विवेचन सारांश

The Importance of Yajna, Daana and Tapah

Deśhe kāle cha pātre means charity to be done at the right place, at right time and to the right person, or one who is genuinely needy. 

As per the scriptures, Danam should be done at holy places like Prayag Raj, Kashi, Mathura, Kanya Kumari, Tirupati and other similar bastions of pilgrimage. 

Normally Ekadashi is considered a right time to do Dana. To give a small example of appropriateness of time is that say one person has borrowed some money from his friend. When the lender asks for the money back, the borrower instead of returning the money back tries to play around and asks him to join a picnic in the forest area. Clearly, he has no intention of returning the money. Then suddenly they are attacked by a gang of miscreants who demands money from them. At this juncture the borrower friend returns the money to the lender friend knowing pretty well that any way he is going to lose the money. This place and situation of giving back the money brings him more discredits than credits.
Another factor to be considered while doing Dana is that, one should give that thing to the needy what he needs and not somethings which he has extra. To give an example, in a desert one needs water. One should provide him water and not milk as milk might not quench his thirst.
Patre - means to the right person. Help should be rendered to the needy person. Providing money to the affluent persons is not considered as appropriate Dana. One may choose to do so expecting some favour in return. In such cases it is not considered as Sattvic Danam.

In normal life it is very difficult to do work without expecting something in return. Most of the human relationships are interdependent and expect returns for the services given. Wherever work is continuously done in a one-sided way, benefiting only the other side, the relationship does not last long. It breaks at some point. In society, the rule is ‘give and take’. Even a mother who adores her child and does everything for the child, somewhere in the back of her mind, expects the child to take care of her in her old age. Some expectation lurks in her mind. Selfless Karma or Satvik Karma is a utopian idea in present-day society. It is difficult to be perfect or ideal.

Selfless work or Dana without expecting anything in return is what is considered as Sattvik Dana or Seva. One example of such Seva is what Geeta Parivar Sevis are all doing. They do it without any expectation. Giving selfless Seva is like a Sadhana. Slowly it becomes a part of one’s life and gives immense satisfaction. By doing selfless Seva, one feels as if one is paying back to Bhagavan. Although they are not rewarded financially or recognition wise, they derive immense pleasure out of such Sevas. This mental satisfaction is their remuneration or reward. This work is no doubt Sattvik but with a tinge of expectation of getting blessings from Ishwara. If one can rise above all these feelings then one becomes a perfect person.

A popular saying goes - Seva is for others. Sādhanā is for self.

phalam uddiśhya vā punaḥ means any reward or expectations

dīyate cha parikliṣhṭaṁ means is given reluctantly

Charity done with reluctance or with an expectation of reward is considered as an act of passion or Rajasic.

If one wants to donate Rs 100 willingly and is pressured to donate another Rs 50, he may do it but with little reluctance in his mind. Such charity is again Rajasic.

Adesha means at the wrong place

Kale implies the wrong time

Apatrebhyah means giving alms to an unworthy person

Asat-kritam denotes without respect

Avajnatam refers to contempt

Charity which is given with contempt at the wrong place, at the wrong time and to an unworthy person, is held to be Tamasik in nature.

 We have earlier cited a story of two friends, one of whom had to be given back his money. Returning the money when the robbers attacked, is an example of daanam being performed at the wrong place.

Charity at the wrong time implies giving something to another person when the occasion is ill-timed. Donating winter clothes during the peak of summer or giving ice-cream to a child on a cold winter night are perfect examples of benefaction extended at an inappropriate timing.

Verbal insults can hurt more than actions. Similarly, while performing an act of charity, if one disparages and humiliates the recipient of the alms, then the whole exercise becomes a futile act of daanam done in the Tamasik mode.

One should carry out the act of charity with respect and dignity to the other person, instead of insulting him. Sometimes while we are working on an assignment which carries a time deadline, or while traveling in a public transport, we may come across needy people repeatedly pestering us for money or food. At such times, it is inevitable that we would get irritated. If we do not want to donate any money, being hard-pressed due to circumstances beyond our control, then we should politely decline the plea of the other person who has asked for monetary aid, instead of scolding or abusing him. It is indeed an acid test of one’s patience and tolerance. Our response depends on the control we have over our minds.

There are different interpretations of this shloka.

‘Aum’, ‘Tat’ and ‘Sat’ are indicators and names of Paramātmā. The beginning of the Srishti   saw the creation of Brahman, along with the universe, the four vedas and the yajnas. Here Brahman does not denote the caste; it means one who knows Brahman or the Supreme power.

Everything manifested in this entire universe: prithvi, swargaloka, pataal-loka and other lokas, come under Om. There are three syllables that comprise ‘Aum’- ‘A’ ‘U’ and ‘M’.

We should realize that the word Aum is not a letter, it is a dhwani or sound. As mentioned before, the entire universe is covered with Aum.

‘Aum’ further comprises akaar ukaar and makaar. For every syllable, tjat is ‘A’, ‘U’ and ‘M’, there is a devta, sthaan and sthiti attached.

Akaar is whatever we can experience through the sense organs. It comes from the throat. The Devta of akaar is Brahma. In Akaar we have jagrut avastha when our sense organs, body parts and praana are active.

Swapna avastha is when sense organs get dissolved, the body is not active but the mind is active. That is the state in which we dream and see visions shown by the mind.

Then comes the Sushupti avastha when the mind, body and intellect get dissolved, while only YOU remain. At the akaar level we have the jagrut avastha or the awakened state, at the ukaar level we have swapna avastha or dream-like state and at the makaar level, we have the sushupti avastha.

Similarly, at the akaar level we have Brahma devta, at the ukaar level we have Vishnu devta and at the maakar we have Shankar devta attached to each stage. Once again, the role of the gunas comes into play. For example, at the akaar level we have Rajasic guna which needs to be activated for creation.

It has been mentioned in the earlier shlokas that each guna has its own necessity. At night for example we need the Tamasik guna to be able to sleep. Each level is attached to a place or sthaana as well. Akaar comes from throat, ukaar from heart and makaar emanates from the navel .

The letter Aum thus includes everything manifested in this world.

The word ‘Tat’ means ‘that’. It denotes anything which we can see, give a name to and for which we can visualize a form. The sky or aakash for example, has a name though we cannot touch it as it has no shape. Yet, because it has a name, it can be considered a part of ‘Tat’.  

Water is yet another example of ‘Tat’. It should be noted though, that water we see is not in its undiluted form. Water itself is a combination of several forms.. We have Panchikaran and Apanchikaran.

Pancikarana is the creation of the elements (bhūtasarga) by a process in which subtle matter (or the prior stage of matter) transforms itself into gross matter. Intelligence is the subtle manifestation of consciousness  and matter its gross manifestation. Pancikarana is the "quintuplication" of the basic/primordial five subtle elements.

 Panchikaran prakriya is described in the Upanishads. Then, we have five tan-matras: akaash-matra, jal tej, vayu and prithvi matras . These purest forms cannot be seen by us as we are also made of the panch-mahabhoot. When these panchmatras and tanmatras combine, this prakriya or process is called Panchikaran. The universe contains each of these elements in a certain percentage of proportion. Akaash incorporates 12.5 elements, agni, vayu and jal too comprise 12.5 parts each of the universe while prithvi comprises 50 % of the elements.. This entire combination is what constitutes the prithvi tattva. Whatever we are experiencing therefore, is the Panchikaran process

Thus, when we say ‘Tat’ it means we only see what has name and form, and which came after Panchikarnan

Sat is the ultimate reality that exists in all the three dimensions, in the past, present and future. It will never get destroyed. It's the ultimate reality. The meaning of sat can only be experienced. It is beyond sense organs.

These three syllables, Aum, Tat and Sat are indicators of Sacchidanandaghan Paramātmā. Breaking the word into smaller components, we can see that ‘Sat’ is reality, ‘chitta’ means chetna or consciousness and ‘anand’ denotes happiness.

Anand itself is of different types. We have Vishaya-anand, that is, anand through sense organs coming in contact with objects. Then we have Vaasna-anand or getting pleasure out of imagination. In such a state, happiness is real though the imagination is not real. Then the third state is anand- the happiness we get when we are free from the first two kinds of pleasures: then we are in a state of sushupti. In the ultimate state of Parmananda, happiness is permanent. This coveted state comes only when we realize ourselves, our nature. Ghan means from everywhere . In the universe there is Sacchitanandghan in all dimensions.

 To reiterate and to put this concept in more concise and simpler words, "Om Tat Sat“ has been identified as the symbolic representation of the Supreme Absolute Truth. That is the Supreme Consciousness or the Paramātmā. Aum represents the beginning of the creation. Tat means that. Sat means truth. It represents the entire manifested and unmanifested Universe,whatever we see around us the sky, the earth, the water everything came out of the syllable AUM. When there was nothing, no form, no time and space and everything was in Avyakta, AUM sprang out, from which the creation appeared. Thus AUM is comprehensive. It represents the sonic representation of the Divine. AUM is the configuration of the three letters A U M. It is not a mere congregation of letters. It represents a Dhwani or syllable. The last letter ‘M’ comes out of the nose. It is a nasal sound. It is often found at the beginning and the end of the chapters in the Vedas, the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita and other Hindu scriptures. As a syllable, it is often chanted in spiritual recitation and during meditation. AUM represents the three aspects of Paramatma: The Brahma(A), the Vishnu(U) and the Shiva(M)

Although one experiences Ananda, there is one more state in which a human being can experience Parama Ananda. That is the fourth state or Turiya. That is the everlasting Parama-Brahman.

Parama Brahman or Supreme consciousness is ever existent, unchangeable and infinite. It can not be objectified. It has no name, no shape, no size, no color. We have seen two dimensional and three-dimensional objects and movies but Param-Brahman is all-dimensional and all directional. It has no beginning or end. All objects in the manifested Universe can be described because they have a name, form or color. However, it is impossible to describe and comprehend Bramham. It can only be realized through Sādhanā. That ultimate blissful state is called Sat-Chit-Ananda (Satchidananda), which has been described earlier in this shloka.

Tasmād oṁ ity udāhṛitya - This is a composite word meaning “therefor by uttering sacred syllable OM”

Brahma-vādinām -  expounders of Vedas who are believers of Brahma or Paramatma.

Thus, all kriyas or works of Yajna, Dana, Tapa can be performed after uttering the sacred syllable AUM. This is in accordance with the Vedic practices. If you utter AUM, it gives a feeling of completion. Every Yogic action should start with utterance of Om and also end with the utterance of AUM. This is practised by the followers of Vedas because AUm includes everything and is all encompassing. Yajna, Dana and Tapa come under everything which is all encompassing. All actions should be dedicated to the all-pervasive AUM.

Every one aspires to get liberation or Moksha. Generally we think Moksha is something which one gets after death in heaven. But that is not true, Moksha is liberation or freedom from all desires. A desireless mind is a blissful mind. And this blissful state is liberation which one can strive to achieve while being in this embodied form. Mind has to be made free of thoughts, desires and attachments. This is when external events do not affect us. This is the initial level of moksha.

People who want moksha or liberation have been performing these practices. After uttering 'Tat', they perform the yajna, daana and tapah.

Sad-bhāve means with the intention of eternal existence and goodness

Sadhu-bhave means with the auspicious intention

Sat means ultimate reality; it is the all-encompassing umbrella to describe all types pious work like sacrifice, penance, and charity.

ye śhāstra-vidhim utsṛijya yajante śhraddhayānvitāḥ
teṣhāṁ niṣhṭhā tu kā kṛiṣhṇa sattvam āho rajas tamaḥ

This  the first sloka of this chapter where Arjuna had asked Bhagavan – O Krishna, what about those people who disregard the injunctions of the scriptures, but still worship with faith. Will their Sraddha or faith be construed as mode of goodness, passion, or ignorance. They do not know the ordinances of Sastras.

In this sloka Bhagavan had replied oh! Partha(son of Pritha), whatever acts of sacrifice, charity or penance are done without faith they are construed as Asat. 

Elaborating further, it can be said that there are people who have faith in Śāstras and are performing all the recommended practices; but they not know the ordinance of the Śāstras. Sri Krishna says that if they have shraddha but are not doing the ordinances, that is somewhat acceptable. However, those who perform the yajna, daana and tapah without faith end up making these practices 'asat'. The entire exercise becomes fruitless and has no benefits.

It should also be noted that  some rituals and practices, like tarpan and shraadh, may not be beneficial now, but later after death they will accrue benefits.  In the same vein, we perform yajnas to attain heaven; however, we can only get this much coveted place after death, and not while we are alive. Without faith though,  even in the after-life we do not get the benefits. To build faith, we have to get a Guru to show us the right direction, and practice Sādhanā. We, for example, have got the Geeta pariwar. Gradually we will all strengthen our shraddha and our yajna will become 'sat.'

 The vivechan was followed by the Question-answer session

Q & A

Priyadarshan Pant ji

Q. if we give daanam or charity to a pandit who is well off and is conducting a yajna, would that daana be considered sattvik?

Answer. It is sattvik as you are giving daana to a brahmin. Śāstras too say this. In the varna system Brahmin had only the money earned from conducting yajnas as a means of livelihood. Secondly, yajna is not easy. So we should give a Brahmin charity for all his efforts.

The session was concluded with a rendition of the Hanuman Chalisa.