Bhagavad-Gita: Chapter 4, Verse 25

Rudra Vaisnava Sampradaya:

Visnuswami

Sridhara Swami's Commentary

The ability to see the Brahman or spiritual substratum pervading all existence everywhere is factually a potent form of yagna or offerings of worship as propitiation to the Supreme Lord Krishns. This type of yagna is superior to all other yagnas. In order to show its superiority; the various sacrifices which are methods to attain this knowledge are given in descending order of importance in the next eight verses. Those yagnas in which demi-gods like Indra and Varuna are worshipped are called Daiva-Yagnas. The word eva meaning only shows that Indra and the demi-gods are not viewed as being Brahman. The karma yogis or those performing actions for specific rewards worship the demigods fastidiously. The jnana yogis or those cultivating Vedic knowledge offer the sacrifice back to the Brahman by means of that very sacrifice and dissolve all actions into the Brahman by the sacrifice of spiritual intelligence.

Brahma Vaisnava Sampradaya:

Madhvacarya
There is no commentary for this verse.

Sri Vaisnava Sampradaya:

Ramanuja

Ramanuja's Commentary

Lord Krishna begins with the word daivam meaning the demi-gods. Karma yogis or those following the path of prescribed Vedic activities being on a lower platform devotedly worship the demigods such as Indra for rainfall and Surya for sunlight and derive the desired results sought. While the jnana yogis those following the path of cultivating knowledge offer all their oblations such as ghee or clarified butter and food grains exclusively into the fire as offerings to the Brahman or spiritual substratum pervading all existence and this is their yagna or worship to the Supreme.

Kumara Vaisnava Sampradaya:

Nimbaditya

Kesava Kasmiri's Commentary

In this way Lord Krishna is presenting the results one receives while being continuously immersed in the Brahman or spiritual substratum pervading all existence while performing every action as yagna or offering and propitiation to the Supreme Lord. To show the superiority of this yagna over all others Lord Krishna presents various types of yagnas in by different yogis or those striving to have their individual consciousness in communion with the ultimate consciousness, in the next eight verses. Here worship of the demigods such as Indra and Surya for the desire of material results is done by yogis of little knowledge. Others offer oblations of ghee or clarified butter and grains into the fire as offerings to the Brahman but they see only the fire as a form of the Brahman and not the performer, the offerings and utensils connected with the yagna. This shows that these yogis are on a lower platform than those yogis referred to in the previous verse who see everything connected to the act of yagna as part of the Brahman.