Chapter 18 Shloka 5, 6

यज्ञदानतपःकर्म न त्याज्यं कार्यमेव तत्।

यज्ञो दानं तपश्चैव पावनानि मनीषिणाम्।।५।।

एतान्यपि तु कर्माणि संगं त्यक्त्वा फलानि च।

कर्तव्यानीति मे पार्थ निश्चितं मतमुत्तमम्।।६।।

The Lord is about to expand on His views. He says to Arjuna:

Acts of yagya, tapas and daan should not be abandoned; they must be performed because, without doubt, acts performed in the spirit of yagya, tapas and daan purify even the sages. However, even these deeds must be performed after relinquishing attachment and desire for the fruits of those deeds. This is My considered and supreme conviction.

Chapter 18 Shloka 5, 6

यज्ञदानतपःकर्म न त्याज्यं कार्यमेव तत्।

यज्ञो दानं तपश्चैव पावनानि मनीषिणाम्।।५।।

एतान्यपि तु कर्माणि संगं त्यक्त्वा फलानि च।

कर्तव्यानीति मे पार्थ निश्चितं मतमुत्तमम्।।६।।

The Lord is about to expand on His views. He says to Arjuna:

Acts of yagya, tapas and daan should not be abandoned; they must be performed because, without doubt, acts performed in the spirit of yagya, tapas and daan purify even the sages. However, even these deeds must be performed after relinquishing attachment and desire for the fruits of those deeds. This is My considered and supreme conviction.

The Lord says, yagya, tapas and daan are not worthy of being relinquished:

1. Such deeds purify even the sages.

2. They are the mainstay of life.

3. They are the manifestation of Brahm.

4. The creation of this entire universe is the outcome of Brahm’s yagya.

5. The impenetrable silence of the Supreme is His tapas.

6. The fact that He has bestowed all beings in this world with all things is indicative of His daan.

The Lord says yagya, tapas and daan are the mainstay of happiness. These are the indications of humaneness in a person’s life. They are the purifiers of man, they are the sign of purity in his life. However, even yagya, tapas and daan must be performed after having relinquished all attachment and desire for the fruits of action.

The connotation of relinquishing attachment

1. There should be no attachment with action.

2. There should be an abnegation of ego in one’s deeds.

3. There should be an absence of doership.

4. Pride and arrogance must be banished.

5. All attitudes of ‘me’ and ‘mine’ should be abolished.

6. There should be an absence of the sense of being the enjoyer.

7. The intellect that is subservient to the body-self must be annihilated.

8. One must perform actions, knowing that the body which performs those deeds belongs to the Lord.

9. Knowing that all deeds are in fact His deeds, the body must engage in actions.

10. Knowing the other to belong to the Lord, one must act in the other’s interest.

11. When the doer, the deed and the act of doing are all His, then attachment vanishes.

12. When one is focused on the Atma, only then does attachment abate.

What is attachment?

Attachment denotes union. It is another term for identification, liking, passionate fondness and ultimately, union. Attachment is meeting or conjunction.

Atma and the body are divergent. They are poles apart and not of the same origin. Union is generally amongst objects of similar origin.

Daan, tapas and yagya, constitute the dharma – the duty of the body, mind and intellect respectively and comprise their innate nature.

If there is no attachment, then:

1. One’s life will be yagya, tapas and daan embodied.

2. Life is in reality nothing but yagya, tapas and daan.

3. Life will remain merely a divine manifestation of the Supreme Overlord.

4. Life will veritably be a boon of the Supreme.

5. One will automatically become a renunciate of the fruits of all actions.

Yagya, tapas and daan are those deeds:

a) that are performed for the other;

b) that are bestowed upon the other;

c) that entail tolerance and acceptance of the other;

d) whereby one offers one’s own sacrifice in the bargain.

If desire for the fruit of actions persists, then yagya, tapas and daan are evidently of the rajsic or the tamsic categories. Selflessness is the essence of true yagya, tapas and daan. Selfless actions, selfless worship and selfless knowledge are its basic nature. The Lord says, “This alone constitutes duty. This alone must be done. This is My considered opinion.”

Look little one, the spiritual practice of the aspirant constitutes yagya, tapas and daan. Attachment to the body and to sense objects:

a) makes one individualistic;

b) makes one blind to others;

c) prevents one from understanding the other’s sorrow and pain;

d) makes it difficult to realise that all beings are also like oneself;

e) makes it difficult to comprehend that the other also has a mind of his own and his interests could differ from one’s own interests; nor does one like the other to have divergent interests;

f) makes it difficult to gauge that the other, too, has an intellect and his decisions could therefore differ from one’s own – the very idea is intolerable;

­­–  the other, too, desires happiness and recognition;

­­–  the other, too, cherishes his private desires and expectations;

­­–  the other, too, desires love and all the qualities that one craves!

One with attachment cannot see this.

He who cannot perceive or understand the human being standing before him, is hardly likely to perceive the Lord! If you cannot recognise the reality that stares you in the face, how can you gauge That Unmanifest Essence?

Besides, it is through interaction with other individuals that the spiritual aspirant can practice the qualities of the Supreme! And similarly, it is through interaction with others that one can practice absence of the body idea. One does not whet the ego on a stone! Ego is born in the course of interaction with others.

It is therefore essential that spiritual practice be carried out simultaneously in the mental and physical spheres. When one’s understanding of knowledge filters into one’s life, spiritual practice occurs and knowledge is translated into its scientific application in life – vigyan.

If theoretical knowledge sheds light on the Essence of man, then yagya,tapas and daan bespeak the external manifestation of That Essence. Consequently, establishment in the Self becomes possible. Since yagya,tapas and daan purify the impurities of the ‘I’, such acts are never relinquished even by elevated sages.

1. In order to transcend the body idea, it is essential to identify with the other.

2. In order to forget oneself, it is imperative to identify with the other selflessly and then act in their favour.

3. Renunciation of deeds born of desire is essential if one is to become free of the intellect that is subservient to the body-self.

4. In order to establish oneself in one’s essential Being, it is necessary to forget oneself in the other – to belong to the other and to live for the other.

If you practice daan keeping an eye on your spiritual endeavour, you will perform deeds for another as would a humble seeker. You will consider the beneficiary to be Narayan Himself, and yourself His humble servitor; in this way you will offer daan. You will consider yourself to be blessed if the other is able to melt your hard heart and evoke your sympathetic attention. Your entire perspective will undergo a change. All illusions of your supposedly ‘charitable nature’ will thus be eliminated.

Normally the charity and social service of the ordinary man is not carried out with a worshipful attitude. Such a one serves another,

a) considering himself to be superior;

b) considering himself to be wealthy;

c) with arrogant pride;

d) only to gain renown;

e) considering the other to be poor and pitiable.

The difference lies in the attitude which predominates while performing yagya, tapas and daan. What is the basic desire of the practicant? Who is the poor seeker and who is Narayan – the giver?

From the point of view of the spiritual practicant, the recipient of daan is Narayan Himself, but for one who is not a spiritual practicant, Narayan is the One who endows the gift. In actual fact, one who has been able to awaken your humane tendencies is indeed great – or else you would have remained stone hearted.