Sacrifice - Annie Besant and Bhagavan Das

As far-reaching as the Law of Karma is the Law of Sacrifice, the law by which the worlds were built, the law by which they are maintained. All lives can only be supported by absorbing other lives:

Life is sustained by life only; all forms can only be preserved by absorbing other forms. Sacrifice permeates all religion as it permeates the universe. Says Sri Krishna:

‘This world is not for the non-sacrificer: How then the other? O best of the Kurus!’

The Sanatana Dharma has incorporated this law into its very essence; all the Srutis declare it; all the Smrtis inculcate it; the Puranas and the Itihasas are full of it; the Sadangas circle round it; the six Darsanas lay it down as the pathway to be trodden here knowledge can be gained.

We shall see in Part II how sacrifices pervade the whole life of the true Aryan; we are here concerned with the general principle, not with the specific application.

© "Sanatana Dharma" An Advanced Textbook of Hindu Religion and Ethics by Annie Besant and Bhagavan Das, published (2000) by The Theosophical Pubishing House, Adyar, Chennai 600 020.

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