Chapter 17 Shloka 28

अश्रद्धया हुतं दत्तं तपस्तप्तं कृतं च यत्।

असदित्युच्यते पार्थ न च तत्प्रेत्य नो इह।।२८।।

That oblation which is offered without faith,

that charity which is endowed without faith,

that forbearance which is devoid of faith,

and whatever is done without faith is asat,

so it is said. Such acts accrue no profit –

whether in this life or in the life hereafter.

Chapter 17 Shloka 28

अश्रद्धया हुतं दत्तं तपस्तप्तं कृतं च यत्।

असदित्युच्यते पार्थ न च तत्प्रेत्य नो इह।।२८।।

The Lord says, O Arjuna!

That oblation which is offered without faith, that charity which is endowed without faith, that forbearance which is devoid of faith, and whatever is done without faith is asat, so it is said. Such acts accrue no profit – whether in this life or in the life hereafter.

All acts devoid of faith are asat

‘Om Tat Sat’ – if these words are spoken with faith, whatever one does thereafter will comprise sat. If faith is lacking, they comprise asat.

Kamla! Reflect on this carefully.

1. If the Lord is the doer, all is sat.

2. Whichever act one performs devoid of doership, is sat.

3. When one engages in action for the Lord, with the Lord as one’s mainstay, that action is sat.

4. Whatever deed is done in self-forgetfulness is sat.

Shraddha – Faith

One’s faith must be anchored in ‘Om Tat Sat’.

1. One’s faith must be focused in Brahm.

2. One must have abiding faith in the nature of the Supreme.

3. One must have faith that all is Om.

4. Noble and virtuous thoughts all belong to the Lord; in such thoughts inheres tapas or forbearance. Such thoughts constitute the armour of the Lord’s Name. These are also the mainstay of forbearance. They arise only when one has faith in the conviction ‘All is He.’

5. Faith comprises the essence of yagya, forbearance and charity – and conversely, yagya, forbearance and charity have faith as their mainstay.

6. Faith is the vessel in which the spiritual aspirant collects the Lord’s divine love.

7. Faith is the strength by which the spiritual aspirant is enabled to attain all he aspires for.

8. Faith invokes the Lord.

9. The Lord Himself is nurtured in the cradle of faith.

10. Faith is that food which nourishes the deities.

11. Faith is that potion which purifies one’s mental intake.

12. Faith is that potion which stabilises the intellect.

Faith changes man from a demon to a human being.

a) Faith changes man from a human being to a divine being.

b) Faith changes man from a divine being to God Himself.

c) All that is done with faith is true, it is sat.

d) All that is done without faith is untrue, it is asat.

Kamla, listen carefully! Do you have faith? The nature of your faith can be known through:

a) the proof of yagya, forbearance and charity in your life;

b) the proof of a stable intellect and the ability to love and to give one’s body in the service of others;

c) your ability to be uninfluenced by all qualities – others’ as well as your own.

d) Your ability to be uninfluenced by all qualities is the result of your faith.

e) Your ability to be uninfluenced by all qualities is the proof of your faith.

f) If your faith is true, divine qualities will necessarily flow through you.

g) Your adherence to duty is proof of your faith.

h) Joy, the absence of mental disturbance, indifference to self, all these are proof of faith.

i)  An attitude of equanimity in the face of acclaim and insult is the consequence of faith.

j)  The success of yoga is the boon of faith.

This faith is the mainstay of Truth;
And Truth is the call of faith;
Truth is the epitome of faith –
And Truth is the manifest form of faith.

Whatever one does devoid of faith is asat or untrue. Whatever one does in the Lord’s Name is sat or the Truth. If one is devoid of faith, whatever one does will neither yield joy in this life, nor bear fruits of joy for one’s future lives.

Therefore little one:

1. Acts devoid of faith are futile.

2. Such acts can never be successful.

3. Such acts become seeds of unhappiness within oneself.