Chapter 7 · 30 verses

Jnana Vijnana Yoga: Knowledge and Realisation

अध्याय 7 — ज्ञानविज्ञानयोग

Krishna describes his higher and lower natures, the kinds of people who turn to God, and why few truly know him.

श्रीकृष्ण अपनी परा और अपरा प्रकृति, भगवान की ओर आने वाले भक्तों के प्रकार, और यह बताते हैं कि उन्हें सच में जानने वाले थोड़े क्यों हैं।

Verse 7.1मय्यासक्तमनाः पार्थ योगं युञ्जन्मदाश्रयः …Krishna tells Arjuna: keep your mind attached to Me, practise yoga while relying on Me, and listen — this is how you will come to know Me fully, without any doubt.
Verse 7.2ज्ञानं तेऽहं सविज्ञानमिदं वक्ष्याम्यशेषतः …Krishna promises to explain both knowledge and its lived, experienced understanding completely — once you grasp this, nothing more remains to be known.
Verse 7.3मनुष्याणां सहस्रेषु कश्िचद्यतति सिद्धये …Among thousands of people, hardly one truly strives for spiritual perfection, and even among those who strive, hardly one comes to know Krishna as He really is.
Verse 7.4भूमिरापोऽनलो वायुः खं मनो बुद्धिरेव च …Earth, water, fire, air, space, mind, intellect and the sense of ego — these eight make up Krishna's outer, material nature.
Verse 7.5अपरेयमितस्त्वन्यां प्रकृतिं विद्धि मे पराम् …Beyond this lower nature, Krishna says, is His higher nature: the living consciousness, the souls, that holds up and sustains the whole world.
Verse 7.6एतद्योनीनि भूतानि सर्वाणीत्युपधारय …All living beings arise from these two natures, matter and spirit. Krishna is the source from which the whole universe comes and into which it finally dissolves.
Verse 7.7मत्तः परतरं नान्यत्किञ्चिदस्ति धनञ्जय …Nothing is higher than Krishna. Everything in the universe is strung on Him like pearls on a thread — He is what holds it all together.
Verse 7.8रसोऽहमप्सु कौन्तेय प्रभास्मि शशिसूर्ययोः …Krishna says: I am the taste in water, the light of the moon and sun, the sacred sound Om in the Vedas, the sound in space, and the strength and character in people.
Verse 7.9पुण्यो गन्धः पृथिव्यां च तेजश्चास्मि विभावसौ …I am the pure fragrance of the earth, the brightness of fire, the life in all beings, and the discipline of those who practise austerity.
Verse 7.10बीजं मां सर्वभूतानां विद्धि पार्थ सनातनम् …Know Me as the eternal seed of all beings. I am the intelligence of the intelligent and the brilliance of the brilliant.
Verse 7.11बलं बलवतां चाहं कामरागविवर्जितम् …I am the strength of the strong when it is free from selfish desire and attachment, and I am desire itself when it does not go against dharma.
Verse 7.12ये चैव सात्त्विका भावा राजसास्तामसाश्च ये …All states of being — calm and good, restless and passionate, dull and dark — come from Krishna. They exist in Him, but He is not caught in them.
Verse 7.13त्रिभिर्गुणमयैर्भावैरेभिः सर्वमिदं जगत् …The whole world is confused by these three qualities of nature, so people fail to recognise Krishna, who stands beyond them and never changes.
Verse 7.14दैवी ह्येषा गुणमयी मम माया दुरत्यया …This divine illusion made of the three qualities is very hard to cross. But those who take refuge in Krishna go beyond it.
Verse 7.15न मां दुष्कृतिनो मूढाः प्रपद्यन्ते नराधमाः …People who act wrongly, who are deluded, or whose understanding has been clouded by illusion and who take on a demonic attitude, do not turn to Krishna.
Verse 7.16चतुर्विधा भजन्ते मां जनाः सुकृतिनोऽर्जुन …Four kinds of good people worship Krishna: those in trouble, those curious to know, those seeking something they need, and the wise.
Verse 7.17तेषां ज्ञानी नित्ययुक्त एकभक्ितर्विशिष्यते …Of these, the wise one who is always connected and devoted to Krishna alone is best. Krishna is very dear to such a person, and that person is very dear to Him.
Verse 7.18उदाराः सर्व एवैते ज्ञानी त्वात्मैव मे मतम् …All of these devotees are noble, but Krishna regards the wise devotee as His very own self, because that person's mind rests in Him as the highest goal.
Verse 7.19बहूनां जन्मनामन्ते ज्ञानवान्मां प्रपद्यते …After many lifetimes, the wise person surrenders to Krishna, realising that God is everything. Such a great soul is very rare.
Verse 7.20कामैस्तैस्तैर्हृतज्ञानाः प्रपद्यन्तेऽन्यदेवताः …People whose understanding has been carried away by various desires turn to other deities, following particular rituals according to their own nature.
Verse 7.21यो यो यां यां तनुं भक्तः श्रद्धयार्चितुमिच्छति …Whatever form of the divine a devotee wants to worship with faith, Krishna makes that person's faith in it steady.
Verse 7.22स तया श्रद्धया युक्तस्तस्याराधनमीहते …Filled with that faith, the person worships that form and receives what they wished for — but those results are really given by Krishna alone.
Verse 7.23अन्तवत्तु फलं तेषां तद्भवत्यल्पमेधसाम् …But such results are temporary for those of limited understanding. Those who worship the gods go to the gods, while Krishna's devotees come to Him.
Verse 7.24अव्यक्तं व्यक्ितमापन्नं मन्यन्ते मामबुद्धयः …People lacking understanding think Krishna, who is beyond form, has merely taken on an ordinary form. They do not know His higher, unchanging and supreme nature.
Verse 7.25नाहं प्रकाशः सर्वस्य योगमायासमावृतः …Krishna is not revealed to everyone, being veiled by His own power of illusion. The confused world does not recognise Him as unborn and unchanging.
Verse 7.26वेदाहं समतीतानि वर्तमानानि चार्जुन …Krishna knows all beings of the past, present and future, but no one truly knows Him.
Verse 7.27इच्छाद्वेषसमुत्थेन द्वन्द्वमोहेन भारत …From birth, all beings fall into confusion caused by the pairs of opposites that arise from liking and disliking.
Verse 7.28येषां त्वन्तगतं पापं जनानां पुण्यकर्मणाम् …But those who live rightly, whose wrongdoing has come to an end, are freed from this confusion of opposites and worship Krishna with firm resolve.
Verse 7.29जरामरणमोक्षाय मामाश्रित्य यतन्ति ये …Those who take refuge in Krishna and strive for freedom from old age and death come to know the Absolute, the true self, and the whole nature of action.
Verse 7.30साधिभूताधिदैवं मां साधियज्ञं च ये विदुः …Those who know Krishna as the Lord behind the material world, the divine powers and all sacrifice keep Him in mind even at the time of death, their minds steady in Him.