As far-reaching as the Law of Karma is the Law of
Sacrifice, the law by which the worlds were built, the law by which they are
maintained. All lives can only be supported by absorbing other lives: "Jeevo Jeevasya Jeevanam" - Life is sustained by
life only; all forms can only be preserved by absorbing other forms. Sacrifice
permeates all religions, as it permeates the universe. This world is not for the
non-sacrificer.
The Sanaatana Dharma has incorporated this law into its
very essence; all the Srutis declare it; all the Smritis inculcate it; the
Puraanas and the Itihaasas are full of it; the Shadangas circle round it; the
six Darshanas lay it down as the pathway to be trodden ere knowledge can be
gained.
Creation began with sacrifice! "Om Ushaa
Vaa Ashwasya Medhyasya Shirah" - Om! The dawn verily is the head of
the sacrificial horse. (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad). The dawn is explained as the
beginning of the Day of Brahmaa, the day of creation. Then is the great horse
sacrifice, the horse whose body is the universe, the sacrifice of the One who
carries the Many - devas, gandharvas, asuras, men.
So also in the Rig
Veda the splendid Purusha Sookta describing the sacrificial slaying of Purusha
tells how all creatures were formed by 1/4 of Him offered up as 'victim' in
'that great general sacrifice', 3/4 remaining in heaven as the Eternal
Life.
The great sacrifice involved in creation is
beautifully described in the 'Satapatha Brahmana' also. 'Brahman, the
Self-existant, performed 'tapas'. He considered: "In 'tapas' there is no
infinity. Come, let me sacrifice myself in living things and all living things
in myself." Then having sacrificed himself in all living things and all living
things in himself, he acquired greatness, self-effulgence and
lordship.'
Manu also declares that Brahmaa created 'the eternal
sacrifice' before He drew forth the Veda. (Manu Smriti).
This profound
teaching, that Iswara sacrificed Himself in order to create His universe, means
that He limited Himself in matter, technically died, in order that His life
might produce and sustain a multiplicity of separate lives. Every life in His
universe is a part of His life 'a portion of Myself' (Mamaivaamshah)- Gita: 15-7. Without this sacrifice,
the universe could not come into existence. As a fourth part only of Purusha is
said to suffice for the bringing forth of all beings, so Lord krishna says in
Bhagavat Gita (X-42) "Vishtabhyaham Idam Kritsnam
Ekaamshena Sthito Jagat."Iswara is far more than His universe, but it
is wholly contained in Him, lives in His life, is composed of His
substance.
Again Lord Krishna tells in Gita (3-10), how Prajapati 'having
emanated mankind together with sacrifice (Saha Yajnah
Prajah Srishtvah), bade man find in sacrifice his 'Kama-duk', the cow
whence each could milk the objects he desired. So action is essentially rooted
in sacrifice.
The pouring out which caused the birth
of beings is called 'karma' (Gita:8-3). 'The pouring out' is the pouring out of
life, which alone enabled separate beings to live, and this pouring out is that
same sacrifice described in the 'Purusha sookta'. So thoroughly has this been
recognized that karma has become the general name for sacrifices, and
Karma-kanda is the name which covers all sacrificial rites.
The essential
idea of sacrifice , then is the pouring out of life for the benefit of others;
such pouring out is the law by which life evolves : it is imposed on the lower
creation by strife and continual combats; its voluntary acceptance by
self-sacrifice is the crowning glory of man. Hence all man's higher evolution is
marked out by self-sacrifice. By sacrificing himself and all his actions to the
Supreme, man obtains liberation.
Let us now see how the Law of Sacrifice
is seen in the physical world. The life in the mineral kingdom evolves, as the
mineral forms in which it dwells are broken up to nourish plants of every kind.
The mineral forms perish to feed the life in the vegetable kingdom, and the life
in the mineral forms has grown more complex and developed by this
sacrifice.
The life in the vegetable kingdom evolves by the sacrifice of
the lower plants to nourish the higher, the countless annual plants perishing to
enrich the soil in which the trees grow. Myriads of others are eaten by animals,
and their forms go to build up animal bodies in which the life has fuller
scope.
The life in part of the animal kingdom evolves by the sacrifice
again of the lower forms to the higher, and also to the maintenance of the human
kingdom, within which also the weak are devoured by the strong in the savage
state. But here gradually, with increasing development of the animals to keen
sensibility, and with the development of conscience and sympathy in man, another
form of the law appears, and man begins to refuse to sacrifice to the support of
his own life those who share with him the feelings of pleasure and pain. He
first revolts against cannibalism- eating his own kind- and then against eating
his weaker brothers in the animal kingdom. he realizes that the divine nature in
him develops by sacrifice of himself to others, and not by the sacrifice of
others to himself. He lessens as much as he can his demands on the lives of
others, and increases as much as he can his own sacrifices for them. So long as
a man identifies himself with his body, he is always trying to take, to absorb,
because the body continues only by such taking and absorbing. When he identifies
himself as the Self, he is always trying to give, to pour out, because the joy
of the Self is in forth-pouring. On the 'Pravriti-marga' he takes; on the
'Nivriti-marga' he gives. Thus evolves the life of man.
The alphabet of the lesson of sacrifice was taught to man by the Rishis.
They laid down a system of sacrifices, in which men should sacrifice some of
their possessions with a view to their large increase in the future. Such
sacrifices were made along with prayers to the Devatas like Indra, Mitra,
Varuna, kubera, Agni; and so on, requesting future gains from them. Such prayers
are found on every page of the Samhitas. By these sacrifices they were also
taught to see that man is part of a great whole, and related to all around him;
and that as his own life was maintained by the sacrifice of other lives, so must
he repay that debt by sacrificing to others some of his possessions. Sacrifice
to the Devas was done through fire, which is the 'mouth of the Gods'
(Brihadaranyaka Upanishad). Sacrifice to the men was done by charitable gifts.
In this way the sense of obligation was impressed on them, and the
interdependence of lives.
The next stage was to
train men to sacrifice these same possessions, immediately valuable, for
happiness on the other side of death, a far-off invisible reward : "Let him
sacrifice who desires Swarga"- Mundaka Upanishad says. A great step forward was
made in this sacrificing of the visible to the invisible, of the present to a
far-off future. But the object of this training in sacrifices was no more the
enjoyment of Swarga than the enjoyment of wealth on earth. They had learned to
curb their greed for possessions by the practice of giving, and to recognize
themselves as owing their lives to the larger life around them; they were thus
prepared for the third stage, that of sacrifice as duty, for which no reward
should be sought
Men now began to see that the sacrifice of the lower to
the higher was right, a duty that was owed in return for the perpetual sacrifice
of the higher to the lower, of the life of Ishwara for the maintenance of His
children; and further that the body also owed a debt to the lower creatures who
supported it, that ought to be paid by helping and serving them in turn. Then
they were ready for the 'Nishkamya - karma' lesson: "Thy business is with the
action only, never with its fruits" (Karmanyeva-adhikaras
Te Ma Phaleshu Kadachana)- Gita: 2-47.
The wheel of life which
is ever turning, this interdependence of lives, being thoroughly understood, men
see it as an obvious duty to help in the turning, and readily see the
unworthiness of trying to live without doing their share of work. This,
practised for long, led man to the last lesson, the complete self-surrender to
Ishwara. Thenceforth the whole life is a sacrifice, and the man lives only to do
the Divine Will. Hence he abandons all separate dharmas as dharmas, as having
over him no binding force. He has but the one Dharma of carrying out the Divine
Will. (Sarvadharmaan Parityajya Mam Ekam Sharanam
Vraja)- Gita : 18-66.
During this long training, men were gradually led to see that outer
sacrifices of wealth were less valuable than inner sacrifices of virtue, and
that the purification of the heart and mind were of more real importance than
the external purifications. While these should not be neglected, the neglect of
the other was fatal. He who has the 42 Samskaaras but not the 8 virtues of the
Self, will not obtain Brahman nor will go to Brahmaloka. But he, who has only a
part of the 42 Samskaaras but the 8 virtues of the Self, will attain to Brahman
and go to Brahmaloka (Gautama Dharma Sootra).
Summary:
The world was created and is maintained by a Divine
sacrifice.
Sacrifice is essentially giving, pouring forth.
sacrifice is the law of evolution, compulsory in the lower
kingdoms, becoming voluntary in the human.
Man rises by definite stages from Vaideeka sacrifices to
Self-sacrifice.
Sacrifices of virtue and wisdom are more effective than the
sacrifices of external objects.
For more details,
Please refer to the book "Sanatana Dharma" by Annie Besant and Bhagavan
Das.
