by Sri Bimal Mohanty
VOL No. 57 November . 2005

 


  Atma
 Knowledge
 Creation
 God
 Spiritualism
 Sanatan

 Questions
 e-mail

"SUSTAINING GOD CONSCIOUSNESS.
(Continued)- More about sacrifice. "

"Based on the lectures by Sri Bimal Mohanty"

If enmity, violence or war, can not be the guiding principle of relationship between creatures of the Lord, then what? The answer in our scriptures is : it is the “sacrifice”, “ the act of giving away”, which indeed holds the creation together. And it is only through the principle of sacrifice that we go to strengthen our God consciousness, God being the Lord of the creation.

When the divine principle for the sustenance of the creation demands sacrifice from all, it also made it imperative for all that it leaves no escape for anyone, whether a living being or apparently gross entity. Every one and everything, including you and me are already continuously sacrificing some thing of us for the benefit of others around us. As Sri Aurobindo said, the nature demands this from us. As long as we exist and living, we have to, and are doing some sacrifice by our very act of living. The nature or Prakrti sees to it and extracts this sacrifice from all her constituents.

So what is the extra effort demanded from you and me? Why not let the nature take care of it as it is doing?

The difference here is the choice between living an inferior life – a life of lower consciousness, and living like human beings possessing a higher mind and a higher consciousness.

We have discussed this before that it is only the human form that possesses a higher and developed state of intellect capable of raising the life to a higher plane by its own efforts. None except the humans can do this. None but the humans have the power of ‘conscious yoga’ by which we speed up our process of evolution.

So the answer becomes simple. Instead of letting the nature take its slow course, I as a human being can understand the divine way of the nature and voluntarily participate and cooperate by increasing my efforts of this sacrifice. By doing a little bit more I travel that extra mile, I skip that extra delay in reaching my destination. So I decide to sacrifice more of me for the benefit of others. I learn to orient my attitude voluntarily not to seek and take but to offer and give.

For argument sake we come across some people who insist that the creation is sustained by not any other emotion but ‘love’. In a deeper sense, they are really saying the same thing. True _expression of love is never separated from the act of sacrifice. The operating part of the feeling of ‘love’ is essentially ‘sacrifice’. When sacrifice is cultivated, love endures. You remove sacrifice and love evaporates into thin air.

The Divine law in the creation is to sacrifice, to give, not to take. Take only which is ‘tena tyaktena’, set aside by Him the Lord, for you, as the Isa Upanishad reminds us. That much is only good for you, for your welfare. An iota taken beside that, compelled by your desire, is like poison that will eventually and for sure vitiate the life today or tomorrow. Every one’s life is a glowing proof of this. Yet every one understands it when it is too late. A yogi however is ever alert and understands it whenever the desire, any desire, raises its demand.

Is ‘sacrifice’ an act of hopeless submission as sometimes we tend to think? Is it an act of enforced resignation to a more powerful force?

Not at all so. The spiritual philosophy recognizes intelligent sacrifice, with full understanding of what is shreya or ultimate good for the individual soul for its existence and emancipation.

If we recall our earlier discussions, the very objective of our existence, the objective of every existence, nay the objective of this very creation, is to evolve into that highest level of perfection, shedding away all traces of blemish, cast away all veils of ignorance and attain that purest, highest and faultless state of absolute gnosis and be one with the Lord who is already and always all that. This dynamic creation is nothing but a continuous process, through which we all are subjected yantrArudhavat, as if mounted on an ever moving machine.

The creation thus is conceived like a mahayajna- the great sacrificial altar in which we constantly are offering as ahuti (oblation) not only all our actions but also all that are not part of our nature, all that are acquired defects and deficiencies so that we regain eventually our inherent purest nature.

Everything that is an obstacle to our progress is to be cast away for the fire of this mahayajna to devour. Individually through yoga, we cast away all that is not in our interest, all that does not belong to us. And collectively, we assist each other in doing the same, thus creating for ourselves as well as others an improved state of existence which is more conducive to our goal, to our liberation.

The suns, stars and galaxies of the million universes ( anantakoti brahmAnda) sacrifice their energy, their movement and actions in this mahayajna. The wind blows, the cloud rains, the earth produces, the human and other creatures are created and go though all further changes of state performing actions as per their nature, all as part of this mahayajna. As the Lord Krishna said in the Bhagavad Gita – the yogi sacrifices all his actions into and for the purpose of this mahayajna,- yajnAya acaratah karma samagram praviliyate. As explained in Jnana Karma sanyAsa Yoga, all activities of the sense organs are sacrificed into the fire of this mahayajna, even the very life energy is offered, the acquired knowledge is sacrificed for still higher knowledge, all material possessions are offered, the entire life is offered. Even the yoga is sacrificed in this mahayajna with that final goal as the objective.

Nothing is to be held back. All and everything is with the yogi for the purpose of this mahayajna. It never in the first place belonged to him so how can he hold back?

Once its purpose is served, all these must return to their source. You only enjoyed temporarily what was given to you, as assistance and as His immortal grace for your development. What was loaned to us is His. Once the purpose is served we have no more the right or the power to hold on to that.

Lest one may think that whatever little is in possession belongs to him, the Lord through the scriptures has made it abundantly clear:

Aham hi sarvayajnaanaam bhoktaa cha prabhureva cha;

I am in this Yajna the only Lord and receiver of all offerings. The giver, the taker and the very act itself. All are indeed me:

Aham kraturaham yajnah swadhaa’hamahamaushadham;
Mantro’hamahamevaajyam ahamagniraham hutam.

I am the Kratu- the very ritual which is this creation; I am the Yajna; I am the offering; I am that very medicine that keeps it living and sustained. I am the mantra, the laws for its execution, I am also the ghee or melted butter that keeps the fire of this Yajna burning, I am the fire itself, I am the oblation.

What is the purpose of saying all this? It lifts the very act of sacrifice, the life itself to a level of highest intellectual and spiritual excellence. All petty and selfish motives are eliminated. All hesitations of mind are put to rest bringing the Divinity into it.

For what benefit?

The first practical benefit is the annihilation of the human ego, the negative ego, which is the cause of all miseries and the greatest obstacle to our development.

All must be done as a sacrifice to the Lord. As Sri Aurobindo said; “Life is the altar of this sacrifice, works are our offerings. A transcendent and universal power and presence, as yet rather felt or glimpsed than known or seen is the deity to whom they are offered.”

When you continue to submit yourself progressively or bit by bit to the divine force, this transcendental power, you are simultaneously sacrificing, progressively or bit by bit your own separate individuality- your ego at the altar of that sacrifice, in that mahayajna. That is the greatest practical benefit. As the individual ego starts weakening, the bond with the Brahman gets stronger and stronger. The knowledge starts getting revealed more and more. You are more at peace with life.

At a higher consciousness level, the benefit ofcourse comes clear through the words of The Lord Himself:

Bhoktaaram yajnatapasaam sarvaloka maheshwaram;
Suhridam sarvabhootaanaam jnaatwaa maam shaantim ricchati.

As the great Lord of all the worlds, I am indeed is the receiver of all your sadhana, all your activities in this cosmic mahayajna. I am the friend of all beings working for their good. Only by realizing this you shall have peace of mind.

Once the purpose of this cosmic sacrifice is understood, there should be no hesitation in becoming a willing participant with all one’s heart and soul in this sacrificial yajna. Go on offering everything into this yajna and what comes to you from this sacrifice is the ultimate revealation of the truth and the ultimate bliss that follows from this realization. You reach to Brahman which is your ultimate destination. The Lord assures this in the Bhagavad Gita in no uncertain terms:

YajnAsistamrta bhujo yAnti Brahma sanAtanam

The Brahman is attainable as the fruit of your yajna.

The sacrificial yajna is indeed at the root of everything.

nAyam lokosty ayajnasya…

This creation was not created for those who shy away from sacrifice.

They are the condemned ones who do not participate in this sacrificial cosmic endevour.