Yog of Knowledge and Action
Chapter 4, Verse 12
kāṅkṣantaḥ karmaṇāṁ siddhiṁ
yajanta iha devatāḥ
kṣipraṁ hi mānuṣe loke
siddhir-bhavati karmajā
They who desire the fulfilment of their works on Earth, sacrifice to the gods, because the fulfilment that is born of works is very swift and easy in the human world.
“They who desire the fulfilment of their works on Earth, sacrifice to the gods...” Here Krishna says that people who are attached to worldly desires, who seek to attain worldly possessions due to the greediness of the mind, can’t long for God. Their worship is only to the demigods, to the devas like Indra, in order to fulfil their desires. The devas are pleased by these sacrifices that people offer them. But once the ritual is done, and the devas have given them what was asked for, finished! The duty of the devas is to give what one has asked for. However, they can only help one on the material level. They can’t bring one to a higher state of Realisation.
Here Krishna tells Arjuna, “Don’t pray to these gods! Pray to God and surrender to God.” This is similar to what is taught in the Bible, “Worship your God with all your faith, love, strength.” Krishna says, “These devas are the different qualities of God, but they are not the Ultimate. Don’t focus on the qualities. I am the Ultimate! Forget everything else!”
When Krishna was a child, He said to His father, Nanda, “Why are you worshipping Indra and the devas? They are bound by their duty. They have to do their duty. You are praying to Indra for rain, but his dharma is to give rain, whether you pray for rain or not.” Pray to the Ultimate! Pray to Narayana! Pray to God, because He can fulfil you completely, not just a little bit. Because in Him lies everything. And He cares for your advancement, whereas the devas don’t. The moment they give you the boon, the blessing that you asked for, they forget about you. Of course, at that moment you are happy, but you are damning yourself! You are digging your hole even deeper. They don’t care about you, whereas God cares for you. He longs for you! He pines for you! And He wants to save you! He wants you to rise and realise yourself and attain Him! So Krishna says “Don’t waste time with these devas. They are not interested in you at all. Their interest is only to receive your ritual and then it’s finished!” In this way, one traps oneself in this world and doesn’t awaken this real Love for God, this real faith in God. That’s why it’s very difficult for people who are in the material world to have devotion; their minds always revolve around how they can do business with God. Their mind is on business and they want quick results.
There is a joke where a business man went to visit a Guru. He arrived in his big car. The Guru was sitting outside a cave. The man approached the Guru and said, “Teach me the meaning of life, but quickly! I have an important appointment in half an hour.” In the same way, people worshipping the demigods want quick results to fulfil only their selfish desires. Focus your mind, your thoughts on God, on the Supreme aspect of the Divine! Then He will look after you. He will take care of you!
In the previous chapter, you saw that when the mind surrenders and is completely focused on God, He takes care of you. He carries you! He looks after you. As He takes care of birds, He will feed you in due time. The birds don’t worry. Jesus says this in the Bible, no? Bhagavan says, “Let go of these forms of worship. Don’t give oblations to these devas, but worship Me, the Ultimate! And if you worship Me, I will reciprocate this love, so that you can fulfil your dharma, your life purpose. The devas can’t help you do this.” That’s why I ask you all to chant the mantra Om Namo Narayanaya, so that you can attain Narayana. He’s the ultimate reality. There is nothing higher than Him. He is God Himself. There was no time when God incarnated saying, “Only I am God.” No. God has taken many different aspects. Nevertheless, it’s the same supreme
reality, Narayana.
Bhagavad Gita
