श्रीभगवानुवाच |
śrībhagavānuvāca |
Lord Krishna declares He will now reveal the most confidential knowledge combined with realized wisdom (vijñāna) to Arjuna, who is free from envy. Knowing this, Arjuna will be liberated from the miseries of material existence.
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
śrībhagavānuvāca |
This knowledge is the king of all sciences, the king of all secrets, supremely pure, directly perceivable through intuitive realization, righteous, joyful to practice, and imperishable.
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
śrībhagavānuvāca |
Those who have no faith in this dharma, O scorcher of foes, without attaining Me, return to the path of death and rebirth in this material world.
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
śrībhagavānuvāca |
The entire universe is pervaded by Me in My unmanifest form. All beings exist within Me, yet I am not contained in them. This is My divine mystery.
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
śrībhagavānuvāca |
And yet beings do not dwell in Me — behold My divine mystery! My Self sustains all beings and brings them into existence, yet does not dwell in them.
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
śrībhagavānuvāca |
Just as the mighty wind, blowing everywhere, always rests in space, so know that all beings rest in Me.
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
śrībhagavānuvāca |
At the end of a cosmic cycle (kalpa), O son of Kunti, all beings merge into My material nature (prakriti). At the beginning of the next cycle, I project them forth again.
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
śrībhagavānuvāca |
Taking hold of My own material nature (prakriti), I project forth again and again this entire multitude of beings, who are helpless, being under the sway of prakriti.
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
śrībhagavānuvāca |
These activities of creation and dissolution do not bind Me, O Dhananjaya. I remain seated as if indifferent, unattached to those actions.
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
śrībhagavānuvāca |
Under My supervision, prakriti (material nature) gives birth to all moving and non-moving beings. By this cause, O son of Kunti, the world revolves.
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
śrībhagavānuvāca |
Fools disregard Me when I descend in human form, not knowing My transcendent nature as the great Lord of all beings.
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
śrībhagavānuvāca |
Those of vain hopes, vain actions, and vain knowledge, being devoid of discrimination, take shelter in the deluding nature of demons and rakshasas.
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
śrībhagavānuvāca |
But the great souls (mahātmās), O Partha, who take shelter in the divine nature, worship Me with undivided mind, knowing Me as the imperishable origin of all beings.
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
śrībhagavānuvāca |
Always glorifying Me, striving with firm resolve, bowing down to Me with devotion, these ever-steadfast souls worship Me.
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
śrībhagavānuvāca |
Others worship Me through the sacrifice of knowledge — some seeing Me as one (non-dual), others as separate, and still others in diverse forms facing everywhere.
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
śrībhagavānuvāca |
I am the Vedic ritual, I am the sacrifice, I am the ancestral offering, I am the healing herb. I am the mantra, I am the clarified butter, I am the fire, and I am the act of offering.
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
śrībhagavānuvāca |
I am the father of this universe, the mother, the sustainer, and the grandfather. I am the object of knowledge, the purifier, the syllable Om, and the Rig, Sama, and Yajur Vedas.
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
śrībhagavānuvāca |
I am the goal, the sustainer, the master, the witness, the abode, the refuge, and the dearest friend. I am the creation, the dissolution, the foundation, the resting place, and the imperishable seed.
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
śrībhagavānuvāca |
I give heat as the sun. I withhold and send forth rain. I am both immortality and death, and I am being (sat) and non-being (asat), O Arjuna.
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
śrībhagavānuvāca |
Those who know the three Vedas and drink the soma juice, purified of sins, worship Me through sacrifices and pray for passage to heaven. They reach the holy world of Indra and enjoy celestial pleasures of the gods.
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
śrībhagavānuvāca |
Having enjoyed the vast heavenly realm, when their merit is exhausted, they return to the mortal world. Thus, those who follow the Vedic rituals desiring sense pleasures achieve only coming and going.
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
śrībhagavānuvāca |
To those who worship Me alone, thinking of no other, to those who are ever steadfast, I Myself carry what they lack (yoga) and preserve what they have (kshema).
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
śrībhagavānuvāca |
Even those devotees who worship other gods with faith are actually worshipping Me alone, O son of Kunti, but in an improper manner.
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
śrībhagavānuvāca |
For I alone am the enjoyer and the Lord of all sacrifices. But those who do not recognize Me in My true nature — they fall from their path.
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
śrībhagavānuvāca |
Worshippers of the gods go to the gods; worshippers of the ancestors go to the ancestors; worshippers of elemental spirits go to the spirits; but those who worship Me come to Me.
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
śrībhagavānuvāca |
Whoever offers Me a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or water with devotion — that offering made with love by the pure-hearted, I accept.
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
śrībhagavānuvāca |
Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer in sacrifice, whatever you give away, whatever austerity you practice — do that, O son of Kunti, as an offering to Me.
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
śrībhagavānuvāca |
In this way, you shall be freed from the bonds of action yielding both good and bad results. With your mind disciplined by the yoga of renunciation, you shall be liberated and come to Me.
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
śrībhagavānuvāca |
I am equal to all beings; none is hateful or dear to Me. But those who worship Me with devotion — they are in Me, and I am in them.
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
śrībhagavānuvāca |
Even if the most sinful person worships Me with exclusive devotion, that person is to be regarded as righteous, for they have rightly resolved.
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
śrībhagavānuvāca |
Quickly does that person become righteous and attain lasting peace. O son of Kunti, declare it boldly — My devotee never perishes.
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
śrībhagavānuvāca |
For those who take refuge in Me, O Partha — even those born of sinful wombs, women, vaishyas, and shudras — they too attain the supreme goal.
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
śrībhagavānuvāca |
How much more then for righteous brahmanas and devoted royal sages! Having come to this impermanent and joyless world, engage in My worship.
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
śrībhagavānuvāca |
Fix your mind on Me, be devoted to Me, worship Me, and bow down to Me. Thus uniting yourself with Me and making Me your supreme goal, you shall certainly come to Me.