jñānavijñānayoga

MeaningThe Blessed Lord said, "O Arjuna, hear how you shall, without doubt, know Me fully, with your mind intent on Me, practicing Yoga and taking refuge in Me."

MeaningI will declare to you in full this knowledge combined with realization, after knowing which nothing else remains to be known here.

MeaningAmong thousands of men, one may perchance strive for perfection; even among those successful strivers, only one may perchance know Me in essence.

MeaningEarth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intellect, and egoism—thus is My Nature divided eightfold.

MeaningO mighty-armed Arjuna, this is the inferior Prakriti; know it as distinct from My higher Prakriti, the very life-element, by which this world is upheld.

MeaningKnow that these two are the womb of all beings; thus, I am the source and dissolution of the whole universe.

MeaningThere is nothing higher than Me, O Arjuna. All this is strung on Me, like clusters of gems on a string.

MeaningI am the flavor in water, O Arjuna; I am the light in the moon and the sun; I am the syllable Om in all the Vedas, sound in the ether and virility in men.

MeaningI am the sweet fragrance in the earth and the brilliance in the fire, the life in all beings, and I am the austerity of ascetics.

MeaningKnow Me, O Arjuna, as the eternal seed of all beings; I am the intelligence of the intelligent, and the splendour of the splendid objects.

MeaningOf the strong, I am the strength devoid of desire and attachment, and in all beings, I am the desire in accordance with Dharma, O Arjuna.

MeaningWhatever beings (and objects) that are pure, active, and inert, know that they proceed from Me. They are in Me, yet I am not in them.

MeaningDeluded by these Natures, composed of the three qualities of Nature, all this world does not know Me as distinct from them and immutable.

MeaningVerily, this divine illusion of Mine, composed of the three qualities, is difficult to cross over; those who take refuge in Me alone, can cross over this illusion.

MeaningThe evil-doers and the deluded, who are the lowest of men, do not seek Me; those whose knowledge is destroyed by illusion follow the ways of demons.

MeaningFour kinds of virtuous men worship Me, O Arjuna, and they are the distressed, the seekers of knowledge, the seekers of wealth, and the wise, O Lord of the Bharatas.

MeaningOf them, the wise who are ever steadfast and devoted to the One, excel; for I am exceedingly dear to the wise, and they are dear to Me.

MeaningIndeed, all these are noble; however, I consider the wise man as My very Self; for, he is steadfast in mind and established in Me alone as the supreme goal.

MeaningAt the end of many births, the wise man comes to Me, realizing that all this is Vaasudeva (the innermost Self); such a great soul (Mahatma) is very hard to find.

MeaningThose whose wisdom has been taken away by this or that desire, go to other gods, following this or that rite, led by their own nature.

MeaningWhatever form any devotee desires to worship with faith, I make that same faith of his firm and unflinching.

MeaningEndowed with that faith, he engages in the worship of that form and obtains his desired outcome, which is ordained by Me alone.

MeaningVerily, the reward (fruit) that accrues to those men of small intelligence is finite. The worshippers of the gods go to them, whereas My devotees come to Me.

MeaningThe foolish think of Me, the Unmanifest, as having manifestation, not knowing My higher, immutable, and most excellent nature.

MeaningI am not manifest to all, veiled as I am by the Yoga-Maya. This deluded world does not know Me, who am unborn and imperishable.

MeaningI know, O Arjuna, the beings of the past, the present, and the future; however, no one knows Me.

MeaningO Bharata, all beings are subject to delusion at birth due to the delusion of the pairs of opposites arising from desire and aversion, O Parantapa.

MeaningBut those men of virtuous deeds, whose sins have come to an end and who are freed from the delusion of the pairs of opposites, worship Me steadfastly, with their vows.

MeaningThose who strive for liberation from old age and death, taking refuge in Me, realize in full that Brahman, the whole knowledge of the Self, and all action.

MeaningThose who know Me with the Adhibhuta (pertaining to the elements), Adhidaiva (pertaining to the gods), and the Adhiyajna (pertaining to the sacrifice) know Me even at the time of death, remaining steadfast in mind.