Chapter 9. "The Path of Royal Science and Royal Secret".
The Blessed Lord said:
1. (Now) I shall declare to thee, who art without evil thought, this great secret, wisdom together with realization, knowing which thou shalt be freed from evil.
2. This is the king of sciences, king of secrets, the supreme purifier; it is realized by direct perception and is endowed with righteousness, easily performed and imperishable.
3. O Parantapa (Arjuna), the men who have no faith in this Dharma (science of Self-knowledge), without attaining Me, return to the path of death and re-birth.
4. By My unmanifested Form all this world is pervaded; all beings dwell in Me, but I do not dwell in them.
5. Behold My Divine Yoga! Beings do not dwell in Me; (although) the Creator and Supporter of all beings, (yet) My Self dwells not in them.
6. As the air, vast and always moving everywhere, exists in Akasha (space and ether), even so, know thou, all beings exist in Me.
7. O son of Kunti, all beings, at the end of a cycle, go back to my Prakriti (Nature); again, at the beginning of a cycle, I send them forth.
8. Ruling over My Prakriti, I send forth again and again this vast multitude of beings, who are helplessly imperiled by Nature.
9. O conqueror of wealth (Arjuna), these acts (of creation and dissolution) do not bind Me, sitting as one unconcerned and unattached to these acts.
10. O son of Kunti, with Me as the presiding deity, Prakriti (Nature) sends forth the moving and the unmoving. For this reason the world wheels round and round.
11. Fools, unaware of My Supreme state, as the great Lord of beings, disregard Me dwelling in human form.
12. They are of vain hopes, of vain deeds, of vain knowledge, and senseless, possessed with the deluding nature of Rakshasas (unclean, passionate and godless creatures) and Asuras (creatures of darkness and of ignorance).
13. But, O son of Kunti, the great-souled ones, possessing the Divine Nature, knowing Me as Immutable and as the Source of beings, worship Me with single-minded devotion.
14. Ever singing my glory and striving with steadfast vows, bowing down to Me in devotion, (they) perpetually worship Me.
15. Others again by performing the wisdom-sacrifice worship Me, the All-facing, as One, as separate, or in manifold forms.
16. I am Kratu, I am Yagna, I am Svadha, I am medicinal herbs, I am the Mantra, I am the oblation, I am the fire and I am the act of sacrifice.
17. I am the Father of the universe, the Mother, the Sustainer, the Grandsire, the One to be known, the Purifier, Om (Sound-Brahman), the Rik, Saman and Yajur.
18. (I am) the Way, the Supporter, the Lord, the Witness, the Abode, the Refuge, the Friend, the Origin, the Dissolution, the Resting-Place, the Storehouse and the Eternal Seed.
19. O Arjuna, I give heat, I send forth rain and withold it; I am Immortality and also death. I am being and non-being (the manifested and the unmanifested).
20. The knowers of three Vedas, having worshipped Me with sacrifice, drinking the Soma and thus being purified from sin, pray for the goal of heaven; they, having reached the region of the ruler of the Devas, enjoy i heaven the celestial pleasures of the Devas.
21. Having enjoyed that vast celestial world, they, at the exhaustion of the merit (of their good deeds), again enter into the mortal world; thus following the religion of the three Vedas, with the craving for objects of desire, they attain coming and going (birth and re-birth).
22. Those who worship Me and meditate on Me without any other thought, to these ever steadfast devotees I secure safety and supply all their needs ( I carry their burden).
23. O sonb of Kunti, even thoe devotees who worship other gods with faith, they too worship Me, but contrary to the law.
24. For I am alone the Enjoyer and Lord of all sacrifice; but they do not know Me in truth, hence they return (fall into re-birth).
25. The worshippers of the gods go to the gods; to the ancestors go the ancestor-worshippers; the spirit-worshippers go to the spirits; but My worshippers come unto Me.
26. He who, with devotion offereth to Me a leaf, a flower, a fruit and water, that love-offering I accept, made by the pure-hearted.
27. Whatever thou doest, whatever thou eatest, whatever thou offerest as oblation, whatever thou givest and the austerities thou performest, O sonof Kunti, do that as an offering to Me.
28. Thus thou shalt be freed from the bonds of action that bears good and evil fruit; and thy soul, being steadfastly engaged in this devotion of renunciation, liberated thou shalt come with me.
29. Alike am I to al beings; hated or beloved there is none to Me. But those who worship Me with devotion, they are in Me and I am in them.
30. Even if the most wicked worships Me with undivided devotion, he should be regarded as good, for he is rightly resolved.
31. Very soon he becomes a righteous sould and attains to eternal peace. Know thou, O son of Kunti, that my devotee never perishes.
32. O Partha, even those who are of inferior birth, ‹ women, Vaishyas (merchant class) and Sudras (servant class), ‹ even they, by taking refuge in Me, attain to the Supreme Goal.
33. What need is there, then, to speak of the holy Brahmanas and the royal Sages! Having come into this transitory and joyless world, do thou worship Me.
34. Fill thy mind with Me, be thou My devotee, worship me and bow down to Me; thus, steadfastly uniting thy heart with Me alone and regarding Me as thy Supreme Goal, thou shalt come unto Me.
Here ends the Ninth Chapter called "The Path of Royal Science and Royal Secret"
The Blessed Lord said:
1. (Now) I shall declare to thee, who art without evil thought, this great secret, wisdom together with realization, knowing which thou shalt be freed from evil.
2. This is the king of sciences, king of secrets, the supreme purifier; it is realized by direct perception and is endowed with righteousness, easily performed and imperishable.
3. O Parantapa (Arjuna), the men who have no faith in this Dharma (science of Self-knowledge), without attaining Me, return to the path of death and re-birth.
4. By My unmanifested Form all this world is pervaded; all beings dwell in Me, but I do not dwell in them.
5. Behold My Divine Yoga! Beings do not dwell in Me; (although) the Creator and Supporter of all beings, (yet) My Self dwells not in them.
6. As the air, vast and always moving everywhere, exists in Akasha (space and ether), even so, know thou, all beings exist in Me.
7. O son of Kunti, all beings, at the end of a cycle, go back to my Prakriti (Nature); again, at the beginning of a cycle, I send them forth.
8. Ruling over My Prakriti, I send forth again and again this vast multitude of beings, who are helplessly imperiled by Nature.
9. O conqueror of wealth (Arjuna), these acts (of creation and dissolution) do not bind Me, sitting as one unconcerned and unattached to these acts.
10. O son of Kunti, with Me as the presiding deity, Prakriti (Nature) sends forth the moving and the unmoving. For this reason the world wheels round and round.
11. Fools, unaware of My Supreme state, as the great Lord of beings, disregard Me dwelling in human form.
12. They are of vain hopes, of vain deeds, of vain knowledge, and senseless, possessed with the deluding nature of Rakshasas (unclean, passionate and godless creatures) and Asuras (creatures of darkness and of ignorance).
13. But, O son of Kunti, the great-souled ones, possessing the Divine Nature, knowing Me as Immutable and as the Source of beings, worship Me with single-minded devotion.
14. Ever singing my glory and striving with steadfast vows, bowing down to Me in devotion, (they) perpetually worship Me.
15. Others again by performing the wisdom-sacrifice worship Me, the All-facing, as One, as separate, or in manifold forms.
16. I am Kratu, I am Yagna, I am Svadha, I am medicinal herbs, I am the Mantra, I am the oblation, I am the fire and I am the act of sacrifice.
17. I am the Father of the universe, the Mother, the Sustainer, the Grandsire, the One to be known, the Purifier, Om (Sound-Brahman), the Rik, Saman and Yajur.
18. (I am) the Way, the Supporter, the Lord, the Witness, the Abode, the Refuge, the Friend, the Origin, the Dissolution, the Resting-Place, the Storehouse and the Eternal Seed.
19. O Arjuna, I give heat, I send forth rain and withold it; I am Immortality and also death. I am being and non-being (the manifested and the unmanifested).
20. The knowers of three Vedas, having worshipped Me with sacrifice, drinking the Soma and thus being purified from sin, pray for the goal of heaven; they, having reached the region of the ruler of the Devas, enjoy i heaven the celestial pleasures of the Devas.
21. Having enjoyed that vast celestial world, they, at the exhaustion of the merit (of their good deeds), again enter into the mortal world; thus following the religion of the three Vedas, with the craving for objects of desire, they attain coming and going (birth and re-birth).
22. Those who worship Me and meditate on Me without any other thought, to these ever steadfast devotees I secure safety and supply all their needs ( I carry their burden).
23. O sonb of Kunti, even thoe devotees who worship other gods with faith, they too worship Me, but contrary to the law.
24. For I am alone the Enjoyer and Lord of all sacrifice; but they do not know Me in truth, hence they return (fall into re-birth).
25. The worshippers of the gods go to the gods; to the ancestors go the ancestor-worshippers; the spirit-worshippers go to the spirits; but My worshippers come unto Me.
26. He who, with devotion offereth to Me a leaf, a flower, a fruit and water, that love-offering I accept, made by the pure-hearted.
27. Whatever thou doest, whatever thou eatest, whatever thou offerest as oblation, whatever thou givest and the austerities thou performest, O sonof Kunti, do that as an offering to Me.
28. Thus thou shalt be freed from the bonds of action that bears good and evil fruit; and thy soul, being steadfastly engaged in this devotion of renunciation, liberated thou shalt come with me.
29. Alike am I to al beings; hated or beloved there is none to Me. But those who worship Me with devotion, they are in Me and I am in them.
30. Even if the most wicked worships Me with undivided devotion, he should be regarded as good, for he is rightly resolved.
31. Very soon he becomes a righteous sould and attains to eternal peace. Know thou, O son of Kunti, that my devotee never perishes.
32. O Partha, even those who are of inferior birth, ‹ women, Vaishyas (merchant class) and Sudras (servant class), ‹ even they, by taking refuge in Me, attain to the Supreme Goal.
33. What need is there, then, to speak of the holy Brahmanas and the royal Sages! Having come into this transitory and joyless world, do thou worship Me.
34. Fill thy mind with Me, be thou My devotee, worship me and bow down to Me; thus, steadfastly uniting thy heart with Me alone and regarding Me as thy Supreme Goal, thou shalt come unto Me.
Here ends the Ninth Chapter called "The Path of Royal Science and Royal Secret"
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Text source: Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita. Translated by Swami Paramananda.
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