‘“The lord said, ‘O Partha! In this world, nor in the other world, is there any destruction. Because, O son, 275 a person who acts well 276 never comes to grief. He who has deviated from the path of yoga attains the worlds of the righteous 277 and dwells there for many years. Thereafter, he is born in a righteous and wealthy household. Or he is born in the family of wise yogis. But such birth is very rare in this world. O descendant of the Kuru lineage! In that birth, obtains 278 that intelligence 279 about liberation from an earlier birth and thereafter, strives again for liberation. Because of that earlier practice, is almost involuntarily, attracted. 280 A person who seeks yoga transcends the Vedas. 281 Striving harder than on that earlier occasion, pure in heart, the yogi obtains liberation after many lives and later, achieves the supreme objective. The yogi is superior to those who practise austerities, superior to the learned 282 and superior to those who perform action. 283 That is my view. O Arjuna! Therefore, become a yogi. My view is that he who is devoted and worships me, with his self immersed in me, is the most accomplished among all yogis.’”’
Chapter 889(29) 284
‘“The lord said, ‘O Partha! Listen to how you will know, without any doubt, the complete truth about me—mind attached to me, seeking refuge in me and immersed in yoga. I will completely tell you about the knowledge with self-realization. 285 Knowing that, there is nothing more remaining to know. Among thousands of men, rarely one tries for liberation. Among those who try for liberation, perhaps one 286 gets to know my true nature. Earth, water, fire, 287 air, sky, mind, intellect and ego—these are the eight parts of my nature. These are inferior nature. 288 O mighty-armed one! Besides this, know my superior and other nature 289 that is the essence of living beings. The universe is held up by this. Know all matter 290 to be born from these. 291 I am the reason for the creation of the entire universe and its destruction. O Dhananjaya! There is nothing superior to me. Like jewels on a string, all this is threaded in me. O Kounteya! In the water, I am the sap. In the sun and the moon, I am the radiance. In all the Vedas, I am the Om syllable. 292 In the sky, I am the sound. In humans, I am manifest as prowess, 293 and as pure fragrance in the earth. I become energy in the fire, life in all living beings. I become austerity in ascetics. O Partha! Know me to be the eternal seed of all beings. I am intellect in the intelligent. I become energy in those who are energetic. O bull among the Bharata lineage! I am strength, without desire and without attachment, 294 in those who are strong. In all living beings, I become desire that is sanctioned by dharma. 295 And know all the three conditions, with sattva, rajas and tamas predominating, 296 to be derived from me. I am not in them. They are in me. This entire universe is deluded by these three gunas and the resultant conditions. And is not able to know me, who is above these and without change. It is indeed difficult to overcome this divine aspect 297 of mine, immersed in gunas. Those who seek refuge in me alone, they are able to overcome this maya. The evildoers, ignorant and worst among men, lose their knowledge because of maya and resort to demonic states. They do not worship me. O bull among the Bharata lineage! O Arjuna! There are four types of people, pure of heart, who worship me—those who are suffering, those who want satisfaction, 298 those who want self-knowledge and those who know. Of these, those who know, always united and worshipping only one, 299 are the best. I am extremely beloved by one who knows. And he is also my beloved. All these 300 are righteous. But the man who knows is like my atman. That is my view. Therefore, the united man who knows seeks refuge in me, the supreme of objectives. After many births are over, he attains the knowledge that Vasudeva is everything and attains me. Such great souls are extremely rare. Those whose knowledge has been robbed by those desires, according to their own nature, follow prescribed rites to worship other gods. Whatever form a devotee wishes to worship faithfully, in whatever way, in that 301 and that, 302 I make the faith firm and unwavering. With that faith, whatever form is worshipped and whatever fruits are obtained as a result, are actually bestowed by me alone. The fruits of those 303 who have little intellect come to an end. 304 Worshippers of gods attain the gods. My devotees attain me. Those who are ignorant don’t realize my supreme and unchanging nature and think of me, the one who is unmanifest, as manifest. Shrouded in my powers of yoga and maya, I am not evident to everyone. I am not born and am without change. But the ignorant world does not know me. O Arjuna! I know all beings in the past, the present and the future. But no one knows me. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! O scorcher of foes! All beings are deluded at birth from opposite sensations, 305 resulting from desire and aversion. But those whose sins have been overcome and those who are virtuous in action, they are freed from the delusion of opposite sensations and worship me, firm in their vows. Those who want to free themselves from decay and death and seek refuge in me, they know about the brahman, about the individual atman 306 and about action in its entirety. Those who know me as the one who underlies all beings, all gods and all yajnas, right till the time of death, their mind is fixed on me and they know me.’”’
Chapter 890(30) 307
‘“Arjuna asked, ‘O supreme among men! What is that brahman, what is the individual atman 308 and what is action? What is said to underlie all beings and what is said to underlie all gods? 309 O Madhusudana! Who underlies all yajnas 310 in this body and how? By those who can control their atmans, how are you known at the time of death?’
‘“The lord said, ‘The indestructible brahman is the supreme spirit and its inhabitation of individual beings is called adhyatma. Action is the offering 311 that leads to the creation and sustenance of all beings. O supreme among those who possess bodies! Perishable elements are adhibhuta and the purusha is adhidaiva. In this body, I myself am adhiyajna. At the time of death, he who remembers me, gives up his body and leaves, he attains my essence. There is no doubt about this. O Kounteya! Whatever essence is remembered at the time of death, giving up the body, a person immersed in that essence is the essence that he attains. Therefore, always think of me. And fight. With mind and intellect offered to me, you will without doubt attain me alone. O Partha! United in the practice that is like yoga, without following anyone else, thinking of the divine supreme spirit with the mind, attains that. 312 He who thinks of the omniscient, without beginning, the controller of everything, finer than the minutest, the upholder of everything, with a form that is beyond thought, self-resplendent like the sun and beyond darkness, 313 at the time of death, 314 with devotion, with the mind fixed, with the strength of yoga used to hold the breath of life between the brows, he attains the resplendent supreme spirit. He is the one whom those who know the Vedas speak of as indestructible, he is the one into whom unattached yogis enter, he is the one to attain when brahmacharya is practised, I will briefly tell you about reaching that goal of supreme liberation.
‘“‘Using all the senses and organs 315 to control the mind and restrain it in the heart, bearing the breath of life between the brows, establishing one’s atman in yoga, uttering the single syllable Om that is the brahman and remembering me, he who gives up his body and leaves, he attains the goal of supreme liberation. O Partha! He who does not think of other things and remembers me every day and all the time, I am easily attainable to that yogi who is always focused. 316 Great souls who attain me, because they have achieved supreme liberation, are freed from rebirth, which is transient and the abode of sorrow. O Arjuna! From all the worlds up to brahmaloka, beings have to return. 317 But O Kounteya! There is no rebirth for those who have attained me. 318 Those who know that a thousand yugas are Brahma’s day and a thousand yugas are Brahma’s night know the truth about day and night. 319 When Brahma’s day arrives, every manifest object is created from the unmanifest. When Brahma’s night arrives, like that, everything dissolves into the unmanifest. These 320 are the beings who are born again and again and destroyed when night arrives. O Partha! When day arrives, they are involuntarily created again. But superior to that unmanifest is the other supreme and eternal unmanifest being that is not des
troyed when all beings are destroyed. 321 What is spoken of as the unmanifest and indestructible, what is said to be the supreme liberation, attaining which beings do not have to return, that is my supreme abode. O Partha! All beings are established in that. And by that is everything pervaded. That supreme purusha can only be attained through unwavering devotion. O bull among the Bharata lineage! I will now tell you about the road 322 which, if traversed, doesn’t lead to yogis being reborn and about the road which, if traversed, leads to rebirth. The resplendence of the fire, the day, the bright half of the lunar month, 323 the six months when the sun heads north, 324 along that path those who worship the brahman attain the brahman. 325 Smoke, night, the dark half of the lunar month 326 and the six months when the sun heads south, 327 along that path, the yogi attains the energy of the moon and returns again. 328 In this world, these two paths of light and darkness are said to be eternal. One leads to non-return and the other leads to return. O Partha! Knowing these two paths, a yogi is never deluded. O Arjuna! Therefore, at all times, resort to yoga. Knowing the prescribed good fruit that accrues from knowledge of the Vedas, yajnas, practice of austerities and donation of alms, the yogi transcends all these and attains the supreme and original abode.’”’
Chapter 891(31) 329
‘“The lord said, ‘You are not a detractor. 330 I will tell you this extremely secret knowledge with self-realization. 331 Knowing this, you will be freed from all evil. This is extremely secret and the king of knowledge. 332 It is the best, pure, leads to direct and eternal results, is sanctioned by dharma and is easy to practise. O scorcher of foes! People who show disrespect to this dharma don’t attain me and traverse the path of death and this world. This entire universe is pervaded by me in my unmanifest form. All beings are established in me. But I am not established in them. Witness my divine yoga. Again, the beings are not established in me. 333 My atman holds up the beings and sustains the beings, but I am not established in the beings. Know that like the great wind, which goes everywhere, and is always established in the sky, all beings are established in me. O Kounteya! At the time of destruction, 334 all beings are dissolved in my nature and at the time of creation, I create them. I keep my nature under control and repeatedly create these many beings, helpless according to their own nature. 335 O Dhananjaya! But I am unattached to those acts and am established in indifference. Those acts cannot tie me down. O Kounteya! Because of my lordship, nature gives birth to this universe with its moveable and immovable objects. Because of this, the universe is repeatedly created. 336 The ignorant do not know my supreme nature as the great lord of all beings. They show disrespect to me as someone who has adopted a human form. Their desire is fruitless, their action is fruitless, their knowledge is fruitless, their minds waver and their deluded nature is ruled by demonic qualities. 337 O Partha! But those great souls who seek refuge in divine qualities are unwavering in their minds and worship me, knowing me to be the indestructible origin of all beings. Careful and firm in their rites, they 338 faithfully offer obeisance and always sing my praise, always focused on worshipping me. Some worship me through the yajna that is the path of knowledge. Some worship me as one, others as separate. 339 Worshipping as one means regarding the worshipper and the worshipped as identical. This can be called the I, who pervade the universe, am worshipped in many forms. I am kratu, I am yajna, I am svadha, 340 I am the herbs, I am the mantra, I indeed am the clarified butter, I am the fire, I am the offering. I am the father, mother, grandfather and sustainer of this universe. I am all that is pure and is to be known. I am the Om syllable. I am also the Rik, Saman and Yajus. 341 I am the goal, the sustainer, the controller, the witness, the abode, the sanctuary, the well-doer, the creator, the destroyer, the preserver, the repository and the indestructible seed. 342 O Arjuna! I provide heat. I attract the water and rain it down again. I am immortality and death. I am the eternal and the transient. 343 Those who know the three arts 344 worship me through yajnas, drink the soma juice and purified of sins, wish to attain heaven. They attain sanctified heaven 345 and in heaven, enjoy the celestial objects enjoyed by the gods. Having enjoyed the greatness of heaven, when their good deeds are exhausted, they enter the mortal earth. In this way, the practitioners of the three dharmas, 346 followers of desire, go back and forth. Those who worship me, minds focused on me alone and always immersed in me, I preserve for them what has been attained and what is yet to be attained. 347 O Kounteya! Those with devotion who faithfully worship other gods, they too, worship me alone. But not in the indicated way. Because I alone am the receiver of offerings and the granter of fruits at all yajnas. But they do not know my true nature and therefore, are cast down. 348 Those who worship the gods attain the gods. Those who worship the ancestors attain the ancestors. 349 Those who worship the elements 350 attain the elements. And mine 351 attain me. He who faithfully worships me with a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, from that pure-hearted person, I gladly accept those faithful offerings. O Kounteya! Whatever you do, whatever you partake, whatever you offer, whatever you donate, whatever you meditate, offer that to me. In this way, you will be freed from the bondage of the fruits of righteous and evil action. With your self in the yoga of sannyasa, 352 freed, you will attain me. I am the same to all beings. I have no one I hate, nor anyone I love. But those who worship me with devotion, they are established in me. And I am established in them. Even if the most evil of persons worships me single-mindedly, he should be thought of as a righteous person. Because his resolve is correct. Swiftly, he 353 becomes a righteous person and attains eternal peace. O Kounteya! My worshippers are never destroyed. This you can vouch for. O Partha! Even those who are of evil birth, women, vaishyas and shudras, 354 having sought refuge in me, they will certainly attain supreme liberation. There is no need to repeat 355 about pure brahmanas and devoted rajarshis. This earth is temporary and leads to unhappiness. Therefore, having attained, 356 worship me. With mind immersed in me, become my devotee, my worshipper and one who offers obeisance to me. In this way, with your atman united in me as the refuge, you will attain me alone.’”’
Chapter 892(32) 357
‘“The lord said, ‘O mighty-armed one! Listen once more to my supreme words. These are pleasing you and for your welfare, I am saying this. The host of gods does not know of my origin. 358 Nor do the maharshis. Because, in every way, I am the original cause of the gods and the great sages. He who knows me as without origin and without birth and as the greatest lord of the worlds, is freed from delusion among men 359 and freed from all sins. Intellect, knowledge, freedom from delusion, forgiveness, truthfulness, control over the senses, control over thoughts, happiness, unhappiness, creation, destruction, fear and freedom from fear, non-violence, equality, 360 satisfaction, austerity, donations, fame and lack of fame—all these states of beings indeed owe their origin to me. The seven great sages, 361 the four who came before them 362 and the Manus 363 owe their origin to me and were created from my resolution. In this world, everything is descended from them. There is no doubt that he who truly knows my divine yoga 364 is united with unwavering yoga. 365 I am the origin of everything. From me is everything instituted. Knowing this, the wise, immersed in devotion, worship me. Minds on me, lives in me, explaining my nature to each other, and always conversing, 366 they 367 attain satisfaction and happiness. I provide that kind of yoga of intellect to those who are always immersed in me and lovingly worship me. Using that, they attain me. With compassion towards them, I am always established inside them as the bright lamp of knowledge, destroying the darkness born out of ignorance.’
‘“Arjuna said, ‘You are the supreme brahman, the supreme abode and supreme sacredness. You are the eternal purusha, self-resplendent, the predecessor of the gods, without birth and omnipresent. All the sages and Devarshi Narada 368 and Asita-Devala 369 and Vyasa 370 describe you thus. You have yourself also told me this. O Keshava! I accept all that you are telling me as true. Because, O Lord, even the gods and the demons do not know your manifestations. 371 O supre
me being! O creator of beings! O lord of beings! O lord of the gods! O lord of the universe! You alone know your own self through your own self. Whatever divine powers you use to pervade these worlds, you alone are capable of relating to me in detail those self-resplendent divine powers. O yogi! How can I always think of you and know you? O illustrious one! In what objects can you be thought of by me? O Janardana! Tell me once again, in detail, about the power of your yoga. Because, hearing your immortal words, I am not satisfied.’
‘“The lord said, ‘O foremost among the Kuru lineage! All right. I will tell you about my main divine manifestations. Because there is no end to the detail of my powers. 372 O Gudakesha! I am the atman established in the heart of all beings. It is I who am the origin, the middle and also the end of all beings. 373 I am Vishnu among the adityas. 374 I am the radiant sun among the shining bodies. I am Marichi among the maruts. 375 I am the moon among the stars. 376 I am the Sama Veda among the Vedas. 377 Among the gods, I am Vasava. I am the mind among the senses. And in beings, I am the consciousness. I am Shankara among the rudras. 378 I am Kubera among the yakshas and the rakshas. 379 I am fire among the vasus. 380 I am Meru. 381 O Partha! Know me to be Brihaspati, 382 foremost among the priests. Among generals, I am Skanda. 383 Among waterbodies, I am the ocean. Among great sages, I am Bhrigu. 384 Among words, I am the single syllable. 385 Among yajnas, I am japa yajna. 386 Among immovable objects, I am the Himalayas. Among all trees, I am the fig tree. 387 And among divine sages, I am Narada. Among gandharvas I am Chitraratha. 388 And among those who have attained liberation, I am the sage Kapila. 389 Among horses, know me to be Ucchaishrava, arising from the immortal nectar. 390 Among great elephants Airavata and among men, the king. Among weapons I am vajra. 391 Among cows I become kamadhenu. 392 I become Kandarpa for procreation. 393 And among snakes I am Vasuki. 394 Among serpents I am Ananta. Among those who inhabit the water, I am Varuna. 395 Among the ancestors I am Aryama. 396 Among those who control, 397 I am Yama. Among demons I am Prahlada. 398 Among those wh devour, 399 I am time. And I am the lion 400 among animals. Among birds, I am the son of Vinata. 401 Among those that purify, I am the wind. Among those who bear weapons, I am Rama. Among fish, I am the shark. 402 And among rivers, I am Jahnavi. 403 O Arjuna! I alone am the beginning, the end and the middle of all created objects. Among all forms of knowledge, I am knowledge of the self. Among debaters, vada. 404 Among letters, I am the letter ‘A’. Among different forms of samasa, I am dvanda. 405 Indeed I am indestructible time. My face is in every direction. I am the controller of destiny. I am death that robs everything. And I am the origin of the future. Among women, I am fame, prosperity, speech, memory, intellect, fortitude and forgiveness. In the Sama Veda, I am brihat sama. 406 Among metres, I am gayatri. Among months, I am Margashirsha. 407 Among seasons, I am kusumakara. 408 I am gambling among those who wish to cheat. 409 I am energy in the energetic. I am victory, perseverance, I am the sattva quality in the righteous. I am Vasudeva among the Vrishnis. I am Dhananjaya among those of the Pandu clan. I am Vyasa among the sages. Among the wise, I am the wise Ushanasa. 410 I am danda among those who rule. 411 I am strategy for those who wish to win. Among secret subjects, I am silence. I am knowledge among the wise. O Arjuna! Whatever is the seed of origin of every being, that is me alone. There is nothing moveable or immovable that can come into being without me. O scorcher of foes! There is no end to my divine glory. Whatever I have stated of this expanse of glory is only a brief indication. Know that whatever object is glorious, prosperous or indeed extremely powerful, that has originated from a part of my energy. O Arjuna! But what is the need to know all these details? I am established, holding up this entire universe with only a part of me.’”’
Mahabharata: Vol. 5 Page 17