Subject: BHAGAVAD-GITA (THE LORD'S SONG) 10-18
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WISDOM OF CHINA AND
INDIA Contents

BHAGAVAD-GITA
THE LORD'S SONG

English version by Sanderson Beck
(Continued)

This has been published in the WISDOM BIBLE as
a book. For ordering information, please click here. This text
is also available as spoken by Sanderson Beck on CD.

10. The Yoga of
Manifestation
11. Vision of the Universal
Form
12. The Yoga of
Devotion
13.
Distinguishing the Field and the Knower
14. Distinguishing the Three
Qualities
15. The Yoga of the Highest
Spirit
16. Distinguishing the Divine and
the Demonic
17.
Distinguishing Three Kinds of Faith
18. The Yoga of Liberation by
Renunciation

10
"The blessed Lord said,
'Again, great-armed one, hear
my supreme word,
which I shall tell to you, the beloved,
with desire for
your welfare.
Neither the many gods nor the great seers know my
origin,
for I am the source of the divine ones
and the great seers in
every way.
Whoever knows me, unborn and without beginning,
the great Lord
of the world,
this one undeluded among mortals is released from all
evils.

"'Intuition, knowledge, non-delusion, patience, truth,
control,
equanimity, happiness, sorrow,
being, non-being, and fear and
fearlessness,
nonviolence, impartiality, contentment, austerity,
charity,
fame, disrepute, the manifold essences of being
come to be from
me alone.
The seven great seers of old, the four Manus also,
are my mental
essences,
whose creatures are born in the world.

"'Whoever knows in
truth this manifest power and my union,
by unwavering yoga is united; of this
there is no doubt.
I am the origin of everything; from me everything
proceeds.
Thinking thus, the wise honor me endowed with essence.
Those
conscious of me, their vitality focused on me,
enlightening each other and
always speaking of me,
they are content and pleased.
To those worshippers
constantly united affectionately,
I give this intuitive union by which they
come to me.
Out of compassion for them,
I staying in the soul
essence,
destroy the darkness born of ignorance
with the illuminating lamp
of knowledge.'

"Arjuna said,
'Supreme God, supreme domain, purifier
supreme, Lord,
eternal divine Spirit, primal God, unborn,
omnipresent,
thus all seers call you,
the divine seer Narada, Asita
Devala, Vyasa,
and yourself, you tell me.
I think all this is right which
you say to me, Keshava,
for neither the gods nor the demons
know your
manifestation, blessed one.
You know the soul by your soul alone, highest
Spirit,
essence of being, Lord of beings,
God of gods, ruler of the
universe.
You can tell completely the divine soul manifestations
by which
manifestation you stay pervading these worlds.

"'How may I know you,
yogi, always meditating?
And in what various essences
are you conceived by
me, blessed one?
Explain further in detail
the union and manifestation of
the soul, Janardana,
for to me there is no satiation of hearing
immortality.'

"The blessed Lord said,
'Listen, for I shall explain to
you
the main soul manifestations, best of Kurus;
there is no end to my
expansion.

"'I am the soul, Gudakesha,
staying in the heart of all
beings,
and I am the beginning and the middle and the end of beings.
Of
the Adityas, I am Vishnu;
of the lights, the radiant sun;
I am Marici of
the Maruts;
of the mighty ones, I am the moon.
Of the Vedas, I am the Sama
Veda;
of the gods, I am Vasava;
and of the senses, I am the mind;
of
beings, I am the consciousness.
And of the Rudras, I am Shankara,
Vittesha
of the Yakshas and Rakshasas;
and of the Vasus, I am fire;
I am Meru of
the mountains.
And of the household priests, Partha,
know me to be the
chief, Brihaspati;
of the army commanders, I am Skanda;
of the lakes, I am
the ocean.
Of the great seers, I am Bhrigu;
of words, I am the one
syllable;
of sacrifices, I am the prayer,
of immovable things, the
Himalaya,
the sacred fig tree of all trees
and of the divine seers,
Narada,
of the Gandharvas, Chitraratha,
of the perfected, the sage
Kapila.
Uchchaihshravas of the horses,
know me to be born of
nectar,
Airavata of the lordly elephants,
and of people, the Lord of
people.
Of weapons, I am the thunderbolt;
of cows, I am the cow of
plenty;
and I am the generating desire god;
of snakes, I am Vasuki,
and
I am Ananta of the cobras;
I am Varuna of the water creatures,
and of the
ancestors, I am Aryaman.
I am Yama of the governors,
and I am Prahlada of
the Daityas;
I am time of the calculators,
and of the beasts I am king of
beasts;
and I am Vainateya of the birds.
I am the wind of the
purifiers;
I am Rama of the warriors,
and of sea monsters, I am
Makara;
of rivers, I am the daughter of Jahnu.

"'Of creations, I am
the beginning
and the end and also the middle, Arjuna;
oversoul science of
the sciences,
I am the dialectic of those who debate.
Of letters, I am the
letter A
and the dual of the compounds;
I am imperishable time;
I am
the establisher facing all directions,
and I am all-destroying death
and
the origin of things that come to be.
Fame, prosperity, and speech of the
feminine words,
memory, intelligence, courage, patience,
also the Brihat
Saman of the chants,
I am the gayatri of the meters;
of months, I
am Sagittarius, of seasons, the spring.
I am gambling of the cheats;
I am
the splendor of the splendid ones;
I am victory; I am determination;
I am
the goodness of the good ones.
Of the Vishnis, I am Vasudeva,
of the sons
of Pandu, wealth winner,
of the sages, I am also Vyasa,
of the poets, the
poet Ushanas.
I am the clout of the rulers;
I am the guidance of those
seeking victory;
and I am also the silence of secrets;
I am the knowledge
of those that know.
And that which is the seed of all beings, I am that,
Arjuna;
there is no being, animate or inanimate,
that could exist without
me.
There is no end to my divine manifestations, foe scorcher;
but this
extent of the manifestation
declared by me is illustrative.

"'Whatever
manifest goodness, glorious and powerful,
you understand that
that
originates from a fraction of my splendor.
However, what is this extensive
knowledge to you, Arjuna?
I support this whole stable universe with one
fraction.'

11
"Arjuna said,
'As a favor to me, the
word has been spoken by you
which is the supreme secret known as the
oversoul.
By this my delusion has departed,
for the origin and dissolution
of beings
have been heard in detail by me from you,
lotus-petal-eyed, and
also imperishable greatness.
So this, as you say, is the soul, supreme
Lord.
I wish to see your lordly form, highest Spirit.
If you think that it
is possible for me to see this, Lord,
then, yoga Lord, reveal to me your
imperishable soul.'

"The blessed Lord said,
'Look, Partha, at my
hundreds of forms, or thousands,
diverse, divine, of various colors and
shapes.
Look at the Adityas, the Vasus, the Rudras,
the two Asvins, the
Maruts, also;
look at many wonders previously unseen, Bharata.
Look at the
whole universe standing as one here now
everything animate and inanimate in
my body, Gudakesha,
and whatever else you wish to see.
But you are not
able to see me with your own eye.
I give you a divine eye; look at my
majestic union.'"

Sanjaya said,
"Saying this then, king, the great
yoga Lord, Hari,
revealed to Partha the supreme majestic form,
many faces,
many marvelous aspects,
many divine ornaments, many raised divine
weapons,
wearing divine garlands and garments,
divine perfumed ointment,
made of all marvels,
the divine, infinite, omniscient.
If there should be
in the sky a thousand suns risen at once,
such brightness as this
would be
like the brilliance of this great soul.
There standing as one the whole
universe,
divided in many ways,
the son of Pandu then was seeing
in the
body of the god of gods.
Then the amazed wealth winner, his hair standing on
end,
bowing with the head to the god reverently, spoke.

"Arjuna
said,
'I see divinities in your body, divine one,
also all kinds of beings
assembled,
the Lord God on the lotus seat
and all seers and divine
serpents,
many arms, bellies, faces, eyes;
I see you everywhere, infinite
form;
not the end nor the middle nor yet the beginning of you
do I see,
cosmic Lord, cosmic form.
With crown, mace, and disk,
a massive radiance
shining everywhere I see you,
though it is hard to look completely at
the
blazing fire of shining sun immeasurable.

"'You are the supreme
imperishable to be known;
you are the supreme haven of all;
you are the
immortal protector of eternal justice;
you are the ancient Spirit of my
thought.
Without beginning, middle, or end, infinite power,
innumerable
arms, eyes of moon and sun,
I see you, a face of blazing fire
burning all
this universe with its brilliance,
for here between heaven and earth is
pervaded
by you alone and all directions.

"'Seeing this marvelous
mighty form of yours
the three worlds trembled, great soul,
for yonder
companies of gods enter you,
some terrified they praise reverently.
Thus
saying, "Hail!" the companies of perfected great seers
praise you with
resounding hymns.
The Rudras, Adityas, Vasus, and the Sadhyas,
Vishvas,
the two Asvins, the Maruts, and Ushmapas,
the companies of Gandharvas,
Yakshas, Asuras, Siddhas
see you and are all amazed.
Seeing your great
form of many faces, great-armed one,
many arms, thighs, feet, many bellies,
many terrible teeth,
the worlds are trembling, and so am I.

"'For
seeing you touching the sky,
a blazing many-colored open mouth, fiery
enormous eyes,
my inner self trembling I find no courage nor calm,
Vishnu.
And seeing your mouths of terrible teeth
like the fires of
destructive time,
I do not know directions, and I do not find
refuge.

"'Have mercy, divine Lord, universal home!
And yonder to you
all the sons of Dhritarashtra,
along with the ruling companies, Bhishma,
Drona, Suta's son,
thus there together with our chief warriors also,
enter
speedily your faces of fearful terrible teeth,
some are seen clinging in
between teeth with crushed heads.
As the many rushing waters of rivers flow
toward the sea,
so those heroes of the human world enter your flaming
faces.
As moths accelerating to destruction enter a blazing flame,
so too
worlds accelerating to destruction enter your faces.
You lick swallowing from
every side all the worlds
with flaming mouths, filling all the universe with
splendor,
your fierce radiance consumes it, Vishnu.

"'Tell me who you
are, the terrible form.
Honor be to you, most divine one! Have mercy!
I
wish to understand you, the primal one.
I do not comprehend your
work.'

"The blessed Lord said,
'I am time, powerful destroyer of
worlds
working here to annihilate worlds.
Even without you, all the
warriors
who are deployed in the opposing armies will not exist.
Therefore
stand up, obtain glory!
Conquering the enemies, enjoy prosperous
kingship.
By me these have already been struck down;
Be the mere
instrument, left-handed one.
Drona and Bhishma and Jayadratha and Karna
as
also other warrior heroes killed by me, slay.
Do not hesitate; fight!
You
will conquer the adversaries in battle.'"

Sanjaya said,
"Hearing this
speech of Keshava,
the crowned one, trembling reverently, bowing
again,
spoke to Krishna falteringly, bowing low, frightened.

"Arjuna
said,
'Properly, Hrishikesha, the universe rejoices
and is delighted by
your fame.
Frightened demons flee in all directions,
and companies of
perfected ones will give homage.
And why should they not give homage to you,
great soul?
to the original creator, a greater teacher even than God,
the
infinite divine Lord, universal home,
you, the imperishable, being, nonbeing,
which is beyond that.
You are the ancient primal divine Spirit,
supreme
heaven of this universe;
you are the knower to be known and the supreme
state.
The universe is pervaded by you, infinite form.
You are Vayu, Yama,
Agni, Varuna, the moon,
the Lord of creatures, and the great
grandfather.

"'Hail, hail to you; may it be a thousand times!
Further
and also again hail, hail to you!
Hail from in front, moreover hail to you
from behind!
May it be to you on all sides, the all.
Infinite valor,
boundless strength,
you fulfill all; therefore you are
all.

"'Thinking, impetuously thus a friend who said,
"Oh Krishna, oh
Yadava, oh friend,"
out of ignorance of your greatness this was said by
me
from negligence or even with affection,
and as if for a jest you are
not respected at play,
while in bed, seated, dining, alone, or even before
others,
unshaken one, I ask your pardon for this, boundless one.

"'You
are father of the world,
of the animate and inanimate,
and you are its
revered and venerable teacher.
There is nothing like you, how then any even
greater
in the three worlds, incomparable power?

"'Therefore bowing,
prostrating the body,
I ask your mercy, honored Lord;
as a father of a
son, as a friend of a friend,
a lover to a lover, you are able to be patient,
Lord.
I am excited seeing what was unseen before,
and my mind trembled
with fear.

"'Reveal to me that form, Lord;
have mercy, divine Lord,
universal home!
I wish to see you with crown, mace, and disk;
become the
four-armed form, thousand-armed one of all forms.'

"The blessed Lord
said,
'By my grace to you, Arjuna,
this supreme form is revealed from soul
union,
made of universal, infinite, original brilliance of mine
which no
one other than you has seen before.
Not by Vedic sacrifice study nor by
gifts
and not by ritual acts nor by severe austerities
can I be seen in
such a form in the human world
except by you, Kuru hero.
You should not
tremble nor be confused,
seeing this so awful form of mine;
fear gone
away, your mind is cheerful again;
look at this form of
mine.'"

Sanjaya said,
"Saying this to Arjuna,
Vasudeva thus
revealed his own form once more
and consoled this frightened one,
becoming
again the gentle, handsome great soul.

"Arjuna said,
'Seeing this
human form of yours, gentle Janardana,
now I am composed with thoughts
returned to normal.'

"The blessed Lord said,
'Hard to see is this form
which you have seen;
even gods are always wishing for the revelation of this
form.
Not by the Vedas, not by discipline, not by charity,
and not by
ritual can I be seen in such a way
as you have seen me,
but by unswerving
love I can in such a way, Arjuna,
be known, seen, and truly reached, foe
scorcher.
Whoever does my work, intent on me, loving me,
attachment let
go, free from hostility to any being,
comes to me, son of Pandu.'

12
"Arjuna said,
'Of the constantly united who worship you
with love
and those with the imperishable unmanifest,
which has the best
knowledge of union?'

"The blessed Lord said,
'The mind focused on me,
those who worship me
eternally united, endowed with supreme faith,
they
are thought to be most united with me.

"'But those who worship the
imperishable, ineffable,
unmanifest, omnipresent and
inconceivable,
unchanging, immovable, constant,
controlling the senses,
the same intuition everywhere,
they attain me, rejoicing in the welfare of
all beings.
The exertion is great for those whose consciousness
is set on
the unmanifest, for the goal of the unmanifest
is reached with difficulty by
the embodied.

"'But those renouncing in me all actions,
intent on me
with undistracted union,
who meditating worship me,
I soon become their
deliverer
from the ocean of the death cycle, Partha,
whose consciousness
has entered into me.

"'Keep the mind on me; let the intuition enter into
me;
then no doubt you will live in me hereafter.
If you are not able to
keep consciousness steadily on me,
then by yoga practice seek to attain me,
wealth winner.
If you are unable even in practice,
become intent on my
work;
doing actions for my sake also, you will attain perfection.
If you
are even unable to do this,
then resorting to my union,
renouncing all the
fruits of action, act self-restrained.
For knowledge is better than
practice;
meditation is superior to knowledge;
renunciation of the fruit
of action
is better than meditation;
from renunciation peace
follows.

"'A non-hater of all beings, friendly and compassionate,
free
of "mine," free of ego,
indifferent to pain and pleasure, patient,
the
yogi who is always satisfied, self-restrained,
firmly resolved with mind and
intuition focused on me,
who is devoted to me, this one is my
beloved.

"'Whomever the world does not trouble
and who does not
trouble the world,
who is liberated from the anxieties of joy, anger, and
fear,
this one also is my beloved.

"'Whoever is impartial,
pure,
capable, detached, untroubled,
who renouncing all undertakings is
devoted to me,
this one is my beloved.

"'Whoever does not rejoice nor
hate nor grieve nor crave,
renouncing good and bad, who is full of
love,
this one is my beloved.

"'The same toward enemy and
friend
and thus in honor and disgrace,
the same in cold, heat, pleasure,
pain,
freed from attachment,
alike in blame or praise, quiet,
satisfied
with anything whatever,
homeless, steady-minded,
the person full of love
is my beloved.
Those who worship this immortal justice previously
spoken
endowed with faith, intent on me, devoted,
they transcendentally
are my beloved.'

13
"Arjuna said,
'Nature and
Spirit, the field and the knower of the field,
this I wish to know: knowledge
and what is known, Keshava.'

"The blessed Lord said,
'This body,
Kaunteya, is called the field;
this one who knows it,
the knowers of that
declare the knower of the field.
And also know me as the field knower in all
fields, Bharata,
knowledge of the field and the field knower,
which is
thought by me to be true knowledge.

"'What that field is and of what
kind
and of what modifications and from where
and who this one is and what
its power is,
hear that briefly from me.
Chanted many times by the seers
in various sacred hymns
and distinctly in God's scriptures,
with
undeniable reasons,
the great elements, ego, intuition, and the
unmanifest,
the senses ten and one, and the five objects of the
senses,
desire, aversion, pleasure, pain,
combination, consciousness,
firmness,
this in brief is the field described with
modifications.

"'Non-pride, non-deceit, nonviolence, patience,
honesty,
service of the teacher, integrity, stability, self-control,
in
the objects of sense detached, and non-ego;
insight into the pain and
evil
of birth, death, old age, disease;
non-attachment, non-clinging to
son, wife, home, et cetera,
and constant equanimity in wanted and unwanted
events;
and unswerving love to me by exclusive union,
resorting to a
secluded place, dissatisfied in a crowd,
constant oversoul
knowledge,
observing the purpose of true knowledge:
this knowledge is
explained thus;
ignorance is what is contrary to this.

"'What is to be
known that I shall explain,
knowing which, one attains immortality;
this
beginningless supreme God
is said to be neither being nor
non-being.
Everywhere having hands and feet,
everywhere eyes, heads,
faces,
everywhere in the world ears,
this stands all pervading,
the
appearance of all sense qualities, freed from all senses,
unattached and yet
all supporting,
free of the qualities and enjoyer of the
qualities.

"'Outside and inside of beings inanimate and
animate,
because of its subtlety this is unknown;
also far away and nearby
is this.
Also undivided and as if staying divided in beings,
also
supporting beings this is to be known,
the devourer and the creator.
This
is even the light of lights,
said to be beyond darkness---
the knowledge
to be known, the goal of knowledge
situated in the heart of all.
Thus the
field and the knowledge to be known are described.

"'My devotee,
understanding this, approaches my essence.
Know nature and Spirit, both also
beginningless,
and know the modifications and qualities coming from
nature.
Concerning the doer, the doing, and the instrument,
nature is said
to be the cause.
Spirit is said to be the cause
in the experiencing of
pleasure and pain,
for Spirit situated in nature
experiences the qualities
born of nature.
Attachment to the qualities is the instrument
of its birth
in good and evil wombs.

"'The supreme Spirit in this body is also said to
be
the observer, allower, supporter, experiencer,
the great Lord and the
supreme soul.
Whoever thus knows Spirit and nature
together with the
qualities,
even in any stage of existence,
this one is not born
again.

"'Some perceive the soul through meditation
by the soul in the
soul,
others by Sankhya yoga, and others by action yoga;
yet others, not
knowing this, worship hearing it from others,
and they also transcend death
following the scripture.
Since any being, stable or moving,
is born from
the union of the field and the field knower,
know that, Bharata
bull.

"'Whoever perceives the same supreme Lord
situated in all
beings, not perishing in their perishings,
this one perceives;
for
perceiving the same Lord established everywhere,
one does not hurt the soul
with the soul.
Then one goes to the supreme goal.

"'And whoever
perceives actions
completely performed by nature,
the soul thus the
non-doer, this one perceives.
When one discerns various states of being
situated in one
and spreading out from that, then one attains
God.

"'Because this imperishable supreme soul
dwelling in the
body
is beginningless and free of qualities also, Kaunteya,
it does not
act nor is it stained.
As omnipresent space from its subtlety is not
stained,
so the soul situated in the body is not ever stained.

"'As
the one sun illumines this entire world,
so the Lord of the field illumines
the entire field, Bharata.
Those who know by the eye of knowledge
this
distinction between the field and the field knower
and the liberation of
being from nature
go to the supreme.'

14
"The
blessed Lord said,
'I shall explain the supreme knowledge,
best of the
sciences, knowing which
all the sages have gone from here to supreme
perfection.
Having recourse to this knowledge,
arrived at my state of
identity,
even at creation they are not born
and at dissolution they do
not tremble.

"'My womb is great God; in it I put the seed.
The origin
of all beings comes from there, Bharata.
In all wombs, Kaunteya, forms come
to be
of which God is the great womb.
I am the seed-sowing
father.

"'Goodness, emotion, darkness---
thus the qualities born of
nature
bind, great-armed one, in the body
the imperishable embodied
one.

"'Of these, goodness, free from impurity, illuminating,
healthy,
binds by attachment to happiness
and by attachment to knowledge, sinless
one.

"'Know that emotion whose soul is passion
is born of thirsty
attachment.
This binds down the embodied one, Kaunteya,
by attachment to
action.

"'But know that darkness is born of ignorance,
confusing all
embodied ones.
This binds down by negligence, laziness, sleep,
Bharata.

"'Goodness causes attachment to happiness,
emotion to action,
Bharata,
but obscuring knowledge, darkness
even in negligence causes
attachment.
Prevailing over emotion and darkness,
goodness comes to be,
Bharata,
emotion over goodness and darkness,
likewise darkness over
goodness and emotion.

"'When the light of knowledge is born
in all the
doors in this body,
then it may be known
that goodness has thus grown
powerful indeed.
Greed, exertion, undertaking of actions, unrest,
lust,
these are produced when emotion is in power, Bharata bull.
Lack of
light and lack of exertion, negligence and confusion,
these are produced when
darkness is in power, Kuru joy.

"'But with goodness in power,
when the
embodied one goes at dissolution,
then one arrives at the stainless
worlds
of the knowers of the highest.
Going to dissolution in
emotion,
one is born among those attached to action;
likewise dissolving
in darkness,
one is born in wombs of the deluded.

"'Of action well
done they say
the fruit is good without impurity,
but the fruit of emotion
is pain,
the fruit of darkness ignorance.

"'From goodness springs
knowledge
and from emotion greed;
negligent confusion comes from darkness,
as does ignorance.

"'Those staying good go upward;
the emotional
remain in the middle;
the lowest quality state, the dark, go
downward.

"'When the observer perceives
no doer other than the
qualities
and knows the highest, this one attains my essence.
Transcending
these three qualities coming to be in the body,
the embodied, released from
birth, death, old age, pain,
attains immortality.'

"Arjuna
said,
'By what characteristics does the one transcending
these three
qualities come to be, Lord?
What is the conduct?
And how does one
transcend these three qualities?'

"The blessed Lord
said,
'Illumination and progress and delusion, son of Pandu,
one neither
hates their occurrence
nor longs for their absence.
Whoever is seated
impartially
is not disturbed by the qualities;
the qualities operate
thus;
whoever stands firm does not waver;
the same in pain and pleasure,
self-reliant,
the same to a clod, a stone, gold,
equal to the loved and
the unloved, constant,
equal to blame and praise,
in honor and dishonor
equal,
equal toward friend and enemy,
renouncing all undertakings,
this
one is said to be quality-transcending.
And whoever serves me with unswerving
devotional union,
transcending these qualities
this one is fit for God
realization.
For I am the foundation of God,
of the immortal and of the
imperishable
and of everlasting justice and of absolute happiness.'

15
"The blessed Lord said,
'High the root, low the
branch,
they say the ashvattha tree is eternal;
its leaves are sacred
hymns.
Whoever knows this is a Veda knower.
Below and above its branches
spread,
nourished by qualities sprouting sense objects,
and below the
roots stretch forth
engendering action in the human world.
Its form is not
perceived here in this way
nor the end nor the beginning nor the
maintenance.
This ashvattha tree with fully grown root
being cut down by
the strong ax of detachment,
then that place is to be sought,
having gone
to which they do not return again;
and I take refuge in that primal
Spirit
from where ancient progress flowed.

"'Without arrogant
delusions,
with evil attachments conquered,
the eternal oversouls, with
desires turned away,
released from dualities known as pleasure-pain,
go
unconfused to that imperishable place.
The sun does not illumine nor the moon
nor fire
that place going to which they do not return;
that is my supreme
home.
My primeval part becoming alive in the world of the living
draws
existing in nature the senses,
of which the mind is the sixth.

"'When
the Lord acquires a body,
and also when the Lord departs,
taking these the
wind blows scents as if from the source.
Presiding over hearing, sight,
touch, taste and smell,
and mind, this one enjoys the objects of the
senses.

"'Whether it is departing, staying, or enjoying,
those
confused by the accompanying qualities do not perceive;
those with the eye of
knowledge do perceive.
And striving yogis perceive this one existing in the
soul,
while striving undisciplined thoughtless souls
do not perceive this
one.

"'That brilliant sunshine which lights the entire universe,
the
brilliance which is in the moon and in fire,
know that to be mine.
And
entering the earth I maintain creatures with energy,
and I nourish all plants
becoming the flavor-souled nectar.
Becoming digestive fire entering the body
of the breathing
uniting with the breath I digest the fourfold food.
And I
am seated in the hearts of all;
from me are memory, knowledge, and
reasoning;
and I am recognized by all the Vedas;
I am the Vedanta maker
and the Veda knower.

"'There are these two spirits in the
world,
perishable and imperishable,
and all creatures are
perishable;
the imperishable is called unchanging.

"'But the highest
spirit is another,
called the supreme soul, who,
entering the three worlds
as the undying Lord,
supports them.
Since I transcend the
perishable
and am higher than the imperishable,
therefore I am celebrated
in the world and in the Veda
as the highest spirit.
Whoever thus
unconfused knows me as the highest spirit,
this omniscient one worships
me
with the whole being, Bharata.
So this most secret doctrine explained
by me, blameless one,
intuiting this, one should be enlightened
and
accomplished, Bharata.'

16
"The blessed Lord
said,
'Fearlessness, purity of heart,
perseverance in knowledge of
union,
charity and restraint and sacrifice,
spiritual study, austerity,
straightforwardness,
nonviolence, truth, no anger, renunciation, peace,
no
slander, compassion for creatures, no greed,
kindness, modesty, no
fickleness,
vigor, patience, courage, purity,
no hatred, and no excessive
pride
are the endowment of the one born to the divine,
Bharata.

"'Hypocrisy, arrogance and conceit,
anger and harshness, and
ignorance
are the endowment of the one born to the demonic,
Partha.

"'The divine endowment is for liberation,
for bondage the
demonic, it is thought.
Do not grieve.
To the divine endowment you are
born, son of Pandu.
Two created beings are in this world,
the divine and
the demonic.

"'The divine has been described in detail;
hear from me
about the demonic, Partha.
Progress and cessation demonic people do not
understand;
neither purity nor good conduct nor truth is found in
them.
Untruthful, they are unstable.
The universe, they say, is
godless,
not by a succession created.
What else but desire caused
it?
Holding this view lost souls of little intelligence
and evil actions
come forth as enemies
for the destruction of the world.

"'Attached to
insatiable desire,
accompanied by hypocrisy, arrogance, and lust,
out of
confusion accepting false notions,
they proceed with impure purposes,
and
clinging to immeasurable anxiety ending in death,
with gratification of
desire their highest aim,
convinced that this is all,
bound by a hundred
expectations,
devoted to desire and anger,
they wish for the gratification
of desires
by the unjust means of hoards of wealth.

"'"This today was
acquired by me;
this wish I shall obtain;
this is it; and this shall be my
property also.
That enemy was slain by me;
and I shall kill others
also.
I am the Lord; I am the enjoyer;
I am perfect, powerful, happy.
I
am wealthy, aristocratic.
Who else is there like me?
I shall sacrifice,
give, be merry."

Thus are those deluded by ignorance.
Led astray by
more than one thought,
wrapped in a net of delusion,
attached to the
gratification of desires,
they fall into an unclean hell.

"'Conceited
souls, stubborn,
full of the pride and intoxication of wealth,
they
sacrifice in the name of sacrifices with hypocrisy,
not in the sacred
manner.
Clinging to the ego, force, insolence, desire, and anger,
the
envious hate me in the soul of others' bodies.
Those hating, cruel, vicious
wretches I throw continually
into the cycles of reincarnation in demonic
wombs.
Entering a demonic womb, the deluded in birth after birth
not
attaining me, Kaunteya, go then to the worst path.

"'This threefold gate
of hell is destructive of the soul:
desire, anger, and greed.
Therefore
one should renounce this threesome.
Released from these three dark gates,
Kaunteya,
the best person practices for the soul,
then goes to the supreme
goal.

"'Whoever, discarding scriptural knowledge,
follows willful
desire does not attain perfection
nor happiness nor the supreme
goal.
Therefore scripture is your authority
for determining what is to be
done or not to be done.
Knowing what is said in scripture you should do work
here.'

17
"Arjuna said,
'Those who, discarding
scriptural knowledge,
sacrifice filled with faith,
what is their position,
Krishna?
Is it goodness, emotion, or darkness?'

"The blessed Lord
said,
'Triple is the faith of the embodied;
it is essentially goodness,
emotion, and darkness.

"'Thus hear of this.
The faith of each becomes
according to the form of goodness.
This Spirit is made of faith.
Whoever
has the faith which this is is this.
The good sacrifice to the gods,
the
emotional to spirits and demons,
and others, the men of
darkness,
sacrifice to the dead and ghosts.

"'People who undergo
terrible austerities
not ordained by scripture,
joined with egotistical
hypocrisy
along with desire, rage, and force,
torturing the organs within
the body,
and unconscious of me inside within their body,
know them to be
demonic in their resolves.

"'But food also preferred by each becomes
triple,
as sacrifice, austerity, and charity.
Hear this distinction of
these.
Promoting life, goodness, strength, health,
happiness, and
satisfaction,
flavorful, juicy, substantial, and hearty foods
are liked by
the good.
Pungent, sour, salty, hot, spicy, dry, burnt foods
are wanted by
the emotional,
causing pain, misery, and sickness.
Spoiled, tasteless,
putrid, stale,
and what is rejected as well as the unclean
is the food
liked by the ignorant.

"'Scripture-ordained sacrifice which is
offered
by those not desiring the fruit,
offering thus with the mind
focused, this is good.
But having in view the fruit and also hypocritical
purpose,
Bharata, know this sacrifice which is offered is
emotional.
Scripture discarded, food unoffered, sacred words discarded,
no
price paid, devoid of faith,
they regard as ignorant
sacrifice.

"'Revering the divine,
the twice-born, the teacher, the
wise,
purity, virtue, continence, and nonviolence
is called the austerity
of the body.
Non-disturbing speech, true, pleasant, beneficial,
and which
practices reciting sacred texts
is called speech-making austerity.
Mental
clarity, kindness, silence, self-control,
purity of being, this is called
mental austerity.

"'This triple austerity practiced with the highest
faith
by people united by not desiring fruit, they regard as good.
And
austerity which is done with hypocrisy
for the sake of honor, respect, and
reverence here on earth,
this is said to be emotional, insecure,
impermanent.
Austerity which is done with torture of self
with a deluded
notion
or for the purpose of destroying another,
this is said to be
dark.

"'The gift which is given as being given,
to one who does no
favor,
at the proper place and time and to a worthy person,
this gift is
considered good.
But that which is given for the sake of reward
or again
with a view to the fruit or unwillingly,
that gift is considered
emotional.
That gift which is given
in the wrong place and time to the
unworthy
disrespectfully and with contempt is said to be
dark.

"'"AUM tat sat" is considered the triple symbol of
God.
By this the priests and the Vedas and the sacrifices
were anciently
ordained.
Therefore acts of sacrifice, charity, and austerity
always begin
by uttering AUM
as proclaimed in the precepts of the expounders of
God.
Saying tat without interest in the fruit,
acts of sacrifice,
austerity, and various charities
are done by those desirous of
liberation.
In meaning truth and in meaning goodness this sat is
used.
In praise, also in action the sound sat is used, Partha.
In
sacrifice, austerity and charity
steadiness is also called sat,
and
action related to this is likewise designated sat.

"'An offering
given or an austerity practiced and done
which is without faith is said to be
false, Partha,
and that is nothing to us here or hereafter.'

18
"Arjuna said,
'Great-armed one, I wish to know the
truth
of renunciation and of relinquishment, Hrishikesha,
individually,
slayer of Keshin.

"The blessed Lord said,
'The renouncing of desired
actions
the sages know as renunciation;
relinquishment of the fruit of all
action
the clear-sighted say is relinquishment.
Some thinkers say that
action is to be relinquished as wrong,
and others that action by sacrifice,
charity, and austerity
is not to be thus relinquished.

"'Hear my
conclusion in this matter of relinquishment,
best Bharata, for
relinquishment, tiger spirit,
is described as threefold.
Action by
sacrifice, charity, and austerity
is not to be relinquished;
that
sacrifice, charity, and austerity
are the purifiers of the thinkers.
But
these actions are to be done
relinquishing attachment and the
fruits.
This, Partha, is definitely my final opinion,
for renunciation of
required action is not proper;
the confused relinquishing of this is declared
dark.
Whoever relinquishes action which is troublesome
out of fear of
physical suffering,
doing emotional relinquishment
would not obtain the
fruit of that relinquishment.
Action which is to be done is done in a
disciplined way,
Arjuna, relinquishing attachment and the fruit;
this
relinquishment is thought of as good.

"'Filled with goodness,
intelligent, doubt eliminated,
the relinquisher, does not hate disagreeable
action
nor is attached to the agreeable,
for embodied beings can not
relinquish actions entirely.
But whoever is a relinquisher of the fruit of
action,
this one is called thus a relinquisher.
Triple is the fruit of
action for the dying relinquishers:
unwanted, wanted, and mixed;
but for
the renouncers there is none whatever.

"'Great-armed one, learn from me
these five factors
proclaimed in Sankhya doctrine for success in all
actions:
the basis, also the actor,
and the instrument of various
kinds,
and many separate movements,
and the divine as the
fifth.
Whatever action a person undertakes
with body, speech, and
mind,
whether right or wrong, these are its five factors.

"'But in
this reality,
whoever sees the soul as the only actor
out of incomplete
understanding, this fool does not see.
The one whose condition is not
egoistic,
whose intuition is not affected,
even though killing these
people,
this one does not kill and is not bound.

"'Knowledge, the
known, and the knower
are the threefold action incentives;
the instrument,
the action, and the actor
are the threefold constituents of
action.
Knowledge, action, and the actor are said to be
threefold,
determined by the qualities in the
qualities-doctrine.

"'Hear about these also.
Learn that good knowledge
by which one sees in all creatures
one imperishable essence undivided in the
divided.
But the knowledge which regards as separate
the different beings
of various kinds in all creatures
learn that knowledge is emotional.
But
that which is attached
to one thing to be done as if it were all,
without
reason, without true purpose, and insignificant,
is said to be
dark.

"'Action which is controlled, free of attachment,
done without
liking or disliking, wishing to obtain no fruit,
that is called good.
But
action which is done wishing to obtain desire
with self-interest or again
with much effort,
that is said to be emotional.
Action which is undertaken
out of confusion
disregarding the consequence, loss, harm, and
capability,
that is called dark.

"'Liberated from attachment, not
egotistical,
accompanied by courage and resolution,
unperturbed in success
or failure,
the actor is called good.
Passionate, wishing to obtain the
fruit of action, greedy,
violent-natured, impure, accompanied by joy and
sorrow,
the actor is proclaimed to be emotional.
Undisciplined, vulgar,
stubborn, deceitful, dishonest,
lazy, depressed, and procrastinating,
the
actor is called dark.

"'Hear the distinction of the intuition and the
will
according to the threefold qualities
explained completely and
distinctly, wealth winner.

"'Intuition which knows action and
withdrawal,
what is to be done and what is not to be done,
what is to be
feared and what is not to be feared,
bondage and liberation,
this, Partha,
is good.
Intuition which distinguishes incorrectly right and wrong,
what
is to be done and what is not to be done,
this, Partha, is
emotional.
Intuition which thinks wrong is right,
covered by darkness, and
perverted in every aim,
this, Partha, is dark.

"'The will by which one
holds steady
the mind, breath, and sense functions with unbroken
union,
this, Partha, is good.
But the will by which one holds to duty,
desire, and wealth
with firmness, Arjuna, with attachment to desired
fruits,
this, Partha, is emotional.
The will by which the stupid does not
abandon
sleep, fear, sorrow, depression, and pride,
this, Partha, is
dark.

"'But now hear from me, Bharata bull,
the threefold happiness
one enjoys through practice
and in which one comes to the end of
suffering.
That which in the beginning is like poison
but in maturity
resembles nectar,
that happiness is declared good,
born from the clarity
of soul intuition.
That which in the beginning
from contact between sense
objects and sense resembles nectar
but in maturity is like poison,
this
happiness is considered emotional.
And happiness which in the beginning and
in consequence
is confusing for the soul,
arising from sleep, laziness,
and negligence,
that is said to be dark.

"'There is nothing,
either
on earth or even in heaven among the gods,
no being, which can be freed
by
these three qualities born of nature.

"'The actions of the
priests,
rulers, merchants, and servants,
foe scorcher, are distributed by
the qualities
arising from their nature.
Calmness, control, austerity,
purity, patience and sincerity,
knowledge, discernment, and piety
are
priestly action born of their essence.
Valor, vigor, courage, skill in battle
and also not fleeing,
charity, and leadership
are the action born of the
ruler essence.
Cultivation, cow-herding, and trade
are the action born of
the merchant essence.
Service-type action is born of the servant
essence.

"'Satisfied in one's own repeated action
a person attains
success.
How one content in one's own action
finds perfection, hear
that.
By worshipping with one's own action
that from whom is the origin of
all creatures,
by whom all this is pervaded,
a human finds
perfection.

"'Better one's own duty of less quality
than another's
duty well done;
performing action ordained by one's own essence
one does
not incur guilt.
One should not relinquish inborn action,
Kaunteya, even
though deficient,
for all undertakings are veiled with deficiency
like
fire with smoke.
Unattached intuition everywhere, soul conquered,
longing
disappeared, actionless perfection,
one goes by renunciation to the
supreme.

"'Learn from me briefly, Kaunteya,
how having attained
perfection
one also attains God,
which is the highest state of
knowledge.
United with cleansed intuition,
controlling the self with
will,
and relinquishing, starting with sound, sense objects,
and rejecting
passion and hatred,
living isolated, eating lightly,
controlling speech,
body, and mind,
constantly intent on union meditation,
relying on
detachment,
releasing ego, force, pride, desire, anger,
possessiveness;
unselfish, peaceful, one is fit for oneness with
God.

"'Becoming God, soul serene,
one does not grieve nor
desire,
the same among all creatures,
one attains supreme devotion to
me.
By devotion to me one realizes who and what I am in truth;
then
knowing me in truth one enters immediately.
Performing all actions always
trusting in me,
one attains by my grace the imperishable eternal
home.
Surrendering consciously all actions in me, intent on me,
constantly
be conscious of me relying on intuitive union.

"'Conscious of me,
you
will transcend all difficulties through my grace;
but if through egotism you
will not listen, you will perish.
If, relying on egotism, you think, "I will
not fight,"
vain is this resolve; your nature will compel you.
Bound by
your own essential karma, Kaunteya,
what you do not wish to do out of
confusion
you will perform that even against your will.

"'The Lord
stands in the heart region
of all creatures, Arjuna,
causing to move all
creatures mounted mechanically by magic.
Go to that shelter with your whole
essence, Bharata.
From that grace you will attain supreme peace
and the
eternal state.
Thus knowledge more secret than the secret
has been
explained to you by me.
Reflecting on this completely, do whatever you
wish.

"'Hear from me again the most secret supreme word.
You are
surely loved by me;
therefore I shall speak for your benefit.
Become
mentally me, devoted to me, sacrificing to me;
revere me, and you will come
to me truly;
I promise you; you are my beloved.
Giving up all duties, take
shelter in me alone.
I shall liberate you from all evils; do not
grieve.

"'This is not to be told by you
to one who neglects
austerity
nor to one who neglects devotion
nor to one who does not want to
listen
nor to one who speaks ill of me.

"'Whoever shall
explain
this supreme secret to my devotees,
performing the highest
devotion to me,
will come to me without doubt.
And no one among humanity
is pleasing me more than this one,
and no other is more beloved by me on
earth.
And whoever shall study this sacred dialogue of us two,
by this one
with this knowledge sacrifice I may be loved;
such is my
thought.

"'Also whoever may hear with faith and not scoffing,
this
person, also liberated,
should attain the happy worlds of pure
actions.
Has this been heard by you, Partha,
with one-pointed
thought?
Has it destroyed your ignorant delusion, wealth
winner?'

"Arjuna said,
'Delusion is lost, recognition
gained,
through your grace by me, unchanging one.
I stand with doubt
dispelled.
I shall do your word.'"

Sanjaya said,
"Thus from
Vasudeva and Partha, the great soul,
I heard this marvelous
dialog,
causing my hair to stand on end.
Through the grace of Vyasa
I
heard this secret supreme yoga
from the Lord of yoga, Krishna,
speaking
himself before my eyes.

"O King, remembering again and again
this
marvelous and holy dialog of Keshava and Arjuna,
I rejoice over and
over.
And remembering again and again
that most marvelous form of
Hari,
my amazement is great, King,
and I rejoice again and again.
My
thought is that wherever is the Lord of yoga, Krishna,
and wherever is
Partha, the archer,
there is splendor, victory, well-being, and eternal
wisdom."

Copyright 1996, 2002 by Sanderson Beck

This has been published in the WISDOM BIBLE as
a book. For ordering information, please click here. This text
is also available as spoken by Sanderson Beck on CD.

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