Sacrifice

Forgiveness is a virtue, forgiveness is a sacrifice, forgiveness is the Vedas, forgiveness is the Shruti.

The root cause of a person's suffering is their pride. Even if someone makes a sacrifice, they can still get caught up in their own pride. What is the point of such a sacrifice? It is pride, or ego, that should be sacrificed. That is where true happiness and bliss are found.

Acts of sacrifice, giving, and austerity must not be abandoned — they ought indeed to be performed; sacrifice, giving, and austerity are the purifiers of the wise.

This world is bound by actions other than those performed for the sake of sacrifice. O son of Kunti, perform action for that purpose alone, freed from all attachment.

With 'Tat' — and no eye fixed on any fruit — the various acts of sacrifice, austerity, and giving are performed by those who seek liberation.

Therefore, with 'Om' ever on their lips, those who speak of Brahman always begin their rites of sacrifice, giving, and austerity as prescribed by sacred ordinance.

O scorcher of foes, the sacrifice of wisdom is greater than any material sacrifice. All action in its entirety, O Partha, finds its completion and culmination in knowledge.

Beings come forth from food; food is born from rain; rain comes from sacrifice; and sacrifice arises from action.

Steadfastness in sacrifice, austerity, and giving is also called 'Sat'; and likewise any action dedicated to those ends is itself called 'Sat'.

Know that sacrifice to be rajasic, O best of the Bharatas, which is performed with an eye on the fruit and also for ostentation.

A sacrifice performed according to prescribed injunction by those who do not desire its fruit — with the mind resolved that it is simply to be offered — that sacrifice is sattvic.

Know that action arises from Brahman, and Brahman arises from the Imperishable. Therefore the all-pervading Brahman is ever established in sacrifice.

The righteous who eat what remains after sacrifice are freed from all faults. Those sinful ones who cook only for their own sake — they eat only sin.

The gods, nourished by sacrifice, shall bestow upon you the enjoyments you desire. One who enjoys their gifts without offering back to them is truly a thief.

Nourish the gods with this, and may those gods nourish you in turn. By nourishing one another, you shall attain the highest good.

Having created humanity along with sacrifice in the beginning, Prajapati said: By this shall you prosper; let this be the wish-fulfilling cow of your desires.

Offer one's body, senses, and vital breath to the true Guru. Offer everything — one's very self, one's closest relationships, all that one calls one's own — to the Guru.

Without giving up worldly attachments, one can never achieve true happiness. Without renunciation, one can never attain their highest good or find peace.

The person who bathes at the confluence of the Ganga and the Saraswati earns the merit of the horse-sacrifice and also ascends to heaven.

Sacrifice and self-giving are indeed a fundamental principle and a spiritual necessity. We cannot affirm our true being without them.