Chapter 7

Jnana-Vijnana Yoga

(The Philosophy of Unmanifested and Manifested Divinity)

1. The Blessed Lord said: "Listen now, O Partha, how, with thy mind riveted on Me, by practicing Yoga and making Me thy sole refuge, thou shalt, without doubt, know Me in full.

2. "I shall unfold to thee in its entirety, the Knowledge of the Unmanifested as well as the Manifested Reality ³¹ , which being known, there remains nothing more to be known.

3. "Among thousands of men, scarcely one strives for perfection, and among those who so strive hardly one truly knows Me.

4. "Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Ether, Mind, Intelligence and Ego- thus eightfold is My Prakriti divided.

5. "This [ Prakriti] is My lower [material] aspect but know thou, O Mahabahu, that distinct from this is My other and higher [spiritual] aspect, Jiva (life principle) by which this entire universe is sustained.

6. "Know ye that these two aspects are the 'wombs' of all beings and that I ultimately am the One from Whom the entire Universe evolves and into Whom the Universe finally dissolves.

7. "There is nothing whatsoever higher than Me, O Dhananjaya; all this is strung on Me as a row of pearls on a thread.

8. "O Kaunteya, in water, I am the savor; in the Sun and the Moon, I am the effulgence; in the Vedas, the primeval syllable AUM; in air, sound; and in man, virility.

9. "I am the sweet fragrance in the earth, the brilliance in fire, the life-force in all beings and austerity in ascetics.

10. "Know Me, O Partha, to be the primeval seed of all beings; I am the intelligence of the intelligent, and splendor of the resplendent.

11. "I am the strength of the strong, devoid of passion and attachment; in beings, O Bharatarishabha I am the thirst for righteousness.

12. "Know that all the manifestations of the three Gunas - Sattva, Rajas and Tamas - proceed from none else but Me. I am not, however, in them; they are in Me.

13. Deluded by the manifestations of the three Gunas, the world fails to recognize Me, the Imperishable, Who transcends these [manifestations].

14. "Verily, this Divine illusion of Mine ³² made up of the three Gunas is hard to surmount; but those who take sole refuge in Me, cross beyond this veil.

15. "The evil ones, the deluded ones, those whose vision is clouded by the veil of Maya, and those of demonic disposition, do not seek refuge in Me.

16. "Four types of devotees worship Me, O Bharatarishabha - the one in distress, the one seeking wealth, the one desirous of Knowledge and the Enlightened One ³³ .

17. "Of these, the Enlightened One ever attached to Me in single-minded devotion, is the best. Exceedingly dear am I to the man of Wisdom, and he too is dear to Me.

18. "Noble indeed are all these [four types] but the Wise One I deem to be My very Self. For, steadfast in mind, he is established in Me alone, as the Supreme Goal.

19. "At the end of many births, the Wise One takes refuge in Me, realizing that 'Vaasudeva is all'. Rare indeed is that type of great soul!

20. "But those whose discrimination has been blunted by desires, seek, in accordance with their natures, to propitiate the minor deities through various rituals.

21. "Whatever form a devotee chooses to worship, I stabilize the faith of that devotee in that very form.

22. "Endowed with that faith, he worships that form and from it he gains his wishes, which are, in reality, granted by Me alone.

23. "Finite are the gains of those who worship the deities. Those who worship the deities go to the deities; those who worship Me, come to Me.

24. "Unaware of My Infinite, Transcendental, Supreme and Imperishable nature, people lacking in discrimination think of Me only in terms of My finite form.

25. "I am not manifest to all, concealed as I am by My creative power; the bewildered world does not recognize Me, birthless and changeless.

26. "O Arjuna, I know all beings of the past, the present and those to come in the future; but no one knows Me.

27. "Through delusion in the shape of pairs of opposites ³⁴ , which are born of desire and aversion, all beings in the world are bewildered, O Parantapa.

28. "But the virtuous, in whom all sins have been destroyed and who are freed from the delusion of the pairs of opposites, worship Me with steadfast faith.

29. "Those who make Me their sole refuge, who strive for liberation from decay and death, realize in full Brahman which is their own real Self ³⁵ and in which all action finds its consummation.

30. "Those who comprehend My integral being comprising the Adhibhuta ³⁶ , the Adhidaiva ³⁷ and the Adhiyajna³⁸ - they, who are of steadfast mind, be conscious of Me even at the moment of death.

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 seventh chapter, entitled:

JNANA-VIJNANA YOGA