Which Is the Greater Sacrifice?

O Learned and Devoted Servants of God,

 [Shri Phani raised a question: Which is greater between sacrifice of work (karma samnyasa) and sacrifice of fruit of work (karma phala tyaga)?]

Swami replied: “Tell Me your opinion on this”.

Phani replied: “Certainly sacrifice of fruit of work is greater than sacrifice of work because the fruit is the essence of work. To cut the bond with the fruit is very difficult”.

Swami replied: Certainly, sacrifice of the fruit of work is greater than the sacrifice of work in case of householders who have the option for both. The reason is that the bond with the fruit is very strong. Generally, money or wealth is the fruit of work. Therefore, the Veda says that sacrifice of the money and wealth is the real essence of the sacrifice and stands as the proof of the real love for God (Dhanena tyagenaikena… Veda). But remember, that the statements so far are related to the householders, who have entered the family life (grihastha) after completing the learning (Brahmacharya). After learning, you are clear about the world and God. Your attraction for the world defeated the attraction for God and hence, you have entered the family life. Then, you have started doing the worldly work and earned some fruit. After sometime, you realized the reality in your worldly attraction and now, the attraction to God defeated your worldly attraction. Therefore, you have gradually entered into God’s work through vanaprastha and samnyasa stages. But if you see the first-hand saint who has taken samnyasa straightly from Brahmacharya, he has voted for God against the world in the beginning itself and such first-hand detachment is certainly greater than the second-hand detachment (sarvarambha parityagi satyagityabhidhiyate… Gita). The reward for the sacrifice of the fruit of work in the second-hand detachment is attaining God’s abode (Brahmaloka) from which there is always a possibility of slip (Abramha Bhuvanat… Gita).

Saktuprastha was given Brahmaloka for such sacrifice (refer the Ashwamedha parva of the Mahabharata). Narada, who is a resident of Brahmaloka, was born as a householder when he was affected by ego. The fruit for the first-hand detachment is to become God or Brahman. Hanuman and Shankara are the examples for such main line who have become Brahman. Once you become Brahman, you will never slip from Brahman (Nainamprapya vimuhyati… Gita) and this fruit is the best and is also the eternal. To become the president of America is greater than to get a visa to visit America. The result of attainment of Brahmaloka for the second-hand saint was announced on the face of Saktuprastha. But, the result of the first-hand saint was not announced on the face of Hanuman. In fact, Hanuman was even insulted by Rama who did not reward Him while He was rewarding all the monkeys after the war. This means that the test for the first-hand saint continues till the fruit is handed over to him. He will be tested till the end for his lack of aspiration for the fruit.

Now, the saints in this main line of first-hand detachment are restricted to the sacrifice of work only and there is no possibility of sacrifice of fruit of work in their case. They have surrendered their lives for God’s work from the beginning and did not do any worldly work for themselves. Now, you cannot say that the sacrifice of fruit of work of a householder is greater than the sacrifice of work of such a first-hand saint. Saktuprastha is not greater than Hanuman. There is no need of any comparison between a householder becoming saint and a saint resulting straightly from Brahmacharya without marriage, who has left the worldly work in the beginning itself. Since the sacrifice of work appears in two places, this confusion comes. The sacrifice of work and sacrifice of fruit of work of a householder are not equal to the sacrifice of work of first-hand saint.

Now, what is the fate of the second-hand saint who has reached Brahmaloka since his sacrifice of fruit of work has not given the highest fruit directly? How can he attain the highest fruit, which could not be purchased by the sacrifice of the fruit (money)? People think that they can purchase the highest fruit (becoming Brahman) just by payment of the cost through a cheque. You cannot purchase the highest fruit by paying money. By such sacrifice of fruit of work, you have proved that your attraction to God defeated your attachment to the world. It means that you have come to the beginning point of the first-hand saint. Therefore, the sacrifice of the fruit of work can purchase a seat in the academic course (the line of the first-hand saint) but not the final degree certificate (the fruit obtained by the first-hand saint). Donation is only for admission. You will be reborn as the first-hand saint and get the highest fruit in the next birth. Thus, you are very near to the final goal compared to the millions of births you have taken so far. The Christianity and Islam do not believe in the rebirth. Therefore, the word rebirth should be taken in the sense of a fresh spiritual line that is started in this very life itself. The word dwija means rebirth in this very birth itself and thus, such interpretation is present in Hinduism. It means the death of the materialistic life and the birth of new spiritual life. If the second-hand saint leads a life of the first-hand saint, there is no difference provided the purity is maintained equally. Thus, the second-hand saint attains the highest fruit in this very life itself and he need not be reborn again in the physical sense. Buddha is an example for this. He was married and got a son also after the stage of learning (Brahmacharya). In course of time, He voted for God and left the family and became a saint. His rest part of life was as pure as that of Shankara. Buddha attained Brahman in this very life itself like Shankara.

Detachment from The Family

The detachment from the family has no external physical significance. King Janaka remained in the family and attained Brahman (karmanaivahi… Gita). The Lord used the word ‘sam siddhi’ in his case in the Gita, which means that he attained the complete fruit. The prefix ‘sam’ denotes the completeness of the fruit. He did not leave the family like Buddha but he was detached from the family internally in the real sense. In the spiritual field, reality is essential because none can fool God. The first adjective in the spiritual knowledge used is truth (Satyam Jnanam… Veda). The external atmosphere does not certify the truth. You need not bother about the good certificates given by the public or the criticism given by the public because both are invalid in spiritual field. You should be truthful to your inner consciousness, which gives the real certificate of your state. You may be the first-hand saint, but what is the guarantee that you can maintain the purity throughout your life? If the first-hand saint has lost the purity and gets attracted by world, he has become the householder and is not even equal to the second-hand saint (yaastemanasasmaran… Gita).

The second-hand saint may maintain the purity in the rest of the life and he becomes the first-hand saint in the rest of his life. In the spiritual field, the promotions and demotions occur in a fraction of second. Sacrifice of the world in one instance is not the final because such a state should be maintained throughout the life. The test by the Lord reveals the truth of the internal reality. King Janaka was in discussions with Sadguru Yajnavalkya. A news came that the entire city including his house is being burnt. Janaka continued the spiritual discussions without any break. The so called first-hand saint in this Kaliyuga may leave the discussions and run into the kitchen if somebody says that the boiling milk on the stove is overflowing. Therefore, the internal state is reality and mere external state cannot be the reality. Hanuman was a first-hand saint who left His family for the sake of the Lord. Since He is unmarried, the only bond was with His mother. He cut that bond. But in the context of the protection of Yayati from Rama, He voted for His mother against Rama. That shows the first-hand saint was attracted by the family. Of course, Hanuman is the God’s incarnation and He was acting in that role to show that even the first-hand saint may slip. We should always take the message given by the role and should not analyze the real state of the actor. Shankara never returned back to His house except in the last few minutes of the life of His mother. The family never attracted Buddha even though two ministers of His royal family tried a lot. Gopikas were householders and never left their families. But they became mad when Krishna left them. They were always in the memory of Krishna and in their madness. They never became even aware of their families, which means that the world could never enter their minds. That shows the stage of the first-hand saint.

Ofcourse, the external atmosphere with its physical sense has its own importance especially in the case of ordinary human beings who cannot resist the influence of the external atmosphere while remaining in it. Only exceptional cases like Janaka and Gopikas can remain pure even in the opposite external atmosphere. In the Yoga Vashishtha, the sage Vashishtha says that in the case of ordinary human beings, it is better to leave the external atmosphere because one cannot resist the entry of its influence. Therefore, Buddha and Shankara left their houses to preach this point to the ordinary human beings. Both of them personally can remain unaffected even by staying in the families like Janaka. The Veda also preaches the ordinary human beings that if one is detached from the world, he should leave the family and go for the association with saints (yadaharevavirajet…). Similarly, the rebirth of a second-hand saint who starts the line of the first-hand saint, in physical sense, has its own importance in the case of ordinary human beings. Even in the case of a first-hand saint, the memory of the family cannot be completely destroyed and it may drag him back at any time. Hanuman proved this by acting as if His mother, in the case of Yayati, attracts Him. When a second-hand saint takes a real rebirth and becomes first-hand saint from the beginning, he has forgotten all the family bonds of the previous birth and since he is a first-hand saint in this birth, at least the strongest bonds with wife and children do not exist even though the weak paternal bonds exist, which can be conquered easily. The third strongest bond with money also perishes in the absence of wife and children because the earning of money is for them only.

Human Rebirth

This facility exists in the physical sense and it is good for an ordinary human being. It is the general rule that a soul has no human rebirth. But in the case of a soul, if the omnipotent God feels that the human rebirth can help the soul in its spiritual effort, God has the special power to grant the human rebirth. The Gita mentions such human rebirth sanctioned by God (yogabhrashtobhijayate…). Let us take the case of a second-hand saint who is leading the life of a first-hand saint after full realization. But the existing wife and children may attract him because he is not an exceptional case like Buddha. In his case, if the memory of his wife and child is removed permanently such attraction will end forever. In such case, what is the solution? The only solution is the death in that life, which alone can remove the memory of the family. After the death, he may become the first-hand saint and may not have fresh wife and fresh son. Now, he has the probability of leading a pure life of the first-hand saint. In this case, the human rebirth is a must for helping him in attaining the final goal. God sanctions the human rebirth in such deserving case and you cannot bind God by any rule because He is omnipotent. Therefore, except the case of yogabhrashta, every soul, which has no hope of reformation in the next human rebirth, is thrown into permanent hell. The general rule is applicable to such hopeless souls only. Even if there is a ray of hope of reformation, God will sanction the human rebirth because the ultimate aim of God is only reformation of the soul. Even in the permanent hell, the soul is continuously tortured for the reformation only. The word ‘permanent’ means a long time only. The torture in the hell for a long time like a long-time surgery of a patient is again done for reformation only and not for any revenge. Therefore, to say that every soul has human rebirth is as wrong as saying that no soul can have human rebirth. But such rebirth in physical sense is not necessary in the case of exceptional souls like Gopikas and King Janaka. Gopikas attained Goloka, which is above the God’s abode and this shows that God has kept them on His head. This place is more than advaita in which the soul becomes God. God became the servant of Gopikas. Gopikas exhibited the higher state than the highest state through their real madness for God. In their previous births, they were already the first-hand saints. Radha was sage Durvasa in the previous birth. Therefore, the present birth of Gopikas is higher than the highest state of the first-hand saint.

Here, we said that the first-hand saint becomes Brahman. The word “becomes” does not mean the real transformation of soul into Brahman. It only means the charging of the soul by Brahman so that the soul is treated as Brahman just like the live wire charged by the current is treated as current itself. Even Lord Krishna says this truth in His case (Avyaktam vyaktimaparnam… Gita) and how any other soul can expect more than this? The soul should not expect the real transformation of the soul into Brahman. Brahman cannot disappear so that the soul hereafter is the only Brahman. Transformation of anything into some other thing is always impossible. Generally, the soul, after being charged by Brahman, does not slip because in such highest state, ego never enters the soul. Based on this, it is said that one will not slip from the state of Brahman. But if ego enters even in such highest state, the slip is inevitable as in the case of Parashurama. All the public will be praising the human incarnation as the Brahman (God) but the soul that is charged by Brahman is well aware of its individuality. Sai Baba was always remembering God (Allah Malik). When Jesus told that he (individual soul) and his Father (God or Brahman) are one and the same, it means that he can be treated as God and it does not mean that he is the God. This subtle difference was not understood and He was crucified. He should have told straightly that He is God if it is otherwise. Mohammed avoided this complication on this subtle aspect and revealed the actual truth that God never becomes or is actually transformed into the human soul. Assuming that you have really replaced the original Brahman and that you have become the original Brahman, you can never be recognized by anyone since you become the original unimaginable Brahman. You will be recognized by yourself only as said in the Veda “Brahmavit Brahmaiva”, which means that the knower of Brahman is Brahman only. The silence of Buddha indicates this original status of God.

The original God needs a convenient medium to express Himself to the public and such convenient medium is only the human form because the main program of human incarnation is to guide people in the spiritual path by giving true clarifications of the scriptures. Selfish people have misinterpreted the scriptures so that they can achieve the real fruit through false means as in the case of the materialistic cases in the court. The advocate tries to misinterpret the constitution so that his client escapes the punishment and gets the benefit. This psychology has entered the spiritual field because the soul is a bundle of feelings acquired in the world. You may misinterpret the legal scripture and fool the judge to get the benefit through false ways. But, how can you fool the omniscient God and get the benefit through such misinterpretation of His spiritual scripture? God comes in human form to remove such false interpretations and clarify the truth. The spiritual knowledge (Brahma Vidya) is the most complicated subject and even little clarification is almost impossible in it. When you do not understand any concept, it is generally said that it is not Brahma Vidya, which cannot be understood. But God expressed through human form called as Sadguru can give the best and complete clarification in this most complicated subject. Such clarification is specific to God only and hence, such specific special knowledge (Prajnanam) is the best and constantly associated identity card of God (Prajnanam Brahma… Veda). The miracles are transferable items and cannot be the real identity card of God since miracles are also exhibited by demons. No individual soul can give such best clarification as God, and hence, the Prajnanam is the non-transferable item.

Miracles may or may not be exhibited by God because miracles always divert the soul from the spiritual path. But God in human form always exhibits this specific special spiritual knowledge because that is very much needed for the souls to have the real guidance in the spiritual path. Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed, Mahavira etc., who are the human incarnations, were always spiritual preachers giving clarifications in the spiritual knowledge, whether miracles were exhibited or not. A demon always exhibits miracles to expose his false superiority and wants fame from the public. But God in human form exhibits a miracle rarely if He feels that it will help the spiritual path of the soul. But generally, the miracles are violations of the natural administration set-up by God Himself and God does not want to contradict His own administration. Miracles solve the problems by violating the cycle of deeds and such solutions bring more attachment to the world in the case of souls and this is harming their spiritual progress. Therefore, Prajnanam is the only identity card of God in human form, which is constantly exhibited.

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