Chapter 4 Shloka 30

अपरे नियताहारा: प्राणान्प्राणेषु जुह्वति।

सर्वेऽप्येते यज्ञविदो यज्ञक्षपितकल्मषा:।।३०।।

Yet others, who regulate their food intake,

offer their Praanas into the Praanas.

All those whose sins have been washed away by the practice

of such yagyas, are cognisant of the meaning of yagya.

Chapter 4 Shloka 30

अपरे नियताहारा: प्राणान्प्राणेषु जुह्वति।

सर्वेऽप्येते यज्ञविदो यज्ञक्षपितकल्मषा:।।३०।।

Yet others, who regulate their food intake, offer their Praanas into the Praanas. All those whose sins have been washed away by the practice of such yagyas, are cognisant of the meaning of yagya.

A controlled intake of food

Some people believe in reducing their diet to starve their senses and appetite.

1. They think that the resultant debility will limit their attraction to worldly objects and people of the world.

2. They believe that such a limited diet will enable them to obtain mastery over themselves and quieten their minds in this manner.

3. They are convinced that their mind will then not indulge in futile plans, resolves and schemes.

4. When the physical faculties are depleted, the mind will no longer be easily aroused, nor will the sense organs indulge excessively in contact with objects. Then the individual will not engage himself too much in worldly tasks.

In this manner, such people offer their life breath back into the Universal Praanas. They have no further use for life. They speak less and do not take the challenge of completing any job. They tend to prefer a solitary existence.

Little one, even such people appreciate the merit of yagya.

1. They understand yagya in their own way.

2. They know that yagya implies the giving away of some part of oneself.

3. They know that purification of the mind-stuff is essential.

4. They know also that the renunciation of a sinful life and of ego are necessary.

5. They know that the practice of divine qualities is also imperative.

6. They know that the body is steadily moving into the jaws of death and therefore attachment to it is futile.

7. They realise that illusion gives rise to the belief ‘I am the body’.

8. They realise that attachment to sense objects is the primal cause of the individual’s downfall.

9. They realise that the mind should be reactionless and calm.

a) Therefore, these practicants of yagya do not indulge in sinful deeds.

b) They perform meritorious deeds.

c) They try not to inflict sorrow upon others.

d) Each participates in yagya in accordance with his belief and nature.

e) Yet they are all of a temperate constitution.

f) They all seek to reach the Lord in their own way.

g) They are persevering in the pursuance of their own methods of sadhana.

h) They are very knowledgeable and wise.

i) They are also extremely knowledgeable about their chosen path.

Such people have a singular goal – the attainment of Truth – although the methods they adopt may be different. When they reach the zenith in their method of sadhana, they have to conduct their yagya in the world. The ultimate offering of each yagya is giving one’s mind to the world. Self forgetfulness and establishment in the Ultimate Essence are synonymous. All the yagyas mentioned so far are in the context of various stages of life. They are natural appendages of the One who is established in the Atma. Whatever he does, whatever he sees, whatever he says, are all imbued with the spirit of yagya. He is silence itself, yet his every word is as potent with Truth as the Vedas.