He sees all beings — from Brahma, the Creator, down to a clump of grass — as one with the Self; and in all the differ- ent beings — from Brahma, the Creator, down to inanimate objects — he sees the same; ue»% he sees that the Self and Brahman (the Absolute) are one.
Now will be discribed the effect of this perception of the unity of the Self; 30. He who sees Me everywhere and sees everything in Me, to him I vanish not, nor to Me does he vanish.
28—32] DHYANA YOGA. 199 He who sees Me, Vasudeva, the Self of all, in all beings, and who sees Brahma, the Creator, and all other beings, in Me* the Self of all;— when he has thus seen the unity of the Self, I— who am the Isvara — never leave his presence, nor does that wise man leave My presence j for his Self and Mine are one, and one's own Self cannot but be manifest to oneself.
Now, referring to the knowledge imparted in the preceding verse— namely that ' I Myself, the Self of all, am the seer of the unity of Self 'r- the Lord will speak of niuksha as the effect of that knowledge: 31. Whoso, intent on unity, worships Me who abide in all beings, that Yogin dwells in Me, whatever his mode of life.
This man of right knowledge dwells in Me, in the supreme state, in the state of Vishwu; he is ever liberated nothing obstructs his path to moksha.
Moreover, 32. Whoso, by comparison with himself* sees the same everywhere, O Arjuna, be it pleasure or pain, he is deemed the highest Yogin.
He sees that whatever is pleasant to himself is pleasant to all creatures, and that whatever is painful to himself is painful to all beings. Thus seeing that what is pleasure or pain to himself is alike pleasure or pain to all beings, he 200 THE BHAGAVAD GITA. [DlS. VI.
causes pain to no being; he is harmless. Doing no harm, and devoted to right knowledge, he is regarded as the highest among all Yogins.
Practice and Indifference are the surest means to Yoga.
Seeing that the Yoga above described, the Yoga of right knowledge, is very difficult of attainment, Arjuna wished to know the surest means of attaining it, and said: Arjuna said: 33. This Yoga in equanimity, taught by Thee, 0 Destroyer of Madh.ii> — I see not its steady continuance, because of the restlessness (of the mind.)
This is a well-known fact: 34. The mind verily, is, O Krisrma, restless, turbulent, strong and obstinate. Thereof the restraint I deem quite as difficult as that of the wind.
* KHshwa ' is derived from ' knsh ' to scrape. Krishna is so called because He scrapes or draws away all sins and other causes of evil from his" devotees. — Not only is the mind restless, but also turbulent: it agitates the body and the senses and makes them subject to foreign influences. It is not possible to restrain it by any means, as it is quite irrepressible. It is as impossible to cut it as to cut the 32—36] DHYANA YOGA. 201 tantunaga, the Varuna-pasa, a kind of shark. To restrain the mind of such a nature is even more difficult than to restrain the wind; The Lord says: — So it is, as you say: The Blessed Lord said: 35. Doubtless, O mighty-armed, the mind is hard to restrain and restless; but by practice, O son of Kunti, and by indifference it may be restrained.
{ Practice ' consists in constantly repeating the same idea or thought regarding some one object of thought. * Indiffer- ence' means freedom from desire for any pleasures seen or unseen, attained through a constant perception of evil in them. It is by practice and indifference that vikshepa, the passage of thought in the direction of external objects, can be restrained. — It is thus that the mind is restrained.
But as regards him who is not self-controlled: 36. Yoga, methinks is hard to attain for a man of uncontrolled self; but by him who (often) strives, self-controlled, it can be acquired by (proper) means.
Uncontrolled self: the antafo-kara/za not controlled by means of constant practice and by indifference to worldly gain. Self-controlled: who has subdued the mind.
202 THE BHAGAVAD GITA. [DlS. VI.
Failures in Yoga and the after-career.
On engaging in the practice of Yoga, all works which are the means of attaining success in this world and in the other world have been renounced, while the right knowledge, which is the result of perfection in Yoga and which is the means to moksha, has not yet been attained; and the Yogin's mind strays away from the path of Yoga at the time of death. Arjuna thought that such a man would meet destruction and therefore asked: Arjuna said: 37. He who strives not, but who is possessed of faith, whose mind wanders away from Yoga,—. having failed to attain perfection in Yoga, what end, O Krishna, does he meet?
He has faith in the efficacy of Yoga but dees not strive in the path of Yoga; and during the last moments of life his mind wanders away from Yoga, with memory lost.,, Having failed to attain the fruition of Yoga— namely, right knowledge — what end does such a man meet?
38. Having failed in both, does he not perish like a riven cloud, supportless, O mighty-armed, and perplexed in the path to Brahman?
Both: the path of Karma and the path of Yoga. The $ath to Brahman: the path by which Brahman can be reached.
37—41] DHYANA YOGA. 203 v» MO 39. This doubt of mine, O Krishna, do Thou dispel completely; for none other than Thyself can possibly destroy this doubt.
None other: be he a Bishi or Deva. Thou alone canst destroy this doubt.
The Blessed Lord said: 40. O Partha, neither in this world nor in the next is there destruction for him; none, verily, who does good, My son, ever comes to grief.
He who has failed in Yoga will not be subject to a lower birth than the present one either here or hereafter. My son: [Sk. *tata* is translated into 'son']. 'Tata' in Sanskrit means * father ' because the father propagates (Sk. root * tan') himself in the form of his son. Since thus the father himself is the son, the son also is called tata. Even a disciple, though not a son, is addressed as son because he is like a son.
What, then will happen to him?
41. Having attained to the worlds of the righteous and having dwelt there for eternal years, he who failed in Yoga is reborn in a house of the pure and wealthy.
204 THE BHAGAVAD GITA. [DlS. VI.
This is said, as the context shows, of a samnyasin engag- ed in the path of (Day ana) Yoga. The righteous: those who worship by the asm«medha or horse-sacrifice, &c. Having completely enjoyed the pleasure (he is entitled to) in such a world, he is reborn in a house of the pure and wealthy. The pure: acting according to the prescribed rules.
42. Else, he is born in family of wise Yogins, only. This, verily, a birth like this, is very hard to obtain in this world.
Or else he is born in quite a different family, that of poor wise Yogins. A birth in a family of this sort, in a family of poor Yogins, is more difficult to obtain than the one mentioned above.
And for the following reason: 43. There he gains touch with the knowledge that was acquired in the former body and strives more than before for perfection, O son of the Kurus.
More than before: with greater vigour thari that with which he strove in the former birth.
41—45] DHYANA YOGA. 205 44. By that very former practice is he borne on, though unwilling. Even he who merely wishes to know of Yoga rises superior to the Word- Brahman, The man who failed in Yoga is borne on towards perfection by the force of the practice of the former birth. If he had done 110 unrighteous deed (a-dharraa) which could overpower the tendency caused by the practic of Yoga, then certainly, the tendency of Yoga prevails. If a-dharma be stronger, then, even the tendency bora of Yoga is certainly overpowered by a-dharma. But on -the exhaustion of a-dharma the tendency caused by Yoga begins to produce its effects: that is to say, it is not liable to destruction though it may have long been in abeyance. Thus he— i.e. as the context shows, a samnyasin who hag failed in Yoga— who works in the path of Yoga, only wishing to know its nature, eyen he will free himself from the Word-Brahman (Sabda- Brahman), from the effects of the observance of Vedic Karma: what need is there to say that he who knows Yoga and practises it in steady %devbtion will be free from its effects?
The best of Yogins.
And why is the life of a Yogin preferable?
45. Verily, a Yogin who strives with assiduity, purified from sins and perfected in the course of many births, then reaches the Supreme Goal.
In the course of many births he acquires facility in Yoga little by little, and by the aggregate facility thus 206 THE BHAGAVAD GITA. [DlS. VIacquired in many births he is perfected Then he obtains right knowledge and reaches the Supreme Goal.
46. A Yogin is deemed superior to men of austerity, and superior to even men of knowledge; he is also superior to men of action; therefore be thou a Yogin, O Arjuna.
Knowledge: of the teachings of the sastra. Aotton •* such as Agnihotra. worship of the sacred fire.
47. Of all Yogins, whoso, full of faith, worships Me with his inner self abiding in Me, he is deemed by Me as most devout Togins: those who meditate upon Rudra, Aditya, etc. The inmr self abiding in Me: The anta&-kara»a kept steadfast in Me, Vasudeva.
SEVENTH DISCOURSE. VIJNANA-YQGA.
Realisation of the Lord by meditation.
Having given in vi. 47 an occasion for further interroga- tion, and wishing to teach, without being asked, that " so and so is My Real Being, and such and such is the one whose inner self abides in Me,*1 the Lord said: The Blessed Lord said: JN • i. With the mind intent.on Me, O Partha, practising Yoga, and finding refuge in Me, how in full without doubt thou shalt know Me, that do thou hear.
The Yogin's mind is intent on Me, the Supreme Lord, possessed of such attributes as will be mentioned.below He pratises Yoga or steadfastness of mind and finds refuge in Me alone, the Supreme Lord. He who seeks a human end resorts to some action such as Agnihotra, or to an austerity, or to a gift or the iike, as a means of attaining that end. They Yogin, on the other hand, resorts to Me alone, abandoning all other means, with his thought intent on Me alone. Now, listen to what I am going to say as to how you also? thus acting, will, without doubt, know Me in full, possessed of infinite greatness, strength, power, grace and other attributes; you will know Me undoubtingly, that *' Tha Lord is so and so only*" 208 THE BHAGAVAD GITA. [DlS. VII.
2. I shall fully teach thee this knowledge combined with experience, which being known> nothing more besides here remains to be known.
And this knowledge concerning Me, as born out by My own experience, I shall relate to thee in full. In the latter portion of the verse the Lord extols the knowledge which is going to be taught, with a view to prepare the hearer to follow it. — Nothing more; no other means to a human end. He who knows Me in truth becomes omniscient Thus the knowledge is productive of great results and is therefore very hard to obtain- How? — Listen: 3. Among thousands of men, one perchance strives for perfection; even among those who strive and are perfect, only one perchance knows me in truth.
Perfect: they are indeed perfect who strive for moksha.
Evolution of the Universe out of Divine Prakriti.
Having prepared the hearer for the teaching by inducing in Mm a taste for it, the Lord proceeds thus: + Earth, water, fire, air, ether, thought (Manas) and reason (Buddhi), egoism (Ahawkara) — thus is My Prakriti divided eightfold.
Earth stands for the subtile rudimental element or Tanmatra, the Prithivi-tanmatra or the subtile rudimental element of earth; and so water, fire, air and ether stand for the Tanmatras of water, etc. Thought (Manas) stands for its cause Ahamhara or egoism: reason (Buddhi) for the Mahat principle, which is the cause of Ahamkara; and Ahawkara for the Avyakta, the Uumanifested, conjoined with Avidya or nescience. Jast as food which is mixed with poison is itself called poison, so the Avyakta, the First Cause, conjoined with the vasana, or latent unconscious impression, of Ahawkara, is itself called here Ahamkara inasmuch as Egoism is the impelling cause of all. As a matter of fact, we find, from our ordinary experience, that egoism is the cause of the activity of every being. Thus divided eightfold is My Praknti, the Maya belonging to the Isvara.
5. This is the inferior (Praknti); but as distinct from this know thou My superior Praknti, the very life, O mighty-armed, by which this universe is upheld.
This Parknti is inferior, impure, productive of evil, itself constituting the bondage of sawsara j but the superior Prakriti is pure; it is My very Self, the Kshetrajna, that by which life is sustained, that which enters within the whole universe and sustains it 210 THE BHAGAVAD GITA. [DlS. VII.
6. Know that all beings have their birth in these. So, I am the source and dissolution of the whole universe.
These, My inferior Nature (Praknti) and My superior Nature (Prakriti; matter (Kshetra) and spirit (Kshetrajna), are the womb of all creatures. Because my Prakriti is the womb of all beings, I am the origin and the end of the whole universe. That is to say, through this twofold Praknti, I, the omniscient Isvara, am the cause of the universe, Wherefore, 7. There is naught else higher than I, O Dhananjaya: in Me all this is woven as clusters of gems on a string.
There is no other cause besides Me, the Supreme Lord I alone am the cause of the universe. Wherefore all beings as well as the whole of this universe are woven in Me, as a cloth in the warp, clusters of beads on a string.
The Divine Principle penetrating the Universe.
What are Thy attributes showing that the whole of thi is woven in Thee P — Listen: <f«VV *S. *^ _* 8. 1 am the sapidity in water, O son of Kunti. I am the light in the moon and the sun.
I am the syllable Om in all the Vedas, sound in ether, humanity in men.
The essence of water is sapidity. In Me who am that sapidity waters are woven — So in all cases. — Just as I am the sapidity in waters, so am I the light in the moon and the sun; I am the Praraava, the syllable Om in all the Vedas:m Me who am that Prarcava ail the Vedas are woven. So also, I am humanity in men, i. e., I am that in a person which makes that person regarded a human being. In Me as human- ity all persons are woven. Sound is the essence of akasa: in Me as sound akasa is woven.
9. And I am the agreeable odour in the earth and the brilliance in the fire, the vitality in all beings, and I am the austerity in ascetics.
In Me as odour the earth is woven.— Odour by itself is agreeable; the disagreeableness of odour in the earth and of the like being due to the combination of one element with some other element or elements under the influence of the avidya and a-dharma of individual souls in the world. The agreeableness thus spoken of with reference to the earth applies also to the agreeableness of the sapidity in waters, and so on.— I am the vitality in all beings, that by which all beings live. In Me as austerity the ascetics are woven.
10. Know Me, O Partha, as the eternal seed of all beings; I am *he intelligence of the intelli- gent, «the bravery of the brave.
212 THE BHAGAVAD GITA. [DlS. VII* Seed: the cause of growth. Intelligence: the discrimi- native power af the antaft-karawa.
11. And of the energetic am I the energy devoid of passion and attachment; and in (all) beings I am the desire unopposed to dharma, O lord of the Bharatas.
Passion (Kama): thirst for objects not present to the senses. Attachment (raga): love for those presented to the senses. I am that energy which is necessary for the bare sustenance of the bcdy, certainly ncf that which causes thirst and attachment (for sense-objects) in the case of worldly mortals. So I am the desire not opposed to the teaching of the scriptures: I am, for instance, the desire for that much of eating and drinking, etc., which is necessary for the bare sustenance of the body.
Moreover, 12. And whatever beings are of Sattva or of Rajas or of Tamas, know them to proceed from Me: still, I am not in them, they are in me.
Know that all beings, whether formed of Sattva or of Rajas, or of Tamas, and which come into existence as the result of the respective karma of living beings, proceed from Me..Though they thus proceed from Me, I am not subject to them like mortal beings (samsarins). On the other hand, they are subject to Me: they are dependent on Me.
11—14] VIJNANA YOGA. 213 Maya: How to overcome it.
The Lord now expresses His regret that the world does not understand Him, who is thus the Supreme Lord; who by nature is eternal, pure, intelligent and free; who is the Self of all beings, devoid of all attributes; by knowing whom they might burn up the evil which is the seed of sa^sara. — What is this ignorance on the part of the world due to? — Listen: 13. Deluded by these three (sorts of) things composed of gu^as, all this world knows not Me as distinct from them and immutable.
All living beings are deluded by such things as love, hatred and attachment, which are all modifications of gu«as.
Immutable: devoid of such changes as birth and the like* which pertain to all things in the world.
How then can one surmount this Divine Illusion (Maya) of Vishnu made up of the three guraas? — Listen: 14. Verily this Divine Illusion of Mine, made up of guwas, is hard to surmount. Whoever seek Me alone, they cross over this Illusion.
This 111 usion (Maya), formed of gu/ias, is inherent in Me, Vish/m» the Lord. Such being the case, whoever abandon alt formal religion (Dharma) and completely devote themselves to Me, their own Self, the Lord of Illusion, they cross over the Illusion which deludes all living beings: they are liberated from the bondage of sawsara.
214 THE BHAGAVAD GITA. [DlS. VII.
If those who resort to Thee cress over the Illusion, why do not all resort to Thee only? — 15. Not Me do the evil-doers seek, the delud- ed, the vilest of men, deprived of wisdom by Illusion, following the ways of the Demons.
Me, the Supreme Lord, Narayawa. The ways of the Demons are cruelty, untruth, and the like.
Four classes of devotees.
But as to the best of men, men of good deeds: 3tt€f frCTsrofcif wivftt •* mam u \% is 16. Fonr kinds of virtuous men worship Me, O Atjuna — the distressed, the seeker of knowledge* the seeker of wealth, and the wise man, O lord of the Bharatas.
The distressed: he who is in distress, overpowered by a robber, a tiger, illness or the like. Knowledge: of the real nature of the Lord- The wise man: be who knows the real nature of Vishnu- 17. Of them the wise man, ever steadfast and devoted to the One, excels; for, excessively dear am I to the wise, and he is dear to Me.
Of the four, the wise man, as knowing the truth, is ever steadfast, and devoted to the One, finding no other object of worship. Thus, he who is devoted to the One is superior to all others. Since I am his very Self, I am excessively dear to the wise man. — It is well-known to all in this world that the Self is dear to every one. Therefore Vasudeva, as the Self of the wise man, is dear to him And the wise man is My very Self and is therefore very dear to Me- Then the three othersi the distressed and the rest, are not dear to Vasudeva? — Not so. — What then?
18. Noble indeed are all these; but the wise man, I deem, is the very Self; for, steadfast in mind, he resorts to Me alone as the unsurpassed goal.
These are all noble indeed; i.e., those three also are dear to Me. There is no devotee of Mine but is dear to Me,. Vasudeva. There is, however, this difference: the wise man is excessively dear to Me. — Why so? — It is my conviction that the wise man is the very Self, not different from Me" The wise man strives to reach Me, firm in the faith that he himself is the Lord Vasudeva and is no other than He. He seeks ike only, the Supreme Brahman, as the highest goal to be reached.
The wise man is again extolled: 19. At the end of many births, the man of wisdom comes to me, (realising) that Vasudeva is 216 THE BHAGAVAD GITA. [DlS. VII.
the all: he is the noble-souled (Mahatman), very- hard to find.
At the end of many births occupied in spiritual regenera- tion as preparatory to the attainment of wisdom, the man of mature wisdom resorts to Me, Vasudeva, the innermost Self (Pratyagatman). — How? — Realising that Vasudeva is the All. He who thus comes to Me, Naraya^a, the Self of All, is a Mahatman, a man of high soul; there is no other either equal to him or superior to him. Therefore such a man is very hard to find; it has indeed been said that M among thousands of men, one perchance strives for perfection '* (vii. 3.) The ignorant worship inferior Gods.
Now will be shown the cause of (the people) not seeing that the Self or Vasudeva alone is the All: 20. Those whose wisdom has been led away by this or that desire resort to other Gods, engag- ed in this or that rite, constrained by their own nature.
Their desires for progeny, cattle, svarga and the like deprive them of their power of discrimination, and they resort to other Gods (Devatas), other than Vasudeva, the Self. They engage in rites peculiar to the worship of these Gods; they being constrained to do so by their own nature fprakriti), by that peculiar tendency (samskara) which they acquired in the previous births.
Of these lustful men, 50—23] VIJNANA YOGA. 217 21. Whatever devotee seeks to worship with faith what form soever, that same faith of his I make unflinching.
Whatever form of God (Devata) a man of desire worships in devotion and faith, I confirm his faith in the worship of that same form.
By whatever faith a man is naturally actuated and seeks to worship a particular form of Devata, 22. Possessed of that faith he engages in the worship of that (form); thence he obtains his •desires, these being indeed ordained by me.
Possessed of that faith ordained by Me, he engages in the worship of that form of God. From the God worshipped in this form he obtains the objects of his desire as ordained by Me, the Supreme Lord, the Omniscient, as I alone know the precise relation between actions and their fruits. Because their desires are all ordained by the Lord Himself, therefore the devotees are sure to obtain them.
Another interpretation is also given which would make the last part of the verse mean that desires are beneficial. But desires can be beneficial only in a secondary sense; for, strictly speaking, they are beneficial to nobody.
Because they are unwise and full of desires and resort to the means of attaining finite results, therefore, 218 THE BHAGAVAD GITA. [DlS. VII.
23. That result indeed is finite, (which accrues) to those men of small intellect. Wor- shippers of Gods (Devatas) go to Gods (Devatas); My devotees come unto Me.
Though there is the same amount of exertion (in the two kinds of worship), people do not resort to Me so that they may attain infinite results. Alas I it is very miserable — - Thus does the Lord express His regret.
Why,do they not come unto Me? — it may be asked. The answer follows: 24. The foolish regard Me as the unmanifest- ed coming in manifestation, knowing not My higher, immutable, unsurpassed nature.
Not knowing my higher nature as the Supreme Self, the ignorant think that I have just now come into manifestation, having been unmanifested hitherto, though I am the ever luminous Lord.
To what is their ignorance due? —Listen: 25. I am not manifest to all, veiled (as I am) by Yoga-Maya. This deluded world knows not Me? unborn and imperishable.
T am not manifest to all people; that is to say, I am manifest only to a few who are my devotees. I am veiled by Yoga-Maya. — Yoga-Maya is the Maya which is none other than the Yoga or union of the three guwas. — Or, Yoga is 23—27] VIJNANA YOGA. 219 the firm will of the Lord or Isvara. The Illusion or veil thereby spread is called Yoga-Maya — Wherefore people are deluded and know Me not as unborn and imperishable.
The Yoga- Maya by which I am veiled and on account of which people do not recognise Me, is Mine, L <?., subject to My control, and as such, it cannot obstruct My know- ledge—the knowledge of the Isvara, of the possessor (for wielder) of the Maya, just as the glamour (may a) caused by a juggler (mayavin) does not obstruct his own knowledge. Wherefore, 26. I know* O Arjuria, the past and the pre- sent and the future beings, but Me nobody knows.
Nobody knows Me, except that one man who worships Me and seeks refuge with Me. Just for want of knowledge of My real nature, nobody worships Me.
The root of ignorance It may be asked, "What is that obstacle to their know- ledge of My real nature, whereby deluded, all creatures that are born know Me not?■ — Listen: 27. From the delusion of pairs caused by desire and aversion, O Bharata, all beings are sub- ject to illusion at birth, O harasser of thy foes.
The very desire, and aversion which are opposed to each other like heat and cold, and which, arising in connection with pleasure and pain and their causes, occur to every being 220 THE BHAGAVAD GITA. [DlS. VII.
in its turn, are known as pairs (dvandva). Now, when desire, and aversion arise on the occurrence of pleasure and pain or of the causes thereof they cause delusion in all beings and create obstruction to the rise of a knowledge of the Supreme Keality, the Self, by subjugation to themselves the intelli- gence of those beings. To one whose mnid is subject to the passions of desire and aversion, there cannot indeed arise a knowledge of things as they are, even of the external world* and it needs no saying that to a man whose intellect is over- powered by passion there cannot arise a knowledge of the Innermost Self, inasmuch as there are many obstacles in its way. All creatures into existence are born subject to this delusion. Wherefore every being has its intelligence obscur- ed by the delusion of pairs; and thus deluded it knows not that I am the Self, and therefore worships Me not as the Self. Divine worship leads to realisation. Who then are free from the delusion of pairs and know Thee and worship Thee as their Self according to the Teaching (Sastra)? — In answer to this, the Lord says: Stat mmm qpf sRraf jjnrwonn i 28. Those mortals of pure deeds whose sin has come -to an end, who are freed from the delu- sion of pairs, they worship Me with a firm resolve Those persons of good deeds— good deeds causing purity of mind — whose sin has almost come to an end are freed from the delusion of pairs spoken of above and worship Me, their Highest Self. They resolutely abandon all else, firm in the conviction that " This is the Supreme Reality and no other-" With what object do they worship? — Listen: 29. Whoever resorting to Me strive for libera- tion from decay and death, they realise in full that Brahman, the individual Self and all action.
Those who, with the mind steadfast in Me, the Supreme Lord, strive for liberation from decay and death, realise in full the Reality underlying the Innermost individual Self (adhyatma), and they know all about action (karma).
30. Those who realise Me in the Adhibhata (physical region), in the Adhidaiva (the divine re- gion) and in the Adhiyaj^a (region of Sacrifice), realise Me even at the time of departure, steadfast in mind.
EIGHTH DISCOURSE. ABHYASA-YOGA.
The seven things to be realised by meditation.