Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

SUPREME KNOWLEDGE

Verse 9.01

Lord Krishna said:

I shall now reveal to you the most profound secret knowledge of realization which would free you from the miseries of worldly existence.

Verse 9.02-06

This is the king of all knowledge, is the most sacred, is very easy to practice and is timeless. O Arjuna, those who have no faith in this knowledge do not attain Me, and follow the cycles of birth and death.

This entire universe is an expansion of Mine and all beings emanate from Me. All things depend on air but air does not depend on them. All beings depend on me but I do not depend on them. All beings abide in Me but I do not abide in them. I am like the wind resting in the sky but going everywhere.

Verse 9.07-10

I had created them all and they all go through the cycle of birth-death-birth and they all merge in nature at the end of cycle. And I create them again at the beginning of next cycle. And thus the creation keeps on going.

Verse 9.11-15

Though I appear in human form, ordinary people are not able to recognize me and they take me for an ordinary human being and start even deriding me. They are unable to recognize my true form because they are under the influence of Maya of false knowledge, false qualities, false actions and false hope.

Only realized souls recognize me, worship me in various ways and strive to attain me.

Verse 9.16-19

I am the ritual, I am the sacrifice, I am the offering, I am the herb, I am the mantra, I am the Ghee, I am the fire, and I am the oblation.

I am the supporter of the universe, the father, the mother, and the grandfather. I am the object of knowledge, the sacred syllable OM, and the Vedas. I am the goal, the supporter, the Lord, the witness, the abode, the refuge, the friend, the origin, the dissolution, the foundation, the substratum, and the immutable seed.

I give heat, I send as well as withhold the rain. I am immortality as well as death, I am also both the eternal Absolute and the temporal, O Arjuna.

Verse 9.20-25,

Those who do the prescribed rituals in Vedas worship the Devas go to the Devloka where they enjoy godly delights till the results of their pious activities are exhausted. Then they return to this mortal planet again. Those who are devotees of other gods and who worship them with faith actually worship only Me, but indirectly. Those who worship the demigods will go the demigods; those who worship the ancestors go to the ancestors.

But those who always worship Me with exclusive devotion are taken care of by me. I carry what they lack, and I preserve what they have. Those who worship Me will live with Me.

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

Verse 9.26-29

Whosoever offers Me a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or water with devotion; I accept and eat the offering of devotion by the pure-hearted.
Therefore O Arjuna, whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer as oblation to the sacred fire, whatever charity you give, whatever austerity you perform, do all that as an offering unto Me. When you so do, you shall become free from the bondage good and bad of Karma and come to Me by this attitude of complete renunciation.

It is true that I am present equally in all beings and I am impartial to all. But whoever renders service to me is in Me.

Verse 9.30-31

Even if one is sinful, once he resolves to worship Me with single-minded loving devotion, such a person soon becomes righteous, becomes a saint and attains everlasting peace. My devotee shall never perish or fall down. (9.31)

Verse 9.32-34


Having obtained this joyless and transitory human life, one should be keen to attain the Supreme abode. Anybody can attain this Supreme Abode by just surrendering unto My will with loving devotion, To attain the Supreme Being, therefore, always think of Me, be devoted to Me, worship Me, and bow down to My laws. Thus uniting yourself with Me by setting Me as the supreme goal and the sole refuge and being completely absorbed in Me you shall certainly come to Me.