Chapter name is परंविद्यागुह्यविद्यानाम

श्री भगवानुवाच

इदं तु ते गुह्यतमं प्रवक्ष्याम्यनसूयवे। ज्ञानंविज्ञानसहितं यज्ज्ञात्वा मोक्ष्यसेऽशुभात्।।9.1।

9.1. The भगवान् said Whereas (तु) (apart from that travelling to various लोक), I will tell (प्रवक्ष्यामि) to you (ते), who is not inclined towards jealousy, (अन् असूयवे) this (इदं) most secret (गुह्यतमं ) knowledge (ज्ञानं), together with its assimilation (विज्ञान सहितं), by knowing which (यद् ज्ञात्वा) you shall be free (मोक्ष्यसे) from the unpleasant (अशुभात्).

राजविद्या राजगुह्यं पवित्रमिदमुत्तमम्। प्रत्यक्षावगमं धर्म्यं सुसुखं कर्तुमव्ययम्।।9.2।।

9.2. This (इदं) is the king of all विद्या (राजविद्या); the king of all secrets (राजगुह्यं); it is a supreme purifier (उत्तमम् पवित्रम्), it is comprehensible by immediate perception (प्रत्यक्ष अवगमं), is keeping with धर्म (धर्म्यं), easy to attain (सुसुखं कर्तुम्) and imperishable (अव्ययम्).

अश्रद्दधानाः पुरुषा धर्मस्यास्य परन्तप। अप्राप्यमां निवर्तन्ते मृत्युसंसारवर्त्मनि।।9.3।।

9.3. O परन्तप! Persons (पुरुषा) having no श्रद्धा (अश्रद्दधानाः) in this धर्म (अस्यधर्मस्य) do not attain Me (मां अप्राप्य) and return (निवर्तन्ते) in the path (वर्त्मनि) of संसार, wrought with death (मृत्यु).

9:1/3 (1) – Before we embark on this chapter, four aspects need to be established – the विषय (topic), the अधिकार (qualification of the student), the लक्ष्य (purpose) and प्रयोजनम् (benefit from learning the विषय). All four are covered in the first three verses.  First the विषय viz अध्यात्म विद्या is called as गुह्यतमं ज्ञानं and also as राजविद्या राजगुह्यं. गुह्यं means secret or hidden.  But अध्यात्म विद्या is not hidden in the sense that it is to be kept away from people.  It is hidden only to स्थूल minds since they do not have the capability to perceive the परा.  This विद्या is actually प्रत्यक्ष अवगमं meaning that it is available for immediate perception. However, just like a person standing just an inch away from a tall building cannot know its height, अध्यात्म विद्या requires मन to develop a certain distance, an insight that can come only if मन becomes सूक्ष्म. प्रह्लाद was surprised how his father हिरण्यकश्यप is unable to see नारयण everywhere while he can see नारयण as a प्रत्यक्ष अनुभव.

9:1/3 (2) – Why is this called as गुह्यतमं विद्या? Essentially, विद्या can be of two types – बाह्यविद्या & गुह्यविद्या?  How to cook, how to paint, how to sing, how to build a dam, alphabets & writing,  etc are types of विद्या where learning can happen through use of पञ्चेन्द्रिय. However, गुह्यविद्या refers to विद्या where the principles are hidden from direct sense perception – औषद विद्या is one such example, मंत्र विद्या is another such example.  The effects of why an औषद or मंत्र works can only be known to people who have gone through extensive specialized training on such disciplines.  Now, अध्यात्म विद्या is राजगुह्यतमं विद्या since it requires the HIGHEST level of सूक्ष्म बुद्धि – hence this विद्या is called as राजविद्या as well as राजगुह्यं, the Emperor of ज्ञान, the Emperor of all secrets.

9:1/3 (3) – Who is eligible for receiving राजविद्या, who has the अधिकार?  It is not education level, family pedigree or physical strength that gives one an अधिकार for this राजविद्या. Such a person must possess the quality of अनसूय viz absence of jealousy. One experiences jealousy because of a disease of comparing with another. Owing to this tendency for comparison, the negative emotions of राग & द्वेष arise. But this राजविद्या is not ज्ञान that is comparable with other ज्ञान and it stands in the innermost centre of all ज्ञान and one who knows this is positioned suitably to know all other ज्ञान. So get rid of असूय quality in order to gain this अध्यात्म विद्या. Second, one must possess fantastic level of श्रद्धा – श्रद्धा, as well discussed earlier is full conviction in the वेद and words of a गुरु who is himself a ज्ञानी. This relentless conviction in the words of the वेद is an essential prerequisite to be able to derive benefit of learning the विद्या conveyed by the वेद.

9:1/3 (4) – Now that we have talked about the विषय viz अध्यात्म विद्या and अधिकार/ पात्रता (अनसूया & श्रद्धा), let us define लक्ष्य of this.  The लक्ष्य is मोक्ष viz full freedom. Fourth, what are the benefits of मोक्ष? This विद्या is the Supreme Purifier, it will make one free of मल or impurity. It will give सुसुखम् – सुखं alone may be interpreted as लौकिक सुखं and सुसुखम् may be taken as best or ultimate of all सुखं. Once someone attains मोक्ष स्थिति, one becomes सनातन (eternal) since the ज्ञान that one acquires is eternal,  the अव्ययं. Once you gain an insight of the Imperishable, you also turn Imperishable. श्रीकृष्ण then will talk about this अव्ययं as well as teach अर्जुन the विज्ञानम् viz the means to attain this विद्या.

मया ततमिदं सर्वं जगदव्यक्तमूर्तिना। मत्स्थानिसर्वभूतानि न चाहं तेष्व ।।9.4।।

9.4. This entire universe (इदं सर्वं) is pervaded (ततम्) by Me (मया) as an unmanifest (अव्यक्त) form (मूर्तिना); all beings (सर्वभूतानि) exist in Me (मत्स्थानि) but I (अहं च) am not (अवस्थितः) in them (तेषु).

न च मत्स्थानि भूतानि पश्य मे योगमैश्वरम्। भूतभृन्न च भूतस्थो ममात्मा भूतभावनः।।9.5।।

9.5. Yet, the beings (भूतानि) do not (न च) exist in Me (मत्स्थानि). Look at (पश्य) the Supreme योग of Mine (मे ऐश्वरं). My (मम) आत्मा is the sustainer of the beings (भूत भृत्), does not (न च) exist in beings (भूत स्थ:), and causes beings to be born (भूत भावनः)

9:4/5 (1) – भगवान् makes two contradictory statements – ‘All beings exist in Me’ and then ‘All beings do not exist in Me’.  Only a classic and oft-used वैदिक analogy can help us here. So a person walking in the dark sees a rope but mistakes it for a snake.  He panics,  sweats profusely,  runs as his heart beats fast. Then someone flashes a light on the snake and he realizes that it is a rope and becomes relieved.  Now,  is the snake in the rope?  We have to say – Yes and No.  YES because without the rope,  there would have been no snake.  NO because the snake is not in the rope.  So if one says that the world is real, it is as real as the ‘real’ emotions expressed by the one who sees a snake instead of the rope and suffers.  Why the seer mistook a snake for a rope is a problem with the seer’s own vision and not rope’s fault. Equally,  if someone says that the world is an illusion,  one has to agree that illusion cannot come out of nothing but it is ‘something’ that is not being seen properly.  Without existence of a rope,  no illusion of a snake is possible.  However, this illusory Universe can be seen clearly if we are able the flash the light of अध्यात्म विद्या on IT. प्रह्लाद saw श्रीनारायण everywhere because he had अध्यात्म विद्या vision while his father did not even though both were looking at the same thing. People familiar with विष्णुसहस्रनाम must compare the names given there with chapter nine.

9:4/5 (2) – “All beings exist in Me but I do not exist in them”. What does this mean? भगवान् is the primal source of the Universe, the primal cause from which all beings (and non-beings) have emerged.  As the material cause as well as efficient cause,  He is both the Potter as well as the material used by the Potter to build the Universe. However,  He does not exist in the beings. What this means is that while He is unlimited and Imperishable, the limitedness that is the characteristic of the beings is not His trait. Hence, He is not in the beings while beings are in Him.  Such type of verses are the reason why normal people are put off with अध्यात्म विद्या and even right thinking people get frustrated – welcome to the joys of अध्यात्म विद्या 😂

यथाऽऽकाशस्थितो नित्यं वायुः सर्वत्रगो महान्। तथा सर्वाणि भूतानि मत्स्थानीत्युपधारय।।9.6।।

9.6. Just as (यथा) the mighty (महान्) wind (वायुः) exists in the space (आकाश स्थित:), always (नित्यं) moving [in it] everywhere (सर्वत्र ग:), similarly (तथा) please understand (इति उपधारय) that all beings (सर्वाणि भूतानि) exist in Me (मत्स्थानि).

9:6 – भगवान् has chosen two सूक्ष्म substances to convey the idea.  वायु exists in आकाश. Without आकाश, वायु cannot exist and move about. आकाश can exist without वायु but वायु cannot exist without आकाश.  Similarly, all beings exist within Me but I will continue to exist even though there are no beings within Me. आकाश is a good example to give since आकाश is expansive because it is everywhere, आकाश is सूक्ष्म since it cannot be seen with eyes but no one can deny that it does not exist.  And while we can argue that वायु is moving,  we cannot say that आकाश is moving; आकाश is अचल. Similarly,  परा is also अचल,  सर्वगत: (means it is present everywhere), परा is सूक्ष्म and the entire moving/ changing Universe exists within परा.

सर्वभूतानि कौन्तेय प्रकृतिं यान्ति मामिकाम्।  कल्पक्षये पुनस्तानि कल्पादौविसृजाम्यहम्।।9.7।।

9.7. O कौन्तेय! at the end of the कल्प (the end of day of ब्रह्मा) (कल्पक्षये), all beings (सर्वभूतानि ) pass into (यान्ति) My (मामिकाम्) प्रकृति; I (अहं) project forth  (विसृजामि) them (तानि) again (पुन:) at the beginning of the [next] कल्प (कल्प आदौ).

प्रकृतिं स्वामवष्टभ्य विसृजामि पुनः पुनः। भूतग्राममिमं कृत्स्नमवशं प्रकृतेर्वशात्।।9.8।।

9.8. Taking control over (अवष्टभ्य:) My own प्रकृति (स्वां प्रकृतिं), I project (विसृजामि) forth again and again (पुनः पुनः) this entire (इमं कृत्स्नम्) group of beings (भूत-ग्रामम्), without their (or My) will (अ-वशं) by the force of (वशात्) [My] nature (प्रकृते).

9:7/8 – This idea was covered earlier that one कल्प  is one day of ब्रह्मा at the end of which all of Universe becomes merged into the primal background material.  After another कल्प gets over and ब्रह्मा day begins again,  Universe manifests again.  This happens automatically without any intervention on the part of the परा.  She just watches.  And this new day merely begins from where it left off.  All beings thus have no free will in terms of when they are born, how they are born and when they die.  We may have some semblance of a free will while living if we are willing and are conscious of our ability to exercise it.  If we are on the path of अध्यात्म विद्या,  we can move towards freedom or else we merely live out our impulses from one कल्प to another without having any ability to influence or act on our own; we thus lack स्वतन्त्रता शक्ति if we stick to impulse living. Even She does not interfere in this continuous process of birth & death happens; unless a person wills to make a change,  भगवान् allows people to lead their lives as per their own choice and whims.

न च मां तानि कर्माणि निबध्नन्ति धनञ्जय। उदासीनवदासीनमसक्तं तेषु कर्मसु।।9.9।।

9.9. O धनञ्जय ! These (तानि च) कर्म (कर्माणि) do not bind (न निबध्नन्ति) Me (माम्), who is seated (आसीनं) (as the basis of प्रकृति) as if unconcerned (उदासीनवत्) and unattached (अ-सक्तं) towards these (तेषु कर्मसु) कर्म.

मयाऽध्यक्षेण प्रकृतिः सूयते सचराचरम्। हेतुनाऽनेन कौन्तेय जगद्विपरिवर्तते।।9.10।।

9.10 Because of Me (मया) as the supervisor (अध्यक्षेण), the प्रकृति produces (सूयते) (the world) of the moving and the non-moving things (स चर-अ-चरम्). For this reason (अनेन हेतुना) O कौन्तेय! the world (जगत्) revolves (विपरिवर्तते).

9:9/10 (1) – This can be a little tough. भगवान् is actually unconcerned with the way the Universe is moving about. She is an अध्यक्ष – everything happens under HER jurisdiction but She looks as if She is not interested. Imagine a disciplinarian mother at home who is full of love for kids while discharging her role with full responsibility – in her presence, the प्रवर्तन of kids is समयानुकूल – they get up on time,  brush teeth on time,  have स्नान, do पूज, do अध्ययन,  etc.  They do a lot of कर्म on their own without being told. Mother may be in other room or may be cooking but all people in the house act with discipline even though she may not be watching. Kids are also allowed to play with full knowledge that there is a fixed play time too and also that even if they extend their play time, the mother will give them a smack followed by many kisses.  All actions of प्रकृति also similarly happen on their own knowing the presence of पराशक्ति who is an अध्यक्ष though She may appear as being seemingly unconcerned. But nothing happens without Her.

9:9/10(2) – Thus,  with भगवान् as an अध्यक्ष,  at the ब्रह्माण्डं level,  all Galaxies,  Stars,  Solar,  Systems,  Planets, Satellites and other forces (referred to as प्रकृति) act on their own in an organized and predictable manner.  “They revolve” – says भगवान्. Similarly,  at a पिण्डांड level, the various प्रकृति aspects within us – बुद्धि, मन, प्राण, पञ्च कर्मेन्द्रिय, पञ्च ज्ञानेन्द्रिय operate effectively under the अध्यक्षता of the आत्मा. However,  if these act in a truant manner unaware of or ignore the अध्यक्षता of the आत्मा, they will suffer owing to their own wayward प्रवर्तन. Coordinated predictable कर्म happens only if a coordinating principle is present that controls individual parts – Universe was and is never a chaos; Order is the स्वभाव of the Universe as well as ourselves owing to presence of the coordinating principle who is called as अध्यक्ष here.

9:9/10 (3) – But there is another idea here. भगवान् is असक्त: (detached). Usually, anyone doing कर्म should face a कर्मफल. But भगवान् does His कर्म as an असक्त: and He will therefore not be bound. How do we understand  this idea? In a normal parlance,  if I am hungry and I eat as much as I need to eat to satisfy my hunger,  my balance is restored. However, if काम comes into the act of eating,  I may eat more if काम is for food or I may eat less if काम is to my waistline. Such a कर्म then leads to कर्मफल in terms of health issues. But, as we discussed earlier, the कर्म of सृष्टि or projection of Universe may be seen as an act for knowing Himself. There is no काम involved since the कर्म to know oneself cannot be seen as काम. Hence,  He will not experience a कर्मफल. He remains in a state of सत्-चित्-आनन्द while doing सृष्टि. Therefore, for us at an individual  level too,  if I do a job to know myself,  if I play to know myself,  if I eat to know myself,  if I study or fight with someone else to know myself and am therefore equally accepting of any कर्मफल (seemingly positive or negative) of my कर्म and continue to remain in a सत्-चित्-आनन्द state,  like भगवान्, our कर्म too becomes that of a निष्काम type. If not,  कर्मफल accrues leading to us getting involved into a spiral of more and more कर्म.  Do निष्काम कर्म is thus the key takeaway of these verses.

There is a phrase “Be centered in oneself”. What does it mean?  The centre most essence within us is परा.  And the most fundamental expression of परा is to know Itself. The परा created अपरा only to enjoy acquaintance with Its own सत्-चित्-आनन्द स्थिति. For us to centre ourselves thus means that we fight with others to know ourselves,  we argue with others to know ourselves,  we go for a holiday to know ourselves,  we pursue a career to know ourselves. The अपरा (the world,  relations,  our body,  etc)  has no other value other than its utility in helping us know ourselves. Is this a selfish pursuit?  No – it is a pursuit where one is working to become “self-less” and become ‘Self-ful’ where “self” represents अपरा and Self represents परा. So get away from being immersed in self or अपरा, that is the idea. And when one gains the Self or परा,  one regains one’s centre,  one regains oneself and one becomes all.  That is the central idea of सनातन धर्म.

अवजानन्ति मां मूढा मानुषीं तनुमाश्रितम्। परंभावमजानन्तो मम भूतमहेश्वरम्।।9.11।।

9.11 Not knowing (अजानन्त:) My (मम) supreme nature (परं भावम्) as the Lord (महेश्वरम्) of all beings (भूत), foolish (मूढा) disregard (अवजानन्ति) Me (मां) who obtains (or is situated in) (आश्रितम्) this human (मानुषीं तनुम्) body.

मोघाशा मोघकर्माणो मोघज्ञाना विचेतसः। राक्षसीमासुरीं चैव प्रकृतिं मोहिनींश्रिताः।।9.12।।

9.12 Those whose hopes (आशा:) are in vain (मोघ), whose acts (कर्माण:) are in vain (मोघ) and whose knowledge (ज्ञाना) is in vain (मोघ) and who lack discernment (विचेतसः) – they tend towards (श्रिताः) a deluding (मोहिनीं) disposition (प्रकृतिं) that is राक्षसी or आसुरी.

9:11/12 – The परा is situated within us as the अध्यात्म principle and is the अध्यक्ष of our house (house here means our body). However,  most people possess the प्रवृत्ति of an असुर or राक्षस. A राक्षस is one who derives joy from troubling others and is happy when others are unhappy. An असुर is selfish,  believes his limited body & mind as the only truth and thus a hardcore materialist. While he will not harm others in the normal course of events,  if a need of his obsesses him,  he will not think twice to sacrifice others for his personal gain.  Just like the मोहिनी was able to distract the असुर during सागर मंथन, both असुर & राक्षस are easily distracted. All their कर्म thus becomes मोघ or wasted,  all the type of ज्ञान they pursue is मोघ (reading fiction novels which do not add value, watching movies which are more in the nature of pop fables, get attracted to Marathon at the age of fifty to post pictures on Facebook,  etc). These कर्म are not done to add value to themselves but pursued with complete disregard to the eternal परा principle within themselves. Owing to their inability to focus on anything,  their चेतस् is मंद (dull) – hence they will continue to suffer.

महात्मानस्तु मां पार्थ दैवीं प्रकृतिमाश्रिताः। भजन्त्यनन्यमनसो ज्ञात्वाभूतादिमव्ययम्।।9.13।।

9.13 O पार्थ! whereas the  wise ones (महात्मान: तु), being possessed of (आश्रिताः) दैवी nature (प्रकृतिम्), surely seek Me (मां भजन्ति) with a mind that sees no other (अन् अन्य मनस:), knowing (ज्ञात्वा) Me  (माम्) as the changeless (अव्ययम्) source of all objects (भूत आदि).

सततं कीर्तयन्तो मां यतन्तश्च दृढव्रताः। नमस्यन्तश्च मां भक्त्या नित्ययुक्ताउपासते।।9.14।।

9.14 Always (सततं) glorifying (कीर्तयन्त:) Me (मां) and striving (यतन्त: च), the men whose commitment is firm (दृढव्रताः) worship Me (मां उपासते) by bowing down (नमस्यन्त:) to Me (मां च) and being ever united (नित्ययुक्ता) (with Me)  with devotion (भक्त्या).

ज्ञानयज्ञेन चाप्यन्ये यजन्तो मामुपासते। एकत्वेनपृथक्त्वेन बहुधा विश्वतोमुखम्।।9.15।।

9.15. And still (च अपि) others (अन्ये), worshipping (यजन्त:) through यज्ञ that is knowledge (ज्ञानयज्ञेन), seek Me (उपासते) whose face (मुखम्) is everywhere (विश्वतस्), in many ways (बहुधा), as being One (एकत्वेन) and as being distinct (पृथक्त्वेन).

9:13/15 (1) – As against असुर/ राक्षस प्रवृत्ति, there are others with a दैवी प्रवृत्ति, the महात्मनः. The distinction between these two is laid out beautifully in chapter sixteen. भगवान् is already laying seeds of भक्ति here. He says that such people भजन्ति मां (Me) with भक्ति,  they are दृढव्रतः (firm mind), they are clear that there is one अव्ययम्  which is the goal of one’s life and they thus become a योगी who is नित्ययुक्त (connecting every moment of their life with the परा). Then there are ज्ञानी – Rumi used to quote a line from the Quran – “Wherever I turn, I see the face of Allah”. This verse also gives a similar sentiment. A ज्ञानी perceives भगवान् being विश्वतोमुखम्,  one whose face is everywhere.  He is always trying to see the One in many.  He sees distinctions,  recognizes the distinctions too but works hard to see the same One, same अध्यात्म principle lying within all. He thus is like a scientist trying to locate the single fundamental particle present in all.

9:13/15 (2) – This verse is a knuckle on the head by भगवान् for those who become ideological opponents taking side of Oneness Vs One God Vs Many God’s.  She can be conceived in three ways – एकत्वेन meaning “There is One only”, पृथक्त्वेन meaning “परा is distinct from the individual” and बहुधा viz “There are many देवता”.  भगवान् is stating clearly here – “All three are fine by Me”. Ideological skirmishes are infantile.  So we have this old man who is a proponent of अद्वैत. He goes to a temple town, does not get a place to stay. He lands up in the house of a वैश्णव who sees भगवान् as distinct from an individual. He proudly places images of महाविष्णु outside his house.  Our अद्वैत man sleeps outside the house that night. Next morning, he could not stop himself to write सोहम् (I am the One) on the wall next to the images and then leaves the house. Later,  the वैश्णव sees this and adds दा in front of सोहम् making it दासोहम् (I am the दास of the One). In the evening,  our अद्वैत hero returns,  sleeps overnight again and adds स before दासोहम् making it सदासोहम् (I am always सोहम्). Not to be left behind,  our वैश्णव adds the word दा again making it दासदासोहम् (दास of the दास of the One).  Thus foolishly clinging to an ideology,  they fight while भगवान् clearly states that He can be approached as एकत्वेन or as पृथक्त्वेन or बहुधा. The प्रवृत्ति to fight and defend an ideology without knowing सत्य fully is nothing else but a राक्षस or आसुरी प्रवृत्ति.

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), sustainer (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 ॐ (ओङ्कार:) and also ऋक्, साम and the यजु: एव च.

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.

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.

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 behaviour of humility in front of them is not an imposed rule; it comes out of my reverence for them. This is why धर्म 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. Irreverence/ 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.

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).

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 भारत,  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.

9:18 (2) – He is our निवासः which means home.  If one observes all species on पृथ्वी,  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.

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.

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 क्रिया replicate this by making ईश्वर as both पिता &  माता 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.

9:18 (5): A minor (or major) question may arise here. We often use Him to express भगवान्  while She at other times. I have referred to नित्य कल्याणम् in temples of ईश्वर (as शिव & उमा or विष्णु and लक्ष्मी, etc). If there is only One, what is the meaning of two marrying one another? There may be various answers given as per various दृष्टि that we may come across. There is a branch of अद्वैत that goes by the name Kashmir Shaivism – there are other तंत्र traditions which also provide an interesting perspective on this idea. I am sharing a basic idea here as given by Jaideva Singh in this book ShivSutra and readers may explore these शास्त्र in greater detail if they are interested. 

9:18 (6): A conscious being  (चेतना) is one who thinks, who is absolutely free in pursuit of any ज्ञान and क्रिया. चैतन्य is the state of one who has चेतना. The highest शिव alone has that absolute freedom. शिव (also referred to as आत्मा) is प्रकाश which means light – not in the ordinary sense of physical light but one in whose presence, one can detect light (or darkness too). Hence, whenever there is any appearance, there is प्रकाश or presence of चैतन्य. Nothing can have its own being without प्रकाश. There is a line in Spandakarika which says: “The आत्मा is the whole of reality, because all existents derive their existence from the आत्मा, and because in the process of knowing, the known gets identified with the आत्मा”. How does one know चेतना? It is not possible to know चेतना by means of प्रमाण (proof) since the means of प्रमाण are themselves dependent for their proof on self-luminous चेतना and चेतना being ever luminous, it is impossible for anything whatever to veil it, as it is ever luminously present. 

9:18 (7): But the Ultimate Reality is not just प्रकाश – it is विमर्श too. विमर्श is शक्ति, the स्वभाव or शिव. It is, so to speak, the mirror in which शिव realizes His own grandeur, power and beauty. विमर्श is the कर्तृत्व शक्ति of शिव, the power of doership. विमर्श is explained as non-relational immediate awareness of “I”. If Ultimate Reality is merely प्रकाश and not विमर्श, it will be inert and powerless. It is this ”I-consciousness” of the Ultimate Reality that is responsible for सृष्टि, स्थिति and लय of the universe. Creativity is thus the essence of Divinity. चित् is consciousness of Itself as चिद्रूपिणी शक्ति which is referred to as विमर्श. Other names used for विमर्श are पराशक्ति, स्वातंत्रय, ऐश्वर्य, कर्तृत्व, स्फुरत्त, सार, हृदय or स्पन्द. To conclude, the Ultimate Reality is not only Universal Consciousness but also Supreme spiritual energy or power and this all-inclusive Universal Consciousness, the शिव, is referred to as अनुत्तरा (Highest Reality or Absolute) which is both transcendental and immanent. शिव तत्व is thus the initial creative movement of शिव while शक्ति तत्व is the energy of शिव who polarizes चेतना into अहम् (I) and इदम् (This) viz subject and object. शक्ति is the creative aspect of शिव and His “I-consciousness, His intentness to create. In शक्ति तत्व, the आनन्द aspect of the Supreme is predominant (just as the joy of an artist who pours creativity into a canvas – the painting is an outer expression of आनन्द already contained within the painter). 

9:18 (8): Thus, the highlight is conceived of as शिव (which is a combination of सत् and चित् aspect of the highest) and उमा (as the आनन्द aspect of the highest). Together, they are one representing the masculine and feminine aspect of the Highest and the temples merely recreate the actual नित्य कल्याणम् of both aspects of the One on a daily basis. We have already discussed at the start of chapter eight that आध्यात्म is the स्वभाव of the परा which is nothing else but expression of सत्-चित्-आनन्द (or शिव and उमा as explained above). All of creation thus becomes an outcome of and will contain शिव and उमा – that is the idea. Apologies if this appears as a long digression…..

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).

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. 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 and learned गुरु’s may be contacted to get such insights.

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. Chapter ten is a fascinating expansion of these four verses.

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.

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

9.20 Those who are versed in the three वेद (त्रैविद्या), who drink the सोम (सोमपाः),  cleansed (पूत) of पाप (पापा:), propiate Me (इष्ट्वा मां) with यज्ञ (यज्ञै) – they pray for (प्रार्थयन्ते) the passage to स्वर्ग (स्वर्गतिं). Reaching (आसाद्य) the realm (लोकम्) of इंद्र (सुरेन्द्र) as पुण्य, they (ते) enjoy (अश्नन्ति) in दिव्य (दिव्यान्) देव भोग (देवभोगान्).

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

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

9:20/21 (1) – The idea given here has been conveyed in chapter eight. 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.

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, chapter eight 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 पृथ्वी 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.

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).

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.

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 नित्यपूजा 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.

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 महादेवि ,  विश्वतोमुखम्. In everything,  he sees Her only. He sees Her,  he thinks Her,  he talks Her,  he sings Her,  all his कर्म are for Her, he dances for Her. Now for such a दृढव्रती,  because he is always in Her,  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 Her,  there is no question of losing Her 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 Her intensifies and once he reaches Her,  he becomes Her. He becomes सोहम् (स-अहम्  or with myself) and दासोहम् status turns into सोहम्.

9:22 (4) – There was a संत in महाराष्ट्र 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 question and told him everything. The संत obviously realized his folly and repented for losing conviction on the promise of भगवान् given in this verse.

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 देवता (देवव्रता) attain the (state of) देवता (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).

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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).

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 वेद 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”.

9:26 (2) – Why पुत्रम्, पुष्पम्,  etc?  All these four can be seen as सात्विक offerings that can be obtained with very little हिंसा. And even while पुत्रम्, पुष्पम् & फलम्  may involve some हिंसा, तोयं (water) does not involve any हिंसा 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 हिंसा. 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 भारत 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.

9:26 (3) – ONE CAUTION HERE – Some wise “minimalism” inspired person may use this श्लोक to question मंदिर क्रिया where we see people offering expensive gold and jewels.  The sudden ज्ञान of this श्लोक may excite them to advise the “foolish” मंदिर goers (sic) that they have not understood the message of the श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता. 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 to.

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 सुदामा  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.

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).

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.

9:27/28 (2) – व्यक्तीकरण of theory in शास्त्र turns our lifestyle into a living philosophy; hence, धर्म 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 नित्यपूजा, 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 गुरुs 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 भक्ति (भक्त्या), they are in Me (ते मयि) and I am also (अहं च अपि) in them (तेषु).

9:29 (1) – Does the सूर्य show any favouritism 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 favouritism. 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.

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 नित्यपूजा 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”.

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 proclaim boldly, O कौन्तेय! Know that (प्रतिजानीहि) My भक्त (मे भक्तः) is never lost (न प्रणश्यति).

9:30/31 (1) – The idea conveyed by this shock श्लोक sunk-in after I sensed that if the same अध्यात्म तत्व forms the basis of ALL, निर्वाण becomes a birth-right 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.

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 five year old  slapped by another five year old is hugely insulting. However, experiential reality of a sixty year old slapped by another five year old is अमृत and not insulting.

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.

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:), they also (ते अपि), because (हि) (have) taken refuge (व्यपाश्रित्य) in Me (मां), (and therefore) 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).

9:32/33 (1) – भगवान् proclaims clearly that He is attainable by all. Some may be born in पापयोनि: (born as progeny 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.

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 श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता 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.

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.

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 (since its predominant aspect is तमस्), our इंद्रियाँ as the वैश्य (since its predominant aspect is रजस्), our प्राण as the क्षत्रिय (since the predominant aspect of रजस् here is driven towards protection) and our मन as the ब्राह्मण (since its predominant aspect is learning which is an expression of सत्व). But all these need to be backed by the शक्ति in the form of a स्त्री which is the बुद्धि within us (गुण expansion happens from the source which has the potentiality of expression all three गुण – note that the word स्त्री is also a combination of त्रिगुण viz सत्व, रजस् and तमस् (abbreviation of स, र & त). 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.

मन्मना भव मद्भक्तो मद्याजी मां नमस्कुरु। मामेवैष्यसि युक्त्वैवमात्मानंमत्परायणः।।9.34।।

9.34 May you be one whose mind (remains) in Me (मन्मना भव), devoted to Me (मद् भक्त:) and who performs all actions to me (मद् याजी). Do नमस्कार to Me (मां नमस्कुरु). Engaging your mind (आत्मानं युक्त्वा) in this manner (एवम्), having Me (मत्) as the supreme goal (पर-अयण:), you will attain (एष्यसि) Me alone (माम् एव).

9:34 – This is a popularly chanted verse that summarizes the essence of chapter nine as a conclusion. In the first three statements, भगवान् says – 1) Focus your mind on Me, 2) Be My भक्त and 3) Worship Me.  In all these three,  it will give an idea that भगवान् and us are two distinct entities. But the last call is – मां नमस्कुरु. As one knows,  in नमस्कार, two hands come together and the call is thus to become one with भगवान्. And this oneness is achievable only if all our actions are thus geared towards Her only. With such full-time gearing,  we rest in Her at all time and with such relentless focus,  we attain Her. Without any doubt, असंशय:

इति श्रीमद्भगवद्गीतासु उपनिषद्सु ब्रह्मविद्यायाम् योगशास्त्रे श्रीकृष्णार्जुनसंवादे परंविद्यागुह्यविद्यानाम नवदशोद्यायय: