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Dhritarashtra said: On the holy plain of Kurukshetra (dharmakshetra kurukshetra), when my offspring and the sons of Pandu had gathered together, eager for battle, what did they, O Sanjaya?
Sanjaya said: Then King Duryodhana, after having seen the armies of the Pandavas in battle array, repaired to his preceptor (Drona), and spoke as follows:
O Teacher, behold this great army of the sons of Pandu, arranged in battle order by thy talented disciple, the son of Drupada.
Here present are mighty heroes, extraordinary bowmen as skillful in battle as Bhima and Arjuna — the veteran warriors, Yuyudhana, Virata, and Drupada;
The powerful Dhrishtaketu, Chekitana, and Kasiraja; eminent among men, Purujit; and Kuntibhoja, and Shaibya;
The strong Yudhamanyu, the valiant Uttamaujas, the son of Subhadra, and the sons of Draupadi — all lords of great chariots.
Listen, too, O Flower of the twice-born (best of the Brahmins), about the generals of my army who are prominent amongst ourselves: these I speak about now for thine information.
These warriors are thyself (Drona), Bhisma, Karna, and Kripa — victors in battles; Ashvatthaman, Vikarna, the son of Somadatta, and Jayadratha.
And numerous other warriors, all well-trained for battle and armed with various weapons, are here present, ready for my sake to lay down their lives.
These our forces protected by Bhishma are unlimited (but may be insufficient); whereas their army, defended by Bhima, is limited (but quite adequate).
All of you, properly stationed in your places in the divisions of the army, do protect Bhishma.
Grandsire Bhishma, oldest and most powerful of the Kurus, with the purpose of cheering Duryodhana, blew his conch shell with a resounding lion's roar.
Then suddenly (after Bhishma's first note), a great chorus from conch shells, kettledrums, cymbals, tabors, and cowhorn-trumpets sounded (from the side of the Kurus); the noise was terrific.
Then also, Madhava (Krishan) and Pandava (Arjuna), seated in their grand chariot with its yoke of white horses, spendidly blew their celestial conch shells.
Hrishikesha (Krishna) blew his Panchajanya; Dhananjaya (Arjuna), his Devadatta; and Vrikodara (Bhima), of terrible deeds, blew his great conch Paundra.
King Yudhisthira, the son of Kunti, blew his Anantavijaya; Nakula and Sahadeva blew, respectively, their Sughosha and Manipushpaka.
The King of Kashi, excellent archer; Sikhandi, the great warrior; Dhrishtadyumna, Virata, the invincible Satyaki,
Drupada, the sons of Draupadi, and the mighty-armed son of Subhadra, all blew their own conches, O Lord of Earth.
That tremendous sound reverberating throughout heaven and earth pierced the heart of the Dhritarashtra clan.
Beholding the dynasty of Dhritarashtra ready to begin battle, Pandava (Arjuna), he whose flag bears the monkey emblem, lifted his bow and addressed Hrishikesha (Krishna).
Arjuna said: O Changeless Krishna, please place my chariot between the two armies, that I may regard those who stand ready in battle array.
On the eve of this war, let me comprehend with whom I must fight.
Here in this field (of Kurukshetra) I wish to observe all those who have gathered with desire to fight on the side of Dhritarashtra's wicked son (Duryodhana).
Sanjaya said to Dhritarashtra: O descendant of Bharata, requested thus by Gudakesha (Arjuna), Hrishikesha (Krishna) drove that best of chariots to a point between the two armies,
in front of Bhishma, Drona, and all the rulers of the earth, and then said: 'See, Partha (Arjuna), this gathering of all the Kurus!
Partha (Arjuna) beheld positioned there — as members of both armies — grandfathers, fathers, fathers-in-law, uncles, brothers and cousins, sons and grandsons, and also comrades, friends, and teachers.
Beholding all those relatives arrayed before him, the son of Kunti (Arjuna) became filled with deep sympathy and spoke dolefully:
O Krishna, seeing these, my relatives, met together desirous of battle, my limbs are failing and my mouth is parched.
My body trembles; my hair stands on end.
Neither can I remain standing upright. My mind is rambling; and, O Keshava (Krishna),* I behold evil omens.
O Krishna, neither do I perceive any worthwhile effect in slaying my own kinsmen in the battle. I crave neither triumph, nor kingdom, nor pleasures!
Of what use to us is dominion; of what avail happiness or even the continuance of life, O Govinda (Krishna)?*
The very ones for whose sake we desire empire, enjoyment, pleasure, remain poised here for battle, ready to relinquish wealth and life —
preceptors, fathers, sons, grandfathers, uncles, fathers-in-law, grandsons, brothers-in-law, and other kinsmen.
Even though these relatives should try to destroy me, O Madhusudana (Krishna),* still I could not want to destroy them, not even if thereby I attained mastery over the three worlds; how much less, then for the sake of this mundane territory of earth!
What happiness could we gain, O Janardana (Krishna),* from destroying the clan of Dhritarashtra? The slaying of these felons would only put us in the clutches of sin.
Therefore, we are not justified in annihilating our very own relatives, the progeny of Dhritarashtra. O Madhava (Krishna), how indeed could we attain happiness by killing our own kindred?
Even if these others (the Kurus), whose understanding is eclipsed by greed, behold no calamity in the ruin of families, and no evil in enmity to friends
should we not know to avoid this sin, O Janardana (Krishna) — we who do distinctly perceive the evil in the disintegration of the family?
With the decimation of the family, the age-old religious rites of the family fade away. When the upholding religion is annihilated, then sin overpowers the whole family.
O Krishna, from lack of religion the women of the family become bad. O Varshneye (Krishna), women being thus contaminated, adultery is engendered among castes.
The adulteration of family blood consigns to hell the clan-destroyers, along with the family itself. Their ancestors, by being denied the oblations of rice-ball and water, are degraded.
By these misdeeds of the family-destroyers, producing admixture of castes, the time-old rites (dharmas) of thecase and clan are annihilated.
O Janardana (Krishna), often have we heard that men devoid of family religious rites are most certainly committed to reside indefinitely in hell.
Alas! actuated by greed for the comfort of possessing a kingdom, we are prepared to kill our own kinsmen — an act surely entangling us in great iniquity.
If, weapons in hand, the sons of Dhritarashtra kill me, wholly resigned and weaponless in the battle, that solution will be more welcome and beneficial to me!
Sanjaya said to Dhritarashtra:
Arjuna, having spoken thus on the battlefield, his mind disturbed by grief, flinging away his bow and arrows, sat down on the seat of his chariot.
Aum, Tat, Sat.
In the Upanishad of the holy Bhagavad Gita — the discourse of Lord Krishna to Arjuna, which is the scripture of yoga and the science of God-realization — this is the first chapter, called The Despondency of Arjuna on the Path of Yoga.
Sanjaya said to Dhritarashtra:
Madhusudana (Krishna) then addressed him whose eyes were bedimmed with tears, and who was overcome with pity and discouragement.
The Lord said:In such a critical moment, whence comes upon thee, O Arjuna, this despondency — behavior improper for an Aryan, disgraceful, detrimental to the attainment of heaven?
O Partha ('Son of Pritha,' Arjuna), surrender not to unmanliness; it is unbecoming to thee. O Scorcher of Foes, forsake this small weakheartedness! Arise!
Arjuna said: O Slayer of Madhu, O Destroyer of Foes (Krishna)! how can I, in this war, direct arrows against Bhishma and Drona — beings who should be worshiped!
Arjuna said: Even a life of beggary would be more salutary for me than a life marred by slaying my high-souled preceptors! If I do destroy these mentors who are intent on wealth and possessions (the objects of the senses), then surely here on earth all
I can hardly decide which end would be better — that they should conquer us? or that we should conquer them? Confronting us are Dhritarashtra's children — the very ones whose death would make our life undesirable!
With my inner nature overshadowed by weak sympathy and pity, with a mind in bewilderment about duty, I implore Thee to advise me what is the best path for me to follow. I am Thy disciple. Teach me, whose refuge is in Thee.
I behold nothing that will do away with this inner affliction that pounds my senses — nothing! not even my possession of an unrivaled and prosperous kingship over this earth and lordship over the deities of heaven!
Sanjaya said to Dhritarashtra: Having thus addressed Hrishikesha (Krishna), Gudakesha-Parantapa (Arjuna) declared to Govinda (Krishna): 'I will not fight!'; then remained silent.
O Bharata (Khritarashtra), to him who was lamenting between the two armies, the Lord of the Senses (Krishna), as if smiling, spoke in the following way:
The Blessed Lord said: Thou has been lamenting for those not worth thy lamentations! Yet thou dost utter words of lore. The truly wise mourn neither for those who are living nor for those who have passed away.
It is not that I have never before been incarnated; nor thou, nor these other royal ones! And never in all futurity shall any one of us not exist!
As in the body the embodied Self passes through childhood, youth, and old age, so is its passage into another body; the wise thereat are not disturbed.
O Son of Kunti (Arjuna), the ideas of heat and cold, pleasure and pain, are produced by the contacts of the senses with their objects. Such ideas are limited by a beginning and an end. They are transitory, O Descendant of Bharata (Arjuna); bear them with
O Flower among Men (Arjuna)! he who cannot be ruffled by these (contacts of the senses with their objects), who is calm and evenminded during pain and pleasure, he alone is fit to attain everlastingness!
Of the unreal, there is no existence. Of the real, there is no nonexistence. The final truth of both of these is known by men of wisdom.
Know as imperishable the One by whom everything has been manifested and pervaded. No one has power to bring about the annihilation of this Unchangeable Spirit.
Regarded as having a termination of existence are these fleshly garments; immutable, imperishable, and limitless is the Indwelling Self. With this wisdom, O descendant of Bharata (Arjuna), battle thou!
He who considers the Self as the slayer; he who deems that it can be slain: neither of these knows the truth. The Self does not kill, nor is it killed.
This Self is never born nor does it ever perish; nor having come into existence will it again cease to be. It is birthless, eternal, changeless, ever-same (unaffected by the usual processes associated with time). It is not slain when the body is killed.
How can he who knows the Self to be imperishable, everlasting permanent, birthless and changeless, possibly think that this Self can cause the destruction of another? O Partha (Arjuna), whom does it slay?
Just as an individual forsaking dilapidated raiment dons new clothes, so the body-encased soul, relinquishing decayed bodily habitations, enters others that are new.
No weapon can pierce the soul; no fire can burn it; no water can moisten it; nor can any wind wither it.
The soul is uncleavable; it cannot be burnt or wetted or dried. The soul is immutable, all-permeating, ever calm, and immovable — eternally the same.
The soul is said to be imponderable, unmanifested, and unchangeable. Therefore, knowing it to be such, thou shouldst not lament!
But if thou dost imagine this soul incessantly to be born and to die, even in that case, O Mighty-armed (Arjuna), thou shouldst not grieve for it.
For that which is born must die, and that which is dead must be born again. Why then shouldst thou grieve about the unavoidable?
The beginning of all creatures is veiled, the middle is manifested, and the end again is imperceptible, O Bharata (Arjuna). Why, then, lament this truth?
Some behold the soul in amazement. Similarly, others describe it as marvelous. Still others listen about the soul as wondrous. And there are others who, even after hearing all about the soul, do not comprehend it at all.
O Bharata (Arjuna), the One who dwells in the bodies of all is eternally inviolable. Grieve not, therefore, for any created being.
Even from the point of view of thine own dharma (one's rightful duty) thou shouldst not inwardly oscillate! There is nothing more propitious for a Kshatriya than a righteous battle.
O son of Pritha (Arjuna), fortunate are the Kshatriyas when such a righteous battle has, unprovoked, fallen to their lot; they find therein an open door to heaven.
But if thou declinest to undertake this righteous combat, then, having relinquished thine own dharma and glory, thou wilt reap sin.
Men will ever speak of thine ignominy. To the man of repute, dishonor is veritably worse than death.
The mighty chariot warriors will assume that thou hast shunned this war through fear. Thus wilt thou be lightly regarded by those who had thought highly of thee.
Thy foes will speak contemptuously (words improper to utter), maligning thy powers. What could be more painful than this?
If thou shouldst die (battling thine enemies), thou wilt gain heaven; if thou conquerest, thou wilt enjoy the earth. Therefore, O son of Kunti (Arjuna), lift thyself up! Be determined to fight!
Equalizing (by evenmindedness) happiness and sorrow, profit and loss, triumph and failure — so encounter thou the battle! Thus thou wilt not acquire sin.
The ultimate wisdom of Sankhya I have explained to thee. But now thou must hear about the wisdom of Yoga, equipped with which, O Partha (Arjuna), thou shalt shatter the bonds of karma.
In this path (of yoga action) there is no loss of the unfinished effort for realization, nor is there creation of contrary effects. Even a tiny bit of this real religion protects one from great fear (the colossal sufferings inherent in the repeated cycle
In this Yoga, O Scion of Kuru* (Arjuna), the inner determination is single, one-pointed; whereas the reasonings of the undecided mind are unending and variously ramified.
O Partha (Arjuna), no single-pointed resolution (no fixity of mind) in the meditative state of samadhi grows in those who cling tenaciously to power and sense delights, and whose discriminative intelligence is led astray by the flowery declamations of th
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The Vedas are concerned with the three universal qualities or gunas. O Arjuna, free thyself from the triple qualities and from the pairs of opposites! Ever calm, harboring no thoughts of receiving and keeping, become thou settled in the Self.
To the knower of Brahman (Spirit), all the Vedas (scriptures) are of no more utility than is a reservoir when there is a flood from all directions.
Thy human right is for activity only, never for the resultant fruit of actions. Do not consider thyself the creator of the fruits of thy activities; neither allow thyself attachment to inactivity.
O Dhananjaya (Arjuna), remaining immersed in yoga, perform all actions, forsaking attachment (to their fruits), being indifferent to success and failure. This mental evenness is termed yoga.
Ordinary action (performed with desire) is greatly inferior to action united to the guidance of wisdom; therefore, O Dhananjaya (Arjuna), seek shelter in the ever-directing wisdom. Miserable are those who perform actions only for their fruits.
One who is united to cosmic wisdom goes beyond the effects of both virtue and vice, even here in this life. Therefore, devote thyself to yoga, divine union. Yoga is the art of proper action.
Those who have mastered their minds become engrossed in infinite wisdom; they have no further interest in any fruits of actions. Freed thus from the chain of rebirth, they attain the state beyond sorrow.
When thine intelligence penetrates beyond the darkness of delusion, then wilt thou attain indifference regarding matters that have been heard and matters yet to be heard.
When thine intelligence, bewildered by the variety of revealed truths, becomes securely anchored in the ecstasy of soul bliss, then wilt thou attain the final union (yoga).
Arjuna said:
O Keshava (Krishna)! what are the characteristics of the sage who possesses ever calm wisdom and who is steeped in samadhi (ecstasy)? How does this man of steady wisdom speak and sit and walk?
The Blessed Lord replied:
O Partha (Arjuna)! when a man competely relinquishes all desires of the mind, and is entirely contented in the Self, by the Self, he is then considered to be one settled in wisdom.
He whose consciousness is not shaken by anxiety under afflictions nor by attachment to happiness under favorable circumstances; he who is free from worldly loves, fears, and angers — he is called a muni of steady discrimination.
He who is everywhere nonattached, neither joyously excited by encountering good nor disturbed by evil, has an established wisdom.
When the yogi, like a tortoise withdrawing its limbs, can fully retire his senses from the objects of perception, his wisdom manifests steadiness.
The man who physically fasts from sense objects finds that the sense objects fall away for a little while, leaving behind only the longing for them. But he who beholds the Supreme is freed even from longings.
O son of Kunti (Arjuna), the eager excitable senses do forcibly seize the consciousness even of one who has a high degree of enlightenment, and is striving (for liberation).
He who unites his spirit to Me, having subjugated all his senses, remains concentrated on Me as the Supremely desirable. The intuitive wisdom of that yogi becomes steadfast whose senses are under his sway.
Brooding on sense objects causes attachment to them. Attachment breeds craving; craving breeds anger. Anger breeds delusion; delusion breeds loss of memory (of the Self).
Loss of right memory causes decay of the discriminating faculty. From decay of discrimination, annihilation (of spiritual life) follows.
The man of self-control, roaming among material objects with subjugated senses, and devoid of attraction and repulsion, attains an unshakable inner calmness.
In soul bliss* all grief is annihilated. Indeed, the discrimination of the blissful man soon becomes firmly established (in the Self).
To the disunited (one not established in the Self) does not belong wisdom, nor has he meditation. To the unmeditative there is not tranquility. To the peaceless how comes happiness?
As a boat on the waters is carried off course by a gale, so an individual's discrimination is driven from its intended path when the mind succumbs to the wandering senses.
O Mighty-armed (Arjuna), his wisdom is well-established whose sense faculties are wholly subjugated in regard to sense objects.
That which is night (of slumber) to all creatures is (luminous) wakefulness to the man of self-mastery. And what is wakefulness to ordinary men, that is night (a time for slumber) to the divinely perceptive sage.
He is full with contentment who absorbs all desires within, as the brimful ocean remains unmoved (unchanged) by waters entering into it — not he who lusts after desires.
That person realizes peace who, relinquishing all desire, exists without craving and is unidentified with the mortal ego and its sense of 'mine-ness.
O Partha (Arjuna)! this is the 'established in Brahman' state. Anyone entering this state is never (again) deluded. Even at the very moment of transition (from the physical to the astral), if one becomes anchored therein, he attains the final, irrevocabl
Arjuna said:
O Janardana (Krishna)! if thou dost consider understanding to be superior to action, why then, O Keshava (Krishna), dost thou enjoin on me this awful activity?
[Arjuna continues:]
With these apparently conflicting speeches thou art, as it were, confusing my intelligence. Please let me know for certain that one thing by which I will achieve the highest good.
The Cosmic Lord said:
O Sinless One, at the onset of creation, a twofold way of salvation was given by Me to this world: for the wise, divine union through wisdom; for the yogis, divine union through active meditation.
Actionlessness is not attained simply by avoiding actions. By forsaking work no one reaches perfection.
Verily, no one can stay for even a moment without working; all are indeed compelled to perform actions willy-nilly, prodded by the qualities (gunas) born of Nature (Prakriti).
The individual who forcibly controls the organs of action, but whose mind rotates around thoughts of sense objects, is said to be a hypocrite, deluding himself.
But that man succeeds supremely, O Arjuna, who, disciplining the senses by the mind, unattached, keeps his organs of activity steadfast on the path of God-uniting actions.
Perform thou those actions that are obligatory, for action is better than inactivity; even simple maintenance of thy body would be impossible though inaction.
Worldly people are karmically bound by activities that differ from those performed as yajna (religious rites); O Son of Kunti (Arjuna), labor thou, nonattached, in the spirit of yajna, offering actions as oblations.
Prajapati (Brahma as the Creator of praja or human beings), having made mankind in the beginning, along with Yajna, said: 'By this shalt thou propagate; this will be the milch cow of thy longings. …[See continuation, verse 11.]
[Prajapati continues:] 'With this yajna, meditate on the devas, and may those devas think of thee; thus communing with one another; thou shalt receive the Supreme Good. …[See continuation, verse 12.]
[Prajapati concludes:] 'The devas communed with by yajna will grant thee the craved-for gifts of life.' He who enjoys benefactions of the universal deities without due offerings to them is indeed a thief.
Saints — those who eat the remnants of due fire offerings (yajna) — are freed from all sin; but sinners — those who make food just for themselves — feast on sin.
From food, creatures spring forth; from rain, food is begotten. From Yajna (the sacrificial cosmic fire), rain issues forth; the cosmic fire (cosmic light) is born of karma (divine vibratory action).
Know this divine vibratory activity to have come into being from Brahma (God's Creative Consciousness); and this Creative Consciousness to derive from the Imperishable (the Everlasting Spirit). Therefore, God's Creative Consciousness (Brahma), which is a
That man, O Son of Pritha (Arjuna), who in this world does not follow the wheel thus set rotating, living in iniquity and contented in the senses, lives in vain!
But the individual who truly loves the soul and is fully satisfied with the soul and finds utter contentment in the soul alone, for him no duty exists.
Such a person has no purpose of gain in this world by performing actions, nor does he lose anything by their nonperformance. He is not dependent on anyone for anything.
Therefore, always conscientiously perform good material actions (karyam) and spiritual actions (karman) without attachment. By doing all actions without attachment, one attains the highest.*
By the path of right action alone, Janaka and others like him reached perfection. Also, simply for the purpose of rightly guiding mortals, thou shouldst perform action.
Whatever a superior being does, inferior persons imitate. His actions set a standard for people of the world.
O Son of Pritha (Arjuna), no compelling duty have I to perform; there is naught that I have not acquired; nothing in the three worlds remains for Me to gain! Yet I am consciously present in the performance of all actions.
O Partha (Arjuna), if at any time I did not continue to perform actions, without pause, men would wholly imitate My way.
If I did not perform actions (in a balanced way), these universes would be annihilated. I would be the cause of dire confusion ('the improper admixture of duties'). I would thus be the instrument of men's ruination.
O Descendant of Bharata (Arjuna), as the ignorant perform actions with attachment and hope of reward, so the wise should act with dispassionate nonattachment, to serve gladly as a guide for the multitudes.
Under no circumstances should the wise disturb the understanding of ignorant persons who are attached to actions. Instead, the illumined being, by conscientiously performing activities, should inspire in the ignorant a desire for all dutiful actions.
All action is universally engendered by the attributes (gunas) of primordial Nature (Prakriti). A man whose Self is deluded by egoity things, 'I am the doer.
O Mighty-armed (Arjuna)! the knower of truth about the divisions of the gunas (attributes of Nature) and their actions — realizing it is the gunas as sense attributes that are attached to the gunas as sense objects — keeps (his Self) unattached to them.
The yogi of perfect wisdom should not bewilder the minds of men who have imperfect understanding. Deluded by the attributes of primordial Nature, the ignorant must cling to the activities engendered by those gunas.
Relinquish all activities unto Me! Devoid of egotism and expectation, with your attention concentrated on the soul, free from feverish worry, be engaged in the battle (of activity).
Men, devotion-filled, who ceaselessly practice My precepts, without fault-finding, they too become free from all karma.
But those who denounce this teaching of Mine and do not live according to it, wholly deluded in regard to true wisdom, know them, devoid of understanding, to be doomed.
Even the wise man acts according to the tendencies of his own nature. All living creatures go according to Nature; what can (superficial) suppression avail?
Attachment and repulsion of the senses for their specific objects are Nature-ordained. Beware the influence of this duality. Verily, these two (psychological qualities) are one's enemies!
One's own duty (svadharma), though deficient in quality, is superior to duty other than one's own (paradharma), though well accomplished. Better it is to die in svadharma; paradharma is fraught with fear and danger:
Arjuna said:
O Varshneya* (Krishna), by what is man impelled, even against his will, to perform evil — compelled, it seems, by force?
The Blessed Lord said:
Born of the activating attribute of Nature (rajo-guna), it is desire, it is anger, (that is the impelling force) — full of unappeasable craving and great evil: know this (two-sided passion) to be the foulest enemy here on earth.
As fire is obscured by smoke, as a looking glass by dust, as an embryo is enveloped by the womb, so it (wisdom) is covered by this (desire).
O Son of Kunti (Arjuna)! the constant enemy of wise men is the unslakable flame of desire, by which wisdom is concealed.
The senses, mind, and intellect are said to be desire's formidable stronghold; through these, desire deludes the embodied soul by eclipsing its wisdom.
Therefore, O Best of the Bharata Dynasty (Arjuna)!* first discipline the senses, then destroy desire, the sinful annihilator of wisdom and Self-realization.
The senses are said to be superior (to the physical body); the mind is superior to the sense faculties; the intelligence is superior to the mind; but he (the Self) is superior to the intelligence.
O Mighty-armed (Arjuna)! thus cognizing the Self as superior to the intelligence, and disciplining the self (ego) by the Self (soul), annihilate the foe! hard-to-conquer, wearing the form of desire.
The exalted Lord said to Arjuna:
I gave this imperishable Yoga to Vivasvat (the sun-god); Vivasvat passed on the knowledge to Manu (the Hindu law-giver); Manu told it to Ikshvaku (founder of the solar dynasty of the Kshatriyas).
Handed down in this way in orderly succession, the Rajarishis (royal rishis) knew it. But, O Scorcher of Foes (Arjuna)! by the long passage of time, this Yoga was lost sight of on earth.
I have this day informed thee about that same ancient yoga, for thou art My devotee and friend. This sacred mystery (of yoga) is, indeed, the producer of supreme benefit (to mankind).
Arjuna said:
Vivasvat was born first, and thy birth occurred later. How then can I comprehend thy words that thou didst communicate this yoga in the beginning (before thy birth)?
The Blessed Lord said:
O Arjuna, many births have been experienced by Me and by thee. I am acquainted with them all, whereas thou rememberest them not, O Scorcher of Foes.
Unborn though I am, of changeless Essence! yet becoming Lord of all creation, abiding in My own Cosmic Nature (Prakriti), I embody Myself by Self-evolved maya delusion.
O Bharata (Arjuna)! whenever virtue (dharma) declines and vice (adharma) predominates, I incarnate as an Avatar.
In visible form I appear from age to age to protect the virtuous and to destroy evildoing in order to reestablish righteousness.
He who thus intuits, in their reality of orderly principles, My divine manifestations and vibratory actions, is not reborn after death; he obtains Me, O Arjuna!
Sanctified by the asceticism of wisdom, disengaged from attachment, fear, and ire, engrossed and sheltered in Me, many beings have attained My nature.
O Partha (Arjuna)! in whatever way people are devoted to Me, in that measure I manifest Myself to them. All men, in every manner (of seeking Me), pursue a path to Me.
Desiring success of their actions here on earth, men adore the gods (various ideals), because achievement accruing from activity is readily attained in the world of men.
According to the differentiation of attributes (gunas) and actions (karma), I have created the four castes. Though thus the Doer, yet know Me to be the Nonperformer, beyond all change.
Actions do not cause attachment in Me, nor have I longings for their fruits. He who is identified with Me, who knows My nature, is also free from the karmic fetters of works.
Understanding this, wise men who have sought after salvation, since pristine times, have performed dutiful actions. Therefore, do thou also act dutifully, even as did the ancients of bygone ages.
Even the wise are confused about action and inaction. Therefore I will explain what constitutes true action — a knowledge that will free thee from evil.
The nature of karma (action) is very difficult to know. Verily, in order to understand fully the nature of proper action, one has also to understand the nature of contrary (wrong) action and the nature of inaction.
He is a yogi, discriminative among men, who beholds inactivity in action and action in inaction. He has attained the goal of all actions (and is free).
The sages call that man wise whose pursuits are all without selfish plan or longings for results, and whose activities are purified (cauterized of karmic outgrowths) by the fire of wisdom.
Relinquishing attachment to the fruits of work, always contented, independent (of material rewards), the wise do not perform any (binding) action even in the midst of activities.
He incurs no evil performing mere bodily actions who has renounced all sense of possession, who is free from (delusive human) hopes, and whose heart (the power of feeling) is controlled by the soul.*
That man of action is free from karma who receives with contentment whatever befalls him, who is poised above the dualities, who is devoid of jealousy or envy or enmity, and who looks equally on gain and loss.
All karma, or effects of actions, completely melts away from the liberated being who, free from attachments, with his mind enveloped in wisdom, performs the true spiritual fire rite (yajna).*
The process of offering and the oblation itself — both are Spirit. The fire and he who makes oblation into it are other forms of Spirit. By realizing this, being absorbed in Brahman (Spirit) during all activities, verily such a one goes to Spirit alone.
In truth, there are those yogis who sacrifice to devas; others offer the self, as a sacrifice made by the self, in the fire of Spirit alone.
Certain devotees offer, as oblations in the fire of inner control, their powers of hearing and other senses. Others offer as sacrifice, in the fire of the senses, sound and other sense objects.
Again, others (followers of the path of Jnana Yoga) offer all their sense activities and the functions of the life force as oblations in the wisdom-kindled yoga flame of inner control in Self.
Other devotees offer as oblations wealth, self-discipline, and the methods of Yoga; while other individuals, self-controlled and keeping strict vows, offer as sacrifices the study of self and the acquirement of scriptural wisdom.
Other devotees offer as sacrifice the incoming breath of prana in the outoing breath of apana, and the outgoing breath of apana in the incoming breath of prana, thus arresting the cause of inhalation and exhalation (rendering breath unnecessary) by inten
Other devotees, by a scheme of proper diet, offer all the different kinds of prana and their functions as oblations in the fire of the one common prana. All such devotees (adepts in all the foregoing yajnas) are knowers of the true fire ceremony (of wisd
By partaking of the nectar-remnant of any of these spiritual fire ceremonies, they (the yogis) go to the Infinite Spirit (Brahman). But this realization of Spirit belongs not to ordinary men of this world who are nonperformers of the true spiritual rites
Various spiritual ceremonies (yajnas performed with wisdom or with material objects) are thus found in the wisdom-temple of the Vedas ('mouth of Brahman'). Know them all to be the offsprings of actions; and understanding this (and by the performance of t
The spiritual fire ceremony of wisdom, O Scorcher of Foes (Arjuna)! is superior to any material ritual. All action in its entirety (the act, the cause, the karmic effect) is consummated in wisdom.
Understand this! By surrendering thyself (to the guru), by questioning (the guru and thine inner perception), and by service (to the guru), the sages who have realized truth will impart that wisdom to thee.
Comprehending that wisdom from a guru, thou, O Pandava (Arjuna)! wilt not again fall into delusion; for by that wisdom thou shalt behold the entire creation in thyself, and then in Me (Spirit).
Even if thou art the chief sinner among all sinners, yet by the sole raft of wisdom thou shalt safely cross the sea of sin.
O Arjuna, as enkindled flame converts firewood into ashes, so does the fire of wisdom consume to ashes all karma.
Verily, nothing else in this world is as sanctifying as wisdom. In due course of time, the devotee who is successful in yoga will spontaneously realize this within his Self.
The man of devotion who is engrossed in the Infinite, who has controlled the senses, achieves wisdom. Having obtained wisdom, he immediately attains supreme peace.
The ignorant, the man lacking in devotion, the doubt-filled man, ultimately perishes. The unsettled individual has neither this world (earthly happiness), nor the next (astral happiness), nor the supreme happiness of God.
O Winner of Wealth (Arjuna), he who has relinquished work by yoga, and who has torn apart his doubts by wisdom, becomes poised in the Self; actions do not entangle him.
Therefore, O Descendant of Bharata (Arjuna), arise! Take shelter in yoga, slashing with the sword of wisdom this ignorance-born doubt existing in thy hert about the Self.
Arjuna said:
O Krishna, you speak of renunciation of actions; at the same time, you advise their performance. Of these two, which is the better path? Please tell me for certain.
The Blessed Lord answered:
Salvation is found by both renunciation and performance of action. But of these two, the Yoga of works is better than renunciation of works.
O Mighty-armed (Arjuna), he is to be known as a constant sannyasi (renunciant), easily liberated from all entanglements, who has neither likes nor dislikes because he is unbound by the dualities (Nature's pairs of opposites).
Not sages but children speak of differences between the path of wisdom (Sankhya) and the path of spiritual activity (Yoga). He who is truly established in either one receives the fruits of both.
The state attained by the wise (the jnana yogis who successfully follow the wisdom pathof discrimination — sankhya) is also attained by the doers (the karma yogis who succeed through the performance of the scientific methods of yoga). He has truth who be
But renunciation, O Mighty-armed (Arjuna)! is difficult to achieve without God-uniting actions (yoga). By the practice of yoga, the muni ('he whose mind is absorbed in God') quickly attains the Infinite.
No taint (karmic involvement) touches the sanctified man of action who is engaged in divine communion (yoga), who has conquered ego consciousness (by attaining soul perception), who is victorious over his senses, and who feels his self as the Self existi
The cognizer of truth, united to God, automatically perceives, 'I myself do nothing' — even though he sees, hears, touches, smells, eats, moves, sleeps, breathes, speaks, rejects, holds, opens or closes his eyes — realizing that it is the senses (activat
[included above]
Like unto the lotus leaf that remains unsullied by water, the yogi who performs actions, forswearing attachment and surrendering his actions to the Infinite, remains unbound by entanglement in the senses.
For sanctification of the ego, yogis perform actions solely with (the instruments of action) the body, the mind, discrimination, or even the senses, forsaking attachment (disallowing ego involvement, with its attachments and desires).
The God-united yogi, abandoning attachment to fruits of actions, attains the peace unshakable (peace born of self-discipline). The man who is not united to God is ruled by desires; through such attachment he remains in bondage.
The embodied soul, controller of the senses, having mentally relinquished all activities, remains blissfully in the bodily city of nine gates — neither performing actions himself nor making others (the senses) perform actions.
The Lord God does not create in men the consciousness of being doers of actions, nor does He cause actions by them, nor does He entangle them with the fruits of actions. Delusive Cosmic Nature is the originator of all these.
The All-Pervading takes no account of anyone's virtue or sin. Wisdom is eclipsed by cosmic delusion; mankind is thereby bewildered.
But in those who have banished ignorance by Self-knowledge, their wisdom, like the illuminating sun, makes manifest the Supreme Self.
Their thoughts immersed in That (Spirit), their souls one with Spirit, their sole allegiance and devotion given to Spirit, their beings purified from poisonous delusion by the antidote of wisdom — such men reach the state of nonreturn.
Self-realized sages behold with an equal eye a learned and humble Brahmin, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and an outcaste.
The relativities of existence (birth and death, pleasure and pain) have been overcome, even here in this world, by those of fixed equal-mindedness. Thereby are they enthroned in Spirit — verily, the taintless, the perfectly balanced Spirit.
The knower of Spirit, abiding in the Supreme Being, with unswerving discrimination, free from delusion, is thus neither jubilant at pleasant experiences nor downcast by unpleasant experiences.
Unattracted to the sensory world, the yogi experiences the ever new joy inherent in the Self. Engaged in divine union of the soul with Spirit, he attains bliss indestructible.
O Son of Kunti (Arjuna)! because sense pleasures spring from outward contacts, and have beginning and end (are ephemeral), they are begetters only of misery. No sage seeks happiness from them.
He is truly a yogi who, on this earth and up to the very time of death, is able to master every impulse of desire and wrath. He is a happy man!
Only that yogi who possesses the inner Bliss, who rests on the inner Foundation, who is one with the inner Light, becomes one with Spirit (after attaining freedom from karma connected with the physical, astral, and ideational bodies). He attains complete
With sins obliterated, doubts removed, senses subjugated, the rishis (sages), contributing to the welfare of mankind, attain emancipation in Spirit.
Renunciants who are desireless and wrathless, mind-controlled, and Self-realized, are completely free both in this world and in the beyond.
A muni — he who holds liberation as the sole object of life and therefore frees himself from longings, fears, and wrath — controls his senses, mind, and intelligence and removes their external contacts by (a technique of) making even (or 'neutralizing')
[included above]
He finds peace who knows Me as the Enjoyer of the holy rites (yajnas) and of the austerities (offered by devotees), as the Infinite Lord of Creation, and as the Good Friend of all creatures.
The blessed Lord said:
He is the true renunciant and also the true yogi who performs dutiful and spiritual actions (karyam and karma) without desiring their fruits — not he who performs no fire ceremony (sacrifice) nor he who abandons action.
Understand, O Pandava (Arjuna), that what is spoken of in the scriptures as renunciation is the same as yoga; for he who has not renounced selfish motive (sankalpa) cannot be a yogi.
For the muni desiring ascension, meditative action (karma) for divine union (yoga) is spoken of as 'his way'; when he has mastered this yoga, then inaction is said to be 'his way.
He who has overcome attachment both to sense objects and to actions, and who is free from all ego-instigated plannings — that man is said to have attained firm union of soul with Spirit.
Let man uplift the self (ego) by the self; let the self not be self-degraded (cast down). Indeed, the self is its own friend; and the self is its own enemy.
For him whose self (ego) has been conquered by the Self (soul), the Self is the friend of the self; but verily, the Self behaves inimically, as an enemy, toward the self that is not subdued.
The tranquil sage, victorious over the self (ego), is ever fully established in the Supreme Self (Spirit), whether he encounter cold or heat, pleasure or pain, praise or blame.
That yogi who is gladly absorbed in truth and Self-realization is said to be indissolubly united to Spirit. Unchangeable, conqueror of his senses, he looks with an equal eye on earth, stone, and gold.
He is a supreme yogi who regards with equal-mindedness all men — patrons, friends, enemies, strangers, mediators, hateful beings, relatives, the virtuous and the ungodly.
Free from ever-hoping desires and from cravings for possessions, with the heart (waves of feeling) controlled by the soul* (by yoga concentration), retiring alone to a quiet place, the yogi should constantly try to unite with the soul.
The yogi's seat, in a clean place, should be firm (not wobbly), neither too high nor too low, and covered, first, with kusha grass, then with a deer or tiger skin, then with a cloth.
Established on that seat, concentrating the mind on one point, and controlling the activities of the fanciful faculty (chitta, feeling — the power that visualizes) and the senses, let him practice yoga for self-purification.
Firmly holding the spine, neck, and head erect and motionless, let the yogi focus his eyes at the starting place of the nose (the spot between the two eyebrows); let him not gaze around in various directions.
With serenity and fearlessness, with steadfastness in brahmacharya, with the mind controlled, with the thoughts centered on Me, the yogi should sit, meditating on Me as the Final Goal.
The self-governed yogi — he whose mind is fully under control — thus engaging his soul in ceaseless meditative union with Spirit, attains the peace of My being: the final Nirvana (deliverance).
O Arjuna! The gourmand, the scanty eater, the person who habitually oversleeps, the one who sleeps too little — none of these finds success in yoga.
He who with proper regularity eats, relaxes, works, sleeps, and remains awake will find yoga the destroyer of suffering.
When the chitta (feeling) is absolutely subjugated and is calmly established in the Self, the yogi, thus devoid of attachment to all desires, is spoken of as the God-united.
The illustration of an unflickering flame of light in a windless spot may be used in reference to a yogi who has conquered his feeling (chitta) by the practice of meditation on the Self.
The state of complete tranquility of the feeling (chitta), attained by yoga meditation, in which the self (ego) perceives itself as the Self (soul) and is content (fixed) in the Self;
The state in which the sense-transcendent immeasurable bliss becomes known to the awakened intuitive intelligence, and in which the yogi remains enthroned, never again to be removed;
The state that, once found, the yogi considers as the treasure beyond all other treasures — anchored therein, he is immune to even the mightiest grief;
That state is known as yoga — the pain-free state. The practice of yoga is therefore to be observed resolutely and with a stout heart.
Relinquish without exception all longings born of sankalpas (plannings), and completely control, sheerly with the mind, the sensory organs, the sensory powers, and their contact with the ubiquitous sense objects.
With the intuitive discrimination saturated in patience, with the mind absorbed in the soul, the yogi, freeing his mind from all thoughts, will by slow degrees attain tranquility.
Whenever the fickle and restless mind wanders away — for whatever reason — let the yogi withdraw it from those distractions and return it to the sole control of the Self.
The yogi who has completely calmed the mind and controlled the passions and freed them from all impurities,* and who is one with Spirit — verily, he has attained supreme blessedness.
The yogi, free from all impurities, ceaselessly engaging the Self thus in the activity of yoga (divine union), readily attains the blessedness of continuous mergence in Spirit.
With the soul united to Spirit by yoga, with a vision of equality for all things, the yogi beholds his Self (Spirit-united) in all creatures and all creatures in the Spirit.
He who perceives Me everywhere and beholds everything in Me never loses sight of Me, nor do I ever lose sight of him.
That yogi stays forever in Me, who, anchored in divine unity whatever his mode of existence, realizes Me as pervading all beings.
O Arjuna, the best type of yogi is he who feels for others, whether in grief or pleasure, even as he feels for himself.
The blessed Lord said:
O Partha (Arjuna), absorbing thy mind in Me, taking shelter in Me, and followng the path of yoga — hear how thou shalt realize Me beyond all doubts, in full completion (knowing Me with all My attributes and powers).
I shall relate to thee without omission both theoretical wisdom and that wisdom which can be known only by intuitive realization knowing which, naught in this world will remain unknown to thee.
Among thousands of men, perhaps one strives for spiritual attainment; and, among the blessed true seekers that assiduously try to reach Me, perhaps one perceives Me as I am.
My manifested nature (Prakriti) has an eightfold differentiation: earth, water, fire, air, ether, sensory mind (manas), intelligence (buddhi), and egoism (ahamkara).
Thus My lower nature (Apara-Prakriti). But understand, O Mighty-armed (Arjuna)! that My different and higher nature (Para-Prakriti) is the jiva, the self-consciousness and life-principle that sustains the cosmos.
Understand that these dual Natures of Mine, the pure and the impure Prakriti, are the womb of all beings. I am the Progenitor and also the Dissolver of the entire cosmos.
O Arjuna! there is nothing higher than Me, or beyond Me. All things (creatures and objects) are bound to Me like a row of gems on a thread.
O Son of Kunti (Arjuna), I am the fluidity in waters; I am the radiation in the moon and the sun; I am the Aum (pranava) in all the Vedas; the sound in the ether; and the manliness in men.
I am the wholesome fragrance exuding from the earth; the luminescence in the fire am I; the life in all creatures, and the self-discipline in anchorites.
Know Me to be the eternal seed of all creatures, O Son of Pritha (Arjuna)! I am the understanding of the keen, the radiance of vital beings.
Among the powerful, O Best of the Bharatas (Arjuna), I am the power that is free from longings and attachment. I am that desire in men which is in keeping with dharma (righteousness).
Know thou that all manifestations of sattva (good), rajas (activity), and tamas (evil) emanate from Me. Though they are in Me, I am not in them.
This world of mortal beings does not perceive Me, unchangeable and beyond all qualities, because they are deluded by the triple modes of Nature.
It is difficult indeed to go beyond the influence of My divine cosmic hypnosis, imbued with the triple qualities. Only those who take shelter in Me (the Cosmic Hypnotizer) become free from this power of illusion.
The lowest of men, perpetrators of evil and misguided fools, whose discrimination has been stolen by maya (delusion), follow the path of demoniac beings, failing to take shelter in Me.
The afflicted, the questers for wisdom, the cravers for power here and in the hereafter,* and the wise — these, O Arjuna, are the four kinds of righteous men who pursue Me.
Chief among them is the sage, ever constant and one-pointed in devotion. For I am exceedingly dear to the sage, and he is exceedingly dear to Me.
All these (four kinds of men) are noble, but the sage I consider indeed as My own Self. Unwaveringly is he settled in Me alone as his utmost goal.
After many incarnations, the sage attains Me, realizing, 'The Lord is all-pervading!' A man so illumined is hard to find.
Led by their own inclinations, their discrimination stolen by this or that craving, pursuing this or that cultic injunction, men seek lesser gods.
Whatever embodiment (a God-incarnate, a saint, or a deity) a devotee strives faithfully to worship, it is I who make his devotion unflinching.
Absorbed in that devotion, intent on the worship of that embodiment, the devotee thus gains the fruits of his longings. Yet those fulfillments are verily granted by Me alone.
But men of scant knowledge (worshiping lesser gods) receive limited results. The devotees of the deities go unto them; My devotees come unto Me.
Men without wisdom consider Me, the Unmanifest, as assuming embodiment (like a mortal being taking a form) — not understanding My unsurpassable state, My unchangeable unutterable nature.
Seemingly eclipsed by My own Yoga-Maya (the delusion born of the triple qualities in Nature), I am unseen by men. The bewildered world knows not Me, the Unborn, the Deathless.
O Arjuna, I am aware of the creatures of the past, the present, and the future; but Me no one knows.
O Descendant of Bharata, Scorcher of Foes (Arjuna)! at birth all creatures are immersed in delusive ignorance (moha) by the delusion of the pairs of opposites springing from longing and aversion.
But righteous men, their sins obliterated, and subject no longer to the oppositional delusions, worship Me steadfastly.
Those who seek deliverance from decay and death by clinging to Me know Brahman (the Absolute), the all-inclusiveness of Adhyatma (the soul as the repository of Spirit), and all secrets of karma.
Those who perceive Me in the Adhibhuta (the physical), the Adhidaiva (the astral), and the Adhiyajna (the spiritual), with heart united to the soul, continue to perceive Me even at the time of death.
Arjuna said:
O Best of the Purushas (Krishna)! Please tell me, what is Brahman (Spirit)! What is Adhyatma (the Kutasha Consciousness underlying all manifestations and existing as the souls of all beings in the cosmos)? And what is Karma (cosmic and medi
O Slayer of the Demon Madhu (Krishna)! What is Adhiyajna (the Supreme Creative and Cognizing Spirit), and in what manner is Adiyaja present (as the soul) in this body? and how, at the time of death, art Thou to be known by the self-disciplined?
The Blessed Lord replied:
The Indestructible and Supreme Spirit is Brahman. Its undifferentiated manifestation (as Kutastha Chaitanya and as the individual soul) is called Adhyatma. The Aum (Cosmic Vibration or the Visarga) that causes the birth and sus
O Supreme Among the Embodied (Arjuna)! Adhibhuta is the basis of physical existence; Adhidaiva is the basis of astral existence; and I the Spirit within the body and the cosmos am Adhiyajna (the Causal Origin, the Great Sacrificer, the Maker and Cognizer
Lastly, he enters my Being who thinks only of Me at the hour of his passing, when the body is abandoned. This is truth beyond doubt.
O Son of Kunti (Arjuna), that thought with which a dying man leaves the body determines — through his long persistence in it — his next state of being.
Therefore, remember Me always, and engage thyself in the battle of activity! Surrender to Me thy mind and thine understanding! Thus without doubt shalt thou come unto Me.
He attains the Supreme Effulgent Lord, O Partha (Arjuna), whose mind, stabilized by yoga, is immovably fixed on the thought of Him.
At the time of death a yogi reaches the Supreme Effulgent Lord if, with love and by the power of yoga, he fully penetrates his life force between the eyebrows (the seat of the spiritual eye), and if he fixes his mind unwaveringly on the Being who, beyond
[incorp in v. 9]
That which the Vedic seers declare as the Immutable, That which is gained by renunciants of vanished attachments, desiring which they lead a life of self-discipline — the method for attaining That I will relate to thee in brief.
He who closes the nine gates of the body,* who cloisters the mind in the heart center, who fixes the full life force in the cerebrum — he who thus engages in the steady practice of yoga, establishing himself in Aum, the Holy Word of Brahman, and remember
[incorporated into v. 13]
O Partha (Arjuna)! I am easily reached by that yogi who is singlehearted, who remembers Me daily, continually, his mind intensely focused only on Me.
My noble devotees, having obtained Me (Spirit), have reached supreme success; they incur no further rebirths in this abode of grief and transitoriness.
Yogis not yet free from the world* revolve back again (to the world) even from the high sphere of Brahma (union with God in samadhi). But on entering into Me (the transcendental Spirit) there is no rebirth, O son of Kunti (Arjuna)!
They are true knowers of 'day' and 'night' who understand the Day of Brahma, which endures for a thousand cycles (yugas), and the Night of Brahma, which also endures for a thousand cycles.
At the dawn of Brahma's Day all creation, reborn, emerges from the state of nonmanifestation; at the dusk of Brahma's Night all creation sinks into the sleep of nonmanifestation.
Again and again, O son of Pritha (Arjuna), the same throng of men helplessly take rebirth. Their series of incarnations ceases at the coming of Night, and then reappears at the dawn of Day.
But transcending the unmanifested (states of phenomenal being) there exists the true Unmanifested, the Immutable, the Absolute, which remains untouched by the cycles of cosmic dissolution.
The aforesaid Unmanifested, the Immutable Absolute, is thus called the Supreme Goal. Those who attain it, My highest state, undergo no more rebirth.
By singlehearted devotion, O son of Pritha (Arjuna), that Supreme Unmanifested is reached. He alone, the Omnipresent, is the Abode of all creatures.
I shall now declare unto thee, O Best of the Bharatas (Arjuna), the path, traversing which at the time of death, yogis attain freedom; and also the path wherein there is rebirth.
Fire, light, daytime, the bright half of the lunar month, the six months of the northern course of the sun — pursuing this path at the time of departure, the knowers of God go to God.
Smoke, nighttime, the dark half of the lunar month, the six months of the southern course of the sun — he who follows this path obtains only the lunar light and then returns to earth.
These two paths for exiting from the world are reckoned eternal. The way of light leads to release, the way of darkness leads to rebirth.
No yogi who understands these two paths is ever deluded (into following the way of darkness). Therefore O Arjuna! at all times maintain thyself firmly in yoga.
He who knows the truth about the two paths gains merit far beyond any implicit in the study of the scriptures, or in sacrifices, or in penances, or in gift-giving. That yogi reaches his Supreme Origin.
The Blessed Lord said:
To thee, the uncarping one, I shall now reveal the sublime mystery (the immanent-transcendent nature of Spirit). Possessing intuitive realization of this wisdom, thou shalt escape from evil.
This intuitive realization is the king of sciences, the royal secret, the peerless purifier, the essence of dharma (man's righteous duty); it is the direct perception of truth — the imperishable enlightenment — attained through ways (of yoga) very easy t
Men without faith in this dharma (without devotion to the practices that bestow realization) attain Me not, O Scorcher of Foes (Arjuna)! Again and again they tread the death-darkened path of samsara (the rounds of rebirth).
I, the Unmanifested, pervade the whole universe. All creatures abide in Me, but I do not abide in them.
Behold My Divine Mystery! in which all beings are apparently not in Me, nor does My Self dwell in them; yet I alone am their Creator and Preserver!
Understand it thus: Just as air moves freely in the infinitudes of space (akasha), and has its being in space (yet air is different from space), just so do all creatures have their being in Me (but they are not I).
At the end of a cycle (kalpa), O Son of Kunti (Arjuna), all beings return to the unmanifested state of My Cosmic Nature (Prakriti). At the beginning of the next cycle, again I cast them forth.
By revivifying Prakriti, Mine own emanation, again and again I produce this host of creatures, all subject to the finite laws of Nature.
But these activities entrammel Me not, O Winner of Wealth (Arjuna), for I remain above them, aloof and unattached.
O Son of Kunti (Arjuna), it is solely My impregnating presence that causes Mother Nature to give birth to the animate and the inanimate. Because of Me (through Prakriti) the worlds revolve in alternating cycles (of creation and dissolution).
The ignorant, oblivious of My transcendental nature as the Maker of all creatures, discount also My presence within the human form.
Lacking in insight, their desires and thoughts and actions all vain, such men possess the deluded nature of fiends and demons.
But mahatmas ('great souls'), O Son of Pritha (Arjuna), expressing in their nature divine qualities, offer the homage of their undeviating minds to Me, knowing Me as the imperishable Source of all life.
Constantly absorbed in Me, bowing low with adoration, fixed and resolute in their high aspiration, they worship Me and ever praise My name.
Others, also, performing the yajna of knowledge, worship Me, the Cosmic-Bodied Lord, in various ways — first as the Many, and then as the One.
I am the rite, the sacrifice, the oblation to ancestors, the medicinal herb, the holy chant, the melted butter, the sacred fire, and the offering.
Of this world I am the Father, the Mother, the Ancestor, the Preserver, the Sanctifier, the all-inclusive Object of Knowledge, the Cosmic Aum, and also the Vedic lore.
I am the Ultimate Goal, the Upholder, the Master, the Witness, the Shelter, the Refuge, and the One Friend. I am the Origin, the Dissolution, the Foundation, the Cosmic Storehouse, and the Seed Indestructible.
I bestow solar heat, O Arjuna, and give or withhold the rain. Immortality am I, and also Death; I am Being (Sat) and Non-Being (Asat).
The Veda-ritualists, cleansing themselves of sin by the soma rite, worship Me by yajna (sacrifice), and thus win their desire of entry into heaven. There, in the sacred kingdom of the astral deities, devotees enjoy the subtle celestial pleasures.
But after delighting in the glorious higher regions, such beings, at the expiration of their good karma, return to earth. Thus abiding by the scriptural regulations, desiring the enjoyments (the promised celestial rewards thereof), they travel the cyclic
To men who meditate on Me as their Very Own, ever united to Me by incessant worship, I supply their deficiencies and make permanent their gains.
O Son of Kunti (Arjuna), even devotees of other gods, who sacrifice to them with faith, worship Me alone, though not in the right way.
I am indeed the only Enjoyer and Lord of all sacrifices. But they (the worshipers of My lesser forms) do not perceive Me in My true nature; hence, they fall.
Devotees of the astral deities go to them; ancestor worshipers go to the manes; to the nature spirits go those who seek them; but My devotees come to Me.
The reverent presentation to Me of a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or water, given with pure intention, is a devotional offering acceptable in My sight.
Whatever actions thou dost perform, O Son of Kunti (Arjuna), whether in eating, or in observing spiritual rites, or in gift bestowing, or in self-disciplining — dedicate them all as offerings to Me.
Thus no action of thine can enchain thee with good or evil karma. With thy Self steadfastly anchored in Me by Yoga and renunciation, thou shalt win freedom and come unto Me.
I am impartial toward all beings. To Me none is hateful, none is dear. But those who give Me their heart's love are in Me, as I am in them.
Even a consummate evildoer who turns away from all else to worship Me exclusively may be counted among the good, because of his righteous resolve.
He will fast become a virtuous man and obtain unending peace. Tell all assuredly, O Arjuna, that My devotee never perishes!
Taking shelter in Me all beings can achieve the Supreme Fulfillment — be they those of sinful birth, or women, or Vaishyas, or Sudras.
How easily, then, may I be attained by sainted Brahmins (knowers of God or Brahman) and pious royal sages (Raja-rishis)! Thou who hast entered this impermanent and unhappy world, adore only Me (Spirit).
On Me fix thy mind, be thou My devotee, with ceaseless worship bow reverently before Me. Having thus united thyself to Me as they Highest Goal, thou shalt be Mine own.
The Blessed Lord said:
O Mighty-Armed (Arjuna), hear thou more of My supreme utterance. For thy highest good I will speak further to thee, who listeneth joyfully.
Neither the multitude of angels nor the great sages know My Uncreated Nature, for even the devas and rishis (are created beings, and hence) have an origin in Me.
But whoever realizes Me to be the Unborn and Beginningless as well as the Sovereign Lord of Creation — that man has conquered delusion and attained the sinless state even while wearing a mortal body.
Discrimination, wisdom, lack of delusion, forgiveness, truth, control of the senses, peace of mind, joy, sorrow, birth, death, fear, courage, harmlessness, equanimity, serenity, self-discipline, charity, fame, and infamy — these diverse states of beings
[included above]
The seven Great Rishis, the Primeval Four, and the (fourteen) Manus are also modifications of My nature, born of My thought, and endowed with (creative) powers like Mine. From these progenitors come all living creatures on earth.
He who realizes by yoga the truth of My prolific manifestations and the creative and dissolving power of My Divine Yoga is unshakably united to Me. This is beyond doubt.
I am the Source of everything; from Me all creation emerges. With this realization the wise, awestricken, adore Me.
Their thoughts fully on Me, their beings surrendered to Me, enlightening one another, proclaiming Me always, My devotees are contented and joyful.
To those thus ever attached to Me, and who worship Me with love, I impart that discriminative wisdom (buddhi yoga) by which they attain Me utterly.
From sheer compassion I, the Divine Indweller, set alight in them the radiant lamp of wisdom which banishes the darkness that is born of ignorance.
Arjuna said:
The Supreme Spirit, the Supreme Shelter, the Supreme Purity art Thou! All the great sages, the divine seer Narada, as well as Asita, Devala, and Vyasa, have thus described Thee as the Self-Evolved Eternal Being, the Original Deity, uncaused
[Verse 13 included above]
O Keshava (Krishna)! I consider as eternal truth all Thou has revealed to me. Indeed, O my Lord! neither the Devas (gods) nor the Danavas (Titans) know the infinite modes of Thine appearances.
O Divine Purusha, O Origin of beings, O Lord of all creatures, O God of gods, O Sustainer of the world! verily Thou alone knowest Thyself by Thyself.
Therefore, please tell me exhaustively of Thy divine powers and qualities by which Thine Omnipresence sustaineth the cosmos.
O Great Yogi (Krishna)! how shall I always meditate in order to know Thee truly? In what aspects and forms, O Blessed Lord, art Thou to be conceived by me?
O Janardana (Krishna)! tell me more, at great length, of Thy yoga powers and Self-manifestations; for never can I hear enough of Thy nectared speech!
The Blessed Lord said:
Very well, O Best of the Princes (Arjuna), I will indeed tell thee of My phenomenal expressions — but only the most outstanding ones, for there is no end to My variety.
O Conqueror of Sleep (Arjuna)! I am the Self in the heart of all creatures: I am their Origin, Existence, and Finality.
Among the Adityas (twelve effulgent beings), I am Vishu; among luminaries, I am the radiating sun; among the Maruts (forty-nine wind gods), I am Marichi; among heavenly bodies, I am the moon.
Among the Vedas, I am the Sama Veda; among the gods, I am Vasava (Indra); among the senses, I am mind (manas); in creatures, I am the intelligence.
Of the Rudras (eleven radiant beings) I am (their leader) Shankara ('the well-wisher'); of the Yakshas and Rakshasas (astral demi-goblins), I am Kubera (lord of riches); of the Vasus (eight vitalizing beings), I am Pavaka (the god of fire, the purifying
And, O son of Pritha (Arjuna), understand Me to be the chief among priests, Brihaspati; among generals, I am Skanda; among expanses of water, I am the ocean.
Of the Maharishis (mighty sages), I am Bhrigu; among words, I am the one syllable Aum; among yajnas (holy ceremonies), I am japa-yajna (silent, superconscious chanting); among stationary objects, I am the Himalaya.
Among all trees, I am the Ashvattha (the holy fig tree); among the devarishis (divine sages), I am Narada; among the Gandharvas (demigods), I am Chitraratha; among the siddhas (successful liberated beings), I am the muni (saint) Kapila.
Among stallions, know Me to be the nectar-born Uchchaihshravas; among elephants, Indra's white elephant, Airavata; and among men, the emperor.
Among weapons, I am the thunderbolt; of bovines, I am Kamadhuk (the celestial cow that fulfills all desires). I am Kandarpa (the personified creative consciousness), the cause of childbirths; and I am Vasuki among serpents.
I am Ananta ('the eternal' one) among the Naga serpents; I am Varuna (god of the ocean) among water creatures; I am Aryama among Pitris (ancestral parents); I am Yama (god of death) among all controllers.
Among the Daityas (demons and giants), I am Prahlada; among measurers, I am time; among the animals, I am the king of beasts (the lion); and among birds, I am Garuda ('Lord of the skies,' vehicle of Vishnu).
Among purifiers, I am the breeze; among wielders of weapons, I am Rama; among aquatic creatures, I am Makara (vehicle of the god of the ocean) among streams, I am Jahnavi (the Ganges).
Of all manifestations, O Arjuna, I am the beginning, middle, and end. Among all branches of knowledge, I am the wisdom of the Self; for debaters, I am discriminative logic (vada).
Among all letters, I am the letter A; of all compounds, I am the dvandva (connective element). I am Immutable Time; and I am the Omnipresent Creator (the all-pervading Dispenser of Destiny) whose face is turned on all sides.
I am all-dissolving Death; and I am Birth, the origin of all that will be. Among feminine manifestations (qualities of Prakriti), I am fame, success, the illumining power of speech, memory, discriminative intelligence, the grasping faculty of intuition,
Among Samas (hymns), I am Brihat-Saman; among poetic meters, I am Gayatri; among the months, I am Margasirsha (an auspicious winter month); among seasons, I am Kusumakara, the flower-bearer (Spring).
I am the gambling of the practicers of fraud; I am the radiance of the radiant; I am victory and the striving power; I am the quality of sattva among the good.
Among the Vrishnis, I am Vasudeva (Krishna); among the Pandavas, I am Dhananjaya (Arjuna); among the munis (saints), I am Vyasa; among the sages, I am the savant Ushanas.
I am the rod of the discipliners; I am the art of those who seek victory; I am also the silence of all hidden things, and the wisdom of all knowers.
I am furthermore, whatsoever constitutes the reproductive seed of all beings. There is nothing, O Arjuna, moving or motionless, that can abide without Me.
O Scorcher of Foes (Arjuna), limitless are the manifestations of My divine attributes; My concise declaration is a mere intimation of My proliferating glorious powers.
Any being that is a worker of miracles, that is a possessor of true prosperity, that is endowed with great prowess, know all such to be manifested sparks of My radiance.
But what need hast thou, O Arjuna, for the manifold details of this wisdom? (Understand simply:) I, the Unchanging and Everlasting, sustain and permeate the entire cosmos with but one fragment of My Being!
Arjuna said:
Thou has compassionately revealed to me the secret wisdom of the true Self, thus banishing my delusion.
O Lotus-Eyed (Krishna)! Thou has told me extensively of the beginning and end of all beings, and of Thine eternal sovereignty.
O Great One! truly has Thou thus declared Thyself. Yet, O Purushottama! I long to see Thee in Divine Embodiment (Thine Ishvara-Form).
O Master, O Lord of Yogis! if Thou deemest me able to see It, show to me Thine Infinite Self!
The Blessed Lord said:
Behold, O son of Pritha (Arjuna)! by hundreds and by thousands My divine forms — multicolored, omnifarious!
Behold the Adityas, the Vasus, the Rudras, the twin Ashvins, the Maruts, and many wonders hitherto unknown!
Here and now, O Conqueror of Sleep (Arjuna)! behold as unified in My cosmic Body all worlds, all that moves or is motionless, and whatever else thou desirest to see.
But thou canst not see Me with mortal eyes. Therefore I give thee sight divine. Behold My supreme power of yoga!
Sanjaya said to King Dhritarashtra:
With these words Hari (Krishna), the exalted Lord of Yoga, revealed to Arjuna the consummate Embodiment, the Cosmic-Bodied Ishvara-Form.
Arjuna saw the multifarious marvelous Presence of the Deity — infinite in forms, shining in every direction of space, omnipotence all-pervading, adorned with countless celestial robes and garlands and ornaments, upraising heavenly weapons, fragrant with
[incorporated into 10]
If a thousand suns appeared simultaneously in the sky, their light might dimly resemble the spendor of that Omnific Being!
There, resting within the infinite Form of the God of gods, Arjuna beheld the entire universe with all its diversified manifestations.
Then the Winner of Wealth (Arjuna), wonder-struck, his hair standing on end, his palms together in a prayerful gesture, bowing his head in awe before the Lord, addressed Him:
Arjuna said:
Beloved Lord, adored of gods! Behold, Thy body holds all fleshly tenants, seers fine, and diverse angel-gods divine. Dwelling deep in mystery cave, the Serpent Nature's forceful crave,* though fierce and subtle, now is tame, forgetful of he
Great Cosmic-Bodied Lord of worlds, oh, I behold, again behold Thee all and everywhere, Thy countless arms, trunks, mouths, and eyes! Yet drooping, dark, my knowledge lies about Thy birth and reign and ending here.
This day, O Blazing, Furious Flame, O Blinding Ray, Thy focused power's aglow: Thy Name** spreads everywhere to dark'st abysmal lair. Gilded with a crown of stars and wielding mace of sovereign power, Thou whirlest forth, O Burning Phoebus, Thine evoluti
Immortal Brahma, all Supreme, Thou Cosmic Shelter, Wisdom's Theme, Eternal Dharma's Guardian true, Thou diest not I ever knew!
O Birthless, Fleshless, Deathless One, I see Thine endless, working arms, Thine ever-watching eyes of suns and moons, the staring skies; and from Thy mouth spumes throbbing flame, as utterest Thou the Aum, Thy Cosmic Name.* Thy Self-born luster shields f
O Sovereign Soul! 'twixt earth and home of gods, directions all, and earthly sods, all high abodes and all encircling spheres, by Thee pervaded far and near. The worlds-triune awestruck by fear, thy dreadful wondrous form adore.
In Thee the gods their entry make; with folded hands, afraid, some pray to shelter take in Thee. The seers great, and heaven's-path successful ones, with superb chants of 'Peace!' do worship Thee and Thee alone.
Th' eleven lamps of heaven; the twelve bright suns; the grizzly eight, the starry lusters great; aspiring hermits; patron gods, the agents of the cosmic lords; the twin-born princes strong, of valor known so long; two-score and nine noil breezes' force,
I Thee behold, Colossal-Armed! with starry eyes and countless cheeks, with endless hands, and legs adorned with lotus feet. Thy chasmed mouth with doomsday's teeth doth yawn to swallow swooning worlds above, beneath, and leaves a distilled joyous awe in
To view the bowels of the void deep all filled with Thee — Thy gaping mouth and diverse hues of fiery lustrous body — Thou quite o'erpowerest me, my peace dost fright.
Ferocious teeth and deadly fires do howl in mouths of Thine that at me scowl. Directions four are lost and gone; compassion show! I find no peace alone; O Cosmic Guardian, Lord of gods, be pleased t'accept my humble pleading words.
The sons of senses swayed with kingly pride, with ego, karmic habit, worldly lure, abide and wait to leap upon our wisdom's chiefs;* and yet they all do ride the race of death, to fall and hide fore'er in Thy devouring mouth, adorned with crushing cruel
As diverse, restless, watery waves of river branches all do crave to force through crowded wavelets' way and meet where Neptune's home long lay, e'en so, heroic streams of life do plunge to meet in maddest strife within Thy foaming mouth of flaming sea,
As insects lost in beauty's game all swiftly, thoughtless, rush to flame, so fog-born passion's fires pretend to glow like heavenly light of Thine, and draw on mortals to attend the trumpet call to deathly line.
Thy mouth ablaze doth bring to gaze its leaping tongues to lick the angry blood of strong and weak;
Thou, Gourmand God, dost eat with hunger infinite. O Vishnu, Thou dost scorch the worlds with all-pervading fiery torch.
Be pleased, O First of gods; I ache to know, Primeval Lord, true who Thou art — O Fiery Mood, yet so benign and good. Oh, tell to me Thy Royal Will; for it I know not still.
The Blessed Lord then said:
In guise of Endless Doom I come as avaricious Time to seize and room in burning maw of Mine the weaklings' awe, and all the mortal meat of weary worlds of deathly change, and treat them with My nectar-life to new and fearless
Arise, awake! Arise, awake! Dash thou upon the foe, the flesh a captive make;* and win the victor's fame with battle-hunted game; wealth of the King of Peace, and heaven's kingdom, bring! I know right now the happenings all that mystic future forth doth
My agent thou; Oh, this is how I work My plans — the universe — through instruments diverse; 'tis I who slew and yet will slay the senses' train* through thee, as through both past and future ones, My soldiers sane!
Sanjaya said to King Dhritarashtra:
After hearing the words of Keshava (the maya-transcendent Krishna), the diademed one (Arjuna, haloed with cosmic vision), trembling and awestricken, joining his palms in worshipful supplication, again made humble obei
Arjuna said:
O Hrishikesha (Krishna)! Rightly are the worlds proud and gladdened to exude Thy glory! The demons, terrified, seek safety in distance; while the multitudes of siddhas (perfected beings) bow down to worship Thee.
And why should they not pay Thee homage, O Vast Spirit? For greater art Thou than Brahma the Creator, who issued from Thee. O Infinite One, O God of gods, O Shelter of the Universe, Thou art the Imperishable — the Manifested, the Unmanifested, and That b
The Primal God art Thou! the Pristine Spirit, the Final Refuge of the worlds, the Knower and the Known, the Supreme Fulfillment! Thine Omnipresence shines in the universe, O Thou of Inexhaustible Form!
O Flowing Life of Cosmic Currents (Vayu), O King of Death (Yama), O God of Flames (Agni), O Sovereign of Sea and Sky (Varuna), O Lord of Night (the Moon), O Divine Father of Countless Offspring (Prajapati), O Ancestor of All! To Thee praise, praise witho
O Endless Might, O Invincible Omniscient Omnipresence, O All-in-All! I bow to Thee in front and behind, I bow to Thee on the left and the right, I bow to Thee above and beneath, I bow to Thee enclosing me everywhere!
Unaware of this, Thy Cosmic Glory, and thinking of Thee as a familiar companion, often have I audaciously hailed Thee as 'Friend' and 'Krishna' and 'Yadava.'* For all such words, whether spoken carelessly or with affection;
And for any irreverence I have displayed toward Thee, O Unshakable Lord! in lighthearted mood at mealtimes or while walking or sitting or resting, alone with Thee or in others' company — for all such unintentional slights, O Thou Illimitable! I beg forgi
Father of All art Thou! of animate and inanimate alike. None but Thee is worthy of worship, O Guru Sublime! Unparalleled by any other in the three worlds, who may surpass Thee, O Lord of Power Incomparable?
Therefore, O Adorable One, I cast myself in obeisance at Thy feet to implore Thy pardon. As a father to his son, as a friend to a close friend, as a lover to his beloved, do Thou, O Lord, forgive me!
Overjoyed am I at having gazed upon a vision never seen before, yet my mind is not free from terror. Be merciful to me, O Lord of gods, O Shelter of the Worlds! Show to me only Thy Deva-form (as the benign Vishnu).
I long to see Thee as before, as the Four-Armed Vishnu, diademed and holding Thy mace and discus. Reappear in that same, O Thou who art Thousand-Armed and Universe-Bodied!
The Blessed Lord said:
I have graciously exercised Mine own Yoga Power to reveal to thee, O Arjuna, and to none other! this Supreme Primeval Form of Mine, the Radiant and Infinite Cosmos!
No mortal man, save only thyself, O Great Hero of the Kurus! is able to look upon My Universal Shape — not by sacrifices or charity or works or rigorous austerity or study of the Vedas is that vision attainable.
Be not affrighted or stupefied at seeing My Terrible Aspect. With dreads removed and heart rejoicing, behold once more My familiar form!
Sanjaya said to King Dhritarashtra:
After speaking thus, Vasudeva, 'the Lord of the World,' resumed his own shape as Krishna. He, the Great-Souled One, appearing to Arjuna in the form of grace, consoled His fear-stricken devotee.
Arjuna said:
O Granter of All Wishes (Krishna)! As I gaze on Thee again in gentle human shape, my mind is quieted and I feel more like my natural self.
The Blessed Lord said:
Very difficult it is to behold, as thou has done, the Vision Universal! Even the gods ever yearn to see it.
But it is not unveiled through one's penance or scriptural lore or gift-giving or formal worship. O Scorcher of the Sense-Foes (Arjuna)! only by undivided devotion (commingling by yoga all thoughts in One Divine Perception) may I be seen as thou hast beh
[included above]
He who works for Me alone, who makes Me his goal, who lovingly surrenders himself to Me, who is nonattached (to My delusive cosmic-dream worlds), who bears ill will toward none (beholding Me in all) — he enters My being, O Arjuna!
Arjuna said:
Those devotees who, ever steadfast, thus worship Thee; and those who adore the Indestructible, the Unmanifested — which of these is better versed in yoga?
The blessed Lord said:
Those who, fixing their minds on Me, adore Me, ever united to Me with supreme devotion, are in My eyes the perfect knowers of yoga.
But those who adore the Indestructible, the Indescribable, the Unmanifested, the All-Pervading, the Incomprehensible, the Immutable, the Unmoving, the Ever-Constant; who have subjugated all of the senses, possess evenmindedness in every circumstance, and
[included above]
Those whose goal is the Unmanifested increase the difficulties; arduous is the path to the Absolute for embodied beings.
But those who venerate Me, giving over all activities to Me (thinking of Me as the Sole Doer), contemplating Me by single-minded yoga — remaining thus absorbed in Me — indeed, O offspring of Pritha (Arjuna), for these whose consciousness is fixed in Me,
[included above]
Immerse thy mind in Me alone; concentrate on Me thy discriminative perception; and beyond doubt thou shalt dwell immortally in Me.
O Dhananjaya (Arjuna), if thou art not able to keep thy mind wholly on Me, then seek to attain Me by repeated yoga practice.
If again, thou art not able to practice continuous yoga, be thou diligent in performing actions in the thought of Me. Even by engaging in activities on My behalf thou shalt attain supreme divine success.
If thou art not able to do even this, then, remaining attached to Me as thy Shelter, relinquish the fruits of all actions while continuing to strive for Self-mastery.*
Verily, wisdom (born from yoga practice) is superior to (mechanical) yoga practice; meditation is more desirable than the possession of (theoretical) wisdom; the relinquishment of the fruits of actions is better than (the initial states of) meditation. R
He who is free from hatred toward all creatures, is friendly and kind to all, is devoid of the consciousness of 'I-ness' and possessiveness; is evenminded in suffering and joy, forgiving, ever contented; a regular yoga practitioner, constantly trying by
[included above]
A person who does not disturb the world and who cannot be disturbed by the world, who is free from exultation, jealously, apprehension, and worry — he too is dear to Me.
He who is free from worldly expectations, who is pure in body and mind, who is ever ready to work, who remains unconcerned with and unafflicted by circumstances, who has forsaken all ego-initiated desireful undertakings — he is My devotee, dear to Me.
He who feels neither rejoicing nor loathing toward the glad nor the sad (aspects of phenomenal life), who is free from grief and craving, who has banished the relative consciousness of good and evil, and who is intently devout — he is dear to Me.
He who is tranquil before friend and foe alike, and in encountering adoration and insult, and during the experiences of warmth and chill and of pleasure and suffering; who has relinquished attachment, regarding blame and praise in the same light; who is
[included above]
But those who adoringly pursue this undying religion (dharma) as heretofore declared, saturated with devotion, supremely engrossed in Me — such devotees are extremely dear to Me.
The blessed Lord replied:
O Offspring of Kunti (Arjuna), by the knowers of truth, this body is called kshetra ('the field' where good and evil karma is sown and reaped); likewise, that which cognizes the field they call kshetrajna (the soul).
O Descendant of Bharata (Arjuna), also know Me to be the Kshetrajna (Perceiver) in all kshetras (the bodies evolved out of the cosmic creative principle and Nature). The understanding of kshetra and kshetrajna — that is deemed by Me as constituting true
Hear from Me briefly about the kshetra, its attributes, its cause-and-effect principle, and its distorting influences; and also who He (the Kshetrajna) is, and the nature of His powers — truths that have been distinctly celebrated by the rishis in many w
[incorporated into verse 3]
Succinctly described, the kshetra and its modifications are composed of the Unmanifested (Mula-Prakriti, undifferentiated Nature), the five cosmic elements, the ten senses and the one sense mind, intelligence (discrimination), egoism, the five objects of
[incorporated into verse 5]
(The sage is marked by) humility, lack of hypocrisy, harmlessness, forgivingness, uprightness, service to the guru, purity of mind and body, steadfastness, self-control;
Indifference to sense objects, absence of egotism, understanding of the pain and evils (inherent in mortal life): birth, illness, old age, and death;
Nonattachment, nonidentification of the Self with such as one's children, wife, and home; constant equal-mindedness in desirable and undesirable circumstances;
Unswerving devotion to Me by the yoga of nonseparativeness, resort to solitary places, avoidance of the company of worldy men.
Perseverance in Self-knowledge; and meditative perception of the object of all learning — the true essence or meaning therein. All these qualities constitute wisdom; qualities opposed to them constitute ignorance.
I will tell you of That which is to be known, because such knowledge bestows immortality. Hear about the beginningless Supreme Spirit — He who is spoken of as neither existent (sat) nor nonexistent (asat).
He dwells in the world, enveloping all — everywhere, His hands and feet; present on all sides, His eyes and ears, His mouths and heads;
Shining in all the sense faculties, yet transcending the senses; unattached to creation, yet the Mainstay of all; free from the gunas (modes of Nature), yet the Enjoyer of them.
He is within and without all that exists, the animate and the inanimate; near He is, and far; imperceptible because of His subtlety.
He is the Indivisible One, appears as countless beings; He maintains and destroys those forms, then creates them anew.
The Light of All Light, beyond darkness; Knowledge itself, That which is to be known, the Goal of all learning, He is seated in the hearts of all.
I have briefly described the Field, the nature of wisdom, and the Object of wisdom. Understanding these, My devotee enters My being.
Know that both Purusha and Prakriti are beginningless; and know also that all modifications and qualities (gunas) are born of Prakriti.
In the creation of the effect (the body) and the instrument (the senses), Prakriti is spoken of as the cause; in the experience of joy and sorrow, Purusha is said to be the cause.
Purusha involved with Prakriti experiences the gunas born of Nature. Attachment to the three qualities of Prakriti causes the soul to take embodiment in good and evil wombs.
The Supreme Spirit, transcendent and existing in the body, is the detached Beholder, the Consenter, the Sustainer, the Experiencer, the Great Lord, and also the Highest Self.
Whatever his mode of life, he who thus realizes Purusha and the threefold nature of Prakriti will not again suffer rebirth.
To behold the Self in the self (purified ego) by the self (illumined mind), some men follow the path of meditation, some the path of knowledge, and some the path of selfless action.
Some men, ignorant of the three main roads, listen to the instructions of the guru. Following the path of worhship, regarding the ancient teachings as the Highest Refuge, such men also attain immortality.
O Best of the Bharatas (Arjuna), whatever exists — every being, every object; the animate, the inanimate — understand that to be born from the union of Kshetra and Kshetrajna (Nature and Spirit).
He sees truly who perceives the Supreme Lord present equally in all creatures, the Imperishable amidst the perishing.
He who is conscious of the omnipresence of God does not injure the Self by the self. That man reaches the Supreme Goal.
He who sees that all actions are performed in their entirety by Prakriti alone, and not by the Self, is indeed a beholder of truth.
When a man beholds all separate beings as existent in the One that has expanded Itself into the many, he then merges with Brahman.
O Son of Kunti (Arjuna), whereas this Supreme Self, the Unchanging, is beginningless and free from attributes, It neither performs actions nor is affected by them, even though dwelling in the body.
As the all-pervading ether, because of its subtlety, is beyond taint, similarly the Self, though seated everywhere in the body, is ever taintless.
O Bharata (Arjuna), as the one sun illumines the entire world, so does the Lord of the Field (God and His reflection as the soul) illumine the whole field (Nature and the bodily 'little nature').
They enter the Supreme who perceive with the eye of wisdom the distinction between the Kshetra and the Kshetrajna and who also perceive the method of liberation of beings from Prakriti.
The blessed Lord said:
Again I shall speak about that highest wisdom which transcends all knowledge. With this wisdom all sages at the end of life have attained the final Perfection.
Embracing this wisdom, established in my Being, sages are not reborn even at the start of a new cycle of creation, nor are they troubled at the time of universal dissolution.
My womb is the Great Prakriti (Mahat-Brahma) into which I deposit the seed (of My Intelligence); this is the cause of the birth of all beings.
O Son of Kunti (Arjuna), of all forms — produced from whatsoever wombs — Great Prakriti is their original womb (Mother), and I am the seed-imparting Father.
O Mighty-armed (Arjuna)! the gunas inherent in Prakriti — sattva, rajas, and tamas — imprison in the body the Imperishable Dweller.
O Sinless One (Arjuna)! of these three gunas, the stainless sattva gives enlightenment and health. Nevertheless, it binds man through attachment to happiness and attachment to knowledge.
O Son of Kunti (Arjuna), understand that the activating rajas is imbued with passion, giving birth to desire and attachment; it strongly binds the embodied soul by a clinging to works.
O Bharata (Arjuna)! know that tamas arises from ignorance, deluding all embodied beings. It binds them by misconception, idleness, and slumber.
Sattva attaches one to happiness; rajas to activity; and tamas, by eclipsing the power of discrimination, to miscomprehension.
Sometimes sattva is predominant, overpowering rajas and tamas; sometimes rajas prevails, not sattva or tamas; and sometimes tamas obscures sattva and rajas.
One may know that sattva is prevalent when the light of wisdom shines through all the sense gates of the body.
Preponderance of rajas causes greed, activity, undertaking of works, restlessness, and desire.
Tamas as the ruling guna produces darkenss, sloth, neglect of duties, and delusion.
A man who dies with sattva qualities predominant rises to the taintless regions in which dwell knowers of the Highest.
When rajas prevails at the time of death, a person is reborn among those attached to activity. He who dies permeated with tamas enters the wombs (environment, family, state of existence) of the deeply deluded.
It is said (by the sages) that the fruit of sattvic actions is harmony and purity. The fruit of rajasic actions is pain. The fruit of tamasic actions is ignorance.
Wisdom arises from sattva; greed from rajas; and heedlessness, delusion, and ignorance from tamas.
Those established in sattva go upward; the rajasic dwell in the middle; those men descend who are engrossed in the lowest guna — tamas.
When the seer perceives (in creation) no agent except the three modes, and cognizes That which is higher than the gunas, he enters My Being.
Having transcended the three modes of Nature — the cause of physical embodiment — a man is released from the sufferings of birth, old age, and death; he attains immortality.
Arjuna said:
O Lord, what signs distinguish the man who has transcended the three modes? What is his behavior? How does he rise beyond the triple qualities?
The Blessed Lord said:
O Pandava (Arjuna), he who does not abhor the presence of the gunas — illumination, activity, and ignorance — nor deplore their absence;
Remaining like one unconcerned, undisturbed by the three modes — realizing that they alone are operating throughout creation; not oscillating in mind but ever Self-centered;
Unaffected by joy and sorrow, praise and blame — secure in his divine nature; regarding with an equal eye a clod of clay, a stone, and gold; the same in his attitude toward pleasant or unpleasant (men and experiences); firm-minded;
Uninfluenced by respect or insult; treating friend and enemy alike; abandoning all delusions of personal doership — he it is who has transcended the triple qualities!
He who serves Me with undeviating devotion transcends the gunas and is qualified to become Brahman.
For I am the basis of the Infinite, the Immortal, the Indestructible; and of eternal Dharma and unalloyed Bliss.
The Blessed Lord said:
They (the wise) speak of an eternal ashvattha tree, with roots above and boughs beneath, whose leaves are Vedic hymns. He who understands this tree of life is a Veda-knower.
Its branches spread above and below, nurtured by the gunas; its buds are the sense objects; and downward, into the world of men, extend the rootlings that force man to actions.
The true nature of this Tree, its beginning, its end, and its modes of continuity — none of these are understood by ordinary men. The wise, having destroyed the firmly rooted Ashvattha with the powerful axe of nonattachment; thinking, 'I take refuge in t
[included above]
Without craving for honor, free from delusion and malignant attachment, all longings banished, disengaged from the pair of opposites — pleasure and pain — ever established in the Self, the undeceived attain the immutable state.
Where no sun or moon or fire shines, that is My Supreme Abode. Having reached there, men are never reborn.
As eternal part of Myself, manifesting as a living soul in the world of beings, attracts to itself the six senses, including the mind, which rest in Prakriti.
When the Lord as the jiva acquires a body, He brings with Him the mind and the senses. When He leaves that body, He takes them and goes, even as the wind wafts away scents from their dwelling places (in flowers).
Presiding over the mind and the senses of hearing, sight, touch, taste, and smell, He enjoys the sensory world.
The deluded do not perceive Him staying or departing or experiencing the world of the gunas. Those whose eye of wisdom is open see Him.
The yogis striving for liberation see Him existing in themselves; but those who are unpurified and undisciplined are unable to perceive Him even when they struggle to do so.
The light of the sun that illumines the whole world, the light from the moon, and the light in fire — know this radiance to be Mine.
Permeating earth with My effulgence, I support all beings; having become the watery moon, I bring forth all plant forms.
Having become Vaishvana (fiery power), I exist in the body of living creatures; and, acting through prana and apana, I digest food that is eaten in four ways.
Also, I am seated in the heart of all beings; and from Me come memory and knowledge, as well as their loss. Verily I am That which is to be known through the Vedas; indeed, I am the Veda-Knower and the Author of the Vedanta.
There are two Beings (Purushas) in the cosmos, the destructible and the indestructible. The creatures are the destructible, the Kutastha is the indestructible.
But there exists Another, the Highest Being, designated the 'Supreme Spirit' — the Eternal Lord who, permeating the three worlds, upholds them.
I (the Lord) am beyond the perishable (Prakriti) and am also higher than the imperishable (Kutashta). Therefore, in the worlds and in the Veda (the intuitive perception of undeluded souls) I am proclaimed Purushottama, the Uttermost Being.
Whosoever, freed from delusion, knows Me thus as the Supreme Spirit, knows all, O Descendant of Bharata (Arjuna). He worships Me with his whole being.
Herewith, O Sinless One (Arjuna), have I taught thee this most profound wisdom. Understanding it, a man becomes a sage, one who has successully fulfilled all his duties, and yet continues in dutiful actions.
The Blessed Lord said:
Fearlessness, purity of heart, perseverance in acquiring wisdom and in practicing yoga, charity, subjugation of the senses, performance of holy rites, study of the scriptures, self-discipline, straightforwardness;
Noninjury, truthfulness, freedom from wrath, renunciation, peacefulness, nonslanderousness, compassion for all creatures, absence of greed, gentleness, modesty, lack of restlessness;
Radiance of character, forgiveness, patience, cleanness, freedom from hate, absence of conceit — these qualities are the wealth of a divinely inclined person, O Descendant of Bharata.
Vainglorious pride, arrogance, conceit, wrath, harshness, and ignorance mark the man who is born with the demonic nature, O Son of Pritha (Arjuna).
The divine qualities bestow liberation; the demonic qualities lead to bondage. Fear not, O Pandava (Arjuna)! thou art endowed with the divine traits.
Two types of men exist in this world: the divine and the demonic. I have told you fully about the divine qualities; now hear about the demonic, O Son of Pritha (Arjuna).
The demonic know not the right path of action or when to refrain from action. They lack purity and truth and proper conduct.
They say: 'The world has no moral foundation, no abiding truth, no God or Ruler; produced not by a systematic causal order, its sole purpose is lustful desire — what else?'
With their feeble intellects, such ruined men cling to their erroneous beliefs and commit many atrocities. They are enemies of the world, bent on its destruction.
Abandoned to insatiable longings, full of dissimulation, self-conceit, and insolence, possessing evil ideas through delusion, all their actions are impurely motivated.
Believing that fulfillment of bodily desires is man's highest aim, confident that this world is 'all,' such persons are engrossed till the moment of death in earthly cares and concerns.
Bound by hundreds of fetters of selfish hopes and expectations, enslaved by wrath and passion, they strive to provide for physical enjoyments by amassing wealth dishonestly.
This I have acquired today; now another desire I shall satisfy. This is my present wealth; however, more shall also be mine.
I have killed this enemy; and the others also I will slay. I am the ruler among men; I enjoy all possessions; I am successful, strong, and happy.
I am rich and well-born; can any other be compared with me? Ostentatiously I will give alms and make formal sacrifices; I will rejoice.' Thus they speak, led astray by lack of wisdom.
Harboring bewildering thoughts, caught in the net of delusion, craving only sensual delights, they sink into a foul hell.
Vain, stubborn, intoxicated by pride in wealth, they perform the sacrifices hypocritically and without following the scriptural injunctions.
Egotistical, forceful, haughty, lascivious, and prone to rage, these malicious men despise Me who dwells within them and within all other men.
These cruel and hating perpetrators of evil, worst among men, I hurl again and again into demonic wombs in the sphere of transmigration.
Entering the state of existence of the asuras, deluded birth after birth, failing to attain Me, they thus descend to the very lowest depths.
Lust, anger, and greed — these constitute the threefold gate of hell leading to the destruction of the soul's welfare. These three, therefore, man should abandon.
O Son of Kunti (Arjuna)! By turning away from these three entrances to the realm of darkness, man behaves according to his own highest good and thereafter reaches the Supreme.
He who ignores the scriptural commands and who follows his own foolish desires does not find happiness or perfection or the Infinite Goal.
Therefore, take the scriptures as your guide in determining what should be done and what should be avoided. With intuitive understanding of the injunctions declared in holy writ, be pleased to perform thy duties here.
Arjuna said:
Those who set aside the scriptural rules but who perform sacrifices with devotion — what is their status, O Krishna? Are they of sattvic, rajasic, or tamasic nature?
The Blessed Lord said:
The natural faith of the embodied is threefold — sattvic, rajasic, and tamasic. Hear thou about it.
The devotion of each man is in agreement with his inborn nature. His inclination is the pattern of his being; whatever his faith is, that verily is he.
The sattvic pay homage to the Devas, the rajasic to the Yakshas and the Rakshasas, and the tamasic to the Pretas and the hosts of Bhutas.
Know those men to be of asuric nature who perform terrible austerities not authorized by the scriptures. Hypocrites, egotists — possessed by lust, attachment, and power madness — senselessly they torture the bodily elements and also offend Me, the Indwel
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Each of the three classes of men even likes one of the three kinds of food; so also their yajnas, penances, and alms givings. Hear thou about these distinctions.
Foods that promote longevity, vitality, endurance, health, cheerfulness, and good appetite; and that are savory, mild, substantial, and agreeable to the body, are liked by pure-minded (sattvic) persons.
Foods that are bitter, sour, saltish, excessively hot, pungent, harsh, and burning are preferred by rajasic men and produce pain, sorrow, and disease.
Foods that are nutritionally worthless, insipid, putrid, stale, refuse, and impure are enjoyed by tamasic persons.
That yajna (sacrifice or performance of duty) is sattvic which is offered by men who desire no fruit of the action; and which is done in accordance with the scriptures, for the sake of righteousness only.
Know thou, O Best of the Bharatas (Arjuna)! that the yajna performed in the hope of reward and in an ostentatious spirit is rajasic in nature.
That yajna is condemned as tamasic which is without regard for the scriptural injunctions, without offerings of food and gifts of appreciation,* without sacred prayers or chants, and without devotion (to God).
Veneration of the Devas, the twice-born, the gurus, and the wise; purity, straightforwardness, continence, and nonviolence are considered the penance or austerity of the body.
Meditative communion with one's own true Self, and uttering words that cause no agitation and that are truthful, pleasant, and beneficial, are called the austerity of speech.
A calm and contented mental clarity, kindliness, silence, self-control, and purity of character constitute the austerity of the mind.
This threefold penance, sattvic in its nature, is practiced by persevering men possessing great devotion who desire no fruit of actions.
Austerities are said to be rajasic, unstable and fleeting, when practiced for the purpose of ostentation and for gaining men's recognition, honor, and homage.
Tamasic austerities are those based on ignorance or foolishness or performed for self-torture or for injuring others.
The good or sattvic gift is one made for the sake of righteousness, without expectation of anything in return, and is bestowed in proper time and place on a deserving person.
That gift is deemed rajasic which is offered with reluctance or in the thought of receiving a return or of gaining merit.
A tamasic gift is one bestowed at a wrong time and place, on an unworthy person, contemptuously or without goodwill.' 'Aum-Tat-Sat' is considered to be the triple designation of Brahman (God). By this power were created, in the beginning, the Brahmins (knowers of Brahman), the Vedas, and the sacrificial rites.
Therefore the acts of the followers of Brahman — sacrifice, gift-giving, and austerities as enjoined by the scriptures — are always started with the chanting of 'Aum.'
The seekers of liberation then perform the various rites of sacrifice, gift-giving, and austerities while concentrating on 'Tat' without desiring results.
The word 'Sat' is the designation of the Supreme Reality (beyond creation) and of goodness (emanating from It in all creation). 'Sat' also refers to the higher forms of spiritual action.
The state of stability in the higher rites of sacrifice, self-discipline, and devotional offering is spoken of as 'Sat' (communion with God as transcendent Cosmic Consciousness). Indeed, the same spiritual action connected with 'Tat' (realization of God
O Partha (Arjuna)! Whatever sacrifice is offered, gift bestowed, or austerity performed without faith (devotion) is called 'asat.' It is worthless here and in the hereafter.
Arjuna said (to Sri Krishna):
O Hrishikesha, O Mighty-Armed, O Slayer of (the demon) Keshi! I desire to know the true meaning of sannyasa (renunciation) and also of tyaga (relinquishment), and the distinction between them.
The Blessed Lord said:
Sages call 'sannyasa' the renunciation of all actions done with desire. The wise declare that 'tyaga' is the renunciation of the fruits of activities.
Some philosophers say that all work should be forsaken as full of taint. Others declare that the activities of yajna (holy fire rite), dana (philanthropy), and tapas (self-discipline) ought not to be abandoned.
Consequently, understand from Me the ultimate truth about renunciation, O Best of the Bharatas (Arjuna). For renunciation has been spoken of as consisting of three kinds, O Tiger among Men.
The action involved in yajna, dana, and tapas verily ought to be performed, and should not be forsaken, for the holy fire rite, philanthropy, and self-discipline sanctify the wise.
But even these activities ought to be performed, O Partha (Arjuna), forsaking attachment to them and the desire for their fruits. This is My supreme and sure conviction.
The relinquishment of dutiful action is improper. Renunciation of such action through delusion is spoken of as tamasic (evil).
He who relinquishes action as being intrinsically difficult, for fear of painful trouble to the body, is performing rajasic renunciation. He is unable to attain the reward of renunciation.
O Arjuna, when dutiful action is performed solely because it should be done, forsaking attachment to it and its fruit, that renunciation is considered sattvic.
The renunciant absorbed in sattva, with a calm understanding, free from doubts, neither abhors unpleasant action nor delights in a pleasant one.
It is truly impossible for an embodied being to abandon actions completely, but he who relinquishes the fruit of action is called a renunciant.
The triune fruit of action — good, harmful, and mixed — springs up in nonrenunciants after their demise, but in renunciants never.
O Mighty-armed (Arjuna), learn from Me the five causes for the performance of all action, which are chronicled in the highest wisdom (Sankhya) wherein all action terminates.
The human body; the pseudoagent there; the manifold instrumentality (senses, mind, and intelligence); the various divergent functions; and, lastly, the fifth of these, the presiding deity, destiny:
These five are the causes of all actions — either right or wrong — performed by man through his body, speech, and mind.
This being the case, whoever of perverted consciousness views through a nonclarified understanding the Self as the exclusive disposer of action, he sees not.
He who is above the obsession of egoism, whose intelligence is unadulterated, though he slay these people (ready for battle at Kurukshetra), he slays not; neither is he bound by such act.
The knower, the knowledge, and the known constitute the triune stimulus to action. The agent, the instrument, and the activity are the threefold basis of action.
Knowledge, action, and agent in the Sankhya philosophy are described as being of but three kinds, according to the distinction of the three gunas. Please hear duly about these also.
O Arjuna, understand that knowledge to be sattvic by which the one indestructible Spirit is perceived in all beings, undivided in the divided.
But that knowledge which perceives in the aggregate world of beings manifold entities of different varieties, distinct from one another — understand that knowledge to be rajasic.
And that knowledge which concentrates on a single effect as if it were the whole, disregarding motive, lacking conformance with the principles of truth — trivial and easy — is declared to be tamasic.
That action which is divinely directed, which is performed in a state of complete nonattachment, without attraction or repulsion and without desiring the fruits of action, is said to be sattvic.
Action that is inspired by longing for satisfaction of desires, or performed with egotism and colossal effort, is said to be rajasic.
Tamasic action is that which is instituted through delusion, without measuring one's ability, and disregarding the consequences — loss to oneself of health, wealth, and influence; and harm to others.
That agent who is without egotism or attachment, untouched by fulfillment or unfulfillment, and endowed with courage and zeal, is called sattvic.
That instrument of action, or agent, who is full of attachment, full of longing for the fruits of action, full of greed, impurity, and ruthless propensities; who becomes easily jubilant or depressed, is called rajasic.
An agent who is oscillating in body and mind, conscienceless, arrogant, unscrupulous, malicious, slothful, grieving, and procrastinating is tamasic.
O Winner of Wealth (Arjuna), I will explain, separately and exhaustively, the threefold distinctions of intelligence and fortitude according to the gunas. Please listen.
That intellect is sattvic, O Partha (Arjuna), which correctly understands the paths of desireful action and renunciation, undutiful and dutiful actions, as the causes of apprehension and fearlessness, bondage and salvation.
O Partha (Arjuna), that intellect is rajasic by which one perceives in a grossly distorted manner righteousness (dharma) and unrighteousness (adharma), dutiful action and undutiful action.
O Partha (Arjuna), that intellect is tamasic which, being enveloped in gloom, considers irreligion as religion, and looks upon all things in a perverted way.
The resolute constancy by which one regulates the functions of the mind, prana, and senses — by restraining their prostitution (wayward oscillation) through yoga practice — that fortitude (dhriti) is sattvic, O Partha (Arjuna).
The resolute inner patience that causes one to regulate his mind to dharma (religious duty), desire, and riches — while longing for the fruits thereof, because of attachment — that, O Partha (Arjuna), is rajasic-dhriti.
That by which a stupid man does not forsake over-sleep, fear, sorrow, despair, and wanton conceit, O Partha (Arjuna), is tamasic-dhriti.
O Stubborn Bull of Realization* (Arjuna)! Pray hear from Me now about the three kinds of happiness: Transcendent happiness (supreme bliss), gained by repeated recollection of the mind,** and in which one knows the extinguishment of all pain;
That which is born of the clear perceptive discrimination of Self-realization — that happiness is called sattvic. It seems like poison at first, but like nectar afterward.
That happiness which springs from the conjunction of the senses and matter is termed rajasic. It seems like nectar in the beginning and like poison in the end.
That elusive happiness which originates and ends in self-delusion, stemming from over-sleep, slothfulness, and miscomprehension, is called tamasic.
There is no being in the world, or again among the deities in the astral heaven, who is free from these three qualities, born of Prakriti (Cosmic Nature, created by God).
O Scorcher of Foes (Arjuna)! The duties of Brahmins, of Kshatriyas, of Vaishyas, as also of Sudras, are allocated according to the gunas (qualities) springing from their own nature.
Mind control, sense control, self-discipline, purity, forgiveness, honesty, wisdom, Self-realization, and faith in a hereafter constitute the duties of Brahmins, springing from their own nature.
Valor, radiance, resolute endurance, skillfulness, not fleeing from battle, munificence, and leadership are the natural duties of the Kshatriyas.
Tilling the soil, cattle breeding, and business are the natural duties of the Vaishyas. Actions that are of service to others are the natural duty of the Sudras.
Each one attentive to his own duty, man gains the highest success. How, devoted to his inborn duty, he attains success — that hear:
A man attains perfection by worshiping, with his natural gifts, Him from whom all beings are evolved, and by whom all this world is permeated.
Better than the well-accomplished dharma (duty) of another is one's own dharma, even though lacking merit (somewhat imperfect). He who performs the duty decreed by his inborn nature contracts no sin.
O Offspring of Kunti (Arjuna), one should not abandon one's inborn duty, even though it has some imperfection, for all undertakings are marred by blemishes, as flame by smoke.
That individual gains uttermost perfection — the actionless state of realization through renunciation — who keeps his intellect ever detached from worldly ties and passions,* who is victorious in regaining his soul, and who is without desires.
O Son of Kunti (Arjuna), hear from Me, in brief, how he who gains such perfection finds Brahman, the supreme culmination of wisdom.
Absorbed in a completely purified intellect, subjugating the body and the senses by resolute patience, forsaking (as much as possible) sound and all other sense entanglements, relinquishing attachment and repulsion;
Remaining in a sequestered place, eating lightly, controlling body, speech, and mind; ever absorbed in divine meditation and in soul-uniting yoga; possessing dispassion;
Peaceful, renouncing egotism, power, vanity, lust, anger, possessions, and the 'me and mine' consciousness — he is qualified to become one with Brahman.
By becoming engrossed in Brahman — calm-souled, neither lamenting nor craving; beholding equality in all beings — he gains supreme devotion toward Me.
By that supreme devotion he realizes Me and My nature — what and who I am; after knowing these truths, he quickly makes his entry into Me.
Over and above performing faithfully all one's duties, taking shelter in Me, it is by My pleasure a devotee obtains the eternal, unchangeable state.
Mentally dedicating all actions to Me, considering Me as the Supreme Goal, employing buddhi-yoga (union through discriminative wisdom), continuously absorb thy heart in Me.
With heart absorbed in Me, and by My grace, thou shalt overcome all impediments; but if through egotism thou wilt not heed Me, thou shalt meet destruction.
If, clinging to the ego, thou sayest: 'I will not battle,' fruitless is thy resolution! Prakriti, thine inborn nature, will force thee to fight.
O Offspring of Kunti (Arjuna), shackled by thine own karma, inborn in thy nature, what through delusion thou wouldst not do, thou wilt helplessly be compelled to do.
O Arjuna, the Lord is lodged in the hearts of all creatures, and by His cosmic delusion (maya) compels all beings to rotate as if attached to a machine.
O Descendant of Bharata (Arjuna), take shelter in Him with all the eagerness of thy heart. By His grace thou shalt obtain the utmost peace and the Eternal Shelter.
Thus hath wisdom, most secret of all secrets, been given to thee by Me. After exhaustively reflecting about it, act as thou desirest.
Again listen to My supreme word, the most secret of all. Because thou art dearly loved by Me, I will relate what is beneficial to thee.
Absorb thy mind in Me; become My devotee; resign all things to Me; bow down to Me. Thou art dear to Me, so in truth do I promise thee: Thou shalt attain Me!
Forsaking all other dharmas (duties), remember Me alone;* I will free thee from all sins (accruing from nonperformance of those lesser duties). Do not grieve.
Never voice these truths to one who is without self-control or devotion, nor to one who performs no service or does not care to hear, nor to one who speaks ill of Me.
Whosoever shall impart to My devotees the supreme secret knowledge, with utmost devotion to Me, shall without doubt come unto Me. Not any among men performs more priceless service to Me than he; in all the world there shall be none dearer to Me.
He who studies and knows (intuitively perceives) this sacred dialogue between us will be worshiping Me by the sacrifice (yajna) of wisdom. Such is My holy utterance.
Even that individual — full of devotion and devoid of scorn — who merely listens to and heeds** this sacred dialogue, being freed from earthly karma, shall dwell in the blessed worlds of the virtuous.
O Partha (Arjuna), hast thou listened to this wisdom with concentrated heart? O Dhananjaya, hast thy delusion-born ignorance been annihilated?
Arjuna said:
My delusion is gone! I have regained memory (of my soul) through Thy grace, O Achyuta (matchless Krishna). I am firmly established; my dubiousness has vanished. I will act according to Thy word.
Sanjaya said: Thus have I listened to this wondrous discourse between Vasudeva (Krishna) and the high-souled Partha (Arjuna), causing the hair on my body to stand on end in a thrill of joy.
Through the grace of Vyasa, this supreme secret Yoga has been bestowed on me, manifested to my consciousness directly by Krishna himself, the Lord of Yoga!
O King Dhritarashtra, as I recall and recall the extraordinary and sacred dialogue between Keshava (Krishna) and Arjuna, I am overjoyed again and again.
And, O King Dhritarashtra, as I recall and recall again the colossal manifestation* of Hari (Krishna), great is my amazement; I am ever renewed in joy.
(Sanjaya concludes): Such is my faith: that, wherever is manifest the Lord of Yoga, Krishna; and wherever is present Partha* (Arjuna, a true devotee), expert wielder of the bow of self-control, there too are success, victory, attainment of powers, and t
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