Chapter 5 -- Communion Through Renunciation
Arjuna said: O Krsna! Thou praises in one breath both abandonment of works and communion through their performance. Now tell me with certainty which of them leads to one's good.
The Blessed Lord said: Both abandonment of works and communion through works lead to liberation. But of them, communion through work excels over abandonment of work.
O mighty-armed one! Whoever hates not, nor desires, should be known as one established in renunciation. Indeed one who is above such contraries is easily liberated from bandage.
It is only the childish and not the wise that speak of Samkhya (or knowledge accompanied by abandonment of work) and Yoga (or communion through detached and dedicated work) as different. A person well-established in even one of these, attains the end that is the common goal of both. (That is, in the means they employ, they look different, but their end or ultimate purpose is identical.)
The state which one attains by Samkhya, that same state is attained by Yoga too. He who sees both Samkhya and Yoga as one, sees indeed.
O mighty-armed Arjuna! True abandonment of work (which the discipline of Samkhya implies) is difficult to practice for one who is not accomplished in the Yoga discipline of detached work. But the sage accomplished in Yoga attains to Brahman (renunciation?) in no long time. (Who is this sage? Me?)
One who is established in selfless and detached action, who is pure, whose mind and senses are under control, and whose self is identified with the self of all --he is never bound, though he be engaged in work.
I (the Self) do naught; only the senses are occupied with their objects--this should be the conviction of one who is detached in action and established in the truth (that he is the Atman), even while seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, conversing, holding, walking, giving up, winking and even sleeping. [I think the English translation is not good here. I (Krsna), here becomes Self. Is this indirectly telling you, Self is Krsna?]
One who resigns all his actions to Brahman and works without any personal attachments, is not soiled by sin, as a lotus leaf is not wetted by water.
For the attainment of mental purity, spiritual aspirants (Yogins) perform action devoid of attachment, with their body, mind, intellect or even merely with the senses.
By abandoning the fruits of action a man of restrained mind attains to abiding peace. But the one with unrestrained mind, being prompted by desire for the fruits of action, gets bound.
A self-controlled soul, having abandoned all work mentally (in the way described above), resides at ease (as a witness) in this corporeal mansion with nine gates, neither working nor causing work to be done.
In regard to all beings in this world, the sovereign soul is not the cause of the sense of agency, nor of actions, nor of the fruition of actions. It is Nature that does all this. (Here Nature is included to confuse you.)
The all-pervading Being does not accept the sins or merits of any one. Knowledge of the Divine Spirit is veiled in ignorant, and therefore beings are deluded. (Why include Being and Divine Spirit to confuse readers?)
But in the case of those whose ignorance has been destroyed by the knowledge of the Atman, to them that knowledge reveals the supreme Truth, as the sun does the objects of the world. (The English translation here is not good. Revealing the Truth, like the sun, could be like looking at the nose tip to represent the sunset as in Visualizing Sutra.)
Those who think of Him always, who are ever at one with Him, who are deeply devoted to Him, and who look upon Him as their goal, get purified of their sins by divine knowledge and go to the state from which there is no return to worldly life. (Him, who? The mark, stupid!)
Enlightened men are those who see the same (ie the Atman) in a Brahmana with learning and humility, in a cow, in an elephant, and even in a dog or in an eater of dog-meat (outcaste). (The spirits in every things are One.)
Even here in this embodied state, the cycle of births and deaths has been overcome by those who have this vision of sameness in all. Verily, Brahman is the Unsullied and the Pure. Therefore are those seers of sameness said to be established in Brahman. (Who is Brahman? Our Spirit)
Unperturbed and un-deluded, a knower of Brahman, who is established in Him, neither rejoices at pleasant experiences nor gets agitated at unpleasant ones. (Another, it says: those established in Me, Krsna. So which is which?)
An aspirant who is unattached to the contacted experiences of the external worlds, gains the joy that is in the Self within. He thereby enjoys unending bliss with his mind absorbed in communion with Brahman (who is both within and without).
Whatever enjoyments are there born of sense contact, they are sources of suffering only. For, they are with a beginning and an end. A wise man finds no delight in them.
Here, even while in the body, whoever is able to withstand the agitation caused by lust and anger, he is the self-controlled one, he is the happy man.
The Yogin whose happiness is within, whose resting place is within, who likewise experiences the light within--he realizes himself to be the Spirit and attains to beatitude in Brahman. (I find this Brahman is something like Buddha, someone enlightened, but why in everything like Tao? To confuse readers!)
Verily, they attain to beatitude in Brahman who are sinless, whose doubts have been destroyed, whose self is under their control and who rejoice in the good of all. (Is beatitude in Brahman, Buddha?)
To those self-controlled ones (ascetics) who are free from lust and anger, who have controlled their minds and who have known their real nature as the spirit--the attainment of beatitude in Brahman is near at hand.
Excluding all sense perceptions, fixing the look between the eye brows; steadying the flow of Prana (out-going breath) and Apana (incoming breath) through the nostrils; controlling the senses, mind and intellect; devoid of desires, fear and anger; and aspiring for liberation alone-- a meditative sage so established, is liberated for ever. (This meditation method is a fake one. The correct one is nasal gaze. Liberated forever is wrong.)
Knowing Me, the recipient of all worship and austere practice, the Supreme Lord of all the worlds, and the friend of all beings, man attains to eternal peace. (See, it refer to Krsna again. First, our spirit is eternal, so what is there to liberate? To liberate our body? Nonsense! When we meditate, we are in communion with our spirit, not any Tom, Dick or Harry. So terms like Atman, Brahman, Krsna etc are intended to confuse the readers. There are spirits in stones, trees, rivers, mountains etc. All spirits are One. Only human spirit can help to bring world peace. This is why we are above the animals.)
Chapter 6 -- Communion Through Meditation
23rd Dec 1999
The Blessed Lord said: It is the man who performs his duties without dependence on the fruits that deserves to be called a Sannyasin (renouncer) and a Yogin, not the one who keeps no fire or avoid works.
O Son of Pandu! What is called Sannyasa or renunciation, know that it is to be identical with Yoga or discipline of selfless action. For, whoever has not abandoned subtle hankerings and self-centered objectives, can never becomes a Yogi, or a practitioner of spiritual communion through works.
For one who desires to ascend the path leading to the heights of spiritual communion, detached work is the means. For one who has ascended it, quiescence is verily the means.
When one ceases to be attached to sense objects and to one's actions, then that one, who has thus abandoned all subtle hankerings and self-centered objectives, is said to have ascended the heights of spiritual communion.
One should uplift one's lower self by the higher Self. One should not depress or downgrade one's Self. For the Self verily is both the friend and the foe of the self.
To him who has subdued the lower self by the higher Self, the Self acts like a friend. But to him who has lost his higher Self by the dominance of the lower one, the Self functions as the enemy, always hostile to him.
In one who has conquered his mind, the Self remains steady and unperturbed in the experience of the pairs of opposites like heat and cold, pleasure and pain, honor and dishonor.
A Yogin whose spirit has attained contentment through knowledge and experience, who is unperturbed, who has subdued his senses, to whom a lump of earth and a bar of gold are alike--such a Yogi is said to have attained steadfastness in spiritual communion.
Specially noteworthy in excellence is he who is even-minded in his outlook on friend and foe, on comrade and stranger, on the neutral, on the ally, on the good, and even on the evil ones.
Let a Yogin constantly practice spiritual communion, residing alone in a solitary spot, desire-less, possession-less, and disciplined in body and mind.
At a clean spot, which is neither too high nor too low, a seat should be made with Kusa grass, spread over with a skin (a skin is out of place) and a cloth. Firmly seated on it, the Yogi should practice spiritual communion, with mind one-pointed, concentrated and with the working of the imaginative faculty and the senses under control, for self-purification.
Holding the body, head and neck erect, motionless and firm, gazing at the tip of the nose and not round about, fearless, serene, restrained in mind, and established in the vow of continence, he should sit in spiritual communion with Me, looking upon Me as his highest and most precious end. [Nose tip is a guide to Me (Krsna). If you still cannot understand this, you are still stupid. 'Me' is also referring to the Self, the spirit inside you, at the Mark on the forehead. This is the correct meditation.]
With the mind restrained from going outward to objects and always uniting with the Supreme in spiritual communion, the Yogi attains to Peace, which is the summit of bliss and enduring establishment in My state.
O Arjuna! Success in Yoga is not for those who eat too much, nor for those who eat too little. It is not also for those given to too much sleeping, nor to those who keep vigil too long.
For one who is temperate in food and recreation, who is detached and self-restrained in work, who is regulated in sleep and in vigil--Yoga brings about the ceassation of the trivial of Samsara.
When the disciplined mind is able to remain established in the Atman (another stupid term for Self) alone, when it is free from longing for all objects of desire -- then is it spoken of as having attained to spiritual communion.
The flame of a lamp sheltered from wind does not flicker. This is the comparison used to describe a Yogi's mind that is well under control and united with the Atman. (Our inner Spirit)
That state in which the Chitta (mind stuff), with its movements restrained by the practice of Yoga, finds rest: in which is experienced the joy of the Spirit born of the higher mind intuiting the Spirit.
In which he (the Yogin) experiences that endless bliss which is beyond the ken of the senses but is intuited by the purified intellect; wherein established, one does not waver from the Truth.
Having obtained which no other gain is considered as greater; remaining in which one is not shaken even by the heaviest of affliction.
Know that severance of connection with pain as what is designated as Yoga. It has to be practiced tirelessly with determination.
Abandoning imagination-born longings in their entirety, restraining all the senses with the mind on every side, and setting that mind firmly on the Self (Mark on the forehead) under the direction of a steadfast intellect, one should practice tranquility little by little, and abstain from every kind of thought. (Thinking of neither good nor evil)
From whatsoever reason this wavering and fickle mind wanders away, it should be curbed and brought to abide in the Self alone. (By focusing on the nose tip)
Supreme Bliss wells up in a Yogi, who is tranquil in mind, whose passions are subdued, who is free from impurities and who is in the Brahmic state.
Thus, ever engaged in making the mind steadfast in spiritual communion and having all the impurities of the mind effaced thereby, the Yogin easily experiences the infinite Bliss of contact with Brahman. (Another stupid term for Spirit)
The man of spiritual insight, established in same-sightedness, sees the Self as residing in all beings and all beings as resting in the Self. (Tao is in all as well as inside you. Self is also Spirit or Tao inside you.)
He who sees Me in all beings, and all beings in Me--to him I am never lost, nor he to Me. (Here Krsna is telling you He is Self, Spirit, Tao. You understand now?)
Established in the unity of all existence, a Yogin who serves Me present in all beings, verily abides in Me, whatever be his mode of life.
O Arjuna! In My view that Yogi is the best who, out of a sense of identity with others on account of the perception of the same Atman (Tao) in all, feels their joy and suffering as his own.
Arjuna said: O Slayer of Madhu! Owing to the fickleness of the mind, I find no way of firm establishment in spiritual communion through equanimity as instructed by you.
O Krsna! Verily, the mind is fickle, turbulent, powerful and un-yielding. To control it, I think, is as difficult as controlling the wind itself.
The Blessed Lord said: O mighty armed one! Undoubtedly the mind is fickle and difficult to be checked. Yet, O son of Kunti, it can be brought under control by dispassion and spiritual practice.
My view is that Yoga is difficult of attainment by men of uncontrolled mind. But for those who have their minds under control, it is possible to attain, if they strive with the proper means.
Arjuna said: What, O Krsna, is the fate of a man who, though endowed with firm faith, is not steadfast in his practices owing to distractions, and therefore fails to reach spiritual perfection?
O mighty-armed Lord! Bewildered in the path of Brahman, support-less, does he not lose both this world and the next? Does he not perish like a rain-cloud rent asunder? (Stupid to ask this question if he remembers chapter 2.)
O Krsna! My doubt in this respect has yet to be cleared completely. Indeed! I find none better than thee to be that doubt-dispeller.
The Blessed Lord said: O son of Pritha! He does not meet with downfall either here in this world or in the hereafter. Know for certain, O dear one, that one who treads the path of virtue never goes to ruin (ie gets an inferior rebirth).
The fallen Yogi goes (after death) to the spheres of the righteous, and after having lived there for unnumbered years, (as immortal) is reborn in this world in a pure and prosperous family.
Or he is reborn in a family of men full of wisdom and spirituality. Rebirth under such conditions is passing hard to get in this world.
There, O scion of the clan of Kurus! He will regain the spiritual discernment of his previous birth, and then he will strive harder than ever for perfection.
Even if helpless, he will be driven towards the path of Yoga by the force of his previous striving. For even a beginner in the path of Yoga goes above the stage requiring the aid of Vedic ritualism, (not to speak then of one who has made some progress in it).
As for the Yogi striving diligently, he is cleansed of all his sins and gains spiritual perfection after passing through several embodiments. Finally he reaches the highest state (which consists in release from the bondage of the body).
A Yogi is superior to a man of austerity; he is superior to a scholar; he is superior to a ritualist too. Therefore, O Arjuna, be you a Yogi.
Of all the Yogins, he is the most attuned in spiritual communion, who worships Me with abiding faith and with his innermost self fused with Me. (The 'Me' is the Spirit inside you and all things. It is God, Krsna, Tao, Buddha, Christ etc.)
Chapter 7 -- Communion Through Knowledge And Realization
The Blessed Lord said: Hear now, O son of Prtha, how one resigned to Me and absorbed in love of Me, attains to full knowledge of Me through the practice of spiritual communion.
I shall now declare to you in fullness that Knowledge along with Special Knowledge (its higher development), by means of which there will remain nothing more for you to understand.
Among thousands of men, there will just be one here or there striving for spiritual perfection. From among the aspirants so striving, one perchance knows Me in Truth.
My Nature is divided into eight categories--earth, water, fire, air, sky, mind, understanding, and I-sense.
This, O mighty armed, is My lower nature. Know that, as different from it, is My higher nature forming the source of all Jivas and the support of the whole universe. (like the creator)
Know that all beings have these two natures of Mine as their source. I am the origin and the dissolution of this entire universe. (The Spirit inside you is the origin.)
O Arjuna! There is no being higher than Me. As a row of pearls threaded on a string, all the worlds are held on Me. (Tao, God etc)
O son of Kunti! In water I am taste; in sun and moon, their brilliance; in all the Vedas, the sound symbol Om; in the sky-element, sound; and in men, their manliness.
In the earth element I am sweet fragrance; in fire I am brilliance; in living beings I am the life-principle; and in austere men, I am austerity.
Know Me, O Partha! to be the eternal seed (Spirit) of all beings. In the wise I am their wisdom, and in puissant men their prowess.
In the strong I am strength uncorrupted by desire and attachment, and in living beings I am desire not contrary to virtue.
Whatever manifestations there are of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, they have all come from Me. They are in Me, not I in them. [Fate is in the hands of God, Tao etc. Your seed landed on good soil will produce good crops. Your seed falling on hard ground will grow roots but will wilt under the hot sun. (from Bible)]
Deluded by the mental states accruing from the three Gunas of Prakrti, this world knows not Me, the Imperishable, (same as Spirit) transcending these Gunas.
My divine Maya constituted of the three Gunas is difficult to overcome. Whoever takes refuge in Me alone, in utter devotion, overcomes it.
The lowest type of men, evil, foolish and demoniac in nature, being deprived of right understanding by Maya, never take refuge in Me with devotion.
O Arjuna, the greatest of the Bharata race! Four kinds of pious men adore Me. They are the distressed one, the Knowledge-seeker, the wealth-seeker, and the knower.
Among them, the knower, ever-communing and single-minded in devotion, is the best. I am indeed supremely dear to such a knower, and he in turn is dear to Me.
While all of them are certainly noble, the knower I cherish as My very self--such is My view. For, ever in union with Me, he is established in the conviction that I am his highest goal.
At the end of many births, the knowing one makes Me his refuge, realizing that Vasudeva (another stupid term) is All. A great soul of that type is rare to find.
Influenced by their inherent nature and deprived of correct judgment by numerous desires, people adore other deities with various forms of worship pertaining to them.
Whichever devotee desires to adore whatever such aspect with faith, in all such votaries I make that particular faith unshakable.
Endowed with that faith, a votary performs the worship of that particular deity and obtains the fruits thereof, these being granted by Me alone. (Stupid to write like this. We should go for the best method like meditation.)
The results accruing to such small-minded people are finite only. Those who worship the Devas go to the Devas, but My devotees attain to Me. (unless they communing with the Spirit. Those praying to idols of Krsna are small-minded.)
Without any insight into My transcendental nature, unique and immutable, men of little understanding look upon Me as a mere human individual, (the Mark on our forehead cannot be seen, so most treat our self as human.) having come into manifestation from an un-manifested state.
Veiled as I am in My Yogamaya, I am not revealed to all. This deluded world does not know Me, the un-originated and the un-destructible.
O Arjuna! I know all beings--past, present and future. But none knows Me.
O scion of Bharata's house! From their very birth all beings are deluded by the bewitchment of the pairs of opposites like pleasure and pain, sprung from the instinctive feelings of attraction and aversion for them.
But those men of virtuous deeds, in whom sinfulness has been effaced--they, freed from the bewilderment of sense life, worship Me with great steadfastness in their vows.
Those that strive for liberation (to become immortals) from the travails of old age and death in complete trust and dependence on Me, shall know all about the Absolute, His spiritual manifestation and His works of spiritual import.
Those who have grasped that I am the spiritual power that sustains all material manifestations all divine expressions and all spiritual endeavors--they continue to know Me as such even at the time of death, their mind being ever absorbed in Me.
Chapter 8 -- The Way To Imperishable Brahman
Arjuna said: O Supreme Lord! What is Brahman (the Absolute)? What is the Spirit? What is work? And what is that which underlies the material manifestations, and what, the divinities?
O slayer of Madhu! Who is the Adhiyajna that resides in this body, and how does he do so? Hou should a man of self-restrain meditate on the Supreme Being at the time of death?
The Blessed Lord said: Brahman is Aksara, the Immutable Being than whom there is none higher. (same as Krsna, stupid!) Brahman's power manifested in every body as the transmigrating self is the Adhyatma. The creative act which brings all beings into existence is Karma.
O noble One! The perishable Nature is the material aspect (Adhibhuta). The cosmic soul is the basis of all divine manifestations (Adhidaivata); and I verily form the Adhiyajna, the one object of all worship which men perform with their body and mind.
Whoever thinks of Me alone even at the time of death, attains to My state on abandoning the body. There is no doubt about this.
O son of Kunti! Whatever object a person thinks of at the time of death, having been absorbed in its thought all through,--he attains to that object alone.
Therefore fight, remembering Me always. One who has dedicated his mind and understanding to Me, shall come to Me alone, undoubtedly
Thinking of Me continuously, with a mind trained in the practice of spiritual communion and freed from the tendency to stray away to other objects, one attains to the Divine Spirit Supreme.
He who, with a mind steady and endued with devotion and strength born of spiritual practice, fixes his entire life-force between the eye-brows at the time of death, and contemplates on Him who is all-knowing, primeval, subtler than even an atom, sustainer and director of all, glorious like the sun, and beyond all darkness of inertia and ignorance--he verily attains to that Supreme Being. (same as Krsna, stupid!)
That which Vedic scholars call the Imperishable, (Spirit) which Sannyasins devoid of worldly attachments enter, desiring which men follow the life of continence and asceticism--that state I shall declare to you in brief.
Established in spiritual communion by inhibiting all sensations, concentrating on the heart center, and drawing up the vital energies to the head, one should meditate on Me along with the utterance of the single-syllabic mantra Om denoting Brahman. Departing from the body in this state, one attains liberation. (Meditation instruction to become immortal)
He who, with a mind undistracted by other things, thinks of Me constantly every day--to the Yogi thus ever attuned, I am easy of attainment, O son of Prtha!
No more is rebirth, no more this home of transience and misery, for those great-souled ones who have attained to supreme perfection by realizing Me.
All the worlds from the realm of Brahma down to the earth, are subject to rebirth. But, O Arjuna, one who has attained to Me is never reborn.
Those who have an understanding of Brahma's day time, which lasts for a thousand ages, and of his night time, which too is of equal length,--they indeed understand what a day is and what a night.
At the dawn of the day of Brahma this whole universe comes into manifestation from the Un-manifest. When the night begins, it dissolves in that Un-manifest itself.
O son of Prtha! This vast collectivity of beings comes inexorably into manifestation again and again, dissolving at the commencement of night, and again coming forth at the dawn of day.
Different from this un-manifested state is the supreme and eternal Un-manifested (Spirit) whose Being remains unaffected even when everything is destroyed.
Know that state, which is called the Un-manifested and the Imperishable, (the Mark on the forehead) to be the ultimate goal of all. That is My supreme abode. Attaining to that man is not reborn.
That Supreme Purusa, the abode of all beings and the indweller of them all, can be attained by unswerving and exclusive devotion to Him. (or Me, Spirit)
I shall now tell you, O noblest of Bharatas, of the circumstances, dying under which a Yogi never returns to this world and also of the time, dying when, he is sure to return.
Verily, these two paths--the bright and the dark--are accepted as everlasting verities. By the one, the aspirant gains Moksa, the state of non-return, while the other leads him to rebirth. (This is unfair and make a mockery to aspiring Yogi.)
Fire, light, day-time, bright fortnight, six months of the northern course of the sun--the knowers of Brahman who depart along this path, attain to Brahman. (no logic. There is return if the Yogi is not anointed the seal on the Mark on the forehead. The Mark is a void and the abode of the Supreme Being i.e. Spirit, Krsna, Tao, Buddha, Christ etc.)
Smoke, night and likewise the black fortnight and the six months of the southern course of the sun--the Yogi departing by this path attains to the lunar sphere and thence returns. (is this fair?)
Verily, these two paths--the bright and the dark--are accepted as everlasting verities. By the one, the aspirant gains Moksa, the state of non-return, while the other leads him to rebirth.
O son of Prtha! Whoever among Yogis know these two paths, they are never deluded. Therefore, O Arjuna, be steadfast in Yoga at all times.
Knowing this, a Yogi transcends all the meritorious rewards that are prescribed for the study of the Vedas, for the performance of austerities, and for charities too, and attains to that primeval state which is the Supreme Being.
Chapter 9 --The Sovereign Science And Sovereign Secret
The Blessed Lord said: I shall now declare to you, who are endowed with reverence, that profoundest of all mystic doctrines and the way to its experience, by which you will be free from the baneful life of Samsara.
It is a sovereign science, and a profound mystery. Supremely sanctifying, demonstrable by experience, and yielding imperishable results, it is also easy to perform and is in agreement with the moral law.
Men without faith in this sacred doctrine (who continue to look upon the body as the self) fail to attain Me. they remain caught up in Samsara, the eternally recurring cycle of births and deaths.
All this world is pervaded by Me, the Un-manifested Being. All objects subsist in Me, but not I in them.
And yet objects do not abide in Me! Behold My mysterious Divine Power! Source and support of all objects, and yet not abiding in them!
Know that, as the mighty atmosphere ever abide in space, so do all objects abide in Me.
At the end of a cosmic cycle, O son of Kunti! all beings resolve into Nature, which is My own and at the beginning of a new one (after the period of dissolution or Pralaya is over), I bring them out again. (like a grand Plan)
Resorting to Prakrti Nature, which is My own Power, I send forth again and again this multitude of beings that are without any freedom, owing to Nature's sway over them. (So all are fated)
These activities do not in any way bind Me, (the Creator) because I remain detached like one unconcerned in their midst.
Under My direction and control, Nature brings out this mighty universe of living and non-living beings. Thus does the wheel of this world revolve.
Foolish men, without an understanding of My higher nature as the Supreme Lord of all that exists, disregard Me manifested in the human body.
Futile are the hopes, futile the work, and futile the knowledge of these men of perverted understanding who are deluded by their cruel, proud and passionate nature, characteristic of Raksasas and Asuras.
But the high souled ones, endowed with virtues characteristic of devas, understand Me to be the Immutable and the source of all beings, and adore Me with a mind undistracted by anything else.
Strenuous and steadfast in their vows, these ever-integrated devotees worship Me with devotion, always singing My glories and prostrating before Me. (meditating, not praying to idols)
Others, again, who offer wisdom sacrifice to Me, worship Me the All-inclusive whole -- as the One, as the Distinct, and as the Immanent in all. (Tao is in all)
I am the sacrifice, I am the worship, I am the ancestral offering, I am the medicinal herb. Again I am the Vedic hymn, I am the sacrificial ingredients. I am the sacrificial fire, and I am the sacrificial "oblation too". (All these to confuse the readers unless you know Tao, Spirit etc is in every thing)
To this world I am the father, the mother, the grandsire and the sustainer. I am the Holy One to be known, as also the syllable Om. the Rk. Sama and Yajus. (Tao is in every thing, so these are correct.)
The goal, the support, the Lord and the consciousness witnessing--all this I am. I am again the abode, the refuge, and the friend of all, as also their origin, their dissolution, their ground, their treasure-house and their seed imperishable. (soul or Spirit)
I give heat, and I send forth as well as withhold rain. I am, O Arjuna! both immortality and death, both being and non-being.
Men versed in the Vedas, cleansed of their sins by the performance of sacrifices attended with the drinking of consecrated Soma juice, pray for heavenly regions. They go to the heaven of Indra, attainable by meritorious deed, and enjoy heavenly felicities there.
Having enjoyed the varied felicities of heaven for long, they come back to the world of human beings when their asset of meritorious deeds is exhausted. Thus, being desire-redden, the followers of the Vedic sacrificial rites stagnate in Samsara, the repetitive state of going and returning.
Whoever, being devoted to me solely, engage themselves always in contemplation (meditation) and worship Me--to such ever steadfast devotees I ensure the procurement of all their wants and the preservation of their assets.
O son of Kunti! Those devotees who worship even other deities with deep faith, they also are worshipping Me alone, though contrary to injunction. (a stupid statement)
I am indeed the only enjoyer and the Lord of all sacrifices. But they do not understand Me in My true nature. So they fall.
The votaries of the deities go to the deities; of the manes, to the manes; and of the spirits to the spirits, while My worshippers come to Me.
Whoever makes an offering to Me with devotion, be it of leaf, flower, fruit or water--that devout offering made by a pure-hearted man, I accept with joy.
O son of kunti! Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer in sacrifice, whatever you give as charity, whatever austerity you perform--do that as offering unto Me.
Thus shall you be freed from the bonds of Karma bearing good and evil fruits. With the heart firmly set on renunciation, you will attain liberation and thereby come to Me.
I am the same towards all beings. None is hateful, and none, dear to Me. But those who worship Me with devotion dwell in Me, and I too dwell in them.
Even a confirmed sinner, if he worships Me with unwavering faith and devotion, must verily be considered as righteous; for he has indeed taken the right revolve. (So criminals can turn over a new leaf. Then why Hindus have caste system?)
Soon will he become righteous and attain to lasting peace. No devotee of Mine will ever perish, you may swear to this effect, O Arjuna! (Stupid! All Spirits will never die.)
O son of Prtha! Taking refuge in Me, women, Vaisyas, Sudras, and likewise even men of inferior birth, attain to the highest spiritual goal.
Then how much more so in the case of holy Brahmanas and also of devoted royal sages! Having come into this impermanent and unhappy world, engage yourself in My worship.
Let your mind be absorbed in Me. Be devoted to Me, sacrifice unto Me, and bow down to Me. Thus, having Me as your highest goal, and united with Me in mind, (only in meditation and inaction) you shall come to Me alone.
Chapter 10 -- Manifestations Of Divine Glories
The Blessed Lord said: Hear again, O mighty armed one, My words on the Supreme Truth. Desirous of your good, I want to declare it to you, who are so beloved of Me.
Neither the hosts of gods nor Maharsis know my origin, for I am Myself the origin of all those gods and great sages.
He who knows Me as the beginning-less, the unborn and the Master of the worlds--he among mortals becomes un-deluded, and he is freed from all sins.
Intelligence, knowledge, sanity, patience, truth, sense-control, mind-control, pleasure, pain, birth, death, fear and also fearlessness; non-injury, same-sightedness, contentment, austerity, benevolence, fame and obloquy--all these diverse modes of the mind seen in all beings proceed from Me alone, their ultimate sanctioner.
The seven great sages as also the four earlier ones like Sanaka and the rest and the Manus likewise are My emanations, being projections of my thought. All this race of men is their progeny.
He who knows the truth about this manifestation of My Divine majesties and about My power, gets united with Me in steady and unfaltering communion. (There is no doubt about this.)
I am the source of all things, from Me all these go forth -- knowing thus the wise ones worship Me, being filled with ecstatic devotional fervor.
With their minds engrossed and their vital energies deeply involved in Me, they are ever contented and delighted by mutually conversing about Me and enlightening each other thereby.
To those who serve Me with delight and are ever steadfast in spiritual communion, I bestow intuitive understanding by means of which they come to Me.
Out of sheer compassion for them, residing within as their innermost self, (the Spirit at the Mark) I destroy the darkness born of ignorance in them by the brilliant lamp of wisdom.
Arjuna said: Thou art the Supreme Brahman, the Supreme Abode, the utterly Holy. Thou art the eternal divine Person--the birth-less and all-pervading Divinity supreme. All the Rishis proclaim this--the divine sage Narada as also Asita, Devala and Vyasa; Thou Thyself too dost tell Me the same.
O Kesava! Whatever Thou hast told me, I deem as true. Verily, O Lord, neither the Devas nor the Danavas know what thy manifestations are.
O Thou the highest of all beings! O Creator of all! O Lord of all! O God of gods! O Ruler of the world! Thou art known only to thyself through self-intuition.
Deign to speak to me in entirety of those divine manifestations of Thy glory, whereby, pervading all these worlds, Thou abides in them and beyond.
How am I to know Thee, O Yogin, through constant meditation? In what all aspects should thou be contemplated upon by me, O Lord?
O Janardana! Tell me again and again of thy divine powers and majesties; for I am ever eager to hear more and more of Thy nectarine words.
The Blessed Lord said: Behold, O best of the Kurus! I shall declare unto you what My divine self-manifestations are; but I shall mention only the chief of them. For, there is no end to their details.
O Arjuna! I am the Self residing in the heart of every being. I am their beginning, their life-span, and their end.
Of the twelve Adityas, I am Visnu; among the luminaries I am the radiant sun; among the seven Maruts I am Marci; and of the Naksatras I am the moon.
Of the Vedas, I am the Sama Veda; among the Devas, I am Indra; of the senses, I am the mind; and of living beings, I am intelligence.
Of the eleven Rudras, I am Sankara; among the Demigods and titans, I am Kubera; of the eight Vasus, I am Agni; among mountains, I am the Meru.
Among the priests, know me to be the chief of them--Brhaspati, the priest of the Devas, O Arjuna. Among the war-lords I am Skanda; among the water reservoirs, I am the ocean.
Among the great sages, I am Bhrgu; among utterances I am the mono-syllabic 'Om'; among holy offering, I am the offering of Japa; among immovable objects, I am the mount Himalaya.
Among all trees, I am the holy fig-tree; among the divine sages, I am Narada; among celestial artistes, I am Citraratha; among perfected souls, I am Kapila the sage.
Among horses know Me to be the nectar-born Uccaisravas, among the lordly elephants, the white celestial elephant Airavata; among men, persons endowed with leadership.
Among weapons I am the thunderbolt; among cows, Kamadhenu the celestial cow of plenty; among progenitors, Kama the god of love; and among serpents, Vasuki.
Among serpents I am Ananta; among water dwellers I am Varuna; among the manes I am Aryama; and among the enforcers of law I am Yama.
Among Daityas I am Prahlada; among calculators I am time; among animals I am the lion; and among birds I am Garuda.
Among purifying agents I am the wind; among warriors I am Rama; among the fish I am the shark; and among rivers I am the Ganga.
O Arjuna! Of the created objects I am the beginning, middle and end; among the sciences, I am the science of the spirit; and of debaters I am the power of correct reasoning.
Among letters I am the letter 'A', among compound word formations I am the copulative. I am also the never-ending Time and the all-seeing Brahma (the dispenser of the Karma of all beings).
I am the all-destroying Death, and I am the origin of all that are to come too. Among virtues considered as female I am fame, fortune, speech, memory, intelligence, constancy and patience.
Among the Sama hymns I am the Brhatsaman; among the Vedic metres, I am the Gayatri; among months, I am Margasirsa; and among seasons, I am the flower-bearing spring.
I am the dicing of the deceitful, the power of the powerful and the goodness of the good. I am victory, determination and constancy too.
I am Vasudeva among the Vrsnis and Arjuna among the Pandavas. I am Vyasa among sages, and Usanas among the far-sighted.
I am the rod of chastisement in the disciplinarians; I am the wise policy in those seeking success; I am silence in the art of secrecy; and I am wisdom in the wise.
Of all beings I am the seed, O Arjuna. Whatever exists in this world, living or non-living, none of them can be, if I were not.
O great warrior! There is no end to my divine manifestations. What I have expounded forms only a few of them by way of examples.
Whatever there is endowed with extraordinary glory, attractiveness and vigor, know all that to be born of a fragment of my power.
But then, of what avail is this detailed understanding of my manifestations to you, O Arjuna! Supporting this mighty universe with but one single fragment of My self, I remain unchanged and transcendent. (The above verses can confuse you if you still cannot understand the Spirit inside you is Krsna.)
Edited on 10th June 2008