Bhagwad Gita - Post 84

Chapter 7 

(continued...)

Verse 16

Chaturvidhaa bhajante maam

Janaah sukritino’rjuna;

Aarto jijnaasur artharthee

Jnaanee cha bharatarshabha.

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!

Verse 17

Teshaam jnaanee nityayukta

Eka bhaktirvishishyate;

Priyo hi jnaanino’tyartham

Aham sa cha mama priyah.

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.

Verse 18

Udaaraah sarva evaite jnaanee

Twaatmaiva me matam;

Aasthitah sa hi yuktaatmaa

Maamevaanuttamaam gatim.

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.

Verse 19

Bahoonaam janmanaamante

Jnaanavaanmaam prapadyate;

Vaasudevah sarvamiti sa

Mahaatmaa sudurlabhah.

At the end of many births the wise man comes to Me, realizing that all this is Vasudeva (the innermost Self); such a great soul (Mahatma) is very hard to find.

Verse 20

Kaamaistaistairhritajnaanaah

Prapadyante’nyadevataah;

Tam tam niyamamaasthaaya

Prakrityaa niyataah swayaa.

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.

Verse 21

Yo yo yaam yaam tanum bhaktah

Shraddhayaarchitum icchati;

Tasya tasyaachalaam shraddhaam

Taameva vidadhaamyaham.

Whatsoever form any devotee desires to worship with faith—that (same) faith of his I make firm and unflinching.

Verse 22

Sa tayaa shraddhayaa yuktah

Tasyaaraadhanameehate;

Labhate cha tatah kaamaan

Mayaiva vihitaan hi taan.

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).

Verse 23

Antavattu phalam teshaam

Tadbhavatyalpamedhasaam;

Devaan devayajo yaanti

Madbhaktaa yaanti maamapi.

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.

Verse 24

Avyaktam vyaktimaapannam

manyante maamabuddhayah;

Param bhaavamajaananto

mamaavyayamanuttamam.

The foolish think of Me, the Unmanifest, as having manifestation, knowing not My higher, immutable and most excellent nature.

Verse 25

Naaham prakaashah sarvasya

Yogamaayaasamaavritah;

Moodho’yam naabhijaanaati

Loko maamajamavyayam.

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.

Verse 26

Vedaaham samateetaani

Vartamaanaani chaarjuna;

Bhavishyaani cha bhootani

Maam tu veda na kashchana.

I know, O Arjuna, the beings of the past, the present and the future, but no one knows Me.

Verse 27

Icchaadweshasamutthena

Dwandwamohena bhaarata;

Sarvabhootaani sammoham

Sarge yaanti parantapa.

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!

Verse 28

Yeshaam twantagatam

Paapam janaanaam punyakarmanaam;

Te dwandwamohanirmuktaa

Bhajante maam dridhavrataah.

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.

Verse 29

Jaraamaranamokshaaya

Maamaashritya yatanti ye;

Te brahma tadviduh kritsnam

Adhyaatmam karma chaakhilam.

Those who strive for liberation from old age and death, taking refuge in Me, realize in full that Brahman, the whole knowledge of the Self and all action.

Verse 30

Saadhibhootaadhidaivam maam

Saadhiyajnam cha ye viduh;

Prayaanakaale’pi cha maam

Te vidur yuktachetasah.

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, the scripture of Yoga, the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna, ends the seventh discourse

Love.

Bhagwad Gita - Post 83

Chapter 7

THE YOGA OF WISDOM AND REALIZATION

Verse 1

Sri Bhagavaan Uvaacha:

Mayyaasaktamanaah paartha

Yogam yunjanmadaashrayah;

Asamshayam samagram maam

Yathaa jnaasyasi tacchrinu.

The Blessed Lord said:

O Arjuna, hear how you shall without doubt know Me fully, with the mind intent on Me, practicing Yoga and taking refuge in Me!

Verse 2

Jnaanam te’ham savijnaanam

Idam vakshyaamyasheshatah;

Yajjnaatwaa neha bhooyo’nyaj

Jnaatavyamavashishyate.

I shall declare to thee in full this knowledge combined with direct realization, after knowing which nothing more here remains to be known.

Verse 3

Manushyaanaam sahasreshu

Kashchidyatati siddhaye;

Yatataamapi siddhaanaam

Kashchinmaam vetti tattwatah.

Among thousands of men, one perchance strives for perfection; even among those successful strivers, only one perchance knows Me in essence.

Verse 4

Bhoomiraapo’nalo vaayuh

Kham mano buddhireva cha;

Ahamkaara iteeyam me

Bhinnaa prakritirashtadhaa.

Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intellect and egoism—thus is My Nature divided eightfold.

Verse 5

Apareyamitastwanyaam

Prakritim viddhi me paraam;

Jeevabhootaam mahaabaaho

Yayedam dhaaryate jagat.

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.

Verse 6

Etadyoneeni bhootaani

Sarvaaneetyupadhaaraya;

Aham kritsnasya jagatah

Prabhavah pralayastathaa.

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.

Verse 7

Mattah parataram naanyat

Kinchidasti dhananjaya;

Mayi sarvamidam protam

Sootre maniganaa iva.

There is nothing whatsoever higher than Me, O Arjuna! All this is strung on Me as clusters of gems on a string.

Verse 8

Raso’hamapsu kaunteya

Prabhaasmi shashisooryayoh;

Pranavah sarvavedeshu

Shabdah khe paurusham nrishu.

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.

Verse 9

Punyo gandhah prithivyaam cha

Tejashchaasmi vibhaavasau;

Jeevanam sarvabhooteshu

Tapashchaasmi tapaswishu.

I am the sweet fragrance in earth and the brilliance in fire, the life in all beings; and I am austerity in ascetics.

Verse 10

Beejam maam sarvabhootaanaam

Viddhi paartha sanaatanam

Buddhir buddhimataamasmi

Tejastejaswinaamaham.

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.

Verse 11

Balam balavataam asmi

Kaamaraagavivarjitam;

Dharmaaviruddho bhooteshu

Kaamo’smi bharatarshabha.

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!

Verse 12

Ye chaiva saattvikaa bhaavaa

Raajasaastaamasaashcha ye;

Matta eveti taanviddhi

Na twaham teshu te mayi.

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.

Verse 13

Tribhirgunamayair bhavair

Ebhih sarvamidam jagat;

Mohitam naabhijaanaati

Maamebhyah paramavyayam.

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.

Verse 14

Daivee hyeshaa gunamayee

Mama maayaa duratyayaa;

Maameva ye prapadyante

Maayaametaam taranti te.

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.

Verse 15

Na maam dushkritino moodhaah

Prapadyante naraadhamaah;

Maayayaapahritajnaanaa

Aasuram bhaavamaashritaah.

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.

Continued...

Love.

Bhagwad Gita - Post 82

THE YOGA OF WISDOM AND REALISATION

Summary of Seventh Discourse

What happens after the expected goal of self-integration is reached by way of direct restraint of the senses and the mind, and meditation as per the suggestions given in the Sixth Chapter? Meditation on what? 

There is not much detail on this subject in the first six chapters. There was a reference to the Atman towards the end of the Fifth Chapter, and this continues throughout the Sixth Chapter: ātmanyeva vaśaṁ nayet (6.26). 

This has been reiterated several times. The restraint of the mind and the senses is intended for the purpose of achieving Self-identity — the establishment of consciousness in the Atman. We have heard this word ‘Atman’ a number of times, but in the Sixth Chapter the Bhagwad Gita does not go into detail as to what this Atman is, though it says that it is immortal, and it is pervading everything.

From the Seventh Chapter onwards, we enter into a new field of observation and study — namely, the encounter of the individual with the cosmic purpose. Very little of the cosmos is mentioned in the first six chapters other than a reference to the three gunas of prakriti, etc., in the Third Chapter. 

But a direct onslaught, as it were, on this great subject of the Universal Being having an organic connection with the individual, and God being the Creator of the world, did not receive adequate emphasis. “Do this.” “Do not do this.” “Restrain yourself.” We heard this many a time in the first six chapters. 

From the Seventh Chapter onwards, the Supreme Lord assumes an important position. In the first six chapters, Sri Krishna speaks as an instructor, as a mentor, as a good guide,

a friend, philosopher and guide, as it is said. 

Now he speaks in a different tone altogether, as a representative of the Almighty Himself. 

He is no more a teacher of the ordinary type. 

He is not a simple friend of Arjuna or a philosopher par excellence but is God Himself speaking. He is the mouthpiece of the Almighty. Therefore, the ideas of “Come to Me. Resort to Me. Be intent on Me. Depend on Me. Surrender yourself to Me” are more prominently emphasized from the Seventh Chapter onwards. 

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 action less 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.

Sri Krishna tells Arjuna that the supreme Godhead has to be realized 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 realization.

Love.