuaded here. Intense तप does not mean to torture oneself severely in any endeavour – whether sports or religion or even career in office. भगवान् is openly castigating such people as तामसी.

UB: आहारस्त्वपि सर्वस्य त्रिविधो भवति प्रियः। यज्ञस्तपस्तथा दानं तेषां भेदमिमं श्रृणु।।17.7।।

17.7 Food also (आहार अपि तु), which is loved by (प्रियः) everyone (सर्वस्य), is of three kinds (त्रिविधो भवति); and so also are यज्ञ:, तप: and दानं. Listen to (श्रृणु) this (इमं) classification (भेदम्) of them (तेषां) .

UB: 17:7 (1) – It is this verse that lays the foundation of a very unique idea conveyed in the entire श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता. In normal parlance, we extol ones who perform दान, यज्ञ & तप and those who do not perform these are seen as inferior. Such kind of thinking is infantile binary thinking. While people may be doing these things, these alone do not make them worthy of veneration. Beyond each act, what is the thought trigger is a key differentiator. In the next few verses, we are being given inputs on human psychology and while these may be used to judge others (which we do anyway 😊), the key idea is to use these ideas to know our own selves.

UB: 17:7 (2) – वेद has framed its rules by observing the routine acts of human lives quite closely. So the first core act that is common to all is breathing and therefore all living beings are called as प्राणी. So प्राणायाम techniques have been prescribed with the idea that regulated breathing keeps the mind calm and thus making our mind fit for higher wisdom. Next act done by all (including animals) is स्नान and वेद asks people to chant “गंगे च यमुने चैव गोदावरी सरस्वती….” while doing स्नान. Similarly, there are specific श्लोक while cooking food and we have earlier seen 15:14 which is chanted before eating food. The whole idea is that if routine animal acts are infused with सत्व, they will civilize us and thus making our body a fit receptacle for higher wisdom. How do we civilize our food eating and even seemingly secular acts like donation, seeking power or normal acts of discipline?

UB: 17:7 (3) – The next three verses are focussed on food. Since this act is common to all, how to civilize food eating and thus benefit our मन/बुद्धि complex was a key concern for our ऋषि’s. And thus many food eating rules have been framed. In the छांदोग्य उपनिषद्, there is a line which says that the food we eat impacts our body in a threefold manner (will be elaborated tomorrow). If we eat any crap we get, we are turning our own mind into crap. So what is good food and crappy food? I will urge you to listen to Gurus on this since only someone acquainted with आयुर्वेद can give a good idea on these verses and commentary given here will merely serve as an uninformed teaser on this topic.

UB: 17:7 (4) – Some rules I have seen/ read are enumerated here. When one is hungry, one must eat in such a way that 1/3rd of our stomach is filled with food, 1/3rd with water and 1/3rd with air. Food preparation is itself an act of यज्ञ where the burning of stove denotes lighting up अग्नि, cooking of food is an act of offering आहुति to देवता, etc. Hence, cooking is undertaken only after स्नान by families who view cooking as an act of पूजा.  Here, the cooked food is offered to भगवान् first, will not be tasted while cooking even for testing purposes and specific श्लोक are chanted while cooking to infuse positive vibrations into food. Food is consumed only after such an offering when such भौतिक अन्न no longer remains अन्न but becomes प्रसाद. Many of these practices are now tainted as excessive and discontinued in most houses.

17:7 (5) – A सूत्र for good health  summarized in three words is often quoted – हितभुक, मितभुक, ऋतभुक. हितभुक means eating only such food items that are conducive to good health and not just for taste. मितभुक means eat good food but it must be in limited quantity. ऋतभुक means food must not just be healthy and in limited quantity but it must be ensured that this food is paid for based on legitimate earnings acquired based on one’s own hard work. Further, आयुर्वेद has prescribed separate food as per seasons – consume such food as is suited to the season since all food is not considered as beneficial for all times in the year.

UB: 1. In the छान्दोग्य उपनिषद्, we have a few verses that convey that the food we eat is converted into three forms. There is a स्थूल, मध्यम and a सूक्ष्म form of the food. The स्थूल form we eat is not entirely absorbed into the system and some part of it is thrown out as an unwanted material that cannot be absorbed into the system. The मध्यम part of the food is absorbed in the form of flesh in the system. But the सूक्ष्म form, the vibration that is produced by the essential quality of the food, influences the mind itself. So you know your mind, your capacity of thinking, the way of thinking, will be very much influenced by the food that you take continuously. If you go on eating the same kind of food for years together, that quality of the food will tell upon your psychological pattern.

UB: 2. Likewise, the liquid aspect of our diet has स्थूल, मध्यम and a सूक्ष्म aspect. The स्थूल part of the liquid that we drink, which cannot be absorbed into the system, is thrown out as urine. The मध्यम part becomes blood in the body which is intensified by the liquid form of the food that we eat and drink. The virility in us, the energy, the vitality, the प्राण in us, is enhanced by the सूक्ष्म form of the liquids.  Just as the mind is influenced by the सूक्ष्म food, the प्राण is influenced by the सूक्ष्म liquid aspect of the diet.

UB: 3. There are certain items of diet in which the fire principle predominates, e.g., ghee, oil, etc. Their energy also becomes threefold in the system. The स्थूल form becomes bone. If we take ghee, or butter, or oil, in our food, it has something to do with the strength of

the bones. The मध्यम part of it becomes marrow, the substance that is inside the bone. The सूक्ष्म form becomes the energy of speaking. Speech gets activated by the fiery element present in the food that we take.

UB: 4. So our वाक्, our प्राण, our मन, are all constituted essentially of these three items of diet that we are consuming, and the more we take them in, the more is the influence they exert upon these three aspects of our personality. These three elements – fire, water and earth, have entered our system and become our वाक् (which process is indicative of the other senses also) our प्राण, our मन.

UB: 5. Another analogy is given in the same उपनिषद्. Curd (yogurt), when churned, exudes butter. Butter rises up on churning the curd. It comes up as the essential part of the milk through the process of curdling and churning. This is what happens to the food that we take. It is churned inside by the forces of our body, and the essential part of the food rises up into the structure of the psychological organ. It becomes the essence of our thinking process. It becomes the mind. As butter comes out of milk through curdling and churning, even so, the mind starts functioning by means of the churning of the food through the action of the forces of the body. This is the case with everything else also – the water that we drink, and the other fiery elements that we consume.

UB: So the message is – BE MINDFUL OF WHAT YOU EAT. The above is an abridged extract from भाष्य by स्वामि कृष्णानन्द on छान्दोग्य उपनिषद्.

PA: 👍very nice. This is really interesting 👍👍. How does one find out what food is beneficial  on all levels (fine coarse and Subtle) and what is not? Any ideas in this direction would be helpful 🙏🙏

UB: A झलक is given tomorrow but this is a detailed topic that requires an expert teacher. I will also join you if you manage to find a teacher. 😀

PA: 👍👍🙏🏻🙏🏻

UB: Actually, there are many Institutes in India which offer this Gyan but while i know of others who have gone to these places, i myself have not gone there

PA: 😃 Last week I was at a iftari evening at a Moroccan cultural center and you will be amazed that after the time when they opened the fast the spokeswoman said that one should eat in this 1/3 propotions of food water and air as per the Koran and not load the stomach too much

UB: Wow!!!!! Interesting. I have the Koran at home – let me try to locate this line. I have only read the first few pages till now.

UB: आयुःसत्त्वबलारोग्यसुखप्रीतिविवर्धनाः। रस्याः स्निग्धाः स्थिरा हृद्या आहाराः सात्त्विकप्रियाः।।17.8।।

17.8 Foods (आहाराः) which increase (विवर्धनाः) longevity (आयुः), mental clarity (सत्त्व), strength (बल) , health (आरोग्य), pleasure (सुख) and satisfaction (प्रीति) and those that are juicy (रस्याः), lubricating (स्निग्धाः), provide stability (स्थिरा) and agreeable (हृद्या), are dear to one predominantly सत्व (सात्त्विक-प्रियाः).

कट्वम्ललवणात्युष्णतीक्ष्णरूक्षविदाहिनः। आहारा राजसस्येष्टा दुःखशोकामयप्रदाः।।17.9।।

17.9 Foods (आहारा) that are pungent (कटु), (very) sour (अम्ल), (very) salty (लवण), exceedingly heating (अत्युष्ण), (very) bitter (तीक्ष्ण), (very) dry (रूक्ष) and  (very) burning (विदाहिनः), are all dear to (इष्टा) Rajasika (राजसस्य); they produce (प्रदा:) pain (दुःख), sorrow (शोक) and disease (आमय).

यातयामं गतरसं पूति पर्युषितं च यत्। उच्छिष्टमपि चामेध्यं भोजनं तामसप्रियम्।।17.10।।

17.10 And Food (भोजनं) whose (यद् च)  occasion (to be eaten) has elapsed (यातयामं), lacking in essence of not juicy (गतरसं), stinking (पूति) (garlic, onion, liquor, meat, etc) and stale (पर्युषितं), and scraped (from another’s plate) (उच्छिष्टम्) and that (अपि च) which is unfit for यज्ञ (अमेध्यं) is dear to predominantly तमस् (तामस-प्रियम्).

UB: 17:8/10 (1) – सात्विक food traits are self-evident. Food must be wholesome, healthy, it must be good to look at, it must provide stability to the body and it must feel good not just while eating but also after consuming it. Food must increase our immunity and not decrease it or make body weak or disoriented. Such food must have an innate juice content (like fruits) and excessive cooking can take away the juice aspect. Similarly, use of small amount of घी enables lubrication thus aiding the digestion process while dry food is more difficult to digest. Sweets are included as food items that increase प्रीति and hence these are offered as प्रसाद in our temples.

UB: 17:8/10 (2) – A राजस person is born naturally to love taste of foods that are exceedingly salty, bitter, dry, burning and pungent. No one has taught this person to love  such food – they have a natural liking for such a food. Thus, if one likes Andhra pickles or hot chillies, eating such stuff is painful while eating and painful next day morning too and will cause disease in the long run if one remains with such a type of food. And our तामस one loves food that stinks, is stale, rotten, is झूठा, lacks juice content, etc. Essentially, he loves food that is considered unfit to be offered to देवता but he eats it without realizing that भगवान् is present within himself too and he is disrespecting भगवान् Himself by eating stale food. But then his taste buds find such food as appealing 😊.

UB: 17:8/10 (3) – The process of decay of food starts as soon as the food is cooked and आयुर्वेद recommends (in days when there was no refrigeration) to eat food within a maximum of four hours of being cooked. Also, excess of anything is bad. Thus, while the body indeed needs tastes like sour, bitter, etc., but if one takes to these in extremes, you can sense that रजस् or तमस् is dominating this person. Meat is said to promote रजस् within the body.  Garlic may have medicinal properties but one must note that a medicine is taken only when body needs a medicine and not for taste and so applies to garlic as per our texts. So if one is naturally inclined towards excessive eating of garlic & onions, you can safely state that this man is infested with तमस्. Mushroom similarly is taken as adding to our तमस् when consumed. Liquor is a pungent item. So if one person drinks fruit juice and another drinks liquor and both approach a small kid, the reaction on kids’ face will inform us which smell is sweet and which one stinks 😊. Equally, if the kid, despite the odour takes to it naturally, you have detected an असुर in the making 😊😊.

UB: 17:8/10 (4) – Are people who consume dry/ stale/ stinking food bad? Once again, passing a value judgement is a human weakness and we must avoid it. However, the food taste of a person can reveal the character of a person – apparently, Socrates used to make a line by telling people that if they tell him what they eat, he can convey their character. So if a person consumes a high dose of liquor regularly, all we need to know is that तमस् is dominating this one’s persona and such a one will not be ready for the wisdom of the Gita. To each, his own. Because a तामस is innately not ready for the Gita, why impose it on him? For a life which does.not want Gita wisdom, there are no rules to worry about. But if he insists that he will have liquor while studying Gita insisting that stink smell is also सात्विक, we can do नमो नमो and move on or probably take a sip ourselves if such taste appeals to us too 😊😊 😊.

UB: 17:8/10 (5) – One may say – “This is unfair. भगवान् cannot dictate what we eat too. Religion should stay within its limits. And after all, these habits of eating stale or stinking food are minor addictions – should He not look at our “golden” hidden mind within rather than external “minor” cravings? भगवान् must not take these seriously 😊.”. Actually, भगवान् is the last one to take these seriously – it is for us to figure out what we like (or dislike) and pursue these as per our liking. If अध्यात्म seems boring, there is no need to pursue it but if this appeals, watch your eating lifestyle, that is all these verses attempt to convey. If तामस food appeals, do keep eating it. If one thinks one can remain सात्विक but still love rotten food, please be my guest and prove भगवान् wrong. It should be an interesting case study to take up 😊.

UB: https://youtu.be/L8Nza_3H_Pk  A small video on Youtube – there are many other videos that can be watched to get an idea on the topic. One more point. Vegetarians tend to develop a semse of superiority about their सात्विक् choice of food. Which is why it is important to note that all vegetarian food is not सात्विक्. Second, having too mamy restrictions even in vegetarian food is harmful. When Sivananda came to Rishikesh, he found many Sadhus falling ill and when he dug further, he observed that these Sadhus were merely eating Dal and Chapati daily instead of all ingredients and thus weakening the body. Hence, one needs to be careful before getting into any self-imposed dieting regimen before proper study. And lastly, vegetarianism is not noble in itself but because it is relatively more conducive to अध्यात्म. Being a teetotaller but living an आसुरी lifestyle is wasted vegetarianism. One might as well enjoy all tastes if अध्यात्म does not appeal rather than living with any sense of infantile superiority (viz a रजस् trait).

PA: Interesting hints and very practical shloka for adapting in daily life. Thanks for the additional links 🙏👍👍

UB: Thanks – this chapter is all about साधना and tips for life orientation to adopt. It is a very useful one to be familiar with.

UB: अफलाकाङ्क्षिभिर्यज्ञो विधिदृष्टो य इज्यते। यष्टव्यमेवेति मनः समाधाय स सात्त्विकः।।17.11।।

17.11 That यज्ञ which (य) is in accordance with (दृष्ट:) the शास्त्र (विधि) (and is) performed (इज्यते) by persons who do not hanker (आकाङ्क्षिभि:) after results (अफल), and is performed with the resolve that (इति मनः समाधाय) it is “simply to be done as a यज्ञ” (यष्टव्यम् एव), that यज्ञ is predominantly सत्व (स सात्त्विकः).

अभिसंधाय तु फलं दम्भार्थमपि चैव यत्। इज्यते भरतश्रेष्ठ तं यज्ञं विद्धि राजसम्।।17.12।।

17.12 Whereas (तु), whatever यज्ञ is performed (यद् इज्यते) having as its purpose (अभिसंधाय) a result (फलं), or indeed only (अपि एव च) out of hypocrisy (दम्भ-अर्थम्) – know (विद्धि) that यज्ञ (तं यज्ञं) to be predominantly रजस् (राजसम्), O भरतश्रेष्ठ

विधिहीनमसृष्टान्नं मन्त्रहीनमदक्षिणम्। श्रद्धाविरहितं यज्ञं तामसं परिचक्षते।।17.13।।

17.13 A यज्ञ (यज्ञं) which is contrary to शास्त्र (विधि-हीनम्) in which no food is distributed (अ-सृष्ट-अन्नं), without मंत्र (मन्त्र-हीनम्) without दक्षिणा (अदक्षिणम्) and without श्रद्धा (श्रद्धा-विरहितं), they call (परिचक्षते) predominantly तमस् (तामसं).

UB: 17:11/13 (1) –  Limited meaning of यज्ञ involves worship to a देवता by offering the देवता an आहुति in अग्नि. However, this has a much wider meaning than worship to a deity. In its wider meaning, any act of seeking a certain kind of देव शक्ति (धन, ऐश्वर्य, बाहुशक्ति, बुद्धिबल, ज्ञान, etc) by offering one’s own body and mind into the fire of self-effort is यज्ञ. A सात्विक यज्ञ seeks such देव शक्ति merely to discharge one’s धर्म and not for personal fame, insulting others, etc. He undertakes such यज्ञ (where one gives self-effort and one obtains शक्ति in return) since it is enjoined in the शास्त्र convinced that this is the right thing to do. He seeks no personal benefit from the यज्ञ except for seeking such देव शक्ति to discharge his धर्म. He does not need to be pushed to do such a यज्ञ – he knows that all यज्ञ enjoined in the धर्मशास्त्र are for benefit of society and he therefore does these for such a purpose only. And through the process of यज्ञ, he hopes to obtain चित्त शुद्धि.

UB: 17:11/ 13 (2) – And one with रजस् does यज्ञ for ostentation or for personal benefit. Like a सात्विक, he is familiar with the यज्ञ विधान very well and knows the benefits in terms of outcomes and he thus follows the यज्ञ विधी thoroughly worried that if he does not perform as per विधी, he will not get the desired benefit. The reverence for देवता is present but for the benefit that he expects as an outcome of the act of यज्ञ. Thus, in a secular sense, we can take the example of a student putting effort in studying for an exam not because he has to study anyway or to gain knowledge but because passing the exam well will give him fame would be a राजसिक् यज्ञ – most of us will fall in this bucket. He will study hard, follow the guidance given by teachers and gets inspired by success stories of past students to pass exams effectively. But his eye is on the outcome.

UB: 17:11/13 (3) – तमस् however has neither reverence nor does he do the act as per विधी. Three key aspects of a यज्ञ are दक्षिणा to the one who performs the यज्ञ (meaning one who helps him acquire the necessary देव शक्ति), chanting of appropriate मंत्र that is valid to acquire the stated देव शक्ति and doing दान to the poor and needy. If none of these are done or done improperly, such is a तमस् person who does this यज्ञ probably because he is being forced into this or because of प्रथा of such acts being done by ancestors but he has no श्रद्धा personally in यज्ञ. From a secular perspective, a student who is studying because his parents told him so, does not follow the due process required for sincere study (depends on previous exam papers 😊) and if success is achieved, does not aknowledge the support of society but takes credit for outcome fully to himself, such a one is a तामस.

UB: 17:11 (4) – In a traditional sense, while पूजा is an individual affair perfomed at home, यज्ञ are public acts of worship where the larger society cooperates with the individual to enable the person to seek a chosen object of desire. These verses can be applied to the traditional यज्ञ too and while these have become restricted in today’s era, during श्रीकृष्ण’s era, they were more widely conducted and these verses made sense to अर्जुन and many others after him.

UB: देवद्विजगुरुप्राज्ञपूजनं शौचमार्जवम्। ब्रह्मचर्यमहिंसा च शारीरं तप उच्यते।।17.14।।

17.14 तपस् pertaining to the body (शारीरं तप) is said to be (उच्यते) worship of (पूजनं) the देव, of those initiated into scriptural study (द्विज), the गुरू’s, the intellectuals (प्राज्ञ), cleanliness (शौचम्), straight-forwardedness (आर्जवम्) , ब्रह्मचर्यम् and अहिंसा.

UB: 17:14 (1) – Any act of exertion that involves seeking something that one does not possess is तप. All human acts involve exertions viz तप expressed in three ways – by शरीर, by वाक् and by मन. And तप by शरीर, वाक् and मन will help us make our persona a fit receptacle for receiving what we are seeking. तप also means discipline. How does one discipline these three? This verse focuses on various actions that can discipline our शरीर. Reverence for four is expressed as तप of the body. Thus, when our body bends down automatically in the presence of the four, our body is seen as tuned to discipline. Who are these four? देव, द्विज, गुरु & प्राज्ञ.

UB: 17:4 (2) – Getting up early to do नित्य संध्यावन्दन or नित्यपूजा or नित्य अध्ययन् of अध्यात्म or नित्य योगासन is akin to देवपूजा. To persevere with this even though one may be tired is extremely difficult. Our body resists this idea of waking up early and gives excuses to remain asleep. To perform देवपूजा daily for a few minutes is seen as an act of तप here. Similarly, having reverence for द्विज meaning “twice-born”. We have this idea of a भौतिक जन्म and अध्यात्मिक जन्म and while our mother & father are the ones who have given us physical birth, our गुरू who initiates us into अध्यात्मिक् ज्ञान becomes our अध्यात्म parent. All those who have received अध्यात्म ज्ञान and live by its precepts is a द्विज – the thread ceremony marks the initiation as a द्विज. Thus, serving both of them at all times, getting up in their presence, to run errands for them, eat food only after they eat is again a तप for the body even though once again, our body may resist this idea of serving them. And similar service must be offered to a प्राज्ञ meaning one who is evolved in an अध्यात्म sense.

UB: 17:4 (3) – And to remain clean (e.g., having bath two times a day), keeping the house clean, etc involves physical labour and thus a तप of the body. And similarly, to remain in an आर्जवम् mode and not doing हिंसा even when provoked are seen as तप for the body. आर्जवम् means to be simple minded where the body does not get attracted to personal luxuries and seeks a need-based life. ब्रह्मचर्यम् again means to remain detached – this is often translated as celibacy. And since physical sexual urges are natural, sticking to one partner is taken as an expression of ब्रह्मचर्यम् and practicing this restraint on occassions where such acts need to be avoided (as enjoined by the शास्त्र) is also ब्रह्मचर्यम् only.

UB: When one does all the above, one is said to be doing तपस्या of our शरीर. This (and the next few verses) bring the idea of तपस्या in our daily lives and expand this from its limited meaning of doing तपस्या in a faraway jungle inside a mountain cave.

PA: Practicing acts of giving and observing the inner thoughts behind the act. Is it real compassion, pity or just to strengthen ones ego. Keeping your body and the sorrounding clean resonates well as if we consider ourselves to be a divine spark then we need to keep the temple (body) clean and in good shape. The mind always resists in each act or action that can lead to our growth. It’s my belief about the mind. As it’s primary function is to protect and secure. So as soon as the question of putting one self through a little struggle or tapasaya comes it start giving all reasons that it’s not possible. However I think we all must have experience the joy one experiences in taking one small step into the unknown or something that looks a difficult to do in beginning. This kind of repeated tapasaya some with the pure intent of self expansion and doing better than what one could do before – without any competition against other in mind or comparison also helps realize our potential. To me personally all forms of personal luxuries do come with a price in terms of later maintainence, securing and your time  to be invested for that.

PK: I agree with your summary PA … I believe that introspection and mental fidelity to oneself is critical – self-delusion is fairly common in my opinion ; better an occasional consciously performed lapse than an unconscious or arbitrary actions  stated as “virtue”  is my opinion but I maybe wrong 😃😃. I See your point if luxuries – sometimes I play the game of asking myself what I cannot really live without – the goal would be to keep pruning that list while enjoying the pleasures ( that to me is one way of detaching oneself from the luxury );  it also seems to me (in my low level of evolution ) difficult ( and sometimes unnecessary ) to completely give up luxuries I enjoy – I wonder if it is my kind resisting as you suggest. I tell myself it’s probably better to exhaust my desires than suppress them – suppressing the monkey mind looks like it works for sometime but the rebound is usually huge 😃😃. I also realize that I am a rebel at heart and cannot follow rules unless it makes sense to me – however it also seems that  in this dimension my mind is the best tool we possess and I worry about surrendering it needlessly / wrongly. This to me is the struggle that is mine personally  to overcome – convince but not subdue my mind 😃😃😃

PK: Mindfulness to me the key – obedience, deprivation etc seem like false victories that I do to keep the peace 😃😃

UB: Good comments 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

PA: Your comment with mindfulness is valuable as that’s what it comes down to 👍. Regarding luxuries I also must admit that there is no point depriving one self if one really desires to have something.  It’s only over a very long period of time the joy of acquiring things slowly dies down. I mean one cannot have the same joy as one had when one bought the first car or the first job or the first something … My personal way is that i try to practice the prayer that whatever that is necessary for us in terms of material things and comforts will come to us as per our requirements which keep changing at different stages of life.  So instead of me running after it let it come to me naturally as gifts of universe.

PK: I love that attitude PA  – should attempt it if more frequently – what is here and/ or necessary , let it come. Too much stressful effort  trying to obtain luxuries/ desire I agree is counterproductive . “And don’t worry about losing. If it is right, it happens — The main thing is not to hurry. Nothing good gets away”. John Steinbeck in a letter to his son about finding love but I think it applies to life in general 🙏🙏🙏

PK: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theatlantic.com/amp/article/251375/ . The link to the letter for those interested – one of the best advice I have read 🙏🙏🙏

PA: Wonderful 👏🏻👍😂

PK: Glad u liked it 🙏🙏

UB: अनुद्वेगकरं वाक्यं सत्यं प्रियहितं च यत्। स्वाध्यायाभ्यसनं चैव वाङ्मयं तप उच्यते।।17.15।।

17.15 तपस् in the form of speech (वाङ्मयं) is said to be (उच्यते) the speech that (यत्) is not agitating (अन्-उद्वेगकर वाक्यंं), is truthful (सत्यं), and both pleasant and beneficial (प्रिय-हितं च) as well as the study (स्वाध्याय) and practice of (अभ्यसनं) the वेद texts.

UB: 17:15 (1) – And now are stated how we can do तप of our speech. And धर्म texts abound in numerous stories about how these can be done. First given here is that we must not state things in a manner that can excite another into needless agitation. One needs to be calm oneself and this act of being calm itself requires an effort and thus seen as a तप. We often insult our kids, our spouses, etc not because we want to but because we express our inner agitation outside and this in turn excites the other too and we have chaos as home. So be restained in speech. Of course, despite taking all precaution, if the other still expresses उद्वेग, one can only do नमो नमो 😊.

UB: 17:15 (2) – Next state the truth. Truth does not mean narracting facts in a bland manner. We are expected to state things in a manner that while the truth is conveyed, it is done with the best interest of the other. So if one has failed an exam, one may say – “You stupid man! you have failed an exam”, or “You did not study well and you have therefore failed” or “You have failed” or “We will have to jointly work hard to try again” or ” Results seem to tough this year and unfortunately, even you could not succeed this time”. There are thus various ways in which even facts are conveyed in a manner that keep the interest of the other in mind. Speech must be pleasant even in a difficult situation and always uttered with the best interest of the other in mind.

UB: 17:15 (3) – Regular श्लोक chanting is a form of practice. We do these during festivals or during times of distress or sometimes even when we feel pleasant. Using the speech also only for praise of भगवान् is also a तप since speech is being disciplined for अध्यात्म purposes only. One of the शंकराचार्य of Sringeri was actually born mute and used to spend all his life in a देवी temple. At a later age, the देवी appeared in front of him and gave him ability to speak. So stunned was he with the vision of the देवी that out come 500 magnificient verses on the देवी which are seen as highest in poetry by those who know poetry. And when the देवी offerred him a boon, he asked for speech to be taken back since he did not want the same throat to be used for secular talk. This grand काव्य goes by the name of मूक पञ्चशति.

UB: On speech, most of the traditional Gurus pick up वाल्मीकि रामायण and break down each and every sentence used by both राम & हनुमान to differentiate between how a non-thinking person would have talked vis a vis how one who does तप of speech talks. And thus the text becomes a text read for continuous learning and not just for the story.

PA: My Goodness what a highest form of devotion 🙏🏻🙏🏻. I wonder sometimes in this fast age so such men exhibiting so much patience mutual respect wisdom and trust exist. Truly a very wise man

UB: Simple letter – how would we have written, if at all, differently 😀. “There is nothing called love, it is a myth people are chasing, why should one love only one person – why not the whole world, what are you looking to get out of her – it is रजस् or is it तमस् love, what is their family background and their संस्कार”…..😀😀😀😀😀

MK: 😊😉 The best writers always write in simple words…and that’s the beauty of it. Like T.S.Eliot said ‘Life is long’ ..everybody knows that but if Steinbeck or Eliot say something, it’s a big thing ;))

UB: मनःप्रसादः सौम्यत्वं मौनमात्मविनिग्रहः। भावसंशुद्धिरित्येतत्तपो मानसमुच्यते।।17.16।।

17.16 तपस् pertaining to the mind is said to be (तप: मानसम् उच्यते) this (इति एतद्) – mental clarity (मनःप्रसादः), cheerfulness (सौम्यत्वं), discipline over (inner speech) (मौनम्), mastery (in general) over the mind (आत्म-विनिग्रहः) and clean intentions (भावसंशुद्धि).

UB: 17:16 (1) – This is the biggest struggle for all of us. All of us try our best to remain calm viz मन: प्रसाद: but fail miserably many times. This struggle is तप provided we see it that way. If we note our inner struggle and fight our narural tendency of our mind to get into throes of agitation, this agitation is actually an अध्यात्म struggle and is a तपस्या. If we persist our whole life in this तपस्या, success is certain to happen but if we internalize that to get agitated is normal and natural, there is no तपस्या and thus no calmness will arise ever in our life.

UB: 17:16 (2) – Keeping the mind pleasant is another form of तपस्या, once again very difficult. And more difficult than this is मौनम् or to practice. To speak only when one has to is key since one who speaks more thinks less and one who thinks more speaks less. To keep on talking and never allowing the mind to think is an आसुरी quality again and must be avoided. Last, but not the least, one must engage with another with pure thoughts rather than prejudices and to fight our prejudices is thus another form of तपस्या.

MK: 👍👏👌

UB: श्रद्धया परया तप्तं तपस्तत् त्रिविधं नरैः। अफलाकाङ्क्षिभिर्युक्तैः सात्त्विकं परिचक्षते।।17.17।।

17.17 That (तत्) threefold (त्रिविधं) तप, practised with (तप्तं) supreme श्रद्धा (श्रद्धया परया) by disciplined (युक्तैः) men (नरैः) who do not require/ anticipate results (अफलाकाङ्क्षिभि:) – they call it (परिचक्षते) तप of सात्विका.

सत्कारमानपूजार्थं तपो दम्भेन चैव यत्। क्रियते तदिह प्रोक्तं राजसं चलमध्रुवम्।।17.18।।

17.18 तप that (यत् तप:) is practised (क्रियते) for the sake of (अर्थं) (receiving) worship in word meaning praise (सत्कार), mind (मान) and deed (पूजा), and, indeed, (performed) only out of hypocrisy (दम्भेन च एव), that here (तद् इह), being unsteady (अध्रुवम्) and not long-lasting (चलम्), is said to be (प्रोक्तं)  predominantly राजस.

मूढग्राहेणात्मनो यत्पीडया क्रियते तपः। परस्योत्सादनार्थं वा तत्तामसमुदाहृतम्।।17.19।।

17.19 तप which (यद् तप:) is practised (क्रियते) out of a  deluded understanding (मूढग्राहेण), for inflicting pain (पीडया) on oneself (आत्मान:) or for destroying (उत्सादन-अर्थं वा) another (परस्य) – that (तद्) is said to be (उदाहृतम्) predominantly तमस.

UB: 17:17/19 (1) – Just when we may be thinking to safely conclude that one doing तप is an evolved man, भगवान् brings त्रिगुण into this. So the question may arise – why is discipline important? For what purpose? Essentially, it is not the act in itself that makes it valuable, it is the intent behind the act that gives value to it. भगवान् is now stating that one who takes on to such तप naturally without effort and without having any need to seek logic is doing सात्विक तप. Questions like – Why and when should i remain calm, why and when should i be pleasant to others, why should i keep quiet, etc do not occur to such a person or even if they occur, a सात्विक gets a positive answer from within thus making him continue to perform such type of तप as per the demands of the situation.

UB: 17:17/19 (2) – A राजस person dons these attributes for personal needs. Social morality is a रजस् trait. One is moral, one is practicing restraint so that one can remain in society and gain more from it by taking on to such restaints. The day he has acquired the necessary देवशक्ति with his तप and his dependence on the society is lesser, he will abandon तप immediately. And the society may wonder as to how come such a disciplined person who used to go to temples daily, be so calm, talk pleasantly, etc has turned into a रावण. And one may then wrongly conclude – what is the use of being disciplined or praying to भगवान् when one will eventually turn out like a रावण? Little do people realize that रावण was a रावण since he was a kid and all the acts of being a master of वेद or doing intense शिव भक्ति were of the रजस् kind and never सात्विक in the first place. Such type of acts are never meant to last and once the outcome of तप is realized, this person will abandon the तप and lapse into wayward ways.

UB: 17:17/19 (3) – तपस्या of the तमस् kind is delusional. It was done without having clue as to why it is being done. Because it is not thought through well, such people end up doing intense तप that ends up harming the body. We often hear of deaths while people are doing Marathon which has become a popular fashion symbol in recent times. A तामस gets swayed by hearing an account of intense तपस्या by some third party and they also get inspired. While inspiration is laudable, if an uninformed person gets inspired, he ends up doing a तप for acquiring something that is neither his धर्म nor is he really tuned for it. Right understanding is essential for success and mere intent backed by lack of knowledge harms both the person himself as well as people around him.

UB: दातव्यमिति यद्दानं दीयतेऽनुपकारिणे। देशे काले च पात्रे च तद्दानं सात्त्विकं स्मृतम्।।17.20।।

17.20 दान that is given (with the thinking) “(it is simply) to be given” (दातव्यम् इति) , without regard to (the others’) ability to (return the) favour (अनुपकारिणे), at the proper place and time (देशे काले च) and to a deserving person (पात्रे च) – that (तद् दानं) is held to be (स्मृतम्) predominantly सत्व (सात्त्विकं).

यत्तु प्रत्युपकारार्थं फलमुद्दिश्य वा पुनः। दीयते च परिक्लिष्टं तद्दानं राजसं स्मृतम्।।17.21।।

17.21 Whereas (तु) दानं that (यत्) is given for the sake of a return favour or (प्रत्युपकार-अर्थं), on the other hand, with a view for (उद्दिश्य वा पुनः) a (later) result (फलम्) – or given (दीयते च) grudgingly (परिक्लिष्टं) – that (तद्दानं) is held to be (स्मृतम्)  predominantly रजस् (राजसं).

अदेशकाले यद्दानमपात्रेभ्यश्च दीयते। असत्कृतमवज्ञातं तत्तामसमुदाहृतम्।।17.22।।

17.22 दानं that is given at the wrong place and wrong time (अदेशकाले), or to those who are not worthy (अपात्रेभ्यश्च दीयते), (that is given) without expressing respect (असत्कृतम्) or with contempt (अवज्ञातं) – that (तत्) is said to be (उदाहृतम्)  predominantly तमस् (तामसम्).

UB: 17:20/22 (1) – I love these three verses. Even a seemingly noble act may not really noble. This verses put to rest our binary view that doing दान is good and not doing is bad. A genuinely religious person is not seen as an emotional man filled with a high level of कृपा and thus liberally doling out goodies to all. A सात्विका is meant to have a sharp and alert thinking mind who does दान not just to one who needs the दान but the beneficiary must also be deserving. If the beneficiary of दान takes on to तमस् owing to this दान, one must avoid donating to such people. In today’s time too, we often are told to do a thorough due diligence before parting money to any Institution. Equally, we have this idea of giving दान at the right place and time.

UB: 17:20/22 (2) – दान need not just be restricted to धन but could include time given to others, ज्ञान, etc. Even ज्ञान must not be given to all but only to a deserving one. द्रोणाचार्य did not impart the ज्ञान of how to use ब्रह्मास्त्र to his own son even though he was attached to his son immensely but imparted this only to अर्जुन. Today, we are imparting higher education to all just purely based on technical merit but is the person deserving in a moral sense is not evaluated – and we thus are seeing some terrorists coming from a high educational background. If we donate to a poor relative without him even asking, it may push him to तमस् or drive him to misuse this benefit negatively. दान given to an undeserving will mean that we become accountable for the wrong actions done by such an undeserving person when he misuses the object of दान.

UB: 17:20/22(3) – Attitude while giving दान is a wonderful idea. When doing दान, does the act fill us up with joy when the person praises us or do we quietly give and just move on? Is our primary purpose of दान linked to country’s tax laws? When we give, do we carry an emotion inside of contempt while smiling outside? The moment these emotions appear inside, the whole benefit from दान is lost and we will further sink into the abyss of रजस् & तमस्. So अध्यात्म growth may not be possible even though the Time magazine may quote our name as the World’s finest philanthropher.

UB: 17:20/22 (4) – We also know this from common sense. If we donate to a drunkard out of pity, he will use the money for drinking. A lazy one prefers eating and sleeping. He needs to be spurred into रजस् to uplift him and what will be a source of inspiration for him is more sleep and more food. So दान of food to him when he is really hungry makes sense but दान of money may encourage him to do more sleep. So दान of giving him a job that keeps him engaged may be useful since such activity may make him see the benefits of रजस् and he may shed his तमस् ways. So the message – know yourself and the other well enough before/ while/ after giving दान. I love these verses.

MK: 👍👍👏 Puts दान into a perspective…But it’s very difficult to know whether the person/organization is going to use the money properly. Everybody lies so much nowadays. We can only give to the best of our knowledge and then forget it. नेकि कर कुएँ में डाल …😀it’s extremely difficult to monitor particularly when you are far off..

UB: नेकि कर कुएँ में डाल …😀😀😀. Thus far, this सप्तदश अध्याय focussed on conveying the idea of यज्ञ, दान & तप and defining the perfect कर्म of यज्ञ, दान & तप. However, despite best intent, our act of यज्ञ, दान & तप may struggle to reach सात्विक ideals. So in the remaning 6 concluding verses, भगवान् gives a way forward, a मंत्र, to perfect our कर्म. The concept is slightly heavy and my own ज्ञान on this is shaky at best. But you should all find it interesting.

PK: I agree with this- in the role of the giver, the intent of Daan is important – what happens with the Daan is beyond our control. As recipient of someone’s generosity my attitude is to accept graciously and hopefully pay it forward as a similar kindness 😃😃… who am I to decide who is worthy of my generosity? If I can do it graciously and with an happy heart, I will ; if I cannot , I move on 😃😃no Daan is better than grudging Daan. The Rajas or tamas intent in Daan is, in my opinion , a ” give and Take” – a matching attitude .., nothing wrong with that as long as it acknowledged by both parties … the problem arises when it is touted as a ” gift ” or ” help” but it’s not … I hope that as a recipient my Rajas mode will remember the kind gesture and return the favor ; and I will not fall back to my tamas side which will selfishly only take ( and consider it as my right )

PK: “ Let God work in you, give the work to God, and have peace. Don’t worry if He works through your nature or above your nature, because both are His, nature and grace.”

– Meister Eckhart

UB: ओं तत्सदिति निर्देशो ब्रह्मणस्त्रिविधः स्मृतः। ब्राह्मणास्तेन वेदाश्च यज्ञाश्च विहिताः पुरा।।17.23।।

17.23 ॐ, तत्, सत् is (ओं तत् सत् इति) consisered (स्मृतः) the threefold (त्रिविधः) expression (निर्देश:) of ब्रह्मण:. Through that (तेन) (expression), the ब्राह्मण (ब्राह्मणा:), the वेद (वेदाश्च) and यज्ञ (यज्ञाश्च) were formed (विहिताः) in the beginning (पुरा).

तस्मादोमित्युदाहृत्य यज्ञदानतपःक्रियाः। प्रवर्तन्ते विधानोक्ताः सततं ब्रह्मवादिनाम्।।17.24।।

17.24 Therefore (तस्माद्), for those who know the वेद’s (ब्रह्म-वादिनाम्), activities (क्रियाः) –  यज्ञ, दान and तप (यज्ञदानतपः) mentioned in (scriptural) directives (विधान-उक्ताः) – are always begun (सततं प्रवर्तन्ते) by pronouncing (इति उदाहृत्य) ॐ (ओम्).

UB: 17:23/24 (1) – Here, भगवान् is expounding a technical mystical मंत्र. What if we approach every act of यज्ञ,तप & दान with the right attitude but are unable to discharge these properly? भगवान says – chant ॐ-तत्-सत् before every कर्म and it becomes complete. Sounds unusual, right? The मंत्र – ॐ-तत्-सत् is used by ज्ञ्यानी ‘s before commencing any pious act and since a ज्ञ्यानी only does pious acts, all their कर्म begin with either all these three words or partial use of these words like ॐ. Essentially, ब्रह्मा is said to have projected this विश्व by uttering these three words and since then, all pious acts are undertaken emulating ब्रह्मा. So the question that becomes relevant is – do we do कर्म that are outside the ambit of आहार, यज्ञ,तप & दान ?

UB: 17:23/24 (2) – Ch 17 has focussed on four types of कर्म – आहार, यज्ञ, तप and दान. If one looks at our lives, all our कर्म can be linked to these four. आहार in our texts refers not just to physical food but all sense objects consumed by all senses. Second – any act of seeking शक्ति  from any देवता is preceded by a thought in our minds – this may either relate to अध्यात्म expansion viz योग or acquiring some means for भोग. Thus all our acts of seeking higher abilities than what we normally possess is यज्ञ. All of us in any sphere thus may be seen as indulging in an act of यज्ञ a few times in our lives. Third, study for an exam, working hard for career, restraining speech, keeping the mind calm, taking care of the house, etc are acts of तप. Conduct of तप earns outcomes. Fourth is दान – every कर्म of ours involves giving away of what we have earned as outcomes of our तप. Either we spend money we earn for movies or donate to needy or spend on a holiday or give away our time – in a wider sense thus, all of us are continually doing acts of दान all our lives. Thus, our life can simply be summarized as indulging in thousands of कर्म of taking आहार and doing यज्ञ, तप & दान. Now these routine कर्म that may be done either with a सात्विक, राजस or तामस bent of mind but none of us do anything else beyond these four at a primal level. We can thus conclude that before any कर्म that we do, it will be beneficial to chant ॐ-तत्-सत् prior to it thus making it pious.

UB: 17:23/24 (3) – भगवान् says here that chanting the मंत्र of ॐ-तत्-सत् will aid in making the कर्म pious and reduce the impact of defects in the कर्म. So utter ॐ before any कर्म. Why ॐ? ॐ is seen as one name of भगवान् which signifies protective aspect of भगवान्. It represents the primal vibration and when uttered by ब्रह्मा triggered the birth of the Universe to gush forth. And as a primal sound, it continues to vibrate in the background while Universe engages in its कर्म of expansion. So by chanting ॐ, one attempts to sync our कर्म with the primal sound of the Universe. Our कर्म is a subset of all कर्म happening within the Universe and chanting of ॐ is meant to aid in aligning our individual कर्म with the कर्म of the cosmos. As we saw at the start of Ch 8, all our कर्म is part of the Universal कर्म like a domino effect after the big bang. So aligning our individual कर्म to the Universal कर्म syncs our कर्म with the Divine Will.

UB: 17:23/24 (4) – By chanting this मंत्र at the very start of the birth of the Universe, भगवान् established three aids to sustain the Universe – यज्ञ, the वेद and ब्राह्मण. How do these three sustain the Universe? The world is seen as being sustained by यज्ञ. Another name for विष्णु is यज्ञ and He is the sustaining force of the Universe. What is यज्ञ? यज्ञ is the act of worship or seeking of powers and it is this seeking that is the primal driver for creation, sustenance and destruction within the Universe. So what did विष्णु seek? He is seeking to to know Himself or experience himself and He willed – “Let me be many”. Manifestation of Universe is an outcome of this thought. And what did He give? He gave up His state of limitlessness and became concrete and limited as the physical universe and with this giving, He is getting the experience that He has willed. Thus यज्ञ is the primal rule within this Universe with यज्ञ symbolizing the principle of “give and take” based on which the world runs. Ode to a complete life for humans is to follow the पञ्चयज्ञ which also involves instituting “give and take” as a motto of life – भूतयज्ञ (giving to other life forms like animals, trees, insects, etc), ऋषियज्ञ (by regularly reading the works of great ऋषि’s), पितृयज्ञ (doing पितृ कर्म), मनुष्ययज्ञ (helping fellow human beings) and देवयज्ञ (worshipping deities or positive forces of भगवान्). If people do not do such यज्ञकर्म, the world cannot sustain itself and will break down.

UB: 17:23/24 (5) – Then why has वेद been established? Since वेद is a corpus that articulates how a यज्ञ should be done, it should be consulted as a means to do any यज्ञ. But what if one has not read the वेद or does not have access to it? One may then follow a role model who lives a वैदिक lifestyle. And such a one is called as a ब्राह्मण, not one by कुल or जाति but by वर्ण. All of us seek inspiration from role models, whether living now or in the past. Even those who claim they do not have role models in other humans define some standards and attempt to live life as per such standards. And भगवान् created ब्राह्मण as a role model who has discharged such standards in his life. Thus, these three were established as a foundation from the very start of the Universe.

So the message of these two verses is – Do यज्ञ, follow the वेद विधान of doing यज्ञ or follow a ब्राह्मण to get guidance of how to do a कर्म and begin all कर्म by chanting ॐ.

UB: तदित्यनभिसन्धाय फलं यज्ञतपःक्रियाः। दानक्रियाश्च विविधाः क्रियन्ते मोक्षकाङ्क्षिभि:।।17.25।।

17.25 (Uttering) तत् (तत् इति) those who desire complete freedom (मोक्ष-काङ्क्षिभि:) perform various activities (विविधाः क्रियन्ते) – (such as) यज्ञ-तप-दान (यज्ञतपःक्रियाः दान-क्रिया: च)- without requiring (अन-अभिसन्धाय) (the particular activity’s limited) result (फलं).

UB: 17:25 (1) – Ask a child to show space and he will show a finger towards the sky. What do we do in such a case – do we look at the finger or do we look in the direction towards which the finger is pointing? If we continue looking at the finger, we will be labelled a fool. But assuming we look towards the sky, are we to assume that space is only “up there” while we know that space is really everywhere? Are we thus not a fool looking towards the sky alone?  When one enters a room where we see a few pots, why do we say that there are a few pots in the room instead of saying that there is space in the room which is blocked by a few pots? Like we saw in Ch 15, since we are जड, we also witness जड as a natural भाव and seeing a निर्गुण तत्व does not come naturally to us, therefore, we see pots and not space naturally. But since we are limited, using limited symbology available at our disposal, we talk of abstract ideas too using our limited ways of expression.

UB: 17:25 (2) – तत् meaning “That” is a symbol of or another name of भगवान् just like the finger pointing to the space. We call भगवान् as तत् since we are challenged to know Him in a true sense. Owing to our प्राकृतिक् disposition, भगवान् is “That” meaning Reality is far away from our perception abilities. And the entire journey of अध्यात्म is to move our understanding of Reality from तत् to अहम् ब्रह्मास्मि when “That” becomes “This” or “Me”. तत् is a symbol of Her just like the finger used by the child; whatever symbols or words we use, what we intend to express is Her using the symbol of तत्.

UB: 17:25 (3) – By uttering तत्, we are reminding ourselves that our interest is only in तत् meaning that we are only interested in working towards our freedom. Thus, whenever we begin any कर्म by chanting ॐ, while we may attain an outcome, we need to connect with the idea that our कर्म is one aspect of the entire continuum of कर्म of भगवान् Herself. When we connect with this, we become keen to ensure that doing कर्म well is all that matters and a lower जड outcome in the form of success in career or passing an exam or getting a bonus or living a great luxurious life, etc are incidental outcomes not relevant in the overall scheme of things. When we chant तत्, we are doing कर्म for Her and surrendering the outcomes to Her by uttering ब्रह्मार्पणमस्तु (ब्रह्म+अर्पणम्+अस्तु)). And even if one gets sub-optimal फल or फल much more than what we had foreseen, we remaining equally blissful just like a mother is joyful of giving birth to a child whether the child is born big or small, round or thin, her image or image of her spouse, etc. So chant तत् too like ॐ before starting of any कर्म of आहार, यज्ञ, तप & दान.

UB: सद्भावे साधुभावे च सदित्येतत्प्रयुज्यते। प्रशस्ते कर्मणि तथा सच्छब्दः पार्थ युज्यते।।17.26।।

17.26 This term (एतद्) सत् (सत् इति) is used (प्रयुज्यते) in the sense of “being existent” (सद्भावे) and “being good” (साधुभावे च). And so also, O पार्थ! similarly (तथा), the word सत् (सच्छब्दः) is used (युज्यते) in the sense of an auspicious action (प्रशस्ते कर्मणि).

यज्ञे तपसि दाने च स्थितिः सदिति चोच्यते। कर्म चैव तदर्थीयं सदित्येवाभिधीयते।।17.27।।

17.27 To remain situated or stable in (स्थितिः) doing acts of यज्ञ-तप-दान (यज्ञे तपसि दाने च) is also called (उच्यते) सत् (सत् इति) and, indeed, any action (कर्म एव) for the sake of तत् (तत् अर्थीयं च) is called (एव अभिधीयते) सत् (सत् इति)

UB: 17:26/27 (1) – परमात्मा is the only eternal substance. We as जीवात्मा are an eternal substance. What is eternal only is real since it always exists. That which changes continually is seen as unreal and thus प्रकृति is representing unreal (though प्रकृति too in its root form called as मूल प्रकृति viz प्रकृति in its potential form is again eternal).  Thus, while ornaments are unreal, gold alone is real. While high or low waves or Tsunami waves are unreal, the water in the ocean is eternal. What is real is called सत्. So how can an individual कर्म of यज्ञ, दान & तप ever be सत्?

UB: 17:26/27 (2) – भगवान् is saying that all कर्म done with साधुभाव meaning good intent are real. As they say, an action well begun is half done but which is the other half that remains? Thus chanting ॐ and doing कर्म may give us success and by chanting सत्, the outcome is given away to Her but the doership or the idea that “I have done” remains. Now, if we utter सत् before doing the कर्म, the दोष of doership gets washed away. Also, even if there is any other दोष in our कर्म, we will become conscious of this during the course of the कर्म. And once we become conscious of it, we will infuse our कर्म with a strong dose of good intent thus self-correcting the execution of the कर्म. Further, if and when we utter सत्, we will undertake प्रशस्त कर्म meaning we will undertake auspicious actions only. While पूजा or जप may be seen as auspicious actions in a limited sense, any act of यज्ञ, तप & दान done with a सात्विक bent of mind becomes auspicious. And भगवान् adds that all कर्म done the sake of तत् are also called as  सत्.

UB: 17:26/27 (3) – भारत is an unusual land remembered for people who do सत्कर्म. Name the वेदिक age and one will remember name of many ऋषि’s. इतिहास age and one will remember राम & यिधुष्ठिर. पौराणिक age and we will remember the dialogue between शुक & परीक्षित. 6th century BCE and महावीर/ बुद्ध. 1st century – कालीदास. 6th – Alwars/ Nayannars. 8th – आदि शंकर. 9th – अभिनवगुप्त.10th – रामानज. 11th – संत ज्ञानेश्वर. 12-13th – गुरूनानक/ मीरा/ कबीर. 14th – माधवाचार्य. 15th – एकनाथ/ तुकाराम…. 20th – रमण, 21st – ??? Priyanka Chopra 😊😊.  Even today, those from this land who are getting national and international fame are सत्गुरू जग्गी वासुदेव or श्री श्री or Osho, etc.

UB: 17:26/27 (4) – What is a better example of a whole civilization being remembered only based on people doing सत्कर्म. And does the messenger matter on who delivered the message? It does not since no matter who is the messenger, it is the same सनातन message being given again and again and again. So the people who deliver the message may come and go but the message is eternal and lives forever. Hence, do actions which are सत् since what is सत् is eternal. There are many crores of others who may have accumulated wealth, conquered lands, did well in material joys, etc but are forgotten within an hour of their departure and their prized possessions disposed off to the रद्दीवाला since what is असत् goes to the रद्दीवाला and what is सत् always remains.

UB: 17:26/27 (5) – A वितण्ड-वादी may argue – how can uttering this मंत्र of ॐ-तत्-सत् convert normal acts as pious? Can an act of criminality backed by ॐ-तत्-सत् make it pious? No. Firstly, a criminal may not even be aware of the  मंत्र of ॐ-तत्-सत्. Second, even if he is aware, he may utter this mechanically but he will not utter it by connecting with the meaning behind each word in the मंत्र. And third, भगवान् is giving this suggestion to a सात्विक् person who deserves this dialogue and will use this effectively. Thus such a person will use this effectively while a twisted mind will abuse even good things that may come to him just like a sharp knife is the hand of a loving mother becomes a useful aid in cutting veggies for her kids while the same knife in the hand of a criminal becomes an aid to हिंसा.

UB: https://youtu.be/EnJrpQ0HdsE – a serious though interesting narrative on मूर्ति worship.

UB: PA – the word सत् in the words सत्-श्री-अकाल should have the same meaning as i have described earlier today. Are there any other meanings other than what i have covered today?

VN: 👌

PA: Yes absolutely it’s the same meaning of recognizing the one truth (sat)respecting it (Sri)which is beyond death  (Akal). Before the sat Sri Akal is jo boley so nihaal. Whoever utters this (jo boley) or remembers this one truth he is nihal (blessed)

UB: 👍🏼👍🏼

PK: 👍👍

UB: अश्रद्धया हुतं दत्तं तपस्तप्तं कृतं च यत्। असदित्युच्यते पार्थ न च तत्प्रेत्य नो इह।।17.28।।

17.28 O पार्थ! Whatever (यद्) यज्ञ (हुतं), तप (तप: तप्तं च) and दान (दत्तं) is perfomed (कृतं) without श्रद्धा (अश्रद्धया) is said to be असत् (असत् इति) (since) after death it is not (न च प्रेत्य), nor here (नो इह).

UB: 17:28 (1) – भगवान् says here quite clearly that all कर्म must be backed by श्रद्धा and acts done with अश्रद्धा will fail. Is this not odd? We have said right at the start of the chapter that all people have some kind of श्रद्धा or another. Thus, a भक्त has श्रद्धा in भगवान्, a scientist has श्रद्धा is use of evidence for reaching any conclusion, a rationalist has श्रद्धा in use of reason while an atheist has श्रद्धा in the idea of non-existence of भगवान्. Some have श्रद्धा living with an idea that what they can see and experience alone is true, some have श्रद्धा towards a lifestyle of eating and sleeping only as purpose of life while an ambitious person has श्रद्धा towards achieving the ambition that he has set for himself. Thus, all of us bind our lives with some श्रद्धा or another and live within the confines of this श्रद्धा. And really speaking, none of us really know the truth though we may vocally defend our own choice of श्रद्धा. So, what does अश्रद्धा mean?

UB: 17:28 (2) – अश्रद्धा here means राजसिक् & तामसिक् श्रद्धा. Such श्रद्धा is seeking the limited. All our seeking is for being blissful on a permanent basis. However, with effort, while we may get what we seek, it lasts only for a limited time. Thus, our joy with eating in a restaurant lasts only for a few minutes and will not last if we go there every day. But if we go again after a gap of a few weeks, the joy content is higher. Thus, such kind of श्रद्धा will not enable us to achieve our goal of permanent state of bliss both in the लोक here as well as post-life state.

UB: 17:28 (3) – The सत्-चित्-आनन्द state is a state of eternal bliss and अध्यात्म is the journey towards this eternal state which is our own reality. And सात्विक् श्रद्धा is the route for regaining our original state. So cultivate this श्रद्धा and start every कर्म chanting ॐ-तत्-सत्, maybe mechanically to start with and imbued with its meaning later, and we are on the path towards परं सिद्धि which is the real purpose of our lives.

Thus ends श्रद्धात्रय विभाग योग नाम सप्तदश अध्याय: