Bhagavad Gita
Chapter 17 · Verse 28

Yoga through Discerning the Three Divisions of Faith

अश्रद्धया हुतं दत्तं तपस्तप्तं कृतं च यत्।असदित्युच्यते पार्थ न च तत्प्रेत्य नो इह
aśhraddhayā hutaṁ dattaṁ tapas taptaṁ kṛitaṁ cha yat asad ity uchyate pārtha na cha tat pretya no iha

Word Meanings

aśhraddhayā hutam dattam tapaḥ taptam kṛitam cha yat asat iti uchyate pārtha na cha tat pretya na u iha

Translation

Whatever sacrifice, charity, or penance is performed, and whatever action is done without faith, is called "asat," O Arjuna; it bears no fruit in this world or the next.

Commentary

अश्रद्धया without faith? हुतम् is sacrificed? दत्तम् given? तपः austerity? तप्तम् is practised? कृतम् performed? च and? यत् whatever? असत् Asat? इति thus? उच्यते is called? पार्थ O Partha? न not? च and? तत् that? प्रेत्य hereafter (after death)? न not? इह here.Commentary Asat That which changes form and has no permanent existence. It does not mean nonexistence as such.Acts of sacrifice? austerity and gift that are performed without faith? under pressure? or to prevent some sort of trouble or to gratify a craving? are Asat in their nature. They yield no permanent benefit or fruit to anybody.Any sacrifice? austerity or gift done without dedicating it to the Lord will be of no avail to the doer in this earthly life here or in the life beyond hereafter. It would be as useless as showers of rain falling on rocky ground or pouring oblations of ghee (clarified butter) on cold ashes. If you have no faith you will become egoistic and obstinate. Your heart will become hard. If you perform even hundreds of sacrifices without faith? without the spirit of selfsurrender to the Lord? even if you distribute the wealth of the whole world in charity without faith in and devotion to the Lord? all these would be worthless and useless. The sages will not appreciate such sacrifices or gifts. Energy? money and time are simply wasted.Thus in the Upanishads of the glorious Bhagavad Gita? the science of the Eternal? the scripture of Yoga? the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna? ends the seventeenth discourse entitledThe Yoga of the Division of the Threefold Faith. ,