यज्ञशिष्टामृतभुजो यान्ति ब्रह्म सनातनम् |
नायं लोकोऽस्त्ययज्ञस्य कुतोऽन्य: कुरुसत्तम || 31||
yajña-śhiṣhṭāmṛita-bhujo yānti brahma sanātanam
nāyaṁ loko ’styayajñasya kuto ’nyaḥ kuru-sattama
yajna-shishtamrita-bhujo yanti brahma sanatanam
nayam loko ’styayajnasya kuto ’nyah kuru-sattama
Translation
BG 4.31: Those who know the secret of sacrifice, and engaging in it, partake of its remnants that are like nectar, advance toward the Absolute Truth. O best of the Kurus, those who perform no sacrifice find no happiness either in this world or the next.
Commentary
The secret of sacrifice, as mentioned previously, is the understanding that it should be performed for the pleasure of God, and then the remnants can be taken as his prasād (grace). For example, devotees of the Lord partake of food after offering it to him. After cooking the food, they place it on the altar and pray to God to accept their offering. In their mind, they meditate on the sentiment that God is actually eating from the plate. At the end of the offering, the remnants on the plate are accepted as prasād, or the grace of God. Partaking of such nectar-like prasād leads to illumination, purification, and spiritual advancement.
In the same mood, devotees offer clothes to God and then wear them as his prasād. They install his deity in their house, and then live in it with the attitude that their home is the temple of God. When objects or activities are offered as sacrifice to God, then the remnants, or prasād, are a nectar-like blessing for the soul. The great devotee Uddhav told Shree Krishna:
tvayopabhukta-srag-gandha-vāso ’laṅkāra-charchitāḥ
uchchhiṣhṭa-bhojino dāsās tava māyāṁ jayema hi (Bhāgavatam 11.6.46)[v26]
“I will only eat, smell, wear, live in, and talk about objects that have first been offered to you. In this way, by accepting the remnants as your prasād, I will easily conquer Maya.” Those who do not perform sacrifice remain entangled in the fruitive reactions of work and continue to experience the torments of Maya.
