Gita 17.27 Sat is not just a word for recitation – it is a conviction to cultivated and infused into action

Transcript

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Bhagavad Gita 17.27 yajne tapasi dāne ca sthiti sad itti chochate karma chaiva tadarthīyam sad itti vābhidhīyate Krishna continues his description of the importance of reciting Om Tat Sat before doing activities such as Yajna Dāna Tapa. He has talked in the previous text about reciting Om Tat and Sat. And then he says over here, yajne tapasi dāne ca sthiti sad itti chochate sthiti refers to situation.
What keeps us in a particular situation is our conception or our conviction about that situation. sthiti sad itti chochate when the conviction that it is sat chochate when we chant Sat and we also have a conception that there is a Sat there is an eternal reality and that eternal reality or some higher reality that is what we want to pursue in life hmm karma chaiva tadarthīyam sad itti vābhidhīyate So Krishna is saying what does the word Sat convey? It can convey the conviction with which Yajna Dāna Tapa is done and it can also convey the actions themselves which are done with this conviction. So here it’s an important point that our conviction defines our action.
Sometimes we may characterize ourselves by the kind of actions that we do. So for example, somebody may do social service and they may be considered a social worker which is true because they are doing that work. But if somebody has to do humanitarian work they have to have some understanding of the importance of humanitarian work.
Some understanding of how they are actually benefiting people. How by their diligent practice of auspicious activities by their by their resilience in doing those activities they are actually moving towards taking themselves and others towards transcendence that towards at least a better life. Of course if that that humanitarian work is done with transcendental consciousness then it can take people can offer them not just material relief but also spiritual relief.
To the extent some people are pursuing say social work because of professional purposes. Nowadays one can get a degree in social work and then one can start an NGO or become a part of NGO, get a post in NGO based on that degree. So then doing social work may be just another job for people.
And if that is the case then doing that job they may do it simply perfunctorily, mechanically. They may not put their heart into it. So they may be doing humanitarian work but they themselves may not have a humanitarian disposition.
So on the other hand somebody might be working in business and most of the time they spend in business but they channel a lot of, a significant amount of their funds for charity. And if they do it that way then what they are doing is auspicious. Then what they, then their consciousness is quite charitable, quite compassionate, quite humanitarian.
And thus they may not be engaged full time in humanitarian work but it is their conviction which may well characterize or define them as humanitarian workers. So similarly for us to the extent we understand that we at our core are spiritual beings and we all are at different levels of forgetfulness about our spiritual identity. And ultimately whatever we are looking for in life we will find it only at the spiritual level.
When we realize our spirituality and realize especially our connection with Krishna which is founded in pure love. To the extent we understand that, to that extent we progress in our pursuit of transcendence. So here Krishna says that Saat is not just the recitation of the word.
The recitation of the word is meant to signify a particular conviction. And when that conviction is present then the action becomes infused with that conviction. So Saat is not just about recitation.
Saat is not just a word for recitation. It is a conviction for translation into action. It is a conviction meant to be infused into action.
That whatever I am doing I am looking not just for a better life by getting better products, better gadgets, better facilities, better worldly resources. If you want to have a better life the most important need is a better consciousness. To the extent our consciousness improves to that extent we grow spiritually.
To that extent we rise in our pursuit towards transcendence. And even if we are not directly engaged in transcendence a better consciousness means a consciousness that is focused on not just immediate pleasures and pains but higher or deeper purposes that consciousness is infused with a stability that is not otherwise available for us to have. Therefore to improve our life we need not so much better conveniences as a better consciousness.
And Krishna here he talks about how ultimately the recitation of Om Tat Sat is not just a matter of recitation of sound. It is a matter of transformation of consciousness. Reciting Om Tat Sat each of the syllables Om, Tat and Sat have their significance.
But when they all are recited together how much more significance there is. How much more infusion of potency can happen to those activities and how much transformation of consciousness can result by that. The activities which we do are defined not just by the we are defined not just by our actions but by our convictions.
And if Sat, the pursuit of higher reality is the driving pursuit of our consciousness then that defines us and that makes, that pursuit makes our life transcendental. Even if it is not transcendental right now, it will soon become infused and enriched with transcendence. Thank you.