|| Shri Hari ||
Exceptional Points in Gita
(Gita ki Vilakshan Baat)
continued...
It is not that by making an offering, God will get nourishment, and His
treasures will grow. God has used the term "kurushva" - in "Tatkurushva madarpanam". It means that by offering we don't fill the void (shortage) in God, rather we get rid of our own losses or own problems. In other words,by offering, the end outcome (fruit) will be received by us only. Wewill be supremely benefited. If we offer properly then the offered thing, the offering, the one offered to and the offerer, all four will become one, inother words, they will become divine. The reason is the one offering, the act of offering, the offered object and the One offered to (God) - all four of these
When food is offered to the Lord, then this "prasaad" is seeked out by even the wealthiest of Landlords. They bring their hands forward to get a little bit of that "prasaad", and are pleased on receiving even a little bit. Are these people starved of a little sweets? If you tell them that, I will get the equivalent amount of sweets from the supermarket, they will be offended. The reason being that it is not the sweets that they want, they want "prasaad" (blessed food). By offering the food to the Lord, the thing becomes immensely blessed. It becomes very pure. In other words, it becomes divine! In the same way, let us offer everything to the Lord, then it will all in all become "prasaad" (blessed). If we eat food, it is the Lord's "prasaad", if we wear clothes then it is the Lord's "prasaad", mothers and sisters, if you wear jewellry, it is the Lord's prasaad - everything is the Lord's prasaad, i.e. it will become divine.
Tumhahi nibedit bhojan karahin
Prabhu prasaad pat bhooshan dharahin ||
(Manas, Ayodhya. 129/1)
The meaning of offering to God is - to leave a sense of mine-ness from the object offered. By having a sense of mine-ness, the things become impure, and by entirely leaving the sense of mine-ness, it becomes extremely pure, in other words, it becomes divine. In homes where there are devotees of the Lord, where there is a temple of the Lord,
and mothers and sisters ask the family members, what food are we going to prepare for the Lord today? This is our hindu sankruti (hindu culture) and civilization. Even meals are not prepared for ourselves,
they are prepared for Thakurji (the Lord). Gita says -
Bhunjate te tvagham paapa ye pachntyaatmakaaranaat || (Gita 3/13)
"He who prepares a meal only for himself and eats it, is a sinner that devours sins."
If one says that today it is quite cold, therefore let us offer some hot "halva" (sweet dish) to the Lord, and while saying so the mouth waters, then this food will not be regarded as an offering to the Lord (bhog), because it has become impure (as if, already eaten from that plate). However, the food prepared for the Lord, if it is taken out of the cooking pot in a separate vessel, and tasted to make sure that the proper amount of salt is in it, then it will not become impure. In this manner, if there is desire to eat, then even on not tasting the food, it becomes impure, and if there is no desire to eat, then to taste it for the proper amount of salt, then too it will not become impure, because the predominance is of the feeling and sentiments. Therefore if the food is offered to the Lord, not desiring to eatit, then the food can be joyfully consumed, considering it as blessed by the Lord (to be continued)
From book in Hindi "Sab Jagah Ishvar Roop Hai" by Swami Ramsukhdasji.
FOR MESSAGE IN HINDI PLEASE VISIT -
(Gita ki Vilakshan Baat)