To you Arjuna,who understands My words in the correct sense, without misinterpreting them, I shall now disclose the most secret knowledge, along with instructions to experience it in your life, knowing which you shall be free from all the evils of this mortal world.This is the greatest and supreme knowledge which is most secret, most sacred, directly attainable, conforming to human virtues, easy to practise and never failing.Those who have no faith in this will never reach Me, but will revert to this temporal world of death and and misery.(IX-1,2,3)
The entire Universe is pervaded by Me in an Abstruse Divine Form.Therefore all beings are said to be dwelling in Me; but I do not dwell in them.But the statement that all beings dwell in Me is also not strictly correct.Though I am the Creator and support of all beings,the power of My divine Yoga makes Me indistinguishable from the beings that are created and sustained by Me.For example , take the case of air and space. Although air which has its origin from space, exists within space and moves about all over the space, air and space are indistinguishable between each other.Similarly, though all beings have emanated from Me and are sustained by Me, they remain indistinguishable from Me.The statement that all beings dwell in Me should be taken only in this sense.(IX-4,5,6)
Arjuna ! At the end of a Kalpa (time for final dissolution of the universe), all beings dissolve into My Prakrti(creative power) and at the beginning of the next Kalapa ( time for beginning creation) I deliver all of them back.Employing My creative power, I send out the multitude of creations again and again; and they take birth inevitably, in accordance with their innate nature, determined by their own past actions.(IX-7,8)
Arjuna! I am, however, not bound by the action involved in these creations, because I have no attachment towards these actions and I keep Myself aloof from all of them. In fact, it is My Prakri (Creative power) that brings forth all creations, under My supervision.Because of this , the cycle of births and deaths rolls on without end.(IX-9,10)
When I manifest Myself in human form in this world for specific purposes, those who are ignorant of My Supreme Nature, fail to recognise Me as the Lord of all beings .Therefore, they consider Me as an ordinary mortal man and very often disrespect or even try to insult Me. Because of their demoniacal and fiendish nature, their intellect becomes confused their hopes become vain, their actions become futile and their knowledge becomes useless.(IX-11,12)
Arjuna! There are, however, many elevated souls of divine nature, who understand Me as the eternal source of all beings and worship Me with undivided mind. Being steadfast in their resolve to reach Me, they chant My names and glories continuously, prostrate to Me again and again with utmost devotion and keep themselves united with Me at all times, through constant meditation (IX-13,14).
Some others who follow the path of Knowledge, worship Me through Yajna of Knowledge, as the one and only Supreme Reality that pervades the whole universe. There are yet others who worship Me appearing differently in the form of various deities .(IX-15)
But in truth, what am I? Arjuna!Listen to this. I am everything.I am Vedic ritual, I am sacrifice, I am the offerings to departed souls, I am herbage and food grains, I am Mantra,I am the ghee poured in sacrificial fire, I am the sacred fire itself and I am also the act of sacrifice.I am the father of the universe and its mother too.I am also the forefather and protector of the universe.I am the one that is worth knowing, that which purifies everything, the scared Omkar and the three Vedas,Rk,Sama and Yajur.(IX-16,17)
Arjuna! I am the ultimate goal, support, supreme lord, witness of everything, abode, refuge, selfless friend, beginning and end, final resting place, and the imperishable seed. I radiate heat as the sun and give out rains and also withhold it. I am immortality as well as death ; at the same time I am existence as well as non-existence.(IX-18,19)
Those who follow the various rituals prescribed in the three Vedas, worship Me through sacrifices, and having purged of all sins and acquired merits of their virtuous actions , pray for heavenly pleasures. Thereupon they reach the kingdom of gods and enjoy all the pleasures in heaven. After enjoying these pleasures for a long while, when the stock of merits earned by sacrifices exhausts, they have to come back to this mortal world.Thus the performers of Vedic rituals for the purpose of fulfilling their desire for pleasures will continue their journey to heaven and back indefinitely.(IX-20,21)
On the other hand, My devotees will think of Me alone with an undivided mind and worship Me with pure love.They remain united with Me at all times and therefore, I fully take care of them and personally attend to all their needs by providing what is wanting for them and protecting what they have gained.(IX-22)
Even if some devotees, by mistaken notion, worship the various other deities and divine beings( who are nothing but My own different manifestations) with devotion and faith, they too are worshipping Me alone. Because, I am the one who enjoys and presides over of all sacrifices; but those who do not understand this secret about Me , are bound to fail.(they cannot reach Me).In other words, those who worship the various gods will reach those gods, those who worship manes will reach manes and those who worship the spirits will reach spirits. Those who worship Me alone will reach Me.(IX-23,24,25)
It does not require any expensive paraphernalia to worship Me. A leaf, a flower, or even a little water, offered to Me with devotion and love by a sincere devotee will be gladly accepted by Me.(IX-26)
Arjuna! If there is no such thing to be offered to Me, you need not worry. Do only this. Whatever action that you perform, whatever you eat, whatever sacrifice you do, whatever gift that you give,whatever penance that you undertake, do all these as an offering to Me. This is known as Yoga of renunciation(Sannyasa Yoga) . If you can remain established in this Yoga, you will not be affected by the good and bad results of your actions, and thus freed from the bondage of actions
you will soon attain Me. (IX-27,28)
I have no partiality in this because am equally present in all beings. No one is hateful or dear to Me. But one thing I can assure you. Those who devoutly worship Me will abide in Me and I will also abide in them.This is true for every one without exception. Even if the vilest sinner is worshipping Me with undivided devotion, he should be regarded as a saint because he has taken the right decision. Having taken the path of the virtuous, he will soon become virtuous and attain lasting peace. Arjuna! this is My declared promise; My devotee will never suffer degradation.(IX-29,30,31)
Arjuna! Many women, men born in trading and labour classes, and even those born in lower species like animals and plants have attained the supreme goal by taking refuge in Me.Then, is there any doubt in the case of those born as Brahmins and royal sages?Therefore, having come to this mortal world which is transient and full of miseries,you should constantly worship Me.(IX-32,33)
In conclusion,this is My advice to you,Arjuna. Fix your mind on Me, be devoted to Me, sacrifice for Me, pay obeisance to Me; thus keeping yourself in constant union with Me and totally depending on Me, you will definitely reach Me.(IX-34)
Thus ends the Ninth Chapter of Sreemad Bhagavad Gita, entitled Rajavidya Rajaguhya Yoga( Yoga of Supreme Knowledge and Supreme Secret)
The entire Universe is pervaded by Me in an Abstruse Divine Form.Therefore all beings are said to be dwelling in Me; but I do not dwell in them.But the statement that all beings dwell in Me is also not strictly correct.Though I am the Creator and support of all beings,the power of My divine Yoga makes Me indistinguishable from the beings that are created and sustained by Me.For example , take the case of air and space. Although air which has its origin from space, exists within space and moves about all over the space, air and space are indistinguishable between each other.Similarly, though all beings have emanated from Me and are sustained by Me, they remain indistinguishable from Me.The statement that all beings dwell in Me should be taken only in this sense.(IX-4,5,6)
Arjuna ! At the end of a Kalpa (time for final dissolution of the universe), all beings dissolve into My Prakrti(creative power) and at the beginning of the next Kalapa ( time for beginning creation) I deliver all of them back.Employing My creative power, I send out the multitude of creations again and again; and they take birth inevitably, in accordance with their innate nature, determined by their own past actions.(IX-7,8)
Arjuna! I am, however, not bound by the action involved in these creations, because I have no attachment towards these actions and I keep Myself aloof from all of them. In fact, it is My Prakri (Creative power) that brings forth all creations, under My supervision.Because of this , the cycle of births and deaths rolls on without end.(IX-9,10)
When I manifest Myself in human form in this world for specific purposes, those who are ignorant of My Supreme Nature, fail to recognise Me as the Lord of all beings .Therefore, they consider Me as an ordinary mortal man and very often disrespect or even try to insult Me. Because of their demoniacal and fiendish nature, their intellect becomes confused their hopes become vain, their actions become futile and their knowledge becomes useless.(IX-11,12)
Arjuna! There are, however, many elevated souls of divine nature, who understand Me as the eternal source of all beings and worship Me with undivided mind. Being steadfast in their resolve to reach Me, they chant My names and glories continuously, prostrate to Me again and again with utmost devotion and keep themselves united with Me at all times, through constant meditation (IX-13,14).
Some others who follow the path of Knowledge, worship Me through Yajna of Knowledge, as the one and only Supreme Reality that pervades the whole universe. There are yet others who worship Me appearing differently in the form of various deities .(IX-15)
But in truth, what am I? Arjuna!Listen to this. I am everything.I am Vedic ritual, I am sacrifice, I am the offerings to departed souls, I am herbage and food grains, I am Mantra,I am the ghee poured in sacrificial fire, I am the sacred fire itself and I am also the act of sacrifice.I am the father of the universe and its mother too.I am also the forefather and protector of the universe.I am the one that is worth knowing, that which purifies everything, the scared Omkar and the three Vedas,Rk,Sama and Yajur.(IX-16,17)
Arjuna! I am the ultimate goal, support, supreme lord, witness of everything, abode, refuge, selfless friend, beginning and end, final resting place, and the imperishable seed. I radiate heat as the sun and give out rains and also withhold it. I am immortality as well as death ; at the same time I am existence as well as non-existence.(IX-18,19)
Those who follow the various rituals prescribed in the three Vedas, worship Me through sacrifices, and having purged of all sins and acquired merits of their virtuous actions , pray for heavenly pleasures. Thereupon they reach the kingdom of gods and enjoy all the pleasures in heaven. After enjoying these pleasures for a long while, when the stock of merits earned by sacrifices exhausts, they have to come back to this mortal world.Thus the performers of Vedic rituals for the purpose of fulfilling their desire for pleasures will continue their journey to heaven and back indefinitely.(IX-20,21)
On the other hand, My devotees will think of Me alone with an undivided mind and worship Me with pure love.They remain united with Me at all times and therefore, I fully take care of them and personally attend to all their needs by providing what is wanting for them and protecting what they have gained.(IX-22)
Even if some devotees, by mistaken notion, worship the various other deities and divine beings( who are nothing but My own different manifestations) with devotion and faith, they too are worshipping Me alone. Because, I am the one who enjoys and presides over of all sacrifices; but those who do not understand this secret about Me , are bound to fail.(they cannot reach Me).In other words, those who worship the various gods will reach those gods, those who worship manes will reach manes and those who worship the spirits will reach spirits. Those who worship Me alone will reach Me.(IX-23,24,25)
It does not require any expensive paraphernalia to worship Me. A leaf, a flower, or even a little water, offered to Me with devotion and love by a sincere devotee will be gladly accepted by Me.(IX-26)
Arjuna! If there is no such thing to be offered to Me, you need not worry. Do only this. Whatever action that you perform, whatever you eat, whatever sacrifice you do, whatever gift that you give,whatever penance that you undertake, do all these as an offering to Me. This is known as Yoga of renunciation(Sannyasa Yoga) . If you can remain established in this Yoga, you will not be affected by the good and bad results of your actions, and thus freed from the bondage of actions
you will soon attain Me. (IX-27,28)
I have no partiality in this because am equally present in all beings. No one is hateful or dear to Me. But one thing I can assure you. Those who devoutly worship Me will abide in Me and I will also abide in them.This is true for every one without exception. Even if the vilest sinner is worshipping Me with undivided devotion, he should be regarded as a saint because he has taken the right decision. Having taken the path of the virtuous, he will soon become virtuous and attain lasting peace. Arjuna! this is My declared promise; My devotee will never suffer degradation.(IX-29,30,31)
Arjuna! Many women, men born in trading and labour classes, and even those born in lower species like animals and plants have attained the supreme goal by taking refuge in Me.Then, is there any doubt in the case of those born as Brahmins and royal sages?Therefore, having come to this mortal world which is transient and full of miseries,you should constantly worship Me.(IX-32,33)
In conclusion,this is My advice to you,Arjuna. Fix your mind on Me, be devoted to Me, sacrifice for Me, pay obeisance to Me; thus keeping yourself in constant union with Me and totally depending on Me, you will definitely reach Me.(IX-34)
Thus ends the Ninth Chapter of Sreemad Bhagavad Gita, entitled Rajavidya Rajaguhya Yoga( Yoga of Supreme Knowledge and Supreme Secret)
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