Śrīmad bhagavad gītā | Raja–Vidya–Raja–Guhya yoga ~ Sarga 9 of 18

In the seventh and eighth chapters Lord Krishna described: 1) The paramount position of the Supreme Lord. 2) The various types of devotees of the Supreme Lord. 3) Bhakti or pure loving devotion as the only way to attain the Supreme Lord. 4) That atma tattva or soul realisation is a prerequisite for attaining the Supreme Lord. 5) Only the devotees who have achieved the above attain liberation and the Supreme Lord. 6) Those who lack sufficient knowledge and soul realisation are reborn again and again.

In this chapter Lord Krishna begins revealing confidential information about the Supreme Lord as well as the glory and extraordinary power of the devotees. Now in order to express the greatness of spiritual knowledge and to censure those in ignorance with little or no faith in Him; Lord Krishna uses the word anasuyave meaning to those without envy and duplicity He will reveal this guhyatamam or confidential knowledge. The wisdom of righteousness by which the atma or soul is known as distinct from the physical body which is even more confidential and the most confidential of all is knowledge about the Supreme Lord because such wisdom is only attained solely by pure, loving devotion which gives direct perception of the Supreme Lord in reality. Once this wisdom is incorporated into one’s everyday life experience, wisdom of the Supreme Lord, His method of worship and the daily regulated practice that follows such wisdom frees one from the dross and impurities o material existence and removes all the obstacles and things antagonistic to attaining the Supreme Lord Krishna.

Moreover this divine spiritual knowledge is raja-vidya or a sovereign science because it destroys all vestiges of nescience and it is raja-guhyam or a sovereign secret because it is unattainable to those who never practiced bhakti or pure loving devotion to Lord Krishna or any of His Vedically authorised avatar`s or incarnations and expansions even after thousands of lifetimes. Because without bhakti one can never receive His grace and without His mercy no one can ever escape samsara the perpetual cycle of birth death. Some scholars and logicians may argue that the words raja-vidya and raja-guhyam are grammatically wrong by Panini’s rule II.II.XXX that instructs that in a compound word the primary word which in this case is raja takes the secondary position. But the fact is according to the even more dominant rule of Panini’s II.II.XXXI which states that any form of the word rajan which means sovereign ruler or king should always occupy the first position and so consequently neutralises this argument. This divine spiritual knowledge is supremely sacred like expiatory vows which destroys manifold sins. The vestiges of sins destroyed from expiatory vows remain in their subtle forms and by their influence may induce one to commit gross sins again. But to the contrary this most sacred spiritual knowledge completely exterminates all sins in their gross and subtle forms which have been accumulating for thousands and thousands of lifetimes. So this divine spiritual knowledge is pavitram idam uttamam the topmost in purity and pratyaksavagamam directly realised. The Supreme Lord Krishna becomes the direct realisation of His devotees aspirations. This is attained by this divine spiritual knowledge imparted by a bonafide spiritual master in authorised discipic succession as revealed in the Vedic scriptures, who also instructs and imparts bhakti or pure, loving devotion for Lord Krishna which must be accompanying any effort as well. Such a one’s actions are never devoid of punya or piety and dharma or righteousness which are essential.

This divine and sacred spiritual knowledge is naturally virtuous also because it was able to be achieved as a result of selfless actions without attachment or desirous of rewards performed for thousands and thousands of lifetimes and because it is the indispensable means of reaching and attaining the Supreme Lord it is the paramount of all knowledge. Because of the nature of bhakti, the love one feels in their heart for the Supreme Lord makes it su-sukham kartum or very joyful and easy to perform without any difficulty. It is practiced by righteous determination and the conscious cultivation of the teachings of the Vedically bonafide spiritual master while simultaneously dedicating all activities to the Supreme Lord. It is also avvayam imperishable because it causes no demerits by non- committance caused by defective practice so its meritorious results are permanent and are not subject to being dissolved even after bestowing the ultimate reward of attaining the Supreme Lord.

The point may be brought up that if this divine and sacred spiritual knowledge is so excellent and so easy to perform and is the best means of attaining the highest good; then why isn’t everyone following this path and enthusiastically liberating themselves from the entrapment of samsara the perpetual cycle of birth and death? Lord Krishna uses the word asraddadhanah meaning absence of faith. People lacking in faith due to having a mentality tainted by incessant performance of innumerable sinful activities are averted to this divine spiritual knowledge magnanimously bequeathed by Lord Krishna. Unable to receive such divine wisdom and the inability to comprehend bhakti or pure loving devotion such persons feel inferior subconsciously and so although they strive for liberation by diverse concocted and speculative methods they have no success because of lack of faith and aversion to Lord Krishna. Lacking in devotion and full of selfish motives and insatiable desires such persons revolve from one birth to another again and again and again perpetually.

Lord Krishna has discussed this sacred spiritual knowledge which leads to Him by praising the merits of following it and stating the consequences incurred by not following it. Now He calls the attention of the listener by revealing that He pervades the sarvam jagad or complete material cosmic manifestation. How does He accomplish this? By dint of His unmanifest potency in the form of the brahman the spiritual substratum pervading all existence which is beyond the perception of the five senses. All beings movable and immovable reside within Lord Krishna who is the source of all creation. The Vedic scriptures declare that He is the atma or soul within which permeates all sentient beings and impels them to perform actions. Also Sahadeva’s statement in the Sabhaparva of the Mahabharata that the mind, intellect, cosmic intelligence, wind, fire, water, earth, ether and the four fold beings reside within the Supreme Lord Krishna. But where does He reside? He reveals that He is in each and very living entity as paramatma the supersoul and that He is the substratum of all beings; but none are His substratum for He is His own substratum and does not depend upon anything for residing and functioning. This is also confirmed in the Bhuma Vidya section of the Chandogya Upanisad VII.XXIV.I where it states that: On Earth people call the possession of cows, horses, elephants, gold, property, palaces etc. as greatness but the Supreme Lord does not think thus because clearly each thing is established upon another. In VII.XXV.I of the Chandogya Upanisad it states:That omnipresence is above and below and to the east and the west and the north and the south. Indeed it is the total material creation.

Nevertheless, as remarkable as it may seem, all created beings do not reside in the Supreme Lord like liquefied butter attached to ghee or clarified butter because it is stated so in the Vedic scriptures that the atma or soul is verily separate and not associated. So how can such contradiction be reconciled. Lord Krishna states: pasya me yogam aisvaram or behold my divine supernatural power which is extraordinarily phenomenal and which is beyond the scope of the human mind. So verily none can fathom the Supreme Lord even conceptually because He is factually beyond human conception. As for Him there is nothing beyond His scope because His divine supernatural power encompasses everything and is fully capable at all times in accomplishing the impossible and reconciling perfectly any contradictions. How can He who is bhuta-bhrt or the maintainer of all and He who is bhuta-bhavanah or the protector of all explain in what way existence is created? Lord Krishna states na bhuta-stah meaning He does all this without being associated with them. All this creation comes as a fiat of His will in the form of consciousness. This is corroborated in the Taittiriya Upanisad II.VI which states: He merely desired that there would be many and manifested creation.

Now Lord Krishna gives an example regarding the support and the supported and how they are seperatly existing without contact. Just as the wind is moving upwards, downwards and crosswise through the ether of infinite space; yet never attached to the ether or the space. In a similar way the Supreme Lord is also not subject to any attachments although all living entities movable and non-movable abide and function within Him. It should be understood that although He is the underlying maintainer and sustainer of all creation, He is free from any attachment to the incessantly changing transitory forms of material nature.

What Lord Krishna states in this verse concerning the cyclic coming and going of all beings is clear; but He must be either an instrumental cause or a material cause of all beings and how can this be? If He is an instrumental cause then He cannot be designated as the substratum of everything in existence like a potter making pots. Yet if He is the material cause being the substratum of all existence is impossible as well because merging oneself into all the forms of material nature creates something which only can revert back to its original condition only after the destruction of that which was created. In this way it could be assumed that all beings abiding within the Supreme Lord will merge with Him and again will be created after He transforms Himself and that would mean the Supreme Lord is subject to modification and attachment. To ward off this misunderstanding Lord Krishna states all beings movable and immovable are subject to prakritam yanti mamakam meaning all beings leave their forms and enter into the material substratum which is under His complete control. This happens during the final dissolution at the end of a life of Brahma and at the dawn of the next creation the Supreme Lord manifests them again into forms. Thus all beings are produced in and from prakriti which is manifested by the potency of the brahman or spiritual substratum pervading all existence which emanates directly from the Supreme Lord. They dwell in it and are manifested and unmanifested by it. So in this way all beings eside in Him. The power and the powerful can never be divided or function separately. To exemplify the inseparable nature of the two, the power and the powerful manifestation is expressed jointly as the powerful.

So the reality is the Supreme Lord is the material cause of all living entities by His potency of prakriti which does it for Him without His ever being subject to any modification or attachment. He is also the instrumental cause as well because He is the creator of all creators. So it is clear that the Supreme Lord is the cause of all causes which includes both the material cause and the instrumental cause. The material substratum known also as primordial matter is insentient and hence cannot be separated by material nature because the modification and transformations into its subdivisions of the three gunas or modes of goodness, passion and ignorance fully depend upon it for their activity but through all the processes the potency of the Supreme Lord is influencing all to act in the way prescribed.

Therefore there is no contradiction and it can be clearly understood that the Supreme Lord through His spiritual potency known as the brahman which manifests prakriti which is the material cause of all existence where unlimited myriad of diverse and variegated forms are seen to manifest. Yet although the Supreme Lord is the ultimate source of all beings He ever remains unattached and untainted by the qualities and attributes of insentient material nature both corporeal and subtle. This is because the Supreme Lord is the sovereign ruler of all including His phenomenal spiritual potencies which are beyond the realm of human thought and intellect.

Lord Krishna clarifies his position with the words prakritim svam avastabhya or reflecting upon His external energy the material substratum pervading all existence constituted of the three gunas being goodness, passion and ignorance. Although insentient, prakriti is fully competent to transform all the diverse and variegated beings as a total aggregate into their respective forms as designated by their karma or reactions to past life activities. The eight-fold principle transformations of conception, birth up to old age and death etc. are directed by the Supreme Lord and is manifested again and again after every dissolution of creation inclusive of all sentient beings being demigods, humans, animals and plants. None from the highest demigod to the lowest blade of grass are independent. They are all compelled to accept the form conscripted upon them due to their individual natures in accordance with the respective reactions derived from their previous activities .

When the Supreme Lord initiates such actions as creation which appears at times to be unequal and unbalanced how is it that He is not bound by these actions like the jivas or embodied beings. It is because He is udasinavad asinam or neutral and indifferent, because He is completely self-satisfied. What Lord Krishna is also indicating is that one who is self content is unattached to the results of actions while one with attachment to actions is bound by such attachment and must accept the subsequent reactions. If Lord Krishna was not neutrally disposed to all acts of creation, sustenance, preservation, dissolution, etc. then His doership could have some bias and not be equally justifiable for all. The adjective asaktam meaning unattached denotes that the Supreme Lord is complete and fulfilled in all respects.

The doubt may be raised that it seems impossible to perform actions as a doer while at the same time be indifferent to the actions. To dispel any doubt and remove any contradiction Lord Krishna states the compound word mayadhyaksena meaning as the superviser, controller or overseer of maya the illusory external energy brings forth prakriti the material substratum pervading physical existence which consists of all creation and all moving and non-moving living entities. The extent of His involvement is to keep the wheel of creation and transmigration of all living being enacting perpetually being created again and again continuously in cycles. So in this manner there is not even the slightest contradiction or necessity for doubt.

Lord Krishna is the supreme omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent controller of all. Although the source of all creation He is unattached to His creation while still being compassionate to all living entities. Why then does not everyone take the mercy of the Supreme Lord and attain moksa or liberation from the material existence. The words avajananti mam mudah means ignorant fools blaspheme the Supreme Lord. This is because due to accumulations of sins since time immemorial they become infatuated by their material designations and possessions and so deluded are unable to recognise the paramount position of the Supreme Lord Krishna or even achieve the association of His devotees. Such fools think the Supreme Lord is an ordinary human being because He appears to be human although factually He possesses an eternal transcendental, spiritual form which only appears human. These ignorant wretches deride and disrespect the Supreme Lord and refuse to accept Him as the Lord of the entire creation; at times even substituting their own inferior gods as the Supreme Lord without having the authoritative evidence to support such fallacious misrepresentations. Such deluded fools falsely think of Lord Krishna as they do any other person and thus are beguiled and bewildered by maya or illusory perceptions superimposed upon the mind.

The Supreme Lord Krishna is the original cause and source of everything in existence. He is the ultimate bestower of all rewards for all actions and the final beatitude for those who have attained moksa. All living entities and everything in creation emanate from Him first. The purpose of His divine appearances is exclusively for the benefit of mankind by protecting the righteous and annihilating the unrighteous.

Therefore due to disrespecting and deriding the Supreme Lord living entities incur great sin and demerits and becoming bereft of all righteousness they instead sink into demoniac activities hence becoming fit candidates for entering hell. Such negligent fools unconsciousness of their own best welfare never meditate on the Supreme Lord Krishna instead they hopelessly pursue temporary material rewards which they think their concocted gods will fulfil. They simply waste their time indulging in futile actions worshipping lesser gods in vain. Lessor because no god or even demi-god can bestow any benedictions without the sanction of the Supreme Lord and this is the factual reality. Because such beings disregard the Supreme Lord and even blaspheme Him, all there endeavours have no power to succeed as He is the ultimate bestower of all rewards.

The Brahma Sutra III.II.IIL states: From the Supreme Lord comes the fruit of actions for this is logical. So all of the knowledge of the foolish offenders who disregard and disrespect the Supreme Lord is in vain with no purpose because it has no connection to the Supreme Lord and has arisen out of the speculative concoctions of hypothetical philosophies and pseudo religions which is conclusively confirmed by the fact that they ignore or deny the paramount position of the Supreme Lord Krishna. Thus they have embraced beliefs which are false and degraded and sinking further and further into tamas or darkness they eventually become demoniac, performing heinous activities with thoughts of violence against other living beings for food, for power for dominion. Possessed by false ego, lust, arrogance, envy, violence and vindictiveness they become totally deluded and adverse to righteousness which is the actual purpose of human existence and human evolution and being so degraded they are adverse and antagonistic, belligerent and bellicose to the Supreme Lord. The consequences for such deluded behaviour will be specifically addressed later in chapter 16, verses XVIII to XX where Lord Krishna states that such sinful and degraded beings are cast into the wombs of lower and lower species of demoniac beings birth after birth.

Narada Muni states in the Sabhaparva section of Mahabharata: That those who do not worship the Supreme Lord Krishna should be considered as dead and one should not even converse with them. Prahlad states in the in the Vaman Purana: That one who is against Lord Krishna has no value in this world and all their knowledge, penance, hard work and efforts as well as fame are all fruitless and for naught. The Bhagavad Purana X.XXIII.XL states: Fie on our three births being seminal, by initiation and sacrificial. Fie upon our learning, fie upon our vows, fie upon our erudition, fie upon our noble birth, fie upon our expertise in rituals. Because becoming full of pride all theses activities have diverted us from true devotion to the Supreme Lord. The Skanda Purana also follows this theme by stating: One who is Lord Krishna’s devotee is the real performer of all righteous activities and one who is not Lord Krishna’s devotee is the performer of all sinful actions for a person who performs righteous acts without being a devotee of Lord Krishna still must go to hell.

Who then are those who are blessed and praiseworthy? Lord Krishna declares the mahatmanas or great souls whose hearts are not full of trivial, mundane desires. This is because all their sins have been eradicated by the multitudes of meritorious deeds performed in thousands of previous lifetimes and thus their hearts have been cleansed of all dross and impurities and they possess the divine nature which will be specifically explained later in verse one of chapter 16. These mahatmanas have naturally qualified themselves for contemplation and meditation on the ultimate absolute truth associated with the Supreme Lord. Thus knowing Lord Krishna as the original source of all beings and primal cause of all creation and understanding that He descends and incarnates in His eternal spiritual form to bless, please and protect His devotees; such great beings devoutly worship Him exclusively with heartfelt love in single focused attention.

Exactly in what manner do the mahatmanas or the great souls worship the Supreme Lord? The word satatam means always. Lord Krishna by the use of this word is emphasising that the mahatmanas are incessantly worshipping Him in all ways. Such devotees of Lord Krishna with choked up voices and tear filled eyes from ecstatic feelings of joy and love due to meditating upon His form and attributes within their hearts. Because Lord Krishna is extremely dear they always chant His holy names such as Keshava, Madhava, Vasudeva, Mukunda, Hari which are synonymous with Him specifically expressing His attributes and glories. These attributes and glories are described in Vedic literatures and devotional hymns and the Supreme Lord is worshipped through the chanting and singing of His glories, in propitiation and salutations, by offering humble obeisance’s and worship, enlightening one another and enacting His lilas or divine pastimes which are all factually the cause of His grace.

The purpose of life for the mahatmanas is to attain the Supreme Lord as their only goal and they bow down to Him always again and again upon the ground in temples and in courtyards, falling down outstretched like sticks with the eight parts of their body being the head, the two hands, the two feet, their heart, their intellect and their ego. Such great devotees are of firm resolve and so full of bhakti or loving devotion for Lord Krishna that they are unable to bear even the slightest separation from Him in their minds and action. It is also not possible for them to tolerate any kind of diversion or deviation in their devotional service to the Supreme Lord, rejecting even relatives and family members if they cause hindrances and disturbances.

The most excellent mahatmanas or great noble souls worship the Supreme Lord Krishna by jnana yagnena or propitiation by knowledge. Other mahatmanas chant His names and glories and also by propitiation of knowledge offering worship to Him in His universal cosmic form facing all directions in all locations as the all pervasive paramatma or supreme soul within all living entities. In the Chandogya Upanisad III.XIV.I it states: Verily the whole creation is brahman or the Supreme Lord’s spiritual substratum pervading all existence. Tranquilly one should worship it as the source from whence one came forth, as that source to where one will go hence and as that in which one breathes. All creation is verily the paramatma of the Supreme Lord Krishna. Everything is Lord Krishna, He is omnipresent, the highest person, the one and only Supreme Lord. He is realised as the universal cosmic form of all existence comprised of phenomenally unlimited variations of all animate and inanimate beings. The Katha Upanisad V.XIII states: The Supreme Lord who is constant among the inconstant, intelligent among intelligences, the one among the many, who grants desires. In the Brhadaranyaka Upanisad III.VII.II states: That he who dwells in the earth does not know whose body the Earth is or who controls the Earth from within is the atma or immortal soul, the inner monitor and controller. The Katha Upanisad V.X.XI states: As one wind has entered the world and becomes corresponding in form to every form, so the one inner atma of all things is corresponding in form to every form and yet is separate from them. As the sun which is the eye of the universe shining upon everything is not compromised by the external faults of the eyes; in the same way the immortal soul of all beings is not compromised by the evil manifesting in the world, being external to it. Thus the most excellent great souls worship the Supreme Lord Krishna as totally different from this universe comprised of animate and inanimate beings because although He is within all various diverse and variegated forms as paramatma He is completely unaffected by them.

Lord Krishna elaborates on the many aspects of His diversity in this verse and the next three. He states that He is Kratu or Vedic rituals, Yagna or Vedic offerings, Sraddha or Vedic oblations to the departed ancestors, asudham or the potency of the medicinal healing herb, the mantra or the sacred Sanskrit chant of invocation recited by duly bonafide Brahmins from one of the four authorised sampradayas or lines of disciplic succession. He is also aijam or ghee which is clarified butter exclusively from the cow which without no Vedic yagna can be authentically performed. He is the Ahavaniya fire which is ignited from the consecrated fire and He is the act of offering the oblations into the fire and the ritual itself.

Lord Krishna confirms that He is the sustainer of all creation and the actual impeller of all beings to create distinct from the seminal birth of parents. In this way He is the father, the mother and grandsire of all. He is the ultimate to be known and He the purifying sacred syllable OM His personal sound vibration and He is the sacred Rig, Sama and the Yajur Veda from where the Atharva Veda was extracted.

The Supreme Lord is the witness of all actions good and evil performed by beings. He is the refuge, the shelter offering protection and neutralising all evil influences. He is the imperishable root seed of all, the eternal well wisher the origin and source of all creation as well as the terminator of creation along with being the depository and resting place of all creation.

Lord Krishna explains that He radiates heat by the sun which condenses moisture over bodies of water and rises up and forms clouds which He sends forth as rains in abundance in springtime according to the seasons of every location on the Earth. He is amritam or immortality as the life force that appears at the conception of all living beings and which departs at the cessation of all living beings as such He is also myrtuh or death. He is all beings, manifested as matter and unmanifested as spirit. The understanding is that according to their qualifications the mahatmanas or great beings know Lord Krishna as the internal witness of all living entities and worship Him as the one supreme absolute truth or as a specific avatar or incarnation and expansion as revealed in the Vedic scriptures.

Previously Lord Krishna has illustrated the respective repercussions concerning the nature of the non-believers and the demoniac who are opposed to divinity and everything godly. Later it could be understood from that description that the Supreme Lord’s grace only flows to the mahatmanas or great beings who have dedicated themselves to incessantly acquiring knowledge about Him and are only interested in performing bhakti or loving devotion to Him. Now in this verse and the next He presents the rewards for those who are not devotees but are not opposed to divinity and who follow karma-kanda or performing meritorious actions for the sake of reaping heavenly rewards. Such votaries hankering for entry to Swargaloka or the celestial realms to enjoy exquisite heavenly delights worshipping the demigods as prescribed in the three Vedas. This is what is known as trai- vidya and applies to anyone who has self orientated motives for performing the injunctions of the Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda as well as the Atharva Veda. Such a person is devoted to performing Vedic rituals for personal gain and not as a spiritual practice as enjoined in the Upanisads and other Vedic scriptures. So they perform worship and adoration to Indra the chief of the demigods and other celestials even lesser than him by such rituals never realising that it is the Supreme Lord Krishna who alone sanctions whatever has been bequeathed. Still in consequence of being dedicated to performing Vedic rituals they become purged of all sins which are no longer an obstruction for entry into Swargaloka where they receive the full measure of their merits and are rewarded with heavenly pleasures and enjoyments until their accumulated merit has expired.

What happens after one has fully enjoyed heavenly delights exhausting all their merit? They must take birth again in the worlds of mortals and begin accumulating sufficient merit all over again by performing the same rituals prescribed in the Vedas for entering the celestial spheres to enjoy heavenly delights all due to motivation of desires. Again and again they must be imprisoned inside a mothers womb for nine months, lifetime after lifetime revolving in this cycle unceasingly because they hanker so much for heavenly pleasures. But when their merit is used up again they are in transition down to the cycle of birth and death and then back to heaven incessantly repeating the same process over and over.

It has been clearly established by Lord Krishna that those who perform Vedic rituals with self interest motives are unable to extricate themselves from samsara or the endless cycle of birth and death. Whereas the devotees of the Supreme Lord Krishna being completely free from self interest and ulterior motives accomplish the four goals of human existence artha or wealth, kama or pleasure, dharma or righteousness and moksa or liberation by the grace of the Supreme Lord Himself. The word ananyas meaning exclusive denotes that such devotees have no other goal than the Supreme Lord, thinking only of service to Him day and night with full heart and soul. But because they are so fully devoted to Him they sometimes fail to take care of the realities of the body, senses and mind and so in this case the Supreme Lord arranges for their maintenance Himself supplying the necessities they need to exist. He also protects them in all respects from any situation that may obstruct their attainment of Him before the end of their life.

The astute can perceive that if all the demigods comprise the Supreme Lord Krishna’s transcendental body and that He resides within each and every one of them as paramatma the Supreme Soul as He does in all sentient beings; then worship of them is indirect worship of Him and also that all the demigods devotees are indirectly the Supreme Lords devotees. So what is the cause of their falling into samsara the perpetual cycle of bith and death without cessation. Just as Lord Krishna’s devotees worship Him directly, the devotees of the demigods such as Surya and Indra worship them directly. But because Lord Krishna is Himself eternal He can award benedictions that are eternal such as moksa o liberarion from samsara. Contrarily the demigods themselves are not eternal so they cannot offer anything to their votaries that is eternal and hence everything bestowed by them has a time limit and after it has expired such votaries are forced back into samsara. In an unconscious, indirect way the devotees of the demigods are worshipping the Supreme Lord but they are not worshipping Him in accordance with the injunctions of the Vedic scriptures and so they are not entitled to receive eternal benedictions from Him as they are merely worshipping the demigods in accordance with the Vedic scriptures. The ignorant worship the demigods, lesser gods and even impersonal gods profusely without any reference to the Supreme Lord.

Oblivious to the reality that Lord Krishna is the Supreme Lord of All and that He exists omnipresent within and without all living entities; whatever ritual, ceremony or worship the ignorant embark upon for their fruitive desires has no real significance as there is no propitiation to the Supreme Lord and has no real meaning as it is devoid of knowledge of Him.

Now Lord Krishna explains the maximum rewards the worshippers of the demigods get and why it is avidi-puvakam or not in accordance with the ordinances of the Vedic scriptures. As the Supreme Lord is paramatma or the Supreme Soul within all the demigods and all living entities as well it is He who is the direct recipient of all the offerings and worship to them. He alone solely bestows the rewards of propitiation and worship back down through the demigods to which it was offered who after taking their share offer it to their votaries. Those who are motivated by selfish desires are devoid of bhakti or loving devotional service and have no possibility of knowing the Supreme Lord. For their efforts the worshippers of the demigods eventually ascend to the heavenly planets where at the exhaustion of their merit they fall back down to the worlds of mortals by the descending path of dhumah or smoke as directed by a demigod from Pitriloka the realm of the forefathers. But those who worship the Supreme Lord Krishna or any of His authorised incarnations and expansions as revealed in Vedic scriptures never return to material existence and the world of mortals.

The question may arise that since the votaries of the demigods fall continuously back into samsara the cycle of birth and death then why did Lord Krishna advocate the worship of the demigods as He did in earlier in chapter 3, verses 10 and 11. In this regard it should be clarified that Lord Krishna did not state that worship of the demigods has no value at all but that worship of the demigods has no permanent value as the demigods themselves are not eternal. But it should be understood that one receives the merit and reward in accordance to what their object of worship is qualified to bestow. The adorers and worshippers of the Supreme Lord have a preponderance of sattva guna the mode of goodness. The propitiators of ceremonies for the ancestors have a preponderance of raja guna or the mode of passion and the ritualistic panderers of the demons, ghosts and spirits have a preponderance of tama guna or the mode of ignorance. All these worshippers if successful in their propitiation are bequeathed with the rewards sought after by their respective object of worship achieving their realm, in close proximity and association sharing all the delights offered there until one has exhausted their merit where they fall back into samsara. But the devotees of the Supreme Lord Krishna having an extreme preponderance of bhakti or loving devotion are endowed with pious virtues possessing all good qualities and as such they attain the Supreme Lord Himself, Lord of lords, God of gods who is beyond birth and death. Full of innumerable transcendental qualities and attributes like eternal existence, infinite knowledge and immeasurable bliss. The purport is that Lord Krishna’s devotees knowing Him to be the are endowed with a nature exclusively devoted to Him are untouched by actions of duality and ignorance and are totally different from the devotees of other gods.

Here it can be discerned that unlike the deities of other gods who need extensive exertion and effort to gain their benedictions, the devotees of Lord Krishna feel perfectly at ease in worshipping Him. This is what He is indicating by the words me bhaktya prayacchati meaning offering to Him with loving devotion. Even if one of sinless mind and pure heart fully focusing on the Supreme Lord offers Him something that is obtained without effort such as water or even a leaf or flower; if it is imbued with devotion it is sanctified and the Supreme Lord, who is the fully content and cognisant controller of the entire creation indecipherable by Brahma and Shiva, becomes pleased and indeed He feels indebted to such a devotee. The Narayaniya section of Mahabharata states: Brahma, Shiva, the demigods, other gods, the Daityas, Danavas, Raksasas, Asuras, celestial sages, the Nagas, Garuda, Gandharvas, Siddhas and royal sages that whatever oblations either sacrificial or ancestral all ends up automatically at the feet of the Supreme Lord. But whatever action is performed with bhakti or exclusive loving devotion to Him, He accepts with the utmost appreciative and affectionate love.

How wonderful and marvellous is the Supreme Lord Krishna’s relationship with His devotee. That He the Supreme independent autocrat of all existence, the absolute controller of all creation will accept and enjoy the most simple things like a leaf or flower and He accepts it wholeheartedly. Now it should be made clear what is this rare quality possessed by His devotees that gives them the privilege of becoming His devotee. In answer to this Lord Krishna emphasises with the words yat, yad and yaj meaning whatever and whichever. In other words all that one does in accordance with the regulations and injunctions of the Vedic scriptures whether they are natural or prescribed, whatever is eaten, whatever is prayed for, whatever is performed as a daily obligatory rite or an occasional special ritual, everything should done as an offering to the Supreme Lord. The conclusion is the rare qualification to become a devotee to Lord Krishna is that they completely surrender themselves totally to Him including all sense of doership. Dedicating their lives to Him as the means and the goal the ultimate attainment they are resolute in the understanding that He is the absolute controller of every action that manifests in all of creation and the sole rewarder of all karma or reactions to actions in this life, the next life and all future lives. So with this clear comprehension fully understood they devote themselves to bhakti or exclusive loving devotion dedicating everything to Him.

Behaving in this manner of offering everything in devotion to the Supreme Lord Krishna including the doership of all actions with one’s mind fully established in the renunciation of yoga or the individual consciousness attaining communion with the ultimate consciousness, one will be freed from the bonds of karma or reactions from actions both good and evil that the whole material creation is subjected to. This is because by surrendering and dedicating all actions to the Supreme Lord all karma is neutralised as has no longer any power to cause any effects whatsoever and thus released from the clutches of reactions one will achieve exemption from samsara the perpetual cycle o birth and death and attain the association of the Supreme Lord in the eternal spiritual worlds.

The doubt may arise that if the Supreme Lord only guides His devotees towards atma-tattva or soul realisation and shuns those who are not His devotee then He is influenced by attraction and repulsion also and cannot be justified to be the impartial Supreme Lord of all. To mitigate this doubt Lord Krishna states samo’ham sarva-bhutesu meaning He is equal to all beings, due to the fact that He is paramatma or the Supreme Soul residing within all beings which includes divine beings, humans, animal, plant, bird and fish each characterised with the innate qualities of their species graded by best, normal and mediocre none being more disagreeable or more agreeable to Him. Whenever bhakti or loving devotion is offered to Him from whatever level of society He accepts. He is not degraded if worshipped by one from the lowest position of society neither is He upgraded if worshipped by one from the highest position in society. Such external considerations are not of importance. Whoever worships Him with bhakti from any class be it high or low He reciprocates in communion with them and they are never seperated from Him. Just like Gajendra who was an only an elephant prayed to the Supreme Lord and was rescued by Him. The Sabari who were simple forest women who seeing His footprints in the forest smeared the dust from them on their bodies and experienced bliss. Guha the tribal king who rendered service to Rama and became His friend. The hero Hanuman who although a monkey was able to aid Rama in finding Sita and became endeared to Him eternally. All these were lowly class yet they still received the Supreme Lords sublime mercy. Contrarily Bhishma, Srutadeva, Bahulasva, the Pandavas being Yudhisthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva all belonged to the highest class and being devoted to the Supreme Lord received His sublime mercy.

The Supreme Lord Krishna blesses His devotees equally regardless of class or position but to the envious like Duryodhana and the non-believers who are not His devotees He is neutral and they do not receive His blessings. So there is no partiality and contingency of inequality on the part of the Supreme Lord. As fire gives heat and light to whoever comes near to it, as wish fulfilling trees fulfil the desires of whoever sits beneath them and neither are liable to partiality or inequality to those who do not approach them. In the same way the Supreme Lord’s extending His grace to His devotees who have approached Him does not exemplify partiality. In Srimad Bhagavatam X.LXXII.VI it is declared by Emperor Yudhisthira that: As Lord Krishna is the brahman or spiritual substratum pervading all existence, the absolute truth, paramatma the supreme soul within all sentient beings, who experiences self bliss and beholds all with an equal eye; with Him there is no difference of feeling between one form and another. Just like the heavenly desire trees, He blesses all who properly worship Him granting their desired rewards according to the service they render unto Him. There is no contradiction in doing this.

Lord Krishna expounds upon the wonderful position of His devotee emphasising it with the words api cet suduracaro bhajate mam meaning even if a person of extremely abominable habits worships Him exclusively they are laudable. The devotees of Lord Krishna can never be abominable sinners but if some how or other they took birth in a low caste or even out of caste due to sinful reactions such as blaspheming the Vedic scriptures in a previous life; or even if born in a higher caste from righteous family one deviates from righteous conduct as prescribed for their caste and instead lives a life of debauchery due to making offences against devotees in a previous life. Both are equally unfit to be considered pious yet if in spite of this they worship the Supreme Lord exclusively then they are praiseworthy. One who is even more sinful then the two aforesaid mentioned who has incurred great sins such as eating food before offering it unto the Supreme Lord, who eats grains on Ekadasi the 11th day before the new and full moons, who is a liar and who is ungrateful is designated as the vilest of sinners. If such a person receiving the mercy of a devotee has a change of heart and excluding the worship of any other god, devotes themselves to worshipping the Supreme Lord, exclusively surrendering to Him, who is endowed with all possibilities, who is the supplier of all needs and the protector of all, who is the sole objective and goal for those who have achieved moksa or liberation from material existence. Who is the repository for everyone, the goal and the source of all life; such a being should be considered venerable as the jnani stated earlier in VII.XVI who consider the Supreme Lord as the sole goal because they also are absolute devotees of correct resolve. The absolute devotee worshipping the Supreme Lord exclusively does not desire any rewards for such service except to have communion with Him is the best of the best. The absolute devotee has come to the irrevocable resolve that surrender to the Supreme Lord Krishna, the origin of all creation, the source of all sentient beings, the objective of the Upanisads, the beloved of the gopi’s and the hope of the liberated beings. This surrender applies to any of His authorised incarnations and expansions as well asn is the only object of attainment and that worship of Him can only be performed through the authority of the Vedic scriptures under the guidance of a spiritual preceptor from one of the four bonafide sampradaya’s empowered spiritual line of disciplic succession. The particle api cet meaning even if denotes all possibilities according to Panini’s rule I.IV.LXXXXVI.

The understanding is that even if due to excessive sinful activities a person was unfit for inclusion of conduct worthy of Vedic piety and suffered a demotion and downfall; the Supreme Lord being a ocean of all auspicious attributes like compassion, forgiveness, kindness and affection graced such a person with a human birth and association with the spiritual preceptor to guide such a person back to absolute devotion for the Supreme Lord. Compassion is the Supreme Lord’s nature and thus naturally we depend fully upon His compassionate nature. Such a person realises that the Supreme Lord Himself caused them to perceive the atma or soul as totally under His control and to be separate from the physical body and senses. Thus made aware that one is His absolute devotee by the grace of the spiritual preceptor one becomes very grateful and humble. Therefore immensely appreciating His mercy it is their prime duty to serve the spiritual preceptor wholeheartedly and worship the Supreme Lord who is an ocean of boundless mercy life after life. This is the unparalleled firm resolve of the absolute devotee.

By the undeviating determination and firm resolve of one’s own will power abandoning forever all sinful and unrighteous conduct one swiftly becomes virtuous, endowed with the auspicious qualities that are naturally found in the devotees of Lord Krishna such as humility and compassion and as such gradually attains everlasting peace with moksa or liberation from material existence and soon joins the Supreme Lords associates. Normally such sinful and unrighteous conduct embarked upon previously would disqualify one from peaceful existence and bring ruin to one’s life in this world and the next. But such is not the case for Lord Krishna’s devotee and to emphasise this He encourages Arjuna to be assured with the words kaunteya pratijanahi na me bhakta pranasyati meaning declare it boldly that Lord Krishna’s devotee never comes to ruin.

The understanding is that the absolute devotee who has unflinching faith in the Supreme Lord Krishna never comes to ruin even if previously engaged in unrighteous conduct and bereft of all good qualities. Lord Krishna the Supreme Personality, the Supreme Controller, the Supreme Absolute Truth, who possesses an ocean of infinite auspicious attributes such as compassion, tolerance, forgiveness, affection and who is by nature extremely kind towards simple devotees whose only refuge is Him. Others who are not His devotee never attain Him but fall into the clutches of the servants of Yamaraj the demigod in charge of the realm of death to revolve endlessly in samsara the perpetual cycle of bith and death. But the devotees of Lord Krishna never fall into the clutches of the servants of Yamaraj and consequently are not subjected to the bondage of samsara. There are so many examples of the later in the Vedic scriptures such as the sinful Ajamila who at the moment of death called out his sons name Narayana and being the name of an expansion of Lord Krishna was instantly saved from the servants of Yamaraj sent to collect him. The elephant Gagendra who was being devoured alive by a ferocious crocodile when remembering Vishnu another expansion of Lord Krishna was saved from death. The hunter Valmiki whose mountain of sins was so high that he was unable to chant any of Lord Krishna’s names so his guru Narada Muni had him chant Mara the name for water which is the name of Rama pronounced in reverse which purified his existence saving him from the servants of Yamaraj and enabling him to write the original Ramayana. The coutesan Cintamani who renounced her profession and chanting the holy names of Lord Krishna was saved as well. It is revealed in the Vedic scriptures that Yamaraj the fearsome lord of the realm of death carefully instructs his servants to never apprehend the Vaisnava devotees of Lord Krishna at their moment of death as they have a different destination then hell so his servants should stay far away from them. Yamaraj has jurisdiction over all mortals accept the Vaisnava devotees of Lord Krishna who chant His name incessantly and are surrendered totally to Him.

The Sattvata scriptures states that one whose conduct was previously unrighteous, who never offered anything to the Supreme Lord, who had abominable habits, who was ungrateful and cruel; but who eventually takes complete shelter of the Supreme Lord worshipping Him exclusively- Such a person is to be considered venerable due to the blessings of the Supreme Lord power. The Vaisnava Dharmottara states: Even though the devotees of Lord Krishna may have been previously inclined to committing great sins, as soon as they became His devotee they were relieved of all reactions to all previous actions like a lotus taken from water. As a chronic disease dissolves away as soon as one receives proper medical treatment from a physician. In the same way the enormous mountain of reactions to sinful activities are all dissolved as soon as one surrenders to the spiritual preceptor in one of the four authorised channels of disciplic succession taking complete shelter of Lord Krishna or any of His authorised expansions or incarnations. Thus it has been clearly elucidated that Lord Krishna’s devotee are never subjected to inauspicious situations and circumstances.

It has been established that bhakti or loving devotion to Lord Krishna exclusively purifies a devotee of the blemish of heinous and abominable practices due to unrighteous character and habits and that bhakti alone is capable of leading such a one directly to the supreme destination of the spiritual worlds and into Supreme Lords eternal association. Now Lord Krishna enumerates on this supreme destination even being accessible to those who are unworthy due to circumstances of birth. This includes those of vile birth such as untouchables, mleechas or meateaters, those born illegitimately, those without education, vaisyas or the mercantile class which is situated below women and above sudras which is the menial class. All these lack the qualification for Vedic knowledge and thus destitute of righteous conduct are only eligible to exist on the lowest path of existence; but if they somehow or other receive the mercy of a devotee of Lord Krishna. By this mercy taking sole refuge in the Supreme Lord then they also will verily reach the Supreme destination as well.

After having explained the position of the lowly and unfortuante Lord Krishna follows the line of thought of how much more assured is the supreme destination attainable by the higher members of society like the Brahmins and Vaisnavas who are noble and righteous. If those of low birth and demerits can attain the supreme destination then how much more can those of high birth and much merit including the royal sages who are the best of the ksatriyas or warrior class as well as the seekers of truth. This goes without question. Therefore it has been clearly and irrrefutably established that bhakti or loving devotion to Lord Krishna is only means to rehabilitate a fallen human being and the only absolute way to accomplish the attainment of the supreme destination of the eternal spiritual worlds in association with the Supreme Lord. Until having attained this the spiritually intelligent should renounce all temporary and transient illusions of happiness in this asukham or miserable world we live in. Why is this world miserable? It is because we are bound to the three fold miseries of old age, disease and death. The only escape from this misery is taking complete refuge of Lord Krishna under the guidance of the bonafide spiritual preceptor from one of the four authorised channels of disciplic succession as revealed in Vedic scriptures. Worshipping and propitiating only Him each and everyday of one’s life and succeed to the Supreme destination without hindrance. Otherwise the blessing of birth in a high family, meritorious deeds, education etc. serve absolutely no purpose if they are not used in the loving service of the Supreme Lord.

Concluding this chapter Lord Krishna reveals a concise and direct form of worship that is possible for anyone. He begins with man manas meaning to focus one’s consciousness upon Lord Krishna, the Supreme Being, the Ultimate Reality, the Supreme Controller, the Omniscient, the Omnipotent, the all pervading One. Overflowing with all auspicious attributes, devoid of any defect, of indomitable will, the sole refuge for all, the veritable source, origin and cause of all creation, who is always of fulfilled desires, who bestows benedictions upon His devotees, and removes all their defects. Whose transcendental form is the embodiment of eternity, endless knowledge and unlimited bliss as well as many other captivating qualities such as beauty, compassion, charm and sweetness. Who is able to attract the minds of the deep meditaters as well as capture the minds of even the muktas or liberated beings and becomes their sole object of meditation thereafter.

One should endow their consciousness to flow incessantly to Lord Krishna an ocean of mercy like the continuous flow of the river Ganga flows incessantly to the ocean. This should be done with the same intensity and delight that a sensuous person has while enjoying sensual pleasures. If this is too difficult and one is unable to detach the mind from the innumerable objects seen, heard and experienced then Lord Krishna suggests mad bhakto or worship Him in loving devotion. This means to perform actions of propitiation in the mood of bhakti or loving devotion to the Supreme Lord. In the Vedic scriptures it was told: O Narada whatever act of worship is enjoined in the Vedic scriptures regarding Lord Krishna or any of His authorised incarnations and expansions known as avatars should be enthusiastically performed as these very actions initiate the process to a relationship of loving devotion with the Supreme Lord. Worshipping the Supreme Lord Krishna, being devoted to His worship, adoring His Vedically installed deity form every day once, twice, thrice or many times with Tulasi leaves, pushpa or various fragrant flowers, dhupa or incense, dhipa or ghee lamps, mala or flower garlands, beautiful apparel and ornaments, offering bhoga or vegetarian foods of milk products, fruits, grains and vegetables, chanting His names, singing His praises, revealing His glories. Fasting twice monthly on the sacred days of Ekadasi the 11th day before the new moon and full moon and fulfilling the Ekadasi vow of refraining from all beans and grains for this day and if possible keeping awake all night in the ecstasy of communion with Lord Krishna. Celebrating His appearance days with festivals according to one’s means and availability of funds. Acting out His glorious pastimes for others to see. The feeding of guests from the food offered to Lord Krishna which is called mahapradam. The playing of musical instruments in accompaniment to singing His names and dancing in joy before His installed deity form. Then to finalise all offerings and accomplish the completion of all propitiation one should namaskuru or prostrate themselves fully in humble homage with mind, speech and body before the installed deity form of Lord Krishna or any of His authorised incarnations and expansions. The act of namaskuru effectively neutralises any vestiges of egotism which could manifest as pride or pratistha which is subtle desire for recognition from performing such wonderful activities to the Supreme Lord. One should abandon the feeling of pride and renounce the desire of recognition by dedicating all actions and thoughts to the Supreme Lord and surrender them to the spiritual master in disciplic succession to offer to the Supreme Lord.

The greatness of namaskuru or prostrating the full body in humble hommage before the Supreme Lord in humble obeisance is explained by Prahlad in theVamana Purana stating: Properly bowing down to Vishnu or Sadashiva who both destroy the ocean of material existence one does not return to samsara the cycle of birth and death. In the Vaisnava Dharma is stated: My devotee even though only speaking the words: I bow down to the Supreme Lord with devotion and faith, attains the supreme destination. When one has achieved the stage of lovingly performing propitiation and worship of Lord Krishna in their life it is very easy to fix their consciousness upon Him. In this way uniting the consciousness with Him in complete communion, depending totally on Him exclusively, renouncing all other efforts and endeavours one shall assuredly attain His eternal association in the eternal spiritual worlds in one’s individual spiritual body without a doubt.

I take complete and unconditional shelter of the Supreme Lord Krishna’s devotion with its confidential instruction and the phenomenal potency of the power of bhakti or exclusive loving devotion.