Bhagavad Gita (9)

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CHAPTER 9ROYAL KNOWLEDGE AND THE

KING OF SECRETS(Rajavidya Rajaguhya Yoga)"I accept with joy whatever I am offered in true devotion :fruit or water, leaf or flower.The gift is love, the dedication of your heart."1-2.

"Since you are so receptive, Arjuna, I will now reveal the most

mysterious and profound secret. Having this knowledge will liberate you

from the sorrows of worldly existence. This is the royal road of

ultimate knowledge, the king of secrets - knowledge of both the visible

and invisible Godhead. This is purifying knowledge, fully in accord

with dharma (truth-based living). It is easy to practice and a joy to hold. Once you know this secret you cannot lose it.3.

"But those who lack faith in this doctrine will fail to find Me. To

cynical people with trifling objections this secret is a closed book;

they are compelled to return to the cycle of death and rebirth."THE DIVINE MYSTERY UNVEILED4-6.

"I, Brahman, the Supreme Godhead, in My unmanifested (invisible) form,

pervade everything and every creature in the universe. I am the origin

of everything that is and is not. All beings in all the worlds exist,

in spirit, within Me and depend on Me. But I do not abide in them

because that would limit Me. This is the divine mystery of Me as the

unmanifested Godhead. I am never confined, attached, changed, or in any

way limited. As birds fly across the sky leaving no trace, I, like the

sky, am ever Myself, unaffected by anything of the phenomenal world.7.

"At the end of a kalpa, a cosmic day of Brahma (consisting of a full

cycle of earthly eons, billions of years), all beings dissolve into My

unmanifested matter, which at that point is the seed of their next

coming to be. Then, at the beginning of the next cycle I generate them

again, sending them onward at the moment of creation.8. "Again

and again I animate nature to bring forth this multitude of forms and

beings, infusing spirit into their matter and subjecting all to the

laws of their own nature.9. "None of these actions in any way

binds Me, Arjuna. I remain unattached and unconcerned, indifferent to

the fruits of these actions. Nature, because of its proximity to

Divinity, carries on the activities of creation.10. "Under My

watchful eye the laws of nature take their course. With Me presiding

over the proceedings, the animate and inanimate manifest and the wheel

of the world is set revolving.11. "People who are unaware of My

transcendent majesty cannot relate to Me. They do not know that I am

their very soul. They disregard Me when I come to the world clad in a

body and relate to Me as just an ordinary mortal.12. "Their

ignorance makes their lives fraught with pain and disaster. The selfish

ones, their minds ever agitated and never in peace, lead a hurtful

life. The slothful ones live a lazy life of ignorance, seeking only to

satisfy their bodily needs. All hopes and actions of these ignorant

souls are in vain.13-14. "But the great souls (mahatmas)

are different. Guided by their more divine nature and knowing My true

nature, they love Me and offer constant devotion to Me - and they bear

great love for all others."As the mind takes on the coloring of

that which it constantly glorifies, these people, steadfastly revering

Me and always absorbed in Me (God), literally become this love. They turn godlike and eventually merge in Me.15.

"Other great souls, those on the path of knowledge, venerate Me as the

one God in the many. They have come to know that My attributes and

forms are inexhaustible. They see My million faces in everyone and

everything. To them all things and all beings in the universe are

aspects of this one Self, God.16. "Because I am endless, the

variety of ways I am adored is endless. I am the rites and rituals of

the scriptures. I am the offerings made to the ancestors. I am the food

that is medicinal and nourishing. I am the formative thought behind the

chanted hymn (mantra). I am the gift offered into the fire; I am even the flame itself that consumes the offering."Apart

from Me, Arjuna, there is absolutely no thought, no object, and no act.

Holding this huge idea constantly in your awareness is indeed the way

to reach Me.17. "I am the father, mother, and grandfather of

this universe. I am the one who dispenses the fruits of people's

actions, their karma. I am

the one thing worth knowing, and I am the enabler of all knowing. As

water gets purified by filtering through earth, and other things get

purified by being washed in water, mankind gets purified by contact

with Me. I am the syllable Om, the very sound of Divinity. I am all the scriptures ever written.18.

"I am the goal at the end of all paths. I am the landlord of all

creation. I am the inner witness in every human. I am your only lasting

shelter; all beings dwell in Me. I am your best friend who lives in

your heart as your conscience. I am the beginning of creation, the

well-wisher of it, and the dissolution of it. I am the storehouse into

which all life returns when creation dissolves - and I am the

everlasting, imperishable seed from which it again springs.19.

"I give the heat of the sun. I let loose the food-giving rain, and I

withhold it. I am both immortality and death (doled out based on the

fruits of one's actions). I am both being and nonbeing. In My visible

form I am the cosmos; in My invisible form I am the germ that lies

hidden."HUMANITY GETS WHAT IT SEEKS20-21.

"Those who follow rituals and refrain from bad deeds, who offer worship

and pray for heaven - they eventually reach those heavenly planes and

share in celestial pleasures. But when the merits they earned in life

are spent, they return to this world for yet another birth-death cycle.

Caught by their own attachment to enjoyment, even the joy of heaven,

they continue to come and go."Now listen carefully, Arjuna,

this is the king of secrets, the crown jewel, the law of life at the

spiritual level. If you think of Me only and constantly revere and

worship Me with your mind and heart undistracted, I will personally

carry the burden of your welfare; I will provide for your needs and

safeguard what has already been provided."Just as the baby in

the womb gets protection and nourishment due to its connection with the

mother, humans also get refuge when connected with Me. But this is even

greater than the baby-mother relationship because this shelter is for

eternity!23-24. "Those who faithfully make offerings to

other deities are really worshiping Me,though by a more limited path.

I, the Divinity in all, am the receiver and enjoyer of all offerings,

all worship, all devotion. Minor gods give those who pray to them

things of the world that only entangle them more in the earthly. I

alone have the power to fulfill people's prayers without snarling them

in attachments. I do this to increase their devotion and further their

spiritual development.25. "Those who worship minor gods go to the gods they pray to. Those who worship their ancestors (manes) are reunited with them after death. Those who worship elemental spirits (bhutas) become like them. All these only add to earthly attachments. But those who worship Me come to Me, the Supreme Reality.26.

"I accept with joy whatever I am offered in true devotion; fruit or

water, leaf or flower. The gift is love, the dedication of your heart.

Devotion alone gains access to Divinity.27. "Therefore, Arjuna,

whatever you do in the world, whatever you eat, sacrifice, give up, or

give away - even your suffering - offer it all to Me. Dedicate

everything to Me, Divinity.28. "By offering all your actions to the Divine you surrender selfish attachment to their fruits, and this frees you from the karmic

consequences of your actions - whether the consequences are pleasant or

painful. With your mind unshakably on this path of renunciation you

will be united with Me.29. "I am equally present in all beings

and show the same face to all creation; none are favored, none are

hateful, and none dear. But those who love Me with brimming heart

become absorbed in Me, and as they dwell in Me, I am revealed dwelling

within them.30-31. "I dwell even in the misguided. Know,

Arjuna, that the change from profligacy to purity is not uncommon. If a

person soiled with the wayward actions of a lifetime but turns to Me in

utter devotion, I see no sinner. Newfound dedication can quickly

refashion one's nature. Know this for certain : no one devoted to Me

falls!32. "Everyone who takes refuge in Me, whatever their

birth, gender, or position in society will attain the supreme goal of

merging into Me. This is true even for those whom society may scorn or

consider to be ineligible (women in some cultures, for example, or

lower classes in others). There is no such thing as a sinful or wicked

birth. Where there is a hurricane of love in the mind and heart all human distinctions vanish.33-34.

"You have found yourself born into this transient and joyless world,

Arjuna, so turn from it and take delight in Me. Give all your love to

Me. Adore Me, the One Divine. Make all your acts an offering. Surrender

to Me. Make Divinity your fondest ideal and highest goal. Set your

heart and mind on Me as I here prescribe, and you will indeed enter

into My very being."(From : The Bhagavad Gita (A Walkthrough for Westerners) by Jack Hawley)Copyright reserved by author Visit : Sai Divine Inspirations : http://saidivineinspirations.blogspot.com/ Sai Messages : http://saimessages.blogspot.com/ Love Is My Form : http://loveismyform.blogspot.com/