• Chapter Nine •

“The Science of Sciences and The Mystery of Mysteries”

1.  “Lord Shri Krishna said:  I will now reveal to thee, since thou doubtest not, that profound mysticism, which when followed by experience, shall liberate thee from sin.

2.  This is the Premier Science, the Sovereign Secret, the Purest and Best; intuitional, righteous; and to him who practiseth it pleasant beyond measure.

3.  They who have no faith in this teaching cannot find Me, but remain lost in the purlieus of this perishable world.

4.  The whole world is pervaded by Me, yet My form is not seen.  All living things have their being in Me, yet I am not limited by them.

5.  Nevertheless, they do not consciously abide in Me.  Such is My Divine Sovereignty that though I, the Supreme Self, am the cause and upholder of all, yet I remain outside.

6.  As the mighty wind, though moving everywhere, has no resting place but space, so have all these beings no home but Me.

7.  All beings, O Arjuna, return at the close of every cosmic cycle into the realm of Nature, which is a part of Me, and at the beginning of the next I send them forth again.

8.  With the help of Nature, again and again I pour forth the whole multitude of beings, whether they will or no, for they are ruled by My Will.

9.  But these acts of Mine do not bind Me.  I remain outside and unattached.

10.  Under My guidance, Nature produces all things movable and immovable.  Thus it is, O Arjuna, that this universe revolves.

11.  Fools disregard Me, seeing Me clad in human form.  They know not that in My Higher Nature I am the Lord-God of All.

12.  Their hopes are vain, their actions worthless, their knowledge futile; they are without sense, deceitful, barbarous and godless.

13.  But the Great Souls, O Arjuna! Filled with My Divine Spirit, they worship Me, they fix their minds on Me and on Me alone, for they know that I am the imperishable Source of being.

14.  Always extolling Me, strenuous, firm in their vows, prostrating themselves before Me, they worship Me continually with concentrated devotion.

15.  Others worship Me with full consciousness as the One, the Manifold, the Omnipresent, the Universal.

16.  I am the Oblation, the Sacrifice and the Worship; I am the Fuel and the Chant, I am the Butter offered to the fire, I am the Fire itself, and I am the Act of offering.

17.  I am the Father of the universe and its Mother; I am its Nourisher and its Grandfather; I am the Knowable and the Pure; I am Om; and I am the Sacred Scriptures.

18.  I am the Goal, the Sustainer, the Lord, the Witness, the Home, the Shelter, the Lover and the Origin; I am Life and Death; I am the Fountain and the Seed Imperishable.

19.  I am the Heat of the Sun.  I release and hold back the Rains.  I am Death and Immortality; I am Being and Not-Being.

20.  Those who are versed in the scriptures, who drink the mystic Soma-juice and are purified from sin, but who while worshipping Me with sacrifices pray that I will lead them to heaven; they reach the holy world where lives the Controller of the Powers of Nature, and they enjoy the feasts of Paradise.

21.  Yet although they enjoy the spacious glories of Paradise, nevertheless, when their merit is exhausted, they are born again into this world of mortals.  They have followed the letter of the scriptures, yet because they have sought but to fulfil their own desires, they must depart and return again and again.

22.  But if a man will meditate on Me and Me alone, and will worship Me always and everywhere, I will take upon Myself the fulfilment of his aspiration, and I will safeguard whatsoever he shall attain.

23.  Even those who worship the lesser Powers, if they do so with faith, they thereby worship Me, though not in the right way.

24.  I am the willing recipient of sacrifice, and I am its true Lord.  But these do not know Me in truth, and so they sink back.

25.  The votaries of the lesser Powers go to them; the devotees of the spirits go to them; they who worship the Powers of Darkness, to such Powers shall they go; and so, too, those who worship Me shall come unto Me.

26.  Whatever a man offers to Me, whether it be a leaf, or a flower, or fruit, or water, I accept it, for it is offered with devotion and purity of mind.

27.  Whatever thou doest, whatever thou dost eat, whatever thou dost sacrifice and give,  whatever austerities thou practisest, do all as an offering to Me.

28.  So shall thy action be attended by no result, either good or bad; but through the spirit of renunciation thou shalt come to Me and be free.

29.  I am the same to all beings, I favour none, and I hate none.  But those who worship Me devotedly, they live in Me, and I in them.

30.  Even the most sinful, if he worship Me with his whole heart, he shall be considered righteous, for he is treading the right path.

31.  He shall attain spirituality ere long, and Eternal Peace shall be his.  O Arjuna! Believe Me, My devotee is never lost.

32.  For even the children of sinful parents, and those miscalled the weaker sex, and merchants, and labourers, if only they will make Me their refuge, they shall attain the Highest.

33.  What need then to mention the holy Ministers of God, the devotees and the saintly rulers?  Do thou, therefore, born in this changing and miserable world, do thou too worship Me.

34.  Fix thy mind on Me, devote thyself to Me, sacrifice for Me, surrender to Me, make Me the object of thy aspirations, and thou shalt assuredly become one with Me, Who am thine own Self."

Thus, in the Holy Book the Bhagavad Gita, one of the Upanishads, in the Science of the Supreme Spirit, in the Art of Self-Knowledge, in the colloquy between the Divine Lord Shri Krishna and the Prince Arjuna, stands the ninth chapter, entitled:

"The Science of Sciences and The Mystery of Mysteries"