One day a boy saw his father going out somewhere hurriedly. Upon asking, his father replied that he is going to the water company to pay the water bill. The boy asked him, Dad, why do we need to pay money to them? The father told the boy that unless we pay them money, we won’t get the water to the house. Naively, the boy said, why do we need the water company Dad, we just go to the sink, turn the tap on and there we go, we get the water. Why do we have to pay to the water company?

You get the point!

Our existence in this world doesn’t come free. There are so many natural resources that keep us alive, healthy, sane and happy. A person can think childishly, that I don’t care who is providing these natural resources, I just have it available for me. I will just use them. How does it matter if someone is behind these resources or not?

Just like the water company eventually disconnects the water supply to those who don’t pay the bill, nature restricts its supplies to those who don’t perform ‘sacrifice’ or ‘pay the bill’.

In Bhagavad Gita chapter 3, Lord Krishna explains the science behind this ‘sacrifice’ or ‘yajna’.

Srila Prabhupada explains how the demigods who provide these natural resources are dependant on the performance of yajñas by the human beings.

By sacrifice, one gets ‘esa vo stu ista kama dhuk’ – “its performance will bestow upon you all desirable things.” (3.10)
‘śreyaḥ param avāpsyatha’ – “there will reign general prosperity for all.” (3.11)

Krishna further says that one who leads a life devoid of sacrifice is leading a dangerous life.

Lord Krishna calls such a person a ‘thief’, because he steals God given resources and does not perform ‘sacrifice’ or ‘pay back’. A thief is always in anxiety when he will get caught. His punishment is sure. So, the principle behind happiness in this world is sacrifice.

Well, one might think God is like a businessman who expects some payment for providing us some facilities. Not quite. Sacrifice is actually a trick God uses to reform our corrupt mentality. In this material world, we all have exploitative mentality, or we always hanker for our own sense gratification. And one who obstructs or disturbs my sense gratification is considered my enemy. In this way, because of this principle of leading life of sense gratification, there is constant strife, conflicts and quarrels throughout the world. Between nations, between communities, between members of a family etc.

So in Bhagavad Gita, the Lord is trying to cure this mentality of ours by offering this method of gradually cleansing our disease of hankering always for our sense gratification. By gradually cultivating the habit of ’sacrifice’, one comes out of the habit of sense gratification. We develop the habit of ‘giving’ and not ‘exploiting’. The Lord created this material world for the conditioned souls to learn how to perform yajñas (sacrifice) for the satisfaction of Viṣṇu, so that while in the material world they can live very comfortably without anxiety. Then after finishing the present material body, they can enter into the kingdom of God. That is the whole program for the conditioned soul.

By performance of yajña, the conditioned souls gradually become Kṛṣṇa conscious and become godly in all respects. Gradually, as we continue to perform sacrifices, at the highest stage of purity, one no longer works for one’s own sense gratification, but works to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When God is pleased, everyone is pleased. It is just like watering the root of a tree. When the root is watered, all its branches, leaves, twigs, fruits are considered watered as well. Then begs the next question, how do I know how to perform what sacrifice and when?

Traditionally sacrifice is performed through the medium of fire God (agni), who accepts our offerings and through him the offerings are accepted by the Supreme Lord Vishnu. But this kind of sacrifice is not recommended in this age of Kali yuga, nor is it practical, nor are there qualified vedic mantra chanters who can ignite fire just by the power of their mantra chanting. So the scriptures prescribe that the easiest and at the same time the most sublime form of sacrifice in this age of Kali is chanting the holy names of Lord Krishna, particularly the maha mantra: hare krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare hare, hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare.

Also in Srimad Bhagavatam it is said:

The most intelligent take to this sankirtana yajna in this age of Kali.

Lord Krishna also mentions the importance of the sacrifice of chanting His holy names in Bhagavad Gita.

yajnanam japa yajnosmi – “Of yajnas, I am japa yajna” (BG 10.25)
satatam kirtayanto mam – “Always chanting my glories…” (BG 9.14)
man mana bhava mad bhakto – “Always think of Me…” (BG 9.34)

For beginners, chanting the hare krishna maha mantra at least 108 times everyday is prescribed. This will be considered as your sacrifice and gradually the Lord will reveal in your heart how you can be elevated further. Thus by this sankirtana yajna one can remain happy in this life and in the next.

Let’s accept it. We all used to loathe exams. As a student, exam time was the most stressful time for me. The last minute preparations, late night studying, peer pressure, endless expectations from parents, strict teachers, so on so forth. But there used to be one friend of mine who was always looking forward to exams. When I asked him why, he said that he attended all the classes and prepared very well and he was actually looking forward to the challenge. Then I understood. When you are well prepared, you become very confident, you look forward to the challenge. Preparation turns the stress factor into a challenge factor and the anxiety factor into an enjoyment factor. Later, I applied this principle to many aspects of my life and found this to be so true.

Many of us don’t feel comfortable talking about death. In many ways, it is considered inauspicious to talk about it. Society in general tries to cover up the sadness associated with death and always glorifies the attractiveness of life. In Mahabharata, one of the important questions posed by Yaksha to Yudhisthira was, “What is the most wonderful thing you find in this world?” To that, Yudhisthira said, “ahany ahani bhutani gacchantiha yamalayam, sesah sthavaram icchanti kim ascaryam atah param”—““Hundreds and thousands of living entities meet death at every moment, but a foolish living being nonetheless thinks himself deathless and does not prepare for death. This is the most wonderful thing in this world.” (Mahabharata, Vanaparva)

The reality is that everyone dies. “As sure as death”, they say. When the great sage Viswamitra came to King Dasaratha to request the help of Lord Rama in killing the demons, King Dasaratha first welcomed Viswamitra with these words: “aihityam yat punar janma jayaya”—“How is your preparation to conquer next birth going?” In ancient Vedic times, emphasis was given to preparing ourselves for death, for death is the ultimate test!

No one wants to die. It is a very painful experience. But still, we are forced to die and leave everything we claim to be ours, including our own body. And when we die, we get another body, according to our consciousness.

Thus, we could get an animal body, human body, demigod body, tree body, aquatic body, etc. And the miseries of birth, old age, disease, and death continue in all these bodies. But Bhagavad Gita gives a hint about how we can escape all of these, how we can conquer death, by attaining our original spiritual body and going back home to Godhead where we originally belong.

The time of death principle!

Oh, that’s very simple isn’t it! I will enjoy my life and will just think about Krishna at the time of death! Well, not quite!

Remembering Krishna at the time of death is not easy. It is just like writing a surprise test, as death can come at any time. Without proper preparation during our life, we are likely to fail that test. But one who prepares throughout his life to remember Krishna can confidently face the ultimate challenge very easily.

Lord Krishna mentions the importance of this preparation for death throughout one’s life.

The preparation principle:

Key takeaways from this principle:

    Note that Lord Krishna does not want us to give up what we are doing. Krishna never suggests anything impractical. He is urging Arjuna to fight, or do his prescribed duty, and at the same time think of Him. Therefore, we can also engage in our various duties, but at the same time prepare for our ultimate test at the end of life. The best way to always remember Krishna is by chanting His holy names: hare krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare hare, hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare.

        We should mold our lives so that we don’t forget Krishna. We should be connected to His service, to His Deity in Temple, to His devotees, to His teachings, to the books that describe Him, and anything else that always keeps us in remembrance of Him.

        We should always keep away from anything that takes us away from Him, for this life is too precious to drift away from our ultimate goal. After all, this human life is attained after many, many births of transmigrating through various lower species of life!

For one who thus endeavors sincerely, the Lord assures us that He will personally take care of us at the time of death.

The Lord helps those who help themselves.

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