After three agnis instructed Upakosala, one amongst them, Gārhapatyāgni said, “Upakosala, I’ve four bodies, Pṛthvī, Agni, Anna and Āditya. Amongst these, the puruṣa who resides in the Āditya maṇḍala, I’m that. Whoever realizes this and does upāsanā, they will rid themselves from all the pāpa and will find prosperity.”
Managing the family is a vrata. Marriage is a dharmic ritual. The transactions with the world that is done for these are opportunities for performing dharma. Household chores that are performed with this feeling are akin to tapas. It can also be thought of as yajña. We have already seen that the Vedas extol the entire life and all the worldly transactions of a jñāni as a great yajña.
tasyaivaṃ viduṣo yajñasyātmā yajamānaḥ ।
A gṛhastha performs karmas out of desire — for the wellbeing of his wife and children and for the sake of his friends and relatives. Worldly life becomes possible only if householders have those desires. His dharma is to take care of his family. Therefore, he performs certain karmas to support his dharma. If he thinks that he is performing all the karmas as it’s dharma and not for his own pleasure and satiation, it is as good as tyāga. This feeling should be within him.
sapta-daśādhyāya-gaḻoḻ
Vistarisida dharma-tattva-gaḻan-īgaḻ saṃ- ।
kṣiptadi peḻvaṃ guru tan-
nāpta-sakha-vyāja-diṃde loka-hitārthaṃ ॥ 1 ॥
For the benefit of the world,
on the pretext of his friend
The Guru now briefly
Explains the principles of dharma
That he described in chapters seventeen.
karma-sumārcana-vidhiyaṃ
ḍharmada nija-para-hitārtha-saṃskāragaḻaṃ ॥
nirmaman-adhidharmateyaṃ ।
Once there lived a noble king called Jānaśruti. His practices were rooted in dharma and always involved in dāna. He had arranged daily santarpaṇa in his palace. He also had built chatras all over his kingdom. His fame knew no bounds. He had all the merit required to attain the brahmajñāna. Only thing lacking was a good guru.
Let us now reflect a little upon its meaning.
1.Om
tasmādomityudāhṛtya yajñadānatapaḥkriyāḥ |
pravartante vidhānoktāḥ satatam brahmavādinām ||BG 17.24
"The votaries of Brahma perform yajña, dāna and tapas after uttering Om".
Arjuna now asks
ye śāstravidhimutsṛjya yajante śraddhāyānvitāh ।
teṣāṃ niṣṭhā tu kā kṛṣṇa sattvamāho rājastamah ॥BG 17.1
Some people in the world possess śraddhā, but not in the rules of the śāstra but in something else imagined by themselves. What happens to them?