The Yoga of Knowledge and Wisdom

Shri bhagavan uvaca: Mayy asakta-manah partha yogam yunjan mad-ashrayah, asamsayam samagram mam yatha jnasyasi tac chrinu

The Supreme Lord said: O son of Partha, hear how you shall know Me fully and without doubt, with your mind fixed on Me, taking refuge in Me, and practicing yoga with devotion. This verse opens the chapter by promising complete knowledge of the Divine through devoted practice and surrender.

Jnanam te 'ham sa-vijnanam idam vakshyamy asheshatah, yaj jnatva neha bhuyo 'nyaj jnatavyam avashishyate

I shall declare to you in full this wisdom along with direct experiential knowledge, knowing which nothing else remains to be known in this world. Krishna distinguishes between theoretical knowledge (jnana) and realized wisdom (vijnana), promising to reveal both.

Manushyanam sahasreshu kashchid yatati siddhaye, yatatam api siddhanam kashchin mam vetti tattvatah

Out of many thousands of people, hardly one strives for perfection; and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth.

Bhumir apo 'nalo vayuh kham mano buddhir eva ca, ahankara itiyam me bhinna prakritir ashtadha

Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intellect, and ego — these eight constitute My separated material nature (apara prakriti). Krishna enumerates the eightfold division of His lower material nature, which forms the foundation of all physical and mental existence.

Apareyam itas tv anyam prakritim viddhi me param, jiva-bhutam maha-baho yayedam dharyate jagat

Beyond this inferior nature, O mighty-armed Arjuna, know that there exists My superior spiritual energy (para prakriti), which consists of the living beings who sustain this world. Krishna distinguishes His lower material nature from His higher spiritual energy — the conscious living souls.

Etad yonini bhutani sarvanity upadharaya, aham kritsnasya jagatah prabhavah pralayas tatha

Know that all created beings have their origin in these two natures of Mine. I am the source of the entire universe and into Me it merges at the end. God is the ultimate origin and dissolution of all existence — both the material and spiritual forces that constitute the cosmos flow from Him.

Mattah parataram nanyat kincid asti dhananjaya, mayi sarvam idam protam sutre mani-gana iva

O conqueror of wealth (Arjuna), there is no truth superior to Me. Everything rests upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread. This verse establishes the absolute supremacy of God as the ultimate reality, the substratum on which all existence depends.

Raso 'ham apsu kaunteya prabhasmi shashi-suryayoh, pranavah sarva-vedesu shabdah khe paurusham nrishu

I am the taste of water, the light of the sun and moon, the sacred syllable Om in Vedic mantras; I am the sound in ether and ability in humans.

Punyo gandhah prithivyam ca tejas casmi vibhavasau, jivanam sarva-bhutesu tapas casmi tapasvishu

I am the pure fragrance of the earth, the brightness in fire. I am the life in all living beings and the austerity in ascetics. Krishna continues enumerating His divine manifestations in the natural world, showing how the Divine pervades all sensory and vital experiences.

Bijam mam sarva-bhutanam viddhi partha sanatanam, buddhir buddhimatam asmi tejas tejasvinam aham

Know Me, O Partha, as the eternal seed of all beings. I am the intelligence of the intelligent and the brilliance of the brilliant. God is the primordial seed of all creation and the highest quality in those who excel — intelligence and brilliance are divine gifts.

Balam balavatam caham kama-raga-vivarjitam, dharmaviruddho bhutesu kamo 'smi bharatarshabha

I am the strength of the strong that is devoid of passion and desire. I am desire itself, O best of the Bharatas, when not contrary to dharma. God is the source of all strength and also of righteous desire — this verse beautifully shows that even desire, when aligned with dharma, is divine.

Ye caiva sattvika bhava rajasas tamasas ca ye, matta eveti tan viddhi na tv aham tesu te mayi

All states of being — whether in goodness, passion, or ignorance — proceed from Me alone. Know this, yet I am not in them; they are in Me. The three gunas arise from God, but God transcends them. This establishes both divine immanence and divine transcendence simultaneously.

Tribhir guna-mayair bhavair ebhih sarvamidam jagat, mohitam nabhijanati mam ebhyah param avyayam

Deluded by these three states of being composed of the gunas, the entire world does not know Me, who am above them and inexhaustible. The three gunas create a veil of illusion that prevents people from recognizing the eternal, unchanging nature that underlies all phenomena.

Daivi hy esha guna-mayi mama maya duratyaya, mam eva ye prapadyante mayam etam taranti te

This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who surrender unto Me can easily cross beyond it.

Na mam dushkritino mudhah prapadyante naradhamah, mayayapahrta-jnana asura bhavam ashritah

Evildoers who are foolish, who are the lowest among men, whose knowledge is taken away by maya, and who have taken to the demonic nature — they do not surrender unto Me. Krishna identifies four categories of people who fail to seek God: the wicked, the ignorant, those whose wisdom is stolen by illusion, and those with a demonic disposition.

Chatur-vidha bhajante mam janah sukritino 'rjuna, arto jijnasur artharthi jnani cha bharatarshabha

O Arjuna, four kinds of pious people render devotional service to Me: the distressed, those desiring wealth, the inquisitive, and those seeking knowledge of the Absolute.

Tesham jnanee nitya-yukta eka-bhaktir vishishyate, priyo hi jnanino 'tyartham aham sa ca mama priyah

Of all these devotees, the one with knowledge (jnani), who is always absorbed in Me with single-minded devotion, is the best. I am very dear to such a one, and that one is also very dear to Me. The jnani who combines knowledge with unwavering devotion is the highest type of seeker — a beloved of God.

Udarah sarva evaite jnani tv atmaiva me matam, asthitah sa hi yuktatma mam evanuttamam gatim

All these devotees are certainly noble souls, but I consider the jnani to be My very Self. Established in yoga, the jnani has attained Me as the supreme goal. While all four types of devotees are noble, the enlightened devotee (jnani) who sees no distinction between self and God is considered the most exalted.

Bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan mam prapadyate, vasudevah sarvam iti sa mahatma su-durlabhah

After many births and deaths, one with true knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.

Kamais tais tair hrita-jnanah prapadyante 'nya-devatah, tam tam niyamam asthaya prakritya niyatah svaya

Those whose wisdom has been distorted by desires surrender to other deities, following various rules and rituals, compelled by their own nature. When people are governed by material desires, they seek lesser powers rather than the Supreme. Their worship, though sincere, is limited by their level of understanding.

Yo yo yam yam tanum bhaktah shraddhayarchitum icchati, tasya tasyacalam shraddham tam eva vidadhamy aham

Whatever celestial form a devotee seeks to worship with faith, I steady the faith of such a devotee in that very form.

Sa taya shraddhaya yuktas tasyaradhanam ihate, labhate ca tatah kaman mayaiva vihitan hi tan

Endowed with that faith, he engages in the worship of that deity, and through it he obtains his desires. But in truth, those benefits are granted by Me alone. All results from all forms of worship ultimately come from God — even when people worship lesser powers, it is the Supreme that fulfills their desires.

Antavat tu phalam tesham tad bhavaty alpa-medhasam, devan deva-yajo yanti mad-bhakta yanti mam api

But the fruit gained by these men of small understanding is finite. The worshipers of the devas go to the devas, but My devotees come to Me. Worship of limited powers yields limited, temporary results, while devotion to the Supreme leads to the supreme eternal goal.

Avyaktam vyaktim apannam manyante mam abuddhayah, param bhavam ajananto mamavyayam anuttamam

The unintelligent, not knowing My supreme, imperishable, and unsurpassed nature, think of Me as having assumed a form from the unmanifest. The ignorant mistake the human form of God for the totality of the Divine, not recognizing that the manifest form is just one expression of the infinite, unmanifest Supreme.

Naham prakashahah sarvasya yoga-maya-samavritah, mudho 'yam nabhijanati loko mam ajam avyayam

I am not manifest to everyone, being veiled by My yoga-maya. This deluded world does not know Me as unborn and eternal. God is veiled from ordinary perception by the divine power of yoga-maya. Without sincere spiritual seeking and purification, the eternal nature of God remains hidden.

Vedaham samatitani vartamanani carjuna, bhavishyani ca bhutani mam tu veda na kashcana

O Arjuna, I know all beings of the past, present, and future, but no one knows Me. God's omniscience encompasses all of time, yet His own essential nature remains unknown to those not devoted to Him — this verse highlights the asymmetry between divine and human knowledge.

Iccha-dveshha-samutthena dvandva-mohena bharata, sarva-bhutani sammoham sarge yanti parantapa

O scion of Bharata, O conqueror of enemies, all beings fall into delusion at birth due to the illusion of duality arising from desire and aversion. From the very moment of birth, beings are conditioned by the pairs of opposites — attraction and repulsion — which create the fundamental delusion of separateness.

Yesham tv anta-gatam papam jananam punya-karmanam, te dvandva-moha-nirmukta bhajante mam dridha-vratah

But those persons of virtuous deeds whose sins have come to an end, and who are freed from the delusion of duality, worship Me with firm resolve. The accumulation of virtuous deeds over many lives purifies the soul, eventually freeing it from delusion and enabling firm, unwavering devotion.

Jara-marana-mokshaya mam ashritya yatanti ye, te brahma tad viduh kritsnam adhyatmam karma cakhilam

Those who strive for liberation from old age and death, taking refuge in Me, come to know Brahman in its entirety — the nature of the Self and all karma. Taking refuge in God with the sincere desire to be freed from the cycle of birth and death opens the door to complete spiritual knowledge.

Sadhibhutadhidaivam mam sadhiyajnam ca ye viduh, prayana-kale 'pi ca mam te vidur yukta-cetasah

Those who know Me as the governing principle of the material realm (adhibhuta), the divine realm (adhidaiva), and of all sacrifices (adhiyajna) — with minds united in Me — even at the time of death, they know Me. Those who understand God's presence in all three domains — material, divine, and sacrificial — remain conscious of God even in their final moment.