Lecture (Chapter) 9: Of the Chief of Secrets and Prince of Science.

(Numbers in parentheses refer to the numbered notes below them, also enclosed in parentheses.)


Krĕĕshnă.

I will now make known unto thee, who findest no fault, a most mysterious secret, accompanied by profound learning, which having studied thou shalt be delivered from misfortune. It is a sovereign art, a sovereign mystery, sublime and immaculate; clear unto the sight, virtuous, inexhaustible, and easy to be performed. Those who are infidels to this faith, not finding me, return again into this world, the mansion of death.

This whole world was spread abroad by me in my invisible form. All things are dependent on me, and I am not dependent on them; and all things are not dependent on me (36).

(36 And all things are not dependent on me.—This ambiguity is removed by the following simile of the air in the æther.)

Behold my divine connection! My creative spirit is the keeper of all things, not the dependent. Understand that all things rest in me, as the mighty air, which passeth every where, resteth for ever in the ætherial space. At the end of the period Kălp (37) all things, O son of Kŏŏntēē, return into my primordial source, and at the beginning of another Kălp I create them all again.

(37 Kălp.—The same as the day of Brăhmā, a thousand revolutions of the Yŏŏgs. The word literally signifies formation.)

I plant myself on my own nature, and create, again and again, this assemblage of beings, the whole, from the power of nature, without power (38).

(38 The whole, from the power of nature, without power.—This passage is agreeable to the doctrine of the influence of the three Gŏŏn, or qualities, over all our actions.)

Those works confine not me, because I am like one who sitteth aloof uninterested in those works. By my supervision nature produceth both the moveable and the immoveable. It is from this source (39), O Ărjŏŏn, that the universe resolveth.

(39 It is from this source.—Because of the supervision of the Supreme Being.)

The foolish, being unacquainted with my supreme and divine nature, as lord of all things, despise me in this human form, trusting to the evil, diabolic, and deceitful principle within them. They are of vain hope, of vain endeavours, of vain wisdom, and void of reason; whilst men of great minds, trusting to their divine natures, discover that I am before all things and incorruptible, and serve me with their hearts undiverted by other Gods (40).

(40 Other Gods.—Wherever the word Gods is used in this Translation, the subordinate supernatural beings are implied.)

Men of rigid and laborious lives come before me humbly bowing down, for ever glorifying my name; and they are constantly employed in my service; but others serve me, worshipping me, whose face is turned on all sides, with the worship of wisdom, unitedly, separately, in various shapes. I am the sacrifice; I am the worship; I am the spices; I am the invocation; I am the ceremony to the manes of the ancestors; I am the provisions; I am the fire, and I am the victim: I am the father and the mother of this world, the grandsire, and the preserver. I am the holy one worthy to be known; the mystic figure Ōm; the Rĕĕk, the Sām, and Yăjŏŏr Vēds (41).

(41 Vēds.—The word Vēd signifies learning. The sacred volumes of the Hindoos, of which there are four, supposed to have been revealed from the four mouths of Brăhmā. It is remarkable that Krĕĕshnă mentions only the three first; it may therefore be presumed that no more existed in his time.)

I am the journey of the good; the comforter; the creator; the witness; the resting-place; the asylum, and the friend. I am generation and dissolution; the place where all things are reposited, and the inexhaustible seed of all nature. I am sunshine, and I am rain; I now draw in, and now let forth. I am death and immortality: I am entity and non-entity.

The followers of the three Vēds, who drink of the juice of the Sōm (42), being purified of their offences, address me in sacrifices, and petition for heaven.

(42 Sōm—is the name of a creeper, the juice of which is commanded to be drank at the conclusion of a sacrifice, by the person for whom and at whose expence it is performed, and by the Brāhmăns who officiate at the altar.)

These obtain the regions of Eĕndră (43), the prince of celestial beings, in which heaven they feast upon celestial food and divine enjoyments;

(43 Eĕndră—is a personification of the visible heavens, or the power of the Almighty over the elements. He is the sprinkler of the rain, the roller of the thunder, and director of the winds. He is represented with a thousand eyes, grasping the thunderbolt.)

and when they have partaken of that spacious heaven for a while, in proportion to their virtues, they sink again into this mortal life, as soon as their stock of virtue is expended. In this manner those, who, longing for the accomplishment of their wishes, follow the religion pointed out by the three Vēds, obtain a transient reward. But those who, thinking of no other, serve me alone, I bear the burthen of the devotion of those who are thus constantly engaged in my service. They also who serve other Gods with a firm belief, in doing so, involuntarily worship even me. I am he who partaketh of all worship, and I am their reward. Because mankind are unacquainted with my nature, they fall again from heaven. Those who worship the Dēvătās go unto the Dēvătās; the worshippers of the Pĕĕtrĕĕs, or patriarchs, go unto the Pĕĕtrĕĕs; the servants of the Bhōōts, or spirits, go unto the Bhōōts; and they who worship me go unto me.

I accept and enjoy the holy offerings of the humble soul, who in his worship presenteth leaves and flowers, and fruit and water unto me. Whatever thou doest, O Ărjŏŏn, whatever thou eatest, whatever thou sacrificest, whatever thou givest, whatever thou shalt be zealous about, make each an offering unto me. Thou shalt thus be delivered with good and evil fruits, and with the bonds of works. Thy mind being joined in the practice of a Sănnyāsēē (44), thou shalt come unto me.

(44 Sănnyāsēē—one who totally forsaketh all worldly actions; but Krĕĕshnă, in order to unite the various religious opinions which prevailed in those days, confines the word Sănnyās to a forsaking of the hope of reward.)

I am the same to all mankind: there is not one who is worthy of my love or hatred. They who serve me with adoration, I am in them, and they in me. If one, whose ways are ever so evil, serve me alone, he is as respectable as the just man; he is altogether well employed; he soon becometh of a virtuous spirit, and obtaineth eternal happiness. Recollect, O son of Kŏŏntēē, that my servant doth not perish. Those even who may be of the womb of sin; women (45); the tribes of Vīsyă and Sōōdră; shall go the supreme journey, if they take sanctuary with me; how much more my holy servants the Brāhmăns and the Rājărshĕĕs (46)!

(45 Women.—In the Vēds it is declared, that the souls of women, and of the inferior tribes, are doomed to transmigration till they can be regenerated in the body of a Brāhmăn.)

(46 Rājărshĕĕs—from Rājā and Rĕĕshĕĕ, Prince and Saint.)

Consider this world as a finite and joyless place, and serve me. Be of my mind, my servant, my adorer, and bow down before me. Unite thy soul, as it were, unto me, make me thy asylum, and thou shalt go unto me.