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Gītā to see what Lord Krishna has to advise for us.

Yajña: A model code for living

Yajña is a grand concept and Lord Krishna has dealt with it in
specific details in Chapters 3 and 4 of the Gītā. However, we
shall look at only a few aspects of Yajña that are relevant to
the context of this article. Lord Krishna mentions that when
prajāpati created (sṛṣṭvā) the human beings and other living
organisms (prajāḥ) in the universe, He also co-created the
concept of Yajña (sahayajñāḥ). Prajāpati said (purovāca
prajāpatiḥ) that by honouring the principle of Yajña (anena),
the living beings (vo’stu) can milch (prasviṣyadhvam) their
cow of desires (eṣa iṣta kāma dhuk).

sahayajñāḥ prajāḥ sṛṣṭvā purovāca prajāpatiḥ
anena prasviṣyadhvam eṣa vo’stviṣṭa-kāma-dhuk

The term Yajña typically invokes in our mind an altar in
which offerings are made to a deity with a certain expectation
of some benefits. It does not convey the full spirit of Yajña
unless we contemplate on it a little more deeply. The critical
aspect of Yajña is giving (or sharing) without a sense of
attachment. That is why symbolically at the end of each
offering the mantra ends with “not mine” (न मम).

The other aspect of Yajña is giving back to the system. Lord
Krishna says that consuming oneself (yo bhuṅkte) the
endowments received from the Gods (tairdattān) without a
spirit of offering back (apradāyaibhyaḥ) amounts to behaving
like a thief (stena eva saḥ).

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