Dharma protects the one who protects Dharma. ************************************* INVOCATION Om OM OM OM OM OM Om Om Om Om Om Om OM OM OM OM OM Om Om Om Om Om Lord Ganesha! Please hear this prayer, please do grant this our hearts' desire: Grant us the ability to pay attention, to concentrate, to gain discrimination and to grow in wisdom. Kindly remove all obstacles between us and the Lord; Kindly remove all obstacles between us and our loved ones; Kindly remove all obstacles between our loved ones and the Lord- Let us see all as One, and let us see One as all. With you ever in mind Lord, we commence this sacred endeavour, please grant us your auspicious presence and let our minds be clear. OM Peace Peace Peace Srimad Bhagavad-gita Chapter One The Despondency of Arjuna 1: Gathered on the holy plain of Kurukshetra, O Sanjaya, what did my sons and the sons of Pandu, eager to fight, do? 2: Having seen the army of the sons of Pandu arrayed, King Duryodhana then approached the preceptor Drona and spoke these words: 3: "Behold, O Preceptor, this vast army of the Pandava forces arrayed by the son of Drupada, your gifted disciple. 4: "Here are the mighty-bowed heroes, equal to Bhima and Arjuna in battle- Yuyudhaana and Viraata and Drupada, the mighty warrior. 5: "Drishtaketu, Chekitaana, the valiant king of Kaasi, Purujit, Kuntibhoja and the prince among men the king of the Shibis. 6: Yudhaamanyu the Powerful, Uttamaujas the Valiant, the son of Subhadraa, and the sons of Draupadi- all mighty warriors. 7: "Know also, O best among the twice-born, those who are distinguished among us, the leaders of my army. I shall name them for you. 8:"Yourself, Bhishma, Karna and Kripa, the winner of battles; Asvatthaama, Vikarna and also the son of Somadatta. 9: "And many other heroes as well are there, determined to give up their lives for my sake, wielding various weapons for attack, all dexterous in battle. 10: "That army of ours, protected by Bhishma, is insufficient; but this army of theirs, protected by Bhima, is sufficient. 11: "So do you all, keeping to your respective stations, at all approaches to the army, protect Bhishma on all sides." 12: Gladdening Duryodhana's heart, the powerful eldest of the Kurus, the grandsire, thundered forth a lion's roar, and blew his conch. 13: Then all of a sudden conches, kettle-drums, trumpets, drums and horns blared forth; the sound was tumultuous. 14: Then, seated in a great chariot to which white horses were yoked, Maadhava and Paandava blew their celestial conches. 15: Hrishikesa blew the conch Paanchajanya, Dhananjaya blew the conch Devadatta, and Vrikodara, the man of terrible deeds, blew the great conch Paundra. 16: King Yudhisthira, the son of Kunti, blew the Anantavijaya, and Nakula blew his conch the Sughosha and Sahadeva blew the Manipushpaka. 17-18: The mighty-bowed king of Kaasi, the mighty warrior Sikhandi, Dhrishtadyumna, Viraata, the unconquered Saatyaki, Drupada, the sons of Drapaudi, and Subhadraa's son of powerful arms, all O Lord of the earth, blew their conches on all sides. 19: The great tumult, making the heaven and the earth resound, rent the hearts of Dhritarshtra's sons. 20-22: Then the monkey-bannered son of Pandu, Arjuna, when he saw the sons of Dhritaraashtra thus arrayed, and when missiles were about to be discharged, raised his bow, O king, and said to Hrisheekesha the following words: Arjuna said: O Achyuta, keep my chariot between the two armies while I see those who are arrayed, seeking battle, and know with whom I shall have to fight in this preparation for combat. 23: And while I see those who are gathered here ready to fight, desirous of pleasing in battle the evil-minded son of Dhritaraashtra. 24-25: Sanjaya said O descendant of Bharata, thus spoken by Gudaakesa, Hrisheekesha placing that excellent chariot between the two armies, in front of Bhishma, Drona, and all the kings, said, "See, O son of Prithaa, these assembled Kurus." 26: There situated in both the armies, Paartha saw fathers, as also grandsires, preceptors, maternal uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons, associates, fathers-in-law, and well-wishers. 27: Seeing all these kinsmen gathered together, the son of Kunti, overcome with great compassion, spoke thus in grief. 28: Arjuna said: Seeing these kinsmen, O Krishna, arrayed with a view to fighting, my limbs fail, and my mouth is parched up. 29: My body quivers, and there is horripilation; the Gandiva slips from my hands, and my skin burns. 30: I am not able to stand, my mind is reeling, as it were, and I see, O Keshava, adverse omens. 31-32: And I see no good from killing kinsmen in battle. I do not desire victory, O Krishna, nor sovereignty, nor pleasures; of what use is sovereignty to us O Govinda, or enjoyments, or life itself? 33: They for whose sake we desire sovereignty, enjoyments and pleasures, are gathered here for battle, giving up lives and wealth. 34: Preceptors, fathers, sons, as also grandsires, maternal uncles, fathers-in-law, grandsons, brothers-in-law, and other kinsmen as well. 35: I do not like to kill them, O Madhusoodana, even if they should kill us- no, not even for the sovereignty of the three worlds, and much less for that of this earth. 36: What joy will be ours O Janaardana by slaying these sons of Dhritaraashtra? Sin alone will overtake us if we kill these aggressors. 37: Therefore, we ought not to kill these sons of Dhritaraashtra, our kinsman; how can we indeed be happy O Maadhava, by killing our own people? 38-39: Although these, with their minds overcome by greed, see no evil in destroying the family or sin in hostility to friends, why should we O Janaardana, who see the evil resulting from destruction of the family, not learn to desist from this sins? 40: With the destruction of the family the time-honoured family traditions are lost; and when the traditions are lost, unrighteousness overtakes the whole family. 41: When unrighteousness prevails, O Krishna, the women of the family become corrupt, and when the women are corrupt, O descendent of the Vrishnis, there arises a mixture of castes. 42: The mixture of castes in the family only leads its destroyers to hell; their ancestors fall from heaven, for they are deprived of the offerings of funeral cakes and drink. 43: From these sins of the destroyers of the family that lead to a mixture of castes, the long-standing traditions of the caste, of the family, and more are destroyed. 44: Persons whose family traditions , O Janaardana, are doomed to live perpetually in hell- thus have we heard. 45: Alas, what a heinous sin we are resolved to commit, in that we are ready to kill our kinsmen, out of greed for the joys of sovereignty. 46: If the sons of Dhritaraashtra with weapons in their hands should slay me in battle, while I am unarmed and unresisting, that would be better for me. 47: Sanjaya said: Thus speaking, Arjuna sat down on the chariot in that battle, casting away his bow and arrows, being grief-stricken at heart. End Chapter One The Sorrow of The Warrior. ******************************** Chapter Two The Way of Discrimination 1: Sanjaya said: To him thus overcome with pity and grieving, with eyes filled with tears and agitated, Madhusoodhana spoke these words: 2: The Blessed Lord said: Whence, O Arjuna, has this weakness, not entertained by honourable men, nor conducive to the attainment of heaven, and leading to ill-fame, come on you at this crisis? 3: Yield not to unmanliness, O Partha, it is not worthy of you; shaking off this mean faint-heartedness, arise, O scorcher of foes. 4: Arjuna said: How, O Madhusoodhana, shall I in battle fight with arrows against Bheeshma and Drona, who are worthy of respect, O slayer of enemies? 5: Without killing the noble-minded elders, even to live on alms in the world would be much better. But by killing these elders, I shall be enjoying even here pleasures like wealth and fulfillment of desires, drenched with their blood. 6: And we do not know which would be the better course for us- whether we should conquer them or they should conquer us. Those very persons, killing whom we should desire to live, viz. the sons of Dhritaraashtra, are gathered in front. 7: With my natural traits overcome by a sense of helplessness and sin, and my mind perplexed regarding my duty, I ask You- tell me that which is definitely good for me. I am your disciple; teach me who have taken refuge in You. 8: I do not indeed see that which would remove this grief of mine that is utterly drying up my senses, even if I were to attain in this world a kingdom without rivals and prosperous, and even lordship over the gods. 9: Having thus spoken to Hrisheekesha, Gudaakesa, the harasser of foes, said to Govinda, 'I shall not fight,' and kept quiet. 10: O Descendant of King Bhararta, to him who was sorrowing, between the two armies, Hriseekesa spoke these words, as if smiling. 11: The Blessed Lord said: You have been sorrowing for those who should not be grieved for, and yet you are talking learned words. The learned grieve neither for the dead nor for the living. 12: It is not indeed that I did not exist at any time, nor you, nor these kings; nor that we shall not exist hereafter. 13: Even as the embodied self attains in this body childhood, youth, and old age, so does it attain another body; the wise man does not get deluded at this. 14: O son of Kunti, sense-contact with objects result in heat and cold, pleasure and pain. They are subject to coming and going and are transient; therefore, O descendant of Bharata, just ignore them. 15: O best of men, that wise person whom these do not afflict, who is equanimous in pleasure and pain, is fit for immortality. 16: The unreal has no existence, and the real has no non- existence; the conclusion about both these has been seen by the knowers of Truth. 17: But know that by which all this is pervaded to be imperishable. No one can bring about the destruction of this immutable principle. 18: These bodies of the eternal, imperishable, immeasurable, embodied self are said to have an end; therefore, fight, O descendent of Bharata. 19: He who thinks self to be a slayer, and he who thinks it is slain, both are ignorant of the truth; self neither slays nor is it slain. 20: Self is not born and it does not die at any time. And it does not again come into existence by being born. Self is birthless, constant, eternal and ancient; it is not slain when the body is slain. 21: Whom O Partha can that person who knows this self to be imperishable, constant, birthless and immutable, slay or cause to be slain, and how? 22: Just as a person gives up worn out clothes and puts on other new ones, even so does the embodied self give up decrepit bodies and enter new ones. 23: Weapons do not cut it, fire does not burn it, water also does not moisten it, and wind does not dry it. 24: This self is indeed incapable of being cut, of being burnt, of being moistened and of being dried; it is eternal, all-pervading, stable, immovable, and primordial. 25: This self is said to be unmanifest, unthinkable, and unchangeable; therefore, knowing it to be such, you ought not to grieve. 26: If, however, you think that it is perpetually born and perpetually dies, even then O mighty-armed one, you ought not to grieve for it. 27: For to one who is born, death is certain, and to one who dies, rebirth is certain. Therefore over this inevitable fact you ought not to grieve. 28; Beings, O descendant of Bharata, have the Unmanifest as their beginning, are manifest in the middle, and have their dissolution in the Unmanifest itself; so why lament for them? 29: One sees this as a wonder, so also another talks of this as a wonder, still another hears of this as a wonder, and some other, again does not know this even after often hearing about it. 30: This embodied self in everyone's body is eternally indestructible, O Descendant of Bharata; therefore, you ought not to grieve for any creature. 31: And considering your duty also you ought not to falter, because there is no greater good-fortune for a Kshatriya than a righteous battle. 32: And happy, O Partha, are the Kshatriya who get such a battle, which has come of its own accord, and is an open gateway to heaven. 33: If, however, you do not fight this righteous battle, then failing in your duty and losing your reputation, you will incur sin. 34: Besides, people will talk of your eternal infamy; and of one held in esteem infamy is worse than death. 35: These mighty warriors will think that you have retired from the battle through fear. Having been highly esteemed by them, you will now fall into disgrace. 36: And your enemies will be saying many unmentionable things, decrying your prowess. What can be more painful than that? 37; Either killed in battle you will attain heaven, or being victorious you will enjoy the earth. Therefore arise O Son of Kunti, resolved to fight. 38: Regarding pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat as alike, prepare yourself then for battle; you will not thus incur sin. 39: The requisite mental attitude towards the Self has just been taught to you, now hear about it in respect of the way of action, being endowed with which attitude, O Partha, you will get rid of the bondage of actions. 40: In this area there is no waste of any undertaking nor chance of incurring sin: even the least bit of this religion can save one from danger. 41: In this, descendant of Kuru, there is a single one- pointed determination. The thoughts of the irresolute are many-branched and infinite. 42-44: The dull-witted, whose minds are full of desires, who regard heaven as their highest goal, who are enamoured of the panegyric statements in the Vedas and assert that there is nothing else higher than this, speak familiar flowery words about numerous kinds of rites prescribed by the Vedas producing birth, actions and their results, as the means to enjoyment and power. those who are attached to enjoyment and power, and whose minds are carried away by these flowery words do not attain one-pointed determination leading to concentration on the Lord. 45: The Vedas deal with subjects coming under the three gunas. O Arjuna, be above the three gunas, free from the dualities, always established in goodness, regardless of acquisition or preservation, and self-possessed. 46: All the purpose that small reservoirs serve is served by a vast lake entirely filled with water. Similarly the purpose that all the Vedas serve is attained by a man of realization. 47: To work alone you have the right, but never to claim its results. Let not the results of actions be your motive, nor be attached to inaction. 48: Established in yoga, O Dhananjaya perform actions, giving up attachment, and unconcerned as to success or failure: this equanimity is called Yoga. 49: Far inferior is work prompted by desire to work done through wisdom, O Dhananjaya. Take refuge in wisdom: those who are impelled by results are miserable. 50: Endowed with this wisdom, one gets rid of both good and evil even here; therefore take to Yoga; yoga is the skill in work. 51: Endowed with this wisdom, giving up the fruit resulting from action, attaining self-realization, and freed from the bondage of birth, verily, they go to that abode which is free from evil. 52: When your understanding will get beyond the maze of delusion, then you will have attained the indifference to what is to be heard and what is heard. 53: When your understanding now perplexed by hearing will rest in Samadhi, unwavering and steady, then you shall attain Yoga. 54: Arjuna said: What is the definition,O Keshava of a man of steady wisdom, absorbed in contemplation? How does a man of steady wisdom talk, how does he sit and how does he walk? 55: Sri Bhagavan said: When a man gives up all desires of the mind, O PAR, and himself delights in his Self, then he is said to be 'a man of steady wisdom.' 56: He who is unperturbed in misery and free from desires amidst pleasures, who is devoid of all attachment, fear and anger- that sage is said to be a man of steady wisdom. 57: He who is free from all affection everywhere, and who getting whatever good or evils neither welcomes nor hates them has steady wisdom. 58: And when he completely withdraws his senses from the sense-objects, even as a tortoise its limbs, then his wisdom is steady. 59: From an abstemious embodied being, sense-objects fall off, but not the relish for them; but even this relish of the man of steady wisdom ceases when that supreme Being is realized. 60: The turbulent senses, O Son of Kunti, forcibly lead astray the mind of even the struggling wise person. 61: Controlling all these senses, the self-controlled one should sit meditating on Me. Verily his wisdom is steady, whose senses are under control. 62-63: For a person thinking of the sense-objects there grows an attachment for them; from attachment arises desire, from desire results anger, from anger results delusion, from delusion results confusion of memory, from confusion of memory results destruction of intelligence and from destruction of intelligence, he perishes. 64: But that person of controlled self who moves about amdist sense-objects with the senses governed by the self and free from attachment and aversion- he attains serenity. 65: When this serenity is attained, there results the destruction of all his misery. Verily, the wisdom of the serene-minded one gets steady soon. 66: For the uncontrolled person there is no knowledge, nor is there meditation for him; and for the unmeditative person there is no peace, and for one bereft of peace, how can there be happiness? 67: Whichever of the wandering senses the mind follows, that one carries away his wisdom as the wind a ship on the sea. 68: Therefore, O mighty-armed one, he whose senses are well controlled from their objects has steady wisdom. 69: That which to all creatures is night, is where the man of self-control is awake, and that in which all creatures are wide awake is night to the sage who sees. 70: He attains peace into whom all sense-objects enter, even as rivers enter an ocean which is unaffected though being ever filled, and not one who is desirous of enjoyments. 71: That person who is giving up all sense-objects goes about unattached, devoid of the idea of ownership, free from egoism- he attains peace. 72: This is the Braahmee state, O Partha, attaining it one is not again deluded; one who rests in it, at the time of death, attains Nirvana in Brahman. End Chapter Two The Way of Discrimination ************************************************************ Chapter Three The Way of Action 1: Arjuna said: If in your opinion, O Janaardana, knowledge is superior to action then why do You, O Keshava, engage me in this terrific action? 2: By these apparently conflicting words You sem to confuse my understanding; tell me definitely that one thing by which I can attain final beatitude. 3: The Blessed Lord Said: O sinless one, a twofold path has been declared by Me earlier for this human race: the way of knowledge for the Saankhyas, and the way of action for the Yogis. 4: By not doing work a person does not reach inactivity, nor does he attain perfection by mere renunciation of action. 5: Verily no one remains inactive even for a moment; for all are forcibly made to act by the qualities born of Prakriti. 6: That fool, who outwardly controlling the organs of action keeps dwelling on sense objects with the mind, is called a hypocrite. 7: But he O Arjuna who controlling the organs of the mind performs Karma-Yoga with the organs of action being unattached- he excels. 8: Perform the prescribed duties: for action is superior to inaction; moreover, if you are inactive, even the maintenance of your body will be impossible. 9: This world is bound by action other than that done for sacrifice; therefore perform actions for the sake of that, O Son of Kunti, free from attachment. 10: Prajaapti, creating of yore beings who co-exist with a sacrifice said; "By this you multiply, let this yield you covetable objects of desire. 11: "By this entertain the gods and let the gods entertain you; entertaining each other you will both attain supreme good. 12: "Being entertained by sacrifices the gods will surely bestow on you the desired enjoyments. He who enjoys what is given by them without offering it to them, is indeed a thief. 13: "The good who partake of the remnants of a sacrifice are freed from all sins; but those sinful persons who cook for their own sake, partake of sin. 14: Beings are born from food, food is produced from rain, rain comes from a sacrifice, and a sacrifice results from action. 15: Know that the action originates from Brahman, the Veda, and Brahman originates from the Imperishable. Therefore the All-Pervading Brahman, Veda, rests eternally in the sacrifice. 16: He who does not follow here this cycle thus set revolving, who leads a sinful life and delights in the senses, in vain O Paartha does he live. 17: But that person who delights only in the Self, is satisfied with the Self, is contented in the Self alone, has no duties to perform. 18: He has nothing to gain by action or lose by inaction in this world; nor does he depend on any being for attaining his purpose. 19: Therefore always perform action which has to be done, unattached; verily, man attains the highest by performing action unattached. 20: By action even Janaka and others realized perfection. Even considering the incentive to people you should perform action. 21: Whatever a great man does others also copy; that which he accepts as authority, people only follow. 22: I have no duty to perform, O Paartha, nor is there anything in the three worlds unattained which is to be attained, still I am engaged in action. 23: If ever I cease to be vigilantly engaged in action O Paartha, then people would follow My footsteps in every way. 24: If I cease doing work, these worlds would be ruined, and I should be causing an admixture of castes and destroying theses beings 25: As the ignorant perform action being attached to it, even so, O descendant of Bharata, should the wise perform action unattached, desiring the welfare of the world. 26: The wise man should not unsettle the faith of the ignorant who are attached to work. He should make them devoted to all work, performing action himself intently. 27: Actions are done in all cases by the Gunas of Prakriti. he whose mind is deluded through egoism, thinks, 'I am the doer.' 28: But he who knows, O mighty-armed one, the truth as to the differentiation of the sense and their functions from the Self he, knowing that the Gunas or senses rest in the Gunas or sense-objects, is not attached. 29: Being deluded by the constituents of Prakriti, people get attached to the senses and their functions. He who knows everything should not unsettle these people who are dull- witted and imperfect in knowledge. 30: Renouncing all actions in Me, with your mind resting on the Self, and giving up all hope and idea of ownership, fight- being free from fever. 31: Those men who ever practise this teaching of Mine with faith and without cavilling, are also freed from actions. 32: But those who carp at this teaching of Mine and do not practise it- know such fools, bereft of all knowledge, to be doomed. 33: Even a wise man acts according to his own disposition; beings follow their nature; what can restraint do? 34: In respect of each of the senses, attachments and aversion to objects are fixed. One should not come under their sway, for they are impediments in one's way. 35: Better is one's own duty, though defective, than another's duty well-performed. Death in one's own duty is better; the duty of another is fraught with fear. 36: Arjuna said: Prompted by what, does a man commit sin, even though unwilling, O Vaarshneya, being constrained as it were by force? 37: The Blessed Lord said: This is desire, this is anger, born of the constituent of Prakriti called Rajas- of inordinate appetite and most sinful. Know it to be an enemy here. 38: As fire is enveloped by smoke, as a mirror is covered by dust, as a foetus is enveloped by the amnion, even so is this covered by it. 39: O Son of Kunti, knowledge is covered by this eternal enemy of the wise in the form of desire, which is like an insatiable fire. 40: The senses, the mind, and the intellect are said to be its seat; covering knowledge by these, it deludes the embodied being. 41: Therefore, controlling the senses at the very outset, O Best of the Bharatas, kill this sinful thing which destroys realization and knowledge. 42: The senses are said to be superior to their objects; superior to the senses is the mind; but superior to the mind is the intellect; while that which is superior to the intellect is the Self. 43: Thus knowing that which is beyond the intellect, and controlling the self-mind by the self-intellect, kill O mighty-armed one, the enemy in the form of desire, which is difficult to conquer. End Chapter Three The Way of Action *************************************************** Chapter Four The Way of Knowledge 1: The Blessed Lord said: This eternal Yoga I taught to Vivaswat, Vivaswat taught it to Manu and Manu taught it to Ikshvaaku. 2: This Yoga thus traditionally handed down, the royal sages knew. Through the great lapse of time this Yoga is lost to the world, O Scorcher of foes. 3: That very ancient Yoga has been taught by Me to you this day, since you are my devotee and friend; for this is a supreme secret. 4: Arjuna said: Later is Your birth, and Vivaswat's birth earlier; how am I to understand this, that You taught this to him at the beginning. 5: The Blessed Lord said: Many lives have I passed through as also yourself; I know them all, but you do not know them O Scorcher of foes. 6: Though I am birthless, immutable and the Lord of creatures, yet resorting to My Prakriti, I come into being through My own inscrutable power of Maayaa. 7: Whenever, O descendant of Bharata, righteousness declines and unrighteousness prevails, I manifest myself. 8: For the protection of the righteous and the destruction of the wicked, and for the establishment of religion, I come into being from age to age. 9: He who thus knows truly My divine birth and work, is no more born after death; he attains Me, O Arjuna. 10: Free from attachment, fear and anger, with their minds intent on Me, purified by knowledge and penance, many have attained My Being. 11: By whatsoever way men worship Me, even so do I accept them; for in all ways O Paartha, men walk in my path. 12: People seeking the fruit of actions worship the gods in this world; for in this world of men the fruit of action comes quickly. 13: The four castes were created by Me according to differences in aptitudes and actions of men. Though the author of them, know Me as the immutable non-agent. 14: Actions do not touch Me, nor have I any desire for their fruit- he who knows Me thus, is not bound by actions. 15: Thus knowing, even the ancient seekers of Liberation performed work of yore. Therfore perform work alone done by the ancients. 16: Even the wise are deluded as to what is action and what is inaction. I shall expound to you that action knowing which you will be free from all ills. 17: There is something to know about prescribed action and about action that is prohibited, as also about inaction; the way of action is mysterious. 18: He who sees inaction in action, and action in inaction is wise amongst men; he is poised and a performer of all actions. 19: He whose actions are all free from the hankering for desires, whose actions have been burnt by the fire of knowledge, him the wise call a sage. 20: Renouncing the attachment for action and its fruit, ever contented, and without any refuge, he does not do anything, even though engaged in action. 21: Bereft of desire, controlled in mind and body, with all possessions relinquished and doing merely bodily action, he does not get tainted. 22: Contented with what chance brings, transcending the pairs of opposites, free from jealousy, and unperturbed in success and failure, he is not bound even though performing action. 23: He who is devoid of attachment, free, whose mind is established in knowledge, and who does work as a sacrifice for the Lord- his entire action melts away. 24: The ladle is Brahman, the oblation is Brahman, it is offered by Brahman in the fire which is Brahman, Brahman alone he attains who sees Brahman in action. 25: Sacrifices to the gods alone other Karma-Yogins resort to. Still others offer their sacrifice by way of a sacrifice in the fire of Brahman alone. 26: Others offer the ear and other senses as sacrifice in the fire of self-control; others again offer sound and other objects of the senses in the fires of the senses. 27: Others offer the functions of all the organs and Praanas in the fire of the Yoga of self-control lighted by knowledge. 28: There are others who sacrifice through gifts, others again who sacrifice through penance, and still others who sacrifice through Yoga; while there are others, aspirants of austere vows, who sacrifice through knowledge from scriptural studies. 29: Still others, devoted to the control of the vital force (Praanayaama), offer as a sacrifice the outgoing breath (Praana) in the incoming breath (Apaana), as also the incoming breath in the outgoing, after retraining the activity of the incoming and the outgoing breath. 30: Other again, who regulate their food, offer as a sacrifice the functions of the sense in the senses. All these indeed are knowers of the sacrifices, purified of their sins through sacrifice. 31: Eating of the ambrosial food after the sacrifice, they attain the eternal Brahman. Even this world is not for the non-sacrificing, much less the other, O best of the Kuru family. 32: Thus various sacrifices are prescribed by the Vedas. Know all these to be born of action: knowing thus you will be free. 33: The sacrifice through knowledge is superior to sacrifice performed with materials, O scorcher of foes; all actions in their entirety, O Paartha, are comprised in knowledge. 34 Acquire that through prostration, inquiry and service. The wise who are knowers of the Truth will instruct you in wisdom. 35: Acquiring which, O son of Paandu, you will no more be thus deluded; by which you will see all creatures in yourself and then in Me. 36: Even if you will be the worst sinner amongst all sinners, yet you will cross all sin by the boat of knowledge alone. 37: Even as a blazing fire burns the fuel to ashes, O Arjuna, even so the fire of knowledge burns to ashes all actions. 38: There is indeed nothing so purifying here as knowledge. One perfected in Yoga attains that automatically in himself in time. 39: The man of faith, zeal, and self-control attains knowledge: having attained knowledge, he immediately attains supreme Peace. 40: He who is ignorant, wanting in faith,, and of a doubting mind is ruined; for the doubting man there is neither this nor the other world, nor happiness. 41: But he who has renounced the fruit of actions through Yoga, whose doubts have been destroyed by knowledge, and who is self-possessed, O Dhananjaya, is not bound by actions. 42: Therefore, O descendant of Bharata, destroying this doubt born of ignorance of the Self and seated in the heart, with the sword of knowledge, take to Yoga and arise. End Chapter Four The Way of Knowledge ********************************************************** Chapter Five Renunciation of Action 1: Arjuna said: O Krishna, You teach renunciation of actions and again action; tell me decisively that one of the two which is good for me. 2: The Blessed Lord said: Renunciation and the performance of selfless action both lead to Liberation; but of the two the performance of selfless action is superior to the renunciation of action. 3: He who neither likes nor dislikes, nor desires, should be known as a perpetual renouncer of action; for O mighty- armed one, one who is free form the dual throng is easily freed from bondage. 4: The ignorant say that knowledge and selfless action are different but not the wise; practising thoroughly even one, a person attains to the fruit of both. 5: That status which is attained by men of knowledge is also attained by men of selfless action; he sees truly who sees the way of knowledge and that of selfless action as one. 6: But renunciation O mighty-armed one, is difficult to attain without performance of selfless action; the sage devoted to selfless action attains to Brahman quickly. 7: He who is devoted to selfless action as Yoga and is pure in mind, whose body and senses are under control, and whose Self has become the Self of all, is not touched even though he may be performing work. 8-9: The man of selfless action, who knows the Truth, thinks, 'I am not doing anything,' even while seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, going, sleeping, breathing, speaking, excreting, grasping, and opening and closing of the eyelids, believing that the senses rest in the sense- objects. 10: He who performs action dedicating them to the Lord and giving up attachment, is not touched by sin, as a lotus leaf by water. 11: Men of selfless action, giving up attachment, perform action through the body, mind, intellect, as also the other senses, for the purification of the mind. 12: The harmonised one, giving up the fruit of action, attains the highest peace; the non-harmonised one, working under the sway of desire, is attached to the fruit and gets bound. 13: The self-controlled embodied being, renouncing all actions through his mind, rests at ease in the city of nine gates (the body), neither acting nor causing to act. 14: The Lord creates for this world neither agency nor actions, nor the union with the fruit of actions; but nature acts. 15: The omnipresent Lord does not accept the sin or virtue of anybody. Knowledge is enveloped by ignorance; because of this beings get deluded. 16: But those whose ignorance has been destroyed by the knowledge of the Self- their knowledge, like the sun, manifests that highest Being. 17: Those who are decided on That, whose mind is set in That, who are devoted to That, and whose last resort is That, attain to non-return, with their sins winnowed off by knowledge. 18: The wise look with equal eye on a Braahmana endowed with learning and humility, a cow, an elephant, a dog and an outcaste. 19: Even here is the relative existence conquered by them whose mind rests in equality; for Brahman is even and faultless, therefore are they established in Brahman. 20: The knower of Brahman who is established in Brahman, poised in mind and undeluded, is not elated on getting what is pleasant nor feels worried on getting what is unpleasant. 21: He whose mind is unattached to the external objects of the senses attains to the bliss that is in the self; he with his mind identified with Brahman through absorption in It, enjoys undecaying bliss. 22: Enjoyments born of sense-objects are indeed the sources of misery: they have, O son of Kunti, a beginning and an end; the wise man does not rejoice in them. 23: He who is able to withstand the urge arising from passion and anger in this very life, before the fall of the body, is a poised and happy man. 24: He whose happiness is within, whose rejoicing is within and whose light is within, that Yogi, established in Brahman, attains mergence in Brahman. 25: Sages whose sins have waned away, whose doubts have been dispelled, who have controlled their mind, and who are devoted to the welfare fo all beings, attain absorption in Brahman. 26: Sages who are free from passion and anger, who have controlled their mind and who have realized the Self, attain absorption in Brahman here and hereafter. 27-28: Shutting out external sense-objects, fixing the gaze between the eyebrows, controlling the outgoing and incoming breaths that move through the nostrils, with the senses, mind and intellect restrained, and free from desire, fear and anger, the sage who has Liberation as his highest goal is indeed ever free. 29: Knowing Me, the enjoyer of all sacrifices and asceticism, the great Lord of all the worlds and the well- wisher of all beings, one attains peace. End of Chapter Five The Renunciation of Action Chapter Six The Way of Contemplation. 1: The Blessed Lord said: He who does the prescribed work without caring for its fruit, is a Sannyaasi as also a Yogi, and not he who is without the sacred fire and without action. 2: Know that which is extolled as Sannyaasi, to be Yoga, O Paandava. Verily, no one become a Yogi without renouncing desire for the fruit of action. 3: For the sage who desires to attain to Yoga, action is said to be the means; and for him alone, when he has attained to Yoga, inaction is said to be the means. 4: When one habitually renounces all desires and is no more attached either to sense-objects or to actions, then one is said to have attained to Yoga. 5: One should raise oneself through the Self, and never lower oneself; for the Self alone is one's friend and the self alone is one's enemy. 6: To him who has conquered the self (body and senses) by his Self, the self is his friend; for the uncontrolled man, however, the self alone is adverse like an enemy. 7: The self of one who is self-controlled and serene is alone poised in heat and cold, happiness and misery, as also in honour and dishonour. 8: The Yogi whose self is satisfied through knowledge and realization, who is steady and has the senses under control, and to whom a clod of earth, a stone and gold are of equal value, is said to be steadfast. 9: He excels, who looks equally on a well-wisher, a friend, an enemy, a neutral, an arbiter, a hateful person, a relative and also on the good and the sinful. 10: The Yogi, with his mind and self (body) subjugated, free from desire, destitute and living alone in solitudes should constantly concentrate his mind. 11-12: In a clean spot fixing his seat firm, neither too high nor too low, made of the Kusha grass, skin and cloth one on top of the other, sitting on that, with the activities of the mind and the senses controlled, concentrating his mind, he should practise Yoga for the purification of the mind. 13-14: Holding the trunk, head and neck erect and steady, becoming firm, fixing the gaze on the tip of his nose and not looking around, tranquil in mind, fearless, practising continence, controlling the mind, intent on Me, he should sit absorbed having Me as the supreme Goal. 15: Thus constantly concentrating the mind, the Yogi, with his mind controlled, attains the peace culminating in final Beatitude in the form of abiding in Me. 16: Yoga is not attained by one who eats too much or who eats nothing at all, nor by him who sleeps too much or who keeps awake too much, O Arjuna. 17: He who is moderate in food and movements, in his engagement in actions, and in sleep and wakefulness, attains to Yoga which destroys misery. 18: When the mind, well-controlled, remains fixed in the Self alone, and one is free from cravings for all enjoyments, then one is said to have attained Yoga. 19: Even as a lamp placed in a place free from any breeze does not flicker- this is the simile for a Yogi of controlled mind, practising concentration on the Self. 20-23...That state in which the mind controlled by the practice of concentration gets settled; in which seeing the Self by the purified mind one is satisfied with the Self; in which one realizes absolute, transcendent bliss which is experienced through the intellect; established in which one does not waver from the Truth; attaining which one thinks of no other acquisition as greater than that; and established in which, one is not perturbed even by great pain- that one should know is designated as Yoga, untouched by all contact with pain. That Yoga should be practiced with conviction and without depression of spirit. 24: Having completely renounced all desires born of fancy, controlling well the senses from all sides by the mind alone, Yoga should be practiced. 25: One should withdraw by degrees, establishing the mind in the Self by the intellect regulated by concentration, and should not think of anything else. 26: Wheresoever the restless and unsteady mind wanders, from that very object it should be restrained and brought under the control of the Self alone. 27: To this Yogin whose activity has subsided, who is of a tranquil mind, sinless and identified with Brahman, comes supreme bliss. 28: The Yogi entirely free from taint, constantly controlling the mind thus, attains easily the infinite bliss of union with Brahman. 29: The man whose mind is absorbed through Yoga and who sees the same Brahman everywhere, sees the Self in all beings and all beings in the Self. 30: He who sees Me everywhere, and sees all things in Me, does note lose sight of Me, nor do I of him. 31: He who worships me residing in all beings in a spirit of unity, becomes a Yogi and, whatever his mode of life, lives in Me. 32: He who by comparison with himself looks upon the pleasure and pain of all creatures as similar- that Yogi, O Arjuna, is considered the best. 33: Arjuna said: For this Yoga that you have described as equanimity, O slayer of Madhu, I do not see any permanence, owing to the restlessness of the mind. 34: For the mind, O Krishna, is restless, turbulent, strong and obstinate; I think it is extremely difficult to control like the wind. 35: The Blessed Lord said: Undoubtedly, O mighty-armed one, the mind is restless and hard to control; yet by practice and dispassion, O son of Kunti, it is controlled. 36: For one whose mind is not controlled, I consider Yoga is hard to attain; but it is attainable by one whose mind is under control and who strives through the prescribed means. 37: Arjuna asked: He who, though endowed with faith, strives not, and whose mind wanders from Yoga- failing to attain the fruition of Yoga, what goal, O Krishna, does a person attain? 38: Does he not, O mighty-armed one, fallen from both and without any support, perish like a detached cloud, being deluded in the path of Brahman. 39: This doubt of mine, O Krishna, You should dispel in its entirety, for there is none else but You can remove this doubt. 40: The Blessed Lord said: Verily neither here no hereafter, O Paartha, is there destruction for him; for the doer of good, my child, never comes by evil. 41: Having attained the worlds of the righteous and lived there for many, many years, one who has fallen from Yoga is born again in the house of the pure and prosperous. 42: Or he is reborn even in the family of Yogis who are wise; such a birth is rare indeed in this world. 43: There he comes in contact with knowledge acquired in the previous birth, and strives harder than before for perfection. 44: By that very previous practice he is irresistibly carried away. Even a mere inquirer after Yoga transcends the Vedas. 45: Verily, a Yogi who practices assiduously, being purified by all sins, is perfected through many births, and then attains the supreme goal. 46: The Yogi is regarded as greater than ascetics, greater even than men of knowledge and greater also than those devoted to work; therefore be a Yogi, O Arjuna. End Chapter Six Renunciation of Action *********************************************************** Chapter Seven The Way of Knowledge and Realization 1: The Blessed Lord said: Listen how, with the mind intent on Me, taking refuge in ME, and practising Yoga, O Paartha, you will know Me in full, free from doubt. 2: I shall tell you without reserve about this knowledge together with realization, knowing which there remains nothing further to be known here. 3: Among thousands of men one perchance struggles for perfection; even among those that struggle one perchance becomes perfect, and even among those that are perfect, one perchance knows Me in reality. 4: Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intellect, egoism- this is My Prakriti divided into eight categories. 5: This is my lower Prakriti; different form this, O mighty-armed one, know that the higher Prakriti of Mine in the form of the individual soul by which this world is sustained. 6: Know that all beings have these two for their origin; I am the origin of the entire Universe as also its destroyer. 7: Higher than Myself there is nothing else, O Dhananjaya. In Me all this is strung like gems on a string. 8: I am, O son of Kunti, sapidity in water, lustre in the moon and the sun, the syllable Om in all the Vedas, sound in ether and enterprise in man. 9: I am pure odor in earth, brightness in fire, life in all beings and austerity in the ascetics. 10: Know Me O Paartha, to be the eternal seed of all beings. I am the intelligence of the intelligent and the prowess of the powerful. 11: I am the strength of the strong, free from passion and attachment, and, O best of the Bharatas, I am that passion in people which is unopposed to one's duty. 12: All those serene, active, and passive states that are there- know them to be born of Me alone; but I am not in them, though they abide in Me. 13: All this world, deluded by these three states composed of the Gunas does not know Me, who am beyond these and immutable. 14: This divine illusion of Mine, constituted of the Gunas, is indeed hard to surmount; those who take refuge in Me alone, get over this delusion. 15: Wretches among men, the wicked and the ignorant do not take refuge in Me, being deprived of discrimination by Maayaa, and betaking themselves to demonic attitude. 16: Four kinds of people who have done virtuous deeds worship Me, O Arjuna: the distressed person, the aspirant after knowledge, the seeker of wealth, and the man of knowledge, O best of the Bharatas. 17: Of these, the man of knowledge who is constantly in communion and single-minded in devotion excels. To the man of knowledge I am very dear indeed, and he is dear to Me. 18: All of theses are indeed noble, but the man of realization I regard as My very Self; for with his mind fixed on Me, he has taken refuge in Me alone as the highest goal. 19: At the end of innumerable births, the man of realization takes refuge in Me, knowing that all this is Vaasudeva. Such a saint is exceedingly rare. 20: Deprived of discrimination by particular desires, they worship other deities observing particular rites, being swayed by their own natures. 21: Whatever form a particular devotee wishes to worship with faith- concerning that alone I make his faith unflinching. 22: Endowed with that faith, he worships that deity, and from which he gets his desires, which are indeed granted by Me alone. 23: But that fruit of these men of little understanding has an end; the worshipers of the gods go to the gods, but My devotees come to Me. 24: Not knowing My immutable, unsurpassed supreme nature, the ignorant regard Me, the unmanifest, as coming into being. 25: I am not manifest to all, being veiled by My mysterious power of Yoga-maayaa. The ignorant world does not know Me, the unborn and immutable. 26: I know, O Arjuna, all beings past, present and future, but nobody knows Me. 27: All beings, O Scorcher of foes, are deluded at birth by that deception due to the pairs of opposites which arises out of desire and aversion, O descendant of Bharata. 28: But those of virtuous actions whose sins have been at an end, are freed from the delusion of the dualities 29 Those who strive for freedom from decay and death, taking refuge in Me, know that Brahman, all about the embodied self and action in its entirety. 30: Those who know Me together with what concerns beings, the gods and sacrifices- fix their mind on Me and know Me even at the time of death. End Chapter Seven The Way of Knowledge and Realization ************************************************************ Chapter Eight The Way to the Supreme Spirit 1: Arjuna said: What is that Brahman, what is Adhyaatma, and what is action, O best of men? What is called the Adhibhuta and what is said to be the Adhidaiva? 2: Who and how is this Adhiyajna in this body, O slayer of Madhu? And how are You known at the time of death by the self-restrained? 3: The Blessed Lord said: The highest imperishable principle is Brahman. Its existence as the embodied soul is called Adhyaatma, and the offering into the sacrificial fire which causes the origin and development of beings is called action. 4: Perishable entities are called Adhibhuta, the cosmic Being is called Adhidaiva, and I Myself am called the Adhiyajna in this body, O best of embodied beings. 5: He who at the time of death remembers Me alone and passes out, leaving his body, attains My being- there is no doubt about this. 6: Thinking of whatever object at the time of death a person leaves the body, he attains, O son of Kunti, that very object, being constantly absorbed in its thought. 7: Therefore remember Me at all times and fight; with your mind and intellect devoted to Me, you shall attain Me alone- there is no doubt about this. 8: With a mind that has been taken to the way of constant practise and does not stray to anything else, one who thinks of the supreme divine Being, attains Him, O Paartha. 9-10: He who endowed with devotion, meditates at the time of death with a steady mind, having by the power of Yoga properly fixed the life-breath in between the eyebrows, on the Being who is wise, ancient, the ruler, smaller than the smallest, the sustainer of all,of inconceivable form, resplendent like the sun and beyond ignorance- he attains the shining supreme Being. 11: That imperishable Principle which the knowers of the Vedas describe, into which aspirants bereft of all desires enter, desiring which one lives the abstinent life of a student- that goal I shall tell you in brief. 12-13: Controlling all the inlets, confining the mind to the heart, fixing the life-breath in the head, betaking himself to absorption in Yoga, repeating the monosyllable Om, which is Brahman, and thinking of Me, he who departs leaving the body attains the highest Goal. 14: To the ever-restrained Yogi who constantly remembers Me every day with his mind on nothing else, O Paartha, I am easily accessible. 15: The great-souled ones, having attained Me, have no more birth, which is the abode of misery and non-eternal, for they have attained the highest perfection. 16: All of the worlds, O Arjuna, including the world of Brahman are subject to recurrence, but after attaining Me, there is no rebirth, O son of Kunti. 17: Those who know Brahmaa's day that lasts for a thousand Yugas, are knowers of day and night. 18: From the Unmanifest all manifested beings are born at the advent of Brahmaa's day, and at the approach of His night, they get merged in that very thing called the Unmanifest. 19: That very multitude of beings, being born again and again, is absorbed at the approach of night, O Paartha, and at the approach of the day is born again in spite of itself. 20: Beyond this Unmanifest there is another unmanifest eternal Being that does not perish when all creatures perish. 21: That Unmanifest which is called the Imperishable is said to be the Supreme Goal, attaining which they return not; that is My Supreme abode. 22: That Supreme Being, O Paartha, in whom are all beings and by whom all this is pervaded, is attainable by one- pointed devotion. 23: The time at which departing from hence the Yogis attain non-return or return- that time, O best of Bharatas, I shall tell you. 24: Fire, the flame, the day, the bright half of the month and the six months of the sun's northern course- departing by this path the knowers of Brahman attain Brahman. 25: Smoke, the night, the dark half of the month, and the six months of the sun's southern passage- departing by this path the Yogi attains the lunar sphere and returns thence. 26: These two paths of the world, the bright and the dark, are considered to be eternal; by one, one returns not, and by the other, one returns. 27: Knowing these paths, O Paartha, no Yogi is deluded; therefore at all time, O Arjuna, be endowed with Yoga. 28: Whatever good result is declared regarding the Vedas, sacrifices, asceticism and gifts- all that the Yogi who knows the above transcends and attains the primeval supreme Abode. End Chapter E!ight The Way to the Supreme Spirit ************************************************************ Chapter Nine The Way of Royal Knowledge and Royal Secret 1: The Blessed Lord said: To you who are not cavilling, I shall teach this most secret knowledge in particular, coupled with realization, knowing which you will be freed from evil. 2: This is royal knowledge, the royal secret, supremely holy, directly experienced, righteous, easy to practise and imperishable. 3: Persons wanting in faith in this teaching, O Scorcher of foes, return to the path of this mortal world without attaining Me. 4: All this is pervaded by Me of unmanifest form; all beings are in me, but I am not in them. 5: Nor are the beings in Me, behold My Divine Mystery; though the sustainer and the protector of all beings, yet Myself is not in these beings. 6: As the vast wind blowing everywhere ever abides in space, know even so do all beings abide in Me. 7: At the end of a cycle all beings, O son of Kunti, attain My Prakriti; at the beginning of the next cycle I again send them forth. 8: Presiding over My Nature, I again and again send forth this entire aggregate of helpless beings, according to their nature. 9: These acts of creation, etc, do not bind Me, O Arjuna, who remain unattached to them like one indifferent. 10: Presided over by Me, Prakriti brings forth the world of moving and unmoving things; for this reason O son of Kunti, the world revolves. 11: The ignorant deride Me who have taken a human form, not knowing My higher nature as the great Lord of beings. 12: Of vain hopes, of vain efforts, of vain knowledge, thoughtless and taking to the deceptive, demonic and fiendish nature, they deride Me. 13: But the great-souled ones taking to the divine nature, O Paartha, worship Me with one-pointed devotion, knowing Me to be the cause of all beings and immutable. 14: Always praising Me, striving with austere vows, and bowing down to Me with devotion, always steadfast, they worship Me. 15: Worshipping through the knowledge-sacrifice others adore Me, either as identical or as separate, or they adore Me, the Unmanifest, in different forms. 16: I am Kratu, I am Yajna, I am the oblation to the Manes, I am the product of annuals, I am the Mantra, I alone am the clarified butter, I am the sacrificial fire and the offering in the fire. 17: I am the father of this world, the mother, the dispenser, the grandsire, that which is to be known, the purifier, the Om and also the Vedas- Rik, Saaman and Yajus. 18: I am the goal, the sustainer, the Lord, the witness, the abode, the refuge, the friend, the source, the destroyer, the support, the repository and the eternal seed. 19: I give heat, I restrain and let loose the rain, I am immortality, I am death, I am manifest and unmanifest also, O Arjuna. 20: The knowers of the three Vedas, purified from sins by drinking the Soma juice and worshiping Me with sacrifices, pray for access to heaven; they having attained the meritorious sphere of Indra, experience in heaven celestial enjoyments of the gods. 21: Having enjoyed the extensive heavenly sphere, when their virtue is exhausted, they enter the mortal world. Thus those who take refuge in the religion of the Vedas, desirous of enjoyments, go and come. 22: Those persons, who think of nothing else and worship Me through meditation- the accession to and the maintenance of the welfare or such ever devout person I look after. 23: Even those devotees of other gods who worship them endowed with faith, worship Me alone, O son of Kunti, though in an unauthorized way. 24: I am the enjoyer, and the Lord also, of all sacrifices. But they do not know Me in truth; therefore they fall down. 25: The worshipers of the gods go to the gods, the worshipers of the manes go to the manes, the worshipers of the spirits go to the spirits, and My worshipers too come to me. 26: He who with devotion offers me a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, that devout offering of the pure-minded one I accept. 27: Whatever you do, or eat, or sacrifice, or give, whatever austerity you perform, that, O son of Kunti, offer unto Me. 28: Thus you will be rid of the bonds of action resulting in good and evil; being free and with your mind endowed with the Yoga of renunciation, you will attain Me. 29: I am the same to all beings; there is no one hateful or dear to Me; but they who worship Me with devotion, are in Me, and I am also in them. 30: Even if a very wicked person worships Me to the exclusion of anybody else, he should be regarded as righteous, for he has rightly resolved. 31: He soon becomes righteous-minded and attains eternal peace: O son of Kunti, proclaim to the world that My devotee never perishes. 32: Even they who are of sinful birth, women, Vaishyas, as also Sudras, taking refuge in Me, verily attain the highest goal. 33: Not to mention virtuous Brahmanas and devoted royal sages. Having attained this ephemeral joyless body, worship Me. 34: Fix your mind on Me, be My devotee, sacrifice to Me; thus fixing your mind on Me and having Me for the supreme goal, you will attain Me alone. End Chapter Nine The Royal Knowledge and Royal Secret. ************************************************************ Chapter 10 Meditation on the Divine Glories The Blessed Lord said: 1: Hear again, O Mighty-armed one, My supreme word, which I, wishing your welfare, shall tell you who take delight in it. 2: Neither the gods nor the great sages know My birth; for I am the cause of the gods and the great sages in all respects. 3: He who knows Me, the birthhless and the beginningless Lord of creatures, is undeluded among men and is freed from all sins. 4-5: Discrimination, knowledge, nondelusion, forgiveness, truthfulness, selfcontrol, tranquiliity, happiness, misery, existence, non-existence, fear and also fearlessness, non-injurty, equanimity, contentment, austerity, charity, fame, ill-fame- these differenct dispositions of beings are indeed born of Me. 6: The seven great sages, the earlier four, and also the Manu, were born of My mind endowed with My essence- whose progeny are these in the world. 7: He who knows in truth this glory and pwer of Mine, attains unflinching yoga: there is no doubt about this. 8: I am the source of all, everything is produced out of me, knowing thus the wise worship Me with devotion. 9: With their mind and senses directed to Me, explaining Me to each other, and talking of Me- they are always pleased and happy. 10: To those who are thus ever devoted to Me and worship me with love, I give that yoga of understanding by which they come unto Me. 11: Just to bless them, I residing in their intellect, destroy the darkness born of ignorance by the resplednedent light of knowledge. Arjuna said: 12-13: You are the supreme Brahman, the supreme abode and extremely holy. All sages, the divine sage Naarada, as also Asita, Devala and Vyaasa call You the eternal, resplencent Being, the primeval Deity, birthless and omnipreesent. And You too are telling me so. 14: All this and what else You say unto me o Keshava, I regard as true; O Lord, verily niether the gods nor the demons know your manifestatins. 15: You alone know Yourself by Yourself, O best of persons, O creator of beings, O Lord of Beings, O God of gods, O Lord of the universe. 16: Verily, You alone can fully tell about Your divine glories, through which pervading all these worlds You exist. 17: In what ways always thinking of You, O Yogin, can I know You? In which particular objects are You to be meditated upon by me? 18: O Janaardana, tell me once more in detail about Your powers and glories; for I am not satiated by listening to Your nectarlike words. The Blessed Lord said: 19: All right, I shall tell you about My principal divine glories, O best of the Kurus; for there is no end to the details of my glories. 20: I am, O Gudaakesha, the Self residing in the minds of all cratures; I am the beginning, the middle and also the end of beings. 21: Of the Adityas, I am Vishnu, of luminaries I am the radiant sun, of the Maruts I am Marichi, and among the constellations I am the moon. 22: Of the Vedas, I am the Saama Veda, of the gods I am Indra, of the sense I am the mind, and in beings I am consciousness. 23: Of the Rudras I am Sankara, of the Yakshas and Rakshasas I am Kubera, of the Vasus I am Fire, and among mountains I am Meru. 24: Know that I am Brihaspati, the foremost among priests, O Paartha: of army leaders I am Skanda, of natural reservoirs, I am the ocean. 25: Of the great sages I am Bhrigu, of words I am the monosyllable Om, of sacrifices I am the Japa sacrifice, of immoveables, I am the Himaalayas. 26: Of all trees I am the Asvattha, of deivine sages I am Naarada, of Gandhravas I am Chitraratha, and amongst perfect souls I am the saint Kapila. 27: Of horses know Me to be Uchchaihshravas born of the churning for nectar, of lordly elephants Airaavata, and among men the king. 28: Of weapons I am the thunderbolt, of cows I am the Kaamadhenu, I am the productive passion, and of poisonous serpents I am Vaasuki. 29: Among non-poisonous snakes I am Ananta, of acquatic beings I am Varuna, of the manes I am Aryaman, of regulators I am Yama. 30: Of demons, I am Prahlaada, of reckoners I am time, among beasts I am the lion, and among birds I am Garuda. 31: I am the wind among those who move fast, of wielders of weapons I am Raama, among fish I am the Makara, of rivers I am the Gangaa. 32: Of creations I am the beginning, the end, as also the middle, O Arjuna; of sciences I am metaphystics, and I am the constructive reasoning of the controversialists. 33: Of letters I am the letter A and of compounds I am the Dvandva; I Myself am eternal time, I am theuniversal dispenser. 34: I am the all-destroying death, the propensity of potentially prosperous beings, amongs women I am fame, prosperity, speech, memory, intelligence, fortitude and forgiveness. 35: Of the Vedic lyrics also I am the Brihat Saama, of meters I am the Gaayatri, of months I am the Agrahaayana, of seasons I am the spring. 36: Of those who deceive I am gambling, I am the prowess of the powerful, I am victory, I am effort, and I am the goodness of the good. 37: Of the Vrishnis I am Vaasudeva, of the Paandavas, I am Dhananjaya, of sages I am Vyaasa, of seers I am the seer Ushanas. 38: Of punishers I am the rod, of thoe desirous of victory I am policy, of secrets also I am silence, I am the knowledge of the wise. 39: I am alos, O Arjuna, that which is the germ of all beings; there is no being, moving or statinary, which can exist without Me. 40: O Tormentor of foes, there is no end to My divine glories; thses details of My glories I have only stated in brief. 41: Whatever thing is glorius, excellent or preeminent, verily know that is born of a portion of My splendour. 42: But of what avail is it to you to know all these details; I exist pervading this entire univers by a portion of Myself. End Chapter 10 The Divine Glories ************************************* Chapter 11 The Vision of the Universal Form Arjuna said: 1: By the supreme and secret discourse known as Adhyaatma that you have deliverd for favoring me, this delusion of mine has been destroyed. 2: Verily, about the origin and dissolution of beings I have heard from You in detail, as also O lotus-eyed one, about Your inexhaustible greatness. 3: That You say about Yourself, O great Lord, is just so; O best of person, I desire to see Your Divine form. 4: O Lord, if You think that that form of Yours can be seen by me, then O Lord of Yogis, show me Your eternal Self. The Blessed Lord said: 5: See My varius divine forms, O Paartha, of diverse shapes and hues, by the hunreds and thousands. 6: See the Aadityas, the Vasus, the rudras, the two Asvins and the Maruts; see many wonderful forms never seen before, O descendent of Bharata. 7: See this day the entire universe with moveable and immoveable objects united in this My body, O Gudakesha, and anything else that you like to see. 8: But you will not be able to see Me just with these eyes of yours; I am giving unto you the celestial eye, behold My divine miracle. Sanjaya said: 9: O king, having spoken thus, hair, the great Lord of Yoga, next showed to Paartrtha the supreme divine form. 10: Having many mouths and eyes, and containing many a womderful sight, with many heavenly ornaments and wielding many heavenly umplifted weapons. 11: Wearing celestial garlands and apparel, annointed with heavenly perfumes, ful of wonders, resplendent, infinite and having faces on every side. 12: If the effulgence of a thousand suns were to apper in the skies simultaneously, it might compare somehwat with the splendour of that great form. 13: Then the son of Paandu saw the entire universe with its manifold divisions united there, in the body of the God of gods. 14: Then Dhananjaya, filled with wonder and his haris standing on end, bowing his head before the Lord said with joined palms: 15: In Your body, O Lord, I see the gods, as also the hosts of various beings, Brahmaa, the ruler seated on his lotus-seat, all the heavenly sages and serpents. 16: I see You with many hands, bellies, mouths and eyes, possessing infiniteeforms on every side; O Lord of the universe, O You of universal form. I see however neither Your end nor middle nor Your beginning. 17: I see You all around with the diadem, the mace and disc, a mass of light resplendent on all sides, blinding, with the effulgence of the blazing fire and sun, and immeasurable. 18: you are the Imperishable, the Supreme, the thing to be known, You are the supreme resting place of this universe, You are undecaying and the preserver of the eternal religion; I regard You as the primeval Being. 19: I see You as one with no beginning, middle or end, of infinite prowess, with infinite arms, with the sun and moon for Your eyes, and the blazing fire in Your mouths, scorching this universe with Your radiance. 20: This space betwixt heaven and earth is pervaded by You only, as also the quarters; seeing this wonderful terrible from of Yours, the three worlds are extremely agitated, O great Soul. 21: Verily, these hosts of gods are entering into You, some being frightened are praising You with joined palms, while the bands of great sages and perfected souls, uttering the word 'peace' are praising You with numerous hymns. 22: The Rudras, the Aadityas, the Vasus, and the Saadhyas, the Vishvadevas, the two Asvins, the Asuras and bands of Siddhas- all these are verily looking at You aghast. 23: O mighty-armed one, seeing your great form consisting of many mouths and eyes, many arms, thighs and feet, and many bellies, and fearful with many tusks- the worlds are awe-struck, and so am I. 24: O Vishnu, seeing You touching the sky, blazing, of many hues, with gaping mouths and large fiery eyes, I am frightened at heart, and I feel neither fortitude nor peace. 25: Seeing verily Your mouths fearful with teeth, and blazing like the fire of dissolution, I know not the cardinal points, nor do I find pleasure; O Lord of the gods, O abode of the universe, be merciful. 26-27: All those sons of Dhritaraashtra along with hosts of kings, Bhishma, Drona, as also that charioteer's son Karna together with the principal warriors on our side are entering in a rush into Your terrible jaws fearful with teeth; some are seen sticking in the interstices of the teeth with their heads smashed. 28: As many currents of water from rivers flow towards the sea alone, even so do these heroes in the world of men enter Your mouths, flaming all round. 29: As moths enter a blazing fire with great speed only to be destroyed, even so are these people also entering into Your mouths with great speed just to be destroyed. 30: You are licking all these people on all sides while devouring them with Your flaming mouths; filling the entire world with its radiance, Your fierce glow is scorching it, O Vishnu. 31: Tell me who You are, of ferocious form; salutations to You, O great God, be pleased. I like to know You, the primeval Being; for I do not comprehend Your inclination. God replied: 32: I am the terrible Time, the destroyer of people, and am here proceeding to destroy them; even without you, all these warriors in every division will cease to be. 33: Therefore arise and attain fame, and conquering your enemies, enjoy a flourishing kingdom. By Me alone hae these been killed already. O Savyasaachin you be merely an instrument. 34: Kill Drona, Bhishma, Jayadratha, Karna as also other great warriors, already killed by Me; be not distressed. Fight, you will conquer your enemies in battle. Sanjaya said: 35: Hearing these words of Keshava, the trembling Arjuna saluted with folded palms and said again to Sri Krishna in flatering accents, bowing down in great fear: 36: It is mete, O Hrishikesa, that by Your glorification the world gets delighted and attracted towards You, the demons getting frightened, run in all directions, and all the hosts of perfected beings bow down to You. 37: And why should they not, O noble soul, salute You the original Agent, who are greater than even Brahmaa? O infinite Being, O ruler of the gods, abode of the worlds, You are imperishable, the manifest and the unmanifest, and that which is beyond both. 38: You are the primeval God, the ancient Being, You are the supreme repository of this universe. You are the knower and the knowable, and the highest abode; O You of infinite form, by You is the universe pervaded. 39: You are the Wind-god, death, Fire, the Sea-gods, the moon, Prajaapati, and also the great grandsire- salutatins, a thousandfold salutations to You, salutation again and again to You, salutation. 40: O All, salutations to You in front and from behind, salutations to You all round; You are infinite prowess, of immeasurable valour; You pervade everything, and so You are everything. 41-42: Whatever I, not knowing the greatness and this form of Yours, may have said to You importunately, out of ignorance or affection, addressing You as, O Krishna, O Yaadava, O friend, regarding You as my friend, and in whatever way you may have been slighted out of fun at sport, in bed, on the seat, or in eating, either alone or in company- all that, o Achyuta, I entreat You, the incomprehnsible one, to forgive. 43: You are the father of this world of moving and unmoving things, adorable and the teacher, greater than any superiour, there is none indeed equal to You in all the three worlds, how then could there be one greater than You, O You or unrivalled power? 44: Therefore prostating the body and bowing down to You, I entreat You, the adorable Lord to be gracious; just as a father forgives his son, a friend his friends, and a lover his beloved one, even so should You forgive me O Lord. 45: O Lord, seeing what has never been seen before, I am overjoyed, but my mind is extremely agiated through fear; show me that very old form; O God of gods, O abode of the universe, be gracious. 46: I like to see You as before diademed, bearing a mace and disc in Your hands; assume that very from with four arms, O thousand-armed one, O You of universal form. The Blessed Lord said: 47: Being pleased, I have shown you, O Arjuna, through My Yoga Power, this supreme form of Mine, replendent, universal, infinite and primeval, which has not been seen by any one else than you. 48: Neither by a study of the Vedas and sacrifices, nor by charity nor by ceremonies, nor by austere penances, can I be seen in this form, in the world of mortals, by any person than you, O great hero among the Kurus. 49: Be not agitated, or deluded, seeing this terrible form of Mine; free from fear, and with cheerful mind, see again that very form of Mine. Sanjaya said: 50: Speaking thus to Arjuna, Vaasudeva agains showed His own form; the great soul again cheered up the frightened Arjuna, assuming His benign body. Arjuna said: 51: O Janaardana, seeing this benign human form of Yours I have now become self-composed and come to normal state. The Blessed Lord Said 52: Exccedingly difficult is it to see this form of Mine that you have seen; even the gods are ever eager to see this form. 53: Neither by the Vedas, nor by austerities, nor by gifts, nor by sacrifices, am I visible in this form, as you have seen Me. 54: But by undivided devotion, O Arjuna, can I in this form be known and realized in truth and entered into, O scorcher of foes. 55: He who works for Me, has Me for the supreme goal, is devoted to Me, and non-attached, and bears no hatred towards any creature, he attains to Me, O Paandava. End Chapter 11 Vision of the Universal Chapter 12 The Way of Devotion Arjuna said 1: Between those devotees who worship You, being thus ever devoted, and those who worship the Imperishable, the Unimanifest, who are better versed in Yoga? The Blessed Lord said 2: Those who worship Me fixing their mind on Me, ever devoted, and endowed with supreme faith- them I regard as the best Yogins. 3-4: But they who worship the Imperishable, Indescribable, Unmanifest, All-pervading, Inconceivable, Changeless, Immoveable and Eternal, controlling well their senses, even-minded everywhere and devoted to the good of all beings, also attain Me alone. 5: The trouble of those whose minds are attached to the Unmanifest is greater; for the way of the Unmanifest is attained with difficulty by the embodied soul. 6-7: Those, however, who renouncing all actions in Me, and being attached to Me, worship Me with unswerving devotion through meditation- these people, who have fixed the mind on Me, I quickly redeedm them from this ocean of transmigratory existence beset with death. 8: Fix your mind on Me alone, let your intellect rest in Me, you will live in Me alone hereafter; there is no doubt about it. 9: If, howver, you are not able to fix the mind steadily on Me, then through the Yoga of practice seek to attain Me, O Dhananjaya. 10: If you are unable even to practise, then be solely devoted to rites for Me; even by doing rites for My sake, you will attain perfection. 11: If, however, you are unable to do even this, then taking refuge in Me and being self-controlled, renounce the fruit of all actions. 12: Knowledge is superior to mere practice, meditation is superior to knowledge, superiour to meditation is renunciation of the fruit of action, from renunciation results peace immeditately. 13-14: Non-envious, friendly, and compassionate towards all beings, free from ideas of possession and ego-consciousness, sympathetic in pain and pleasure, forgiving, always contented, contemplative, self-controlled, of firm conviction with his mind and intellect dedicated to Me- such a devotee of Mine is dear to Me. 15: From whom the world gets no trouble, and who gets no trouble from the world, who is free from elation, jealousy, fear and anxiety- he is dear to Me. 16: Independent, clean, dexterous, indifferent, untroubled, and discarding all endeavours- such a devotee of Mine is dear to Me. 17: He who niether rejoices nor dislikes nor grieves nor desires, who renounces good and evil, and who is devotred, is dear to Me. 18-19: Alike to foe and friend, in hounour and dishonour, in heat and cold, happiness and misery, free from attachement, alike in praise and censure, reticent, satisfied wih anything, without a home, steady in mind- such a devoted person is dear to Me. 20: Those devotees who practise this nectar-like religion just taught with faith, and with Me as their supreme soul, are extremely dear to Me. End Chapter 12 The Way of Devotion Chapter 13 Discrimination between Nature and Soul The Blessed Lord said: 1: This body O son of Kunthi is called the kshetra, and that which is conscious of it is called the Kestrajna (embodied self). 2: And know the embodied self in all the bodies to be Myself, O descendant of Bharata. The knowledge of theKshetra and Kshetrajna (matter and spirit) is in My opinion, true knowledge. 3: What that body is, what it is like, what its modifications are, whence it arises, and what its forms are; and also what the other entity, Spirit, is and what its powers are- hear that from Me in brief. 4: It has been sung differently by the sages and variously in different scripture as also in passages indicative and descriptive of Brahma, furnished with reasons and decisive. 5-6: The five great elements, egoism, the intellect, and the unmanifest, the ten sense-organs, and the one mind,and the five objects of the senses: desire, aversion, happiness, misery, the body, intelligence, and patience-thus the body has been described in brief together with its modifications. 7-11: Humility, unostentatiousness, harmlessness, foreberance, uprightness, service to the preceptor, purity, steadiness, self-control, dispassion for sense-objects, and absence of egoism, seeing misery and evil in birth, death, old age and sickness, non-attachment and non-identi- ficationwith son, wife, home, etc., always being even-minded whether good or evil befalls, unswerving devotion to Me through the Yoga of nonseparation, resorting to solitude, and aversion to company , always being devoted t spiritual knowledge, perception of the aim of the knowledge of Truth- all this is called knowledge. What is different from this is ignorance. 12: I shall tell you that which has to be known, knowing which one attains immortality; it is said to be neither being nor non-being; it is the beginningless, supreme Brahman. 13: With hands and feet everywhere, with eyes heads and faces everywhere, with ears everywhere, It rests pervading everything in this world. 14: It is manifest in the functions of the various sense-organs, yet bereft of all sense-organs, unattached, yet sustaining everything, without attributes, yet the protector of the qualities. 15: It is without and within all beings, It is moving and unmoving, being subtle, It is incomprehensible, It is far, yet near. 16: It is divided in beings and yet remains as if undivided; that Knowable is the sustainer of beings as also the destroyer and creator. 17: It is the Light of light and is said to be beyond all darkness, It is knowledge, the knowable, and accessible through knowledge, and is implanted in the heart of all beings. 18: Thus the Kshetra, knowldege, and the Knowable have been stated in brief. Knowing this, My devotee becomes fit to attain My being. 19: Know both Prakriti and Purusha to be beginningless and know the evolutes and the Gunas as born of Prakriti. 20: With respect to the production of the effect (body) and the causes (the senses), Prakriti is said to be the cause, while with respect to the experience of happiness and misery, the Purusha is sai!d to be the cause. 21: For the Purusha residing in Prakriti experiences the Gunas born of Prakriti. The cause of its birth from good and evil sources is its attachment to the Gunas (senses). 22: The supreme Purusha in this body is called the Onlooker, the Permitter, the Nourisher, the Protector, the great Lord, and also the Supreme Self. 23: He who thus knows the Purusha and the Prakriti together with the Gunas is not born again, whatever his mode of life. 24: Some see the Self in the Self by the self through meditation, others by the path of knowledge, some others by Yoga and still others by the path of action. 25: Others, again, not knowing thus, kworship by hearing from others; verily, they also, being devoted to hearing, go beyond death. 26: Whatever being is born, moving or unmoving (animate or inanimate), know that, O best of Bharatas, to coime from the mixing of the Kshetra and the Kshetrajna. 27: He who sees the supreme Lord abiding equally in all beings, the impersishable amidst the perishable- he sees indeed. 28: In seeing the Lord abiding equally everywhere, he does not injure the Self by the self; therefore he attains the supreme goal. 29: He who sees that actions are in every way performed only by Prakriti, and likewise sees the Self as the non-doer, alone sees in truth. 30: When one sees the diversity of beings as abiding in the one (Prakriti) and their emanation from that one alone, then one becomes Brahman. 31: This supreme Self being without a beginning and devotid of attribures, is immutable.k Though residing in the body, O son of Kunti, It neither acts nor is It attached. 32: Just as the all-pervading ether, being subtle, is not contaminated, so is the Self located in every body not contaminated. 33: Even as the one sun illumines the whole world, even so, O descendent of Bharata, does the embodied soul illumine all bodies. 34: Those who thus perceive with the eye of knowledge the difference bewteen the Kshetra and the Kshetrajna as also the means of freedom from the cause of beings (Nature)- attain the supreme End Chapter 13 Discrimination between Nature and Soul Chapter 14 The Separation of the Three Gunas The Blessed Lord said; 1: I shall tell you again the supreme knowledge- the best of all knowledges, knowing which all the sages have attained supreme felicity from thence. 2: By resorting to this knowledge they, having attained to My nature, are not reborn even at the time of creation, nor are they distressed at the time of dissolution. 3: The great Nature is My womb; in that I place the germ, and from that, O descendant of Bharata, is the origin of all beings. 4: Whatever forms, O son of Kunthi, are born in different wombs, of them the great Nature is the womb, and I am the seed-giving father. 5: Satva, Ratjas and Thamas- these Gunas, O mighty-armed one, that are born of Nature (Prakriti), bind fast the immutable, embodied being in this body. 6: Of these, Sattva on account of its stainlessness is luminous and free from evil; it binds (the embodied self) by attachment to happiness and by attachment to knowledge, O sinless one. 7: Know Rajas to be of the nature of passion, the source of desire and attachment: O son of Kunti, it binds fast the emobodied self by attachment to action. 8: But know Thamas to be born of ignorance and deluding all embodied beings: it binds fast, O descendant of Bharata, through inadvertence, laziness and sleep. 9: Sattva binds one to happiness; Rajas, O descendant of Bharata, binds one to work; while Thamas by covering knowledge binds ones to inadvertence, etc. 10: Sattva manifests, O descendant of Bharata, overpowering Rajas and Thamas; Rajas manifests overpowering Sattva and Thamas, and likewise Thamas manifests overpowering Sattva and Rajas. 11: When through all the sense-openings in this body the light of knowledge radiates, then indeed one should know that Sattva predominates. 12: Greed, activity, undertaking of works, restlessnes, desire- these prevail, O best of the Bharatas, when Rajas predominates. 13: Darkness, inactivity, inadvertence, as also delusion- these prevail, O descendant of Kuru, when Thamas predominates. 14: If the embodied self mets with death when Sattva is predominant, then it attains the pure spheress of true worshippers of the highest deities. 15: If it meets with death wen Rajas is predominant, then it is born amongst those who are attached to work; likewise if it meets with death when Thamas is predominant, then it is born in the wombs of irrational species. 16: The result of virtuous action is said to be Sattvika and pure, the result of Rajas is pain, while ignorance is the result of Thamas. 17: From Sattva results knowledge, from Rajas only greed, and from Thamas nothing but inadvertence, delusion and ignorance. 18: Those who abide in Sattva go upwards (to higher spheres), the Rajasika dwell in the funcions of the middle (spheres), and the Thamasika, dweling in the functions of the lowest Guna, go dowmwards to lower spheres. 19: When the seer beholds no active agent other than Guanas, and knows that which is beyond the Gunas, he attains My Being. 20: Having transcended these three Guanas, which are the cause of this body, the embodied self, bereft of birth, death, old age and misery, attains immortality. Arjuna said: 21: By what characterisitcs, O Lord is one who has transcended these three Gunas known? The Blessed Lord said: 22: He who does not hate when the light of knowledge, activity and delusion arise, O son of Pandu, nor desires them when they cease; 23: He who rests like one indifferent and is not disturbed by the Gunas, who realizing that the Gunas alone function, is steady and does not waver; 24: Alike in pleasure and pain, Self-abiding, regarding a clod of earth;, a stone and gold as of equal worth, the same towards agreeable and disagreeable objects, calm and the same to praise and blame bestowed on him; 25: The same in honour and dishonour, the same towards friend and foe, habituated to renounce all actions- such a person is said to have transcended the Gunas. 26: He who serves Me alone through the unswerving Yoga of devotion, transcends these Gunas and becomes fit for the state of Brahman. 27: For I am the embodiment of Brahman, of immutable immortality, of the eternal religion and of absolute bliss. End Chapter 14 The Separation of the Three Gunas Chapter 15 The Way To the Supreme Person The Blessed Lord said: 1: They speak of the Immutable Ashvattha tree with its root above and its branches below, whose leaves are the Vedas; he who knows it is a knower of the Vedas. 2: Its brancehs, nurtured by the Gunas, spread below and above, its shoots are the sense-objects, and its rootilings are stretched below, producing actions in the world of men. 3-4: Its form as such is not experienced here, nor its end nor its beginning nor its continuity. Having severed this deeprooted Ashvattha tree with the strong weapon of non-attachment, one should next seek that goal reaching which they do not return, saying, "I seek refuge in that primordial Purusha from whom this eternal process has sprung." 5: Free from pride and delusionl, over-coming the evil of attachment, ever devoted to spiritual pursuits, rid of deisres and the dual throng named pleasure and pain, the wise go to that immutable goal. 6: The sun does not illumine it, nor the moon lnor the fire; That is My Supreme State raching which they do not return. 7: Verily, a prat of Myself, havinmg become this eternal lemvboidied soul, draws to this world of beings the senses with the mind as the sixth, which rest in NMatrure (Prakriti). 8: When the masdter (sould) acqures a body, he takes these (the six refered to above) from the one he leaves, even as the breeze carries odours from their seads, and attains the new body. 9: Presiding over the ears, the eyse, the organs of taste, touch and semll, and also the mind, he enjys the sense-0obhects. 10: the deluded do not see him deartubg frin tghus vbodyl or residing in it or expereiencing objects bidng aasasoiciatesd with the sesnnes; but they who have the eye of knowldege gsee him. 11: The Yogis who strive see hinm seated in themselfves but htose who are noir -self-controlled,m bieng thoughtlwess, do not see him in spite of striving. 12: The light in the sun which ilumiunes the world and that in the mon and the filre- know that lihgt to be Mine. 13: eNTERING THE ERTH WITH My energy, I ksupport the beings; and I nourish all the herbs, lkbecoming tghe watery moon. 14: rfesiding in the bodies of kbeingsd as the digestive fire Vaisvanaro, and united with Prana dn Apana breaths I dkgiest the four kins of food. 15: I am seated in the hearot of all lbveings; from NMe are memory and knowledge as aslso their loss. I alone am t be known throught all the Vedas, I am the orininartor of the Vedaantic tradition, and I am aslo the knower of the Vedas. 16: Ther are two vbeings Puruysahas in this world- perishable and imperishavble; the perishable one is all thise creatukres, and the immuytable is called the imperishable. 17: Different from thieses is the supreme Veing nown as the supreme Self Paramaatman, the immutable Lord, who ehaving eneterd the rthree worlds sustains them. 18: Since I am beyuond the perishable and even ex el the imperishable, therefore I am wlell known in this world and in the Vedas as ths supreme Being Purushottama. 19: He who being thus undeluded, knows Me, the supreme BVeing, worships Me in all respects, O descendant of BVHarata, and becomes all-knowing. 20: THus the most sectret doctrine has been expounded by Me, O sinless one. Knowing this, one becomes wise, and accomplished are all his duties, O descendant of Bharata. End Chapter 15 The Way to The Supreme Person. Chapter 16 The Distinction Between Divine and Demonic Attributes The Blessed Lord said: 1: Fearlessness, purity of heart, steadfastness in the Yoga of knowledge, charity, self -control, sacrifice, study of the Vedas, austerity, uprightness. 2: Non-injury, truthfulness, absence of anger, self-sacrifice, tranquility, freedom from slander, kindess to beings, non-covetousness, gentleness, modesty, absence of fickleness. 3: Boldness, forgiveness, fortitude, purity, absence of hatred, absence of conceit- these belong to one born of divine wealth, O descendant of Bharata. 4: Ostetentation, arrogance, self-conceit, anger, rudeness, and ingnorance belong O Partha to one who is born of demoniac wealth. 5: Divine wealth is deemed to lead to Liberation and the demoniac to bondage. Grieve not, O son of Pandu, you are born for divine wealth. 6: There are two types of beings created in this world- the divine and the demonicac. The divine type has been described at lenght; now hear from Me, O Paartha, of the demoniac. 7: Persons of a demoniac nature do not know what to do and what to refrain from; they have neither purity nor good conduct nor truth. 8: They describe the world as being without a truth, without a basis, without a God and brought about by mutual union- as nothing but originating in lust. 9: Holding this view, these ruined souls of small intellects and fierce deeds, are born for the destruction of the world as its enemies. 10: Resorting to insatiable desires, full of hypocrisy, pride and arrogance, they of impure vows act holding false views through delusion. 11: Beset with immense cares ending only with death, regarding gratification of sensual enjoyment as their highest aim, and convinced that this is all; 12: Bound by a hundred ties of expectation and given to lust and anger, they strive to collect by foul means hoards of wealth for sense gratification. 13: "Thus has been gained today by me; this desire I shall obtain; this wealth is mine, and this other too shall be mine. 14: "That enemy has been slain by me, and others too I will slay. I am the Lord, I am full of enjoyments, I am successful, powerful and happy. 15: "I am rich and of noble birth; who else is equal to me? I will sacrifice, I will make fights, I will rejoice"- thus deluded by ignorance, 16: Perplexed by many a fancy, entangled in the net of delusion, and addicted to the gratification of desires, they fall into foul hell. 17: Self-esteemed, arrogant, filled with vanity and haughtiness due to wealth, they ostentatiously perform sacrificies in name, disregarding prescribed methods. 18: Possesed of self-conceit, power, insolence, lust and anger, these cavilling people perform sacrifices, hating Me residing in their own bodies and in those of others. 19: These cruel haters, the most degraded of men, I hurl perpetually among demioniacal species in the transmigratory worlds. 20: Obtaining demoniac bodies, and deluded birth after birth, far from attaining Me O son of Kunti, they fall into still lower conditions. 21: There are three types of gates to hell destructive of the self- lust, anger and greed; therefore these three shuld be shunned. 22: The man who has got rid of these three gates to darkness, O son of Kunti, practises what is good for himself, and thus goes to the Supreme Goal. 23: He who, setting aside the ordinances of the Scriptures, acts under the impulse of desire, attains neither perfection nor happiiness nor the supreme Goal. 24: So let the Scriptures be your authority in ascertaining what ouught to be done and what ought not to be done. Having known what has been prescribed by the Scriptures, you shuuld act in this matter. End Chapter 16 Distinction Between Divine And Demoniac Attributes Chapter 17 The Separation of the the Three Kinds of Faith Arjuna said: 1: Those who setting aside the ordinances of the Scriptures perform sacrifices with faith (Shraddhaa)- what is their status, O Krishna? Is it Sattva, or Rajas, or Thamas? The Blessed Lord said: 2: Threefold is the natural faith of embodied beings-= Saattvika, Raajasika or Thaamasika. Hear about it. 3: The faith of each person is according to his stuff, O descendant of Bharata. A man is made up of his faith; he verily is what his faith is. 4: The Saatvika worhsip the gods, the Raajaski worship the Yakshas and Raakshasas, while others, the Taamaskia men, worship spirits and goblins. 5-6: Those men who practise severe auksterities not enjoined by Scriptures, being given to ostentaion and self-conceity, possessed of desire, attachment and pertinacity, and senseless, torture the elements in the body, as also Me residing with it- know them to be of demoniac resolves. 7: The food also like by each is threefold, as also sacrifice, austerity and gift. Listen about these distinctions among them. 8: The foods that augment life, energy, strengthm healthl, happiness and joy, land which are savoury, oleaginours, nourishing and agreeable, are liked by the Saatvika. 9: The foods that are very bitter, sour, saltish, hot, pungent, dry and burning are liked aby the Raajasika, and are productive of pain, grief and disease. 10: The food that is pretty cold, worthless, putrid, stale, partly eaten and impure is liked by the Thaamasika. 11: That sacrifice which is performed according to scriptural injunctins by men desiring no fruit and witrh their mind fixed on it for its own sake is Saattvika. 12: But know that sacrifice to be Raajaskia O best of the Bharatas, which is performed aiming at its fruit, as also for ostentation. 13: The sacrifice which is contrary to ordinance, in wh;ich no food is distributed, which is devoid of Mantras, gifrts to the priests and faith, is said to be Thaamasika. 14: Worship of the gods, the twice-born, the preceptor and the wise, purity, straightforwardness, continence and non-injury, are said to be physical austerity. 15: Speech that causes no worry and is also truthful, agreeable and beneficial, as also study of the Vedas, are said to be verbal austerity. 16: Serenity of mind, kindlines, silence, sel-control and purity of heart, are said to be mental austerity. 17: This threefold austerity practised with great fgaith aby men who desire no fruit and are steadfast, is said to be Saatvika. 18: That austerity which is practised to gain respect, honour and adoration, and that whith ostentation, and which is transitkory and unstable, is here said to be Raajasika. 19: That austerity which is practised out of a foolish notion, with self-torture, or for the purpose of ruining another, is called Thaamasika. 20: To give is a duty- a gift given with this idea to one who will do no service in return, in a fit place and time and to a worthy person, is known to be Saattvika. 21: That gift however, which is given with a view to receiving in return, or looking for its fruit, or grudgingly, is said to be Raajasika. 22: The gift that is given at the wrong place and time, and to unworthy persons, without regard and disdainfully, is said to be Thaamasika. 23: 'Om Tat Sat'- this is considered to be the threefold designation of Brahman. By that were fashioned, of old, the Braahmanas, the Vedas and sacrifices. 24: Therefore the acts of sacrifice, gift and austerity enjoined by the ordinance on the partr of the followers of the Vedas, by uttering the Word OM, are always begun well. 25: Uttering 'Tat', the variyus acts of sacrifice, austerity and charity are performed by the seekers of Liberation without aiming at their fruit. 26: 'Sat' is used to denote existence and goodness; so also, O Paartha, the word 'Sat' is used for any auspicious act. 27: Steadiness in sacrifice, austerity, and gift is also called 'Sat'; as also work even done indirectly for the sake of the Lord is verily called 'Sat'. 28: Offering oblations, making gifts, austerities practised, or anything else done- without faith, are called 'Asat' O Partha; they fructify neither hereafter nor here. End Chapter 17 The Separation of the Three Kinds of Faith Chapter 18 The Way of Renunciation Arjuna said: 1: I desire to know distinctly the true nature of renunciation (Sannyaasa) O hrishikesa, as also of relinquishment (Tyaaga), O mighty-armed One, O slayer of Keshin. The Blessed Lord said: 2: Sages understand the renouncing of actions that fulfill desires as renunciation (Sannyaasa) and the learned declare the abandoning of the fruit of all actions as relinquishment (Tyaaga). 3: Some philosophers declare that all action should be relinquished as being evil, while others say that the work in the form of sacrifice, gift and austerity should not be relinquished. 4: Hear from Me the final truth about this relinquishment, O best of the Bharatas; for relinquishment is truly declared to be of three kinds, O best of men. 5: Work in the form of sacrifice, gift and austerity should not be relinquished, but should indeed by performed; for sacrifice, gift and austerity are sanctifying to the wise. 6: But even theses activities should be performed giving up attachment and fruit- this is My decided and best view. 7: But the renunciation of obligatory work is not proper; abandonment of such work from delusion is declared to be Taamasika. 8: If from fear of bodily trouble, one relinquishes action because it is irksome, thus performing a Raajasika relinquishment, one certainly does not obtain the fruit of relinquishment. 9: When obligatory work is performed, O Arjuna, only because it ought to be done, giving up attachment for it and its fruit- that relinquishment is regarded as Saattvika. 10: The relinquisher endued with Sattva and a steady understanding, having his doubts resolved, neither hates disagreeable works nor is attached to agreeable work. 11: Action cannote be entirely relinquished by an embodied being. He who relinquishes the fruit of action, is called a relinquisher. 12: The threefold fruit of action- disagreeable, agreeable and mixed- accrues to non-relinquishers after death, but never to relinquishers. 13: Learn from Me, O mighty-armed one, these five causes for the accomplishment of all work, as declared in the wisdom which is the end of all action. 14: The seat of action and likewise the agent, the various senses, the different and manifold efforts- the presiding divinity being the fifth of these. 15: Whatever action a man performs by his body, speech and mind, whether proper or the reverse, has these five as its causes. 16: Such being the case, he who owing to his unrefined understanding looks upon the Absolute Self as the agent, is foolish, and does not see. 17: He who is free form the notion of 'I' and whose understanding is not trammelled, though he kills these beings, does not really kill, nor is he bound. 18: Knowledge, the knowable and the knower form the threefold impulse to action. The instrument, the object and the agent form the threefold basis of action. 19: Knowledge, action and agent are declared in the science of the Gunas to be of three kinds only, according to the distinctions of the Gunas; of them also hear duly. 20: The knowledge by which one sees the one undivided, imperishable substance in all beings which are divided, should be known to be Saattvika. 21: But the knowledge by which one sees as distinct, in all beings, different entities of various kinds, should be known to be Raajasik. 22: While that knowledge which is confined to a single product as if it were the whole, which is irrational, not founded upon truth, and trivial, is delcared to be Thaamasika. 23: An action that is ordained, performed without attachment, free from attraction or repulsion, by one not coveting its fruit, is delcared to be Saattvika. 24: But an action that is done by a person seeking desire or possessed of conceit, and that with much trouble is declared to be Raajasika. 25: That action which is undertaken through delusion, without regard to consequence, loss, hurtfulness and capacity, is declared to be Thaamasika. 26: An agent who is free from attachment, non-egoistic, endued with fortitude and enthusiasm, and unaffected by success or failure, is called Saattvika. 27: An agent who is interested, desirous of the fruit of action, greedy, malevolent, unclean and subject to elation and dejection, is declared to be Raajasika. 28: An agent who is unsteady, vulgar, arrogant, deceptive, overbearing, indolent, despondent and procrastinating, is said to be Taamasika. 29: Listen now to the threefold variety, according to the Gunas, of the understanding and tenacity, as I declare them exhaustively and severally, O Dhananjaya. 30: That understanding which knows inclination and abstention, what ought to be done and what ought not to be done, fear and absence of fear, and bondage and Liberation, is Saatvika, O Paartha. 31: That understanding by which one knows incorrectly righteousness and unrighteousness, and what ought to be done and what not to be done, is Raajasika, O Paartha. 32: That understanding which enveloped in ignorance, regards unrighteousness as righteousness and all things in an inverted way, is Taamasika, O Paartha. 33: That tenacity, unswerving through Yoga, by which one controls the functions of the mind, the breaths, (Praanas) and the senses, is Saattvika, O Paartha. 34: But the tenacity by which one holds fast to duty, pleasure and wealth, desiring their fruit because of attachment, is Rajaskia, O Paartha. 35: But the tenacity by which a stupid person does not give up sleep, fear, grief, depression and pride, is Thaamasika. O Paartha. 36-37: Now hear from Me, O Prince among the Bharathas, of the threefold happiness: The happiness which one relishes through practice, in which one comes to the end of all pain, and which is like poison at first, but like nectar at the end, is declared to be Saattvika, born of the serentiy of the understanding that concerns itself with the Self. 38: The happiness that arises from a contact between the objects and the senses, which is like nectar at the beginning, but like poison at the end, is said to be Raajasika. 39: That happiness which is self-delusive both at the beginning and at the end, and which arises from sleep, lassitude and inadvertance, is said to be Taamasika. 40: There is no being on earth or again in heaven among the gods, that is free from these three Gunas born of their own nature. 41: The duties of the Braahmanas, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas, as also of the Sudras, are clearly divided, O scorcher of foes, according to the dispositions born of their own nature. 42: Serenity, self-control, austerity, purity, forbearance, and also uprightness, knowledge, realization and faith, are the duties of a Braahamana born of his nature. 43: Heroism, boldness, firmness, dexterity, not fleeing from the battle, generosity and lordlinesss, are the duties of a Kshatriya, born of his nature. 44: Agriculture, cattle-rearing and trade are the duties of a Vaishya born of his nature; and work of the nature of service is the duty of a Sudra born of his nature. 45: Devoted to his own duty, a man attains perfection. Listen how one engaged in one's own duty attains perfection. 46: From whom proceeds the activity of all beings, and by whom all this is pervaded- worshipping Him through his own duty a man attains perfection. 47: Better is one's own duty, though defective, than the duty of another, well performed. Doing the duty ordained by one's own nature, one incurs no sin. 48: One should not, O son of Kunti, relinquish the duty to which one is born, although it may be attended with evil; for all undertakings are covered by defect, as fire by smoke. 49: He whose understanding is unattached everywhere, whose mind is conquered, who is bereft of desires, attains by renunciation that supreme state of freedom from action. 50: Learn from Me in brief, O son of Kunti, how reaching such perfection, he attains Brahman, which is the supreme consummation of knowledge. 51: Endued with a pure understanding, controlling the mind with tenacity, relinquishing sense-objects such as sound, and laying aside likes and dislikes, 52: Resorting to a sequestered place, eating little, controlled in speech, body and mind, always devoted to the Yoga of contemplation, culitvating dispassion, 53: Forsaking egotism, power, arrogance, desire, anger, and superfluous things, free from the notion of 'mine' and tranquil, he is fit for becoming Brahman. 54: Becoming Brahman and tranquil-minded, he neither grieves nor desires; alike to all beings, he attains supreme devotion to Me. 55: By devotion he knows Me truly, how much and what I am. Then, having known Me truly he forthwith enters in to Me. 56: Even performing all works always, taking refuge in Me, he attains through My grace the eternal and immutable state. 57: Resigning mentally all actions to Me, regarding Me as the supreme goal, and resorting to Yoga through the intellect, ever fix your mind on Me. 58: Fixing your mind on Me, you will overcome all difficulties through My grace. But if from self-conceit you do not listen to Me, you will perish. 59: That, indulging in self-conceit, you think "I will not fight"- vain is this resolve of yours. Your nature will compell you to fight. 60: O son of Kunti, what you out of delusion do not wish to do, you shall do in spite of yourself, fettered by your own duty born of your nature. 61: In the heart of all beings, O Arjuna, resides the Lord, whirling all of them by His Maayaa as if they were mounted on a machine. 62: Take refuge in Him alone with all your heart, O descendant of Bharata; by His grace you shall attain supreme peace and the eternal abode. 63: Thus has knowledge, more secret than all secrets been revealed to you by Me; reflect on it fully and act as you like. 64: Hear again My supreme word, the most secret of all. Because you are dearly beloved of Me, therefore I shall tell you what is good for you. 65: Fix your mind on Me, be devoted to Me, worship Me, and bow down to Me; then you shall come to Me. Truly do I promise to you, for you are dear to Me. 66: Giving up all duties, take refuge in Me alone. I will liberate you from all sins, do not grieve. 67: Never should this be declared by you to one who is devoid of austerities, or who is not a devotee, nor to one who does not wish to hear it, nor any one who cavils at Me. 68: He who will impart this profound secret to My devotees, has supreme devotion to Me, and being free from doubt comes to Me alone. 69: There is none among men who does dearer service to Me than he, nor will there be any; and there is none on earth dearer to Me than he. 70: And he who will study this sacred dialogue abetween us, will be sacrificing to Me through the knowledge-sacrifice; this is My opinion. 71: A person who merely hears with devotion and without cavilling shall be freed and attain the blessed spheres attained by men of righteous deeds. 72: Have you listened to it, O Paartha, with undivided attention? Has your delusion due to ignorance been destroyed, O Dhananjaya? Arjuna said: 73: My delusion is destroyed, and I have gained my memory, through Your grace O Achyuta. I stand free from doubt. I will carry out your behest. Sanjaya said: 74: Where there is Sri Krishna, the Lord of Yoga, and where there is Paartha, the wielder of the bow, there are sure fortune, victory, prosperity and statesmanship. Such is my conviction. End Chapter Eighteen The Way of Righteousness May your own Song of God continue forever.