Many of Gandhi's writings about work and service revolve around the concept of yajña (YAJ-nya), as it occurs in the Bhagavad Gita (the most famous component of the Mahabharata epic, in which Lord Krishna imparts divine knowledge to his friend and pupil Arjuna). Yajña is a Sanskrit word which means ``sacrifice.'' According to Gandhi's interpretation of the Gita, the best sacrifice is the one performed with the purest motive and with no desire for reward. Gandhi taught that we must renounce the fruit of action and believed that any work, service, or duty performed with detached hearts and pure motives is a form of yajña. The concept of yajña thus constitutes the philosophical kernel of Gandhi's work ethic. Accordingly, a brief discussion of yajña follows. Gandhi writes about yajña as follows:
Yajña means an act directed to the welfare of others, done without desiring any return for it, whether of a temporal or spiritual nature. `Act' here must be taken in its widest sense, and includes thought and word, as well as deed. `Others' embraces not only humanity, but all life
Again, a primary sacrifice must be an act which conduces the most to the welfare of the greatest number in the widest area, and which can be performed by the largest number of men and women with the least trouble. It will not, therefore, be a yajña, much less a mahayajña, to wish or do ill to anyone else, even in order to serve a so-called higher interest. And the Gita teaches and experience testifies that all action that cannot come under the category of yajña promotes bondage.
The world cannot subsist for a single moment without yajña in this sense, and therefore, the Gita after having dealt with true wisdom in the second chapter, takes up in the third the means of attaining it, and declares in so many words that yajña came with the Creation itself. This body, therefore, has been given us only in order that we may serve all Creation with it. And therefore, says the Gita, he who eats without offering yajña eats stolen food. Every single act of one who would lead a life of purity should be in the nature of yajña.
Yajña having come to us with our birth, we are debtors all our lives, and thus for ever bound to serve the universe. And even as a bondslave receives food, clothing and so on from the master whom he serves, so should we gratefully accept such gifts as may be assigned to us by the Lord of the universe. What we receive must be called a gift; for as debtors we are entitled to no consideration for the discharge of our obligations. Therefore, we may not blame the Master, if we fail to get it. Our body is His to be cherished or cast away according to His will.
This is not a matter for complaint or even pity; on the contrary, it is natural and even a pleasant and desirable state if only we realize our proper place in God's scheme. We do, indeed, need strong faith if we would experience this supreme bliss. ``Do not worry in the least about yourself, leave all worry to God,''--this appears to be the commandment in all religions.
This need not frighten anyone. He who devotes himself to service with a clear conscience will day by day grasp the necessity for it in greater measure, and will continually grow richer in faith. The path of service can hardly be trodden by one who is not prepared to renounce self-interest, and to recognize the conditions of his birth. Consciously or unconsciously, every one of us does render some service or other. If we cultivate the habit of doing this service deliberately, our desire for service will steadily grow stronger, and will make not only for our own happiness, but that of the world at large.[12]
There are two points in Gandhi's exposition of the concept of yajña above that are also found in the Bahá'í writings, namely, (i) that everyone is capable of performing worship, yajña, or sacrifice through work performed in the spirit of service, and (ii) that the best and highest form of sacrifice is the one carried out with the least desire for reward. The first of these two points has already been discussed above, while the second point is considered below.
Bahá'u'lláh teaches that although God has ordained a recompense for every deed, nevertheless the truly wise do not seek the fruit of their actions, but rather base their deeds on pure, unselfish motives:
For every act performed there shall be a recompense according to the estimate of God, and unto this the very ordinances and prohibitions prescribed by the Almighty amply bear witness. For surely if deeds were not rewarded and yielded no fruit, then the Cause of God--exalted is He--would prove futile. Immeasurably high is He exalted above such blasphemies! However, unto them that are rid of all attachments a deed is, verily, its own reward. Were We to enlarge upon this theme numerous Tablets would need to be written.[13]Moreover, the idea that the highest worship is the one performed without regard to reward or punishment is found in the earliest sacred texts of the Bahá'í Faith. The Báb, in setting down the standard for worship, wrote:
Worship thou God in such wise that if thy worship lead thee to the fire, no alteration in thine adoration would be produced, and so likewise if thy recompense should be paradise. Thus and thus alone should be the worship which befitteth the one True God. Shouldst thou worship Him because of fear, this would be unseemly in the sanctified Court of His presence, and could not be regarded as an act by thee dedicated to the Oneness of His Being. Or if thy gaze should be on paradise, and thou shouldst worship Him while cherishing such a hope, thou wouldst make God's creation a partner with Him, notwithstanding the fact that paradise is desired by men.
Fire and paradise both bow down and prostrate themselves before God. That which is worthy of His Essence is to worship Him for His sake, without fear of fire, or hope of paradise.
Although when true worship is offered, the worshipper is delivered from the fire, and entereth the paradise of God's good-pleasure, yet such should not be the motive of his act. However, God's favour and grace ever flow in accordance with the exigencies of His inscrutable wisdom.[14]