Bhagavad Gita
Chapter IX — Religion by the Kingly Knowledge and the Kingly Mystery
Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa18856 min read
Bhagavad GitaKrishnaBhakti
Krishna
Now will I open unto thee--whose heartRejects not--that last lore, deepest-concealed,That farthest secret of My Heavens and Earths,Which but to know shall set thee free from ills,--A royal lore! a Kingly mystery!Yea! for the soul such light as purgeth itFrom every sin; a light of holinessWith inmost splendour shining; plain to see;Easy to walk by, inexhaustible!
They that receive not this, failing in faithTo grasp the greater wisdom, reach not Me,Destroyer of thy foes! They sink anewInto the realm of Flesh, where all things change!
By Me the whole vast Universe of thingsIs spread abroad;--by Me, the Unmanifest!In Me are all existences contained;Not I in them!
Yet they are not contained,Those visible things! Receive and strive to embraceThe mystery majestical! My Being--Creating all, sustaining all--still dwellsOutside of all!
See! as the shoreless airsMove in the measureless space, but are not space,[And space were space without the moving airs];So all things are in Me, but are not I.
At closing of each Kalpa, Indian Prince!All things which be back to My Being come:At the beginning of each Kalpa, allIssue new-born from Me.
By EnergyAnd help of Prakriti my outer Self,Again, and yet again, I make go forthThe realms of visible things--without their will--All of them--by the power of Prakriti.
Yet these great makings, Prince! involve Me notEnchain Me not! I sit apart from them,Other, and Higher, and Free; nowise attached!
Thus doth the stuff of worlds, moulded by Me,Bring forth all that which is, moving or still,Living or lifeless! Thus the worlds go on!
The minds untaught mistake Me, veiled in form;--Naught see they of My secret Presence, noughtOf My hid Nature, ruling all which lives.Vain hopes pursuing, vain deeds doing; fedOn vainest knowledge, senselessly they seekAn evil way, the way of brutes and fiends.But My Mahatmas, those of noble soulWho tread the path celestial, worship MeWith hearts unwandering,--knowing Me the Source,Th' Eternal Source, of Life. UnendinglyThey glorify Me; seek Me; keep their vowsOf reverence and love, with changeless faithAdoring Me. Yea, and those too adore,Who, offering sacrifice of wakened hearts,Have sense of one pervading Spirit's stress,One Force in every place, though manifold!I am the Sacrifice! I am the Prayer!I am the Funeral-Cake set for the dead!I am the healing herb! I am the ghee,The Mantra, and the flame, and that which burns!I am-of all this boundless Universe-The Father, Mother, Ancestor, and Guard!The end of Learning! That which purifiesIn lustral water! I am OM! I amRig-Veda, Sama-Veda, Yajur-Ved;The Way, the Fosterer, the Lord, the Judge,The Witness; the Abode, the Refuge-House,The Friend, the Fountain and the Sea of LifeWhich sends, and swallows up; Treasure of WorldsAnd Treasure-Chamber! Seed and Seed-Sower,Whence endless harvests spring! Sun's heat is mine;Heaven's rain is mine to grant or to withhold;Death am I, and Immortal Life I am,Arjuna! SAT and ASAT, Visible Life,And Life Invisible!
Yea! those who learnThe threefold Veds, who drink the Soma-wine,Purge sins, pay sacrifice--from Me they earnPassage to Swarga; where the meats divine
Of great gods feed them in high Indra's heaven.Yet they, when that prodigious joy is o'er,Paradise spent, and wage for merits given,Come to the world of death and change once more.
They had their recompense! they stored their treasure,Following the threefold Scripture and its writ;Who seeketh such gaineth the fleeting pleasureOf joy which comes and goes! I grant them it!
But to those blessed ones who worship Me,Turning not otherwhere, with minds set fast,I bring assurance of full bliss beyond.
Nay, and of hearts which follow other godsIn simple faith, their prayers arise to me,O Kunti's Son! though they pray wrongfully;For I am the Receiver and the LordOf every sacrifice, which these know notRightfully; so they fall to earth again!Who follow gods go to their gods; who vowTheir souls to Pitris go to Pitris; mindsTo evil Bhuts given o'er sink to the Bhuts;And whoso loveth Me cometh to Me.Whoso shall offer Me in faith and loveA leaf, a flower, a fruit, water poured forth,That offering I accept, lovingly madeWith pious will. Whate'er thou doest, Prince!Eating or sacrificing, giving gifts,Praying or fasting, let it all be doneFor Me, as Mine. So shalt thou free thyselfFrom Karmabandh, the chain which holdeth menTo good and evil issue, so shalt comeSafe unto Me-when thou art quit of flesh--By faith and abdication joined to Me!
I am alike for all! I know not hate,I know not favour! What is made is Mine!But them that worship Me with love, I love;They are in Me, and I in them!
Nay, Prince!If one of evil life turn in his thoughtStraightly to Me, count him amidst the good;He hath the high way chosen; he shall growRighteous ere long; he shall attain that peaceWhich changes not. Thou Prince of India!Be certain none can perish, trusting Me!O Pritha's Son! whoso will turn to Me,Though they be born from the very womb of Sin,Woman or man; sprung of the Vaisya casteOr lowly disregarded Sudra,--allPlant foot upon the highest path; how thenThe holy Brahmans and My Royal Saints?Ah! ye who into this ill world are come--Fleeting and false--set your faith fast on Me!Fix heart and thought on Me! Adore Me! BringOfferings to Me! Make Me prostrations! MakeMe your supremest joy! and, undivided,Unto My rest your spirits shall be guided.
HERE ENDS CHAPTER IX. OF THE BHAGAVAD-GITA,Entitled "Rajavidyarajaguhyayog,"Or "The Book of Religion by the Kingly Knowledge and the KinglyMystery."