March 5 – Bhagavadgita Chapter 3; Verses 3.10-3.11 (Day 65) Karma Yoga

 March 5 – Day 65

Verse 3.10-3.11

सहयज्ञाः प्रजाः सृष्ट्वा पुरोवाच प्रजापतिः ।

अनेन प्रसविष्यध्वमेष वोऽस्त्विष्टकामधुक् ॥ ३-१०॥ 

saha yajñāḥ prajāḥ sṛiṣhṭvā purovācha prajāpatiḥ
anena prasaviṣhyadhwam eṣha vo ’stviṣhṭa kāma-dhuk (10) 

ஸஹயஞ்ஞா: ப்¹ரஜா: ஸ்ருஷ்ட்¹வா பு¹ரோவாச¹ ப்¹ரஜாப¹தி¹: |
அனேன ப்¹ரஸவிஷ்யத்⁴வமேஷ வோ‌ஸ்த்¹விஷ்ட¹கா¹மது⁴க்¹ ||10|| 

10. The Creator, having in the beginning of creation created mankind together with sacrifice, said: “By this shall ye propagate; let this be the milch cow of your desires (the cow which yields the desired objects)”. 

COMMENTARY: Prajapati is the creator or brahma. Kamadhuk is another name for the cow Kamadhenu. Kamadhenu is the cow of Indra from which everyone can milk whatever one desires. (Cf 8:4, 9:24, 9:27, 10:25) 

देवान्भावयतानेन ते देवा भावयन्तु वः ।

परस्परं भावयन्तः श्रेयः परमवाप्स्यथ ॥ ३-११॥ 

devān bhāvayatānena te devā bhāvayantu vaḥ
parasparaṁ bhāvayantaḥ śhreyaḥ param avāpsyatha (11) 

தே³வான்பா⁴வயதா¹னேன தே¹ தே³வா பா⁴வயன்து¹ வ: |
ப¹ரஸ்ப¹ரம் பா⁴வயன்த¹ ஶ்ரேய: ப¹ரமவாப்¹ஸ்யத¹ ||11|| 

11. With this do you nourish the gods, and may the gods nourish you; thus nourishing one another, you shall attain to the highest good. 

COMMENTARY: Deva literally means “the shining one”. By this sacrifice you nourish the gods such as Indra.  The gods shall nourish you with rain etc. The highest good is the attainment of the knowledge of the Self which frees one from the round of births and deaths. The highest good may mean the attainment of heaven also.  The fruit depends upon the motive of the aspirant. 

Commentary by Swami Venkatesananda [verses 10-11] 

The spirit of sacrifice was created by God. It is God himself. Hence we find that the seed dies to give birth to the plant, the mother suffers birth-pangs to create new life. Metaphysically even creation is the supreme self-sacrifice of God – the one who has become many. It is this spirit of sacrifice that promotes life and well-being here.

In this sense it is not a ‘slaughter of a victim’ (as ‘sacrifice’ is translated by the dictionary) but a mystical, magical, divine transmutation of all substances and of all activities inherent in life. In this there is no loss, but fulfilment. The fulfilment of a seed growing into a tree, the fulfilment of motherhood, and the fulfilment of all life by the realization of potential divinity. With the sacrifice of self-limitation, the self realizes its oneness with the cosmic being, the drop shines as the ocean in supreme cosmic love. Thus sacrifice is pure love in which there is no sin, no sorrow.

Which gods do we nourish by sacrifice? If the above injunction is read with the commandment in the Taittirīya upaniṣad that we should treat our parents, teacher and guest as God, it is clear that the god is our neighbor in the Christian sense. In other words, we should all serve one another: and the word yajña or sacrifice reminds us that we should not have the slightest trace of selfishness. Our charitable acts should leave no egoistical trace behind, even as ghee poured into fire is totally consumed.

We make one another’s life miserable here only on account of selfish desires, greed and inferior motives. When the spirit of self-sacrificing service governs the actions of man and when he learns to rejoice in the happiness of his neighbor, then we will have paradise on earth and everyone’s desires will be fulfilled. This doctrine of self-sacrificing, selfless service is truly the wish-fulfilling cow.

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