daivam eväpare yajïaà
yoginaù paryupäsate
brahmägnäv apare yajïaà
yajïenaivopajuhvati
SYNONYMS
daivam-in worshiping the demigods; eva-like this; apare-some others; yajïam-sacrifices;
yoginaù-mystics; paryupäsate-worship perfectly; brahma-of the
Absolute Truth; agnau-in the fire; apare-others; yajïam-sacrifice; yajïena-by
sacrifice; eva-thus; upajuhvati-offer.
TRANSLATION
Some yogés perfectly worship the demigods by offering different sacrifices to them,
and some of them offer sacrifices in the fire of the Supreme Brahman.
PURPORT
As described above, a person engaged in discharging duties in Kåñëa consciousness is
also called a perfect yogé or a first-class mystic. But there are others also, who
perform similar sacrifices in the worship of demigods, and still others who sacrifice to
the Supreme Brahman, or the impersonal feature of the Supreme Lord. So there are different
kinds of sacrifices in terms of different categories. Such different categories of
sacrifice by different types of performers only superficially demark varieties of
sacrifice. Factually sacrifice means to satisfy the Supreme Lord, Viñëu, who is also
known as Yajïa. All the different varieties of sacrifice can be placed within two primary
divisions: namely, sacrifice of worldly possessions and sacrifice in pursuit of
transcendental knowledge. Those who are in Kåñëa consciousness sacrifice all material
possessions for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord, while others, who want some
temporary material happiness, sacrifice their material possessions to satisfy demigods
such as Indra, the sun-god, etc. And others, who are impersonalists, sacrifice their
identity by merging into the existence of impersonal Brahman. The demigods are powerful
living entities appointed by the Supreme Lord for the maintenance and supervision of all
material functions like the heating, watering and lighting of the universe. Those who are
interested in material benefits worship the demigods by various sacrifices according to
the Vedic rituals. They are called bahv-éçvara-vädé, or believers in many gods.
But others, who worship the impersonal feature of the Absolute Truth and regard the forms
of the demigods as temporary, sacrifice their individual selves in the supreme fire and
thus end their individual existences by merging into the existence of the Supreme. Such
impersonalists sacrifice their time in philosophical speculation to understand the
transcendental nature of the Supreme. In other words, the fruitive workers sacrifice their
material possessions for material enjoyment, whereas the impersonalist sacrifices his
material designations with a view to merging into the existence of the Supreme. For the
impersonalist, the fire altar of sacrifice is the Supreme Brahman, and the offering is the
self being consumed by the fire of Brahman. The Kåñëa conscious person, like Arjuna,
however, sacrifices everything for the satisfaction of Kåñëa, and thus all his material
possessions as well as his own self-everything-is sacrificed for Kåñëa. Thus, he is the
first-class yogé; but he does not lose his individual existence.