Sree Bhagavan said:- Arjuna! I shall now tell you how devotees who keep their mind constantly fixed in Me with undivided love can get a clear and comprehensive knowledge about My glories, powers and other divine attributes. Besides imparting this knowledge, I shall also tell you how you can experience it yourself. Once this is known, there will remain nothing else to be known in this world. (VII-1,2)
Among thousands of human beings there is hardly one who attempts to gain this knowledge;and out of those who strives for it, rarely does some one comes to know Me with all My essential attributes.(VII-3)
Arjuna! My essential Nature has two divisions: Superior Nature(Para Prakriti) and Inferior Nature(Apara Prakriti). My Inferior Nature has eight different parts consisting of Earth, Water,Fire, Air and Ether(five elements) together with Mind, Intellect and Ego. This constitutes the material body of the entire creation. My Superior Nature is the life-principle in all living things that sustains the whole universe. Remember that all living and non-living things in the universe have been evolved from this two-fold Nature of Mine and I am the only source of the entire creation and the whole universe ultimately dissolves in Me . Nay, the fact is that there is no existence other than Me; everything in the universe is inseparably clung to Me like beads in the thread that forms a garland.(VII-4 to 7)
To understand this better I shall give you a few examples of my existence in different creations. I am the element that gives water its taste; I exist in the sun and moon as their radiance ; in the Vedas I am the sacred syllable OM; I exist in ether as sound and in every man as his manliness. I exist in the earth as its sacred smell; in the fire as its brightness; in all living beings as life and in all ascetics as austerity. I am the everlasting seed that brings forth everything; and I manifest as intelligence in the intelligent and as energy in the energetic. Arjuna! I am the might of the mighty, devoid of lust and desire; and in all beings, I am the sexual urge that conforms to scriptural injunctions (VII-8 to 11)
You must also know that whatever other entities belonging to the three Gunas Sattwa, Rajas and Tamas, exist in this world; all of them emanate from Me alone. But neither do I exist in them, nor do they exist in Me. Being deluded by the various objects of this ever-changing world of the three gunas; people are unable to know Me, the imperishable Reality which stands apart from all these. This delusion caused by the gunas is My divine power known as Maya, which is very difficult to break through. But those who take refuge in Me can easily cross it. Wicked and foolish would neither worship Me nor take refuge in Me, because their wisdom having been vitiated by the influence of Maya, their very behaviour would become devillish(VII-12 to 15)
Arjuna!There are, however, four types of people of noble deeds who worship Me. They are respectively known as Aartha (one who seeks relief from grief) ; Jijnasu (one who is eager to know Me better) ; Arthaarthi (one who seeks wealth and other possessions) and Jnani (the man of wisdom, who worships Me for no purpose other than worshipping Me because he has already gained full knowledge about Me and My glories). Among these four categories of devotees, the man of wisdom is the best, because his mind is constantly established in union with Me. For him I am the dearest of all and naturally he is the dearest of all for Me too. (VII-16,17)
Indeed, all of them are elevated souls; but according to Me, the man of wisdom (Jnani) is My own self because having his mind constantly fixed in Me, he considers Me as his sole refuge and ultimate goal to reach.In fact, a man becomes Jnanni and worships Me in this manner only after a series of births and deaths.He looks upon the entire Creation as Vasudeva (all-pervading Supreme God) and such a person is very rare to be seen.(VII-18,19)
Those whose power of reason has been vitiated by worldly desires, worship other deities chosen according to their own inherent nature, adopting the norms prescribed for the worship of each. When a devotee wishes to offer his worship with faith and reverence, to his chosen deity, I Myself encourage him for that and make his faith in that deity steady. Therefore, a devotee who worships a certain deity with full faith will definitely receive the desired gains through that deity, as ordained by Me.(VII-20 to 22)
But the gains received by these people of limited understanding are not lasting, because the deities who grant them are also not lasting.Those who worship the deities will reach the deities only while those who worship Me will reach Me.(VII-23)
Unintelligent people, who cannot understand Me as the imperishable and unparalleled Supreme Spirit that has assumed a human form, consider Me only as an ordinary human being . Having been covered by Yoga Maya(the divine potency that deludes the whole world), My real nature cannot be understood by all.Naturally, these ignorant people cannot understand Me as the birth- less and imperishable Supreme Self.(VII-24,25).
Arjuna! I know all beings of the past, present and future ; but none of them knows Me . All living beings in the entire creation are deluded by the pairs of opposite experiences(such as pleasure and pain; gain and loss, success and failure) which arise from desires and prejudices.That is why they are not able to know or worship Me. However, those men whose sins have been washed away by virtuous deeds, become freed from all delusions and they worship Me with firm resolution.(VII-26,27,28)
Those who thus take refuge in Me and strive to get riddance from the fear of old age and death, they realise *Brahman ( the Absolute Truth) , *Adhyatma (the totality of life-principle) and all facets of *Karma(universal creative energy). Those who have known Me as possessed with *Adhibhuta, *Adhidaiva and *Adhiyajna, will have their minds fixed in Me and their knowledge will remain with them even at the time of their death.(VII-29,30)
Thus ends the Seventh Chapter of Sreemad Bhagavad Gita, entitled the Yoga of Knowledge and Experience.
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*These words are explained in Chapter VIII
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Arjuna! My essential Nature has two divisions: Superior Nature(Para Prakriti) and Inferior Nature(Apara Prakriti). My Inferior Nature has eight different parts consisting of Earth, Water,Fire, Air and Ether(five elements) together with Mind, Intellect and Ego. This constitutes the material body of the entire creation. My Superior Nature is the life-principle in all living things that sustains the whole universe. Remember that all living and non-living things in the universe have been evolved from this two-fold Nature of Mine and I am the only source of the entire creation and the whole universe ultimately dissolves in Me . Nay, the fact is that there is no existence other than Me; everything in the universe is inseparably clung to Me like beads in the thread that forms a garland.(VII-4 to 7)
To understand this better I shall give you a few examples of my existence in different creations. I am the element that gives water its taste; I exist in the sun and moon as their radiance ; in the Vedas I am the sacred syllable OM; I exist in ether as sound and in every man as his manliness. I exist in the earth as its sacred smell; in the fire as its brightness; in all living beings as life and in all ascetics as austerity. I am the everlasting seed that brings forth everything; and I manifest as intelligence in the intelligent and as energy in the energetic. Arjuna! I am the might of the mighty, devoid of lust and desire; and in all beings, I am the sexual urge that conforms to scriptural injunctions (VII-8 to 11)
You must also know that whatever other entities belonging to the three Gunas Sattwa, Rajas and Tamas, exist in this world; all of them emanate from Me alone. But neither do I exist in them, nor do they exist in Me. Being deluded by the various objects of this ever-changing world of the three gunas; people are unable to know Me, the imperishable Reality which stands apart from all these. This delusion caused by the gunas is My divine power known as Maya, which is very difficult to break through. But those who take refuge in Me can easily cross it. Wicked and foolish would neither worship Me nor take refuge in Me, because their wisdom having been vitiated by the influence of Maya, their very behaviour would become devillish(VII-12 to 15)
Arjuna!There are, however, four types of people of noble deeds who worship Me. They are respectively known as Aartha (one who seeks relief from grief) ; Jijnasu (one who is eager to know Me better) ; Arthaarthi (one who seeks wealth and other possessions) and Jnani (the man of wisdom, who worships Me for no purpose other than worshipping Me because he has already gained full knowledge about Me and My glories). Among these four categories of devotees, the man of wisdom is the best, because his mind is constantly established in union with Me. For him I am the dearest of all and naturally he is the dearest of all for Me too. (VII-16,17)
Indeed, all of them are elevated souls; but according to Me, the man of wisdom (Jnani) is My own self because having his mind constantly fixed in Me, he considers Me as his sole refuge and ultimate goal to reach.In fact, a man becomes Jnanni and worships Me in this manner only after a series of births and deaths.He looks upon the entire Creation as Vasudeva (all-pervading Supreme God) and such a person is very rare to be seen.(VII-18,19)
Those whose power of reason has been vitiated by worldly desires, worship other deities chosen according to their own inherent nature, adopting the norms prescribed for the worship of each. When a devotee wishes to offer his worship with faith and reverence, to his chosen deity, I Myself encourage him for that and make his faith in that deity steady. Therefore, a devotee who worships a certain deity with full faith will definitely receive the desired gains through that deity, as ordained by Me.(VII-20 to 22)
But the gains received by these people of limited understanding are not lasting, because the deities who grant them are also not lasting.Those who worship the deities will reach the deities only while those who worship Me will reach Me.(VII-23)
Unintelligent people, who cannot understand Me as the imperishable and unparalleled Supreme Spirit that has assumed a human form, consider Me only as an ordinary human being . Having been covered by Yoga Maya(the divine potency that deludes the whole world), My real nature cannot be understood by all.Naturally, these ignorant people cannot understand Me as the birth- less and imperishable Supreme Self.(VII-24,25).
Arjuna! I know all beings of the past, present and future ; but none of them knows Me . All living beings in the entire creation are deluded by the pairs of opposite experiences(such as pleasure and pain; gain and loss, success and failure) which arise from desires and prejudices.That is why they are not able to know or worship Me. However, those men whose sins have been washed away by virtuous deeds, become freed from all delusions and they worship Me with firm resolution.(VII-26,27,28)
Those who thus take refuge in Me and strive to get riddance from the fear of old age and death, they realise *Brahman ( the Absolute Truth) , *Adhyatma (the totality of life-principle) and all facets of *Karma(universal creative energy). Those who have known Me as possessed with *Adhibhuta, *Adhidaiva and *Adhiyajna, will have their minds fixed in Me and their knowledge will remain with them even at the time of their death.(VII-29,30)
Thus ends the Seventh Chapter of Sreemad Bhagavad Gita, entitled the Yoga of Knowledge and Experience.
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*These words are explained in Chapter VIII
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