O Utmost One! O Lord!
Older than eld, Who stored
The worlds with wealth of life! O Treasure-Claimer,
Who wottest all, and art
Wisdom Thyself! O Part
In all, and All; for all from Thee have risen Numberless now I see
The aspects are of Thee!
Vayu[FN#24] Thou art, and He who keeps the prison
Of Narak, Yama dark;
And Agni’s shining spark;
Varuna’s waves are Thy waves. Moon and starlight Are Thine! Prajapati
Art Thou, and ’tis to Thee
They knelt in worshipping the old world’s far light,
The first of mortal men.
Again, Thou God! again
A thousand thousand times be magnified! Honour and worship be–
Glory and praise,–to Thee
Namo, Namaste, cried on every side;
Cried here, above, below,
Uttered when Thou dost go,
Uttered where Thou dost come! Namo! we call; Namostu! God adored!
Namostu! Nameless Lord!
Hail to Thee! Praise to Thee! Thou One in all;
For Thou art All! Yea, Thou!
Ah! if in anger now
Thou shouldst remember I did think Thee Friend, Speaking with easy speech,
As men use each to each;
Did call Thee “Krishna,” “Prince,” nor comprehend
Thy hidden majesty,
The might, the awe of Thee;
Did, in my heedlessness, or in my love, On journey, or in jest,
Or when we lay at rest,
Sitting at council, straying in the grove,
Alone, or in the throng,
Do Thee, most Holy! wrong,
Be Thy grace granted for that witless sin! For Thou art, now I know,
Father of all below,
Of all above, of all the worlds within
Guru of Gurus; more
To reverence and adore
Than all which is adorable and high! How, in the wide worlds three
Should any equal be?
Should any other share Thy Majesty?
Therefore, with body bent
And reverent intent,
I praise, and serve, and seek Thee, asking grace. As father to a son,
As friend to friend, as one
Who loveth to his lover, turn Thy face
In gentleness on me!
Good is it I did see
This unknown marvel of Thy Form! But fear Mingles with joy! Retake,
Dear Lord! for pity’s sake
Thine earthly shape, which earthly eyes may bear!
Be merciful, and show
The visage that I know;
Let me regard Thee, as of yore, arrayed With disc and forehead-gem,
With mace and anadem,
Thou that sustainest all things! Undismayed
Let me once more behold
The form I loved of old,
Thou of the thousand arms and countless eyes! This frightened heart is fain
To see restored again
My Charioteer, in Krishna’s kind disguise.
Krishna.
Yea! thou hast seen, Arjuna! because I loved thee well, The secret countenance of Me, revealed by mystic spell, Shining, and wonderful, and vast, majestic, manifold, Which none save thou in all the years had favour to behold; For not by Vedas cometh this, nor sacrifice, nor alms, Nor works well-done, nor penance long, nor prayers, nor chaunted psalms,
That mortal eyes should bear to view the Immortal Soul unclad, Prince of the Kurus! This was kept for thee alone! Be glad! Let no more trouble shake thy heart, because thine eyes have seen My terror with My glory. As I before have been So will I be again for thee; with lightened heart behold! Once more I am thy Krishna, the form thou knew’st of old!
Sanjaya.
These words to Arjuna spake
Vasudev, and straight did take
Back again the semblance dear
Of the well-loved charioteer;
Peace and joy it did restore
When the Prince beheld once more
Mighty BRAHMA’s form and face
Clothed in Krishna’s gentle grace.
Arjuna.
Now that I see come back, Janardana! This friendly human frame, my mind can think Calm thoughts once more; my heart beats still again!
Krishna.
Yea! it was wonderful and terrible
To view me as thou didst, dear Prince! The gods Dread and desire continually to view!
Yet not by Vedas, nor from sacrifice, Nor penance, nor gift-giving, nor with prayer Shall any so behold, as thou hast seen!
Only by fullest service, perfect faith, And uttermost surrender am I known
And seen, and entered into, Indian Prince! Who doeth all for Me; who findeth Me
In all; adoreth always; loveth all
Which I have made, and Me, for Love’s sole end That man, Arjuna! unto Me doth wend.
HERE ENDETH CHAPTER XI. OF THE BHAGAVAD-GITA, Entitled “Viswarupadarsanam,”
Or “The Book of the Manifesting of the One and Manifold.”
CHAPTER XII
Arjuna.
Lord! of the men who serve Thee–true in heart– As God revealed; and of the men who serve, Worshipping Thee Unrevealed, Unbodied, Far, Which take the better way of faith and life?
Krishna.
Whoever serve Me–as I show Myself– Constantly true, in full devotion fixed, Those hold I very holy. But who serve–
Worshipping Me The One, The Invisible, The Unrevealed, Unnamed, Unthinkable,
Uttermost, All-pervading, Highest, Sure– Who thus adore Me, mastering their sense, Of one set mind to all, glad in all good, These blessed souls come unto Me.
Yet, hard
The travail is for such as bend their minds To reach th’ Unmanifest That viewless path Shall scarce be trod by man bearing the flesh! But whereso any doeth all his deeds
Renouncing self for Me, full of Me, fixed To serve only the Highest, night and day Musing on Me–him will I swiftly lift
Forth from life’s ocean of distress and death, Whose soul clings fast to Me. Cling thou to Me! Clasp Me with heart and mind! so shalt thou dwell Surely with Me on high. But if thy thought Droops from such height; if thou be’st weak to set Body and soul upon Me constantly,
Despair not! give Me lower service! seek To reach Me, worshipping with steadfast will; And, if thou canst not worship steadfastly, Work for Me, toil in works pleasing to Me! For he that laboureth right for love of Me Shall finally attain! But, if in this
Thy faint heart fails, bring Me thy failure! find Refuge in Me! let fruits of labour go,
Renouncing hope for Me, with lowliest heart, So shalt thou come; for, though to know is more Than diligence, yet worship better is
Than knowing, and renouncing better still. Near to renunciation–very near–
Dwelleth Eternal Peace!
Who hateth nought
Of all which lives, living himself benign, Compassionate, from arrogance exempt,
Exempt from love of self, unchangeable By good or ill; patient, contented, firm In faith, mastering himself, true to his word, Seeking Me, heart and soul; vowed unto Me,– That man I love! Who troubleth not his kind, And is not troubled by them; clear of wrath, Living too high for gladness, grief, or fear, That man I love! Who, dwelling quiet-eyed,[FN#25] Stainless, serene, well-balanced, unperplexed, Working with Me, yet from all works detached, That man I love! Who, fixed in faith on Me, Dotes upon none, scorns none; rejoices not, And grieves not, letting good or evil hap Light when it will, and when it will depart, That man I love! Who, unto friend and foe Keeping an equal heart, with equal mind
Bears shame and glory; with an equal peace Takes heat and cold, pleasure and pain; abides Quit of desires, hears praise or calumny In passionless restraint, unmoved by each; Linked by no ties to earth, steadfast in Me, That man I love! But most of all I love
Those happy ones to whom ’tis life to live In single fervid faith and love unseeing, Drinking the blessed Amrit of my Being!
HERE ENDETH CHAPTER XII. OF THE BHAGAVAD-GITA, Entitled “Bhaktiyog,”
Or”The Book of the Religion of Faith.”
CHAPTER XIII
Arjuna.
Now would I hear, O gracious Kesava![FN#26] Of Life which seems, and Soul beyond, which sees, And what it is we know-or think to know.
Krishna.
Yea! Son of Kunti! for this flesh ye see Is Kshetra, is the field where Life disports; And that which views and knows it is the Soul, Kshetrajna. In all “fields,” thou Indian prince! I am Kshetrajna. I am what surveys!
Only that knowledge knows which knows the known By the knower![FN#27] What it is, that “field” of life, What qualities it hath, and whence it is, And why it changeth, and the faculty
That wotteth it, the mightiness of this, And how it wotteth-hear these things from Me!
. . . . . . . . . . . .[FN#28]
The elements, the conscious life, the mind, The unseen vital force, the nine strange gates Of the body, and the five domains of sense; Desire, dislike, pleasure and pain, and thought Deep-woven, and persistency of being;
These all are wrought on Matter by the Soul!
Humbleness, truthfulness, and harmlessness, Patience and honour, reverence for the wise. Purity, constancy, control of self,
Contempt of sense-delights, self-sacrifice, Perception of the certitude of ill
In birth, death, age, disease, suffering, and sin; Detachment, lightly holding unto home,
Children, and wife, and all that bindeth men; An ever-tranquil heart in fortunes good
And fortunes evil, with a will set firm To worship Me–Me only! ceasing not;
Loving all solitudes, and shunning noise Of foolish crowds; endeavours resolute
To reach perception of the Utmost Soul, And grace to understand what gain it were So to attain,–this is true Wisdom, Prince! And what is otherwise is ignorance!
Now will I speak of knowledge best to know- That Truth which giveth man Amrit to drink, The Truth of HIM, the Para-Brahm, the All, The Uncreated;; not Asat, not Sat,
Not Form, nor the Unformed; yet both, and more;– Whose hands are everywhere, and everywhere Planted His feet, and everywhere His eyes Beholding, and His ears in every place
Hearing, and all His faces everywhere Enlightening and encompassing His worlds. Glorified in the senses He hath given,
Yet beyond sense He is; sustaining all, Yet dwells He unattached: of forms and modes Master, yet neither form nor mode hath He; He is within all beings–and without–
Motionless, yet still moving; not discerned For subtlety of instant presence; close
To all, to each; yet measurelessly far! Not manifold, and yet subsisting still
In all which lives; for ever to be known As the Sustainer, yet, at the End of Times, He maketh all to end–and re-creates.
The Light of Lights He is, in the heart of the Dark Shining eternally. Wisdom He is
And Wisdom’s way, and Guide of all the wise, Planted in every heart.
So have I told
Of Life’s stuff, and the moulding, and the lore To comprehend. Whoso, adoring Me,
Perceiveth this, shall surely come to Me!
Know thou that Nature and the Spirit both Have no beginning! Know that qualities
And changes of them are by Nature wrought; That Nature puts to work the acting frame, But Spirit doth inform it, and so cause
Feeling of pain and pleasure. Spirit, linked To moulded matter, entereth into bond
With qualities by Nature framed, and, thus Married to matter, breeds the birth again In good or evil yonis.[FN#29]
Yet is this
Yea! in its bodily prison!–Spirit pure, Spirit supreme; surveying, governing,
Guarding, possessing; Lord and Master still PURUSHA, Ultimate, One Soul with Me.
Whoso thus knows himself, and knows his soul PURUSHA, working through the qualities
With Nature’s modes, the light hath come for him! Whatever flesh he bears, never again
Shall he take on its load. Some few there be By meditation find the Soul in Self
Self-schooled; and some by long philosophy And holy life reach thither; some by works: Some, never so attaining, hear of light
From other lips, and seize, and cleave to it Worshipping; yea! and those–to teaching true– Overpass Death!
Wherever, Indian Prince!
Life is–of moving things, or things unmoved, Plant or still seed–know, what is there hath grown By bond of Matter and of Spirit: Know
He sees indeed who sees in all alike The living, lordly Soul; the Soul Supreme, Imperishable amid the Perishing:
For, whoso thus beholds, in every place, In every form, the same, one, Living Life, Doth no more wrongfulness unto himself,
But goes the highest road which brings to bliss. Seeing, he sees, indeed, who sees that works Are Nature’s wont, for Soul to practise by Acting, yet not the agent; sees the mass Of separate living things–each of its kind– Issue from One, and blend again to One:
Then hath he BRAHMA, he attains!
O Prince!
That Ultimate, High Spirit, Uncreate, Unqualified, even when it entereth flesh Taketh no stain of acts, worketh in nought! Like to th” ethereal air, pervading all, Which, for sheer subtlety, avoideth taint, The subtle Soul sits everywhere, unstained: Like to the light of the all-piercing sun [Which is not changed by aught it shines upon,] The Soul’s light shineth pure in every place; And they who, by such eye of wisdom, see How Matter, and what deals with it, divide; And how the Spirit and the flesh have strife, Those wise ones go the way which leads to Life!
HERE ENDS CHAPTER XIII. OF THE BHAGAVAD-GITA, Entitled “Kshetrakshetrajnavibhagayog,”
Or “The Book of Religion by Separation of Matter and Spirit.”
CHAPTER XIV
Krishna.
Yet farther will I open unto thee
This wisdom of all wisdoms, uttermost, The which possessing, all My saints have passed To perfectness. On such high verities
Reliant, rising into fellowship
With Me, they are not born again at birth Of Kalpas, nor at Pralyas suffer change!
This Universe the womb is where I plant Seed of all lives! Thence, Prince of India, comes Birth to all beings! Whoso, Kunti’s Son! Mothers each mortal form, Brahma conceives, And I am He that fathers, sending seed!
Sattwan, Rajas, and Tamas, so are named The qualities of Nature, “Soothfastness,” “Passion,” and “Ignorance.” These three bind down The changeless Spirit in the changeful flesh. Whereof sweet “Soothfastness,” by purity Living unsullied and enlightened, binds
The sinless Soul to happiness and truth; And Passion, being kin to appetite,
And breeding impulse and propensity, Binds the embodied Soul, O Kunti’s Son!
By tie of works. But Ignorance, begot Of Darkness, blinding mortal men, binds down Their souls to stupor, sloth, and drowsiness. Yea, Prince of India! Soothfastness binds souls In pleasant wise to flesh; and Passion binds By toilsome strain; but Ignorance, which blots The beams of wisdom, binds the soul to sloth. Passion and Ignorance, once overcome,
Leave Soothfastness, O Bharata! Where this With Ignorance are absent, Passion rules; And Ignorance in hearts not good nor quick. When at all gateways of the Body shines
The Lamp of Knowledge, then may one see well Soothfastness settled in that city reigns; Where longing is, and ardour, and unrest, Impulse to strive and gain, and avarice, Those spring from Passion–Prince!–engrained; and where Darkness and dulness, sloth and stupor are, ‘Tis Ignorance hath caused them, Kuru Chief!
Moreover, when a soul departeth, fixed In Soothfastness, it goeth to the place– Perfect and pure–of those that know all Truth. If it departeth in set habitude
Of Impulse, it shall pass into the world Of spirits tied to works; and, if it dies In hardened Ignorance, that blinded soul Is born anew in some unlighted womb.
The fruit of Soothfastness is true and sweet; The fruit of lusts is pain and toil; the fruit Of Ignorance is deeper darkness. Yea!
For Light brings light, and Passion ache to have; And gloom, bewilderments, and ignorance
Grow forth from Ignorance. Those of the first Rise ever higher; those of the second mode Take a mid place; the darkened souls sink back To lower deeps, loaded with witlessness!
When, watching life, the living man perceives The only actors are the Qualities,
And knows what rules beyond the Qualities, Then is he come nigh unto Me!
The Soul,
Thus passing forth from the Three Qualities– Whereby arise all bodies–overcomes
Birth, Death, Sorrow, and Age; and drinketh deep The undying wine of Amrit.
Arjuna.
Oh, my Lord!
Which be the signs to know him that hath gone Past the Three Modes? How liveth he? What way Leadeth him safe beyond the threefold Modes?
Krishna.
He who with equanimity surveys
Lustre of goodness, strife of passion, sloth Of ignorance, not angry if they are,
Not wishful when they are not: he who sits A sojourner and stranger in their midst
Unruffled, standing off, saying–serene– When troubles break, “These be the Qualities!” He unto whom–self-centred–grief and joy Sound as one word; to whose deep-seeing eyes The clod, the marble, and the gold are one; Whose equal heart holds the same gentleness For lovely and unlovely things, firm-set, Well-pleased in praise and dispraise; satisfied With honour or dishonour; unto friends
And unto foes alike in tolerance;
Detached from undertakings,–he is named Surmounter of the Qualities!
And such–
With single, fervent faith adoring Me, Passing beyond the Qualities, conforms
To Brahma, and attains Me!
For I am
That whereof Brahma is the likeness! Mine The Amrit is; and Immortality
Is mine; and mine perfect Felicity!
HERE ENDS CHAPTER XIV. OF THE BHAGAVAD-GITA Entitled “Gunatrayavibhagayog,”
Or “The Book of Religion by Separation from the Qualities.”
CHAPTER XV
Krishna.
Men call the Aswattha,–the Banyan-tree,– Which hath its boughs beneath, its roots above,– The ever-holy tree. Yea! for its leaves
Are green and waving hymns which whisper Truth! Who knows the Aswattha, knows Veds, and all.
Its branches shoot to heaven and sink to earth,[FN#30] Even as the deeds of men, which take their birth From qualities: its silver sprays and blooms, And all the eager verdure of its girth,
Leap to quick life at kiss of sun and air, As men’s lives quicken to the temptings fair Of wooing sense: its hanging rootlets seek The soil beneath, helping to hold it there,
As actions wrought amid this world of men Bind them by ever-tightening bonds again. If ye knew well the teaching of the Tree, What its shape saith; and whence it springs; and, then
How it must end, and all the ills of it, The axe of sharp Detachment ye would whet, And cleave the clinging snaky roots, and lay This Aswattha of sense-life low,–to set
New growths upspringing to that happier sky,– Which they who reach shall have no day to die, Nor fade away, nor fall–to Him, I mean, FATHER and FIRST, Who made the mystery
Of old Creation; for to Him come they From passion and from dreams who break away; Who part the bonds constraining them to flesh, And,–Him, the Highest, worshipping alway–
No longer grow at mercy of what breeze Of summer pleasure stirs the sleeping trees, What blast of tempest tears them, bough and stem To the eternal world pass such as these!
Another Sun gleams there! another Moon! Another Light,–not Dusk, nor Dawn, nor Noon– Which they who once behold return no more; They have attained My rest, life’s Utmost boon!
When, in this world of manifested life, The undying Spirit, setting forth from Me, Taketh on form, it draweth to itself
From Being’s storehouse,–which containeth all,– Senses and intellect. The Sovereign Soul Thus entering the flesh, or quitting it, Gathers these up, as the wind gathers scents, Blowing above the flower-beds. Ear and Eye, And Touch and Taste, and Smelling, these it takes,– Yea, and a sentient mind;–linking itself To sense-things so.
The unenlightened ones
Mark not that Spirit when he goes or comes, Nor when he takes his pleasure in the form, Conjoined with qualities; but those see plain Who have the eyes to see. Holy souls see Which strive thereto. Enlightened, they perceive That Spirit in themselves; but foolish ones, Even though they strive, discern not, having hearts Unkindled, ill-informed!
Know, too, from Me
Shineth the gathered glory of the suns Which lighten all the world: from Me the moons Draw silvery beams, and fire fierce loveliness. I penetrate the clay, and lend all shapes Their living force; I glide into the plant– Root, leaf, and bloom–to make the woodlands green With springing sap. Becoming vital warmth, I glow in glad, respiring frames, and pass, With outward and with inward breath, to feed The body by all meats.[FN#31]
For in this world
Being is twofold: the Divided, one; The Undivided, one. All things that live Are “the Divided.” That which sits apart, “The Undivided.”
Higher still is He,
The Highest, holding all, whose Name is LORD, The Eternal, Sovereign, First! Who fills all worlds, Sustaining them. And–dwelling thus beyond Divided Being and Undivided–I
Am called of men and Vedas, Life Supreme, The PURUSHOTTAMA.
Who knows Me thus,
With mind unclouded, knoweth all, dear Prince! And with his whole soul ever worshippeth Me.
Now is the sacred, secret Mystery
Declared to thee! Who comprehendeth this Hath wisdom! He is quit of works in bliss!
HERE ENDS CHAPTER XV. OF THE BHAGAVAD-GITA Entitled “Purushottamapraptiyog,”
Or “The Book of Religion by attaining the Supreme.”
CHAPTER XVI
Krishna.
Fearlessness, singleness of soul, the will Always to strive for wisdom; opened hand And governed appetites; and piety,
And love of lonely study; humbleness, Uprightness, heed to injure nought which lives, Truthfulness, slowness unto wrath, a mind That lightly letteth go what others prize; And equanimity, and charity
Which spieth no man’s faults; and tenderness Towards all that suffer; a contented heart, Fluttered by no desires; a bearing mild, Modest, and grave, with manhood nobly mixed, With patience, fortitude, and purity;
An unrevengeful spirit, never given To rate itself too high;–such be the signs, O Indian Prince! of him whose feet are set On that fair path which leads to heavenly birth!
Deceitfulness, and arrogance, and pride, Quickness to anger, harsh and evil speech, And ignorance, to its own darkness blind,– These be the signs, My Prince! of him whose birth Is fated for the regions of the vile.[FN#32]
The Heavenly Birth brings to deliverance, So should’st thou know! The birth with Asuras Brings into bondage. Be thou joyous, Prince! Whose lot is set apart for heavenly Birth.
Two stamps there are marked on all living men, Divine and Undivine; I spake to thee
By what marks thou shouldst know the Heavenly Man, Hear from me now of the Unheavenly!
They comprehend not, the Unheavenly,
How Souls go forth from Me; nor how they come Back unto Me: nor is there Truth in these, Nor purity, nor rule of Life. “This world Hath not a Law, nor Order, nor a Lord,”
So say they: “nor hath risen up by Cause Following on Cause, in perfect purposing, But is none other than a House of Lust.” And, this thing thinking, all those ruined ones– Of little wit, dark-minded–give themselves To evil deeds, the curses of their kind. Surrendered to desires insatiable,
Full of deceitfulness, folly, and pride, In blindness cleaving to their errors, caught Into the sinful course, they trust this lie As it were true–this lie which leads to death– Finding in Pleasure all the good which is, And crying “Here it finisheth!”
Ensnared
In nooses of a hundred idle hopes,
Slaves to their passion and their wrath, they buy Wealth with base deeds, to glut hot appetites; “Thus much, to-day,” they say, “we gained! thereby Such and such wish of heart shall have its fill; And this is ours! and th’ other shall be ours! To-day we slew a foe, and we will slay
Our other enemy to-morrow! Look!
Are we not lords? Make we not goodly cheer? Is not our fortune famous, brave, and great? Rich are we, proudly born! What other men Live like to us? Kill, then, for sacrifice! Cast largesse, and be merry!” So they speak Darkened by ignorance; and so they fall– Tossed to and fro with projects, tricked, and bound In net of black delusion, lost in lusts– Down to foul Naraka. Conceited, fond,
Stubborn and proud, dead-drunken with the wine Of wealth, and reckless, all their offerings Have but a show of reverence, being not made In piety of ancient faith. Thus vowed
To self-hood, force, insolence, feasting, wrath, These My blasphemers, in the forms they wear And in the forms they breed, my foemen are, Hateful and hating; cruel, evil, vile,
Lowest and least of men, whom I cast down Again, and yet again, at end of lives,
Into some devilish womb, whence–birth by birth– The devilish wombs re-spawn them, all beguiled; And, till they find and worship Me, sweet Prince! Tread they that Nether Road.
The Doors of Hell
Are threefold, whereby men to ruin pass,– The door of Lust, the door of Wrath, the door Of Avarice. Let a man shun those three!
He who shall turn aside from entering All those three gates of Narak, wendeth straight To find his peace, and comes to Swarga’s gate.
. . . . . . . . . . . .[FN#33]
HERE ENDETH CHAPTER XVI. OF THE BHAGAVAD-GITA, Entitled “Daivasarasaupadwibhagayog,”
Or “The Book of the Separateness of the Divine and Undivine.”
CHAPTER XVII
Arjuna.
If men forsake the holy ordinance,
Heedless of Shastras, yet keep faith at heart And worship, what shall be the state of those, Great Krishna! Sattwan, Rajas, Tamas? Say!
Krishna.
Threefold the faith is of mankind and springs From those three qualities,–becoming “true,” Or “passion-stained,” or “dark,” as thou shalt hear!
The faith of each believer, Indian Prince! Conforms itself to what he truly is.
Where thou shalt see a worshipper, that one To what he worships lives assimilate,
[Such as the shrine, so is the votary,] The “soothfast” souls adore true gods; the souls Obeying Rajas worship Rakshasas[FN#34]
Or Yakshas; and the men of Darkness pray To Pretas and to Bhutas.[FN#35] Yea, and those Who practise bitter penance, not enjoined By rightful rule–penance which hath its root In self-sufficient, proud hypocrisies–
Those men, passion-beset, violent, wild, Torturing–the witless ones–My elements Shut in fair company within their flesh, (Nay, Me myself, present within the flesh!) Know them to devils devoted, not to Heaven! For like as foods are threefold for mankind In nourishing, so is there threefold way Of worship, abstinence, and almsgiving!
Hear this of Me! there is a food which brings Force, substance, strength, and health, and joy to live, Being well-seasoned, cordial, comforting, The “Soothfast” meat. And there be foods which bring Aches and unrests, and burning blood, and grief, Being too biting, heating, salt, and sharp, And therefore craved by too strong appetite. And there is foul food–kept from over-night,[FN#36] Savourless, filthy, which the foul will eat, A feast of rottenness, meet for the lips Of such as love the “Darkness.”
Thus with rites;–
A sacrifice not for rewardment made, Offered in rightful wise, when he who vows Sayeth, with heart devout, “This I should do!” Is “Soothfast” rite. But sacrifice for gain, Offered for good repute, be sure that this, O Best of Bharatas! is Rajas-rite,
With stamp of “passion.” And a sacrifice Offered against the laws, with no due dole Of food-giving, with no accompaniment
Of hallowed hymn, nor largesse to the priests, In faithless celebration, call it vile,
The deed of “Darkness!”–lost!
Worship of gods
Meriting worship; lowly reverence
Of Twice-borns, Teachers, Elders; Purity, Rectitude, and the Brahmacharya’s vow,
And not to injure any helpless thing,– These make a true religiousness of Act.
Words causing no man woe, words ever true, Gentle and pleasing words, and those ye say In murmured reading of a Sacred Writ,–
These make the true religiousness of Speech.
Serenity of soul, benignity,
Sway of the silent Spirit, constant stress To sanctify the Nature,–these things make Good rite, and true religiousness of Mind.
Such threefold faith, in highest piety Kept, with no hope of gain, by hearts devote, Is perfect work of Sattwan, true belief.
Religion shown in act of proud display To win good entertainment, worship, fame, Such–say I–is of Rajas, rash and vain.
Religion followed by a witless will
To torture self, or come at power to hurt Another,–’tis of Tamas, dark and ill.
The gift lovingly given, when one shall say “Now must I gladly give!” when he who takes Can render nothing back; made in due place, Due time, and to a meet recipient,
Is gift of Sattwan, fair and profitable.
The gift selfishly given, where to receive Is hoped again, or when some end is sought, Or where the gift is proffered with a grudge, This is of Rajas, stained with impulse, ill.
The gift churlishly flung, at evil time, In wrongful place, to base recipient,
Made in disdain or harsh unkindliness, Is gift of Tamas, dark; it doth not bless![FN#37]
HERE ENDETH CHAPTER XVII. OF THE BHAGAVAD-GITA, Entitled “Sraddhatrayavibhagayog,”
Or “The Book of Religion by the Threefold Kinds of Faith.”
CHAPTER XVIII
Arjuna.
Fain would I better know, Thou Glorious One! The very truth–Heart’s Lord!–of Sannyas, Abstention; and enunciation, Lord!
Tyaga; and what separates these twain!
Krishna.
The poets rightly teach that Sannyas Is the foregoing of all acts which spring Out of desire; and their wisest say
Tyaga is renouncing fruit of acts.
There be among the saints some who have held All action sinful, and to be renounced;
And some who answer, “Nay! the goodly acts– As worship, penance, alms–must be performed!” Hear now My sentence, Best of Bharatas!
‘Tis well set forth, O Chaser of thy Foes! Renunciation is of threefold form,
And Worship, Penance, Alms, not to be stayed; Nay, to be gladly done; for all those three Are purifying waters for true souls!
Yet must be practised even those high works In yielding up attachment, and all fruit Produced by works. This is My judgment, Prince! This My insuperable and fixed decree!
Abstaining from a work by right prescribed Never is meet! So to abstain doth spring From “Darkness,” and Delusion teacheth it. Abstaining from a work grievous to flesh, When one saith “‘Tisunpleasing!” this is null! Such an one acts from “passion;” nought of gain Wins his Renunciation! But, Arjun!
Abstaining from attachment to the work, Abstaining from rewardment in the work,
While yet one doeth it full faithfully, Saying, “Tis right to do!” that is “true ” act And abstinence! Who doeth duties so,
Unvexed if his work fail, if it succeed Unflattered, in his own heart justified, Quit of debates and doubts, his is “true” act: For, being in the body, none may stand
Wholly aloof from act; yet, who abstains From profit of his acts is abstinent.
The fruit of labours, in the lives to come, Is threefold for all men,–Desirable,
And Undesirable, and mixed of both; But no fruit is at all where no work was.
Hear from me, Long-armed Lord! the makings five Which go to every act, in Sankhya taught As necessary. First the force; and then
The agent; next, the various instruments; Fourth, the especial effort; fifth, the God. What work soever any mortal doth
Of body, mind, or speech, evil or good, By these five doth he that. Which being thus, Whoso, for lack of knowledge, seeth himself As the sole actor, knoweth nought at all And seeth nought. Therefore, I say, if one– Holding aloof from self–with unstained mind Should slay all yonder host, being bid to slay, He doth not slay; he is not bound thereby!
Knowledge, the thing known, and the mind which knows, These make the threefold starting-ground of act. The act, the actor, and the instrument,
These make the threefold total of the deed. But knowledge, agent, act, are differenced By three dividing qualities. Hear now
Which be the qualities dividing them.
There is “true” Knowledge. Learn thou it is this: To see one changeless Life in all the Lives, And in the Separate, One Inseparable.
There is imperfect Knowledge: that which sees The separate existences apart,
And, being separated, holds them real. There is false Knowledge: that which blindly clings To one as if ’twere all, seeking no Cause, Deprived of light, narrow, and dull, and “dark.”
There is “right” Action: that which being enjoined– Is wrought without attachment, passionlessly, For duty, not for love, nor hate, nor gain. There is “vain” Action: that which men pursue Aching to satisfy desires, impelled
By sense of self, with all-absorbing stress: This is of Rajas–passionate and vain.
There is “dark” Action: when one doth a thing Heedless of issues, heedless of the hurt Or wrong for others, heedless if he harm His own soul–’tis of Tamas, black and bad!
There is the “rightful”doer. He who acts Free from self-seeking, humble, resolute, Steadfast, in good or evil hap the same, Content to do aright-he “truly” acts.
There is th’ “impassioned” doer. He that works From impulse, seeking profit, rude and bold To overcome, unchastened; slave by turns Of sorrow and of joy: of Rajas he!
And there be evil doers; loose of heart, Low-minded, stubborn, fraudulent, remiss, Dull, slow, despondent–children of the “dark.”
Hear, too, of Intellect and Steadfastness The threefold separation, Conqueror-Prince! How these are set apart by Qualities.
Good is the Intellect which comprehends The coming forth and going back of life, What must be done, and what must not be done, What should be feared, and what should not be feared, What binds and what emancipates the soul: That is of Sattwan, Prince! of “soothfastness.” Marred is the Intellect which, knowing right And knowing wrong, and what is well to do And what must not be done, yet understands Nought with firm mind, nor as the calm truth is: This is of Rajas, Prince! and “passionate!” Evil is Intellect which, wrapped in gloom, Looks upon wrong as right, and sees all things Contrariwise of Truth. O Pritha’s Son!
That is of Tamas, “dark” and desperate!
Good is the steadfastness whereby a man Masters his beats of heart, his very breath Of life, the action of his senses; fixed In never-shaken faith and piety:
That is of Sattwan, Prince! “soothfast” and fair! Stained is the steadfastness whereby a man Holds to his duty, purpose, effort, end, For life’s sake, and the love of goods to gain, Arjuna! ’tis of Rajas, passion-stamped!
Sad is the steadfastness wherewith the fool Cleaves to his sloth, his sorrow, and his fears, His folly and despair. This–Pritha’s Son!– Is born of Tamas, “dark” and miserable!
Hear further, Chief of Bharatas! from Me The threefold kinds of Pleasure which there be.
Good Pleasure is the pleasure that endures, Banishing pain for aye; bitter at first
As poison to the soul, but afterward Sweet as the taste of Amrit. Drink of that! It springeth in the Spirit’s deep content. And painful Pleasure springeth from the bond Between the senses and the sense-world. Sweet As Amrit is its first taste, but its last Bitter as poison. ‘Tis of Rajas, Prince! And foul and “dark” the Pleasure is which springs From sloth and sin and foolishness; at first And at the last, and all the way of life The soul bewildering. ‘Tis of Tamas, Prince!
For nothing lives on earth, nor ‘midst the gods In utmost heaven, but hath its being bound With these three Qualities, by Nature framed.
The work of Brahmans, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, And Sudras, O thou Slayer of thy Foes!
Is fixed by reason of the Qualities Planted in each:
A Brahman’s virtues, Prince!
Born of his nature, are serenity,
Self-mastery, religion, purity,
Patience, uprightness, learning, and to know The truth of things which be. A Kshatriya’s pride, Born of his nature, lives in valour, fire, Constancy, skilfulness, spirit in fight, And open-handedness and noble mien,
As of a lord of men. A Vaisya’s task, Born with his nature, is to till the ground, Tend cattle, venture trade. A Sudra’s state, Suiting his nature, is to minister.
Whoso performeth–diligent, content– The work allotted him, whate’er it be,
Lays hold of perfectness! Hear how a man Findeth perfection, being so content:
He findeth it through worship–wrought by work– Of Him that is the Source of all which lives, Of HIM by Whom the universe was stretched.
Better thine own work is, though done with fault, Than doing others’ work, ev’n excellently. He shall not fall in sin who fronts the task Set him by Nature’s hand! Let no man leave His natural duty, Prince! though it bear blame! For every work hath blame, as every flame Is wrapped in smoke! Only that man attains Perfect surcease of work whose work was wrought With mind unfettered, soul wholly subdued, Desires for ever dead, results renounced.
Learn from me, Son of Kunti! also this, How one, attaining perfect peace, attains BRAHM, the supreme, the highest height of all!
Devoted–with a heart grown pure, restrained In lordly self-control, forgoing wiles
Of song and senses, freed from love and hate, Dwelling ‘mid solitudes, in diet spare,
With body, speech, and will tamed to obey, Ever to holy meditation vowed,
From passions liberate, quit of the Self, Of arrogance, impatience, anger, pride;
Freed from surroundings, quiet, lacking nought– Such an one grows to oneness with the BRAHM; Such an one, growing one with BRAHM, serene, Sorrows no more, desires no more; his soul, Equally loving all that lives, loves well Me, Who have made them, and attains to Me. By this same love and worship doth he know Me as I am, how high and wonderful,
And knowing, straightway enters into Me. And whatsoever deeds he doeth–fixed
In Me, as in his refuge–he hath won For ever and for ever by My grace
Th’ Eternal Rest! So win thou! In thy thoughts Do all thou dost for Me! Renounce for Me! Sacrifice heart and mind and will to Me! Live in the faith of Me! In faith of Me
All dangers thou shalt vanquish, by My grace; But, trusting to thyself and heeding not, Thou can’st but perish! If this day thou say’st, Relying on thyself, “I will not fight!”
Vain will the purpose prove! thy qualities Would spur thee to the war. What thou dost shun, Misled by fair illusions, thou wouldst seek Against thy will, when the task comes to thee Waking the promptings in thy nature set. There lives a Master in the hearts of men Maketh their deeds, by subtle pulling–strings, Dance to what tune HE will. With all thy soul Trust Him, and take Him for thy succour, Prince! So–only so, Arjuna!–shalt thou gain–
By grace of Him–the uttermost repose, The Eternal Place!
Thus hath been opened thee
This Truth of Truths, the Mystery more hid Than any secret mystery. Meditate!
And–as thou wilt–then act!
Nay! but once more
Take My last word, My utmost meaning have! Precious thou art to Me; right well-beloved! Listen! I tell thee for thy comfort this. Give Me thy heart! adore Me! serve Me! cling In faith and love and reverence to Me!
So shalt thou come to Me! I promise true, For thou art sweet to Me!
And let go those–
Rites and writ duties! Fly to Me alone! Make Me thy single refuge! I will free
Thy soul from all its sins! Be of good cheer!
[Hide, the holy Krishna saith,
This from him that hath no faith,
Him that worships not, nor seeks
Wisdom’s teaching when she speaks:
Hide it from all men who mock;
But, wherever, ‘mid the flock
Of My lovers, one shall teach
This divinest, wisest, speech–
Teaching in the faith to bring
Truth to them, and offering
Of all honour unto Me–
Unto Brahma cometh he!
Nay, and nowhere shall ye find
Any man of all mankind
Doing dearer deed for Me;
Nor shall any dearer be
In My earth. Yea, furthermore,
Whoso reads this converse o’er,
Held by Us upon the plain,
Pondering piously and fain,
He hath paid Me sacrifice!
(Krishna speaketh in this wise!)
Yea, and whoso, full of faith,
Heareth wisely what it saith,
Heareth meekly,–when he dies,
Surely shall his spirit rise
To those regions where the Blest,
Free of flesh, in joyance rest.]
Hath this been heard by thee, O Indian Prince! With mind intent? hath all the ignorance– Which bred thy trouble–vanished, My Arjun?
Arjuna.
Trouble and ignorance are gone! the Light Hath come unto me, by Thy favour, Lord!
Now am I fixed! my doubt is fled away! According to Thy word, so will I do!
Sanjaya.
Thus gathered I the gracious speech of Krishna, O my King! Thus have I told, with heart a-thrill, this wise and wondrous thing By great Vyasa’s learning writ, how Krishna’s self made known The Yoga, being Yoga’s Lord. So is the high truth shown! And aye, when I remember, O Lord my King, again Arjuna and the God in talk, and all this holy strain, Great is my gladness: when I muse that splendour, passing speech, Of Hari, visible and plain, there is no tongue to reach My marvel and my love and bliss. O Archer-Prince! all hail! O Krishna, Lord of Yoga! surely there shall not fail Blessing, and victory, and power, for Thy most mighty sake, Where this song comes of Arjun, and how with God he spake.
HERE ENDS, WITH CHAPTER XVIII.,
Entitled “Mokshasanyasayog,”
Or “The Book of Religion by Deliverance and Renunciation,” THE BHAGAVAD-GITA.
[FN#1] Some repetitionary lines are here omitted. [FN#2] Technical phrases of Vedic religion. [FN#3] The whole of this passage is highly involved and difficult to render.
[FN#4] I feel convinced sankhyanan and yoginan must be transposed here
in sense.
[FN#5] I am doubtful of accuracy here. [FN#6] A name of the sun.
[FN#7] Without desire of fruit.
[FN#8] That is,”joy and sorrow, success and failure, heat and cold,”&c. [FN#9] i.e., the body.
[FN#10] The Sanskrit has this play on the double meaning of Atman. [FN#11] So in original.
[FN#12] Beings of low and devilish nature. [FN#13] Krishna.
[FN#14] I read here janma, “birth;” not jara,”age” [FN#15] I have discarded ten lines of Sanskrit text here as an undoubted
interpolation by some
Vedantist
[FN#16] The Sanskrit poem here rises to an elevation of style and manner
which I have endeavoured to mark by change of metre. [FN#17] Ahinsa.
[FN#18] The nectar of immortality.
[FN#19] Called “The Jap.”
[FN#20] The compound form of Sanskrit words. [FN#21] “Kamalapatraksha”
[FN#22] These are all divine or deified orders of the Hindoo Pantheon. [FN#23] “Hail to Thee, God of Gods! Be favourable!” [FN#24] The wind.
[FN#25] “Not peering about,”anapeksha. [FN#26] The Calcutta edition of the Mahabharata has these three opening
lines.
[FN#27] This is the nearest possible version of Kshetrakshetrajnayojnanan
yat tajnan matan mama.
[FN#28] I omit two lines of the Sanskrit here, evidently interpolated by some Vedantist.
[FN#29] Wombs.
[FN#30] I do not consider the Sanskrit verses here-which are somewhat freely rendered–“an attack on the authority of the Vedas,” with Mr Davies,
but a beautiful lyrical episode, a new “Parable of the fig-tree.” [FN#31] I omit a verse here, evidently interpolated. [FN#32] “Of the Asuras,”lit.
[FN#33] I omit the ten concluding shlokas, with Mr Davis. [FN#34] Rakshasas and Yakshas are unembodied but capricious beings of
great power, gifts, and beauty, same times also of benignity. [FN#35] These are spirits of evil wandering ghosts. [FN#36] Yatayaman, food which has remained after the watches of the night. In India this would probably “go bad.” [FN#37] I omit the concluding shlokas, as of very doubtful authenticity.