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The Royal Secret · 34 verses
Ask Krishna about this chapterThe Blessed Lord said: To you who are free from envy, I shall declare this most secret knowledge combined with realized knowledge, knowing which you shall be released…
This is the king of sciences, the king of secrets, the supreme purifier, directly perceivable, righteous, joyful to practice, and imperishable.
They who have no faith in this teaching cannot find Me; they remain lost in the purlieus of this perishable world.
The whole world is pervaded by Me, yet My form is not visible. All living beings have their being in Me, yet I am not confined by them.
And yet beings do not abide in Me. Behold My divine Yoga! My Self is the sustainer and originator of all beings, yet it does not dwell in them.
As the mighty wind, though moving everywhere, has no resting place except in space, so all these beings have no home except in Me.
All beings, O Arjuna, return at the end of every cosmic cycle into the realm of Nature, which is a part of Me, and at the start of the next I send them forth again.
Presiding over My own nature, I send forth again and again this entire multitude of beings, who are helpless under the force of nature.
But these acts of mine do not bind me; I remain outside and unattached.
Under my guidance, Nature produces all movable and immovable things. Thus, O Arjuna, this universe revolves.
Fools disregard Me, seeing Me clad in human form. They do not know that in My higher nature, I am the Lord-God of all.
Their hopes are vain, their actions are vain, their knowledge is vain, and devoid of discernment, they take refuge in the deluding nature of fiends and demons.
But the great souls, O Arjuna! Filled with my divine spirit, they worship me, fix their minds on me alone, for they know that I am the imperishable source of being.
Always extolling Me, they are strenuous and firm in their vows, prostrating themselves before Me, and worshiping Me continually with concentrated devotion.
And still others, worshipping through the sacrifice of knowledge, adore Me — as one, as distinct, and in manifold ways as the universal form facing everywhere.
I am the Vedic ritual, I am the sacrifice, I am the oblation to the ancestors, I am the medicinal herb, I am the mantra, I Myself am the clarified butter, I am the…
I am the father of this universe, the mother, the sustainer, and the grandsire. I am the object of knowledge, the purifier, the sacred syllable Om, and also the Rig…
I am the goal, the sustainer, the master, the witness, the abode, the refuge, and the friend. I am the origin, the dissolution, the foundation, the resting place, and…
I am the heat of the sun, I release and withhold the rain. I am death and immortality; I am being and non-being.
Those who are versed in the scriptures, who drink the mystic Soma-juice and are purified from sin, and who, while worshipping Me with sacrifices, pray that I will lead…
Yet, although they enjoy the spacious glories of Paradise, when their merit is exhausted, they are born again into this world of mortals. They have followed the letter…
But if a person meditates on Me and Me alone, worships Me always and everywhere, I will take upon Myself the fulfillment of their aspiration, and I will safeguard…
Even those devotees of other deities who worship them endowed with faith, they too worship Me alone, O son of Kunti, though not in the proper manner.
I am the willing recipient of sacrifice, and I am its true Lord. But they do not know me truly, so they fall back.
Those devoted to the gods go to the gods; those devoted to the ancestors go to the ancestors; those who worship the elemental beings go to the elemental beings; and…
Whatever a person offers to Me, be it a leaf, flower, fruit, or water, I accept it, for it is offered with devotion and a pure mind.
Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you sacrifice and give, whatever austerities you practice, do all as an offering to Me.
Thus you shall be freed from the bondage of actions yielding good and bad results; with your mind steadfast in the yoga of renunciation, liberated, you shall come to Me.
I am the same to all beings; I do not favour any, nor do I hate any. However, those who worship Me devotedly, they live in Me and I in them.
Even the most sinful, if he worships Me with his whole heart, shall be considered righteous, for he is treading the right path.
He quickly becomes a righteous soul and attains everlasting peace. O son of Kunti, proclaim boldly that My devotee never perishes.
Even the children of sinful parents, those miscalled the weaker sex, merchants, and laborers, if they make Me their refuge, they shall attain the highest.
How much more then the holy Brahmanas and devoted royal sages! Having come to this impermanent and joyless world, worship Me.
Fix your mind on Me, be My devotee, worship Me, and bow down to Me. Thus disciplining yourself and taking Me as your supreme goal, you shall surely come to Me.