Gita 03.10 – Don’t let familiarity take the mystery out of nature

Audio Link: https://www.thespiritualscientist.com/gita-03-10-dont-let-familiarity-take-the-mystery-out-of-nature/

saha-yajñāḥ prajāḥ sṛṣṭvā
purovāca prajāpatiḥ
anena prasaviṣyadhvam
eṣa vo ’stv iṣṭa-kāma-dhuk (Bg 3.10)

Word-for-word:
saha — along with; yajñāḥ — sacrifices; prajāḥ — generations; sṛṣṭvā — creating; purā — anciently; uvāca — said; prajā-patiḥ — the Lord of creatures; anena — by this; prasaviṣyadhvam — be more and more prosperous; eṣaḥ — this; vaḥ — your; astu — let it be; iṣṭa — of all desirable things; 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 yajña [sacrifice] because its performance will bestow upon you everything desirable for living happily and achieving liberation.”

Explanation:
saha-yajñāḥ prajāḥ sṛṣṭvā: Having created living beings along with sacrifices,
purovāca prajāpatiḥ: Prajāpati (Brahmā or Viṣṇu) formerly said:
anena prasaviṣyadhvam: “By this (sacrifice), may you prosper.”
eṣa vo ’stv iṣṭa-kāma-dhuk: “May this be your desire-fulfilling cow.”
From this verse onwards, Kṛṣṇa begins to speak about the principle of sacrifice and its historical origin at the dawn of creation. Sacrifice is described as being co-existent with creation itself.

Here, Kṛṣṇa says: saha-yajñāḥ prajāḥ sṛṣṭvā—sacrifice was created along with creation. Prajā means that which is born. In common usage, prajā often refers to citizens or the general population. While that is valid, etymologically it refers to all beings that are born. When all living beings were created, sacrifice (yajña) was simultaneously created with them.

This is an interesting concept. One of the many problems with reductionistic or atheistic explanations of the origin of life—and the origin of everything—is that there are so many life forms, each requiring different kinds of nourishment. Not only are the life forms present, but their specific forms of nourishment are also present.

A reductionist might argue that only those life forms developed and survived for which suitable food was available. While that may be partially true, it still doesn’t explain how that food came into being, or how those life forms themselves originated. Even if we manage to construct an explanation along those lines, a deeper question remains—there is a clearly observable, fine-tuned mechanism in the universe by which the necessities of all living beings are provided for.

Who is the provider? And what is the mechanism by which these provisions are made?

Kṛṣṇa is speaking here about that very mechanism, explaining that everything is ultimately provided by His arrangement. He says, eṣa vo ’stv iṣṭa-kāma-dhuk—“Let this be your desire-fulfilling cow.”

How exactly can yajña be a desire-fulfilling cow? What does that actually mean?

To understand this, let us first examine the principle behind the term kāma-dhuk. What does it mean to say that something is a desire-fulfilling cow? We will begin by considering the general meaning of the term kāma-dhuk, and then explore its specific application in this context.

The cow is considered a sacred animal in Vedic culture, and among the many reasons for this, the most important is that the cow is very dear to Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is a person, and like any person, He has His likes and dislikes—His personal preferences. One of His preferences is the cow. Because Kṛṣṇa loves cows, those who love Kṛṣṇa naturally also love cows. Accordingly, Vedic culture gives the cow a place of honor.

Moreover, the cow provides us with milk, just as a mother does. We are nourished by the cow’s milk in a way similar to how a child is nourished by the mother, and in that sense too, the cow is special.

Going further, there are certain highly potent cows—now no longer available—which are known as kāma-dhuk. These rare cows can be obtained by those who perform great austerities (tapasya) and who are able to appease the demigods. Such cows are called kāma-dhuk because whatever is required can be obtained from them—they fulfill all desires.

F or example, in the Rāmāyaṇa, Vasiṣṭha Ṛṣi possessed such a cow. At that time, Viśvāmitra—who was then still a king named Kauśika—visited Vasiṣṭha’s hermitage. When he saw that the sage was effortlessly feeding his entire army, something even he as a king would have found difficult, he was astonished. He realized that the sage had something extraordinary—something the king himself did not possess. Deeply impressed, he desired to have the cow for himself.

Recognizing the cow’s power to produce not just milk, but all varieties of food and provisions, Viśvāmitra attempted to take it by force. Being a sage, Vasiṣṭha did not resist with violence. The cow, however, became distressed and said, “Why are you letting me go? Have I displeased you in any way?” Vasiṣṭha replied, “No, no—you have served me very well. But I am a brāhmaṇa—I cannot raise weapons against a king.” The cow then said, “Just order me to stop him, and I will. I am waiting for your command.” Vasiṣṭha responded, “Very well—protect yourself.”

Immediately, from the cow’s body, powerful soldiers emerged—formidable warriors clad in armor and bearing weapons. They launched an overwhelming counterattack, routed Kauśika’s army, and forced them to flee.

Thus, a kāma-dhuk is a cow that can produce everything—especially when it possesses the rare and mystical quality of fulfilling all desires. To the logical and skeptical mind of today, such a cow may seem like nothing more than a product of mythological imagination. However, the deeper point is that we still do not fully understand how things are produced in nature. We attempt to replicate natural processes, but there remains a mystical element—something not entirely explainable by science.

Einstein once said that there are two ways of looking at the world—one is to see nothing as a miracle, and the other is to see everything as a miracle. It is indeed miraculous that mere mud from the ground can be transformed into mangoes, or that grass can be transformed into milk. These everyday occurrences conceal an extraordinary truth—when God empowers certain beings with specific functions, they carry them out seamlessly. Yet, the fact that they are able to do so is in itself astonishing—if only we approach it with an open mind, and don’t let the familiarity of nature strip away its mystery.

Just because something happens regularly does not make it any less mysterious or astonishing. The fact that there are countless mango trees producing mangoes might make it seem ordinary simply because it occurs so frequently—but it is still extraordinary when we consider the magical transformation taking place.

The same God who has established such systems in nature can also override those systems or integrate multiple systems into a single mechanism. An ordinary cow may eat grass and produce milk—an amazing transformation in itself—but an extraordinary cow, like a kāma-dhuk with mystical powers, can, by the Lord’s arrangement, operate on a far more complex level. Such a cow can contain within itself multiple integrated systems, enabling it to produce various items beyond ordinary expectation.

Hence, rather than viewing these things as impossible from a purely mechanical perspective, we consider them possible from the viewpoint of the person who has created all these mechanisms. There is no need to be overly skeptical about it.

Yajña is similarly like a kāma-dhuk, because yajña is performed for the purpose and pleasure of Lord Viṣṇu. When we perform yajña, it is a means by which we please Lord Viṣṇu, who is the fulfiller of all desires. By pleasing Him through yajña, we activate a mechanism designed for human beings to connect with the higher powers of higher beings—ultimately, the highest being, Lord Viṣṇu or Kṛṣṇa—and through that arrangement, our desires are fulfilled.

Therefore, the key point to recognize is that we must do our work, but we should do it in the spirit of sacrifice. This creates a subtle mechanism through which we can learn to acquire higher truths. Through yajña, we can not only cultivate faith in the subtler mechanisms of the cosmos but also gain access to the necessities of life.

When we perform yajña for a particular devata or for a specific purpose, the devata and that purpose are fulfilled through the higher arrangements of the universe. In our next talks, we will explore how we can understand these higher arrangements in contemporary terms.

Thank you.