The Bhagavad Gita (13 page)

26  “These two ways, the light (Northern) and the dark (Southern), have existed since the beginning. Following the light way (which refers not to a period of time but a state of mind) leads you to spiritual success and freedom; taking the dark way leads you to further pain and misery.

27  “Once you know these two paths you can never be deluded or misled again. Therefore, beloved friend, gain this great knowledge! Be a
yogi
at all times.

28  “The wise know that living by scriptural injunctions (good deeds, sacrifice, and so forth) will help you
reach heaven. But the true
yogi
knows that even heaven is part of nature (
prakriti
) and thus is eventually perishable. This
yogi
therefore transcends all of nature to reach Me, Brahman, the Imperishable Godhead, the Divine Love who lives in your heart.”

1-2  “Since you are so receptive, Arjuna, I will now reveal the most mysterious and profound secret. Having this knowledge will liberate you from the sorrows of worldly existence. This is the royal road of ultimate knowledge, the king of secrets— knowledge of both the visible and invisible Godhead. This is purifying knowledge, fully in accord with
dharma
(truth-based living). It is easy to practice and a joy to hold. Once you know this secret you cannot lose it.

3  “But those who lack faith in this doctrine will fail to find Me. To cynical people with trifling objections this secret is a closed book; they are compelled to return to the cycle of death and rebirth.”

4-6  “I, Brahman, the Supreme Godhead, in My unmanifested (invisible) form, pervade everything and every creature in the universe. I am the origin of everything that is and is not. All beings in all the worlds exist, in spirit, within Me and depend on Me. But I do not abide in them because that would limit Me. This is the Divine mystery of Me as the unmanifested Godhead. I am never confined, attached, changed, or in any way limited. As birds fly across the sky leaving no trace, I, like the sky, am ever Myself, unaffected by anything of the phenomenal world.

7  “At the end of a
kalpa,
a cosmic day of Brahma (consisting of a full cycle of earthly eons, billions of years), all beings dissolve into My unmanifested matter, which at that point is the seed of their next coming to be. Then, at the beginning of the next cycle I generate them again, sending them onward at the moment of creation.

8  “Again and again I animate nature to bring forth this multitude of forms and beings, infusing spirit into their matter and subjecting all to the laws of their own nature.

9  “None of these actions in any way binds Me, Arjuna. I remain unattached and unconcerned, indifferent to the fruits of these actions. Nature, because of its proximity to Divinity, carries on the activities of creation.

10  “Under My watchful eye the laws of nature take their course. With Me presiding over the proceedings, the animate and inanimate manifest and the wheel of the world is set revolving.

11  “People who are unaware of My transcendent majesty n cannot relate to Me. They do not know that I am their very soul. They disregard Me when I come to the world clad in a body and relate to Me as just an ordinary mortal.

12  “Their ignorance makes their lives fraught with pain and disaster. The selfish ones, their minds ever agitated and never in peace, lead a hurtful life. The slothful ones live a lazy life of ignorance, seeking only to satisfy their bodily needs. All hopes and actions of these ignorant souls are in vain.

13-14  “But the great souls
(mahatmas)
are different. Guided by their more Divine nature and knowing My true nature, they love Me and offer constant devotion to Me — and they bear great love for all others.

“As the mind takes on the coloring of that which it constantly glorifies, these people, steadfastly revering Me and always absorbed inMe (God), literally
become
this love. They turn godlike and eventually merge in Me.

15  “Other great souls, those on the path of knowledge, venerate Me as the one God in the many. They have come to know that My attributes and forms are inexhaustible. They see My million faces in everyone and everything. To them all things and all beings in the universe are aspects of this one Self, God.

16  “Because I am endless, the variety of ways I am adored is endless. I am the rites and rituals of the scriptures. I am the offerings made to the ancestors. I am the food that is medicinal and nourishing. I am the formative
thought behind the chanted hymn
(mantra).
I am the gift offered into the fire; I am even the flame itself that consumes the offering.

“Apart from Me, Arjuna, there is absolutely no thought, no object, and no act. Holding this huge idea constantly in your awareness is indeed the way to reach Me.

17  “I am the father, mother, and grandfather of this universe. I am the one who dispenses the fruits of people’s actions, their
karma.
I am the one thing worth knowing, and I am the enabler of all knowing. As water gets purified by filtering through earth, and other things get purified by being washed in water, mankind gets purified by contact with Me. I am the syllable
Om,
the very sound of Divinity. I am all the scriptures ever written.

18  “I am the goal at the end of all paths. I am the landlord of all creation. I am the inner witness in every human. I am your only lasting shelter; all beings dwell in Me. I am your best friend who lives in your heart as your conscience. I am the beginning of creation, the well-wisher of it, and the dissolution of it. I am the storehouse into which all life returns when creation dissolves — and I am the everlasting, imperishable seed from which it again springs.

19  “I give the heat of the sun. I let loose the food-giving rain, and I withhold it. I am both immortality and death (doled out based on the fruits of one’s actions). I am both being and nonbeing. In My visible form I am the cosmos; in My invisible form I am the germ that lies hidden.”

20-21  “Those who follow rituals and refrain from bad deeds, who offer worship and pray for heaven — they eventually reach those heavenly planes and share in celestial pleasures. But when the merits they earned in life are spent, they return to this world for yet another birth-death cycle. Caught by their own attachment to enjoyment, even the joy of heaven, they continue to come and go.

22  “Now listen carefully, Arjuna, this is the king of secrets, the crown jewel, the law of life at the spiritual level. If you think of Me only and constantly revere and worship Me with your mind and heart undistracted, I will personally carry the burden of your welfare; I will provide for your needs and safeguard what has already been provided.

“Just as the baby in the womb gets protection and nourishment due to its connection with the mother, humans also get refuge when connected with Me. But this is even greater than the baby-mother relationship because this shelter is for eternity!

23-24  “Those who faithfully make offerings to other deities are really worshiping Me, though by a more limited path. I, the Divinity in all, am the receiver and enjoyer of all offerings, all worship, all devotion. Minor gods give those who pray to them things of the world that only entangle them more in the earthly. I alone have the power to fulfill people’s prayers without snarling them in attachments. I do this to increase their devotion and further their spiritual development.

25  “Those who worship minor gods go to the gods they pray to. Those who worship their ancestors (
manes
) are reunited with them after death. Those who worship elemental spirits (
bhutas
) become like them. All these only add to earthly attachments. But those who worship Me come to Me, the Supreme Reality.

26  “I accept with joy whatever I am offered in true devotion: fruit or water, leaf or flower. The gift is love, the dedication of your heart. Devotion alone gains access to Divinity.

27  “Therefore, Arjuna, whatever you do in the world, whatever you eat, sacrifice, give up, or give away — even your suffering — offer it all to Me. Dedicate everything to Me, Divinity.

28  “By offering all your actions to the Divine you surrender selfish attachment to their fruits, and this frees you from the
karmic
consequences of your actions — whether the consequences are pleasant or painful. With your mind unshakably on this path of renunciation you will be united with Me.

29  “I am equally present in all beings and show the same face to all creation; none are favored, none are hateful, and none dear. But those who loveMe with brimming heart become absorbed in Me, and as they dwell in Me, I am revealed dwelling within them.

30-31  “I dwell even in the misguided. Know, Arjuna, that the change from profligacy to purity is not uncommon. If a person soiled with the wayward actions of a lifetime but turns to Me in utter devotion, I see no sinner. Newfound dedication can quickly refashion one’s nature. Know this for certain: no one devoted to Me falls!

32  “Everyone who takes refuge in Me, whatever their birth, gender, or position in society will attain the supreme goal of merging into Me. This is true even for those whom society may scorn or consider to be ineligible (women in some cultures, for example, or lower classes in others). There is no such thing as a sinful or wicked birth. Where there is a hurricane of love in the mind and heart
all
human distinctions vanish.

33-34  “You have found yourself born into this transient and joyless world, Arjuna, so turn from it and take delight in Me. Give all your love to Me. Adore Me, the One Divine. Make all your acts an offering. Surrender to Me. Make Divinity your fondest ideal and highest goal. Set your heart and mind on Me as I here prescribe, and you will indeed enter into My very being.”

  1  Krishna speaks: “I notice, O Warrior, that your heart delights in My words of wisdom, so I will elaborate.

  2  “Neither the gods nor the great sages really know My beginning. As I am the origin of them all, My glory remains only partially known to them. Like children who repeatedly ask about their parents’ birth and childhood, they can never fully understand, no matter how much they inquire.

  3  “Some wise ones intuit from glimpses and partial knowledge that I, the Supreme Godhead, am the source
of all creation. Thus enlightened, they eagerly join their lives to Me and are freed from misdeeds.

4-5  “Certain godly attributes of ordinary humans are My creation. I am in all living beings as the following qualities: intellect, patience, wisdom (knowing
Atma),
peace of mind, self-restraint, control of ego, discrimination (distinguishing Real from not-Real), equanimity, nonharm to others, austerity (purification), self-discipline (
tapas),
charitable giving, and other positive traits. All these human refinements proceed from Divinity; all are aspects of God expressed in diverse ways.

  6    “From My mind were born the seven great sages of antiquity, the four elders, and the fourteen officials
(manus).
The sages symbolize planes of consciousness; the elders stand for humanity’s progenitors; the
manus
are symbolic of the group of administrators empowered to operate the universe. Everything issues from Me.”

  7  “Knowing these mystical details, you glimpse My Divine power. You know that whatever you sense or perceive in the entire cosmos is that power, and you therefore know that you could no more be separate from Me than you could be separate from your very life.

  8  “Wise
yogis
love Me ceaselessly. They know that the love they are experiencing for Me is Me, for I
am
Love, Arjuna. Just as the good farmer puts all his attention on to the soil, concentrating his mind fully on cultivating the land,
yogis
give their minds and hearts fully to the Divine, knowing that God alone is the source of everything.

  9  “With their attention and life vitality flowing to Me, absorbed in Me,
these yogis
take delight in speaking of Me with others of like mind. Nothing is dearer to anyone than their life, Arjuna, and I
am
life! Devoting one’s life to Me brings boundless contentment.