Chapter 9: Rāja Vidyā Yog | Yog through the King of Sciences
In chapters 7 and 8, the Supreme Lord Shri Krishna declared that among all, bhaktiis the highest, yet the simplest path of attaining Yog, or union with the Supreme. In this chapter, He reveals His supreme glories that inspire reverence, devotion, and awe. Although Shree Krishna stands in front of Arjun in His personal form, it should not be mistaken to possess human personality. At the beginning of creation, the Supreme Lord creates innumerable life-forms with His material energy. And at dissolution, He absorbs them back into Himself, and in the next cycle of creation, He manifests them again. Similar to the mighty winds that blow everywhere yet always stay within the sky, all living beings’ dwell within God. However, He remains ever aloof and detached from all these activities as a neutral observer by His divine Yogmaya power.
To resolve the apparent confusion of the Hindu pantheon, Shree Krishna explains that there is only one God, who is the sole object of worship. For all living beings, He is the true friend, the support, refuge, and the final goal. Therefore, those souls who engage in exclusive devotion towards the Supreme Lord go to His abode and remain there. Those influenced by the ritualistic ceremonies described in the Vedas also attain the celestial abodes. However, when their merits are exhausted, they must return to earth. Saying this, Shree Krishna exalts the superiority of pure bhakti solely directed toward Him. Such a devotee lives in complete union with God’s will, doing everything for Him and offering everything to Him. Their pure devotion helps devotees attain the mystic union with God and releases them from the bondage of Karmas.
Shree Krishna asserts that He is impartial towards all creatures; He neither favors nor rejects anyone. Even if despicable sinners come to His shelter, He accepts them willingly and very quickly makes them pure and virtuous. Shree Krishna then says that He is seated within His devotees and will not let them perish. He preserves what they possess and provides them what they lack. Hence, we should dedicate our mind and body to Him, worship Him, always think of Him, and make Him our supreme goal.
Shri bhagavan uvacha Idam tu te guhyatamam pravakshyamyanasuyave Jnanam vijnana-sahitam yaj jnatva mokshyase ’shubhat
Shrī-Bhagavān uvācha--the Supreme Lord said; idam--this; tu--but; te--to you; guhya-tamam--the most confidential; pravakṣhyāmi--I shall impart; anasūyave--nonenvious; jñānam--knowledge; vijñāna--realized knowledge; sahitam--with; yat--which; jñātvā--knowing; mokṣhyase--you will be released; aśhubhāt--miseries of material existence
Translation The Supreme Lord said: O Arjun, because you are not envious of Me, I shall now impart to you this very confidential knowledge and wisdom, upon knowing which you will be released from the miseries of material existence.
Commentary At the very beginning of the topic, Shri Krishna declares the qualification for hearing these teachings. Anasūyave means “non-envious.” He tells Arjun that He is revealing this knowledge because Arjun is non-envious of Him. Lord Krishna clarifies this because God is going to glorify Himself profusely here. Anasūyave also has the sense of “one who does not scorn.” Those listeners who deride Shree Krishna because they believe He is boasting will not benefit from hearing such a message. Rather, they will incur harm, by thinking, “Look at this egotistic person. He is praising His own Self.” Such an attitude is born of arrogance and pride and it robs a person of devotional reverence. Envious people cannot grasp the simple fact that God has no need for anything, and therefore everything He does is for the welfare of the souls. He only praises Himself to enhance devotion in the souls, and not because He has the material defect of conceit as we do. When Jesus of Nazareth said, “I am the path and the way,” he was saying it motivated by compassion for the souls listening to him, and not out of vanity. As a true Guru, he was telling his disciples that the path to God is through the Guru. But the envious-minded do not understand the compassion behind these statements and attribute them to self-conceit. Since Arjun is magnanimous and free from the defect of envy, he is eminently qualified for the profound knowledge that Shree Krishna is going to reveal in this chapter. In the second chapter, Shree Krishna explained the knowledge of the ātmā (soul) as a separate and distinct entity from the body. That is guhya, or secret knowledge. In the seventh and eighth chapters, He explained knowledge of His powers, which is guhyatar, or more secret. And in the ninth and subsequent chapters, He will reveal knowledge of His pure bhakti, which is guhyatam, or the most secret.
Raja-vidya raja-guhyam pavitram idam uttamam pratyakshavagamam dharmyam su-sukham kartum avyayam
Rāja-vidyā—the king of sciences; rāja-guhyam—the most profound secret; pavitram—pure; idam—this; uttamam—highest; pratyakṣha—directly perceptible; avagamam—directly realizable; dharmyam—virtuous; su-sukham—easy; kartum—to practice; avyayam—everlasting
Translation This knowledge is the king of sciences and the most profound of all secrets. It purifies those who hear it. It is directly realizable, in accordance with dharma, easy to practice, and everlasting in effect.
Rājameans “king.” Shree Krishna uses the metaphor rāja to emphasize the paramount position of the knowledge He is going to reveal. Vidyāmeans “science.” He does not refer to His teachings as creed, religion, dogma, doctrine, or belief. He declares that what He is going to describe to Arjun is the king of sciences. Guhyameans “secret.” This knowledge is also the supreme secret. Since love is only possible where there is a choice, God deliberately hides Himself from direct perception, thereby providing the soul the freedom to exercise the choice of loving Him or not. A machine cannot love, for it is devoid of choices. God wants us to love Him and so He gives us the option to choose Him or not, as we wish. He merely makes us aware of the consequences of what we choose, either way, and then leaves it to us to decide the path we wish to follow. Pavitrammeans “pure.” Knowledge of devotion is supremely pure because it is untainted by petty selfishness. It inspires sacrifice of the self at the altar of divine love for the Supreme Lord. Bhakti also purifies the devotee by destroying pāp, bīja, and avidyā. Pāp is the stockpile of past sins of endless lifetimes of the individual soul. Bhakti burns them up as a fire burns up a bundle of straw. Bīja refers to impurities of the heart, which are the seeds of sinful activities. If the seeds exist, then destroying the results of past sins will not suffice, for the propensity to sin will remain in the heart and one will sin again. Bhakti purifies the heart and destroys the seeds of sin, which are lust, anger, and greed. However, even the destruction of the seeds is not enough. The reason why the heart becomes impure is that there is avidyā (ignorance), because of which we identify with the body. Because of this misidentification, we think of the body as the self, and hence create bodily desires thinking they will give happiness to the self. Fulfillment of such material desires further leads to lust, anger, greed, and all the other impurities of the heart. As long as the ignorance remains, even if the heart is cleansed, it will again become impure. Devotion ultimately results in realized knowledge of the soul and God, which in turn destroys the ignorance of material existence. The benefits of bhakti are described in the Bhakti Rasāmṛit Sindhu as follows: kleśhas tu pāpaṁ tadbījam avidyā cheti te tridhā (1.1.18) “Bhakti destroys the three poisons--pāp (sins), bīja (the seed of sins), avidyā (the ignorance in the heart).” Only when the three are completely destroyed, does the heart become truly and permanently pure. Pratyakṣhameans “directly perceptible.” The practice of the science of bhakti begins with a leap of faith and results in direct perception of God. It is not unlike the methodology of other sciences, where we begin an experiment with a hypothesis and conclude with a verified result. Dharmyammeans “virtuous.” Devotion performed without desire for material rewards is the most virtuous action. It is continuously nourished by righteous acts such as service to the Guru. Kartum susukham means “very easy to practice.” God does not need anything from us; He is attained very naturally if we can learn to love Him. When this is the sovereign science and it is easy to practice, then why do people not apply themselves to learning it?