Chapter 18: Mokṣa-sannyāsa-yoga: – Liberation, Renunciation and the Supreme SecretVerse 5
यज्ञदानतप:कर्म न त्याज्यं कार्यमेव तत् ।
यज्ञो दानं तपश्चैव पावनानि मनीषिणाम् ॥
yajña-dāna-tapa:-karma
na tyājyaṃ kāryam-eva tat
yajño dānaṃ tapaścaiva
pāvanāni manīṣiṇām – 18.5
Yajña, dāna and tapas are not to be eschewed, abandoned. They are to be performed. For those given to the habit of introspection, yajña, dāna and tapas are purificatory.
Chapter 18: Mokṣa-sannyāsa-yoga: – Liberation, Renunciation and the Supreme Secret - Verse 5
Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha
Krishna is clear and firm that yajna, dana and tapas are sublime pursuits, which have the spiritual potential to purify human mind. He adds that only the wise and reflective ones achieve this purification.
Yajna, dana and tapas are, in a way, like other pursuits. The difference is solely in the attitude with which the activities are done. The aim should be to gain inner purity and expanse. This will transpire only when the performer reflects earnestly over what he does.
It is the attitude and aim that shape an act. Right from the morning, one is steeped in secular activities. Yajna, dana and tapas are also performed by the same physical limbs and senses. While secular actions please the senses, the divine ones purify the mind. The discreet alone succeed in culturing the right attitude and aim to ensure such purity. This is a great assessment; warning as well!
