Chapter 9

Rajavidya Rajaguhya Yoga

(The Philosophy of The Royal Path and The Supreme Secret)

1. The Blessed Lord said: "To thee who does not cavil, I shall now reveal this most mysterious and profound Knowledge which when known, shall liberate thee from the miseries of material existence.

2. "This Knowledge is a sovereign science as well as a sovereign secret, supremely holy, in full accord with Dharma, it is perceived by direct experience, it is everlasting and easy to practice.

3. "Men lacking faith in this doctrine, O Parantapa, far from coming to Me, return repeatedly to the path of recurring death.

4. "By Me in My Unmanifested form, this whole world is pervaded; all beings are in Me but I do not abide in them.

5. "And yet, those beings are not in Me! That indeed is My unique power as Lord - though the Creator and the Sustainer of all beings, I remain aloof.

6. "As the mighty wind moving everywhere is contained in the ether, even so know that all beings abide in Me.

7. "At the end of Kalpa, O Kaunteya, all beings dissolve into Prakriti [which is a part of Me]; and I send them forth again when a new Kalpa begins.

8. "Animating My Prakriti, I send forth again and again this multitude of beings, powerless under the sway of the forces of Nature.

9. "All the same, these actions do not bind Me, unattached as I am to actions, and always standing aloof.

10. "With Me as the Presiding Witness, Nature⁴⁵ brings forth the whole Creation consisting of sentient and insentient beings; and because of this, O Kaunteya, the wheel of the Universe keeps revolving.

11. "Not knowing My transcendent nature as the Sovereign Lord of the entire Universe, fools slight Me when I incarnate in diminutive human form.

12. "Vain are the hopes, actions and knowledge of those witless ones who have embraced a fiendish, demoniacal and delusive attitude.

13. "But the truly great ones, O Partha, guided by their Divine nature and knowing Me as the Imperishable Source of all beings, worship Me with their minds always fixed on Me.

14. "Always proclaiming My glory, ever disciplined, with steadfast faith, they worship Me with devotion.

15. "Others [following the path of Knowledge] worship Me either as One with them or as distinct from them; and still others in various ways worship Me, whose form is the whole universe.

16. "I am the ritual; I am the sacrifice; I am the oblation; I am medicinal herb; I am the hymn; I am the clarified butter; I am the sacred fire and I am also the offering;

17. " I am the Ordainer of this world, as also its Mother, Father and Grandfather; I am That which is to be known, the Purifier, the syllable AUM and also the Rig, the Saama and the Yajur Veda.

18. "I am the Goal, the Sustainer, the Great Lord, the Witness, the Abode, the Refuge, the Friend, the Origin, the End, the Foundation, the Treasure House and the Seed Imperishable.

19. "O Arjuna, I give heat; I send forth as well as withhold rain; I am death as well as Immortality; I am Being as well as non-being.

20. "Those steeped in Vedic rituals worship Me with sacrifices and pray for heaven; on death they reach the holy world of the gods and share celestial pleasures with them.

21. "The pleasures of the heaven s they certainly enjoy, but, their merit exhausted, they return forthwith to the world of mortals; thus those who seek sense enjoyments by adhering to the principles of the three Vedas are chained to the recurring cycle of births and deaths.

22. "As for those who exclusively worship Me, who meditate on Me with no other thought who are ever steadfast - I bear entirely the burden of their welfare.

23. "Kaunteya, even those devotees who, endowed with faith worship minor gods, worship none but Me, though not by the proper method.

24. "Indeed, I am the Receiver and the Enjoyer of all offerings made; but not recognizing Me in entirety, they slip back [to the world of mortals].

25. "Those who worship the gods go to the gods; those who worship the manes go to the manes; those who adore the spirits go to the spirits; but those who worship Me come to Me!

26. "Any offering by an earnest devotee, be it just a leaf or a flower or a fruit or even water - if the offering is made to Me with full devotion, I lovingly accept.

27. "O Kaunteya, whatever thou doest, whatever thou eatest, whatever thou offerest in sacrifice or givest away, whatever austerity thou dost perform, unreservedly dedicate it to Me.

28. "So doing, thou shalt be totally released from the bondage of action be it favorable or otherwise; with mind thus firmly set in renunciation, thou shalt come to Me and thus be freed from recurring birth and death.

29. "I am the same to all beings; with Me none is disfavored and none favored; but those who worship Me with devotion - they are in Me and I too am in them.

30. "Even the vilest of sinners shall be counted as righteous, if he turns to Me with undivided devotion; for he has chosen the right path.

31. "Indeed, ere long he becomes fully spiritual, and eternal peace shall be his; O Kaunteya, know for a certainty that My Bhakta never ever perishes.

32. "By seeking refuge in Me, even those born of sinful parents and others usually considered not eligible shall reach the Supreme Goal.

33. "How much easier then for the holy Brahmins and sages entirely devoted to Me! Therefore, now that thou art in this fleeting, joyless world, seek refuge in Me and worship Me devoutly.

34. "On Me fix thy mind, to Me give thy devotion, to Me offer thy sacrifice, to Me make thy obeisance; thus having attached thy self to Me and made Me thy Goal, to Me indeed thou shalt come!"

Thus in the Bhagavad Gita, the Essence of the Upanishads, the Science of Brahman, the Scripture of Yoga, the Dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna, ends the ninth chapter, entitled:

RAJAVIDYA RAJAGUHYA YOGA