The Concept of Sacrifice

What is a sacrifice? It means giving up something we like. Sometimes we do this with the idea of getting something better for it; that is a sort of bargain. Sometimes we do it with a better motive -- because we love God, or another person, and want to make him happy. And occasionally we even feel like giving up all we have. The entire history of Hindu religion can be seen in this way. It began in a bargaining spirit, with the early people offering into the fire in hope of reward. In later centuries God Himself was born to them in several forms, and, as in the Gita, taught them to work unselfishly, sacrificing selfish hopes and interests and to love God for His own sake. Many centuries later they learned further, from Vivekananda and Gandhi, a new kind of sacrifice -- sacrifice for the sake of the nation.