aharas tv api sarvasya tri-vidho bhavati priyah, yajnas tapas tatha danam tesam bhedam imam srinu
Food, sacrifice, austerity, and charity are each dear to people in different ways according to their nature. Krishna introduces the threefold classification of these four important spiritual activities.
- •Food, sacrifice, austerity, and charity each have three modes
- •One's guna-nature determines one's preferences in all areas of life
- •Understanding these distinctions helps one refine spiritual practice
Datavyam iti yad danam diyate 'nupakarine, deshe kale cha patre cha tad danam sattvikam smritam
Charity given to a worthy person simply because it is right to give, without consideration of anything in return, at the proper time and place—such charity is of the nature of goodness.
- •Give without expectation
- •Right time, place, and recipient
- •Sattvic charity is selfless
tasmad om ity udahritya yajna-dana-tapah-kriyah, pravartante vidhanoktah satatam brahma-vadinam
Therefore, acts of sacrifice, charity, and austerity as prescribed by scripture are always begun with the utterance of 'Om' by those who study the Brahman.
- •Om is the sacred syllable that sanctifies all spiritual acts
- •Scriptural acts of sacrifice, charity, and austerity begin with Om
- •Invoking Om aligns individual action with the eternal Brahman
yajne tapasi dane ca sthitih sad iti cocyate, karma caiva tad-arthiyam sad ity evabhidhiyate
Steadfastness in sacrifice, austerity, and charity is also called Sat. And any action performed for the sake of the Supreme is likewise called Sat.
- •Consistency and perseverance in spiritual practice is itself called Sat
- •Actions performed for the sake of the Divine are aligned with ultimate reality
- •Sat encompasses both the quality of one's being and the orientation of one's deeds
Yajna-dana-tapah-karma na tyajyam karyam eva tat, yajno danam tapash chaiva pavanani manishinam
Acts of sacrifice, charity, and austerity should not be abandoned, but should indeed be performed, for sacrifice, charity, and austerity are purifying for the wise.
- •Don't abandon spiritual practices
- •They purify even the wise
- •Renunciation doesn't mean inaction