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Srimad Bhagavad-Gita:
"The Beautiful Song of God"
Translated by Jagannatha Prakasa (© 1993; last updated March 23, 2017)

Rajavidya-Rajaguhya-Yoga
The Yoga of the Highest and Most Discreet Knowledge

9:1: The Blessed One said: Because you are not envious, to you I will declare the most discreet knowledge, along with its realization, knowing which, you will be liberated from all inauspiciousness.

9:2: This highest and most discreet knowledge is purifying and supreme. It is perceived by direct experience and hence is the fulfillment of all religious and moral duties. It is joyful to perform as well as imperishable.

9:3: Those who are faithless in their Sacred Duties, O slayer of enemies, and who do not attain Me, return by the path [of rebirth] to this material world of death.

9:4, 5: All the material universes are pervaded by My unmanifested form. In Me all beings exist, though I am not situated in them.
And the beings do not dwell in Me, behold my divine yogic ability! Although I am the maintainer of all beings, I do not dwell in them, My Self being the Source of all beings.

9:6: As the mighty wind always dwells in the Akasha, moving everywhere, even so know that all beings dwell in Me.

9:7: O child of Kunti, at the end of every age all material beings enter into My nature and again, at the beginning of every age, I recreate them.

9:8: Supported by My material nature, I dispatch the multitude of beings again and again. All these act instinctively in material nature as if by constraint.

9:9: O conqueror of riches, I am not bound by these activities; as if indifferent, I am sitting unattached to them all.

9:10: Due to My presiding over material nature, both the moving and the unmoving come forth, O child of Kunti, and by reason of this the world continues to revolve.

9:11, 12: Fools deride Me when I resort in human form, not knowing My superior nature as the Great Lord of all beings.
Their hopes, actions and knowledge are all fruitless, they are senseless, demonic and unholy, indeed, they are stupefied by material nature.

9:13: On the other hand, O child of Partha, great souls resort unto the divine nature and worship with an undeviated mind, knowing Me to be the immutable source of all beings.

9:14: Always chanting My glories and pursuing Me, with discipline prostrating [themselves] before Me, always resolute in devotion, [the great souls] worship Me.

9:15: Others sacrifice with the sacrifice of knowledge, worshiping Me in oneness, duality, in diversity and in the universal form.

9:16-19: I am the ritual, I am the sacrifice, I am the oblation to the ancestors, I am the medicinal herb, I am the sacred chant, I am the ghee, I am the fire and I am the offering.
I am the father of this universe, the mother, the preserver, the grandfather, the object of knowledge, the purifier, the sacred syllable Oµ, the Rig Veda, the Sama Veda, and the Yajur Veda.
I am the goal, the sustainer, the lord, the witness, the abode, the refuge, the friend, the origin, the dissolution, the foundation, the receptacle and the imperishable seed.
I give heat, I send forth and withhold the rains, I am immortality as well as death; I am, O Arjuna, both being and non-being.

9:20, 21: Those who know the three Vedas, who drink the soma, whose sins are purified by sacrificial worship of Me, and who pray for passage to the heavenly planets, such holy people attain the planet of Lord Indra and there enjoy the celestial pleasures of the devas in heaven.
After enjoying the vast heavenly planets, their pious merits being well spent, they again enter this mortal world. Thus following the laws of the three Vedas, they go and return due to their desire to desire.

9:22: But those who worship Me with undeviated intent, who have no other object and who are are always yoked in devotion, upon them I confer happiness and carry them through.

9:23, 24: Also those who are devotees of other gods, and who worship them, endowed with faith, they actually worship Me alone, O son of Kunti, but by a lesser method.
I indeed am the Enjoyer and God of all sacrifices, but not knowing Me in truth they fall down.

9:25: Those who worship the gods go to the gods, those who worship the ancestors go to the ancestors, those who worship ghosts go to the ghosts, but those who worship Me go to Me.

9:26: If one offers Me a leaf, a flower, a fruit or some water with devotion I will accept it. I accept what is offered by one whose mind is pure.

9:27: Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer (in sacrifice), whatever you give away (in charity), whatever austerities you perform, O child of Kunti, do it all as an offering unto Me.

9:28: Thus freed from auspicious and inauspicious fruitive reactions, you will be liberated from the bondage of karma [action]. With the mind firmly established in the yoga of renunciation, you will be liberated and come to Me.

9:29: I am equitable towards all beings; none are hateful and none are dear to Me. But those who worship Me with devotion are in Me and I am in them.

9:30, 31: Even if one's actions are abominable, if such a one worships Me with exclusive devotion that person should be considered virtuous due to that integral determination.
Such a person soon becomes a righteous soul and attains eternal peace. O child of Kunti, boldly declare that My devotee shall never perish!

9:32, 33: O child of Partha, those who take refuge in Me, even if of a lower birth - women, vaishyas or sudras - attain the supreme goal.
How much more the holy brahmanas, devotees and royal saints who, having achieved this temporary world filled with sorrows, worship Me.

9:34: Always conscious of Me, become My devotee and sacrificer. Prostrate before Me. Having Me as the supreme goal, by thoroughly yoking yourself with Me you will come to Me.

Here Ends Chapter Nine.

Go to: Chapter Ten

Go to: Setting the Stage: My Introduction.

Go to: Notes and References.


Peace, Love, and Light!