Chapter 4 Shloka 33
श्रेयान्द्रव्यमयाद्यज्ञाज्ज्ञानयज्ञ: परन्तप।
सर्वं कर्माखिलं पार्थ ज्ञाने परिसमाप्यते।।३३।।
Bhagwan tells Arjuna:
O conqueror of foes! Gyan Yagya is superior to Dravya Yagya – for all actions without exception culminate in knowledge.
The Lord clarifies that the performance of dravya yagya whereby an individual gives of his material assets, is inferior to the gyan yagya whereby knowledge is disseminated, because all deeds culminate in knowledge.
Little one, in the dravya yagya:
a) material assets are donated in charity;
b) an individual helps the other on the gross plane but does not give of himself;
c) by giving away one’s material possessions, one can at the most become the doer of virtuous deeds;
d) one can earn meritorious fruits, but cannot attain one’s essential Self thus.
The Lord places gyan yagya on a higher plane than dravya yagya, because all actions culminate in knowledge. He who employs knowledge in his practical life:
a) will be freed of the bondages of attachment;
b) his desires will fade away;
c) his ignorance will disappear;
d) his moha will be destroyed.
He who has knowledge and the practice of employing that knowledge in his daily life, will definitely attain Supreme Perfection. Realising his essential Essence through knowledge, he practices renunciation of the body idea in his daily living and becomes an Atmavaan. Where knowledge predominates, the concept of doership will be absent, hence all actions performed will not bind one. One will perform all the tasks throughout one’s life as a non-participating witness and yet remain free of the bondage of karma.
It is possible that after one has performed the gyan yagya, one no longer needs to perform any other yagya. However, little one, it is not only theoretical knowledge which is referred to here. The man of wisdom translates the knowledge he has learnt into practice. Thus, he who has truly practised knowledge in life is released from the bondage of action. All his actions are consumed in the purifying flames of that Supreme Knowledge.
Actually, little one, when such an individual, with the aid of his knowledge, renounces that intellect which is subservient to the body, and he has no further claims upon himself, then how can he remain attached to the actions of that body? Those actions are no longer his – they are a consequence of the play of the gunas. That is why gyan yagya has been considered superior to dravya yagya. The one who has performed gyan yagya will inevitably engage in other yagyas as well, whenever the situation demands, for he possesses the knowledge of all yagyas.
