CHAPTER 7: JNANA VIJNANA YOGA

The Blessed Lord said:

How with thy mind Intent on me,
Sheltered in me, and following Yoga,
Without a doubt wilt thou attain
To me, now hear, O Pritha's son.

And I shall tell thee everything,
Of knowledge and experience both;
And knowing that, in all the world
Nothing remaineth to be known.

Perchance in thousands is there one
Alone who for perfection strives;
Among the perfect ones who strive
In essence knows me one perchance.

Earth, Water, Fire and Air around,
And Ether, Mind, and Buddhi too,
And Egoism, these are the eight
Divisions of my Prakriti.

This is the lower, and know there is
Another higher Prakriti,
Which is the life of creatures all,
And which sustains the universe.

And know that these two are the womb
Of all the creatures in the world;
And I am of the world entire
Creator and destroyer too.

And nothing, O Dhananjaya,
Is there beyond me anywhere;
The universe is woven on me
As rows of pearls upon a string.

In waters taste, O Kunti's son,
And light in Sun and Moon am I;
The syllable Om in Vedas all;
Manhood in men, in Ether sound.

The pleasant fragrance in the Earth,
And radiance in the Fire am I;
And I am life in beings all;
And penance of the ascetic too.

And Know me, O thou Pritha's son,
The eternal seed of creatures all;
The Buddhi of the intelligent,
And glory of the glorious I.

I am the vigour of the strong,
Without attachment and desire;
In beings all am I desire
That is to Dharma unopposed.

And those conditions that pertain
To Sattva, Rajas and Tamas all,
Know that they rise from me alone;
Nor l in them, but they in me.

And by these states of Gunas three
Deluded is the world entire,
Not knowing me who am indeed
Beyond them and immutable.

This Maya made of Gunas three
Is hard to fathom and divine;
But those who come to me alone
Beyond this Maya do they pass.

The evil-doers, deluded ones,
And meanest men come not to me,
By Maya reft of knowledge all,
And following the demons' ways.

Of doers of good who worship me,
There are four kinds, O Arjuna;
The knowledge-seekers, the distressed,
Who seek for wealth, and who are wise.

Of these, the wise one, skilled in Yoga,
Who worships One alone, is best;
Supremely dear am I to him,
As dear to me is also he.

Noble indeed are all, but he
The wise one's like my very soul;
For with his soul intent on Yoga,
He rests in me, his goal supreme.

After many a birth indeed,
The man of wisdom comes to me,
Holding that Vasudeva is all;
Such high-souled one is hard to find.

Deprived of knowledge by desires,
Do many worship other gods,
Observing many a sacred vow,
Guided by their own nature still.

Whatever form a devotee
Doth seek to worship, full of faith,
Even unto that form alone,
I make his faith unwavering.

Possessed of faith, does he engage
In worship of that form indeed;
And from it his desires he gains,
Though granted all by me alone.

But truly limited is the fruit
Obtained by these, of little thought
To Devas go their devotees,
And mine alone come unto me.

The Foolish ones but think of me,
The unmanifest, made manifest;
Unconscious of my state supreme,
The immutable, the unsurpassed.

Veiled by my Maya, born of Yoga,
I am not manifest to all;
The world deluded knows not me,
The imperishable and unborn.

I know the beings that are past,
And present those, O Arjuna,
And those in future yet to be;
But no one ever knoweth me.

All beings, O thou Bharata,
Into delusion fall at birth,
Born of the pairs of opposites,
Arising from desire and hate.

The men of virtuous deeds, whose sin
Hath ended, from delusion free,
Born of the pairs of opposites,
They worship me with firm resolve.

Who taking refuge in me, strive
For freedom all from age and death,
They know of Brahma, and the whole
Of Adhyatma, and Action all.

And they who know me with Adhibhuta,
And with Adhidaiva, and Adhiyajna,
With mind devoted unto Yoga,
They know me even at time of death.