Chapter IX (Verses 26, 27)
Raja Vidya Raja Guhya Yoga – The Yoga of Royal Knowledge and Royal Secret
Chapter IX
(Verses 26)
पत्रं पुष्पं फलं तोयं यो मे भक्त्या प्रयच्छति ।
तदहं भक्त्युपहृतमश्नामि प्रयतात्मनः ॥ ९-२६॥
Whoever offers Me with devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit, water, that I accept, offered by the pure-minded with devotion.
There is no religion in the world which does not recognize and encourage offerings by the devotees. The modern educated man is rather surprised as to why the Infinite Lord, in all religions, needs insignificant things like a spoonful of oil for His lamp, or a candle, or even an edifice to house Himself — be it a church, a mosque, or a temple. Dreary intellects, poisoned with their own misunderstanding, have even come shamelessly to insist that these Houses-of-God should be converted into hospitals and schools, lunatic asylums and maternity homes!
But I believe that I am talking to a world which has not reached this nadir of depravity. Not yet. In a society where there is still the play of healthy hearts and virulent intellects, there is certainly a need for temples and worship. And in these Houses-of-God, it is not the intricacies of their design, elaborateness of the ritual, nor the splendour of gold and wealth exhibited, nor even the number of devotees attending, that contribute to their essential success.
The very language and diction of the stanza clearly sound the note that the material objects that one might offer are of no value to the Lord of the Universe, but it is the devotion and love that prompt the offerings that are accepted by the Deity. Be it “A LEAF, A FLOWER, A FRUIT, OR WATER,” it is but an insignificant thing that you offer; be it a golden temple, or be it a dry leaf,”WHOSOEVER WITH DEVOTION OFFERS,” whatever be the offering, the Lord of Vrindavana assures “THAT I ACCEPT.” For, when lovingly given, it becomes “A DEVOUT GIFT” and when it is offered by a sincere “PURE-MINDED” student, the Lord has to accept it.
There are several carefully coined words in the stanza which explain the theory of sacrifice insisted upon in all religions. No doubt, the Absolute requires no offering at all from the finite mortals to complete Its Perfection, or to maintain Its Infinite Glory. The limited individuals try to offer at the Altar of their Lord something that they have MISAPPROPRIATED from the Lord’s own garden, the world. In a public park, a lover often pinches a flower from the nearby bush and offers it to his beloved. Similarly, a devotee steals something from the Lord’s own plucks, and offers the same unto Him. In fact, when thus we analyse carefully, we know the hollowness of the vanity of offering something unto the Lord.
And yet, this is insisted upon as an important ritual in all forms of worship. In offering a flower, or a fruit unto the Lord, if the devotee feels that he is making a sacrifice of the very thing that he offers, he is misusing the very act. The flower, here, serves only the purpose of a spoon in conveying something unto the Lord. While taking soup, one, no doubt, lifts the spoon many times to the mouth but at the end of the dinner the spoon remains the same as before, having finished its work. The flowers and fruits in the garden or in the temple, remain the same, but when the devotee gathers and carries them to the Altar, and offers them, they become the conveyors of his love and dedication unto the Lord of his heart.
This idea has been brought out in this stanza, when the Lord says: “THAT I ACCEPT… THE DEVOUT GIFT OF THE PURE-MINDED.”
Therefore, on the whole, it is clear that an offering can be efficient, only when it is accompanied by the two required conditions; (a) “offered with devotion” and (b) “by the pure-minded.” To the extent these features are absent, all offerings are mere economic waste and superstition breeding false-beliefs. If properly done, it can serve as a good vehicle to tread the spiritual path of self development.
THEREFORE:
(Verses 27)
यत्करोषि यदश्नासि यज्जुहोषि ददासि यत् ।
यत्तपस्यसि कौन्तेय तत्कुरुष्व मदर्पणम् ॥ ९-२७॥
Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer in sacrifice, whatever you give in charity, whatever you practise as austerity, O Kaunteya, do it as an offering to Me.
Through all activities of life one can constantly live in the spirit of “devout offering” unto the Supreme. Throughout the Geeta it has been, time without number, insisted upon that the mental attitude is of supreme importance, rather than the mere physical act. And, this is a fact which ordinarily the seekers forget.
All acts of perception and our reactions to the perceived, be they on the physical, mental, or intellectual levels, make them all a “DEVOUT OFFERING UNTO HIM.” In fact, this is not an unnecessary make-belief or a mere fancied exaggeration. Nor is it in any way, very difficult for an individual to practise. The one Self revels everywhere: in the teacher, in the devotee and in the Lord. In all our life’s transactions we behave, act and deal with other names and forms, and all of them, we know, require the Existence of the Self to uphold them. To remember the Self during all transactions of life is to remember the Substratum. In a cloth shop where there are cotton clothes of different colours and sizes, textures and prices, the shop-keeper is advised always to remember that he is dealing with cotton clothings. This cannot be very difficult for any sane shop-keeper, and it will be safe and profitable for him to remember this fact, for it would prevent him from entertaining misconceptions and thereby either charging the exorbitant prices of woollens, or selling off his goods as cheap as gunny bags! If a goldsmith is asked to remember that he is working on gold, it is only for his own benefit.
Just as cotton is in all cloth, gold in all ornaments, the Self is the Essential-stuff in all names and forms. A devotee who can constantly remember the Divine in all his contacts in life, is alone the one who can give to life the respect and reverence that it deserves. It is a law in life that as you give unto life, so shall life give unto you. Smile at life and life smiles; frown at life and life frowns at you; approach life with due reverence and respect, born out of the cognition of the Divine essence in it, and life shall respect and revere you.
When all activities are performed in the Spirit-of-Offering, not only our love for the Supreme increases but also our entire life becomes sanctified with a noble purpose and a divine aim. In the context of the Geeta’s insistence on single-pointedness of mind, and devoted contemplation of the Self, so far described, we can easily see how this stanza provides us again with an efficient and secret method by which the seekers are unconsciously made to remember the Supreme constantly — not in the deep jungles, nor in the secret caves, but right in the field of life’s contentions.