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An Introduction to The Bhagavad Gita

Chapter 9 - SUPREME KNOWLEDGE AND THE BIG MYSTERY

Lord Krishna said: I shall reveal to you, who do not disbelieve, the most profound secret transcendental knowledge together with transcendental experience. Having known this you will be freed from the miseries of worldly existence. (9.01)

KNOWLEDGE OF THE NATURE OF SUPREME IS THE BIGGEST MYSTERY

This Self-knowledge is the king of all knowledge, is the most secret, is very sacred, it can be perceived by instinct, conforms to righteousness (Dharma), is very easy to practice, and is timeless. (9.02)

O Arjuna, those who have no faith in this knowledge do not attain Me, and follow the cycles of birth and death. (9.03)

This entire universe is an expansion of Mine. All beings depend on Me (like a chain depends on gold, and the milk products depend on milk). I do not depend on ¾ or affected by ¾ them; because I am the highest of all. (See also 7.12) (9.04)

Look at the power of My divine mystery; in reality, I ¾ the sustainer and creator of all beings ¾ do not depend on them, and they also do not depend on Me. (In fact, the gold-chain does not depend on gold; the gold-chain is nothing but gold. Also, matter and energy are different as well as non-different). (9.05)

Perceive that all beings remain in Me — without any contact or without producing any effect — as the mighty wind, moving everywhere, eternally remains in space. (9.06)

THEORY OF EVOLUTION AND INVOLUTION

All beings merge into My primary material Nature at the end of a cycle of just over 311 trillion solar years, O Arjuna, and I create them again at the beginning of the next cycle. (See also 8.17) (9.07)

I create the entire multitude of beings again and again with the help of My material Nature. These beings are under control of the modes of material Nature. (9.08)

These acts of creation do not bind Me, O Arjuna, because I remain indifferent and unattached to those acts. (9.09)

The divine kinetic energy (Maya) ¾ with the help of material Nature ¾ creates all animate and inanimate objects under My supervision, and thus the creation keeps on going, O Arjuna. (See also 14.03) (9.10)

WAYS OF THE WISE, AND OF THE IGNORANT ARE DIFFERENT

The ignorant persons despise Me when I appear in human form, because they do not know My transcendental nature as the great Lord of all beings, and take Me for an ordinary human being. They are unable to recognize Me, because they have false hopes, false actions, and false knowledge; and possess delusive qualities of fiends and demons. (9.11-12)

But great souls, O Arjuna, who possess divine qualities (See 16.01-03) know Me as immutable; as the material and efficient cause of creation, and worship Me single-mindedly with loving devotion. (9.13)

Persons of firm resolve worship Me with ever-steadfast devotion by always singing My glories, striving to attain Me, and prostrating before Me with devotion. (9.14)

Some worship Me by acquiring the knowledge of God. Others worship the infinite as the One in all (or non-dual), as the master of all (or dual), and in various other ways. (9.15)

EVERYTHING IS A MANIFESTATION OF THE ABSOLUTE

I am the ritual, I am the sacrifice, I am the offering, I am the herb, I am the mantra, I am the clarified butter, I am the fire, and I am the oblation. (See also 4.24). I am the supporter of the universe, the father, the mother, and the grandfather. I am the object of knowledge, the sacred syllable OM, and the Vedas. I am the goal, the supporter, the Lord, the witness, the abode, the refuge, the friend, the origin, the dissolution, the foundation, the substratum, and the immutable seed. (See also 7.10 and 10.39) (9.16-18)

I give heat, I send as well as withhold the rain. I am immortality as well as death, I am also both the eternal Absolute and the temporal, O Arjuna. (The Supreme Being has become everything, See also 13.12) (9.19)

ATTAIN SALVATION BY DEVOTIONAL LOVE

The doers of the rituals prescribed in the Vedas, the drinkers of the nectar of devotion, and whose sins are cleansed, worship Me by doing good deeds for gaining heaven. As a result of their meritorious deeds they go to heaven and enjoy celestial sense pleasures. (9.20)

They return to the mortal world ¾ after enjoying the wide world of heavenly pleasures ¾ upon exhaustion of the fruits of their good Karma. Thus following the injunctions of the Vedas, persons working for the fruit of their actions take repeated birth and death. (See also 8.25) (9.21)

I personally take care of both spiritual and material welfare of those ever-steadfast devotees who always remember and adore Me with single-minded contemplation. (9.22)

O Arjuna, even those devotees who worship the deities with faith, they also worship Me, but in an improper way. (9.23)

Because I, the Supreme Being, alone am the enjoyer of all sacrificial services, and Lord of the universe. But people do not know My true transcendental nature. Therefore, they fall into the repeated cycles of birth and death. (9.24)

Worshippers of the celestial controllers go to the celestial controllers, the worshippers of the ancestors go to the ancestors, and the worshippers of the ghosts go to the ghosts, but My devotees come to Me, and are not born again. (See also 8.16) (9.25)

LORD ACCEPTS AND EATS THE OFFERING OF LOVE AND DEVOTION

Whosoever offers Me a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or water with devotion; I accept and eat the offering of devotion by the pure-hearted. (9.26)

O Arjuna, whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer as oblation to the sacred fire, whatever charity you give, whatever austerity you perform, do all that as an offering unto Me. (See also 12.10, 18.46) (9.27)

You shall become free from the bondage ¾ good and bad ¾ of Karma and come to Me by this attitude of complete renunciation. (9.28)

The Self is present equally in all beings. There is no one hateful or dear to Me. But, those who worship Me with love and devotion are very close to Me, and I am also very close to them. (See also 7.18) (9.29)

THERE IS NO UNFORGIVABLE SINNER

Even if the most sinful person resolves to worship Me with single-minded loving devotion, such a person must be regarded as a saint because of making the right resolution. (9.30)

Such a person soon becomes righteous and attains everlasting peace. Be aware, O Arjuna, that My devotee shall never perish or fall down. (9.31)

PATH OF DEVOTIONAL LOVE IS EASIER

Anybody can attain the Supreme Abode by just surrendering unto My will with loving devotion, O Arjuna. (See also 18.66) (9.32)

Then, it should be very easy for the wise and devout sages to attain the Supreme Being. Therefore, having obtained this joyless and transitory human life, one should always worship Me with loving devotion. (9.33)

Always think of Me, be devoted to Me, worship Me, and bow down to Me. Thus uniting yourself with Me by setting Me as the supreme goal and the sole refuge, you shall certainly come to Me. (9.34)

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