Sri Bhagavaan Uvaacha:
Mayyaasaktamanaah paartha yogam
yunjanmadaashrayah;
Asamshayam samagram maam yathaa jnaasyasi
tacchrinu.(1)
The Blessed Lord said:
O Arjuna, hear how you shall without doubt
know Me fully, with the mind intent on Me,
practising Yoga and taking
refuge in Me!
Jnaanam te’ham savijnaanam idam
vakshyaamyasheshatah;
Yajjnaatwaa neha bhooyo’nyaj
jnaatavyamavashishyate.(2)
I shall declare to thee in full this knowledge combined
with direct realisation, after knowing which nothing more here remains to be
known.
Manushyaanaam sahasreshu kashchidyatati
siddhaye;
Yatataamapi siddhaanaam kashchinmaam vetti
tattwatah.(3)
Among thousands of men, one perchance strives
for perfection; even among those successful strivers, only one perchance knows
Me in essence.
Bhoomiraapo’nalo vaayuh kham mano
buddhireva cha;
Ahamkaara iteeyam me bhinnaa
prakritirashtadhaa.(4)
Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind,
intellect and egoism
thus is My Nature divided eightfold.
Apareyamitastwanyaam prakritim viddhi me
paraam;
Jeevabhootaam mahaabaaho yayedam dhaaryate
jagat.(5)
This is the inferior Prakriti, O mighty-armed
(Arjuna)! Know thou as different from it My higher Prakriti (Nature), the very
life-element by which this world is upheld.
Etadyoneeni bhootaani
sarvaaneetyupadhaaraya;
Aham kritsnasya jagatah prabhavah
pralayastathaa.(6)
Know that these two (My higher and lower
Natures) are the womb of all beings. So, I am the source and dissolution of the
whole universe.
Mattah parataram naanyat kinchidasti
dhananjaya;
Mayi sarvamidam protam sootre maniganaa
iva.(7)
There is nothing whatsoever higher than Me, O
Arjuna! All this is strung on Me as clusters of gems on a string.
Raso’hamapsu kaunteya prabhaasmi
shashisooryayoh;
Pranavah sarvavedeshu shabdah khe paurusham
nrishu.(8)
I am the sapidity in water, O
Arjuna! I am the light in the moon and the sun; I am the syllable Om in all the
Vedas, sound in ether, and virility in men.
Punyo gandhah prithivyaam cha tejashchaasmi
vibhaavasau;
Jeevanam sarvabhooteshu tapashchaasmi
tapaswishu.(9)
I am the sweet fragrance in earth and the
brilliance in fire, the life in all beings; and I am austerity in ascetics.
Beejam maam sarvabhootaanaam viddhi paartha
sanaatanam;
Buddhir buddhimataamasmi tejastejaswinaamaham.(10)
Know Me, O Arjuna, as the eternal seed of all
beings; I am the intelligence of the intelligent; the splendour of the splendid
objects am I!
Balam balavataam asmi kaamaraagavivarjitam;
Dharmaaviruddho bhooteshu kaamo’smi
bharatarshabha.(11)
Of the strong, I am the strength devoid of
desire and attachment, and in (all) beings, I am the desire unopposed to
Dharma, O Arjuna!
Ye chaiva saattvikaa bhaavaa
raajasaastaamasaashcha ye;
Matta eveti taanviddhi na twaham teshu te
mayi.(12)
Whatever being (and objects) that are pure,
active and inert, know that they proceed from Me. They are in Me, yet I am not
in them.
Tribhirgunamayair bhaavairebhih sarvamidam
jagat;
Mohitam naabhijaanaati maamebhyah
paramavyayam.(13)
Deluded by these Natures (states or things)
composed of the three qualities of Nature, all this world does not know Me as
distinct from them and immutable.
Daivee hyeshaa gunamayee mama maayaa
duratyayaa;
Maameva ye prapadyante maayaametaam taranti
te.(14)
Verily this divine illusion of
Mine made up of the qualities (of Nature) is difficult to cross over; those who
take refuge in Me alone cross over this illusion.
Na maam dushkritino moodhaah prapadyante
naraadhamaah;
Maayayaapahritajnaanaa aasuram bhaavamaashritaah.(15)
The evil-doers and the deluded,
who are the lowest of men, do not seek Me; they whose knowledge is destroyed by
illusion follow the ways of demons.
Chaturvidhaa bhajante maam janaah
sukritino’rjuna;
Aarto jijnaasurartharthee jnaanee cha
bharatarshabha.(16)
Four kinds of virtuous men worship Me, O
Arjuna! They are the distressed, the seeker of knowledge, the seeker of wealth,
and the wise, O lord of the Bharatas!
Teshaam jnaanee nityayukta eka
bhaktirvishishyate;
Priyo hi jnaanino’tyarthamaham sa cha mama
priyah.(17)
Of them, the wise, ever steadfast and devoted
to the One, excels (is the best); for, I am exceedingly dear to the wise and he
is dear to Me.
Udaaraah sarva evaite jnaanee twaatmaiva me
matam;
Aasthitah sa hi yuktaatmaa
maamevaanuttamaam gatim.(18)
Noble indeed are all these; but
I deem the wise man as My very Self; for, steadfast in mind, he is established
in Me alone as the supreme goal.
Bahoonaam janmanaamante jnaanavaanmaam
prapadyate;
Vaasudevah sarvamiti sa mahaatmaa
sudurlabhah.(19)
At the end of many births the wise man comes
to Me, realising that all this is Vasudeva (the innermost Self); such a great
soul (Mahatma) is very hard to find.
Kaamaistaistairhritajnaanaah
prapadyante’nyadevataah;
Tam tam niyamamaasthaaya prakrityaa
niyataah swayaa.(20)
Those whose wisdom has been rent away by this
or that desire, go to other gods, following this or that rite, led by their own
nature.
Yo yo yaam yaam tanum bhaktah
shraddhayaarchitum icchati;
Tasya tasyaachalaam shraddhaam taameva
vidadhaamyaham.(21)
Whatsoever form any devotee desires to worship
with faith—that (same) faith of his I make firm and unflinching.
Sa tayaa shraddhayaa
yuktastasyaaraadhanameehate;
Labhate cha tatah kaamaan mayaiva vihitaan
hi taan.(22)
Endowed with that faith, he
engages in the worship of that (form), and from it he obtains his desire, these
being verily ordained by Me (alone).
Antavattu phalam teshaam
tadbhavatyalpamedhasaam;
Devaan devayajo yaanti madbhaktaa yaanti maamapi.(23)
Verily the reward (fruit) that
accrues to those men of small intelligence is finite. The worshippers of the
gods go to them, but My devotees come to Me.
Avyaktam vyaktimaapannam manyante
maamabuddhayah;
Param bhaavamajaananto mamaavyayamanuttamam.(24)
The foolish think of Me, the Unmanifest, as
having manifestation, knowing not My higher, immutable and most excellent
nature.
Naaham prakaashah sarvasya
yogamaayaasamaavritah;
Moodho’yam naabhijaanaati loko
maamajamavyayam.(25)
I am not manifest to all (as I am), being
veiled by the Yoga Maya. This deluded world does not know Me, the unborn and
imperishable.
Vedaaham samateetaani vartamaanaani
chaarjuna;
Bhavishyaani cha bhootani maam tu veda na
kashchana.(26)
I know, O Arjuna, the beings of
the past, the
present and the future, but no one knows Me.
Icchaadweshasamutthena dwandwamohena
bhaarata;
Sarvabhootaani sammoham sarge yaanti
parantapa.(27)
By the delusion of the pairs of
opposites arising from desire and aversion, O Bharata, all beings are subject
to delusion at birth, O Parantapa!
Yeshaam twantagatam paapam janaanaam
punyakarmanaam;
Te dwandwamohanirmuktaa bhajante maam
dridhavrataah.(28)
But those men of virtuous deeds whose sins
have come to an end, and who are freed from the delusion of the pairs of
opposites, worship Me, steadfast in their vows.
Jaraamaranamokshaaya maamaashritya yatanti
ye;
Te brahma tadviduh kritsnam adhyaatmam
karma chaakhilam.(29)
Those who strive for liberation from old age
and death, taking refuge in Me, realise in full that Brahman, the whole
knowledge of the Self and all action.
Saadhibhootaadhidaivam maam saadhiyajnam
cha ye viduh;
Prayaanakaale’pi cha maam te vidur
yuktachetasah.(30)
Those who know Me with the Adhibhuta
(pertaining to the elements), the Adhidaiva (pertaining to the gods), and
Adhiyajna (pertaining to the sacrifice), know Me even at the time of death,
steadfast in mind.
Hari Om Tat Sat
Iti Srimad Bhagavadgeetaasoopanishatsu
Brahmavidyaayaam
Yogashaastre Sri Krishnaarjunasamvaade
Jnaanavijnaanayogo Naama Saptamo’dhyaayah
Thus in the Upanishads of the glorious Bhagavad Gita, the
science of the Eternal, thescripture of Yoga, the dialogue between Sri Krishna
and Arjuna, ends the seventh discourse entitled:
Sri Krishna tells Arjuna that
the supreme Godhead has to be realised in both its transcendent and immanent
aspects. The Yogi who has reached this summit has nothing more to know. This
complete union with the Lord is difficult of attainment. Among many thousands
of human beings, very few aspire for this union, and even among those who
aspire for it, few ever reach the pinnacle of spiritual realisation. The Lord
has already given a clear description of the all-pervading static and infinite
state of His. Now He proceeds to explain His manifestations as the universe and
the power behind it. He speaks of these manifestations as His lower and higher
Prakritis. The lower Prakriti is made up of the five elements, mind, ego and
intellect. The higher Prakriti is the life-element which upholds the universe,
activates it and causes its appearance and final dissolution.
Krishna says that whatever exists is nothing
but Himself. He is the cause of the appearance of the universe and all things
in it. Everything is strung on Him like clusters of gems on a string. He is the
essence, substance and substratum of everything, whether visible or invisible.
Although everything is in Him, yet He transcends everything as the actionless Self.
Prakriti or Nature is made up of the three Gunas or qualities—Sattwa, Rajas and
Tamas. These three qualities delude the soul and make it forget its true
nature, which is one with God. This delusion, termed Maya, can only be removed
by the Grace of the Lord Himself. Thus far Arjuna has been taught the highest
form of devotion, which leads to union with God in His static aspect as also
with His dynamic Prakriti. Krishna tells him that there are also other forms of
devotion which are inferior as they are performed with various motives. The distressed, the seeker of divine wisdom, and he who
desires wealth, worship Him, as also the wise. Of these the Lord deems the wise as dearest to
Him. Such a devotee loves the Lord for the sake of pure love alone. Whatever
form the devotee worships, the ultimate goal is the Lord Himself. The Lord accepts
such worship, knowing that it is directed to Him only.
