UB: अहं क्रतुरहं यज्ञः स्वधाऽहमहमौषधम्। मंत्रोऽहमहमेवाज्यमहमग्निरहं हुतम्।।9.16।।

9.16 I am the क्रतु (अहं क्रतु:), I am the यज्ञः (अहं यज्ञः), I am the स्वधा (अहं स्वधा), I am the औषधम् (अहं औषधम्), I am the मंत्र: (अहं मंत्र:), I Myself am the आज्यम् (अहं आज्यम्), I am the fire (अहं अग्नि:), and I am the act of offering (अहं च हुतम्),

पिताऽहमस्य जगतो माता धाता पितामहः। वेद्यंपवित्रमोंकार ऋक् साम यजुरेव च।।9.17।।

9.17 I am (अहं) the father (पिता), mother (माता), suatainer (धाता) and grandfather (पितामहः) of the universe (अस्य जगत:). I am (अहं) the only one to be known (वेद्यं), the purifier (पवित्रम्). I am the syllable Om (ओङ्कार:) and also ऋक्, साम and the यजु: एव च.

UB: 9:16/17 (1) – How does one see the परा everywhere?  Some of you will remember 4:16, the famous ब्रह्मार्पणम् ब्रह्महवि: ब्रह्माग्नौ ब्रह्मणाहुतम्….  भगवान् gives the same expression here by saying – I am क्रतुः (which is a type of यज्ञ), I am यज्ञ (meaning देवता यज्ञ), I am स्वधा, I am मंत्र (used in the यज्ञ), I am औषधम्, I am आज्यम्, I am हुतम्, I am अग्निः and I am also ऋक्, यजु & साम.  All these are various aspects of यज्ञ done in those days and given that अर्जुन will be familiar with these aspects,  he was told that all aspects of यज्ञ are Him only. What is offered as नैवेद्य  (multiple food and other items) is Him only and what is later taken as प्रसाद is Him only.  I am also ऋक्, यजु & साम – all the four वेद have these three types of मंत्र and even these are Him only.

UB: 9:16/17 (2) – I am the माता, पिता or पितामहः of this जगत्. Whatever relation appeals to you,  you may see Me by taking such a relationship with Me. And if you ask that if माता or पिता is Me,  who is My father,  I will say that I am your पितामहः (grandfather). I am the भूत आदि. Or you may see Me as the धाता (provider/ sustainer) or you may see Me as all of them – it is your choice.  But know this for sure – I am वेद्यं; I am the only one or thing to be known.  Rest all is relative ज्ञान but I am the Absolute, the Highest,  the Changeless. I am the ॐ. And above all,  I am पवित्रम्, the sacred.

UB: 9:16/17 (3) – Let us take the word पवित्रम् which can be translated as Sacred or Pure.  So what can be deemed as sacred?  One that is the cause of our life is sacred. One on whom we depend on in sacred.  One that sustains our life is sacred.  But above all, that One is sacred which sustains us without seeking anything in return. It is pure in the sense that its act of giving is not tainted by selfishness.  Thus,  Sun is पवित्रम्. Our माता is पवित्रम्. Our पिता is पवित्रम्. The tree that give us fruits is पवित्रम्. The air we breathe is पवित्रम्. The land which gives us food is पवित्रम्. The ground that we play on is पवित्रम्. These keep “giving” again & again.  I owe tremendous gratitude to so many of them – thus all of them are पवित्रं. They can go on without me but I cannot imagine myself without them. I hold them with reverence.  I will stand up in their presence,  I will be respectful in front of them,  I will be in our best behaviour in front of them,  I will not display by silly prattle in front of them. My behavior of humility in front of them is not an imposed rule; it comes out of my reverence for them. This is why Indian traditions encouraged reverence to nature,  not because the early primitive man was in awe of nature (as we are taught in school) but because of the inherent पवित्रता of nature as well as all of life in this Universe. Thus, everything is religious as everything is Him only – nothing can be “secular” as nothing excludes Him. Irreverance/ agnosticism comes into a mind where the idea of पवित्रम् does not get planted and thus all aspects listed above are seen with a दृष्टि of their utility purpose only.  But for one who takes all these as पवित्रम्, only such a one can open up to the possibility of conceiving the One, the आदि of all,  the one who permeates all,  the Highest,  the Subtlest and our true identity – the Highest पवित्रम्.

UB: VG – the shloka sought by you is as below

आचार्यात् पादमादत्ते पादं शिष्यः स्वमेधया ।

सब्रह्मचारिभ्यः पादं पादं कालक्रमेण च ॥

one fourth from the teacher, one fourth from own intelligence,

one fourth from classmates, and one fourth only with time.

HB: Nice, love the concept of eternal yagnya. The churning for creation and destruction

UB: 👍 Yes – these are powerful ideas. The idea behind the word  पवित्रम् as well as irrelevance of debate between one God and many Gods has also fascinated me.  Some more interesting ideas will be coming over the next few days

UB: गतिर्भर्ता प्रभुः साक्षी निवासः शरणं सुहृत्। प्रभवःप्रलयः स्थानं निधानं बीजमव्ययम्।।9.18।।

9.18 I am (अहं) the goal (गति:), nourisher (भर्ता:), the Lord (प्रभु:), the witness (साक्षी), the abode (निवास:), the refuge (शरणं) and the friend (सुहृत्). I am (अहं) the origin (प्रभवः) and dissolution (प्रलयः), the base for preservation (स्थानं), the receptacle (निधानं) and the imperishable seed (अव्ययम् बीजम्).

UB: 9:18 (1) – She is the गति, the only goal that all need to pursue. As the core अध्यात्म principle within us,  it is driving all of us to rediscover this principle within us. We may be different now but as we say,  all rivers eventually merge into ocean.  Thus, whichever कर्म we may pursue,  these must be done in a way that it connects us to reach the same goal.  In ancient India,  this is the reason why the same अध्यात्म foundational principles form the basis of seemingly disparate disciplines – the दर्शन शास्त्र, धर्म शास्त्र, नाट्य शास्त्र, शिल्प शास्त्र, नृत्य शास्त्र, संगीत शास्त्र, आयुर्वेद शास्त्र, अर्थ शास्त्र, रीजनीति शास्त्र, etc. The core is the same and thus you will, for example,  find the idea of गुण expressed in its own unique way in each of these seemingly disparate texts. Education emphasizes the idea of Unity in diversity; all subjects must not be seen as disconnected domains – this idea has yet to be discovered in today’s world view.  She is our गति and thus whichever discipline we pursue or follow,  the idea is to reach Her only. He is our nourisher and hence called as भर्ता. He is the प्रभू and He is the साक्षी which is translated as Witness.  He is watching the world and He is watching us. But साक्षी has a deeper meaning. He is watching us not only in our वर्तमान काल but also our भूतकाल and He knows our भविष्यकाल too if we continue our habitual pattern of conduct. Now as a त्रिकाल साक्षी,  He knows us in and out and we need to therefore turn to Him to guide us through and through.

UB: 9:18 (2) – He is our निवासः which means home.  If one observes all species on Earth,  most are driven by this unique idea of home. Even nomadic birds/ animals that change places have a home in each such place.  Why is it that each species feel compelled to seek a home where they feel comfortable? Even if we go for a holiday to the world’s most beautiful place,  after a while,  we long to return home. At home,  we are at ease,  we feel fully free to indulge in all types of कर्म (like doing Lungi dance 😁) that we may not do outside. Why?  If it is all about the place,  then people should logically love staying in a 7-Star hotel forever but this does not happen.  Home is thus not about the place but it is a स्थिति, it is a mental space where we feel wonderful. Now भगवान् says here that He is the निवासः in an absolute sense.  This means that once we reach Him,  we will be permanently at ease and we will not want to leave it. This is thus a powerful idea inserted here.

UB: 9:18 (3) – She is शरणं, our first and last resort. When all fails,  we turn to Her only.  He is our friend,  our सुहृत्. Earlier,  He said that He is our पिता,  माता and पितामहः. As an additional choice to make a connection with Him,  we can choose सुहृत् –  सुदाम, अर्जुनं,  सुग्रीव, विभीषण & गोपिका are examples of people who saw Him as सुहृत्. It is our choice – whichever way we want to associate ourselves with Him,  we can choose it and use this relationship to get close to Him. There is no one way only; there are many ways.

UB: 9:18 (4): He is origin as well as dissolution. When all goes,  He remains and when all is present also,  He is present. He is the स्थानं means that all rests in Him only as nothing can be outside Him – Origin and Dissolution happen on Him as the base. Because Origin happens eternally,  the temple rituals replicate this by making प्रकृति &  पुरुष have their कल्याणम् (marriage) every day and at night,  we put them to sleep too only to repeat this again next day.  He is also निधान meaning that which is preserved. And lastly,  He is बीजम् अव्ययम. While a normal बीजम् loses its state when it becomes a tree, भगवान् is an eternal बीजम्. This means that origin and dissolution is something that keeps happening all the time. He does not let go of His बीज स्थिति while becoming the Universe. Why is this idea important  to us?  The point is that there is a बीज अवस्था which is eternal within us and if we find a way to catch IT or connect with IT, we become IT. भगवान्  thus says – I am Everything and Everything is Me only.

HB: Eternal seed and final resting place and all intermediate possibilities. I suppose this governs the laws of conservation.

UB: Can you elaborate on the law of conservation?

HB: Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, it can only be transformed from one form to another. Whenever energy in form one form disappears an equal amount of energy reappears in other. The total amount of energy in universe is constant. If the laws are true, creation after annhilation makes sense

UB: Understand where you are coming from. It is an interesting parallel. I will make a few more points over the next few days and we can discuss this over the next few days.

PA: Love this !! God is the only goal worth reaching; who is watching us all along guiding us (if we are willing to turn to Him for guidance by complete surrender). The rest of the attributes start falling place of a friend ; first and last resort; real Home; Since the creation is the cosmic dream of God; we originate and finally merge back to Him similar to a small extent to our dreams.

UB: 👍👍 Indeed PA – 9:16-9:19 collectively are powerful verses marking a sudden shift in the nature of dialogue.

UB: तपाम्यहमहं वर्षं निगृह्णाम्युत्सृजामि च। अमृतं चैवमृत्युश्च सदसच्चाहमर्जुन।।9.19।।

9.19 I give heat (अहं तपामि). I hold back (निगृह्णामि) and (च) send forth (उत्सृजामि) the rain (वर्षं). I am immortality (अमृतं) as well as death (मृत्यु च) , O अर्जुन. I am (अहं) the being (सत्), as also the non-being (असत् च).

UB: 9:19 (1) – The आदित्य तत्व is being referred to here.  Our Sun gives heat,  same Sun burns up the oceans and holds water in the form of vapour in the clouds and same Sun then sends rains. The same Sun does all these three कर्म and protects us. Similarly, as the life principle within us, He as the digestive fire gives heat enabling digesting,  He retains energy obtained from such food and He releases energy to all parts of the body and sustains their working (apologies Priya for infantile medical idea conveyed here 😁). This verse thus has an external meaning and an internal one or, as we learnt in 8:3/4, an अध्यात्म meaning and अधिभौतिक meaning. There are अधियज्ञ & अधिदैविक meanings too of many such verses/ पौराणिक/ इतिहास episodes. Connect with Unity is possible if all such meanings are understood simultaneously.

UB: 9:19 (2): I am the अमृतम् as well as मृत्यु – I am both these conditions through which the world lives and dies. I am the सत् (being) and असत् (non-being). सत् is that which exists in the वर्तमानकाल while असत् is that which existed in the भूतकाल and which may exist in भविष्यकाल. The meaning is that I alone am existent,  having all entities for my modes,  as all intelligent and inert beings existing in all states,  constitute My body. I alone exist,  all pluralities are My modes. असत् is also translated as Cause and सत् as the Effect meaning again that He is both the Cause and Effect or is present both in Cause & Effect as the अध्यात्म principle. These four verses (viz 9:16-9:19) convey the entire परमात्मा तत्व in a capsule form and thus eligible for नित्यपारायण. Ch 10 is a fascinating expansion of these four verses.

UB: 9:19 (3) – These verses bring up a powerful idea of a “Connecting Link”. Numerous plants & trees come and go while the same Sun ensures their continuity. Sun is not a direct “cause” of birth & death of plants but without the Sun,  no plant can hope to survive. Six seasons represent variety and it is the same Sun that makes this variety possible. As for humans,  we move from बाल अवस्था to युवा अवस्था to वृद्ध अवस्था but these changing states are connected by a changeless life principle. Change representing movement is what we see in trains only because they run over tracks or ground which is changeless.  THUS,  BEHIND EVERY CHANGE IS A CHANGELESS SUBSTRATUM. PUT ANOTHER WAY,  ALL OF DIVERSITY RESTS IN UNITY WHICH IS UNCHANGING. There is an अव्यक्त principle that remains as the base over which life happens. It is this अव्यक्त that makes life happen as well as takes on death; it oversees all three states.  This अव्यक्त is the अध्यात्म principle, the आत्मा is the changeless which always remains just like the Sun remains even as numerous beings come and go.

UB: HB – you said that energy never gets destroyed but merely gets transformed from  state to another. अध्यात्म proposes two realities – the परा/ पुरुष and प्रकृति. The proposition is that पुरुष is CHANGELESS while प्रकृति is CHANGING. Sun remains changeless while the world (that depends on the Sun) is changing continuously. Thus, if energy keeps getting transformed, energy would come under प्रकृति. We can say that the Sunlight/ Sunrays that enlivens life on Earth is प्रकृति while the Sun itself is पुरुष. One then will be tempted to ask the question – what is the unchanging principle from where energy may have come from? I am a Science illiterate person; let me know if I have not understood Energy properly.

HB: I felt the purush was an entity at even higher level of aggregation. The matter comprising of universe with its many galaxies, and each galaxy with its million suns are the pakriti, the mother. Life is created when energy is infused in pakriti by the purush. I am seriously thinking of taking Sanskrit lessons in my college. They have Sanskriti pitham

UB: You should – and teach us too 😀

HB: Not so aspirational 😂. You all know a lot. I feel if thoda Sanskrit thik se padha hota school me to it might have been different. For me. I feel so ill equipped when I can’t even pronounce some of the shlokas, leave alone understand them 😅😅

UB: I have realized it is not easy to learn Sanskrit alone. Apart from intense knowledge of grammar,  the language used is unintelligible unless one has gyan of allied texts like Nirukta/ Nighantu. So there is no choice but to resort to various commentaries – and there are too many of them. I have given this up as a lost cause. Better to rely on a Guru as a expert on whom you can rely on who has himself done an intense study himself.

HB: So true

PA: Yes UB totally agree. More important is the daily practice. Actually even if we know all the Gitas, Guru Granths, Vedas, korans, Bibles  still we cannot know the end of God. It is endless. We can search and search but not find the end. Because how can we ? If we could it would be in scope of maya and God is beyond that and aloof from that. It’s only under His Grace and if He wants He will reveal to us. Our job is just to keep making efforts and make ourselves suitable for receiving His Grace.

UB: Indeed – perfect words 👍👍👍👍👍. Just to add to what I said earlier about study of Sanskrit not being adequate,  I just now remembered a parallel analogy given by a Guru. Just because I know English is not enough for me to practice medicine after reading a medical text. To learn medicine, I need to study under experienced practitioners for years,  do practicals myself thus gaining experience. Only post this,  I become a doctor. Similarly,  to ingrain अध्यात्म orientation, I need to study under experts and more importantly practice the ideas daily – only after years of struggle like this will qualify me to understand the ideas given therein. 😀

VB: If he is in all of us and we are part of him, why the need to reveal? We have to have realization that we are one with him.

UB: There used to be two sects who used to fight with each other on how grace operates. This fight used to go on for centuries. One sect aligned itself with the cat. They believed that if God develops grace for us,  He will lift us just like a mother cat lifts its cubs and takes them to a safe place. The other sect disagreed with this and aligned with the monkey. As per them,  the baby monkey has to yearn for safety and cling to the mother. Once the mother sees this yearning,  the mother will then take her to a safe place.  The former gets grace without effort on its part while the latter gets grace only if it seeks for it and thus is deserving of grace. It is your choice which grace you prefer – the cat or the monkey 😀. These sects were called as Thenkalais and Vadakalais both belonging to the Sri Vaishnava Sampradaya of Ramanuja.

UB: त्रैविद्या मां सोमपाः पूतपापा यज्ञैरिष्ट्वा स्वर्गतिंप्रार्थयन्ते। ते पुण्यमासाद्य सुरेन्द्रलोक मश्नन्तिदिव्यान्दिवि देवभोगान्।।9.20।।

9.20 Those who are versed in the three Vedas (त्रैविद्या), who drink the सोम (सोमपाः),  cleansed (पूत) of Karmic demerit (पापा:), propiate Me (इष्ट्वा मां) with rituals (यज्ञै) – they pray for (प्रार्थयन्ते) the passage to heaven (स्वर्गतिं). Reaching (आसाद्य) the realm (लोकम्) of इंद्र (सुरेन्द्र) as पुण्य, they (ते) enjoy (अश्नन्ति) in heavenly (दिव्यान्) देव pleasures (देवभोगान्).

ते तं भुक्त्वा स्वर्गलोकं विशालं क्षीणे पुण्येमर्त्यलोकं विशन्ति। एव त्रयीधर्ममनुप्रपन्ना गतागतंकामकामा लभन्ते।।9.21।।

9.21 Having enjoyed (भुक्त्वा) that vast (तं विशालं) heavenly world (स्वर्गलोकं), they (re) enter (विशन्ति) into the human world (मर्त्यलोकं) on the exhaustion of their merit (पुण्य क्षीणे). Thus (एवं), following (अनुप्रपन्ना) the rites and duties prescribed in the three Vedas (त्रयीधर्मम), and are desirous of pleasures (कामकामा:), attain (लभन्ते) the state of going (गत) and returning (आगतं).

UB: 9:20/21 (1) – The idea given here has been conveyed in Ch 8. People living life only for fulfilling their inexhaustible needs are referred to as कामकामी (as against a निष्कामी). The whole life of a कामकामी is oriented towards obtaining some benefit or another. “What is in it for me” is the motto. Like we see,  kids are asked to study well for a good career. Employees are asked to work hard for promotion/ bonus,  we go for movies/ do travel for giving joy to our senses,  etc.  Essentially,  we are used to live a life where engaging continuously to seek temporary joys has become an ingrained habit.  The कर्मकांड part of the वेद too are filled with various types of यज्ञ to fulfill various desires of a कामकामी.

UB: 9:20/21 (2) – We thus have two broad categories of people – आसुरी प्रवृत्ति & दैवी प्रवृत्ति. Under the आसुरी प्रवृत्ति are the राक्षस & असुर. Under the दैवी प्रवृत्ति are कामकामी and निष्कामी. The आसुरी प्रवृत्ति never think of भगवान् (meaning no eternal noble attributes appeal to them). As for दैवी प्रवृत्ति, Ch 8 has already clarified that the निष्कामी will achieve निर्वाणं. To be thus a कामकामी is in itself an excellent achievement since they live life by eternal attributes of fairness,  justice,  charity,  etc.  Living life by such attributes gives them पुण्य. Post death,  such accumulated पुण्य gives them access to स्वर्ग. But like their whole life on Earth where the benefits derived from pursuit of काम remain temporary, post-death too, their stay in स्वर्ग tends to be temporary and they have to return to भूलोक to start all over again. Being used to this coming and going for crores of lives; this orientation is not seen as odd or unusual and they thus continue to indulge in it BELIEVING THIS AS THE ONLY WAY TO LIVE LIFE.

UB: If 9th Ch is seen as a beautiful necklace, tomorrow’s verse is labelled by स्वामी कृष्णानंद as a pendant on this necklace. The motto used by LIC – योगक्षेमम् वहाम्यहम् comes in this verse. So be prepared for a long narrative again 😀

HB: 9.22 is the trickiest and driving me crazy so is the concept of Indra lok  in 9.20

HB: PA, I keep wondering if god does visit us, will we recognize him?

UB: 😀😀

HB: Don’t laugh, 😂 is there any reference besides Mt.. Meru for Indra. His postal address, landmark, pin code any thing 😅

VN: If HE is the creator and is ever present. ..if HE is the one with whom we finally meagre and if HIS abode is the final goal….I often wonder why God created us and  this whole cosmos? I genuinely think about this often. God created us but we have created so many complications for ourselves. If this is his leela as they say. ..what must be the reason?

HB: He is alone, an artist, a scientist and a creator

VN: Agreed and we are just his creation…. a part of him a small अंश trying to understand him the पूर्ण. Very complicated indeed😌

HB: Yes. And He is much more than that.

UB: अनन्याश्चिचन्तयन्तो मां ये जनाः पर्युपासते। तेषां नित्याभियुक्तानां योगक्षेमंवहाम्यहम्।।9.22।।

9.22 But for those people (जना:) who (ये) are not separate (अनन्या:)(from Me), who contemplate Me (मां चिन्तयन्त:) and gain (Me) (मां पर्युपासते),  always (नित्य)

being one (with Me) (अभियुक्तानां), I (अहं) procure (वदामि) what they want to acquire (योग) and preserving what they have (क्षेम).

UB: 9:22 (1) – Kids are usually taught to learn this blockbuster verse by-heart. Long commentaries have been given on the multiple levels of meaning of this verse.  The verse starts with अ and ends with हम्. अहम् stands for the One Himself and this verse is thus an expression of Him as everything is contained within Him. Many संत have lived their whole life imbibing the message of this single verse.  At a simple level,  the verse will mean that if one’s mind rests on भगवान्, She will take care of our योगक्षेम (means well being). So be worshipful and prayerful all your life and your life will be a breeze. But this verse cannot be popular for such an elementary meaning alone.

UB: 9:22 (2) – भगवान् is assuring us योगक्षेम. By योग means acquisition of something one does not have and क्षेम will mean preserving something that I already possess.  Thus, if we are worshipful,  He will ensure that we achieve success in acquiring what we need and will also preserve what we already possess. But this way of looking at this verse also seems like भगवान् is contractual in the sense that He is demanding भक्ति as a condition for our well being. But given our yearning for a good life, people with स्थूल minds may not mind doing नित्यपूज or going to मंदिर regularly given that भगवान् has promised our योगक्षेम. Primary trigger for our भक्ति towards भगवान् is our योगक्षेम, not भगवान् Herself.  While this may feel good and may have some element of truth,  this दृष्टि again misses the परमार्थ of this verse.

UB: 9:22 (3) – भगवान् refers to one who does अनन्य चि़तन of Him. अनन्य means a भक्त for whom there is no अन्य.  Wherever I turn,  I see the face of Allah,  विश्वतोमुखम्. In everything,  he sees Him only. He sees Him,  he thinks Him,  he talks Him,  he sings Him,  all his कर्म are for Him, he dances Him. Now for such a दृढव्रती,  because he is always in Him,  such relentless focus gives him तपोबल. तपोनिष्ठ gives तपोबल. This तपोबल is a gain and thus referred to as योग. Also,  because he is always in Him,  there is no question of losing Him and this is क्षेम. When one gets interested in भगवान्, one gets inspired. And if he is of sufficient purity, he gets drawn deeper & deeper into the ocean of beauty.  He gets drawn closer & closer to his own true identity,  his own अध्यात्म status. SINCE THE MOST SINCERE LOVE ONE HAS IS FOR ONESELF ONLY,  as one gets to know Him,  one comes closer to one’s own home. As he gets closer,  his love for Him intensifies and once he reaches Him,  he becomes Him. He becomes सोहम् (स-अहम्  or with myself) and दासोहम् status turns into सोहम्.

UB: 9:22 (4) – There was a संत in महाराष्ट्र (do not remember the name) who used to live by this verse and had अनन्यभक्ति. He was a great भक्त. There came a time however when there was no food in the house. In sheer frustration, he made a deep mark on the leaf where this verse was quoted. He shouted on the भगवान् stating that despite his अनन्यभक्ति, भगवान् did not fulfill his promise of योगक्षेमं वहाम्यहम्. He left his house. After a while,  a young boy came with a sack of grains to leave in the house of the संत. When wife enquired who he was,  he told her that her husband had sent him with the rice.  The wife then noticed a deep gash oozing with blood on the back of the boy. When asked why,  the boy replied that the संत became impatient with the boy as he was about to deliver the rice and beat him. When the संत later reached home and asked her how the rice came home,  the wife was surprised with the Q and told him everything. The संत obviously realized his folly and repented for losing conviction on the promise of भगवान् given in this verse.

AK: Great commentary on the verse. The gradual rise of the meaning was beautiful.

VN: Very beautiful shloka…gives us hope that with nirantar bhakti we can gradually grow closer to him and become one with him but also teaches that is not just give and take but the unconditional love/bhakti with patience. ..dasoham becoming Soham. ..beautiful!!!

PA: 😊the way our mind is right now I am sure even if God reveals itself to us we will doubt it. Actually the question is what are we ready to sacrifice to know God (only Truth) .. how much is our level of desire and exasperation to know The Truth .. Are we able to really cry for Him like Ramakrishna or Meera?  OSho says that the only thing separating us from Him is I. The moment we remove that we start seeing Him everywhere in everything. Bible says live in Thyness instead of Iness. Let thy will be done. Yogananda says that just like a small light bulb won’t be able to take 10000 watt of power we need to prepare ourselves for that Divine vision. So i suppose we all in this path of preparing ourselves or increasing our wattage 😄

HB: 😄

PA: Oh that’s really a very beautiful commentary. I remember reading a similar story of Kabir for his daughter wedding when himself Narayan came in kabirs physical form and did all the auspicious rites. The reason being that Kabir did not have the money for the wedding so the story goes he left everything on Him and was sitting outside the village and in the meantime this happened.

PK: Catching up with posts.. 9:22 commentary is beautiful . Fully agree that ceaseless desire for truth with the exclusion of other worldly desires seems to be the key .., easier said than done ! Like I have said before the closest I have come to this is The Flow one experiences very very occasionally during interesting work , reading a great book or listening to music .. I wish there was a way to predict and replicate it but that seems to be like a form of Grace an unexpected blessing and delight 🙏🙏🙏.. we live in hope and that is good

HB: Loved explanation of 9.22. I am still struggling with 9.20. Why trai-Vidya when we have four vedas ?

UB: All four Vedas have three type of मंत्र called as  ऋक् मंत्र, यजुस् मंत्र & साम मंत्र. Hence, the word त्रिविद्या is used here

HB: Ok

UB: येऽप्यन्यदेवता भक्ता यजन्ते श्रद्धयाऽन्विताः। तेऽपि मामेव कौन्तेययजन्त्यविधिपूर्वकम्।।9.23।।

9.23 Even those who (ये अपि) are devoted to other divinities (देवता भक्ता) as different (अन्य) (from Me) – who filled with (अन्विता:) श्रद्धा (श्रद्धया) perform acts of worship (यजन्ते),  they also (ते अपि) worship (यजन्ति) Me alone (माम् एव), O कौन्तेय! though (परन्तु) as per different injunctions (अविधिपूर्वकम्).

अहं हि सर्वयज्ञानां भोक्ता च प्रभुरेव च। न तुमामभिजानन्ति तत्त्वेनातश्च्यवन्ति ते।।9.24।।

9.24 For, I am (अहं हि) the only experiencer (भोक्ता च) and the only Lord (प्रभुरेव च) of all यज्ञ (सर्वयज्ञानां) but (तु)  they do not recognise (न अभिजानन्ति) Me (मां) in My true nature (तत्त्वेन); hence (अत:) they (ते) fall (च्यवन्ति).

यान्ति देवव्रता देवान् पितृ़न्यान्ति पितृव्रताः। भूतानि यान्ति भूतेज्या यान्ति मद्याजिनोऽपिमाम्।।9.25।।

9.25. Those who have commitment to the deities (देवव्रता) attain the deities (देवान् यान्ति); Those who have commitment to the ancestors (पितृव्रताः) attain the ancestors (पितृ़न् यान्ति); those who worship the spirits (भूतेज्या) reach the world of spirits (भूतानि यान्ति).  And those who are disposed to worship Me (मद् याजिन: अपि) attain Me (मां यान्ति).

UB: 9:23/25 (1) – One who is a criminal seeks others who are equally criminal minded. One who is driven by Physics will seek physicists. One who loves music seeks other musicians. Primary goal of all is to seek joy for oneself but owing to our own limitation of ourselves as a criminal or a musician or a physicist,  etc.,  one seeks joy from seeking similar ecosystems as per our own idea of ourselves. However,  if one seeks JOY ITSELF without limitations of domain, one is going beyond limitations and entering the zone of limitlessness. And there one becomes unlimited himself.

UB: 9:23/25 (2) – The fascinating idea of देवता becomes clear here in this verse. Firstly,  we have a limited idea about ourselves  – a man,  woman,  banker,  worker,  farmer,  etc. This limited self-definition makes us seek the limited too in all our yearning and actions. Very very few people really seek the परा, the unlimited but they always seek the limited, the देवता, owing to their own self-definition of themselves.  For seeking such limited needs,  we follow different methods (अविधिपूर्वकम्). This is because each type of our limited need requires a different type of कर्म.

Note: I have taken the meaning of the word अविधिपूर्वकम् from अभिनवगुप्त than what you may see in other translations as I personally find this more authentic.

UB: 9:23/25 (3) – So when we seek education, strength, removal of obstacles, etc, what we are actually seeking is Her देवता शक्ति (सरस्वती, हनुमान, गणेश, etc.). For such seeking,  we may use देवता names like सरस्वती, etc or we may use परा names like परब्रह्म, नारायण or we may say that we are an atheist and thus use another देवता name viz self-effort. We may seek both limited and unlimited using the same name viz श्रीगणेश. Actual name is irrelevant, what matters is WHAT we are seeking from Her. In each such case,  the giver is really परा only who gives AS PER OUR कर्म. We may seek from गणेश – the real giver is परा. We may seek from सरस्वती – the real giver is परा. We may seek from दुर्गा – the real giver is परा. THERE IS ONLY ONE TRUTH – PEOPLE CALL IT BY VARIOUS NAMES viz  एकम् सत्  विप्र: बहुधा वदन्ति (comes up in the ऋग्वेदं).

UB: 9:23/25 (4) – Our आदित्य gives Its glory to all.  Some are happy that आदित्य helps in drying clothes, some others are happy that आदित्य reduces their electricity bills,  some look at आदित्य to dry their pickles. But it takes a gigantic ज्ञानी like याज्ञवल्क्य to spot the immense potential of आदित्य to give निर्वाणं. Such a ज्ञानी will undertake intense तप of the आदित्य to achieve the Highest. From the same आदित्य, because people are limited by their wrong self definition,  they seek the limited needs and परा gives them what they seek. And since they are happy with the limited,  they remain within such an ecosystem of the limited.

UB: 9:23/25 (5) – Someone may raise an interesting question. To live life,  we need the limited too. What is wrong in seeking देवता?  After all,  it is देवता power that sustains day to day life. If one remains in a परा mode,  how about meeting day to day needs?  Simply put,  this question is silly. A weightlifter may be capable of lifting 250 KG but when ordered by wife to get rice from the market,  he will get 10 KG as is sufficient AT THAT POINT OF TIME. देवता power is always present in us (since we are the परा ITSELF in reality) just someone living next to flowing Ganga is assured to water throughout the year. The lifter lifts 10 KG of rice HAVING FULL GYAN OF HIS UNLIMITED (250KG) ability and him seeking 10 KG is reasonable. Similarly,  to live life as an unlimited knowing our पूर्ण स्थिति and then use देवता power AS AND WHEN REQUIRED is not life negating. However,  if the lifter thinks he can only lift 5 KG,  he will face stress to fulfil his wife’s order of bringing 10 KG at home – that really is our state of affairs in this world 😂. राम has all देवता under HIS command, he fully knows his राम status and राम will invoke देवता शक्ति as and when required. We, on the other hand, are ignorant of our राम status and live life only to seek देवता, that is the only difference between us and राम.

UB: पत्रं पुष्पं फलं तोयं यो मे भक्त्या प्रयच्छति। तदहंभक्त्युपहृतमश्नामि प्रयतात्मनः।।9.26।।

9.26 Whoever (य:) offers (प्रयच्छति) to Me (मे) with भक्ति (भक्त्या) a leaf (पत्रं), a flower (पुष्पं), a fruit (फलं) or water (तोयं), I (अहं) receive (अश्नामि) that (तद्) as it is offered (उपहृतम) out of भक्ति (भक्ताय) of one whose mind is mastered (प्रयतात्मनः).

UB: 9:26 (1) – This is again an oft-quoted verse.  Verses like these inspire us in making statements like – “Attitude counts” or “Attitude is everything”. And भगवान् says here that grandiosity is not what He seeks.  Be simple. The various यज्ञ prescribed during the Vedic period involve use of a lot of द्रव्य including animals in a few of them offered to the भगवान्.  If one wants to achieve success in Marathon or in climbing Everest,  one has to do a lot of कर्म,  train for years,  spend time & money in acquisition of materials,  etc. Even after this,  success may not be certain.  However, भगवान्  says that knowing him is easy – “with भक्ति, even a leaf, flower,  fruit or water can be offered. He will accept it if offered with भक्ति.  Very little effort is required – as Lao Tze says – “One can obtain the Dao (or the Highest) without leaving the door of one’s house”.

UB: 9:26 (2) – Why पुत्रम्, पुष्पम्,  etc?  All these four can be seen as सात्विक offerings that can be obtained with very little हिंस. And even while पुत्रम्, पुष्पम् & फलम्  may involve some हिंस, तोयं (water) does not involve any हिंस at all.  पत्र is also seen as representing food that is offered as नैवेद्यं to the भगवान्. If taken as leaf, शास्त्र advise people to pluck these from the plant delicately and in limited quantity. As far as पुष्पम् & फलम् are concerned, one does read ancient stories where the ऋषि offers only those which have fallen from the tree thus reducing scope of any हिंस. Such an etiquette is useful to know as an उपासक. As one गुरु said poetically, beings born as plants pray that they be born in India since this is the only land where the possibility of them being offered to श्रीलक्ष्मी is Highest, them thus giving themselves up to the परा makes their life (and death) worth the effort. Every morning,  each flower gets up hoping to be picked up by a genuine भक्त who will offer her to the परा than any other  गति.

UB: 9:26 (3) – ONE CAUTION HERE – Some wise “minimalism” inspired person may use this श्लोक to question temple rituals where we see people offering expensive gold and jewels.  The sudden ज्ञान of this श्लोक may excite them to advise the “foolish” temple goers (sic) that they have not understood the message of the Gita. Such exuberance may be taken as foolish, to say the least. One needs to note that a true भक्त does not follow the letter of the श्लोक but attempts to embody its spirit. A true भक्त thus always wants to offer (meaning gives up)  that object which is precious to himself. For a poor man, even to give offer food may be difficult and he can take comfort with this श्लोक. But if a करोडपति offers पत्रम् as a display of भक्ति, he may have followed the letter of this verse but may not have followed its spirit since he has not offered an item that he assigns a higher value.

UB: 9:26 (4) – But why offer anything at all? भगवान् does not need anything  at all since everything is His only.  Equally,  if one offers पत्रम्, etc.,  one is offering something that does not belong to him in the first place – it belongs to Nature. Key way to see this is that when one is offering something to भगवान्, he is actually offering himself. The intensity of भक्ति is such that he is offering himself fully to obtain मोक्षं. Offering himself means that he has given up his identification of himself as limited and willing to take up his identification with the Universal. Physical offering is thus to be seen as representative of giving up oneself.  And how can a भक्त demonstrate his urge to give up his limited self-identification? And he has enough self-respect not to seek anything free.  So he makes an offer in physical form of something that may be “seemingly” valuable.  With this backdrop, one must carefully read the stories of सुदाम who offered पोहा (पुत्रम्), गजेन्द्र who offered the lotus (पुष्पं), शबरी who offered फलं and रन्तिदेव who offered तोयम् and one will go beyond the story and connect with the sentiment in an effective manner.

UB: यत्करोषि यदश्नासि यज्जुहोषि ददासि यत्। यत्तपस्यसि कौन्तेय तत्कुरुष्व मदर्पणम्।।9.27।।

9.27. Whatever you do (यत्करोषि), whatever you eat (यदश्नासि), whatever worship you perform (यज्जुहोषि), whatever gift you make (ददासि यत्) and whatever तप (austerity) you perform (यत् तपस्यसि), O कौन्तेय! do that (तत् कुरुष्व) as an offering to (अर्पणम्) Me (मतं).

शुभाशुभफलैरेवं मोक्ष्यसे कर्मबन्धनैः। संन्यासयोगयुक्तात्मा विमुक्तोमामुपैष्यसि।।9.28।।

9.28 In this manner (एवम्), you will become free (मोक्ष्यसे) from bondage that is कर्म (कर्मबन्धनैः) which has pleasant and unpleasant (शुभ- अशुभ) results (फल).  Being one whose mind is endowed (युक्तात्मा) with renunciation (संन्यास) and योग (meaning कर्मयोग) and becoming free (विमुक्त:), you will attain Me (माम् उपैष्यसि).

UB: 9:27/28 (1) – 9:27 extends the idea of 9:26 further and says that whatever one does,  one should do as an offering to भगवान्. When one eats,  one must eat for भगवान् and express the words कृष्णार्पणम् – the फल is given to कृष्ण. When one works hard to gain something, one must do कृष्णार्पणम्. After doing कृष्णार्पणम्, ग्रहण of the कर्मफल should be taken as प्रसाद, so that we do not develop ego in claiming credit for कर्मफल or cursing ourselves for not getting the desired कर्मफल. Whatever परा Wills,  we get that as an outcome. And we will accept this gracefully. When thus one does दान,  one does कृष्णार्पणम्. This does not mean one can do a crime and say कृष्णार्पणम्. Because one is offering something to श्रीकृष्ण, one takes care that one is doing the best work or offering the best to भगवान्. One thus becomes extra careful and therefore all actions of such people automatically become aligned to धर्म. If one truly has भक्ति of भगवान्, how can one even think of doing अधर्म?  No distinction between secular कर्म & religious कर्म is tenable for this Indian दृष्टि when all कर्म including signing,  dancing, eating,  playing,  etc are done for Her only.

UB: 9:27/28 (2) – व्यक्तीकरण of theory in शास्त्र turns our lifestyle into a living philosophy; hence, Indian traditions are given the tag of a “Way of Life”. Remember some of our elders’ lifestyle when we were kids – they used to chant a मंत्र while getting up,  while bathing,  before cooking,  while doing नित्यपूज, before eating, before leaving home,  before entering home,  before studying and before sleep too. Even today,  we see some remnants of such practices when we see people having some image of परा within their cars,  on walls,  in front of office, applying earth to forehead before entering a playground, etc. But because theory is not known (or passed on by parents),  these कर्म are now labelled by ignorant ones as superstitious or excessive religiosity or acts of fear-minded. And then we have bookish people who argue that since परा is निर्गुण, व्यक्तीकरण is not required except for स्थूल minds. However,  the Gurus are very clear on this – till the time we have an idea that we are a body and the world of objects is real, व्यक्तीकरण in the form of external symbolism is essential to help the mind grasp the idea of विश्वतोमुखम्. निर्गुण idea will come only once the mind acquires sufficient सूक्ष्मता that only comes at the penultimate state for a very very wise person.

UB: 9:27/28 (3) – If one reads सुंदरकांड in an observant manner,  do note the first dialogue between सीता & हनुमान at अशोक वन. First,  while sitting on the tree, हनुमान recites रामकथा. When curiosity of सीता is sufficiently awakened and She asks Him to introduce Himself,  He replies that He is a रामदूत instead of giving His personal details (e.g. his place of birth,  etc). And then सीता describes how She is missing राम and then asks Him to describe राम in वियोग from Her. हनुमान then again describes the state of राम in detail. Note that their entire conversation, cribbing,  happiness, etc revolves around राम only. Such is a भक्त who talks,  eats,  works,  plays,  dances,  etc for the परा only. Have friends who talk about परा, design buildings which remind about परा,  play games which remind about परा, work in companies which organize activities in tune with अध्यात्म ideas,  etc – that becomes the lifestyle of a भक्त.

UB: 9:27/28 (4) – 9:28 reiterates the fundamental idea of कर्म. If all कर्म is done for the भगवान् and we do कृष्णार्पणम्, one cannot then be responsible for these कर्म and thus the कर्मफल does not accrue to the individual. कर्म done as an agent of भगवान् will mean that the कर्मफल does not accrue to the agent. Be aligned with the principles of कर्मयोग & संयासयोग (as learnt in Ch 3/4/5). When one is aligned with this,  one does not get bound since one is bound only for कर्म done for oneself.  Not only the कर्मफल does not accrue for a निष्कामी, the beauty is that even the previous accumulated कर्म gets obliterated. Eventually, with all कर्म stock exhausted, one becomes the Universal – that is the idea here.

UB: Just to reiterate – the idea of कृष्णार्पणम् is central to the दृष्टिकोण of a भक्त – the idea is that we strive to the best of our ability in every action that we do.  As an outcome, the best फल indeed comes about.  But because we said कृष्णार्पणम्, such a फल goes first to कृष्ण.  Then He decides WHAT I DESERVE in tune with my कर्म stock. He then gives the deserving फल to us which we accept gracefully with a प्रसाद भावना. This is again a key idea – hence the reiteration. Now, on to office work.

PA: Good explanation for reinforcing the  Bhakti of people trying to reach Para by worshipping idols, pictures . For some it may be just a sculpture a piece of art or for that matter a stone whereas for a Bhagat it’s means of connecting to Para. Finally it’s your Bhaav that you have inside your heart. And this simple thing of continuous remembrance of God in each and every action made as an offering to the divine with purity and love. Letting go of the results and accepting all that He gives as prasadam happily…

UB: 👍

PK: I interpreted it to mean as the intent behind actions matter far more than the actions themselves- that is the difference between mindless worship of an idol vs doing it with reverence – the reverence is the key not the idol I think . The trick is to take this mindset continuously yet mindfully which is the challenge to overcome shanai shanai 👍👍.., as PA put it to accept everything as prasadam ( after doing our karm, not being passive or lazy which is also another challenge for me 😃😃

UB: Let us say that both actions without intent and intent with no actions are useless. 😀

PK: Amen – very succinctly put 👍👍

PA: PK – you are definitely not alone in the challenge of being lazy and passive 😊

UB: समोऽहं सर्वभूतेषु न मे द्वेष्योऽस्ति न प्रियः। येभजन्ति तु मां भक्त्या मयि ते तेषुचाप्यहम्।।9.29।।

9.29. I (अहं) am the same (सम) in all beings (सर्वभूतेषु); to Me (मे) none is hateful (न द्वेष्योऽस्ति) and none is dear (न प्रियः); rather (तु) whosoever (ये) worship (भजन्ति) Me (मां) with devotion (भक्त्या), they are in Me (ते मयि) and I am also (अहं च अपि) in them (तेषु).

UB: 9:29 (1) – Does the सूर्य show any favoritism in sharing its grandeur with any being – whether rich or poor,  good or bad,  devout or criminal?  Equally,  if someone decides to move away from sunlight and stay in a cave, it accepts this decision too and does not go out of the way to give light to such a person. चंद्र can be admired for its beauty; पूर्णिमा चंद्र encourages two lovers to indulge in romance or it enables a thief to steal from someone’s house.  Both the सूर्य and चंद्र do not discriminate and do not show any favoritism. If someone praises to the सूर्य,  it watches and if someone spits on the सूर्य,  it watches (the spit falling back on the person 😂).  Anyone can use both these for meeting their selfish goals or selfless goals. On its own,  both सूर्य & चंद्र remain truly detached.

UB: 9:29 (2): But while सूर्य shows no favouritism,  there are a few who use the सूर्य more effectively than others. Obviously, the सूर्य favours such people more. We can see this as a formula – water does not have to make any special effort to mix with salt – it happens automatically and equally,  no matter how much effort is made by water,  a stone will not dissolve in water. Similarly, those who have अनन्य भक्ति on भगवान् will attain Him and no magic can be done even by भगवान् to get स्थूल minds towards Him. Those with अनन्य भक्ति are not those who just go to a मंदिर daily or do नित्यपूज alone but are with प्रभू all the times, even when they are in a toilet. Because अनन्य भक्ति minds are filled with प्रभू at all times, hence “I am in them”.  Because अनन्य भक्ति minds operate fully in tune with अध्यात्म within them, they express सत्-चित्-आनन्द भावना at all times, hence, “They are in Me”.

UB: अपि चेत्सुदुराचारो भजते मामनन्यभाक्। साधुरेवस मन्तव्यः सम्यग्व्यवसितो हि सः।।9.30।।

9.30 Even if (अपि चेत्) one having a highly bad conduct (सुदुराचार:) worships Me (भजते माम्) as one who is not separate from him (अन्-अन्य-भाक्), he (स:) is to be considered (मन्तव्यः) a साधु (साधु: एव); for he (स: हि) is of clear understanding (सम्यक् व्यवसित:).

क्षिप्रं भवति धर्मात्मा शश्वच्छान्तिं निगच्छति। कौन्तेय प्रतिजानीहि न मे भक्तःप्रणश्यति।।9.31।।

9.31 Quickly that (क्षिप्रं) person becomes (भवति) one whose mind confirms to धर्म (धर्मात्मा) and gains (निगच्छति) शांति (शांतिम्) that is eternal (शाश्वत). Do you proclain boldly, O कौन्तेय! Know that (प्रतिजानीहि) My भक्त (मे भक्तः) is never lost (न प्रणश्यति).

UB: 9:30/31 (1) – The idea conveyed by this shock verse sunk-in after I sensed that if the same अध्यात्म तत्व forms the basis of ALL, निर्वाण becomes a birthright of everyone. No one is condemned to punishment forever. All people deserve many many chances to return to their source. If a person with a दुराचारी past has now taken to अनन्य भक्ति, it means that his past becomes irrelevant. Reform the criminal ideas within the mind of a criminal; not the criminal himself – lines like these start to make sense in the backdrop of this verse.  Striking features of India during the golden Gupta age were minimal punishment & absence of death sentence with a low rate of crime. Such outcomes are possible only in societies which embed the wisdom of such verses.

UB: 9:30/31 (2) – One may ask – what about justice?  Should a दुराचारी not be punished for his crimes? He should.  But note that as long as one has an idea of being a body,  the idea of receiving gifts for सुकर्म and punishment for दुष्कर्म make sense – there is no running away from it as it is the experiential truth. However, once one has become Universal and the idea of a limited human body is obliterated, the idea of benefit or punishment become irrelevant. A simple analogy will be that the experiential reality of a 5 year old  slapped by another 5 year old is hugely insulting. However, experiential reality of a 60 year old slapped by another 5 year old is अमृत and not insulting.

UB: 9:30/31 (3) – What about a criminal who has developed a partial appreciation for the idea of the Universal but simultaneously not been able to fully shake off the experience of his limitedness as a distinct body?  The answer is – the idea of Universality makes one indifferent to situations of gain & loss while idea of limitedness about oneself makes one experience feelings of benefit & punishment.  Put this another way,  भगवान्  helps His भक्त who is with Him and punishes भक्त who abandons Him. In reality,  it does not mean He is actually doing something – it just means that in limitedness, one experiences pain and happiness and in unlimitedness, one remains in a state of bliss.

UB: मां हि पार्थ व्यपाश्रित्य येऽपि स्युः पापयोनयः। स्त्रियो वैश्यास्तथा शूद्रास्तेऽपि यान्ति परांगतिम्।।9.32।।

9.32. O पार्थ! even those (ये अपि) whose birth would be (स्यु:) unwanted (पापयोनयः), also women (स्त्रिय:) men of working class (वैश्या:), and labourers (शूद्रा:) even they (ते अपि), because (हि) taken refuge (व्यपाश्रित्य) in Me (मां), attain (यान्ति) the highest goal (परांगतिम्).

किं पुनर्ब्राह्मणाः पुण्या भक्ता राजर्षयस्तथा। अनित्यमसुखं लोकमिमं प्राप्य भजस्वमाम्।।9.33।।

9.33 What again (किं पुन:) (to speak) of ब्राह्मण who are pure (पुण्या) and are My भक्ता similarly (तथा) राज who are ऋषि. Having obtained (प्राप्य) this impermanent (इमम् अनित्यम) and unpleasant (असुखम्) लोक, may you seek Me (भजस्व माम्).

UB: 9:32/33 (1) – भगवान् proclaims clearly that He is attainable by all. Some may be born in पापयोनि: (born as kids of criminals or murderers or may include those born as animals & plants). Further, if there is a false perception that only ब्राह्मण & क्षत्रिय alone are deserving of attaining भगवान्, भगवान् clarifies in no uncertain terms that even one born as a स्त्री, वैश्य & शूद्र can attain Him once they connect with Him. Once any being is on the path of doing पुण्य and becomes a भक्त, they attain qualification to attain their own unlimited status. This is why ranging from the Alwars & Nayannars in the द्रविड, the महाराष्ट्र saints in the West,  the Bauls in the East as well as भक्ति संत in the north,  one will find full representation of people from all classes.

UB: 9:32/33 (2) – Why have स्त्री been put together with वैश्य & शूद्र? As per अभिनवगुप्त, what is common in these three is their lack of exposure to अध्यात्म विद्या. Such अध्यात्म विद्या used to last upto 15/20 years and while most strands of society used to pursue such विद्या earlier, the numbers kept on reducing probably owing to ZERO job value of such विद्या. While at the time of कृष्ण, at least ब्राह्मण & क्षत्रिय used to go through such अध्यात्म विद्या, today it is either not available easily and even the so-called ब्राह्मण class has deserted such विद्या. As we can see today, despite hundreds of Gita translations available, if no one reads these,  one can infer easily that lack of access cannot be the excuse for not taking up अध्यात्म विद्या.

UB: 9:32/33 (3) – Being away from अध्यात्म ज्ञान, the ability to connect with सूक्ष्म ideas becomes more difficult for all such people and thus they may end up living life with स्थूल ideas. However,  earlier,  the ब्राह्मण used to impart such ideas to the society and in return,  the society used to take care of their needs. Today, hardly anyone in the society gets education of ब्रह्मज्ञान and absence of experts has made it more difficult for people to access such wisdom. Worse, they end up being exposed to charlatans who bring ब्रह्मज्ञान a bad name. Be that as it may, even if access to ब्रह्मज्ञान is not available, once such ideas do enter anyone’s life, irrespective of their class,  they will certainly end up cultivating भक्ति paving their way towards परा.

UB: 9:32/33 (4) – There is another way a commentator has looked at this verse.  As per him, our external body may be taken as शूद्र, our इंद्रियाँ as the वैश्य, our प्राण as the क्षत्रिय and our मन as the ब्राह्मण. But all these need to be backed by the शक्ति in the form of a स्त्री which is the बुद्धि within us. Only once all of them are imbued with भक्ति, they will work in a coordinated manner. Stress in a human body comes from absence of coordination between these five domains but with coordination, the entire स्थूल & सूक्ष्म शरीर is focused on living a life of धर्म – living such lifestyle will surely enable one to achieve the Highest, there can be no doubt about it, as per भगवान्.