Now, in the twilight of my years, with a few months left to live, I find that the world has become a strange place to me. I realize that I am a fool, walking about in a waking dream with no compass to show the way.
The mist is thick and the cloud of illusion leaves me lost. Soon I will be gone and the world will be a better place without me. Who I am or what the future holds for me is a mystery.
Perhaps I am the lucky one who will soon be gone, while those left behind are obliged to endure what remains. I bid you farewell. I wish you strength, as mine now wanes, as my mind and senses fail me and erode towards decay.
I leave behind nothing more than these few random words as a sample of my lost and broken mind. The world will not miss us when we go. No one will remember us. My existence has no value, purpose or worth.
We are like grains of sand on the beach, swept together for a moment by a wave, only to be washed apart again, our paths never to cross. I slip away now into non-existence. There's no attachment to this world or anyone in it.
Let my body and mind evaporate into the mists of history that flow ever on while we end. Allow me to get out of the way and end the disturbance that I have caused in this lifetime.
The jackals have arrived to feed on my frail shell, not even waiting until I'm dead, ready to tear at my flesh and bones as I lie helpless on the desert floor.
At the end now I welcome death for the relief to be free on this burdensome broken body and mind. Life feeds on death. Even jackals must feed and one living entity is food for another on this planet at this time.
Bhagavad Gita ch3:10
सहयज्ञाः प्रजाः सृष्ट्वा पुरोवाच प्रजापतिः ।
अनेन प्रसविष्यध्वमेष वोऽस्त्विष्टकामधुक् ॥ १० ॥
saha-yajnāḥ prajāḥ sṛṣṭvā
purovāca prajāpatiḥ
anena prasaviṣyadhvam
eṣa vo 'stv iṣṭa-kāma-dhuk
SYNONYMS
saha—along with; yajnāḥ—sacrifices; prajāḥ—generations; sṛṣṭvā—by creating; purā—anciently; uvāca—said; prajā-patiḥ—the Lord of creatures; anena—by this; prasaviṣyadhvam—be more and more prosperous; eṣaḥ—certainly; vaḥ—your; astu—let it be; iṣṭa—all desirable; kāma-dhuk—bestower.
TRANSLATION
In the beginning of creation, the Lord of all creatures sent forth generations of men and demigods, along with sacrifices for Viṣṇu, and blessed them by saying, "Be thou happy by this yajna [sacrifice] because its performance will bestow upon you all desirable things."
PURPORT
The material creation by the Lord of creatures (Viṣṇu) is a chance offered to the conditioned souls to come back home—back to Godhead. All living entities within the material creation are conditioned by material nature because of their forgetfulness of their relationship to Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Vedic principles are to help us understand this eternal relation as it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā: vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ. The Lord says that the purpose of the Vedas is to understand Him. In the Vedic hymns it is said: patiṁ viśvasyātmeśvaram. Therefore, the Lord of the living entities is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam also Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī describes the Lord as pati in so many ways:
śriyaḥ-patir yajna-patiḥ prajā-patir
dhiyāṁ patir loka-patir dharā-patiḥ
patir gatiś cāndhaka-vṛṣṇi-sātvatāṁ
prasīdatāṁ me bhagavān satāṁ patiḥ
(Bhāg. 2.4.20)
The prajā-pati is Lord Viṣṇu, and He is the Lord of all living creatures, all worlds, and all beauties, and the protector of everyone. The Lord created this material world for the conditioned souls to learn how to perform yajnas (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 yajna, the conditioned souls gradually become Kṛṣṇa conscious and become godly in all respects. In this age of Kali, the saṅkīrtana-yajna (the chanting of the names of God) is recommended by the Vedic scriptures, and this transcendental system was introduced by Lord Caitanya for the deliverance of all men in this age. Saṅkīrtana-yajna and Kṛṣṇa consciousness go well together. Lord Kṛṣṇa in His devotional form (as Lord Caitanya) is mentioned in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as follows, with special reference to the saṅkīrtana-yajna:
kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇāṁ sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam
yajnaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ
"In this age of Kali, people who are endowed with sufficient intelligence will worship the Lord, who is accompanied by His associates, by performance of saṅkīrtana-yajna." (Bhāg. 11.5.29) Other yajnas prescribed in the Vedic literatures are not easy to perform in this age of Kali, but the saṅkīrtana-yajna is easy and sublime for all purposes.
Bhagavad Gita ch3:11
देवान्भावयतातेन ते देवा भावयन्तु वः ।
परस्परं भावयन्तः श्रेयः परमवाप्स्यथ ॥ ११ ॥
devān bhāvayatānena
te devā bhāvayantu vaḥ
parasparaṁ bhāvayantaḥ
śreyaḥ param avāpsyatha
SYNONYMS
devān—demigods; bhāvayata—having been pleased; anena—by this sacrifice; te—those; devāḥ—the demigods; bhāvayantu—will please; vaḥ—you; parasparam—mutual; bhāvayantaḥ—pleasing one another; sreyaḥ—benediction; param—the supreme; avāpsyatha—do you achieve.
TRANSLATION
The demigods, being pleased by sacrifices, will also please you; thus nourishing one another, there will reign general prosperity for all.
PURPORT
The demigods are empowered administrators of material affairs. The supply of air, light, water and all other benedictions for maintaining the body and soul of every living entity are entrusted to the demigods, who are innumerable assistants in different parts of the body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Their pleasures and displeasures are dependant on the performance of yajna by the human being. Some of the yajnas as are meant to satisfy particular demigods; but even in so doing, Lord Viṣṇu is worshiped in all yajnas as the chief beneficiary. It is stated also in the Bhagavad-gītā that Kṛṣṇa Himself is the beneficiary of all kinds of yaj�as: bhoktāraṁ yajna-tapasām. Therefore, ultimate satisfaction of the yajnapati is the chief purpose of all yajnas. When these yajnas are perfectly performed, naturally the demigods in charge of the different departments of supply are pleased, and there is no scarcity in the supply of natural products.
Performance of yajnas has many side benefits, ultimately leading to liberation from the material bondage. By performance of yajnas, all activities become purified, as it is stated in the Vedas:
āhāra-śuddhau sattva-śuddhiḥ sattva-śuddhau
dhruvā smṛtiḥ smṛti-lambhe sarva-granthīnāṁ vipra-mokṣaḥ
As it will be explained in the following verse, by performance of yajna, one's eatables become sanctified, and by eating sanctified foodstuffs, one's very existence becomes purified; by the purification of existence, finer tissues in the memory become sanctified, and when memory is sanctified, one can think of the path of liberation, and all these combined together lead to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the great necessity of present-day society.
Bhagavad Gita ch3:12
इष्टान्भोगान्हि वो देवा दास्यन्ते यज्ञभाविताः ।
तैर्दत्तानप्रदायैभ्यो यो भुङ्क्ते स्तेन एव सः ॥ १२ ॥
iṣṭān bhogān hi vo devā
dāsyante yajna-bhāvitāḥ
tair dattān apradāyaibhyo
yo bhuṅkte stena eva saḥ
SYNONYMS
iṣṭān—desired; bhogān—necessities of life; hi—certainly; vaḥ—unto you; devāḥ—the demigods; dāsyante—award; yaj�a-bhāvitāḥ—being satisfied by the performance of sacrifices; taiḥ—by them; dattān—things given; apradāya—without offering; ebhyaḥ—to the demigods; yaḥ—he who; bhuṅkte—enjoys; stenaḥ—thief; eva—certainly; saḥ—is he.
TRANSLATION
In charge of the various necessities of life, the demigods, being satisfied by the performance of yajna [sacrifice], supply all necessities to man. But he who enjoys these gifts, without offering them to the demigods in return, is certainly a thief.
PURPORT
The demigods are authorized supplying agents on behalf of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu. Therefore, they must be satisfied by the performance of prescribed yaj�as. In the Vedas, there are different kinds of yajnas prescribed for different kinds of demigods, but all are ultimately offered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. For one who cannot understand what the Personality of Godhead is, sacrifice to the demigods is recommended. According to the different material qualities of the persons concerned, different types of yajnas are recommended in the Vedas. Worship of different demigods is also on the same basis—namely, according to different qualities. For example, the meat-eaters are recommended to worship the goddess Kālī, the ghastly form of material nature, and before the goddess the sacrifice of animals is recommended. But for those who are in the mode of goodness, the transcendental worship of Viṣṇu is recommended. But ultimately, all yajnas are meant for gradual promotion to the transcendental position. For ordinary men, at least five yajnas, known as panca-mahāyajna, are necessary.
One should know, however, that all the necessities of life that the human society requires are supplied by the demigod agents of the Lord. No one can manufacture anything. Take, for example, all the eatables of human society. These eatables include grains, fruits, vegetables, milk, sugar, etc., for the persons in the mode of goodness, and also eatables for the nonvegetarians, like meats, etc., none of which can be manufactured by men. Then again, take for example heat, light, water, air, etc., which are also necessities of life—none of them can be manufactured by the human society. Without the Supreme Lord, there can be no profuse sunlight, moonlight, rainfall, breeze, etc., without which no one can live. Obviously, our life is dependant on supplies from the Lord. Even for our manufacturing enterprises, we require so many raw materials like metal, sulphur, mercury, manganese, and so many essentials—all of which are supplied by the agents of the Lord, with the purpose that we should make proper use of them to keep ourselves fit and healthy for the purpose of self-realization, leading to the ultimate goal of life, namely, liberation from the material struggle for existence. This aim of life is attained by performance of yajnas. If we forget the purpose of human life and simply take supplies from the agents of the Lord for sense gratification and become more and more entangled in material existence, which is not the purpose of creation, certainly we become thieves, and therefore we are punished by the laws of material nature. A society of thieves can never be happy because they have no aim in life. The gross materialist thieves have no ultimate goal of life. They are simply directed to sense gratification; nor do they have knowledge of how to perform yajnas. Lord Caitanya, however, inaugurated the easiest performance of yajna, namely the saṅkīrtana-yajna, which can be performed by anyone in the world who accepts the principles of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Ref: Bhagavad Gita As It Is, translation and commentary by Swami A. C. Bhaktivedanta, original MacMillan 1972 edition
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