Verse 3.12

Verse 3.12: “For, the Gods, fostered by Sacrifice, shall yield unto you the enjoyments desired by you. When (thus) yielded by them, whoso, enjoys them and has not himself made a return to them, he is a downright thief. (101)

Commentary called Jnaneshwari by Jnaneshwar:

Similarly your very luck personified will itself follow searching for you with all happiness. If you conduct yourself with firm faith in your religion, be assured that you will be happy in all respects and have no trouble whatever. (If however) after securing all glory you were to get tempted towards the sense-objects and fall victim to the sensual enjoyment and omit to worship the Lord of the universe in the proper way, using the wealth and the glory given to you in gift by the Gods, feeling pleased at your performing the sacrificial rites; similarly were one not to offer oblations to the Fire nor worship to the Gods, nor serve the Brahmins with meals in due time, or were one to fail in one’s devotion to one’s preceptor or not extend hospitality to sacred guests and persons, keep contented men of his own caste and religion—in this way becomes oblivious of his own religious duties and through pride of riches and glory, gives himself up entirely to enjoyments and pleasure; such a person, O Arjuna, would bring down on his head the penalty. He must lose all the glory secured by him. Also he does not remain in a position to enjoy the pleasures he secured. Just as the spirit leaves the body of a person, the span of whose life is over; or just as the goddess of wealth does not dwell in the house of an unlucky person, in the same way, the very fount of happiness gets dried up where one’s own religion in the prescribed, sacrificial form ceases to exist, in the way light disappears with the extinguishing of a lamp. So also ye hear my words, Oh, you, all creatures—where the duties according to one’s own religion have ceased to be performed, freedom from Maya also ceases to exist there,” so added Virinchi (God Brahmadev [Brahmadeva]). “Therefore, O beings! he who abandons his own religion, will be punished by the all consuming destroyer (kāla) and will be deprived of all his possessions, being taken as a thief. Like ghosts mustering on a cemetery, he will then be enveloped by all his sins and all the miseries in the universe and whatever other calamities there exist. To such a state is reduced the one who is blinded by a vain-glorious conceit, and then no lamentations would be of any avail when the hardship and miseries have enveloped him. Therefore, do not abandon your own religion and never allow the senses to get unruly,” thus preached the Brahmadeva to the people. He added: the fish living in water meet instantaneous death as soon as they get out of water; in the same way one leaving one’s own religion is utterly annihilated. Therefore all of you should always be busy in practising your ordained duties and I repeat this to you again and again.