Living in symbiosis with cosmic forces - Bhagavad Gita Verse 3.11

In verse 3.10, the Lord points to the prosperity of the individual as one result of yajna.
In the next verse He goes on to show another advantage.
No achievement is impossible for a man, if he knows how to act in the discipline of co-operation and if he is ready to bring forth into his activities, the required amount of non-attachment and spirit of sacrifice.
How can this be achieved by sacrifice?

Devan bhaavayathaanaena thae devaa bhaavayanthu va:
Parasparam bhaavayantha: shreya: pramavaapsyatha 3.11

Cherish the devas with the yajna spirit and those devas in turn will cherish you; thus cherishing each other, you shall gain the highest good.

This verse explains the mechanics of the vast influence which one’s actions create throughout the Universe – all the laws of nature on the level of the doer react to every action.
Yajna is a process of bringing the individual into harmony with the stream of evolution, which enjoys the favour of all the forces of nature engaged in the advancement of life, individual (micro) and cosmic (macro).
The Devas mentioned here are the “presiding deity” in any field of activity, who blesses the worker in that field with his profit. They preside over the innumerable laws of nature, which are present everwhere throughout relative life.

When men in a community strive co-operatively, without ego and ego-centric desires, the Cosmic Forces that constitute the environment, shall cherish them in turn. ( this is what we call now ecological balance). In short, when man works in the yajna spirit, the outer circumstances must miraculously change their pattern to be conducive to the common will of the selfless community striving for the goal.

When we cherish the outer Cosmic Forces (Devas), they shall in return cherish us with the fulfilment of our welfare or whatever is the common demand of the total community striving together. This is a Divine Law – a Universal Truth – a scientific fact, as well.
Thus, mutually cherishing each order, let man, with the grace of Devas, achieve the greatest prosperity (Parasparam bhaavayantha: shreya: pramavaapsyatha).

Love,
Chithra.

 

Cheeniya's Supplement Post:

The relevance of this particular verse of Gita cannot be overemphasized in the modern context when man’s utter disregard for the need to live in harmony with Nature has landed him in a dire situation. We hear scientists screaming about the unprecedented hole in Ozone layer and about the toxic emissions causing a global warming of such a magnitude that they predict that the planet will become inhospitable in about a couple of hundred years. There was a news item only yesterday that mountain plants requiring a cool climate to thrive have started moving upwards. The plants that were found aplenty at 6000’ are now found at 7000’ only. Heavy melting of polar ice caps is likely to result in the oceans of the world swelling ominously and threatening to wipe out many coastal towns.

Let us set aside the spiritual content of this Verse for a second and look at it from a purely physical experience. In the days of yore, man lived in total awe of life giving Natural Forces. He worshipped them as Divine, giving them distinguishing names like Varuna, Vayu etc. He performed regular Yagnas to appease them and he would not even dream of doing anything that would upset the Nature. Seasons arrived on time and man synchronized all his activities with the march of the seasons. Man was even able to calculate how much rainfall there would be each year in advance. Even today, we read in traditional almanacs how much rainfall there would be in the ensuing year and how much of it would fall on mountains, plains and the oceans.

Everything went on smoothly as long as man perfectly understood the role he had to play at the micro and macro levels. When greed and ego spread their ugly tentacles and captured the human mind, the decay started. Man has become a lot more self-oriented than what he was a few centuries back. Man today never hesitates to misuse the natural resources for personal enrichment. Only now it has dawned on him that he reaps only what he sows. Cosmic forces are hitting back at him so that good sense can be drilled into him. The climatic changes, awful seismic activities and catastrophic natural disorders are all manifestations of the upset cosmic forces.

This verse of Gita may even be treated as an allegory to highlight the respect to be shown to the cosmic forces. The ecological imbalances that we talk of may be full of scientific jargon but in the simplest of terms, it means that we are not cherishing the Devas with the spirit of Yagna.

Here is a Buddhist thought:
“It is by losing the egocentric life that we can experience the hitherto latent and undiscovered life which, in the spiritual part of our being, we share with the Divine Ground. This newfound life is ‘more abundant’ than the other (physical life) and of a different and higher kind. Its possession is liberation into the eternal and liberation is beatitude”
Sri.

 

Dear Friends,
I apologise for the delay in this week's posting.
Cheeniya's internet connectivity was playing truant and since his supplement post is as meaningful as (or perhaps more than?) my leader post, I waited till now. But he copied his post in a pen-drive and sent it across!
I thank him profusely and I also thank all of you who sent me PMs asking why I had not posted on Thursday morning. We both cannot ask for a better FB!
Thanks.
Love,
Chithra.

 

Dear Lux,
I am happy you got carried away - the result is a very enjoyable, relevant FB !
Krishna shows how Yajna spirit is a universal law of nature. Everywhere around us,from the twinkling stars to the flowing rivers, nature serves the world in the Yajna spirit.The sun shines, but does not demand our appreciation. Rain falls, rivers flow, plants flower, trees bear fruits, oceans heave, towering mountains stand.... all serve the world to make it what it is; but none of them demands even a passing recognition from the people who are the beneficiaries.
The Creator conceived the yajna spirit along with the creatures and presented it as a gift to the highest-evolved creature,man!
It is due to a weakness inherent in manthat he fails at his attempts at co-operative endeavours.By sacrificing the ego, we must work co-operatively.
Love,
Chithra.

 

Dear Gayathri,
Needless for me to say that Sri deserves the appreciation for the title and credit should go to him..
In the name of modernisation, havoc is created now in many respects.
We do not walk even a short distance any more but want a vehicle, atleast a two-wheeler.More cars are seen on the roads than pedestrians. How long can oil last?
Huge chemical plants are constructed and pollution levels are reached high in the neighbouring areas.
Trees are chopped mercileesly, but we cry that the rains are cheating us every year.
For a minor pain or ache, we do not allow the defence system in our body to come to the fore, but rush for a pain-reliever.
Though not always, chemical synthesis is taking place only at the cost of destruction of some creation in nature.
Take agriculture for example. Were we not growing good crops with manure from cattle, earthworms etc before the synthetic manure came into existence? Now, it is said that pesticides cause more damage to the health and want to revert back to organic crops and vegetables.
Sri Ramakrishna says:
Whatever you offer to the Lord is returned to you, magnified manifold. Take care, therefore, that you do not offer anything bad to him.
Love,
Chithra.