Chapter Nine
This chapter praises Krishna as the Supreme Being who has created the world and dwells immanent in his creation. Krishna’s exalted nature is stressed, and warning is given to those who think that God is limited to his creation. It is true that Krishna has taken on a human form, but those who see only a limited human being and show him disrespect are courting great spiritual harm. These verses contain a warning for those who would underestimate Krishna’s divine power.
In this chapter Krishna replaces the many gods and goddesses of the usual Hindu pantheon, each of which represents a different divine power; here Krishna is seen as containing within himself all such powers. It is Krishna and Krishna alone who is to be worshipped: he is the goal, the support, the only refuge, the one true friend; he is the beginning and the end (9:18).
It follows that those who practice a ritual religion, offering the ritual sacrifices ordained by the Vedas, do not attain the true goal of their lives. True, they do enjoy heaven after death. But when their store of merit is used up, they are born again in order to have another chance at turning away from personal gain and aiming at life’s supreme goal. So long as they are motivated only by self-centered desires they must be born again and again, and their spiritual evolution either stands still or they make very little progress.
Even these souls, however, are really worshipping Krishna, though they do not know it. They seek Krishna, the Supreme Being, in all their wanderings through many, many lives and even in their sojourns in heaven, where they enjoy the reward of their good deeds. Because they do not know his real nature, however, they will not attain the goal, but will be reborn.
An endless round of rebirths may seem like a living damnation of the struggling soul – a harsh note that would be uncharacteristic of the Gita. But this is not a question of damnation. The purpose of life is to realize God, and until this is done, the soul cannot escape creating more karma which has to be worked out, however many lives it might take. The choice to turn toward Self-realization is always open.
The Gita does not dwell on the obstacles, however, but quickly goes on to reveal Krishna’s more compassionate nature. It makes the point that whatever a person deeply desires – whatever he or she worships – will eventually be attained, in some life or other. In particular, to have real, selfless love, regardless of the object, is to love Krishna, the ultimate good. This kind of love, called bhakti, is far more potent than observances and rituals – a point the Gita is slowly revealing. But to have this devotion without understanding Krishna’s nature is not enough. In the end, to attain his goal, Arjuna must have devotion and understand it is Krishna’s universal aspect that he loves. Then he will truly attain the eternal, immortal state.
This chapter contains a famous and very popular series of verses:
Whatever you do, make it an offering to me – the food you eat, the sacrifices you make, the help you give, even your suffering. In this way you will be freed from the bondage of karma, and from its results both pleasant and painful. (9:27–28)
Krishna accepts every offering made to him in the right spirit; he assures Arjuna of this. Then he demands that Arjuna make everything – every act, every meal, every sacrifice, every gift, even his sufferings – an offering to God. He demands this so that Arjuna can be released from the bondage of karma. This is a new emphasis, a new way. If Arjuna can live in complete union with Krishna’s will, doing everything for Krishna alone, then by that very purity of will he will be free from selfish motives and thus released from karma. His spirit will be free, and he will attain his goal of mystic union with Krishna.
Krishna declares that he is impartial to all creatures: he neither favors nor rejects anyone. It is their sincere love that is important. Those who are truly devoted to Krishna live in him, and he abides in them. With some daring, probably at the risk of discomfort to the more orthodox, Krishna adds that even a sinner who takes wholehearted refuge in him becomes good. The word used is sadhu, which literally means a good person but has come to signify one who leads the spiritual life, giving up all selfish desires to achieve the final goal. The word for sinner, sudurachara, should not be passed by either. Su is literally “good”; dur is “bad”: thus “one whose conduct is really bad,” as we might say “good and hot” to mean really hot.
Krishna promises that his devotees must attain peace at last. No one who has genuine love and devotion can perish. The meaning here is taken to be “perish” in a spiritual sense, come to spiritual harm. The message of this chapter is simple. It contains no philosophy and only a little theology. The one message is: anyone who has real love, love for the Lord of Love who is in all creatures, will in the end attain the goal. This is the royal secret that Krishna had promised to reveal. –D.M.
9: The Royal Path
KRISHNA
1 Because of your faith, I shall tell you the most profound of secrets: obtaining both jnana and vijnana, you will be free from all evil.
2 This royal knowledge, this royal secret, is the greatest purifier. Righteous and imperishable, it is a joy to practice and can be directly experienced. 3 But those who have no faith in the supreme law of life do not find me, Arjuna. They return to the world, passing from death to death.
4 I pervade the entire universe in my unmanifested form. All creatures find their existence in me, but I am not limited by them. 5 Behold my divine mystery! These creatures do not really dwell in me, and though I bring them forth and support them, I am not confined within them. 6 They move in me as the winds move in every direction in space.
7 At the end of the eon these creatures return to unmanifested matter; at the beginning of the next cycle I send them forth again. 8 Controlling my prakriti, again and again I bring forth these myriad forms and subject them to the laws of prakriti. 9 None of these actions binds me, Arjuna. I am unattached to them, so they do not disturb my nature.
10 Under my watchful eye the laws of nature take their course. Thus is the world set in motion; thus the animate and the inanimate are created.
11 The immature do not look beyond physical appearances to see my true nature as the Lord of all creation. 12 The knowledge of such deluded people is empty; their lives are fraught with disaster and evil, and their work and hopes are all in vain.
13 But truly great souls seek my divine nature. They worship me with a one-pointed mind, having realized that I am the eternal source of all. 14 Constantly striving, they make firm their resolve and worship me without wavering. Full of devotion, they sing of my divine glory.
15 Others follow the path of jnana, spiritual wisdom. They see that where there is One, that One is me; where there are many, all are me; they see my face everywhere.
16 I am the ritual and the sacrifice; I am true medicine and the mantram. I am the offering and the fire which consumes it, and the one to whom it is offered.
17 I am the father and mother of this universe, and its grandfather too; I am its entire support. I am the sum of all knowledge, the purifier, the syllable Om; I am the sacred scriptures, the Rig, Yajur, and Sama Vedas.
18 I am the goal of life, the Lord and support of all, the inner witness, the abode of all. I am the only refuge, the one true friend; I am the beginning, the staying, and the end of creation; I am the womb and the eternal seed.
19 I am heat; I give and withhold the rain. I am immortality and I am death; I am what is and what is not.
20 Those who follow the rituals given in the Vedas, who offer sacrifices and take soma, free themselves from evil and attain the vast heaven of the gods, where they enjoy celestial pleasures. 21 When they have enjoyed these fully, their merit is exhausted and they return to this land of death. Thus observing Vedic rituals but caught in an endless chain of desires, they come and go.
22 Those who worship me and meditate on me constantly, without any other thought – I will provide for all their needs.
23 Those who worship other gods with faith and devotion also worship me, Arjuna, even if they do not observe the usual forms. 24 I am the object of all worship, its enjoyer and Lord. But those who fail to realize my true nature must be reborn. 25 Those who worship the devas will go to the realm of the devas; those who worship their ancestors will be united with them after death. Those who worship phantoms will become phantoms; but my devotees will come to me.
26 Whatever I am offered in devotion with a pure heart – a leaf, a flower, fruit, or water – I accept with joy. 27 Whatever you do, make it an offering to me – the food you eat, the sacrifices you make, the help you give, even your suffering. 28 In this way you will be freed from the bondage of karma, and from its results both pleasant and painful. Then, firm in renunciation and yoga, with your heart free, you will come to me.
29 I look upon all creatures equally; none are less dear to me and none more dear. But those who worship me with love live in me, and I come to life in them.
30 Even sinners become holy when they take refuge in me alone. 31 Quickly their souls conform to dharma and they attain to boundless peace. Never forget this, Arjuna: no one who is devoted to me will ever come to harm.
32 All those who take refuge in me, whatever their birth, race, sex, or caste, will attain the supreme goal; this realization can be attained even by those whom society scorns. 33 Kings and sages too seek this goal with devotion. Therefore, having been born in this transient and forlorn world, give all your love to me. 34 Fill your mind with me; love me; serve me; worship me always. Seeking me in your heart, you will at last be united with me.