Gita 17.11 Focus not on expectation from the world focus on contribution from yourself.mp3

Transcript

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Bhagavad Gita 17.11 Krishna is now in these three verses describing how yajna is to be performed and he says first three one does not perform yajna primarily for getting the fruits without the anticipation of the fruit this is what has been ordained to be by the scripture scripture has ordained me to do this so let me do it this needs to be done that this is what I am expected to do and this is what I will do that mentality when performing yajna is in the mode of goodness yajna broadly refers to the pattern in which the human consciousness interacts with the cosmic sphere in which it is situated the vedic vision explains that the universe is a universal government and there are subtle forces beyond our human perception which shape our human condition and those are ordained by higher beings and yajna is the means by which we harmonize with them 3.10 it is said that the universe began with at the start of the universe that with yajna the primeval being made the world the world began with various living beings and the process of yajna the source of all living beings said by doing this you satisfy yourself by this let this be your calm dukkha let this be your desire fulfilling cow so yajna is seen as a means by which we can fulfill our desires by which we can offer the dues to the universe the higher beings in the universe with fire acting as the medium by which our offerings go to the higher level of reality and then the fruits come from that higher level so while calm dukkha while getting our desires fulfilled is the purpose for which yajna is given but yajna also has a higher purpose that is purification and elevation of consciousness and as long as our consciousness is captivated by with getting the material results it gets distracted from the spiritual result the spiritual result is the purification and elevation of our consciousness when a yajna is performed with proper understanding of the underlying subtle forces that govern our conditions our existence then we understand gradually through scriptural study, through internal contemplation through pious and spiritual association that life’s ultimate purpose is not to get our worldly desires fulfilled it is not to seek and achieve popularity in this world it is to move towards the supreme through the process of evolution of our consciousness and when we understand this we stop craving for external results we start focusing on internals afalakankshi bher so the akanksha the craving for the fruit is not what impels one to do the yajna now many people do yajnas primarily for that purpose so we see in the epics the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and even the Puranas kings performing yajnas to get approach in putrakameshti yajna so that sort of yajna is not exactly in the mode of goodness of course because those kings are dharmic that yajna is also a part of their dharma and especially if the kings are devotees then say Maharaja Dashrath may perform a yajna to get a son but it is not just a biological desire it is primarily a transcendental desire and there externally the forms of karma kanda may be done but the purpose is bhakti the purpose is not just getting material pleasure in this world so when people are in the mode of goodness it is not that they don’t care for the result if a particular yajna is performed it is known that this yajna can give this result this yajna is intended for this but that is not their primary motivation their primary motivation is to pursue spiritual reality and to pursue that reality to understand it and then to go closer to it so aphala kankshi bheriya vidrishto ya ijyate one who does the worship understanding vidrishto this is what I am meant to do so one is satisfied by the fact that one has done one’s duty so we can live in this world with either expectation from the world that it provides us gratification or we can live with the expectation that we are meant to make a contribution so when we live with the expectation of gratification from the world then we set ourselves up for frustration because whether the world will fulfill our desires or not is not in our control and more often than not our desires will not be fulfilled they will be frustrated and the frustration of desire leads to the frustration of the desirer when the desirer deeply identifies with the desire so if it’s a superficial desire for us ok I heard this is a good movie around here I want to watch it I didn’t get the ticket because all the tickets sold out ok it doesn’t matter so much but it’s a movie that we have anticipated for a long time I just want to go and watch it somehow or the other and then we don’t get it we get frustrated so when we have invested ourselves very deeply in a particular desire then the frustration of that desire leads to frustration of the desirer but for a person in the mode of goodness they are not deeply invested in desires they are invested in spiritual growth they are invested in understanding themselves and realizing themselves spiritually so they understand that these yajnas serve a dual purpose one is the material fulfilment that they bring and the second is the spiritual upliftment that they bring about so their focus is on the spiritual upliftment not on the material fulfilment and that’s why they do it they do the yajna and they do it diligently but with without without attachment or expectation and this kind of functioning leads to the consciousness being receptive to spiritual reality and thus rapid spiritual growth can happen by the mood of detached dutifulness that is the defining characteristic of actions in the mode of goodness and yajna done in this mood of detached dutifulness may or may not may or may not lead to the result of the material enjoyment that is the external purpose of the yajna but it definitely leads to the spiritual upliftment that is the ultimate purpose of all yajnas and that is the ultimate purpose of life itself thus sattva sanjayate jnanam the mode of goodness engenders knowledge and in the mode of goodness when one performs yajna one already has some knowledge of life’s ultimate purpose and one is pursuing that through the performance of yajna and then yanti brahma sanatanam in the fourth chapter it is said that those who perform yajna with proper knowledge they enjoy the fruits of yajna which is like nectar and by enjoying that nectar yanti brahma sanatanam they move towards the eternal destination thus the mode of goodness is conducive to the elevation and the liberation of our consciousness and yajna done in that mode also fulfills this purpose