TEXT 9
यज्ञार्थात्कर्मणोऽन्यत्र लोकोऽयं कर्मबन्धनः।
तदर्थं कर्म कौन्तेय मुत्कसङ्गः समाचार॥९॥
TRANSLATION
"Work done as a sacrifice for Visnu has to be performed, otherwise work causes bondage in this material world. Therefore, O son of Kunti, perform your prescribed duties for His satisfaction, and in that way you will always remain free from bondage."
PURPORT
Since one has to work even for the simple maintenance of the body, the prescribed duties for a particular social position and quality are so made that that purpose can be fulfilled. Yajna means Lord Visnu, or sacrificial performances.
All sacrificial performances also meant for the satisfaction of Lord Visnu. The Vedas enjoin:yajno vai visnuh. In other words, the same purpose is served whether one performs prescribed yajnas or directly serves Lord Visnu. Krsna consciousness is therefore performance of yajna as it is prescribed in this verse. The varnasrama institution also aims at satisfying Lord Visnu. Varnasramacaravata purusena parah puman/ visnur aradhyate(Visnu Purana 3.8.8).
Therefore one has to work for the satisfaction of Visnu. Any other work done in this material world will be a cause of bondage, for both good and evil work have their reactions, and any reaction binds the performer. Therefore, one has to work in Krsna consciousness to satisfy Krsna (or Visnu); and while performing such activities one is in a liberated stage.
This is the great art of doing work, and in the beginning this process requires very expert guidance. One should therefore act very diligently, under the expert guidance of a devotee of Lord Krsna, or under the direct instruction of Lord Krsna Himself (under whom Arjuna had the opportunity to work).
Nothing should be performed for sense gratification, but everything should be done for the satisfaction of Krsna. This practice will not only save one from the reaction of work, but also gradually elevate one to transcendental loving service of the Lord, which alone can raise one to the kingdom of God.
TEXT 10
सहयज्ञाः प्रजाः सृष्ट्वा पुरोवाच प्रजापतिः।
अनेन प्रसविष्यध्वमेष वोऽस्त्विष्टकामधुक्॥१०॥
TRANSLATION
" In the begining of creation, the Lord of all creatures sent forth generations of men and demigods, along with sacrifices for Visnu, and blessed them by saying, "Be thou happy by this yajna [sacrifice] because its performance will bestow upon you everything desirable for living happily and achieving liberation.""
PURPORT
The material creation by the Lord of creatures (Visnu) is a chance offered to the conditioned souls to come back home--back to Godhead. All living entities within the material creation are conditioned by material nature becuse of their forgetfulness of their relationship to Visnu, or Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
The Vedic principles are to help us understand this eternal relation, as it is stated in the Bhagavad-gita: vedais c sarvair aham eva vedyah. The Lord says that the purpose of the Vedas is to understand Him. In the Vedic hymns it is said: patim visvasyatamesvaram. Therefore, the Lord of the living entities is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Visnu.
In the Srimad-Bhagavatam also (2.4.20) Srila Sukadeva Gosvami describes the Lord as pati in so many ways:
sriyah patir yajna-patih praja-patir
dhiyam patir loka-patir dhara-patih
oatir gatis candhaka-vrsni-satvatam
prasidatam me bhagavan satam patih
The praja-pati is Lord Visnu, and He is the Lord of all living creatures, all worlds, and all beauties, and the protector of everyone. The Lord created this material world to enable the conditioned souls to learn how to perform yajnas (sacrifices) for the satisfaction of Visnu, so that while in the material world they can live very comfortably without anxiety and after finishing the present material body they can enter into the kingdom of God.
That is the whole program for the conditioned soul. By performance of yajna, the conditioned souls gradually become Krsna conscious and become godly in all respects. In the Age of Kali, the sankirtana-yajna (the chanting of the names of God) is recommended by the Vedic scriptures, and this transcendental system was introduced by Lord Caitanya for the deliverance of all men in this age.
Sankirtana-yajna and Krsna consciousness go well together. Lord Krsna in his devotional form (as Lord Caitanya) is mentioned in the Srimad-Bhagavatam(11.5.32) as follows, with special reference to the sankirtana-yajna:
krsna-varnam tvisakrsnam
sangopangastra-parsadam
yajnaih sankirtana-prayair
yajanti hi su-medhasah
"In this Age of Kali, people who are endowed with sufficient intelligence will worship the Lord, who is accompanied by His associates, by performance of sankirtana-yajna." Other yajnas prescribed in the Vedic literatures are not easy to perform in this Age of Kali, but the sankirtana-yajna is easy and sublime for all purposes, as recommended in Bhagavad-gita also (9.14).
TEXT 11
देवान्भावयतानेन ते देवा भावयन्तु वः।
परस्परं भावयन्तः श्रेयः परमवाप्स्यथ॥११॥
TRANSLATION
"The demigods, being pleased by sacrifices, will also please you, and thus, by cooperation between men and demigods, prosperity will reign for all."
PURPORT
The demigods are empowered administrators of material affairs. The supply of air, light, water and all other benedictions for maintaining the body and soul of every living is entrusted to the demigods, who are innumerable assistants in different parts of the body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Their pleasures and displeasures are dependent on the performance of yajnas by the human being. Some of the yajnas are meant to satisfy particular demigods; but even in so doing, Lord Visnu is worshiped in all yajnas as the chief beneficiary.
It is stated also in the Bhagavad-gita that Krsna Himself is the beneficiary of all kinds of yajnas: bhoktaram yajna-tapasam. Therefore, ultimate satisfaction of the yajna-pati is the chief purpose of all yajnas. When these yajnas are perfectly performed, naturally the demigods in charge of the different departments of supply are pleased, and there is no scarcity in the supply of natural products.
Performance of yajnas has many side benefits, ultimately leading to liberation from material bondage. By performance of yajnas, all activities become purified, as it is stated in the Vedas: ahara-suddhau sattva-suddhih sattva-suddhau dhurva smrtih smrti-lambhe sarvagranthinam vipramoksah.
By performance of yajna one's eatables become sanctified, and by eating sanctified foodstuffs one's very existence becomes purified; by the purification of existence finer tissues in the memory become sanctified, and when memory is sanctified one can think of the path of liberation, and all these combined together lead to Krsna consciousness, the great necessity of present-day society.
TEXT 12
इष्टान्भोगान्हि वो देवा दास्यन्ते यज्ञभाविताः।
तैर्दत्तानप्रदायैभ्यो यो भुङे्त्क स्तेन एव सः॥१२॥
TRANSLATION
" In charge of the various necessities of life, the demigods, being satisfied by the performane of yajna [sacrifice], will supply all necessities to you. But he who enjoys such gifts without offering them to the demigods in return is certainly a thief."
PURPORT
The demigods are authorized supplying agents on behalf of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Visnu. Therefore, they must be satisfied by the performance of prescribed yajnas. In the Vedas, there are different kinds of yajnas prescribed for different kinds of demigods, but all are ultimately offered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead is, sacrifice to the demigods is recommended.
According to the different material qualities of the persons concerned, different types of yajnas are recommended in the Vedas. Worship of different demigods is also on the same basis--namely, according to differnt qualities.
For examples, the meat-eaters are recommended to worship the goddess Kali, the ghastly form of material nature, and before the goddess the sacrifice of animals is recommended. But for those who are in the modes of goodness, the transcendental worship of Visnu is recommended. But ultimately all yajnas are meant for gradual promotion to the transcendental position. For ordinary men, at least five yajnas, known as panca-maha-yajna, re necessary.
One should know, however, that all the necessities of life that the human society requires are supplied by the demigods agents of the Lord. No one can manufacture anything. Take, for example, all the eatables of human society. These eatables include grains, fruits, vegetables, milk, sugar, etc. for the persons in the modes of goodness, and also eatables for the nonvegetarians, like meats, none of which can be manufactured by men.
Then again, take for example heat, light, water, air, etc., which are also necessities of life--none of them can be manufactured by the human society. Without the Supreme Lord, there can be no profuse sunlight, moonlight, rainfall, breeze, etc., without which no one can live.
Obviously, our life is dependent on supplies from the Lord. Even for our manufacturing enterprises, we require so many raw materials like metal, sulphur, mercury, manganese, and so many essentials--all of which are supplied by the agents of the Lord, with the purpose that we should make proper use of them to keep ourselves fit and healthy for the purpose of self-realization, leading to the ultimate goal of life, namely, liberation from the material struggle for existence.
This aim of life is attained by performance of yajnas. If we forget the purpose of human life and simply take supplies from the agents of the Lord for sense gratification and become more and more entangled in material existence, which is not the purpose of creation, certainly we become thieves, and therefore we are punished by the laws of material nature.
A society of thieves can never be happy, because they have no aim in life. The gross materialist thieves have no ultimate goal of life. They are simply directed to sense gratification; nor do they have knowledge of how to perform yajnas. Lord Caitanya, however, inaugurated the easiet performance of yajnas, namely the sankirtana-yajna, which can be performed by anyone in the world who accepts the principles of Krsna consciousness.
TEXT 13
यज्ञशिष्टाशिनः सन्तो मुच्यन्ते सर्वकिल्बिषैः
भुञ्जते ते त्वघं पापा ये पचन्त्यात्मकारणात्॥१३॥
TRANSLATION
" The devotees of the Lord are released from all kinds of sins because they eat food which is offered first for sacrifice. Others, who prepare food for personal sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin."
PURPORT
The devotees of the Supreme Lord, or the persons who are in Krsna consciousness, are called santas, and they are always in love with the Lord as it is described in the Brahma-samhita (5.38):
premanjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santah sadaiva hrdayesu vilokayanti. The santas, being always in a compact of love with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda (the giver of all pleasures), or Mukunda (the giver of liberation), or Krsna (the all-attractive person), cannot accept anything without first offering it to the Supreme Person. Therfore, such devotees always perform yajnas in different modes of devotional service, such as sravanam, kirtanam, smaranam, arcanam, etc., and these performances of yajnas keep them always aloof from all kinds of contamination of sinful association in the material world.
Others, who prepare food for self or sense gratification, are not only thieves but also the eaters of all kinds of sins. How can a person be happy if he is both a thief and sinful? It is not possible. Therefore, in order for people to become happy in all respects, they must be taught to perform the easy process of sankirtana-yajna, in full Krsna consciousness. Otherwise, there can be no peace or happiness in the world.
TEXT 14
अन्नाद्भवन्ति भूतानि पर्जन्यादन्नसम्भवः।
यज्ञाद्भवति पर्जन्यो यज्ञः कर्मसमुद्भवः॥१४॥
TRANSLATION
" All living bodies subsist on food grains, which are produced from rains. Rains are produced by performance of yajna [sacrifice], and yajna is born of prescribed duties."
PURPORT
Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana a great commentator on the Bhagavad-gita, writes as follows: ye indrady-angatayavasthitam yajnam sarvesvaram visnum abhyarcya tac-chesam asnami tena tad deha-yatram sampadayanti te santah sarvesvarasya yajna-purusasya bhaktah sarva-kilbisair anadi-kala-vivrddhair atmanubhava-prati bandhakair nikhilaih papair vimucyante.
The Supreme Lord, who is known as the yajna-purusa, or the personal beneficiary of all sacrifices, is the master of all the demigods, who serve Him as the differnet limbs of the body serve the whole. Demigods like Indra, Candra and Varuna are appointed officers who manage material affairs, and the Vedas direct sacrifices to satisfy these demigods, who are different limbs of the Lord, are also automatically worshipped; therefore there is no separate need to worship the demigods.
For this reason, the devotees of the Lord, who are in Krsna consciousness, offer food to Krsna and then eat-- a process which nourishes the body spiritually. By such action not only are past sinful reactions in the body vanquished, but the body becomes immunized to all contamination of material nature. When there is an epidemic disease, an antiseptic vaccine protects a person from the attack of such an epidemic. Similarly, food offered to Lord Visnu and then taken by us makes us sufficiently resistant to material affection, and one who is accustomed to this practice is called a devotee of the Lord. Therefore, a person in Krsna consciousness, who eats only food offered of the Lord.
Therefore, a person in Krsna consciousness, who eats only food offered to Krsna, can counteract all reactions of past material infections, which are impediments to the progress of self-realization. On the other hand, one who does not do so continues to increase the volume of sinful action, and this prepares the next body to resembles hogs and dogs, to suffer the resultant reactions of all sins.
The material world is full of contaminations, and one who is immunized by accepting prasadam of the Lord (food offereed to Visnu) is saved from the attack, whereas one who does not do so becomes subjected to contamination.
Food grains or vegetables are facually eatables. The human being eats different kinds of food grains vegetables fruits etc., and the animals eat the refuse of the food grains and vegetables, grass, plants, etc. Human beings who are accustomed to eating meat and flesh must also depend on the production of vegetation in order to eat the animals. Therefore, ultimately, we have to depend on the production of the field and not on the production of big factories.
The field production is due to sufficient rain from the sky, and such rains are controlled by demigods like Indra, sun, moon, etc., and they are all servants of the Lord. The Lord can be satisfied by sacrifices; therefore, one who cannot perform them will find himself in scarcity--that is the law of nature. Yajna, specifically the sankirtana-yajna prescribed for this age, must therefore be performed to save us at least from scarcity of food supply.
TEXT 15
कर्म ब्रह्योद्भवं विद्धि ब्रह्याक्षरसमुद्भवम्।
तस्मात्सर्वगतं ब्रह्य नित्यं यज्ञे प्रतिष्ठितम्॥१५॥
TRANSLATION
"Regulated activities are prescribed in the Vedas, and the Vedas are directly manifested from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Consequently the all-pervading Transcendence is eternally situated in acts of sacrifice."
PURPORT
Yajnartha-karma, or the necessity of work for the satisfaction of Krsna only, is more expressly stated in this verse. If we have to work for the satisfaction of the yajna-purusa, Visnu, then we must find out the direction of work in Brahman, or the transcendental Vedas. The Vedas are therefore codes of working directions. Anything performed without the direction of the Vedas is called vikarma, or unauthorized or sinful work.
Therefore, one should always take direction from the Vedas to be saved from the reaction of work. As one has to work in ordinary life by the direction of the state, one similarly has to work under direction of the supreme state of the Lord. Such directions in the Vedas are directly manifested from the breathing of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
It is said, asya mahato bhutasya nisvasitam etad yad rg-vedo yajur-vedah samvedo 'tharvangirasah. "The four Vedas--namely the Rg Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda, and Atharva-Veda--are all emanations from the breathing of the great Personality of Godhead." (Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad 4.5.11) The Lord, being omnipotent, can speak by breathing air, for as it is confirmed in the Brahma-samhita, the Lord has the omnipotence to perform through each of His senses the actions of all other senes.
In other words, the Lord can speak through His breathing, and He can impregnate by His eyes. In fact, it is said that He glanced over material nature and thus fathered all living entities. After creating or impregnating the conditioned souls into the womb of material nature, He gave His directions in the Vedic wisdom as to how such conditoned souls can return home, back to Godhead.
We should always remember that the conditoned souls in material nature are all eager for material enjoyment. It is a chance for the conditioned souls to attain liberation; therefore the conditioned souls must try to follow the process the yajna by becoming Krsna conscious. Even those who have not followed the Vedic injunctions may adopts the principles of Krsna consciousness, and that will take the place of performance of Vedic yajnas, or karmas.