(Image Courtesy Mahanidhiswami)

When We Give Ishvara A Small Gift With A Devotional Attitude, He Accepts It Joyfully

पत्रं पुष्पं फलं तोयं यो मे भक्त्या प्रयच्छति |

तदहं भक्त्युपहृतमश्नामि प्रयतात्मन: || 9.26||

patraṁ puṣhpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayachchhati
tadahaṁ bhaktyupahṛitam aśhnāmi prayatātmanaḥ||9. 26||

Shloka Translation
BG – Ch. 9- Ver. 26:

If a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or even water is brought to Me with devotion, I joyfully partake of that item provided with love by My devotee in pure consciousness.

Explanation

There are various laws for propitiating the devats and ancestors that must be rigorously followed in their devotion. God, on the other hand, receives anything provided with a loving heart. If you only have a single fruit, give it to God; He will be pleased.

If no fruit is available, present Him with a flower. If flowers aren’t in season, give God a leaf; even that will suffice as long as it’s a present of love. If leaves are also in short supply, make an offering of water, which is readily available, but make sure you do so with devotion.

God’s gracious divine nature is that He is unconcerned with the monetary value of our gift. Rather, He cherishes the love with which we make the offering above everything else.

Verse & what we can learn

Ishvara is not interested in receiving pricey things. We can become his devotee by giving him anything that nature provides freely: a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or even some water. Why is it vital to offer Ishvara a gift? Strong relationships involve both actions and attitudes. Material transactions, on the other hand, are insufficient. There must be time spent with each other that is of high quality. There must also be an interchange of important thoughts and discussion. The same holds true for worship.

It will be difficult to form a deep link with Ishvara unless both our minds and our actions are dedicated to his devotion. So, why is all of this necessary? One could argue that we should simply practise karma yoga by performing selfless activities. But, without surrender to a higher ideal, karma yoga is incomplete, and Ishvara is the ultimate possible ideal. Furthermore, without the proper emotional connection to Ishvara, our quest will become monotonous. When we give Ishvara a little gift with a devotional attitude, Ishvara joyously accepts the gift.

To acquire knowledge and to implement that knowledge in life one needs to be mentally and physically active and healthy and for that daily meditation is a great tool.

There are various types of meditation like Buddhist meditation, heartfulness meditation, mindfulness meditation, meditation for stress, and each meditation benefits are countless. There are also numerous meditation techniques for beginners which help in practicing daily meditation so go ahead and start your journey towards a peaceful and balanced life.

Shri Krishna tells Arjuna in the next shloka We should gradually bring our daily worship of Ishvara out of the house and into every action.

Let’s learn to live with “The Gita” via Meditation Affinity…